A/N: Again, thanks for the reviews. They sustain me. To those of you who gave encouraging words and recommended other works for me to see, thank you guys especially. Even though I don't know where to legally watch Kenichi and NEEDLESS. Just saying, this is, in my opinion, the part where this story is going to start picking up. Also please just pretend that all the math checks out. It'd be way too annoying to calculate the exact HP and MP Izuku should have based on actual math... Did I mention that I hate math? In hindsight, this was kind of a bad fanfic for me to decide to write considering how much I don't like math... too late now! (In all seriousness, though, if any of you could figure out an actual formula for me to use when calculating HP and MP and stuff, that'd make my job SO much easier and I'd be really grateful.)

Shout out to Ryuuji's The Games We Play! Again, go read it if you haven't.

xoxoxo

The next breakthrough came about three months later.

I continued to grind my mental stats and any skills I could without making too much noise in the dead of night. Turns out that part of Gamer's Mind is apparently the ability to stay up all night long without needing to sleep, which was very useful. That night, I was doing some antiderivatives in my head when I heard two pings.

Through rigorous studying, your INT has increased by one!

The skill 'Mana Affinity' has been created through INT rising above 50.

Mana Affinity (Passive) LV1 EXP 0.00%

Mana. A mysterious power that allows people to do extraordinary things. This skill increases the user's sensitivity and control with that power, granting them an affinity with mana.

10% increase in mana recovery rate.

5% increase in total MP.

5% increase to magic attack.

5% increase to magic defense.

30% increase to MP-related skill effects.

I blinked. Then, I slowly got up and silently did the "You Got The Thing!" pose from Zelda. "Dah-dah-dah-daaaaaaaah," I whispered. That was a game-changer. If I got a skill like that for increasing every stat past fifty, and perhaps even other intervals, then that would be very, very useful. I brought up my stats.

Name: Midoriya Izuku

Title: The Gamer

Level: 6

HP: 1550/1550

MP: 2100/2100

STR: 32

VIT: 36

DEX: 34

INT: 51

WIS: 45

LUK: 30

POINTS: 5

MONEY: 0 Yen

SKILL FRAGMENTS: 3500

Definitely something to look forward to. It looked like I had to get the stats above fifty, and not just at fifty. I noted that my WIS was already approaching fifty. I'd ended up using Meditation a lot, seeing as it restored my HP and MP and I could use it anywhere that I needed to wait without drawing too much attention. I decided to just grind WIS at every possible opportunity until I passed fifty. I closed my eyes and began meditating.

A few days of Meditation grinding later, I finally got it.

The skill 'Nature Affinity' has been created through rising WIS above 50.

Nature Affinity (Passive) LV1 EXP 0.00%

The power of the forces of is nature great. The wrath of nature has leveled cities and decimated towns. This skill increases the user's sensitivity and control over those forces, granting them an affinity with the elements.

25% increase to mana recovery rate.

10% increase to elemental attack.

10% increase to elemental defense.

50% increase to element-related skill effects.

I grinned. Sure, I didn't as of that moment have any elemental skills, but I knew I could get some. In fact, I decided to do just that the next day.

xoxoxo

Despite how tiring it was, those long days I spent training with All Might and Kacchan became precious memories to me. Not only was I receiving help from All Might, but I was finally getting to be close to Kacchan again. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed having him as a friend until I got him back. Sure, he was... abrasive... but you could see how much he really cared if you looked closely enough.

The thing that I loved the most about those training days, however, was that I could finally use my Quirk. True to his words, All Might showed off his teaching license and had us sign some forms that said that he'd be officially tutoring us to use our Quirks the ten months before the entrance exam. With that, we were allowed to use our Quirks on the beach so long as he was around and we didn't use our Quirks on anyone that wasn't part of the training.

Kacchan came flying towards me, sparking palm facing me. "DIIIIIIE!" he screamed. His explosion, however, was blocked by a blue barrier that shimmered into existence around me. It shattered, but not before protecting me from all of the damage. "I still think that that's fucking annoying, by the way," he said as he landed back on the ground.

