"Do we have to?" I countered after a moment of thought, "It isn't like there are any other guilds like this. So we won't need to specify our guild or have a guild battle or anything like that."

"Are you sure about that?" Momo reversed it on me, "You did say that there are other people out there with non-Quirk powers. Maybe there are other people with The Gamer?"

"Or even just people with powers like your Guild tab," Ami suggested, "Without the interface or other powers of The Gamer."

\I just think it would be good to have a name for our group,/ Cassandra signed out of habit, \in case we need to talk outside of the Guild Chat./

"Besides, it's better to have a cool name," Ochako added.

"Don't you want to give it a name?" Tsu asked, looking at me carefully.

"It's not that I don't want to," I hedged, "It's just every idea I thought of at first was really nerdy..."

"Such as," Mikoto pressed, a hint of light teasing in her voice.

"Well, I think my best idea was All Might's Army," I answered.

"Is that a Harry Potter reference?" Ami caught it immediately. Mikoto, Cassandra, Ochako, and even All Might looked confused. Only Mom and Momo seemed to get it. So the four of us briefly explained about the study group Hermione formed in the fifth book to counter a deliberately obstructive teacher.

"It's not bad," Mikoto frowned, "We are sort of a study group, and All Might as the mentor fits. But it is a bit geeky, and we aren't exactly rebelling."

"It is flattering," the Symbol of Peace agreed, "but I am not sure about calling ourselves an army, reference or not."

"Still, it explains the names of your attacks," Momo said thoughtfully.

"Is there something wrong with the names of my attacks?" I looked at her, and then the others. Ami, Ochako, and Cassandra all shook their heads. Mikoto refused to meet my eyes, and Momo quickly waved her hands.

"No, nothing," she denied, "Just if these are you interests, then that makes sense."

"I was wondering, why did you change your attack names?" All Might prompted.

"Well, I started using names of American locations," I said, "Because I'm a big fan of yours, All Might. But I thought I should do something at least a bit more unique. So I started picking fictional locations that I thought fit with each attack."

"How so?" Ami looked interested.

"Well, my Ki Slice attack didn't have a name," I said, "But I thought about cutting things, which led to swords. And Lord of the Rings has a lot of cool and powerful named swords, so I decided my Ki Slice would be 'Gondor Smash'."

"And then your Asgard Smash is a reference to Mjolnir," Ami mused.

"And also Thor's fists," I confirmed, "But yes, I thought it fit with bludgeoning power of Ki Blast."

"And the the Hogwarts Smash?" Momo asked curiously, "How does that fit?"

"That's Telekinetic Attack," I said, "and there are lots of spells in Harry Potter that move things around. And, I just like the series."

"We're a bit off topic," Mom reminded us, "Were we going to try to find a name for the guild?"

"What if we just called it the 1-A Study Group?" Momo asked.

"Inko-oba-san isn't in class 1-A," Tsu pointed out, "And technically, All Might isn't either."

"And what if Izuku ends up inviting someone from outside the class?" Ochako suggested innocently.

"Yeah," Mikoto nodded at Ochako, "We might want some guys from the support class to join as crafters. After all, the dungeons would make great labs. Safe, isolated, and now with extra time to work or experiment."

"Oh," Ochako suddenly exclaimed, "How about Izuku's Angels?"

"Again, what about Midoriya-san and All Might?" Mikoto interjected.

"We could just be Bosleys," he proclaimed with a broad smile. Mom chuckled. The rest of us just looked at him blankly.

He and Mom briefly explained the American series about a team of female secret agents, sponsored by a reclusive millionaire and supported by a person called Bosley.

"Wow, I didn't know that," Ochako said, "I guess that means I made a reference like Izuku."

"What were you thinking?" Momo asked.

"That we were a bunch of cute girls around Izuku, and that Miss Inko and All Might were like our guardians angels."

"Yeah, no," the electrokinetic quickly shot her down.

"Meta..." Ami whispered.

"What was that, Mizuno-san?" Mom asked.

"Meta," she repeated, "I was thinking, even though Izuku doesn't have Quirk, he is still a metahuman like the rest of us. But more than that, this power. We can see our character sheets, and discuss our abilities in real, numeric terms. It is like we are metagamers in our own lives. So maybe the guild name could be something with 'Meta' in it."

"Not bad," Mikoto nodded.

"Meta Guild?" Ochako pondered out loud, "Meta League? Meta Squad?"

'Knights,' Cassandra suggested silently. We all looked at her inquisitively.

'There was a sports team in my... Well, not my home town, since we never stayed anywhere for too long. But a town we spend the most time in, and came back to twice. They were called the Knights, and I liked watching them play, and admired them for their charity work.'

"Meta Knights?" Momo said the English phrase.

"That makes it a game reference," I told them sheepishly, scratching the back of my head, "But I do like it. Maybe change it up, like Knights of the Meta, instead?"

"I like it," Ochako agreed.

"Not too bad," Mikoto seemed less sure

"It is ultimately your call, young Midoriya," All Might told me.

"What if we make it Japanese?" Mom offered, "Meta No Kishidan."

"Meta No Kishidan," I repeated, testing the sound of it, the sense of it.

"I feel that is better," Momo said.

"Yeah, that's good, too," Ochako nodded.

'I am fine with it,' Cassandra said, practicing signing it in both ASL and JSL.

"I also agree," Ami said, "But, to that point, can't you change it later, Izuku?"

"I can," I answered, "But it costs a million yen the first time, and doubles every additional time. Even with the Dungeons, that seems like a waste of money. That said, I do like the name. Though I am thinking of still writing it in katakana."

They all assented, so I entered that name.

"We are now メタ ノ キシダン."


We split up and returned home not long after that. Though All Might had left us with a warning that he and Mom would need to be in my party when we had any written exams. Not that he didn't trust us, but just to be fair to the other students.

The next morning, Tsu met me on the way out. One block up, we ran into Cassandra. Not literally. Then at the next intersection, were Ami and Ochako. Then Kyoka, Ashido-san, and Kirishima-san. Momo and Mikoto joined us, along with Kendo-san and Tsuburaba-san. Others drifted in, until most of Class 1-A and about half of 1-B were walking together.

It almost brought a tear to my eye. I had gotten so used to being alone, I had never walked to school with friends before. Sure, not everyone was there for me. But none of them were shunning me. Mocking or pitying me.

That introspection was suddenly cut off when we rounded the corner and saw the gates of UA. There was a crowd outside. And not just any crowd. Some of them I recognized. All but a few had either microphones or cameras. Real, expensive video cameras in most cases. They noticed us, and charged.

"Is it true that All Might is teaching here?"
"What is it like having the Symbol of Peace as a teacher?"
"How does All Might take his coffee?"

