2

Notes:

AN: Went back and fixed some errors – I really don't know how the missing words issue came about. Special thanks to those that pointed them out specifically, it helped speed things along considerably. Hopefully this chapter loads alright.

WARNING! – Protagonist chooses Evil alignment. That also means some innocents are very much not making it to the end of the chapter

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

[ Boku no Hero Academia ] world Selected. Before your entry, you may select World Modifiers

"For credits, right?" I ask, trying not to sound overly bitter about that.

Indeed

"Let's see it"

Timeline selection:

[Standard, Midoriya Izuku time] 0 Credits

[Pre-series, All-Might time] 25 000 Credits

This one is a no-brainer. "Standard anime start for free, please"

Selected. Credits remaining 33.359

Background selection:

[Go as you are] 0 Credits

[Go as you are plus Quirk] 5 000 Credits

[Re-Customize Appearance plus Quirk] 10 000 Credits

[Existing Background] 20 000 Credits

"I can backtrack, right?" I ask with hope in my voice. I know I will have to spend some credits on the 'Winning Condition' thing but I don't know how much. Having a Quirk added is really tempting and my [Sin of Greed] is once again panting in my ear.

You can

I sigh in relief "Thanks. Let's go for Quirkless for now then. Gotta save up those Credits."

Selected. Credits remaining 33.359

Winning Condition selection:

[Become the n.1 Hero] 0 Credits

[Become the n.1 Villain] 0 Credits

[Kill wielders of One for All and All for One] 0 Credits

[Become a Pro Hero] 10 000 Credits

[Become A-Rank] 25 000 Credits

[Compete in the Sports Festival] 30 000 Credits

No brainer again, the second to last one. It's doable in a short-ish time span. And can be done either as villain or hero. You just need power and renown. As for the rest? The first three? Nope. Nope and nope. The free ones are really difficult and can't be really done without committing myself fully to this World. I came here to get more powerful quickly, hopefully, so those are out. The Sports Festival on the other hand is super-easy, I just need to get admitted into the U.A., but… that would mean high school. And being a hero and confined to one place, the same going for the fourth option. Not really the shopping spree I was looking for. So becoming A-Rank it is.

Selected. Credits remaining 8.359

Do you wish to change your selection?

"Yes, please" I nod, "I'll take a Quirk in the second selection."

Acknowledged.

Quirk Selection:

Oh, boy, here we go again. I don't even peruse the list. It's depressing. I can see all those awesome powers but I don't have enough Creds for them. Like before they are arranged from the cheapest onward so I already know I have to go for item number one. [Random Quirk] is free. The second item is already at 5k so no chance.

Please Luck, you're at 31, give me something nice. Please, please, please.

"Select [Random Quirk], please"

Rolling for [Random Quirk]

Please, please, please…

Perk Received!

Shape-shift Quirk: You can change your appearance at will. *limitations

YES! I'll take that! Not crappy at all. Thank you, fate! Thank you, System! Thank you, dice!

You're weird

'Maybe' I shrug, not caring. I am now more focused on the limitations part. The description ends there but maybe if I click… Ah, nice. There is quite a bit of text there, having that in the main description would be annoying. I like how neat the System is.

Thank you.

Anyway. Shape-shifting is good but apparently I am restricted to my race. Game race, meaning I can't make myself an elf. I can have pointy ears but they won't make me an elf. Huh, I guess that is for race-restricted items and stuff like that? Also, does that mean I can change races? Pretty neat, I guess that would be in the modifier selection for credits like this has been.

Not being an elf aside, I also can't turn into an animal. Which makes more sense than the elf thing. I also change appearance only, can't make myself have blades instead of arms and similar modifications. But, I apparently can change sexes. Which makes less sense. It just said I can't have extras and being male would definitely add me an 'extra' if you know what I mean.

That is just the Devs having fun

"Genderbending?"

You know it

I will probably try that at some point. Still, no wings, no gills but I can get a cock. Talk about priorities.

Eh, still an absolutely amazing Quirk to pull. After all, My Gamer is the most powerful Quirk of all and this is a fantastic secondary. Especially since I kinda plan on going the villain route. I want to steal me some Skills and then leave this World and never come back. I can have a civilian persona and shape-shift into my villain persona.

This was the last selection. Proceed to Jump?

I pause for a moment but then I nod. I can't think of anything that I need to do here, I'm ready to brave the new world.

Jumping in 3…

2…

1…

Once again my vision flashes white but this time when I come to, I can see a nice suburban neighborhood. Without zombies. An excellent view this.

I fire up my [Observe] and am not surprised to see that the closest home to me is the Midoriya residence. Which means I am in Japan, more precisely Musutafu. Weird name for a city. Ok, priority one, find out the date. I'm guessing this is the very beginning of the anime so I have a few months before the entrance exams to U.A. high school. Priority two, find myself a place to stay.

Checking my Inventory I see some starter cash, which is nice, so can get a room somewhere. Long term, [Influence] is probably the way to go. Make myself a nice minion and stay at their place. Need to level up that though. Mark that as priority three.

Planning other things can wait, I need that room first and I can plan there. I can also take care of priority one on the way, I just need a newspaper or something.

I mentally mark Midoriya's house on my map, such a pity about that no-minimap thing, and make my way towards city-center.

A week later

The woman I'm having dinner with ends her call, which I shamelessly eavesdropped on, and looks at me with genuine remorse "I'm so sorry but there is an emergency at the hospital and I have to leave."

I smile as charmingly as I can "Of course, saving lives takes precedence to any date. Besides, we managed to get to desert."

"Yes, I was looking forward to it" the woman looks down on her half-eaten sweet, "Again, I'm so very sorry. Perhaps we can try this again tomorrow? I shouldn't be on call."

Grinning I nod "I look forward to it. I hope everything goes well at the hospital."

"Me too. I'll call as soon as I can to discuss tomorrow. I really need to go now"

"Don't let me keep you"

The woman is already on her feet with her coat on. She hesitates though and then bends down, quickly pecking me on my lips "I really want to meet you tomorrow. Bye, Shouichi-san."

"Bye" I smile and watch her leave.

+ 1 CHA

My Shouichi form grinned at that, making my handsome visage even more charming. I really like Shouichi, he is the ladies' favorite. Mine too, definitely the best-looking male form that I tried on.

Yes, I did try the gender-bending. I tried and used many forms, not wanting to leave any possible traces. Right now I'm using most of those forms to level up my [Influence]. And flirt, flirting boosted CHA like nothing else did. [Influence] is rather subtle but I can feel the effects getting better and better with each passing level. The biggest problem with it is that I can't spam it on one person but have to spread it around. Hence my disguises.

I really went to town on those, changing hair, muscle-mass, height, clothes. I kept this to my male form, keeping female as my default and eventual villain debut. I really like that this world is so varied, people having all kinds of colored hair and peculiar mutations. I'm currently sporting a deep violet hair and dark grey eyes and I'm not out of place in the least.

"May I offer anything else?" a waitress approaches my table.

Noting that it isn't the waiter that was serving me and my date the whole evening but a waitress instead, I take a little peek into her mind with [Telepathy]. Oh, she was my date leaving in a hurry and hoped she had a chance with Shouichi so she persuaded her friend to switch. How fun. I won't say no for another subject for my [Influence].