Mana Dome (Active) LV 28 EXP 32.95% MP 45

A spherical barrier made of mana used to protect the user.

Protects against some damage.

Additional 45 MP used per minute.

A useful skill that I'd managed to puzzle out early on from seeing its description in the Skill Grimoir, which I'd been grateful for because I hadn't had to spend Skill Fragments on it. "If it works, it works," I told him, then adjusted my srance. "Now come at me."

"AND FUCKING HOW!" He blast-propelled himself at me, firing a second blast in just his right hand to make him spin for a punch. It would've been a good move... had a small sheet of mana slightly thicker than my Mana Dome not appeared in front of my blocking arm. "FUCK!"

Mana Shield (Active) LV 24 EXP 98.67%

An adaptation of Mana Dome that forsakes full-body protection for efficiency and increased durability.

Has higher durability than Mana Dome.

50 MP used per square meter of shield per minute.

"Again, if it works, it works," I repeated with a cocky grin. This caused him to scream psychotically and charge at me. Kacchan was still so easy to rile up. He threw more of those enhanced punches, and I blocked each one. I then shot a blue rope of mana at him, which bound around his body.

Bind (Active) LV 13 EXP 5.45% MP 5

A skill to tie an enemy with a rope made of mana. Can only be used by those who have a talent in manipulating mana.

I'd made the skill after making a sort of rope with my mana and using it to tie up Kacchan in a spar. Actually, I got a skill called Mana Rope first, but using it to tie up Kacchan gave me a skill called Bind. "You still have too much of a temper, Kacchan. That won't be too good for hero work, even if you've been improving a lot," I said as I snapped my fingers. The Bind dissolved on cue.

Name: Bakugou Katsuki

Title: Lord Explosion Murder

Level: 21

HP: 2800/2800

MP: 1750/1750

STR: 42

VIT: 46

DEX: 55

INT: 37

WIS: 25

LUC: 14

Quirk: Explosion

Emotions: Angry

Fire Affinity: 50

His stats were coming along nicely. I'd noticed that I could see a thing that said fire affinity in his stat screen after I got Nature Affinity, probably from being more sensitive to the elements. "Shut the fuck up, Deku. You of all people don't get to say anything about what is or isn't good for hero work. Now heal me, my fists feel like I just got in a boxing match with a brick wall." I sighed and walked over to put my glowing green hands on his, causing a similar glow to spread to his hands as the bruises faded.

Healing Hands (Active) LV 3 EXP 54.86% MP 50

The power of a charitable soul to channel mana into a target's body to heal them.

55 HP restored, removes minor illnesses, debuffs, and negative conditions.

The second skill that I actually spent fragments on. It'd cost me 1500 and needed me to have 55 WIS before I could get it, but it seemed like it'd be worth it at higher levels. Or I could just spam. I'd immediately tested to see what it'd do to All Might when I got it. Unfortunately, it was nowhere near the level needed to come even close to restoring him to his former glory, but he told me that he felt better and the skill got EXP off of it, so that was a plus. I'd ended up regularly using it on him as grinding.

"Thanks," Kacchan grumbled. "Now let's move on to regular old hand-to-hand."

"Though seriously, why do you know martial arts?" I asked.

"Hey, fuck you, man! Quirk Fist is a good discipline! All the kata are adaptable enough to be used in conjunction with Quirks and it teaches you the kind lateral thinking needed to use Quirks in combat! You've seen my moves! And I've already seen you improve since you started! Now get in your stance!" And so it continued.

xoxoxo

After a long day of sparring and the leveling up of multiple martial arts-related skills (as well as Physical Endurance), I walked over to All Might. "I've decided how I want to spend the rest of my Skill Fragments," I told him as I healed him.

"Very good, young Midoriya! What are you going to get?" he asked, then handed me the Skill Grimoir. I opened to book to one of the bookmarks that All Might had placed.

