[You have had a proper meal and a good night's sleep. Health and Energy fully restored.]
I waved away the message, having gotten used to it. Almost every night I was down a little Health and a lot of Energy from the day's training. Especially on the weekends, and today was Monday. The last Monday in June, meaning summer vacation was just around the corner.
The second message that immediately popped up was far less common.
[Quest Alert
Dual Duel
Test both your training, and your friendship with Tsuyu Asui, by challenging her to a race, and winning.
Rewards:
+1 level to all skills used in the race
1 bonus talent point
Failure Penalties:
None
Time Limit: 13 Days
(Accept) (Decline)]
I almost hit 'Decline'. No matter how much better I had gotten, Asui was still a lot faster and stronger than me. I hadn't seen her attributes, but it wouldn't have surprised me to find out they were two or even three times higher than mine.
Beyond that, the way it was worded made me nervous. 'Test your friendship', what did that mean? Would she be angry if I won? Tsuyu didn't seem like that sort of person. Given I hadn't really won at anything against her yet, I couldn't be sure. Or maybe it was the other way; if I challenged her and lost, would she be disappointed? I was pretty sure she would be upset if I held back, but other than pulling her back with my TK, there wasn't much chance of that.
I finally hit 'Accept', and then hopped out of bed.
"Good morning, Izuku," Mom said as I walked into the kitchen.
"Good morning, Mom," I responded.
"Anything special on the agenda for today?" she asked, setting bowls of rice and miso soup, and a plate of sausages on the table for me.
"Test results in school," I reminded her, "Hopefully I'll make number two in our grade and number one in our class. Then training like normal. Though I did get a Quest this morning to challenge Tsuyu-chan to a race and win by a week from this Sunday."
"Do you think you can do it?" Mom asked, "You said she is still a lot faster and more maneuverable than you are."
"There's no penalty, so it doesn't hurt to try," I told her, "And I have been wondering it I've been trying hard enough. This might just give me the push I need."
"Alright," she said evenly, "Just don't get either of you hurt doing this. Also, I'm going to be busy today, how does pizza sound for dinner?"
"Sure, sounds good," I told her, then offered the traditional benediction, "Thank you for the meal."
I had brushed my teeth using TK to apply the toothpaste and hold the brush. Since I couldn't use telekinesis while training with Asui, I needed to find ways to use it around the apartment. Brushing was a good way to practice fine movements. It netted me a level in both skills, so I must have done a pretty good job.
After lunch they posted the test results, and I was pleased to have made second. Mizuno-san was number one as always, scoring perfect, or sometimes better. She never checked the scores, so I had never met her. I guess I couldn't even be sure 'she' was correct, 'she' could have been a boy with a feminine name, which might explain why 'she' never checked the board.
Smiling slightly, I turned to head back to class. Only for a hand to grab my shoulder.
"Don't think you can get away with this, you worthless, Quirkless nerd," long-fingers snarled at me, "Just because Bakugou-kun is gone, doesn't mean you can take his place."
Technically, I knew his name back then, even if I forgot it before I graduated high school. But none of Kacchan's cronies deserve that level of recognition.
I was tempted to point out that I had always been in third or fourth place, and the only reason Kacchan was always number two was because of his exceptional grade in physical education. Grades I was now getting close to meeting.
Instead I got angry.
"What do you care?" I countered, knocking his hand off, "You weren't his real friend. You just wanted to coast on his popularity. You didn't even come to his funeral."
That got a few gasps, and also more than a few chagrined looks. Most of them were also guilty of that, and they knew it.
"Why you piece of..."
Long-fingers tried to punch me, but I casually slipped out of the way. His fingers extended all the way, making his fist even larger and he tried again. Between my karate and dodge skills, and increased attributes, it was easy to avoid him. Part of me wanted to block, or even trip him. But he wasn't worth it. I didn't want to risk getting in trouble over him. So even as he wound up for a third attack, I turned and walked away.
"Good afternoon, Tsuyu-chan!" I called out jogging from the bus to her.
"Good afternoon, Izuku-kun," she greeted me in kind, "You seem to be in a good mood today."
"Well," I grinned sheepishly, "I made it to the number two spot in my grade at my school today, and when one of the bullies tried to attack me because of it, he couldn't lay a finger on me."
"That does sound like a good day," she nodded, "But only number two? With as smart as you are and the way your Quirk seems to work..."
"No, our school has a genius," I shook my head, "She, or maybe he, I guess, since I don't know this person, has been the best in our grade for all three years of middle school, and is supposedly the top rank in the whole country on mock exams."