[Influence]'s level has increased by one!

How nice. Shouichi captures another one. Nothing suspicious about that. Not that I think that [Influence] would ever be investigated.

"No, thank you" I smile at the waitress, "Only the bill, please."

"Of course"

She scurries off, a blush on her face, and I finish my own dessert with gusto while calling up my Skill Tab.

Influence (Active)[Level 26] – Target feels compelled to trust you and follow your lead - 39.600 MP/use; progress to next level: 9%

Oh yes, this one is growing nicely.

Being in a living world for a change, I have focused on the Telepathy-derived Skills of Mind Mage. I switched the class back when doing so for better leveling too. In only a week I made some very satisfying progress in [Telepathy] and [Memory Alteration], as well as that aforementioned [Influence]. All this also boosted my Stats, INT and CHA in particular. Handsome telepathic Shouichi and my other forms were farming CHA at awesome rates with just some flirting and occasional one-night stands. Though, having sex as a male? Definitely a different experience. Such a pity even heroic/anime Japan is a little conservative regarding same-sex relationships.

"Here you go" the waitress is back.

I smile and pay, not really interested in her. I already leveled everything enough for one evening and I'm ready to go home. Well, the hotel. Especially since I will be moving tomorrow. With a bit of [Influence] and [Memory Alteration] I managed to get a nice apartment by insinuating myself as a roommate to a peppy Hero agency clerk named Hisa. A free-loading roommate actually, really proud of that, I will only be paying for groceries and stuff like that. I really love Mind Mage.

Leaving the restaurant behind I leisurely make my way back to the hotel, using [Telepathy] as I go. This way I only get snippets but it is enough to both entertain me and to level my [Telepathy] even further. The rate I'm going I expect it to max reasonably soon.

Your INT has risen by 1

And that is always welcomed.

My non-combat Skills are getting a nice grind, a stark contrast with my tutorial world, but that doesn't mean the combat ones lay forgotten. Quite the opposite actually, as now I have access to dungeons. The [ID Create/Escape] comes from the Skill Book I received at the completion of HotD but I only have access to two dungeons right now since they are regulated by player level. One dungeon is, to my great dismay, zombies. The other is goblins.

Despite my exasperation I tried the zombie dungeon first, right on my second day here. It was lower level than the goblins and I wanted to see how much dungeon zombies differ from HotD zombies. The answer? Quite hilarious as the [ID Create] brought me right back there. It was the same fucking world, just more dungeon-y. By that I mean that the exp gains were better, the enemies actually dropped loot and the variety of zombies was much much higher. And it came with a Zombie Boss too.

With my power I got to the boss on my first attempt and slayed it too. My easy progress was no doubt helped by my new Title, Slayer, which gave me bonus damage to all undead. Setting aside my reservations about this dungeon, I got a fair amount of exp, some potions (both health and mana) and money. Yen for some reason. That reason probably being that I'm in a Japanese world again as it dropped the local currency. Aside the exp it was nothing to be excited about until I got to the boss. It was a tough nut to crack that one, but he served me well by dropping two items that were finally something worth mentioning – a [Unnamed Valyrian Steel Sword] that too gives bonus against undead, and a [Knight's Ring] that gives + 10 STR and + 10 VIT.

The sword went into Inventory, an excellent find, especially if I ever go to the Game of Thrones universe, and the Ring I equipped right away. The ring wasn't anything ostentatious so I even kept it visible.

Abandoning zombies yet again, the next day I tried going into the goblin dungeon. It was a far bigger challenge as the goblins were much smarter than zombies. They worked together, had a variety of weapons and even magic through Shamans, their magical unit. Seeing the opportunity I went full Assassin, getting my exp and class leveling that way. The exp was better than the zombie yields and it was funnier seeing them panicked about an unseen enemy. Since I was using this method I have yet to battle the dungeon boss.

I think on that for a moment, then shake my head "Nah, not tonight. Maybe tomorrow."

Once I'm in my hotel room I drop the Shouichi disguise. I'm planning a dungeon run and I felet better in my own skin so to speak. First though I pack my things in preparation for tomorrow – I can't turn up empty-handed with everything in Inventory so luggage it is. When I have everything ready, I equip my dungeon gear. Which is to say my old biker leathers, still my best armor. I definitely have to get my hands on some pro-hero gear, they are usually really good. I Observed that on the pro-heroes that could be seen around the city.

My last check is obvious "Status"

Name: Sofia Vetinari

Level: 19 (40%)

Title: Slayer

Class: Assassin (Lvl 43)

STATS

HP - 273.000 (441.000)

MP - 2M

STR - 39 (49)

VIT - 70 (90)

DEX - 158

INT - 138

WIS - 153

CHA - 74 (79)

LCK - 20 (36)

Available Stat Points - 89

I actually get another nice kind of loot in the goblin dungeon – Stat Stones. I only get them from the Elite Goblins and only very very rarely. When I use them in my Inventory, they give me a permanent point into the indicated Stat. I got two VIT Stones, one STR Stone and one LCK Stone. I kept all of them in my Inventory for later but naturally I used the LCK one. And then I used my spare Stat Points to round the number up. I also hoped this increase in overall luck will get me some more of those Stones or other goodies.

Content with my Status, I activate my [Evasion Stance], just in case, and give the command "ID Create: Goblins."

Hello you little green-skinned uglies. Let's play.

I was doing some tinkering on a circuit board when my roommate comes back earlier than anticipated. I'm not doing anything that incriminating – sure the board is for a bomb but it can be for a lot of other stuff. Not that Hisa would notice.

Hisa's enthusiastic shout breaks me from my reverie "Heya, sweetie, I had the best day at work!"

We aren't together, despite the appellation, but my roommate likes using it. All the time. Not that I mind but sometimes she can be too happy. I like her though, definitely one of the better roommates to exist. Putting down my circuit board I decide to indulge her "Ho? What happened?"

Hisa grins and plops down on the chair opposite me and opens up a bottle of tea which she gulps down eagerly. "Phaaa, I love this stuff. Anyway, Midnight came to visit my boss and I got to talk to her!"

"Midnight's a teacher at the U.A., right?" I hum, "What did she want with Ryukyu?"

"No idea, they talked in private!" Hisa shrugs, not losing her smile, "I think they are friends. -ish. She's really nice. Though I have to say she caused quite a stir among all the boys at the office."

"Makes sense, I don't know that much about her but I know about her pheromones Quirk"

"Yeah, she's so cool. And she recommended me a bar when we were talking. Me and some of my colleagues have decided to check it out tonight. Interested?"

I hum again, absently tapping my half-finished work, thinking about it.

"Come on," Hisa cajoles, "Two Side-kicks are coming too. They have the best stories about Ryukyu!"

I did want to try using [Influence] on someone a bit higher-up than regular civilians, this would be the perfect testing area. And being nice to the Sidekicks could prove useful too, they should be better connected than Hisa.

On the other hand I already had plans for tonight. Tentative plans, but still plans. I think it is time for my villain alter-ego to have her debut. A nice quiet Skill sucking. I even got my target – she's got a fire quirk, nothing like Endeavor but still fire and I want to try sucking up some fireball Skill or something. Hopefully it will work – it should be classified as a Skill. The Quirk itself is a Perk and I can only steal Skills, but it should work. It will work. If I get something like a cooking skill then I will be very morose.