Summon Basic Elemental (Active) Skill Fragments: 2000

Long ago, man learned of the power of nature and learned to harness it. Some learned to not only harness nature's power, but give it life of its own and summon it at will.

Elemental's power dependent on skill level, WIS, and elemental affinity.

"I'm pretty sure that the ability to make elementals could be really useful, at least from what the skill says," I said. "I'm still not sure why the skill's at such a low price, but I'm not really complaining." I placed my hand on the skill.

You are attempting to buy the skill 'Summon Basic Elemental.' This will cost you 2000 Skill Fragments. Confirm purchase?

I hit the "yes" button. As with the other skills, the words turned into light and flew into me. I frowned. "What's wrong, young Midoriya?"

"What's Deku working on?" Kacchan came up and asked, sipping his water bottle.

"The elemental summoning one," I told him. "It looks like summoning an elemental for the first time is a lot more complex than just using the skill. There's a whole ritual that I have to do get a contract with an elemental."

"Well then let's get started," Kacchan said. "Can't be too hard."

I looked up at the sky. "Yeah, but I can also tell that the ritual will make me unconscious for several hours, and it's getting late. I'd rather not worry my mom by coming home super late."

"Okay, so let's go do it at your house. That way your mom knows where you are."

I thought about it. "Okay. I take it you want to watch?"

He shrugged. Eh, why not? I don't have anything better to do." As we walked home he asked me, "Hey, Deku. What does that elemental-summoning skill even do?"

"I can summon elemental... magic things, I guess... that can control whatever element they're tied to. If I have more than one type of elemental, then for the moment I'd only be able to have one active, though that'll change as the skill levels up."

"So you can make multiple?"

"Yeah, but I have to have an affinity for whatever element I'm using. I gained a skill called Elemental Affinity that gives me bonuses to using elemental powers and other stuff, which allowed me to make an affinity that I can use for it. Actually, my Observe tells me that you have a fire affinity that's five times as high as my affinity."

He scoffed. "Well no shit. I've got a violently pyrogenic Quirk. I'd need it to not blow my hands off. Probably." He was silent for a few seconds, then said, "I've been meaning to ask, a lot of your skills, the way their descriptions read, it almost seems to imply that other people can use your skills."

"Did you read my Gamer journal?" I asked him. "How did you even read my journal? I've kept it in my inventory except for the times I wanted to read or write in it."

"I looked over your shoulder while you read from it a few times, dummy. It's actually a really interesting read. What, didya think I snuck in while you slept and somehow got you to open your inventory and take out your journal in your sleep?"

"That wouldn't work," I told him, then sneakily snuck my journal out of my inventory without anyone seeing. "Though if you want to read my journal you could just ask."

He happily took the journal and started looking through it. "Thanks, but you didn't answer my original question. What the fuck is up with your skills?"

"I honestly don't get it. It... seems like it. Heck, the Summon Basic Elemental ritual has a mention of a contract from ages past, so who knows."

He nodded, then turned the page. "What does it feel like to use mana, then? Maybe it feels different from using a Quirk. Or similar. Or whatever."

I thought about it for a while. "It feels like taking from a well of power, then directing it in the way I need to. When I use the skills, though, it feels like the power is being directed in the way it's supposed to go. If I concentrate enough, though, I can... 'divert' the 'flow' to do something else."

"Huh," he said, then looked at his hand. "That's kinda what Explosion feels like, but it only ever goes to my hands. Weird."

"Hey, are you done with my book? I'd like to put an entry in for Summon Basic Elemental." He grumbled but handed my book over. I began writing the entry down with a pencil that I snuck out of my inventory.

"So what Elemental are you getting?" he asked.

"Huh?"

Kacchan scoffed. "You can only get one at a time, so I'm guessing you're only going to get one, even if you could probably get more."

I smiled and put my finger on my lips. "It's a surprise, Kacchan."

"It's earth or air isn't it?"