That last one almost got some of my classmates. Even I almost fell for it, but the chill of Gamer's Mind stopped me. We would learn in our second year about that press tactic. The reporter would ask a random and seemingly harmless question, to get you to open up. And once you started talking, it was harder to stop. Plus, people actually wanted to know stuff like that. Like my Hero magazines, and the fact that I knew Endeavour's favorite food was spicy chicken wings, while Hawks loved Wagyu beef and yellowfin tuna sashimi.

"ALLLLL RIIIGGGHHHTTT!"

The entire street shook. The paparazzi fell to their knees, as Present Mic's shout was focused on them.

"Well then," a sharply cold voice followed. Principal Nezu didn't normally cut an imposing figure. Despite that, more than a few members of the press shivered.

"I believe we have all discussed the rules at this institution," he reminded them, "So unless any of you would like to lose your press access to UA, when the sports festival is less than a month away, I suggest you move aside and let my students enter. Then the two of us can address your questions."

He glanced over at us, "Please head inside."

We hurried inside, and to our classrooms.

"Okay, sit down," Aizawa-sensei groaned wearily. He was starting a full ten minutes early, which he almost never did, prefering to nap right up to the moment the bell rang. That alone put most of us on edge.

"Is this about the mess outside?" Modu... Mo-chan asked, as she slid into her chair.

"What?" Eraserhead looked surprised. Then he shook his head, "No. All Might was caught leaving the school yesterday. Usually he is more careful, but he heard about a crime, so he ran out..."

Of course. All Might probably normally came to school in his real form. Add a baseball cap or something to hide his famous hair, and no-one would think that slender person was the number one hero.

"... and some people saw him. Wondered why he was at UA, especially on a Sunday. Spread it on social networks. Someone was actually logical enough to figure it out. All Might and the principal wanted to keep it quiet longer, but that cat's out of the bag."

He sighed. Then he glared at us again.

"No, what I want to talk to you about today, is another important milestone," he explained, "Normally I would have done this first week. But I was convinced to delay until you were more settled in and familiar with each other. But it's been long enough, so we're going to get this over with. Today, you'll be selecting a class representative."

Most of the class started to cheer. Aizawa's expression cut that short.

"Sensei, how do we choose a representative?" Momo asked.

"The school doesn't specify a method," he said flatly, "And I personally don't care. Do whatever you want. Just be done before first period, and don't wake me up."

He put in ear plugs, and zipped himself into his sleeping bag, in the corner. We all looked around at each other.

"Well, we should put it to a vote," Iida-san said firmly, yet trying to keep his voice down.

"Won't we all just vote for ourselves," Ashido-san pointed out.

"Not necessarily," Ami said softly.

"We could simply specify that you cannot vote for yourself," Todoroki-san suggested.

"There are other ways we could decide," Mikoto pointed out.

"Like what?" Shoji-san asked.

"A rock-paper-scissors tournament?" Sero suggested dubiously.

"I was thinking something more merit based," Mikoto smirked.

"What about arm-wrestling?" Kirishima suggested.

"I was thinking more like rankings," she rolled her eyes at him. That led to everyone looking at me or Ami.

"Well," I said sheepishly, "I think voting is best. We live in a democratic country, and everyone deserves a say. But at the same time, I think we should ask first who actually wants to be the class rep."

"Are you saying you don't want it?" Iida-san seemed affronted.

"Honestly, no," I told him, "I mean, I get that it looks great when applying to internships and stuff. And you get to spend time with our senpais and the Pro Hero teachers. But it means giving up one to two hours, three to five days a week. On top of our normal classes and hero classes. That means less time to study or practice, or less time to hang out with friends."

More than a few of my classmates frowned.

"Besides, I don't think I'm up for it," I said. Mikoto raised an eyebrow at me. And Ami looked uncertain.

"Okay," I waved my hand, "I might be somewhat good at giving advice and coming up with plans in combat. But taking into account the opinions and desires of 19 other people, and representing and negotiating for them? I don't feel like I can do it."

That got a lot of thoughtful looks from the others.


"I almost voted for you anyway," Mikoto said softly, as we sat down for lunch.

In the end, only six of my classmates chose to put their names on the ballot. Momo, Mikoto, Mo-chan, Iida-san, Kirishima, and Todoroki-san. Iida got twelve of the votes, Momo got five, Mikoto got four, Mo-chan got one, and neither Kirishima not Todoroki got any.

"Really?" I was surprised, "Why?"

"The guy complaining about how much time it would take was the one who has the power to stretch out time," she told me in a pointed whisper.

"I didn't think of that," I blinked in surprise. She gave me an incredulous look, and Ami and Ochako both stared at me a bit more kindly.

"I did just get that talent yesterday," I reminded them, "and it's not like I've had a chance to try it out. And if I lost my time after school, that would affect everyone else, too."

"What does that mean?" Kyoka asked, having joined us just in time for the last sentence. Momo was still getting her food, but the rest of the guild was already sitting down when the long-lobed girl appeared.

"I am leading a physical and Quirk practice group," I told her, "In fact, if you have some time today or tomorrow, I wanted to talk to you about if you wanted to join us. We only have a limited space, but I can fit in a few more, and we all agreed it should be you."

"Sounds interesting," she nodded, "Let's..."

Before she could finish, she was cut off by the blaring of sharp, almost deafening alarms. All around us, everyone began to leap up and charge the cafeteria exit. Our lunch period was composed of the first years, and half of the second years, depending on their electives. We hadn't gone through any emergency drills, yet, but I would have thought the second years had. But the real thing was different than a drill, and they panicked, too. Kyoka also jumped out of her seat, and then noticed the seven of us hadn't. She calmed down slightly at our lack of concern.

"Protocol is to report to our classroom," Ami said, barely heard over the dim.

"Really?" Tsu tilted her head.

"It's in the student handbook," Momo confirmed, "Let's go."

"Lead on, fuku kaichou," Kyoka teased her slightly.

Unfortunately, it wasn't that easy, as the hall outside was full with everyone who had fled before us. And the ones who were not as quick trapped us when they ran, too. I maneuvered everyone over to the wall, and set myself up as a barrier between them and the crushing, frightened horde. Especially Ami, who had the lowest HP, and Mikoto who was likely to taser them if she got jostled too much.

'Ochako, Cass,' I said over Guild Chat, 'will you two hit the water fountains. Ami, get ready to cool their heads. Momo, please make a handheld speaker and microphone, that Kyoka can hook up to. Tsuyu, could you go onto the wall to make a little more space?'

They all followed my requests. Then I touched Kyoka's shoulder, and began to vibrate it slightly with my power.

'Kyoka, nod if you can hear and understand me,' I sent to her telepathically. Her eyes widened and she nodded.

'That shaking is me. I am transmitting my voice directly," I mislead her honestly.

'Bone Conduction?' her mental response came back to me, but I pretended not to hear it.

'I asked Momo to make a mike and speaker that you can hook into. Please pass the mike to Iida-san.'

Momo passed over the electronics. Kyoka plugged into them, handed the speaker up to Tsuyu, and then passed the microphone to our newly elected leader. He also looked surprised, and I jerked my head up. He then noticed the many balls of water forming over everyone's heads. I counted them down with my fingers.