Then again, I guess I could do that tomorrow just as well. I nod and Hisa's face somehow brightens even further "I'll come."

"Awesome! We meet in front of the Agency at nine and we walk there" my teal-haired roommate claps enthusiastically.

"Okay" I nod again, this time smiling. Maybe I can still try carrying out my little plan. Just at an earlier hour. I could try to see if my target is alone. If she isn't, I'll go tomorrow.

Wow, that really sounded serial-killery. Which I suppose is what I have planned but I can't bring myself to care. This feels exactly the same as planning a dungeon raid against the goblins. Besides, this is why I came into this world in the first place. Without this, there is no reason for me to stay. I don't even know why I am thinking about this again, I already made an executive decision to stop. I am not feeling bad, I am feeling bad that I am not feeling bad. If that makes sense.

"You really should stop thinking so much" Hisa chuckles, already changed out of her work clothes.

"I wholeheartedly agree" I laugh.

"What are you working on anyway?" she asks, pointing at the circuitry board with a rolled up magazine.

I shrug "Nothing really. Just tinkering, seeing if I can make it flow better."

"I always thought engineers would be more nerdy than you" Hisa winked and sprawled on the couch, unfurling her magazine.

"I am plenty nerdy" I smirk. And I have been actually toying with the idea of selecting Engineer as my next class. It would mean more INT and better gear. I have been kinda counting on better drops from dungeons to be honest. Also, the field of robotics is really advanced in BokuHero, so I might even look into that. Eh, we'll see when the time comes. Especially if the selection changes.

"Did you check out that gym you were talking about?"

"I did. I think I'll continue going there." I did desperately need more HP, which for me right now meant more STR.

"Find me a nerd that does that"

"Tadá"

Hisa snorted "Ok, I'll admit to you being a dork."

"I know"

Tonight is the night.

Is that too much Dexter? Let's start again. Tonight is the night… Ok, I'm rolling with it. Whatever. I have a plan, I have a disguise and I have a target. And most importantly, I have the opportunity. And a motive. I really want my fire Skill and proof that I wasn't an idiot in coming to this world.

I really hope this works.

My black biker gear blends well with the shadows and my maxed [Stealth] makes me almost invisible. Now it's only a matter of entering the house. I already checked, my target is alone and with my [Telepathy] I ascertained that she doesn't expect anyone tonight.

Everything goes according to plan, I telekinetically jump onto the balcony, open its doors with some more telekinesis and silently enter. My target is watching tv, blissfully unaware of my intrusion. It is now that I start feeling quite bad about what I'm doing but I still follow through. She is unconscious and I'm free to apply [Mind Thief].

First though I shut down her tv, clean up and carry her to bed. Nobody should find anything wrong unless they enter the bedroom. It also fits the theatricality of my disguise – since I am going to suck a Skill, I decided to go for the classic vampire look. Long black hair, deathly pale, high cheekbones and, most importantly, pointy teeth.

In that vein, pun intended, I also plan to disguise my motive. A vampire sucks blood so I am going to take it. I'll use [Telekinesis] to pump the blood and drain it into my Inventory (thankfully the inventory is infinite). I can have a Tab for that, might come in handy someday. There are true vampire universes after all.

What was the point of all this? I don't want this to smell of All for One. I don't want to get involved in that shit and I don't need All Might after me because of a misunderstanding.

Alright, the moment of truth. [Mind Thief]

New Skill Acquired!

Flamethrower (Active)[Level 1] – Launches a stream of fire from your palm - 500 MP/use, 300 dmg, applies [Burn]

I worked! It fucking worked!

My victory dance is interrupted by a meowing of a cat from outside. I better hurry up and leave the scene of the crime. But first, my vampire impersonation.

Naturally I don't bite, that would be going way beyond. And it felt disrespectful. And also idiotic since I would leave saliva behind. Better stay all covered up as I am, helmet included.

I make quick work of it, relatively speaking, draining a corpse of blood is a pretty long process, and I flee into the night.

Only when I feel safe enough and far enough, I remove my helmet. Even further and even more out of view, I change faces. Not to my own but another. Only when I am nearing Hisa's agency building I find a place to change into myself as well as changing my clothes. Gone is the wannabe Lestat, in its place is Sofia Vetinari, ready to go to a bar.

With all my double backing I arrive just in time for the meet-up. Hisa perennially happy face turns even happier and waves at me vigorously as I approach.

"Guys, this is Sofia, my roommate" Hisa announces when I come in hearing distance.

A chorus of 'hi', 'hey' and similar greets me from the small group. I give one in return.

"A few people are meting us at the bar too" Hisa grins, "We are just waiting for Akira are we're good to go."

"I see him" one of Hisa's friends with a rather unflattering hawk beak points to the distance.

With the group complete Hisa makes the introductions. Normally I'm pants at remembering names so really thank you [Observe]. As we get moving I get involved in some small talk as well as some questions about me. It's all pretty normal like what is a foreigner doing in Musutafu, what do I do for a living, what is my Quirk… Pretty much the same questions Hisa asked when I came to live with her. I had no trouble answering, especially since the System had been so nice and provide me a back-story here as well as documentation. Funny thing though, it didn't tell me until way later. But at least it was before I made a fool of myself and faked a quirk or being quirkless. So, officially my quirk is Alter Appearance.

A too good of a party trick, kinda annoying when people ask you to try on this or that. With this group I oblige a few times and then issue a blanket no for more. Not that it deters a very annoying man from trying, from what Hisa said about him in the past, he fancied himself a womanizer. I put him under my [Influence] and ask him to stop. I was planning on using that on all of them anyway, just after a few drinks and conversation.

The bar Midnight recommended is actually pretty nice although it's trying for a Hawaiian or Polynesian theme for some bizarre reason, but it manages to pull it off without being too tacky, something I previously thought to be wholly impossible. Hisa has called ahead and managed to get us a table which was fortuitous as the place was getting fuller by the second.

"You get your own drinks at the bar" one of Hisa's friends observes, "We do it in shifts so someone holds the table?"

"I'm buying yours, Sofia" Hisa grins, "Since I dragged you out, it seems only fair. You are on your own after the first though."

"Heh, alright, thanks" I smile. What a darling girl.

"What do you want?"

"A lot of people seem to be drinking something blue, how about that one"

"Something blue coming right up"

Since I'm getting my drink without needing to go to the bar, I'm one of the three to hold the fort. Hisa's friends are actually quite nice and effortlessly pull me into their conversation. I was planning to farm some CHA here but my mind keeps going back to my vampire-self and the events surrounding it.

I got my first elemental Skill. When I started the Game I have thought it will be easy to create those Skills – I mean, everybody can imagine a classic DnD fireball – but that has proven untrue. I can easily make the 'arcane' Skills, pure magic, but the elements never quite work out. It seems the Class elementalist is there for a reason. BUT. Now that I have a starting Skill, have a feel for the fire, I am reasonably sure I can branch out with it. Make new fire Skills. Maybe even elemental Skills as a whole but somehow I think that won't work out. I will just have to collect the other elements then. Like the Avatar, heh. Aang will have nothing on me.