I stared at him for a second, then cleared my throat and said, "I will neither confirm nor deny your theory, but what makes you think that?"

"You said that your INT and WIS are both over fifty by now, so you're probably smart enough to know to start out with an elemental that you've always got material to work with. Sure, you could totally figure out some sort of fireball spell, but that'd be more MP used for something less versatile, so that's something you're gonna save 'til later. The only options that you're going to have a lot of are air, which if you don't have it then everyone's dead, and earth, which probably includes rocks, minerals, and maybe even refined metals. Both are more readily accessible than fire and water. Of course, if there're more elements than the four classic ones, then maybe element five is also a good option, so I don't know." Wow, he was putting his high INT score to work.

"I thought about making a cheese elemental, but I didn't think it'd be that gouda," I replied.

"Deku I swear to God."

"We're here," I said. We'd just walked up to my house. "Let's eat dinner before I do the ritual."

Mom was happy to have Kacchan over for dinner. "I'm glad to see you boys getting along after so long," she said as she set curry on the table. "If you don't mind me asking, why did you come here today, Katsuki-kun?"

Kacchan grinned. "Deku's gonna do some sort of magic thing and I wanted to watch." Mom looked at me for answers.

"I got a skill called Summon Basic Elemental that lets me use things called elementals to control the four classical elements. To use it, however, I have to perform a ritual that works as a sort of 'contract' with the elemental, and that might make me fall asleep."

"Oh," Mom said. "Okay... I guess that's okay, just brush your teeth before you do it. Also, you wouldn't mind if I watched, would you?"

"No, go right ahead," I said.

Later, after I brushed my teeth and Mom and Kacchan joined me in the living room, I laid my journal on the table and opened it up to the page on Summon Basic Elemental... or rather, the second and third pages, which were occupied almost completely by the summoning circle needed to perform the ritual. Two concentric circles, one only slightly smaller than the other, and with a five-pointed star in them positioned so that the points were all on the outer circle. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the air around me, how it felt...

Air Affinity: 10

...and on my new air affinity. "I, Midoriya Izuku, call upon the ancient contract of ages past to summon thee," I chanted, blushing at the way it was worded. Kacchan snickered. "I hope you heed my call. Come, Air Elemental!"

"Fucking called it!" Kacchan yelled. Something in the air stirred. Despite the fact that we were indoors, the wind began to pick up. It all swirled into the center of the circle, forming a miniature tornado. The tornado collapsed in on itself, the air solidifying into the form of a young boy with blue robes and short hair and wings that looked like they were made of varying types of cloud. Kacchan started laughing hysterically. "HAHAHAHAHA! HE'S FUCKING TINY!" The boy was also small enough that I could hold him in the palm of my hand. Despite his small stature, I could feel a powerful presence coming from him. He looked at me with piercing blue eyes, making me feel like I was staring into the sky.

"I'll begin in accordance with the ancient rituals. My real name is Midoriya Izuku. You have heard my true name; please tell me yours." As soon as I finished sayning it, I felt myself pull apart, scattering into millions of pieces. I flew away, soaring over hills, mountains, valleys, and even oceans. I was no longer bound to a material form. I was free to go wherever I wanted, even if it meant everywhere. I was as free as the wind!

I was the wind.

I saw the living room again, except I was gone, replaced by a swirling hurricane in human shape. As I watched, the hurricane dissipated, leaving nothing behind.

And then I was back to normal. The air elemental was sitting on my hand. "I am here," he said. "My name is Halitus. You are Midoriya Izuku?"

"Yes."

"We are one, as the ancient contract dictates."

"Our souls are one."

"I am Halitus."

"I am Midoriya Izuku."

"Until our souls meet their ends," he started to say.

"We will be forever one," I finished with a feeling of awe.

"Should you ever need wind beneath your wings, call upon my power," he said with a bow, then dissolved into the air... or back to the air.

"...Okay," I said, and then felt like I was falling as everything went black.