Ami splashed all of our schoolmates in the face. They stopped screaming and shouting as they sputtered instead. Then Iida-san lifted the mike.

"Everyone, settle down," he yelled sternly, "We are UA students. Even those of you who do not want to be Heroes, are here to learn to work with Heroes. Which means you must remain calm in an emergency. People will be counting on us, looking to us when things go bad."

Many of them looked down, disappointed in themselves.

"Now, we must all return to our classrooms in a calm and orderly fashion," he continued, "until we find out the nature of this alarm."

"It's the press," Tsu said, pointing from her higher vantage point, "It looks like something happened to the gate, and they all charged in."

Now the looks over disappointment turned to flat out embarrassment. We all lined up, and marched back.

"Nice job, Kaichou," Mikoto slapped Iida-san on the back.

"Yes, well, I couldn't have done it without your help," he admitted.

"Still, I wonder how the press got in?" Ochako wondered.


She kept her cool and her disguise until she rounded the corner. Then she nodded to Jammer, who threw away the very real looking but very fake video camera.

He had done his job well. He had gotten much better control over his Quirk, since she started working with him, four months ago. Back then, it had been a full half-mile radius, or nothing. Today, he had just knocked out the front gate cameras. Which had both attracted the attention of UA's staff as intended, but also gave Mistah S enough time to destroy the barricade, unrecorded. After that, she had just had to whip the real paparazzi into a frenzy and send them charging in. Mob Psychology 101.

She threw her fake press pass in the trash, and pulled the brown wig off her red and blue locks. Then she skipped down the street, twirling the hairpiece on one finger.


After we returned to 1-A, Aizawa-sensei informed us that the press had somehow broken in. And that we were to go straight home after classes, we were to leave instead of clubs or any studying. Because they needed to fix the gate and wanted to check the rest of the school, just in case.

'Mom,' I called up Guild Chat, 'They are asking us to leave right after school, because of the press trying to break in. So you don't have to come here. But I was wondering, if it was okay if I invited everyone to come over to our place, instead? Plus Kyoka, since I was going to invite her to join the guild.'

Momo and Ochako both looked at me. And Ami decidedly did not.

'That's fine,' she answered a second later.

'Of course,' All Might boomed to us silently, 'I cannot attend, because I will be here.'

'I have our meeting scheduled,' Momo said.

'I would like that,' Ami said.

'Going to a friend's house...' Cassandra said wistfully.

'Okay,' Ochako agreed excitedly.

'Sure,' Tsu said simply. Mikoto just gave me a nod.


As class ended and everyone began to filter out into the hallway, I signaled Kyoka. The others went on ahead; I gave them the address in chat. And if they had problems, Tsu could lead the way.

"What's up?" she asked.

"Since we can't meet up here today," I told her, "we are going to my home instead. Would you be okay with that? Since I live pretty close..."

"We who?" she prompted, teasing but also a bit suspicious.

"Me, Tsu, Cassandra, Ami, Mikoto, Ochako, and Momo," I explained, "And my mom will be there, too."

"Quite the little harem," she smirked. But there was also a flash in her eyes. She suspected something.

"N-no," I stammered, "It's not like that. We're just friends and study partners."

'Or at least mostly,' I thought as certain times with Tsuyu sprang to mind.

"I'm just messing with you," she said, "Sure, study session at your place sounds like a place. Let's go."

We left, and ran into Sero-kun.

"Oh, hey," he said, "I forgot my math book."

I tensed. Sero-kun was a nice enough guy. My acceptance video had shown him helping Iida-san, and talking to the teachers on my behalf. He had come to the study group meetings twice, and got along with everyone.

Still I wasn't ready to trust him with my secret. Beyond that, there were only two slots in the guild if Kyoka accepted. And I had a person in mind for one of those. I wanted to keep the final slot open, just in case.

Plus, I hadn't asked Mom, or talked to the others. It would only take a few minutes, but I needed to do it first.

Kyoka sensed my hesitation, and said glibly, "We were just talking about how the press got in. I thought they must have bypassed the gates, like with hacking or teleportation. But Izuku was thinking maybe they destroyed them."

"Huh," he considered that, "Maybe we'll be able to tell when we get there."

I kept in a sigh of relief.

"I hadn't thought about that," he said, as we started walking to the entrance, "I mean, the school's barricades just look like walls. Izuku, you could probably just jump over them. I could make a tape ladder to climb them. It doesn't seem that hard to break in."

"The wall is more of a warning, I think," I countered, "There are cameras all over the place, and probably other defenses."

"Really, who'd want to risk breaking into a place where a couple dozen pro Heroes work," Kyoka added.

"Reporters who would take any risk for a good story?" he suggested.

We reached the gate, and paused to look at the mass of fragmented metal. Then I blinked at something else.

"Mom?" I asked, "What are you doing here?"

Sero-kun and Kyoka stared at her, like she was more surprising than the ruined gate. And I managed to avoid saying aloud that I had told her about UA calling off after class clubs and meetings.

"Miss Midnight decided it is time to change her costume again," she told us, "And one of the third years isn't satisfied with her costume anymore. I was supposed to go over some designs with them today, but that was cancelled. I told them I would drop off the sketches instead, so they can look at them. If you want to wait a minute, we can go home together?"

"Yes, that sounds good," I told her. Then I realized, "Mom, this is Sero Hanta and Jirou Kyoka, two of my classmates and friends. Guys, this is Midoriya Inko, my mom."

"You're the one who designed my costume," Kyoka told her, "Thanks, it rocks."

"You are welcome, dear," Mom replied happily, "Izuku, I'm just going to run these up."

She lifted her folio case. I nodded.

"That's your mom?" Sero whispered after she was a few meters away, "If you hadn't said that, I would have thought she was your sister."

"Really?" I prompted in confusion.

"Dude, your mom is hot," Kyoka said.

"Yeah," Sero agreed.

I turned to look at my mom, just before the door closed and hid her from view. I wasn't in the habit of staring at women. I did look, sometimes. I was only Human and a teenage boy. But I tried not to objectifying them. Especially my mom. I thought she was pretty, but knew that she was below average height and technically overweight.

Except, now that I looked again, she wasn't. A year ago she had been a centimeter or two shorter than me. Since then I had grown a centimeter, and now Mom was taller than I was. She was also skinnier. She wasn't as slender as Kyoka or Ami, nor as voluptuous as Miss Midnight or Momo. But she was fit and still curvy and I really wanted to slug these two for making me think about this.

"I never noticed," I said flatly.

"Sorry," Sero-kun said. But he was looking at Kyoka curiously.

"I call it like I see it," she shrugged at him, "and the code talks about sisters, not moms. Besides, I'm not a 'bro', technically speaking."

"You are..." He started to ask, but trailed off because it was rude and personal.

"I'm flexible," she smirked.