"What about you Sofia?"

I blink, returning to the conversation at hand which I have been listening to only minimally "Who has the potential to enter the Top Ten? Hm, my bet is Kamui Woods."

The hawk-like woman nods vigorously "That's what I have been saying! I mean his…"

I once again pay only a fraction of my attention to the pro-hero discussion, now mostly because I see Hisa talking to two new people and bringing them towards our table. A quick [Observe] pegged them as the Ryukyu's Sidekicks my roommate mentioned.

Getting more interested, I check out their Stats. I already Observed several pro-heroes to see how I compare and was both heartened and disappointed to see that I was entirely in their league, but not higher. Most pro-heroes had two amazing Stats and then the rest was above average. And by amazing I mean to say that I even saw some 300 high Stats out there. But those are rare and usually over-specialized. I'd be really interested to see how All Might looks in the Stat department, him being who he is. Also, the Top Ten must definitely rate higher than the 'normal' pro-heroes. By a hundred Stat points? Higher? Lower?

Right now my measuring stick is the aforementioned Kamui Woods, the definite up-and-comer if what I remember is true. His Stats are good but nothing reaching three hundred yet, he is making do with the versatility of his Quirk and rather keen intellect. He is also one of the most balanced heroes I saw, no Stat left behind. Even his Luck is pretty good. I even got my first regular Quest about it - 'Surpass Kamui Woods'.

Yeah, he is my goal for now. In comparison, the two Sidekicks that joined us are a little under my level. Well, not Level, just level. One Sidekick is the melee type, his Stats concentrating around STR and VIT, while the other one is the intellectual, favoring INT and WIS. The highest their Stats go though is 150 but that is only the INT, the rest being lower, making me feel good about myself.

But I still need a lot more training, definitely doing into a dungeon tomorrow. I have Skills to form and Stats to grind. Should finally reach that Level 20 too.

As the conversion in the now bigger group flows, I find myself under the scrutiny of the intellectual Sidekick Shizuka, hero name Miss Grey Eyes. No idea what that has to do with her quirk, but whatever.

"Hisa-san mentioned your quirk is Altered Appearance?" Shizuka asks, readjusting her glasses on her nose in a very anime move.

"Indeed it is," I agree freely, "But please don't ask me to change anything, I already performed enough."

"I can imagine, though I have always been far more interested about the various effects a quirk can have on the body. Transformation-type quirks are the most intriguing as they cause the most complex changes to body. Yours is a good example, I would surmise that the cells in your body are in constantly in flux, ready to accommodate any changes"

"Yes," I nod, also beginning to think more about my new quirk, "Pity though I can't make any internal changes more complex than bones."

Shizuka hums "Even if you can't change more than your skull it is still quite interesting. Ryukyu-sama has a very powerful transformation quirk as well, but she can only change into one form and back. You can change to whatever you wish. That is not common."

"True. Constant flux, huh…"

"Indeed. I would love to…" the Sidekick starts but her probable appeal to study me a little is interrupted by her colleague calling for her.

I don't mind in the least her being called away. Not only there will be no studying me, I'm also stuck on the body in flux thing and want to think on it further. A body in constant flux, that was a great description for a Gamer's Body. Every new Perk, every new Stat Point changes my body. Or is it the essence of it? Super-adaptability and unlimited growth is what the Gamer power really is.

I should be able to do more. Much more. My Skill stealing is a good start though, I will definitely continue doing that in the absence of bountiful Skill Books and my Skill creation problem. Still, my body in flux. I'm still stuck on that. My [Mind Thief] workes through telepathy, I burrow into the target's mind and live their experiences with the Skill to make it my own. Maybe if I tried something similar but more comprehensive, a more comprehensive look not into just the mind but the body, I might extract more. My body should be able to mimic and adapt, it could take it and incorporate it somehow.

In theory.

Very much in theory, but I hope. Nay, I believe. And I will try it during my next vampiric impression.

"Hey, it's Midnight!" Hisa whisper-shouts, getting the attention of the entire table, me included. With my new resolution I'm sitting more relaxed and eager to celebrate.

"She's coming towards us!"

"No way!"

"Everyone act natural!"

"Yeah, right, maybe if you stopped jumping"

Everyone falls silent when Midnight arrives, flashing a smile to Hisa "Miyanagi-san, right? Didn't I recommend this bar to you only this morning?"

Hisa was her usual peppy self "Well, we do like to drink."

"Amen to that" Midnight laughed, "So I will be right in guessing that a round of shots will be welcomed?"

"Definitely" the male Sidekick announces loudly as he is in fact returning to our table with a tray of filled small glasses.

"Please join us for this round?" Hisa gestures.

The pro-hero grins and deftly steals one of the drinks from the tray "Don't mind if I do."

I follow suit, everybody grabbing a drink and cheering. And boy are we loud, and that is still fully sober. Anyway, back to my originally intended experiment, the 'see how Influence works on higher leveled people'. Midnight is both a good and a bad target for it, and the same reason applies to both – she too has something of an [Influence] herself. Her quirk Somnambulist affects people, making them sleepy. She might be more aware of her body and her feelings than your average Joe and recognize what is externally induced and what isn't. She also has a high INT Stat so there is that.

[Poison Resistance]'s level has increased by one!

Yeah, yeah. Good Skill but I could really do without it being triggered by booze.

One shot down and Midnight actually asks to be introduced to everyone. That's a pro-hero for you I guess, working those public relations. Because I sincerely doubt she is really interested in virtual strangers she will probably never meet again.

Curious, I peek into her mind.

Oh boy, guess that dominatrix theme she has going on isn't just for show, huh? We literally just met, and she's assigning us roles in an orgy? Ok, it's apparently just a mental exercise, but what the hell? And she's grading us on how hard we would be to top? Who the heck made this woman a teacher?!

"And this is Sofia, my roommate" Hisa gestures to me, second to last to go in introductions.

"She's got an awesome quirk!" one of the more inebriated men around the table calls, heart eyes sent to the pro-hero. What a moron.

"Oh?" Midnight eyes me, cocking her head to the side in question.

I smile, pumping my charm hoping to disguise… this. [Influence]!

Success!

…and it worked. And now to see if it was noticed… huh, it was. I'm actually surprised. Oh well, [Telepathy] says she's reserving judgment until she hears what my quirk is. Guess I have to level [Influence] a bit more or work in that INT of mine.

I shake my head with a smile "More fun than awesome. Though, it does make for an interesting ice-breaker."

"She can change her face features at will!" Moron continues with a dopey grin. Fortunately that is not directed at me but rather his attention is still firmly on Midnight.

The pro-hero flashes me an impressed smile and my [Telepathy] says she has attributed the workings of my [Influence] on the professed quirk. Like with a changed appearance I can make myself more attractive and trustworthy-looking, and I can tailor that to specific people. Not a bad deduction, damn wrong, but not bad. And it works for me.

"That is interesting. Can you change into me?" Midnight asks eagerly.

I decide to oblige and stare at the woman. Once I'm confident I got hear features down, I will my face to shift. Naturally I can't replicate her glasses but the rest should be up to par.

The group cheers loudly while the hero, as well as the side-kick Miss Grey Eyes, look more intrigued than anything. Though the side-kick is interested from a scientific perspective, Midnight's thoughts go in two different tangents. One is quite heroic.

