The 5% Reject: Rise of the Powerless Hero"

Chapter 10: Breaking the Absolute

The air between the two combatants crackled. On one side stood Zero, a Pro-Hero who could stop the very atoms of the atmosphere. On the other stood Jack, a boy the world called a "Reject," holding nothing but a wooden sword and a decade of hidden rage.

"A condition?" Zero mused, the frost on his skin glistening. "Fine, Jack Hinata. If you touch me, I’ll acknowledge your name. But if you fail, you hand in your ID and walk out those gates forever."

"Deal," Jack said.

He dropped into a low, predatory stance—the Zero Stance. His center of gravity shifted, and his eyes sharpened until the world around him seemed to move in slow motion.

[ SKILL ACTIVATED: LIGHTNING SPEED ]

[ OUTPUT: 40%... 60%... 80% ]

CRACK!

The ground beneath Jack’s feet shattered as he vanished. He didn't run; he tele-ported. He moved in a violent, high-speed zigzag, his body flickering like a glitch in a video game.

Zero’s eyes widened. "Fast... but movement creates friction, and friction creates heat. I am the end of heat." Zero slammed his palm down, sending a wave of Absolute Zero ice across the floor. "Freeze!"

Jack didn't slow down. He used the momentum of his zigzag to leap off the frozen spikes.

[ SYSTEM FEEDBACK: SHIFTING KINETIC ENERGY ]

[ FOCUS: LEFT ARM -> RIGHT ARM ]

In mid-air, Jack pulled his fist back. He delivered a left-hook so fast it broke the sound barrier, followed immediately by a right cross. Zero managed to conjure an ice shield, but the sheer physical force of the punches sent spider-web cracks through the reinforced structure.

Jack didn't give him a second to breathe. He flipped in the air, his shadow looming over the Professor.

[ REDIRECTING POWER: LOWER EXTREMITIES ]

"Now!" Jack roared. He swung his leg in a devastating spinning kick. The friction of his leg moving through the air was so intense it actually began to melt the frost surrounding Zero.

Zero crossed his arms to block, his feet skidding back five meters. "Is that all—?"

Zero stopped. Jack wasn't in front of him anymore.

During the impact of the kick, Jack had already shifted his power again. He was crouched at Zero's feet, his muscles bulging and glowing with a faint, blue System light.

[ FINAL MOVE: MAXIMUM OUTPUT ]

[ SKILL: BEYOND UPPERCUT ]

Jack’s fist exploded upward. It wasn't just a punch; it was ten years of being told he was "nothing" released in a single strike. The force of the wind pressure alone cleared the entire training ground of mist and ice.

BOOM!

The wooden practice sword shattered into a million splinters upon impact, but the fist connected. Zero was launched upward, his head snapping back as he soared toward the stadium ceiling before recovering mid-air and landing gracefully—but with a clear, red mark on his chin.

The stadium went silent. The "Ice King" had been touched.

Jack stood in the center of the crater, his chest heaving, his shredded sleeves revealing arms that looked like they were carved from marble. He looked up at the floating Professor and wiped a drop of sweat from his forehead.

"So," Jack panted, a defiant grin crossing his face. "What was my name again, Professor?"

Zero touched his bruised jaw. He looked at the shattered wood on the floor, then at the boy who had just bypassed the laws of physics.

"Jack," Zero said, his voice no longer cold, but filled with a dangerous respect. "Your name is Jack Hinata. And I think Class 1-A just found its real monster."