I'm using [ ] for inner monologue as well as some game terms.

It was a hot afternoon, and the classroom's emptiness clearly reflected that. There were supposed to be 150 students in this class, but only a meager 20 had bothered to show up. It was to be expected, this is college after all. In truth, even the professor didn't really want to be there. Lectures are a pain, even more so if you're the one giving them.

Izuku loved his profession, and he loved helping people. But after having done this time and time again, he did eventually grow tired of it. For him, there was nothing challenging about it. And his students didn't even really pay attention anymore, they were much too busy talking amongst themselves.

From the corner of his eye he peeked at the clock, 14:23. A bit before time, but they were ahead anyway, no harm in ending a little early.

"All right, for next week I want you all to read page 171-184. Class dismissed."

As Izuku took a seat at his desk, the class leisurely made their way towards the exit. All passed by him, but only some wished him a good weekend, others paid him no attention as they continued with their conversations.

From where he sat he could clearly hear them, and although he usually didn't care for their chat, one group suddenly caught his attention.

"It's this old fantasy dmmorpg 'Myths and Magic' that recently came back online, we all joined a party together. You want in?"

[''Myths and Magic, is it actually back?]

D.M.M.O.R.P.G

Dive massive multiplayer online role playing game, an mmorpg using dive technology.

They had been all the hype not too long ago, but after the inevitable accidents had occurred more and more safety regulations were put into place. costs rose drastically, and the dive video game market became unsustainable. Games like ''Myths and Magic' had been forced to close down their servers, but now it was apparently back.

[ I wonder if they've reset older accounts, it seems logical they'd want to appeal to a new player base. But, it would really suck if I had to start all over.]

[ Wait, what am I saying? Should I really go back?]

He'd be lying if he said he didn't want to, but his past with the game was complicated.

He decided it'd be best to take his mind off it, but as he made his way home, prepared dinner, ate said dinner and tried to correct some tests. All he could think about was the game, the past he had in it, what its current state was and what he could still get out of it.

Until later that evening he finally gave in, he sat down at his computer and googled for ''Myths and Magic. Nearly instantly, he was met with several news articles

"'Myths and Magic, biggest dmmorpg to date back online" 4 days ago

"'Myths and Magic, all you need to know" 4 days ago

"'Myths and Magic, guide for newbies" 2 days ago

[I guess it really is back]

Not much later he found himself on their Youtube channel. They'd uploaded a few new videos recently, a new trailer as well as some explanations on the game's mechanics.

After teasing himself like this for quite some time, he eventually came to the long-predetermined outcome to get his nerve gear back out. He laid down on his bed, put on the gear, and dove in.

His 'menu world' was almost empty, considering he'd only ever really played ''Myths and Magic'. It was a bright white, completely flat landscape with a few flying titles in the air.

With a simple gesture he activated the game, and as expected was met with a screen saying:

Myths and Magic

Please extend your membership

15.99 per month

there were no options for a larger plan, nor for a smaller one. So, Izuku had no choice but to go in for a full month.

Once inside he was pleasantly surprised to find out his old account had indeed been saved, and the servers had been maintained.

He was spawned back into his old main base, the rock of eternity. Which was apparently where he had last logged out.

He opened his profile and saw his levels, stats, items etc. where still there as well.

[Green Gust]

[level 184]

[Divine mage lvl 14]

….

Champion's blessing [active]

…..

[ God, all the sleepless nights I spend obtaining those.}

he chuckled to himself, and went to check on his items next.

Equipped:

[Lunar circlet]

[U.A crest]

[ Ring of Aether]

[ Dagger of Nhoden]

…..

It sure had been a while.

He started making his way to the balcony, he wanted to see the outside.

On his way there he came past the great hall, before its doors still stood the npcs he had positioned there. They bore a striking resemblance to his old comrades, both in terms of their build and appearance. Of course, he had never meant to replace them, but not everyone had seen it that way. Seeing them hurt.

He made his way past many unpleasant memories, but eventually he arrived at the balcony. It was huge, more of an entire section than just a balcony really. As he opened the doors, a gust of wind blew up his robes for a moment.

Their castle had in accordance with myth, been build atop a mountain. Except there was no mountain, just the peak of one, located higher than any other base on the server. It was a magnificent castle, flying entirely on its own, connected only to two huge rocks on either side of it. Relatively small, but beautiful and nearly entirely impregnable. It was the only base that truly stood above the clouds, the Olympus to Myths and Magic's gods.

The skies were just as beautiful as ever, no even more than before. And from his point of view he could now clearly see the central plaza, adorned with statues of all his old guild mates. They stood in a circle, and were each about 12 meters high. What amazing things they had accomplished, and what a journey it had been…

And that's a wrap, kind of short even for just a set-up I know. But I hope you all enjoyed regardless. You probably noticed I left out quite a few details, that's because I intend to go for a sort of flashback type of story. With Flashbacks, appropriate to the present story and with quite lengthy time skips. If you liked it or have any thoughts/questions/suggestions or feedback, please let me know, I'd love to see it.