I looked again at her earlobes, and my habit of evaluating Quirks kicked in. Though this time in a... non-combat direction. Long, prehensile earlobes. Capable of transmitting sonic pulses that could...

I went red and cut off that line of thought.

"Is that a problem?" she asked, an edge to her voice.

"Nope," I said immediately, "Kyoka is still Kyoka."

"I don't care," Sero agreed, "I was just a little surprised."

"Miss Midnight is openly bi, even if she usually goes after men," Kyoka shrugged, "I'm not hiding anything, I just don't see a reason to actively announce it, either. It's the twenty third century, but there are still some jerks and bigots out there."

"True enough," Sero-kun said sadly. I nodded.

"Well, I'll see you two tomorrow," he waved, "Have a good night!"

"This really isn't an issue?" Kyoka asked again, a bit more cautiously.

"Kyoka," I smiled softly, "My powers only showed up just over a year ago. I spent over a decade being mostly bullied or avoided because 'Deku is Quirkless'. So, no, there is no way I'm going to reject you or tease you over who you are or aren't attracted to."

"Even if that means I won't join your harem?" she needled me lightly, looking relieved.

"I guess that means I'm not your type?" I chuckled weakly, deflated by the fact she wasn't going to let the harem thing go.

"Sorry," she said more gently, "For guys, I prefer the quiet, brooding pretty-boy type."

"Like Todoroki-san?" I queried thoughtfully.

"Oh look, there's your mom," she changed the subject. Mom waved to us as she exited the building and began to walk to the gate.

"Should I keep this secret?" I said, quickly and softly.

"It's not a secret," she answered before my mom reached us, "But I'd rather tell people myself."

"Hi, you two," Mom said as she reached us, "Ready to go?"

I nodded.


"Why does this feel like an intervention?" Kyoka asked. She tried to sound sarcastic, but was obviously nervous.

We had gotten back to our apartment. Tsu knew the code, in case of emergencies with her siblings, so everyone else was already inside. We led Kyoka to the table. Mom sat on her right, I sat across from her, and Momo took the spot on her left. Ami stood supportively by her, while Ochako, Cassandra, Mikoto, and Tsu hovered around us.

"No," I said quickly, "It's nothing like that. See, we are all in a g... group, separate from the regular study group and the rest of the class. Like I said earlier, we have a special method of training, and we wanted to ask if you were interested in joining."

"By which he means," Mikoto interjected, "He has a 'special method of training' that he shares with us, and he was trying to decide if he could and should invite you, and Ami and Momo convinced him he should."

"Okay," Kyoka sounded dubious, "Then why the theatrics?"

"There are certain limitations," I said, "And well, it can be dangerous. But most of all, it needs to be secret. If we let you in, you can't tell anyone outside the group..."

"Which," Tsu piped up, "In the interest of full disclosure, includes All Might-sensei."

"And all of you have done this training?" she looked around.

"At least three times each," Momo said, "And Izuku isn't joking about the potential danger or the need for secrecy."

"So it's just Izuku, now," Kyoka's grin returned.

"Yes," Momo blushed slightly, "and I have invited him to call me Momo."

The long-lobed purplette studied us.

"You don't need to decide right now," I gave her the same out, "Think about it tonight. Maybe talk to the others. They can't give you specifics, but..."

She held up a hand to cut me off.

"Would any of you back out now?" she asked, "If you could tell your past self to reject him, or have your memories altered or something, would you do it?"

"No way," Ochako said immediately. The others shook their heads.

\No/, Cassandra signed, looking around at us warmly, \And not just because of how much it has let me improve./

"Cassandra also says no," Momo translated, "And not just because of the benefits of the training."

"Since when do you know JSL, Yaomomo?" Kyoka's eyes narrowed.

"Since I took Izuku up on his offer," the tall girl answered.

Kyoka considered it a bit more. Then she shrugged with a wry grin.

"What the heck," she said, "If this is how you three kept jumping ahead of the rest of us, I'd be a fool to turn you down. And I trust that Ami and Yaomomo wouldn't let the rest of you prank me. I'm in."

"Guild Invite, Jirou Kyoka," I said. And she almost jumped out of her chair.


"So the world is actually a video game," Kyoka said once I finished explaining, "You're the protagonist, and we are your NPC companions."

"I wouldn't say that," I countered.

"Right," Mikoto agreed. Then she smirked at me, "The world is an MMO, and he's one of the players. We're still his companion NPCs."

"I don't believe that," I told them both, "Just because that's how my power expresses itself, doesn't mean that's how reality works. And it doesn't mean that everyone else isn't a real person, just as much the protagonist of their own lives."

"I'm not an NPC companion," Tsu said, "I'm a love interest."

"And now I can see why you are the Meta no Kishidan," Kyoka chuckled, "And I was just ribbing you."

"I'm curious," Ami said softly, "what do you mean 'that's not how reality works', Izuku-kun? We have all seen it."

'Right,' Cassandra agreed.

"Well," I hemmed as I gathered my thoughts, "I mean, yes my power does work and it changes the world. Just like other powers, or even just people moving and breathing. What I meant was that, like Momo said yesterday, maybe there are other Gamers, other systems that work differently."

"Work differently?" Ochako prompted.

"Without getting too nerdy or meta, I hope," I explained, "Think about it like Fahrenheit versus Centigrade. Two different scales for temperature. Maybe there is another Gamer out there who sees more or fewer attributes, or on a different scale."

"Like D&D versus GURPS," Ami mused. Everyone else looked at her, confused. And my heart might have skipped a beat.

"They are gaming systems," she explained sheepishly, "I looked into RPGs after Izuku told us. D&D has a system where you pick a specific job called a class, and that determines what you can do. And GURPS is similar to Izuku's power, but with fewer attributes, and generic points that can be spent on attributes, skills, and talents. But attributes and talents cost more than just one point."

"That is interesting speculation," Mom spared the others, used to me and knowing the I might go off and start muttering about various tabletop and video games and which one my power resembled most, "But I think we should try to run Jirou-san through a Dungeon."

"That's true," Momo nodded, "Talking about it is not the same as experiencing it."

"Who will go?" Kyoka asked, "You said the party can only be six, and there are nine of us."

"More like five and eight," Tsu mused, "Since Izuku has to be one in the party."

"I'm afraid I can't today," Momo said regretfully, taking a stack of papers out of her backpack, "Even though the class representative meeting was cancelled, I still have all of this to read and fill out."

"You can stay here until we are done, if you like," my mom offered, "We will grab some take-out with our earnings, and whoever isn't in the party is still welcome to eat with us."

"It sounds like you are planning to go in," Mikoto grinned at Mom, then turned to me, "Well, I had a turn yesterday, so I was thinking of borrowing your Destiny, and seeing just how Cassandra's Quirk and fighting skills translate into a fighting game."

Then the electrokinetic frowned at me and added, "You do have some fighting games, right?"

I nodded. Mikoto grinned. Cassandra looked nervous but also excited.