"Impressive indeed. Perfect for an actor, or a thief"

I shrug "Not interested in either. Besides, as a thief I could defeat a camera but not any other countermeasure, not the mention the heroes."

That gets me and approving smile.

"I think she just uses it to get laid" Hisa puts her two-cents in, much to the amusement of the group.

Which neatly brings me on the second thought tangent of Midnight's – how fun it would be to fuck her mirror image. Heh, I can't picture her doing a parent-teacher conference but this seems far more in character. I know she has a serious side too but I guess she reserves that only for when necessary. She's a fun one indeed, a bit disturbed but hey, who isn't.

Since I'm undecided if I want the pro-hero's attention on me, I decide not to meddle with her decision with any Mind Mage Skill. Because she seems to be actually considering asking me to sleep with her with her own face on. Let the chips fall where they may. But I do have to wonder, would she consider it sex or something more akin to masturbation… Not that I would mind either way, mind you.

Oh, I would be interested in one more thing.

I smirk at Midnight "Since I showed you mine, show me yours? A mild dose? Please?"

The raven-haired hero chuckles "People in bar usually fall asleep after drinking. But suit yourself. Ready?"

My group moves so that Midnight is right next to me. She smiles, positively wickedly, so I hurry to say "Please don't dose me too much."

"No worries," the smile remains, so my worries do as well, "That wouldn't be fun. Besides, I have to be careful to only target you, I'll hold back."

Both my memory and my [Observe] say that her quirk works though smell, so Midnight cleverly raises one hand and takes me by the chin.

[Somnambulist] blocked with [Gamer's Mind]

Awesome, another experiment complete. Extreme success too.

Now, despite her smirk Midnight really did hold back a lot, her thoughts speak of my struggling to keep my eyes open but overpowering it easily. And that is exactly what I give her. I let my eyelids flutter for a moment and then rapidly blink when her hand falls away.

I check, no suspicions. Super.

"Wow" I nod respectfully.

Midnight makes a show of buffing her nails on her blouse as the group does another round of hoots and excited calls. The moron from before asked if he could be put under too, a peek into his mind showed he rather wanted to be under Midnight herself, but the pro-hero simply shook her head and declared her quirk off-limits. Instead she proposed more drinking which was readily accepted by all.

It doesn't take long for Midnight to excuse herself, after all she didn't come to the bar for us. When the pro-hero returns to her previous plans, whatever and whoever with they were, the group gets even more raucous. I'm not a fan of excessive noise or drunken humor but I guess Hisa's friends are bearable enough. Not that I intend to stay too long, just the polite amount of time – I kind of really want to go into a dungeon and try my new fire Skill. That said… if Midnight were to approach me with an alternative program for the night, I can go try out Skill creation tomorrow just as well.

Contrary to the description of [Gamer's Body], having the body of a game character, I do have to go to the bathroom. I have never heard of a game in which you actually have to do that – sleeping and eating, sure, but never the opposite. Fact remains, I am human that way. And it is in the bathroom that Midnight approaches me with a proposition. Or more like, the proposition.

So yes, change of plans.

I quickly pop over to the table, telling Hisa I'm leaving, and then meet up the pro-here outside the bar.

"Let's go to my place" Midnight half-orders, "My address isn't exactly secret and I would prefer your roommate didn't know of this. If you could be discreet."

"No problem" I shrug, not really interested in bragging. Or the lengthy discussion and gossip fest Hisa would no doubt initiate.

"Come on then"

With a slight smirk on my lips I follow her. How fun, a pro-hero is going to have kinky sex with a fresh murderer. One that intends to farm many more Skills soon. A villain and a hero, very classic.

Achievement Unlocked!

Cannonade: You have meaningfully interacted with a canon character; Achievement Reward: 50 Credits

Oh, I'm going to interact alright.

Two days later

"ID Close" I intone in tired satisfaction and watch the mirror-breaking effect it has on my reality, returning me to my room in Musutafu.

I'm rather looking forward to a quick shower but first I make my way to the fridge and eagerly gulp down the cold tea there. I glance at the clock and nod to myself when I see that it is still early in the afternoon. I went into the goblin dungeon as soon as my roommate left for work and was there until I reached that Level 20 and slayed the dungeon boss. Since a new dungeon will open for me with my level up, I left the goblin dungeon well and truly wrecked, not to mention quite singed.

"Status" I mumble, deciding to take that shower now. I smell like smoke.

Name: Sofia Vetinari

Level: 20 (13%)

Title: Slayer

Class: Assassin (Lvl 47)

STATS

HP - 381.800 (576.800)

MP - 2M

STR - 46 (56)

VIT - 83 (103)

DEX - 179

INT - 158

WIS - 166

CHA - 80 (85)

LCK - 20 (36)

Available Stat Points - 94

Not bad, especially that INT Stat. But I guess it makes sense with all that Skill creation. I now have a buttload of fire Skills but I've kept them low level since I don't really need them at the moment, not as much as I need to finish leveling my Class, grind some Stats or that Level 20. I definitely have to check what the new dungeon option is some time soon.

I also got some pretty nice things from the goblins, some more Stat Stones that I have yet to use and most importantly, the loot from the boss. The Goblin King wasn't happy with me when I culled his subjects but he wasn't that difficult of an opponent. He was a summoner type so it was more quantity over quality. Upon his death I got the [Bone Circlet] that boosts INT and WIS by 15, guess the goblins needed that, a gacha token, and a Skill Book, [Summon Wolf]. Hopefully that one means I get one of those big wolves that the goblins rode, those were very neat.

The Circlet is in my Inventory and the Skill Book I immediately used which now leaves the gacha token. My first. My Luck is pretty good and I have a Perk for it, so I shouldn't get anything completely rubbish. But I keep my expectations low, I know I won't get Excalibur or anything like that.

"System, could you roll for the gacha for me please?" I ask as I get into the shower.

Sure. Rolling for gacha

Item acquired

Hei's Mask (Darker than Black)

+20% damage to all your electrical attacks

Definitely not useless but not really all that helpful either. Right now I mean. Might want to look for someone with a lightening quirk though. Speaking of Skill stealing… tonight I will go out again. I have my eye on a shadow-based quirk that I was really surprised to see in a civilian. It's definitely hero-grade but I guess the man simply prefers his elementary teaching post. Hero society's loss, my gain.

My target also has a wife, a shrew of a woman, that has a far less valuable quirk. I'm thinking I could try that greater theft on her. See if I could steal more than just a Skill.

I finish my shower and dry my hair. Then I dress in my stalking clothes. I have done recon yesterday but if I will be moving tonight, I need to confirm it's a good time for it.

Scribbling a short note for Hisa that I would be coming home late, I leave the apartment while resisting the urge to whistle. That would be supremely creepy of me.

Tonight is the night… Yeah, again.

Anyway, it's a little after eight and both my targets are at home and have no plans beside that. Which suits me perfectly. The woman is in the living room watching tv while the husband is upstairs at his computer. Probably still working, poor dedicated sod.

My entry is undetected and since I went in from ground level for a change, I go after the woman first. Casting [Bind] and then [Force Choke] is a tried tactics so I don't deviate. Once she's out I quickly bind her conventionally before I go after the teacher. Neither saw me coming so I have them both in their bedroom, unconscious and bound, in a jiffy.