"That is impressive," Tsuyu admitted, "In that case I think anyone would be fine with number two."
"Right?" I nodded.
"So what do you want to do today?" she asked me, "Climbing? Or maybe some karate forms?"
We weren't swimming on the weekdays, both due to the more limited time, and because it could get a little chilly in the late afternoon and early evening. Or at least, that was the excuse I gave Asui.
"Actually, I was thinking," I started carefully, "I know you don't want to spar, and I agree. But what about another competition? We may be friends, but we are still rivals right? So we should push each other. At least as much as I can push you at this point."
She went into her customary thinking pose, before prompting, "What did you have in mind?"
"A race," I said, "From the picnic table to the lake. No direct interference, but otherwise no holds barred. First one to dip their toes in the water, wins."
"That could be fun, and a good test of what we've be practicing," she mused, "Sure, why not?"
"And after you beat me," I continued, "Then we can work on forms."
"You don't think you will win?" she asked.
"Not today," I told her, "I'm hoping by Friday, I'll be able to get close."
It turns out that was a bit ambitious.
The first day she beat me by over a minute. By Friday, I had increased my attributes and skills a bit, and learned the best route.
I was still twenty seconds behind her. Not that being behind her didn't have its advantages. I could study how she moved through the terrain. And it gave me something to shoot for.
But after Friday's training and dinner, I sat on my bed, looking up at my Status window.
"I need something more, if I'm going to beat her," I mumbled, "I almost want to Analyze her again, to see if the Skill is high enough yet to show me her Attributes or Skills. But that's not fair or good. Still, what do I have? I have fourteen unspent Attribute points. If I put them all into Quickness? No, that would be too unbalanced. Maybe if I split them between Quickness, Agility, and Endurance? But I didn't want to spend points too early. The higher my stats get, the harder they will be to increase through training, which means it will be better to have the attribute points later."
I looked at Skills, but didn't really see anything new for racing. Though I did remind myself that I should try to unlock Telekinetic Attack, since it was now open.
Of course, the first thing I looked at on the Talents tab was 'Ki Initiate'. It offered four new skills, 'Ki Detection', 'Ki Projection', 'Ki Regeneration', and 'Ki Reinforcement'. That last one was the reason I was considering it again. It would let me use my Energy to temporarily boost physical Attributes. The amount of the boost depended on my level in that Skill level, Determination Attribute, and the number of Ki Talents I had. The Talents also determined how many Attributes I could split the bonus between. Except eight days probably wouldn't give me enough time to improve the Skill or Attribute that much. So it probably wouldn't be enough for me to win with.
There was another Talent that I thought might do it. 'Free Runner' was a physical version of the 'Studious' Talent I had possessed before gaining The Gamer. Per the description, it would increase the rate at which my Agility and Quickness scores improved by 25%, and the same thing for any related Skills. It would give me a chance of growing enough in the next eight days, and would continue to be useful going forward. And if I did complete the Quest, the bonus Talent point would replace the one I spent buying it.
I looked over the list of available Talents again, and even the ones that were not available but also not hidden. And I kept going back to 'Free Runner'. Somehow it just felt right. If I had gotten a message telling me my Intuition improved, I would have bought it immediately. Even with this power, things weren't that cut and dried.
"Argh," I grabbed the side of my head and shook it in frustration, "Fine. I took the quest. I'll just have to go with my gut!"
I reached out and hit the 'Unlock' button under the 'Free Runner' Talent.
[Talent 'Free Runner' acquired.
Agility +3, Quickness +3.]
"Wait, that wasn't in the talent description," I said, "Did I also get bonuses to Wit and Intuition when I subconsciously bought 'Studious'? Will I get Intuition and Charisma bonuses if I buy 'Natural Empath'?"
[Real life is more fluid than a game and doesn't come with a full manual or walkthrough. Intuition +1.]
Okay, that was good to know, I guess.
For now, I needed to focus on how to outrun Tsuyu.
"Today, dodgeball again," our teacher told us. A large portion of the class groaned, and long-fingers and Kacchan's other former cronies looked excited. In fact, long-fingers was glaring specifically at me.
The whistle blew, and most of my classmates scrambled for the five balls. I did not.
"Nowhere to run this time, shitty Deku," long-fingers gloated, he and two friends approaching the middle line. Each was holding one of the four balls their side had recovered. The other members of my team scrambled to the sides of the gym, more than willing to let me take the punishment.
I wish I could say I said something cool or clever. But I just clenched my fists and then uncurled them.
