CHAPTER - 1 - THE GAMER

"Sorry, kid, it's not going to happen," the doctor said. "If you had a Quirk, it would've shown itself by now."

"What do you mean?" my mom asked.

The doctor pointed to an x-ray of my foot. "After the emergence of Quirks, there were studies done. It was found that most people with a Quirk lack this joint right here. It's possible for someone to have the joint and a Quirk regardless, but if Izuku here hasn't developed a Quirk at this age, it probably means he doesn't have one."

After that, I was crushed. The one thing that I wanted most was to be a hero, and now that dream seemed completely out of reach. How could I become a hero without a Quirk? I never completely gave up, but after a while, it just seemed so hard. It was around this time that I really started to get into video games. In them, I could be the hero. I was always the hero. I saved the day, stopped the bad guys, and had all kinds of cool powers. Maybe... maybe that was what kept me going. At any rate, I eventually redoubled my efforts to become a hero and began analyzing everything I possibly could about heroes. I watched hundreds of videos of fights between heroes and villains in all kinds of environments. I went to see every hero fight I could. I learned enough that I could theoretically be certified a Quirk counselor if I took the exam. Still, I always had some doubt as to whether or not I could do it. If there was ever a hero without a Quirk, they never made it big enough to even be mentioned. Everyone at school laughed at me for saying I wanted to be a hero.

But that all changed the day my Quirk awakened.

I woke up feeling odd, but couldn't quite place why. It only hit me when I was brushing my teeth. When I was just about done, I noticed something weird above my head in the mirror. I looked up and immediately spat out my toothpaste when I saw white text floating above my head. It might have been reversed, but I could read it clear as day.

The Gamer

LV 5

Midoriya Izuku

I had no idea what to make of it. "Why is there a text box floating over my head!?" I thought. "And what's with that part that says 'The Gamer?" I might have stayed there, staring like a deer in headlights at my own reflection, for hours if my mom hadn't called up to me.

"Izuku! Hurry up or you'll be late for school!" That snapped me out of my reverie. Whatever it was could probably wait until I was at school.

"Coming!" I yelled back down, and then hurriedly finished getting ready. When I went downstairs, she was waiting for me with my lunch. After she gave it to me (along with a hug and a kiss) I looked above her head.

Supermom

LV 11

Midoriya Inko

So it wasn't just me. It seemed to me like she couldn't see the words, considering the fact that she hadn't reacted at all. Still, better to be safe than sorry. "Hey, Mom?"

"Yes, Izuku?"

"Have you noticed anything strange today?"

"No, why do you ask?"

"I thought something was off. I guess I just stayed up a little too late last night." She narrowed her eyes at me. "D-don't worry, though! I'm fine now." That confirmed that she couldn't see the text floating above our heads. Satisfied, I headed out the door.

xoxoxo

On the way to school, I saw that everyone had a title above their heads. "It's just like a video game!" I thought. I stopped for a second as a thought struck me, then continued as I thought about it. "Could this be a Quirk? What if that's the reason? It'd explain why only I can see these titles. The doctor did say that it was possible I had a Quirk, just not likely. But why now? Why wouldn't my Quirk have shown up earlier?" I was so distracted that I didn't even notice the crowd until I walked into someone's back. After apologizing, I followed everyone's gaze to see a giant, monstrous man standing on the overpass.

Giant Monster Man

LV 32

Yamazaki Riku

"Guy gets cornered by heroes and just turns into a giant monster," a nearby man said as if it was a common occurrence. I made my way through the crowd toward the front. When I did, a bunch of fangirls squealed as a guy who looked like a cross between a ninja and a tree kicked the giant in the face. "It's Kamui Woods," I said. I squinted and just barely made out his title while he monologued at the villain.

?

LV ?

Nishiya Shinji

Huh. I figured that the titles had some limitations to it. My assumption was immediately given some credit when a giant woman kicked the giant villain in the jaw while he was distracted with Kamui Woods' special attack.

?

LV ?

Takeyama Yu

"Mt. Lady, huh?" the guy next to me said. "She's certainly making a name for herself. Seems like she might make it big."

"Yeah," I muttered. "She's certainly got a good Quirk for hero work. Plenty of power and flashy too. I can see a few downsides, though. She can't use it in tight spaces and being that big would definitely cause a lot of collateral damage." I was interrupted by a ping. I looked down to see... a blue text box?

A new skill has been created through special action! Continuously analyzing your surroundings has created the skill 'Observe' to gain information about objects.

Observe (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00%

The ability to observe one's surroundings and gain information from it.

Gives the user information about the object it is used on.

Yet again, all I could do is gape at what I saw. A skill... so this wasn't just identifying people... I don't know how I immediately knew how to use it, but I did. "Observe," I thought while looking at the text box for the Observe skill, and a new text box popped up.

The text box for the Observe skill. Shows the effects and experience of the Observe skill.

I probably would've played around with this more, but the man next to me cleared his throat and said, "Hey, kid! Are you okay?"

"O-oh, I'm fine!" I blurted out.

"You looked pretty distracted, there. Something happen?" he asked.

"Don't worry about it," I replied. "My Quirk's just a little weird." I was just using it as an excuse, but... it had to have been my Quirk. There was no other explanation for it. I decided that I'd explore this new Quirk as best I could when I got to school. Wait. "I HAVE TO GET TO SCHOOL!" I realized and ran for it.

xoxoxo

Once I made it to my homeroom, I immediately collapsed into my chair, panting. I looked at the text boxes that had appeared on the run to my school.