Alright, here it is. First I run through my 'plan' again, and then I delve into the woman's mind and then from there spreading outward. Despite my plan I have no idea where I'm going but then the Game decides to help me up.

You have created a new skill!

Stat Thief (Active)[Level 1] – Takes a prominent Stat Point of the target and adds it to the user. Warning! Kills target. 500.000 MP/use

You have stolen 1 DEX

I nearly collapse in relief and the headache that I feel starting. I did it, I can't believe I did it. It worked.

Sitting down I allow both my mind and my Mana to recuperate. But I just can't stay idle for long, my mind is already racing with future possibilities. There is one little snag though – the woman is dead, there will be no Skill stealing from her anymore. It is either/or. Skill or Stat.

Don't be greedy, be thankful this came through

'I am, I so very am' I chuckle, 'But you know me, always nitpicking. I am very grateful that it did in fact work. Thank you.'

You're welcome

Deciding I rested enough, I stand up again and go for the man. He is still completely out as I delve into his mind, this time with the already proven [Mind Thief].

New Skill Acquired!

Shadowport (Active)[Level 1] – Teleportation through shadows within eyesight - 5000 MP/use

Excellent, I got exactly what I wanted. Must be Luck.

Once again I thank the System, it's only polite, and I go about disguising my tracks. Which basically means more blood for my Inventory.

When that is done, I flee from the scene of the crime. While I'm itching to try out my new teleport, I resist and do it the tried and true way, better to experiment in a dungeon. As I rapidly leave the house behind I look at my watch – I wasn't there even an hour. That almost felt… disrespectful? Anticlimactic? I don't know. But it felt something.

Ah well, I have a new Stat and a Skill, so excellent haul. I will need to find some more muscly victims to boost that STR Stat, especially if I am to surpass Kamui Wood in raw Stats.

'Quests'

Surpass Kamui Woods

Overtake the pro-hero in pure base Stats

KW current Stats*

STR – 130

VIT – 157

DEX – 185

INT – 103

WIS – 99

CHA – 62

LUK – 24

Award: 50 000 exp, 500 credits, ?

I close the window, humming to myself. I'm doing pretty good on that front. Only STR, VIT and DEX are still in play, and I am only a few points short in DEX. For the moment anyway, the man is still getting stronger too, albeit at a slower pace than I. With a sigh I reflect on the, let's call them 'warrior stats'. They suck. Well, VIT is ok but my STR is well and truly horrible. There aren't enough victims for that, I will need to train the old-fashioned way.

I still refuse to use my free SP. Not on STR, that would be just me being lazy. As low as I have it, it levels pretty easy with dedicated effort. I just have to… dedicate it. Or choose a fighter Class next which I don't want to. So exercise it is. The LCK Stat, there I will use the SP on, a nice twenty-five is a nice round number.

Boo, why can't I steal more than just one point from a person. They don't need it anymore.

Again, don't be greedy

'Yeah, yeah, sorry. Just grumbling'

Just level up the Skill moron, it will work better

'oh'

'OH'

'You know what, I really love you, System!'

Yeah, yeah

"Another body was found this morning in Musutafu, marking it the seventh victim of the 'Vampire Killer'. The police have released no information aside from the identity of the victim which is Uchiayama Kouki, age 29, intern at Musutafu General Hospital. Once again the victim has been found exsanguinated in his own home. Best Jeanist, the No. 4 Hero, has issued a statement"

"… In our age of quirks the lines between villain and murderer are blurred, but rest assured that both the police and the heroes are united in being committed to finding the perpetrator of these vampiric killings. I urge the public to be vigilant and call on the police tip-line should you have any relevant information. But I also urge you not to attack or detain anyone who happens to have a blood-related quirk. Should you know or see anybody with a relevant quirk, please call the tip-line and do not take the matters into your own hands. We as a society must not fall apart at the seams, we must pull together to see this murderer behind bars. Thank you."

"That was from Best Jeanist from the Japanese Hero Headquarters. Both heroes and the police have increased their presence in Musutafu to help the effort in catching the Vampire Killer. The city mayor has…"

I hum and return my attention to my perfectly buttered toast. The mayor's opinion is largely irrelevant, what isn't irrelevant is the substantial increase in patrols, both police and hero. My Stealth was as high as it could be and [Shadowport] was coming along, but anyone with a perception-type quirk can make me. I have a few contingency plans for that but I would rather not use them. Right now the plan is to stay the course and try to find a perception quirk of my own – I created a telekinesis-related Skill along the lines of echolocation, but it seems people notice the pulse being emitted. So not ideal. My best course of action is stealing the Skill form somebody.

I should also stray a bit further from my usual hunting grounds and go to the outskirts of the city for a change – that should force the heroes expand the search grid and stretch themselves thin.

All this scrutiny is quite a bit of a pain but the results are worth it in my opinion – I got my fire, shadow teleportation, a DEX Stat, and now I added [Electric Sheathe], an electric enhancement to all weapons that gave bonus damage and inflicted paralysis, [Poison Touch], which is pretty much self-explanatory,and 1 STR and 1 VIT. And that is without the Skill I formed on my own using those as a basis. I now have plenty of fire, lightening and poison Skills in my arsenal.

I have already accepted that I won't really be able to level my Stat thieving in this world but it is a good side-dish, Skills have priority. Still, it's a massive loss that I can't Stat steal from goblins or other dungeon creatures. Still sore about that by the way.

Noted

I mean I could go and steal Stats and Skills from an entire apartment block in one night, but that would probably put me into an A-rank threat and I want to regulate that myself. It isn't the time for that yet.

Still, despite my rather small-time murdering, I acquired a Title as soon as the news came up with their moniker for me. I now can equip [Villain] as my Title which gives me increased rep gains with those of 'Evil Alignment' and +10% to all Stats when fighting against those of 'Good Alignment'. Oh, and sets my own Alignment to Evil. Naturally. I hadn't known the alignment mechanic worked here before this. Right now I'm 'Neutral Evil'. Fair enough.

"Another, huh" Hisa commented, looking at the tv over my shoulder.

"The seventh they say" I nod. It was accurate though this one I did kill the day before yesterday. Guess it took a while to find his body.

"That's horrible. I really hope they catch him soon. I sure won't be going out while there is this maniac on the loose"

"Doesn't he attack people at home?"

"Sure, but he must stalk them somehow, it can't be random"

"I suppose" I nod, maybe doing some random selection would be good for me. If the Skill is not worth it, I'll take the Stat.

Hisa looks at me in dead serious "You be careful out there, alright?"

"Definitely"

My roommate chuckles "Then again, do I even have to worry? You've been staying at home for the past few days, tinkering with whatever that project of yours is. Didn't know you were an engineer."

I wasn't just an engineer, I was an Engineer. Brand new Class, having topped up Assassin recently. "I dabble."

Hisa grins "Yeah. Anyway, I have to go to work. Good luck on… whatever it is you're dabbling in."

"Thanks" I grin right back. I'm indeed planning on working on it today, getting some levels in my new Class.