That night, I dreamt of a gigantic storm, ravaging the whole world.

xoxoxo

Katsuki stared at the book sitting on his desk. "This thing might as well be a fucking spellbook with how much detail Izuku put into it." He flipped through a few more pages, soaking in all the knowledge that was present. "Fuck, this thing is a spellbook." He closed it. Ever since Deku had said described his mana, he'd been curious. He closed his eyes, concentrating on the power that lay within him. He'd drawn upon it so many times, using it to ignite the sweat on his hands and amplify the blasts. He'd never questioned it. It was just what his Quirk felt like. But now, now he had a theory. He drew upon the energy, but this time he didn't let it follow the path it normally took when he used his Quirk. It took a few tries, but he managed to make it rise to his hand without interacting with his sweat. He opened his eyes. A blue glow was emanating from his right hand. He laughed. "Deku was right," he muttered to himself. He concentrated, and the mana consolidated into a small ball hovering above his hand. He thought for a moment, then concentrated on fire. What it felt like, what it looked like. He looked at the ball of mana and tried to combine it with the fire in his mind. The mana responded to his thoughts, changing from glowing blue energy to a ball if fire. Katsuki grinned. With his free hand, he opened the book back up to the page Deku had used earlier, the one with the magic circle on it. Deku, for whatever fucking reason, had even included the incantation needed to call the elemental. Not that Katsuki was complaining. He placed his right hand on the center. "I, Bakugou Katsuki, call upon the contract of ages past to summon thee," he intoned. He'd probably have been a little bit embarrassed by having to say that if any people were around to watch him. Though, at the same time, the fact that he knew it was going to work really helped. "I hope you heed my call. Come, Fire Elemental." The fireball in his hand shifted, then began to change. It shrank down on itself, transforming into the shape of a young girl that could easily fit in Katsuki's palm. The girl had long, flame-colored hair that flowed down her back and glowed softly, with two pointed, yellow-furred ears of some sort of animal poking out the top. She had a yellow sundress with highlighting of similar coloring and glow to her hair, and, for whatever reason, she also had a tail made of fire. The girl looked at him with glowing, fire-colored eyes that made Katsuki feel like he was staring into a roaring inferno. He gulped. "I'll begin in accordance with the ancient rites. My real name is Bakugou Katsuki. I have told you my true name; please tell me yours." He felt himself begin to burn up, but it didn't hurt at all. He didn't become consumed by the fire but became it. He raged and raged and destroyed everything in his path. Entire forests were burnt to a crisp by him. He was fire itself. He saw himself, but he was made of white-hot flames.

And then he was back to normal. The fire elemental was exactly where she was before. "I am here," she said. "My name is Pyra. You are Bakugou Katsuki?"

"Yes."

"We are one, as the ancient contract dictates."

"Our souls are one."

"I am Pyra."

"I am Bakugou Katsuki."

"Until our souls meet their ends," she started to say.

"We will be forever one," Katsuki answered quietly.

"Should you ever need me to light your way, you need only call," she told him with a curtsy, then vanished in a burst of fire.

"Damn right I will," Katuki solemnly swore. He got up, then staggered. He didn't immediately pass out like Deku did, but he felt fucking drained. "Fuck that hits hard," he griped. "But why the hell didn't I wipe out like Deku?" He closed the journal, turned off his light, then went to bed.

That night he dreamt of a titanic monster of fire burning all that was in its path.

xoxoxo

A/N: Oh, snap! Sorry for the repetition, but I felt like elemental summoning is something to savor. Anyone who figures out what the designs of the elementals are supposed to be gets ten points, by the way. I was going to make this chapter a little longer, but I felt like that last bit was excellent cliffhanger material, so here we are! Don't worry, next chapter will be longer. Hopefully. As always, I'd like to say that I'm always open to constructive criticism. Also, if anyone would like to suggest skills, I'm definitely going to include any suggestions that I like enough, so do that if you want. Thanks for reading!