One ball flew straight at my face, despite that being a foul. The second was aimed at my crotch, despite that just being bad form. The third was aimed at my right side, trying to hem me in. The last armed member of their team, while not standing with the bullies, was waiting to counter if I managed to somehow avoid getting knocked out.
I went down on one knee, letting the headshot sail over me. I caught the other two balls one-handed, leaving the bullies gaping. And many of my other classmates, too.
[NICE! Dodge skill improved (lvl 6). Agility +1.]
I rolled one of the balls I had caught to another of my teammates, even as long-finger's allies slunk off the field. I faced him, and he scrambled back. I took aim dead center at his chest. I wound up. I fired...
The ball slipped off my fingers, soared up to almost the rafters, and then dropped easily into long-finger's large and waiting hands.
"Right, still don't have a throwing skill," I mumbled as I jogged off the court.
"Ready, set, go!" we called out in unison. Tsuyu almost instantly took the lead, but I was closer on her heels than any of our previous races.
It was Wednesday. Including today, I only had five days to finish the quest.
We hit the edge of the woods. We both angled north. The southern path was a bit shorter, but their was a fallen tree wedged between two others on the path. And going around, through the brush, would have taken far too long.
Tsuyu cleared a pair of ruts in the path in one bound, while I had to jump over them both individually.
She bounced off a tree when the path curved. It looked impressive, but I grabbed a springy branch to help me take the turn tighter without slowing. That let me close the gap a little.
We reached a place where the path was mostly flat and straight, passing by the outcropping we used to avoid sudden, major storms. It was the last leg of the race, where the northern and southern paths converged. If I pushed, I might be able to...
Tsuyu's foot hit an uneven lump of dirt. It crumbled. She went down, hard. And I skidded to a stop.
"Tsuyu, are you okay?" I knelt down, looking her over carefully.
"Riiiibbit," she groaned, "Yes. Just a bit scraped up."
Then she looked up at me curiously, "Why did you stop?"
"What do you mean?" I countered.
"You could have kept going," she said, "You could have won."
"I already said I wouldn't want to win that way," I reminded her, "The first day we met. And that was before we were even really friends. I couldn't just leave without seeing if you were okay, could I?"
"I guess you couldn't," Tsuyu agreed, "But what if this was a real race? Like at school, for grades, ribbit."
"If it was one on one, I would probably still stop. Of course, if it wasn't one one one..."
"You would still stop," she smiled kindly.
"Yeah, I would," I admitted, "Are you sure you are okay? My mom made me carry a first-aid kit. We could go back to the lockers..."
I offered her my hand, and pulled her back to her feet.
"Nope, I am fine."
"Great," I smiled. Then I turned and darted towards the lake. With a bubbling laugh, she took off after me.
And she still beat me in the end.
Sunday. The last day. Win a race today, or fail the quest.
I wouldn't be unhappy to lose. It had been fun, had shown me Tsuyu's competitive side. It was more mild than most people, but she still had one. And my stats had improved quite a bit from trying to keep up with her.
But I did want to win. Almost as much for myself as for the quest. And despite having all day, we were going swimming again after we reached the lake. And there was no way I could beat her in the water.
I needed something I hadn't tried. There was actually one idea I had come up with, but had dismissed as unfair. But now I wondered if that was right. Or was I just hampering myself, so I would have an excuse when I failed.
"Tsuyu-chan," I prompted her as we approached the bench, "You are going all out when we race, right? Using your full Quirk and everything."
"Of course," she seemed mildly offended, "It wouldn't be fair to your hard work if I didn't."
"Thanks," I told her sincerely.
"Did you really need to ask?" she countered.
"Well," I admitted, "I was a little worried that I would win, only for you to announce that you had a second gear or something, meaning I really didn't win."
"No, I don't have anything like that," she said, "Maybe I can come up with something..."
"If you can, you should. And I'll help. But for now..."
"On your mark," we both said, "Get set... GO!"
As soon as we took off, I started lifting my body with Telekinesis. I wasn't strong enough to fly, or even levitate. But I could make myself lighter. Let me gain more push from each step.
I was closer to her than ever before when we hit the split and I went south. When I got to the obstacle, I jumped at the fallen tree. I jumped off it, towards the larger of the trunks it was trapped between. And a third bounce put me on top of the downed redwood, and I quickly rolled to my feet.
[Good moves. Parkour skill improved (lvl 16). Skill Acrobatics (lvl 1) unlocked.]
"Analyze." I gazed north as I ran down the length up the obstacle.
[Redwood Tree The 53rd distinct one you've scanned. Unfortunately, it is preventing you from seeing your real target. Actual age is 31 years, but due to Quirk growth acceleration, its effect age is 158 years.
