1 0001: A New Start

Izuku Midoriya sat in his room feeling sombre as he browsed the hero forums scouring for any rumours or information to add to his ever growing list of hero notes. Though his pen which once felt lighter than a feather had begun to feel like lead ever since that day.

It was a day like any other, from the jeers of classmates to Bakugo beating him up. Yet that day took its first step towards a long downward spiral when his teacher declared his intention of applying to UA. The number one school in the country. From its engineering revolutionaries, to some of the world's leading entrepreneurs and most prominent of all was its hero course. Entering UA only happens twice for most people once in high school and a second for university if they can even manage to snag an application to the university courses run by the institution. His prized notebook he had been working on was scorched and thrown out a window as Bakugo uttered those idiotic words.

"Maybe you should take a swan dive and pray for a quirk in your next life Deku!" Was what he had shouted at him in the classroom. The teacher had only bothered to glance up before dismissing it once he realised it was Izuku being targeted.

It lit a fire of spite in his heart. He would prove to him that he was going to be a hero no matter what. Until he walked under that overpass, mumbling his hopes for the future he was caught off guard by a large mound of sentient sludge that tackled him and begun trying to breach any orifice on Izuku while telling him how he would a nice skin suit. Only for him to be narrowly saved by All Might!

All Might had been the top hero for practically decades at this point. Everyone looked up to him and knew his iconic catchphrase 'I AM HERE' who preached in every interview that what mattered most to becoming a hero was not a quirk but the determination and effort to become a hero.

Yet as he grabbed onto the leg of his hero and faced him with his question on that rooftop all he was left with was broken dreams. 'Realistic' Izuku knew what he meant but it was unfair. There were heroes like Snipe, Lady Nagant, Eraserhead and hell even Nighteye when it came to his active duty work essentially could all be replicated using weapons or simply fought quirkless. Lady Nagant had a rifle for an arm and that was it, it was all up to her skill whether she landed her shots or not.

Though he knew he was not hero material. His body held little muscle he built from his meagre attempts at training but any definition to his body would leave him beaten by Bakugo ruining his hard work as he spent time recovering.

So he instead focused on his wits so he could use his plan to get in through the Sports Festival as his attempt. But he just did not feel motivated anymore to become a hero. Even when his body moved on its own to save Bakugou from that sludge monster he let fall out of All Might's pocket. In the end the heroes berated him and it finally ripped out anything it had left so he ran home not wanting to be reminded of his failures anymore.

It had been three weeks since he had withdrawn his application from UA which thankfully meant Bakugo left him alone so he could focus on his own training to be a hero. Spent more time cooped up in his room than chasing heroes and found he had a knack for something he never tried before, video games. Being the protagonist in his own story relying on his choices and skills to become the best in RPGs and working with others in FPS games felt just as fun. No one would curse him for being quirkless (they would yell slurs but it seemed they yelled those indiscriminately.) So he indulged himself in all sorts of video games finding he had a couple favourites at the moment. Resident Villain and Hero Strike each having their own charm as games and he loved watching game play to analyse himself.

Inko was not too happy her son had been spending more time in his room but he did leave plenty of time where they would watch films together and the sort. Frankly she was glad he moved on from heroes and chasing villain fights, they would make her so worried as she waited at home fearing he may have become collateral in some brutal fight he chased after. It did pain her to watch him sell so much of his merchandise thinning out his collection. Izuku was planning on getting her something but she insisted he kept it for himself. Her son had made a large amount from the fact they were all mint condition and some of them rose exponentially since he was gifted them. Yet despite this she did wonder why he stopped talking about heroes and little Katsuki. But that was a mystery for a different day.

Quickly the eight months went past and Izuku grimaced looking at his letters he had already received from the schools across Mustafu so far. That damned school Aldera littered his report with slander and so many black marks he only remembered a big reason why UA was his top choice. The entrance exam and personality interview allowed students who may be subjected to discrimination a chance to enter the school. Yet he threw that away with his dreams. Exhaling he walked up to his mother and just quietly cried into her shoulder as she ruffled his hair. His dad talked to him on the phone and had suggested some ideas for what to do after school ends. A big idea his dad was pushing for was to have Izuku try running a business something small like a start up. Izuku's dad Hisashi was a good man, a little distant only ever talking on phone calls but he supported his family well. Having offered Izuku a decent sum of money he left it open for suggestion of usage whenever he wanted. With that their late night phone call ended and Izuku fell asleep.

"Beep." Izuku could not tell whether that was his alarm or not. "Welcome User Midoriya Izuku, I am the HyperTech Internet Cafe System. You have one mission pending." Then came a voice startling Izuku up. The voice was somewhat monotone and leaning towards a more feminine sound though it could also very well just be androgynous. Looking around he saw no one and feeling confused rubbed his eyes thinking this may still be a dream till he was greeted by a screen in front of him.

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Hello, Izuku Midoriya (User 0002)

I am the HyperTech Internet Cafe System. Congratulations on your selection to be the current host of this system.

You have [ 1 ] Mission Pending…

Do you open the mission file? [Yes] [No]

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Izuku just sat there stunned and clicked onto the 'Yes' button.

Then came a new screen with more information.

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Hello, Izuku Midoriya (User 0002)

Mission(s) Pending:

Mission Name: Beginning Anew

Time Remaining for completion: 6 Days 23 hours

Description: You are the new host of this system. With that comes the need for a few required facilities to ensure that the system can be utilised properly.

Criteria: [ ] Obtain a building with functioning electricity and water

to convert into a cafe.

Rewards: 3 x Hyper Tech Certified Immersion Rigs

Access to Resident Evil 1: HyperTech Edition

Access to User Functionality Privileges - Tier 1

Renovation of Facility within Tier 1 Options

Penalty for the denial or failure of the mission: Removal of Memory of System.

[ Accept ] or [ Deny ]

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Izuku looked at it and read the penalty. If this was a dream or not it seemed he really had nothing to lose so he clicked accept.