At first I was hesitant on which Class to choose after Assassin – a fighter class was in serious consideration since most would give me a nice tidy boost to STR and VIT, my worst Stats which I really need to raise. In the end I decided to postpone my fighter career and instead focus on crafting gear for myself. I can be a fighter whenever and wherever, but this world has some excellent crafting material and blueprints. Pro-hero gear sells at exorbitant prices, read profit, and gives great bonuses. I can't be going around in my biker leathers forever, now can I?

So Engineer it is. The +2 INT and +0,1 LCK every Class level also isn't anything to sniff at. I depend on INT for almost all of my attacks so let's make me a heavy hitter.

Engineer Skills were a little unusual, being a production Class and all. Most of them were passives related to designing and building, and I have only three actives – [Structural Analysis], [Repair] and [Reinforce]. Methinks the Game ripped off Nasuverse a little.

Still, leveling the Class was going well even though it kept me more in my apartment than in any dungeon. I haven't even finished exploring the third type of dungeon – Moonlit Forest.

My gear was more or less coming along, getting better with each level of Skill but I was running short of material. Well, not short short, my HotD days were very fortuitous indeed, but I was starting to require more advanced material. And since I refuse to pay if I can steal…

Looks like I'll be adding to my list of crimes. My nights are getting rather full.

Or maybe I can do some Stat/Skill stealing during the day. There are plenty of NEETs in this country, they stay at home all day. Though I probably won't be able to mooch any STR from them…

Tomorrow then, today I am planning to dedicate to the gauntlets I'm building. They are the Mk II and I fully expect a lot of re-dos, but they should work well enough.

Not the whole day though, I'm also planning a gym visit. Not only they have weights for those with strength quirks, a lot of people go there too. A lot of people with nice Stats and some nice quirks. Training and recon, all in one.

Might also visit Hisa at work, being social and all that.

Oh so many plans…

Lovers from two opposing sides that can never coexist, truly star-crossed, a hero and a villain. Not that my new girlfriend Kaori, the Glaive Hero: Dextera, has any idea what I am up to at night when she is not with me. To increase the thrill, this woman is one of the pro-heroes that are tasked in finding the Vampire Killer. Fun, right?

"What are you thinking about?" Kaori asks, caressing my hair. Big bad hero likes to be the big spoon.

"Work," I say with appropriate sheepishness, "Yours to be exact."

The hero chuckles "Now should I be flattered that you don't want me to leave or insulted that your mind is already so functional."

"My mind is always functional"

"I'd say, you fawning over my gear yesterday was pretty cute though"

"I do dabble in this stuff you know"

"I know, we are literally in your room which looks more like a workshop"

"You just don't get feng shuei"

Kaori snorts "Yeah, feng shuei, right. I hope I don't trip over your feng shuei again."

"I told you to watch out for the copper wire. And for a pro hero with an agility quirk you sure are clumsy"

"I was distracted!"

"I took off my shirt" I arch my eyebrow with an appropriately dry reply.

"See!" Kaori's eyes widen innocently.

I chuckle.

Kaori sighs wistfully "And I would love to 'see' again, very much so, but I guess I have to go to work."

"You guess? Stop being lazy and go" I grin.

"Mean" Kaori pouted but got out of bed with a smile.

The hero goes for my shower, grabbing the duffle bag with her costume. It's a pretty good costume with some nicely made gear, and she has a robo-glaive! Very RWBY. I studied it in detail and with my Skills and Class I am sure I can recreate it without too many issues. Though, I would go for a stronger alloy in…

"This is your science face, thinking again?" Kaori asks, having returned pretty quickly. Or maybe I was just lost in thought about building her weapon for myself.

"Mhhm" I nod happily, burrowing myself deeper into the covers.

"Cute" the hero bends to give me a kiss, "I have to go. I'm on patrol tonight and the next two days but I should be free for lunch sometime?"

"Sure, we'll text" I smile, shrugging would be just impolite. I have a lot of stuff to do and Kaori is way secondary to them.

"Be careful if you go out" Kaori reminds with a light frown.

"You'll catch that vampire soon" I reassure.

"We will. We actually have a briefing today about him, try some new strategies"

"I feel safer already" I smile, mentally making a reminder to scan her for which strategies are those. After all, at least half the reason I am dating her is the information she gets. I'm already up to 16 vampire drains and law-enforcement is getting frantic.

"Bye" Kaori gives me another smile and leaves. I hear a "Bye, Hisa-san!" and the thump of the door, letting me know the hero has left. Time to do some villainy then. After breakfast though.

"Mornin" Hisa greets me with a yawn, "Cereal?"

"I'll think I'm make myself something a little more filling" I hum, eager to start the day and work on my armor project. I recently acquired some goodies so I can definitely make some progress.

"Suit yourself"

Hisa clearly isn't wholly awake yet, for such a peppy person she really isn't all that usable in the morning. I used to be that way too but Gamer fixed me up. Now I even exercise in the morning, quite vigorously, especially since I'm so close to getting a 100 in VIT. I only need two points in it now to get my Perk. I expect it to be double Health regen to go with the Mana one from WIS, which will sure come in handy. My CHA Perk is getting real close too. I'm quite curious what that one will be. The STR threshold is still far but with Engineer on I managed to get my INT to easily climb over 200 which also gave me a Perk – Spellslinger, which increases range of all my INT-based attacks.

I've been here in BokuHero a full month and I have to say that I am overall satisfied with my progress. I'm not god tier or anything but honestly that would've been boring. I don't usually play games on 'easy' after all.

Another thing has enhanced my feeling of progress and that is my Quests that have finally started showing up. So far nothing overly important, they are just about the goals that I have set on myself. I had a quest about my thieving expeditions for example. It's a chain quest wanting more and more stolen blueprints, tools and materials. Similarly, another quest wants me to manufacture a whole new set of armor by myself. Both things I very much wanted to do anyway, only now I get bonus exp when I fulfill them. Some Credits too, even conventional money. For someone who doesn't have normal work, it's a nice bonus to my already cushy cash reserve built out of dungeon drops.

That armor is my current project. I already have the gauntlets, plate and a half-finished helmet. I don't really know how to qualify something for a 'set' but so far everything has the label of 'Mk IV Power Armor' so it should work despite the different pieces having different functions. Right now I am focusing on enhancing my Stats rather than give it any Skill or ability - STR for the gauntlets, VIT for the plate, stuff like that. It's actually quite fun figuring out, the stolen blueprints helped a lot though.

"You fiddling with your machines today?" Hisa asks, starting to go back to normal human via a gregarious application of coffee.

"Correcto"

"You're been working on them really hard recently, got inspired?"

I chuckle and truthfully nod "I have lots of ideas."

"Kaori-san let you inspect her robo-glaive?"

"Why are you trying to make it sound dirty?"

"I'm not!" Hisa defends with a very not believable snort, "Just that inspecting her weapon…"

"You keep using the same tone" I roll my eyes despite my amusement, "The winking doesn't help."

"I meant that totally innocently"

"I'm sure"

Hisa's face got positively wicked "Besides, if I were to make it dirty I would assign that robo-glaive to you. You can't fool me, Kaori-san might be a strong pro-hero, but I know who calls the shots."

"And that's right" I nod imperiously. Of course it is, Kaori is hopelessly under my [Influence] and my Gamer-provided stunning body is doing the rest.