Health: 1580/1580 Physical Resistance (lvl 10)]
I dove off the tree, hitting the ground hard and flipping forward back onto my feet.
[-1 Health]
I reached the merging paths, about three steps ahead of Tsuyu. Then two steps.
'She's still too fast,' I thought, 'She's going to pass me. I need to go faster. Why can't I..."
Why couldn't I indeed. I had all of these skills. Some active, some passive. But of all the active ones, only Telekinesis consumed my Energy. If Energy was part Stamina, it didn't make any sense.
'Unless I'm not trying hard enough, or am subconsciously holding back,' I realized, 'Maybe there is no difference. Maybe I just have to want to use 'Running' to go faster.'
[You have made an important deduction. Wit +1.]
'Come on, Izuku,' I ordered myself, 'move. RUN!'
[Running Skill active mode 'Jet Set Run!' unlocked.
While in active mode, your Running speed is increased by 22% but consumes 1 Stamina (Energy) per second. Cost and bonus vary based on your Running Skill level.]
[Jet Set Run! now active.]
Tsuyu had just passed me, when I accelerated again.
10 meters to the beach I drew even with her.
5 meters to the beach I passed her.
2 meters to the beach I realized I was going too fast.
[-1 Health]
I plowed into the water hard enough that I stumbled and face-planted.
When I pulled my head back out of the lake, I found Tsuyu standing over me. Staring down at me. Grinning happily.
"It looks like you were the one with a second gear," she pulled me up, "Or you were just too anxious to start swimming."
"I guess I did," I agreed, deactivating the mode and looking at my moderately depleted Energy, "I didn't know I had it in me."
"I thought you might," she told me.
"Quests," I said.
Tsuyu was still changing. I was sitting on the bench, waiting for her.
As I expected, when the screen came up, 'Dual Duel' was blinking.
[Quest 'Dual Duel' complete. Claim the rewards?
(Accept) (Decline)]
I hit 'Accept'.
[Bonus Skills received.
Running skill improved (lvl 13)
Telekinesis skill improved (lvl 14)
Parkour skill improved (lvl 17)
Acrobatics skill improved (lvl 2)
Analyze skill improved (lvl 14)
Physical Resistance skill improved (lvl 7)
Swimming skill improved (lvl 4)
Talent points: +1]
I guessed hitting the water running was enough to count as swimming. Not that I was complaining.
'But I should have thrown some punches, or tried to do some math,' I lamented in hindsight.
I flipped over to Talents. 'Free Running' was the MVP here; without it I wouldn't have had the Quickness or Running to keep up, even with my final breakthrough.
But now I was looking at 'Ki Initiate' again. I was still level 3, so unless another quest came up, it would be at least two more levels until I could unlock it and still have a Talent point to spare. The longer I waited, the less time I would have to start training it. But what if something else came up? A Quest or just my growth caused an even better Talent to become available... Still, my finger hovered over the button.
"What's up, Izuku?" Tsuyu's voice suddenly said behind me. And... and I flinched forward.
[Talent 'Ki Initiate' acquired.
Skill 'Ki Detection' available.
Skill 'Ki Projection' available.
Skill 'Ki Regeneration' available.
Skill 'Ki Reinforcement' available.]
I blinked in surprise.
"Why are you just staring into space?" she asked.
"Just thinking about the race, and swimming," I said, "wondering what we should work on next."
Though I, at least, had part of my own answer.
"Well, we should still keep racing from time to time," she said, "I do need to take my title back after all."
"Sure," I agreed.
Current Status:
Name: Izuku Midoriya
Age: 14
Level: 3
Active Title: The Gamer
Health: 87/89
Energy: 36/91
Attributes:
(S)trength: 11
(A)gility: 19
(E)ndurance: 17
(Q)uickness: 24
(W)it: 23
(I)ntuition: 22
(C)harisma: 9
(D)etermination: 16
(L)uck: 3
Unused Points:
Attribute: 14
Skill: 3
Talent: 0
Skills:
Analyze (W): 14
Mathematics, Basic (W): 6
Dodge (A): 6
Telekinesis (I/D): 14
Strength Training (S): 5
Basic Karate (A): 13
Boxing (S): 10
Parkour (A/Q): 17
Yoga (A/E): 6
Physical Resistance (E/D): 7
Running (Q/E): 13
Climbing (S): 9
Swimming (S/A): 4
Acrobatics (A): 2
User has chosen to conceal (10) skills
Talents:
Studious
Gamer's Body
Gamer's Mind
Telekinesis, Basic
Inventory II
Reflective Dungeon
Free Runner
Ki Initiate