I realized what they were doing. All Might was the highest level in the guild, naturally. But, glancing at the Guild tab, out of those of us here, Momo, Mikoto, and Cassandra were the highest levels; Momo at 23 and Cassandra and Mikoto both at 22. Mom was 20, I was 19, Tsu was 18, Ami and Ochako were both 17. Kyoka was the lowest; since I had scanned her on the first day, she had only reached level 13.

Part of me wanted to point out that levels were not everything. That Abilities and Skills could be improved on their own. And that the most important thing is how we used it. But coming from the one who gave them that information, it might seem hypocritical. So, I decided to just take them up on their offer.

"Party disband," I said, "Party invite: Mom, Tsu, Ami, Ochako, Kyoka."

I decided to try the invite with only their given names, or even nicknames in Tsu and Mom's cases. The windows popped up like normal, so I guess it worked.

"So what kind of dungeon are we going to run?" Tsu asked me.

"I was thinking about level 2 of the Pencil of Solitude," I told her.

"Pencil of Solitude?" Kyoka raised an eyebrow at me.

"It was the first dungeon we went into," I explained, "A very nice UA brand pencil. After we cleared it... or cleared the first level, now that we know there are more levels to them, we moved some furniture and books in there."

"We used it for physical workouts after it got too cold to go to Endoru," Tsu added.

"Or just as a nice quiet place to relax," Mom said.

"Like a prototype Guild Hall," Ami noted.

"Except we didn't know we'd have a guild or a guild hall back then," I said, but nodded my agreement.

"Izuku," Mom addressed me, "I think you should wait, and try the second level of the Pencil someday after school."

"Why's that?" Ochako asked.

"Are you worried about something, Inko-oba-san?" Tsu prompted.

"To be honest," Mom smiled, "I am somewhat concerned that the enemies of the second level will be very strong, or that there will be other threats we haven't faced. So I would prefer if you went in with Toshinori in the party."

My eyes widened at her calling All Might by his given name. And not just because he hadn't revealed it to Momo and the others, yet. They could see it in the Guild tab, but I wasn't sure if any of them had.

"But that's not the only reason," Mom said, then she scratched the back of her head.

"just like Izuku," Tsu whispered to Ami.

"I was hoping we could dive into this," my mother pointed into the kitchen, and a certain utensil flew across the room.

"A frying pan?" Ochako sounded confused.

"Grandma's frying pan?" I prompted Mom, "I thought that was too heavy for your Quirk?"

"It was," she caught it, "Until last month."

"Is it that heavy?" Ami asked. Mom handed it to her, and the hydrokinetic almost dropped.

"It's a 38 centimeter cast iron skillet," I told them, "weighing five and a half kilograms. Before I got the Gamer, you could only pull about one kilogram to you, right Mom?"

"But why is it so heavy?" Ochako asked, "None of my mom's pans weigh this much."

"My mother was old school," Mom told them, "She believed that if a frying pan wasn't strong enough to crack a skull, then it wasn't worth owning. Not that I would ever use it as a weapon."

"Analyze."

[Inherited Fry Pan
A heavy duty tool capable of frying eggs or stopping small arms fire.
Durability: 410/450
Quality: 5/7
Rank: *]

"Why do you want to go into grandma's pan?" I asked.

"Mostly because I am curious to see what sort of bonuses it gets," Mom admitted sheepishly, "Like a bonus to cooking skill or maybe it will heat up faster."

"Well," I held out my hand, and Ochako, who had taken it from Ami, handed me the pan, "I am willing to try it, if everyone else is."

"Sure," Kyoka shrugged, "Not that I have any grounds to protest."

"I'm good with it," Tsu said, "Especially if it might make Inko-oba-chan's cooking even better."

Ami nodded, and Ochako bobbed her head vigorously.


We spent a few minutes getting ready. Mom and I changed into our workout outfits, and Tsu lent hers to Kyoka and instead wore her prototype uniform. Ami and Ochako borrowed my other two tracksuits. While the ladies got changed, I asked Cass and the others for a favor.

"Okay," I said, "Create Reflective Dungeon."

[Select Time Dilation
(1x) (2x)]

I hit the button for double speed, and then our apartment vanished.

[Dungeon Entry - Inherited Fry Pan
Mooks: 50/50
Mid-boss: 9/9 (unspawned)
Boss: 1/1 (unspawned)]

"That's a lot of bosses," Tsu noted, looking at the screen from beside me.

"One for every five," Ami agreed, "Much more than Izuku-kun's Dungeon, or the SQL book."

"The most we've seen before is seven to one, ribbit," Tsu continued, "In one of the cheap pencils."

'Testing,' I said in Guild Chat, 'Cassandra? Mikoto? Momo? All Might? Can anyone hear me?'

"We can hear you," Ami told me. But the guild members not in the dungeon didn't answer. Nor did I hear the expected contact from any of them.

"Nice castle," Kyoka whistled, looking to my left.

"I'm more interested in that," Ochako said nervously, as she stared behind me. We all turned, and everyone but me gasped.

We were on a grassy field, on an island. The weather was mild; sunny, not too warm, and slightly overcast. Behind us, now that we had turned, was a five story tall, European castle. It had a drawbridge gate, more than half the outer wall's height, but no moat. The courtyard, if it was a normal castle, could easily hold a football pitch. It was pretty impressive, and ultimately our destination. But it wasn't what had our attention.

I said we were on an island. But unlike the Pencil, it wasn't an island in the ocean. Or a lake or river. It wasn't even a floating island. No, this island was in a barbecue. Not completely literally, I couldn't see grill slats above us or anything. But the 'lake' it was in was one of roaring flames and mounds of glowing hot charcoal. The air warped visibly above it from the heat. The inferno spread out as far as we could see. Despite that, like I mentioned, the temperature around us was fine. We were only a few meters from the edge, so it should have been warmer, possibly even dangerous.

It seemed that we weren't entirely safe. As we watched, the grass at the edge began to smolder, and catch fire. A small stone seemed to change from granite into another lump of coal. It was not fast, but the fire was consuming the island.

"Based on approximations of the rate it is spreading," Ami looked back and forth, "We have two and a half to three hours before it reaches the castle."

"So it's a timed dungeon?" Kyoka asked, "You didn't mention those."

"We haven't seen one before," Tsu countered flatly.

"But we've had timed quests, right?" Ochako pondered, "So maybe this is something similar?"

[MANDATORY DUNGEON QUEST ALERT
Restore the Core
Defeat the boss who is draining the dungeon's shield core before it is too late.
Rewards:
Bonus Talent for each party member.
[hidden reward]
Failure Penalties:
The destruction of the dungeon and the item that it reflects. Death of all party members still in the dungeon when time runs out.
Time Limit: 177 minute
(Accept)]

"Just under three hours," Ami noted.

"And if we don't do it, Inko-baa-san loses her pan," Tsu frowned.

"It seems like The Gamer is upping the ante," Ochako said.

"So we should get moving," Kyoka nodded.