Hisa laughs heartily and gets up to get more coffee. And if I know her, sneak some kind of chocolaty snack too. Which will be followed with more discussion of my love life. Pity though, Hisa is a huge romantic while I pretty much chose Kaori because of her investigator status.

Though if one squints and keeps silent about the serial killer angle, the meet-cute was not the worst. Ever since the taskforce to catch me was established I kept an eye on it, duh, and I was Observing any and all heroes and police officers that had a connection to them. Which basically means I have been camping in a café nearby with my [Observe] active. Nothing overly suspicious, I think. Still, Kaori did notice my staring and interpreted it another way. Not the murderer scoping up the competition but in an interested sense. She immediately smiled at me and sauntered over. All cocky and flirty. Naturally I flirted back, I finding it supremely funny that she was tasked to catch me and here she was trying to charm me. I charmed her right back and now I can deep scan her any time I want to get my info. And, more importantly, I have a girlfriend with an epic body. Epic. All that hero work makes you quite ripped and very much flexible it seems. And the 'I'm the villain you're looking for' thing has still not stopped being funny.

Naturally, my spree continues without impediment. I'm actually going prowling again soon – almost pity that the two Skills I'm doing it for, [Stat Thief] and [Mind Thief], kill the victim as I didn't get to try out my new toy on a non-dungeon character. You see, killing a bunch of what System called 'perfectly innocent people', unlocked another achievement – Serial Killer. And that one awarded me with [Serrated Dagger]. The dagger is an awesome dexterity-scaled weapon, and it inflicts [Bleeding] to boot. By DEX-scaled I mean that it always inflicts six times the amount of my Dexterity. Unfortunately only to a max of 1000 dmg. Still, a terrific starter weapon. A few quick jabs and pretty much anyone who isn't a hero, or otherwise has high HP, is down for the count.

I kinda get the feeling the dagger is meant for a more fantasy, or medieval world. It fits the aesthetic and generally there is much more fighting with weapons. Over here only a few heroes have weapons, mostly relying on their innate talents and quirks. For all that I am a mage, I like weapons. Really, really do. Epic-looking sword and armor? Yes, please.

And as the dungeons weren't the gear bonanza I expected, I have to build that epic-looking stuff myself. And we're back to Engineer Class. And I fully expect that sooner or later I will be taking the other Production Classes too. After all, stuff you build yourself is innately customized to you and your needs. It will probably not be as strong, but it will definitely beat any 'uncommon' tiered loot. Well, once I advance in level of course.

Which is something I'm going to do right now. I load my plate into the dishwasher and then take a small detour over to the fridge. Gotta keep hydrated all through work of course. With my bottled tea in hand I wave to a much more awake Hisa and retire back to my room.

There is tinkering to be done!

I don't usually jog, especially not in the real world as opposite to a dungeon, but it is a good way to not only lightly train but mostly do reconnaissance. My vampire raids are getting harder and I stayed on top of it only thanks to a perception quirk I had to hunt down. I'm still not satisfied with it, I'm sure I can do better. I actually have an eye on a pro-hero with one such quirk, one they brought from a prefecture over specifically to find me… Is it stupid? Kinda. Am I going to kill him and drain his Skill? Hell yeah. I already have a plan involving poison and not being anywhere in his vicinity. He has 'Radar' as his quirk, pretty impressive range too. I already know where to find him, I only need to work out some kinks in my plan and to wait a little – I don't want to give away that I have a source on the Vampire Taskforce.

Fun fact, I was deemed a B-rank threat, sight unseen. I might actually complete my quest without even doing anything flashy. But probably not, A-rank is for the real heavy-hitters. Though if the famous vampire were to attack, say the Sports Festival of the U.A…. Do an impressive enough showing and I might get promoted to A-rank, fulfilling my obligations to this World.

But that is months away. The entrance exams to U.A., the ones that Midoriya participates in, are in a little under nine months and the Sports Festival is about half-a-year after that? Lots of time to make myself stronger, better equipped, and to come up with something truly A-rank-worthy.

Speaking of Midoriya, he is the third reason for my jogging. Him and his mentor, All Might. Here they are, cleaning up the beach just as the anime depicted. The green-haired boy is still a weakling, but All Might, even though injured and far from his peak form, is a monster. Yeah, I'm not going anywhere near him. He would crush me in melee like a grape. With him I would need to keep my distance and stall for time to let his power fade. Or attack him mentally somehow. Hm… But that is plan B and onwards, plan A is still very much 'not be around him at all'.

Better be prepared though so I engage my rather impressive 259 INT as I jog away. And that is not counting the [Bone Circlet] that gives me additional fifteen. I have yet to replicate that in my armor – so far the highest I managed was a +10 boost. But my Engineer Skills have room to grow yet, I definitely aim to max them. Besides, Stat boosts are only one facet of what I can do with my creations. Now that my Mk VII armor is finished, it is time for MK VIII, this one focused on much more than just pure enhancement in Stats.

Hmm, maybe I also could sell some of my lower-tiered stuff. Good gear is expensive and I would be willing to undercut the price a little, provided it was no questions asked.

Methinks it's time to find some villains.

I'm already using [Telepathy] and [Observe] to survey people as potential victims, now I'll just add 'connected to underground market' to the shopping list. I could take commissions too, I'm sure the villains will have good ideas about gear that I might want to add to my own.

Luck? Luuuck? Be nice to me~~ You are 44,1 with all the boosts now, I want to find a villain~~~ Still, it is kinda funny that I got a +5 boost to LCK from an omamori, a charm bought at a temple. Hisa bought it for me, a prayer of protection against the Vampire Villain. Precious.

Another jogger crosses me, one going in the opposite direction and then into an alley to my left.

I love you Luck. I love you System.

Are you going to [Deep Scan] him?

'Indeed. And then probably kill too, to be sure. And he looks buff anyway.'

+1 WIS

'Thank you for your approval' I chuckle out loud and set to follow my new target. I love that System isn't judging.

I adapt to the host. It is how I can create suitable quests

'So if I say, wanted to conquest this world, I'd get a quest for it?'

Yes

Do you want to?

'Nah, too much trouble and not enough interest on my part. I will probably do some conquering at some point, but not here. In some nicer world, one I will want to stay in more long term.'

Interesting

'We'll see what my next World selection will be. Right now in BokuHero I am just to get strong quick. And maybe get some more Credits in the bank for later selections.'

I'd recommend more questing

I chuckle again, 'Indeed. Which is exactly what my little friend here might just help provide…'

"Money, money, money, must be funny… in a rich man's world. Money, money, money…"

Perhaps you could steal yourself the [Singing] Skill

"Always sunny…" I sigh, "You know, System, that was just mean."

Merely stating the truth

"It's not that bad" I frown. Just to prove my point I take it again from the top. "I work all night, I work all day to pay the bills I have to pay. Ain't it sad. And still there never seems to be a single penny…"

[Quest Alert!]

Rescue Operation: Ears!

Objective: Finish your shower

Award: Skill Book [Singing], +5 Credits

I stop washing my hair "Really!?"

You like Credits, don't you

"This is like, manipulation! I can sing dammit!"

What are you going to do, never ever finish your shower?

"I can have the Skill Book and never use it"