The level of the skill Observe has increased by one! The level of the skill Observe has increased by one!

Those and a bunch of Observe text boxes made up most of them. I saw the LV1 on Observe's text box and inferred that I could probably raise the level of the skill by using it a bunch. Naturally, I spammed it at every item I could on the run over. However, there were two that I hadn't expected.

Due to repeated struggles, your VIT has increased by one.

Due to prolonged running, your DEX has increased by one.

Well. That was interesting. I suppose it made sense. I may have gained some weird video game power, but I was still in real life... supposedly... so I was still able to exercise. I wondered what my stats were, then had an idea. I concentrated, then thought the word "Menu" to myself, just like when I used Observe. It didn't surprise me, then, when a menu popped up.

Status Screen

Skill List

Inventory

Party Options

Map

Quest Log

Options

Well, that seemed interesting. I decided to start at the top and make my way down. "Status Screen"

Name: Midoriya Izuku

Title: The Gamer

Level: 5

HP: 250/250

MP: 275/275

STR: 10

VIT: 11

DEX: 11

INT: 30

WIS: 10

LUK: 10

POINTS: 0

MONEY: 0 Yen

What? I got most of my stats, but... why would a level five character have twenty more points in INT than in the other stats? I guess that explained why I didn't start at level one, but... maybe I got five stats per level after one and my Quirk automatically dumped those into INT because of my above-average IQ? I guess that made sense, but I really wished it hadn't. I could have probably used those points better myself, Quirk! Still... I decided that I'd have to train up my stats the hard way at first. "I can probably focus on INT, WIS, and LUC during school hours. Studying and doing math problems should probably increase my INT, maybe I could increase my WIS by meditating, and if I constantly flip a coin and call it that'd probably increase LUC. As for out of school, I said I was going to Yuuei, so nobody would think twice about me exercising like crazy. Actually, why haven't I done that already? 'Exercised like crazy' is half of what made Batman Batman, so why did it take me this long to figure out that I should do that!?" I then noticed another text box.

Due to planning things carefully, your WIS has increased by one!

That's probably what led to me questioning my previous actions. I would have thought about that further, but I was interrupted (again) by someone saying my name. "Midoriya-kun is also planning on going to Yuuei." Oh no.

"WHAT!? DEKU!?" Kacchan went over to my desk and started burning my desk with tiny explosions. I got a good look at his name.

Lord Explosion Murder

LV 14

Bakugou Katsuki

That title was really accurate. "YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE A FUCKING QUIRK, YA SHITTY DEKU! YOU'RE JUST A DISGRACE!"

"Kacchan..." I sighed. I was surprisingly calm considering the fact that an explosive blonde was shouting in my face. I guessed I was just really distracted by the whole "I have a Quirk now" thing. "You can't stop me from going to Yuuei, no matter what you do." "Actually," I thought, "while he's in my face like this... Observe."

Name: Bakugou Katsuki

Title: Lord Explosion Murder

Level: 14

HP: 800/800

MP: 725/725

STR: 27

VIT: 25

DEX: 35

INT: 29

WIS: 13

LUC: 13

Quirk: Explosion

Emotions: Angry, worried

That last one didn't seem right... "SHITTY DEKU! I'LL MURDER YOU!"

"Bakugou, calm down!" the teacher said. "Remember, you're not supposed to use your Quirk in school. I don't think that getting a detention will look very good to Yuuei."

"FINE! I'M JUST GONNA GLARE AT HIM!"

"PLease limit yourself to that. That isn't against the rules and doesn't cause a disturbance."

"MAYBE I WILL!"

Wow Kacchan is high-strung. I sighed as he plopped back into his seat and started glaring at me. With that threat out of the way, I decided to test my new training regimen.

xoxoxo

On the walk home from school, I decided to review what I'd done at school. After Bakugou's outburst, I'd decided to try out meditation, which yielded quite the fruit.

A skill has been created through special action! Through repeated meditation, the skill 'Meditation' has been created.

Meditation (Active) LV2 EXP: 61.23%

By clearing one's mind, the mind becomes much sharper. This skill allows the user to meditate on the mysteries of life, the universe, and everything for enlightenment.

Increase HP recovery per minute by WIS while meditating.

Increase MP recovery per minute by WIS while meditating.

Increase stamina recovery per minute by WIS while meditating.

WIS can be trained through meditation.

Through repeated meditation, your WIS has increased by one!

I also found a 500 yen coin during lunch and started flipping it as I'd planned. Just like I'd thought, calling it right enough times had increased my LUC.

Due to repeatedly winning games of chance, your LUC has increased by one!

"I should probably focus on VIT and DEX, and especially DEX. Even if I can shrug off getting punched by a truck and hit with the same amount of force, there's going to be some attacks that I can only dodge." I would have done some more planning, but I was interrupted by a weird feeling and a ping. I was excited to see what this new text box would bring me until...

A new skill has been created through special action! Through exposure to impending doom, the skill 'Sense Danger' has been created.

I had about a second to think "Well that is the second most ominous thing I've ever seen."before a manhole burst with some form of sludge. The sludge consolidated into a single blob that somehow had eyes and a mouth with teeth.

Sludge Monster

LV 26

Kurosawa Shou

xoxoxo