"My pan isn't worth anyone's life," Mom protested.

"No, it isn't," I agreed, "But we have three hours. So we'll go until we have a half hour left. Then we'll re-evaluate. Does that sound fair to everyone?"

My classmates all indicated their approval. Mom sighed, and then she nodded.

I opened my inventory. Took out two folding chairs, and then set twenty five gallon drum of distilled water across them.

"How much water do you need, Ami?" I prompted.

"Let's start with three liters," she said quickly.

"Just what all do you have in there?" Kyoka asked, after I decanted the water and returned everything.

"I'll tell you later," I responded.

We turned and not quite ran towards the gate. There was an armored figure on either side, but I wasn't detecting any ki from them. As soon as we got close, they sprang to life, lunging at us. They didn't have weapons, but swung their steel gauntlets at Tsu and I. Froppy dodged the attack, but I blocked it to get a feel for their power.

[-10 Health, -5 Energy]

Not that strong, but I didn't want to take too many of their hits, either.

"Analyze."

[Name: Armor Golem
While the spells required are more precise than a standard iron golem, it takes less material and thus less mana. Plus, you can stick someone inside as either defense or punishment.
Level: 24
Health: 845/845
Stamina: 750/750
Mana: 125/125]

"Tsu-chan, hold him for a second," Ochako requested, darting forward. Tsu's tongue wrapped the golem attacking her. She seemed to struggle a bit, but was able to hold it. Then the brunette tapped it. She pointed back behind us, and Tsu nodded. My froggy friend somersaulted. The armor was flung at the extension of her tongue. It flew away. Unlike my internal dungeon, there was no ceiling. Nor did the shield mentioned by the quest stop it. So it just kept going. Until it was well past the beach and over the flames. Then Ochako clapped her hands. Its weight restored, the golem crashed into the barbecue. It sank into the coals, melting.

[Level Up!
Level: 14
Attribute points: +5
Skill points: +2
Talent points: +0]

The message popped up in front of Kyoka's face, even as I still sparred with the other golem.

"Kyoka," I called out to her. She seemed shocked by both the attack, and the message, so I tried to get her head back in the game, "Can you resonate metal and make it shatter?"

"Wha..." she blinked, then swiped away the screen, "Yes, usually. It depends on the metal."

"Ami, help me hold it, so she can try," I suggested lightly. The bluette nodded. I pinned one side of the remaining golem. I was not tall enough to grab both of its arms, but I held its left arm tight to its torso. I also stomped its foot with one of mine. I used my tactile TK to hold fast the parts I was touching, and anchor myself to the ground with my other foot. Ami locked its other side by filling its joints with water, and then holding the liquid in place. It would have been easier if she could have frozen it. I decided to talk to Momo about the endothermic pellets she had used; were they safe to carry around, and could Ami get some?

With the golem secured, Kyoka jogged over to it. Staying as far away as possible, her earlobes extended. They touched the breastplate in two different spots. The golem began to vibrate, and then whine. Above it, the HP bar Analyze provided began to plummet. After only a few seconds, the main piece of armor shattered. The remaining pieces fell, and then faded. All except for one steel glove. And when I touched that, it also vanished.

"Two down, fifty eight to go," Ochako exclaimed happily, "And it didn't even take us three minutes."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," I tried to gently calm her, "My Ki Sense doesn't work on them, so it might not be that easy to track them down."

"And we don't know how strong the bosses will be," Tsu added.

"Then we better keep moving," Kyoka smirked.


We had forty minutes left when the final boss spawned. There were two other mooks left, so it was probably not alone. The throne room also unlocked.

The five fire elemental mid-bosses had been a problem. Only Ami's water and my Ki had been able to hit them safely. There hadn't been anything around to use as a weapon. The four iron golems mid-bosses had been much easier. Ochako made them weightless; they were just under her three ton limit. Then we pushed them into the air and Kyoka broke them.

She was now up to level 15, and the rest of us had each gained one level. I was close to another level, so I was hopeful for the boss.

Mom was unhappy that she had not had as much to contribute. The monsters had all been unarmed, so there had not been much around for her to pull in and prevent them from using against us. Or even just pass to me for telekinetic ammo.

The throne room was not quite what we were expecting. There was a raised dais with a big, fancy chair. And two smaller chairs on either side. The boss and two armored golems were seated there. There was also a table on the platform, in front of the throne. Below the dias was a larger, square table. On either side of that, there were mirrored kitchens set up. It looked kind of familiar, but I didn't recognize it. Mom must have, because she sighed in dismay.

"Analyze," I checked out the boss.

[Name: Cast Iron Cook
Legally distinct OC. Do not copy. Do not sue.
Level: 30
Health: 1307/1307
Stamina: 1148/1148
Mana: 218/218]

It looked like the armor golems. Except instead of a breastplate, the chest was an old style coal oven, with flames flickering visibly inside. Plus it was at least three meters tall.

Cast Iron Cook stood up from his throne. He picked up a a frying pan that was a duplicate of the one we were in, except double the size. In his left hand he equipped a bread knife the size of a katana. He pointed the pan at us.

"Challengers," he growled, "Prepare to cook!"

"Why do I think he's not challenging us to a baking competition?" Kyoka asked sarcastically.

"Today's special ingredient, hero student," he seemed to answer her.

"Mom, can you get his pan?" I asked, following it up with, "Asgard Smash!"

The ball of Ki didn't stagger the boss, and did less damage to his HP than I would have hoped. Maybe it was the level difference again, or maybe it was resistant.

"No," she shook her head after trying, "It is too heavy for me. But I can..."

The knife ripped out of his left hand, and flew into mom's grasp. She dropped into a basic Kung Fu stance, brandishing the stolen blade. Which surprised me a bit, I remembered she had learned Kung Fu from the scrolls. But she had never used it before, or even practiced it that I knew. Nor was I aware that she knew how to fight with a knife.

"When you say 'too heavy', do you mean weight or mass?" Ochako prompted, touching one of the side tables on then pushing it lightly towards Ami.

"What do you mean?" Mom countered.

"I can make things weightless," Ochako said, "But they still have mass. When Izuku uses his telekinesis, both seem to matter, moving things that are weightless is easier, but if two items are both weightless, the one with more mass is still harder for him to move."

"I guess I'm not sure," Mom said.

"Try it," I suggested, pointing to the floating table. It was a heavy, metallic, food service type table. It had to weigh at least as much as the boss's pan.

Said boss had just reached me. It swung its improvised club at my head. I ducked under. Then I fired a punch at its wrist, hoping the limb armor was thinner than the chest seemed to be. I smacked it with a clang. My knuckles were left stinging for a moment, but didn't damage me. Unfortunately, it didn't do much to the boss, either.

Ami and Tsu took on the two mooks. Tsu led with her standard double drop kick and then jump off combo. But this time she also snagged the head with her tongue. The armor golems' parts were not physically connected, but they didn't come apart easily, either. But using the strength in both her legs and tongue, Tsu wrenched the helmet free. Unlike a living being, having its head removed only moderately damaged the construct and didn't seem to inconvenience it. She snapped her head to the side, tossing the helmet to me. I caught it, and then pushed it forward.

"Hogwarts Smash!" The mook's helmet crashed into the boss's with an oddly harmonious ringing.

Ami's water soaked into the empty armor. She focused it around each of the joints in turn, expanding the weak points until the distorted and the lower portion of each limb fell away. It took less than a minute for her to reduce the mook to a shuddering chestplate and helmet, with only a sliver of health left.

Unfortunately, Mom was not able to pulled the table with her Quirk. Which I suppose made sense, Ochako's Quirk nullified gravity on the target, while Mom's quirk was gravity based.

"Izuku!" Mom called for my attention and I dove back.

The fact that Mom's Quirk didn't work did not prevent the two of them from just grabbing the table and pushing it. It floated towards the two-story ceiling. Once it was over the boss, Mom shouted and I cleared the way. The table crashed into the Cook, knocking him onto his back and pinning him. He immediately started to wrestle and jostle with it.

"Drive 4. Ki Reinforcement," I charged in while he was still trapped. It cost me a few HP, but I ripped the pan from his hand. Then I reversed it, and began to slam it into his right arm and shoulder. The armor dented. His health chipped lower. And most importantly, I prevented him from using both hands to free himself. Ami then arrived to hold his other arm steady enough for Kyoka to attack it. She jabbed her jacks into it, and the upper arm parts cracked, leaving the gauntlet lying in the ground.

He roared, and the door on his broiler chest broke open, spewing out flames. The table melt into slag. And even though it was nowhere near the fires, the handle of the pan grew too hot for me to handle. I dropped it as Tsu joined the rest of us, her mook defeated and vanishing.

"Now what?" Kyoka asked nervously, as the boss's remaining body turned red hot.

"We have another table," Ochako said.

"First turn on the other faucet," I told them, "Give Ami more water to work with."

Her first shot as the boss's second phase had boiled away almost instantly. So I ran over to one of the kitchen setups, and turned both handles on all the way. Then I bent and partially crimped the spigot, so the water was spraying at the boss. There wasn't enough pressure for a steady stream, but the liquid spray still lightly covered him. It didn't seem to be damaging him, or even cooling him off much. But it seemed to be keeping the air from getting too hot, and was providing Ami ammo.

Tsu took up my call, and was less subtle about it. She just broke off the faucet with her tongue, resulting in a small geyser. Mom had her own idea, she ran over alongside Tsu, and opened up both doors on the giant refrigerator. It was empty, but the insides were still cold. I followed suit on my side.

The boss seemed to complete his power up sequence, and decided to attack me again. Which suited me just fine. I grabbed the heaviest kettle, and threw it at him. It didn't do much, but kept him focused on me. Then he lifted his visor, and a screaming cone of flames shot at me. I dodged behind the kitchen's double oven, expecting the appliance would be able to take the heat if only for a moment. When the fire breath... or was it firevision? Either way, when the boss paused, I peaked out. The front half of the oven was gone. I lobbed two normal sized pans at his head, though only one hit.

Then the second table hit his back. Rather than floating it, Mom, Ochako, and Tsu had grabbed its legs and charged it into him, broadside. They let go and backed off as soon as they hit. The next instant it was starting to glow red. But heating that metal bled off some of the heat from the golem boss.

This allowed Ami and Kyoka to act. Earphone jacks connected to the construct with columns of water. It evaporated quickly, but Ami kept supplying it. Her face scrunched, struggling to keep the heat and sound from each blowing the liquid apart. Water wasn't the best transmitter of sound, but the two of them were making it work. The boss began to lose health again, and his body cooled in the process. Metal began to whine from the combination of sonic resonance and improper thermal cycling.

"Izuku," Mom tossed me the iron glove Kyoka had liberated from the golem. It was weightless, and also full of water. I held it carefully, so as not to make Ami work any harder preventing spills. The boss was starting to turn, so I threw a rolling pin at his knee. That got his attention for the moment I needed.

"Hogwarts Smash," I called, and then for good measure added, "Asgard Smash."

The TK Attack shot the gauntlet like an anime mecha's robot punch, curled fist first. I applied an extra bit of telekinesis to keep it on track, and it went straight through the open door on the golem's chest. It slammed into the backplate, and the water splashed out over it's flaming innards. Then the Ki blast passed through the gap, denting the oven outwards. It's hit points plummeted, and the metal began to grey again. But the former inferno still flickered inside. And the boss finally seemed to realize I was not the worst threat, that my attack wouldn't have been half as powerful without Ami, and that Kyoka had done the most damage. It turned towards them.

I saw what I needed. A thermal glove, and more traditional oven mitt. I pulled them both on and charged the boss's back. I focused on the bulge I had just created.

"Minnesota Smash!" I drove my doubly protected fist into the iron.

[-200 Health]

That put me below half. My arm cracked. But not as badly as the metal did. The boss's HP hit 0. It collapsed in a heap and the fire inside went out.

"That was tough, considering its level and the rest of the dungeon," Tsu noted.

"Mainly because we couldn't touch it," Kyoka said.

"Still, we did it," Ochako pumped her fist.

"Everyone," I called out nervously, "The quest counter is still running."

Only then did we realize the boss had not disintegrated. It began to creak. To glow again. To stand.

"I thought we beat it," Tsu said.

"I guess not," Kyoka countered.

"The quest," I realized, "it said the boss is draining the shield."

The boss's HP bar was up almost a quarter at this point.

"We must have to stop that first," Ami deduced.

"Look for the shield core," I told them, "I'll try to keep it down. Ki Reinforcement off, Ki Regeneration."

With my covered hand, I started punching the armor as it started to reassemble itself. Ami joined me, whipping at it with the water. We were fighting a losing battle, it was recovering faster than we were damaging it. And out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the twenty two minutes we had left were ticking away at triple speed.

Ochako and Mom started to ransack the other, more intact kitchen. Then checked in the oven, the cupboards, even the blast chiller.

"The throne?" Tsu asked Kyoka.

"That would make sense," she agreed, and they ran to it.

Kyoka touched the arm with her earlobes. The ornate chair rattled.

"There's a space under the seat," she called out. Tsu ripped off the cushion and threw it away.

My mitt caught fire. Ami splashed it out, but the next hit I landed dried it and reignited it. I took both mitt and glove off, and began to blast it with my smashes instead. The Gondor Smash did not cut the armor, and the Asgard Smash was only moderately effective. I realized quickly my best bet was using Hogwarts Smash to hammer it with bits of itself, especially if the bits were from different parts of the body.

It still was regaining health overall.

"It's a combination lock," Tsu told us, "Does anyone have any idea what the combination might be?"

"Yeah," Kyoka said, "312 Hz."

The lock snapped, and they opened the hidey hole.

"It's a green crystal ball," Tsu reported, "With some chains wrapped around it. Chains that look like the armor and are glowing purple. I'm going to try taking them off. I can't, they are too strong."

"I got it," Kyoka smirked.

"Don't damage the crystal," Tsu said gently.
"Careful," Mom warned at the same time.

"I know," Kyoka said, though she did not sound as confident. She touch the first chain gingerly, as if expecting it to shock her or drain her. Nothing seemed to happen, and a moment later, the link crumbled to dust.

"One down," Tsu grabbed the rest of that chain and pulled free, "One more... ahh!"

She dropped the chain, as it turned white hot.

"Ami, go help..." I started to ask.

"No, I've got this," Kyoka said more firmly. She grimaced, and jabbed her earlobes down again. Her face twisted in pain, and we could hear sizzling. In spite of Kyoka's protest, Ami turned the water from the further sink into a shower on the throne dais. Then we heard another snap. Tsu reached in and pulled out the second binding.

The boss stopped regenerating, but did not stop moving.

"Go, help them," Ami told me. Before I could start moving, Ochako reached us. She was carrying an ice cream maker. And she began to beat on the boss with it.

I guess she was going for irony. And the industrial refrigerators must have been above her weight limit.

I raced over to the platform. The chains were still radiating heat. It might have been generated by magic, but the reaction was natural, now that it was here. I took Tsu's burnt hand in my right, and Kyoka's scorched earlobes in my left.

"Ki Healing," I said. I focused on their injuries, not just channeling the Ki, but also my feelings. My gratitude to them; my intense desire for them to be uninjured.

Level up notices popped up in front of all six of us, as Ami and Ochako finished the boss once and for all. I headbutted the panel closed, not needing the distraction.

Kyoka and Tsu's burns turned to blisters. Then to pink flesh. Then finally, and just as my energy dipped below five percent, they healed completely.

"Thanks, Izuku," Tsu flexed her healed fingers, and then put her hand over mine.

"That's useful," Kyoka touched her earlobes gingerly, and then more firmly.

"But it's also limited," I said sadly, "The more recent the injury, the better. And it can't regrow lost limbs or anything."

That reminded me. I now had built up a number of unspent talents. So I went in and purchase Psychometabolism, Basic. I would check out the skills later.

"Are we done here?" Ochako asked as Mom and the others joined us.

"The clock is stopped," I switched back to quests, "With eight minute left."

"I thought we had more time," Mom said.

"We did," I told her, "But the clock started going faster when the boss was regenerating.

"Should we leave?" Ami asked.

"I don't see why not," Tsu said.

"Why does Midoriya-san still have the knife?" Kyoka asked, "I thought monsters vanished when they died in here."

"But it's smaller now," Ochako noted.

"It's a drop item," I said, "We've seen that before."

"The military survival knife in the first dungeon, that Inko-baa-chan uses for cooking," Tsu listed them, "Both of Cassandra's tonfas, and a second survival knife that Izuku keeps in his inventory."

"Should we finish the quest first?" Mom said thoughtfully, "No use showing it off to the others."

"Sure," I agreed. Then I hit the accept button.

[Bonus Talent received.
'Shop I' unlocked.
Heat Resistance Skill unlock, condition 2/3 met (endure extended period of heat, complete Fire element dungeon)]

"What did everyone get?" Ochako asked.

"I received a talent that reduces the cost of my Hydrokinesis skills," Ami said.

"I got Tough as Nails, finally," Tsu told me and Mom. Then she explained for the others, "It improves my Physical Resistance skill."

"My new talent is called 'Knife Mastery'," Mom said, "It combines Knife Fighting, which I didn't have, and Butchering into a single skill, and gives the new skill a bonus for other knife related skills I had, like Cooking and First Aid. And according to the Knife Mastery skill, I can use it in place of those other skills, when I am doing something with a knife."

"Mine is called 'Samurai Jack'," Kyoka said, "It lets me turn my jacks into katanas."

She lifted one earlobe, and the metallic connector at the end did indeed morph into a katana shape. It didn't gain any mass, so it was only a few centimeters long.

"Pretty good for stabbing my jacks into things that aren't the standard ports. Or just stabbing in general, I guess." She returned the jack to its regular form, and then frowned, "You know..."

She opened her window, flipped to the Talents tab, and bought one. Her cable like earlobes changed into what looked like a braid of both skin and wire. And her jacks were a a white metal.

"Armored Cable," she grinned, "Since this all just reinforced that my jacks are a bit of a weakness. Well now my jacks are partly titanium and my lobes have a mesh of steel, aluminum, and skin."

Then she changed them into micro-katana mode again, and the tiny blades looked like they were made of damascus steel. Or maybe damascus titanium.

"If talents can change both the shape and composition," I began to mumble, taking my notebook out of my inventory. I flipped right to Kyoka's page, "Maybe there are other options? A talent to make them USB ports?"

"Izuku, later," Tsu said.

"Sorry," I smiled weakly. Then prompted, "What did you get, Ochako?"

"I got 'Studious'," she answered, "Which is good, I think? I've been needing to study a lot, so this should help."

"And what about you, Izuku?" Mom asked.

"It's another Gamer talent," I told them, "It's called Shop I. Analyze... It says I can buy things from my Inventory tab. Inventory... Whoa."

"What is it?" more than one voice asked, but I was too gobsmacked to pick out who. So I turned my screen so they could see it.

"Minor Health potion," Ami read, "restores 100 Health or 5% of total Health, whichever is higher..."

"Fifty thousand yen?" Ochako demanded incredulously.

"The rest are more," Tsu noted flatly.

There were also minor potions for stamina, mana, psions, and ki. Those cost sixty thousand, and only restored sixty points or three percent. Then there was 'Magic Duct Tape (Silver)' that restored durability to items, but otherwise had the same cost and values as the health potion.

"And apples," Tsu noticed, "at least those are around market price."

"I guess that could be good in an emergency," Mom sighed, "But I think the sports drinks, while slower and weaker, are better to go with for now."

"If there isn't anything else," I asked, "Should we go back?"

I took out my phone. It was 7:27. Everyone nodded.

"Dungeon Exit."

[Inherited Fry Pan Dungeon Level I Complete!
Defeated 60 enemies: Rank+++
Defeated mid-boss: Rank+++++++++
Defeated boss: Rank+
Level I cleared: Rank+]

[Inherited Fry Pan
A heavy duty tool capable of frying eggs or stopping small arms fire.
Durability: 411/450
Quality: 5/7
Rank: +*****

Rank Bonus:
Auto-repair (low)]

"That's nice," Mom seemed happy.

"How did it go?" Mikoto asked. Tsu and Ochako started to tell her what happened.

"You didn't hear me? On Guild Chat?" I asked Momo.

"No," she shook her head, "And I'm guessing you didn't hear us, either. But All Might did, and we could all still hear each other."

"So Guild Chat doesn't cross dimensional barriers," I mused.

"Not yet," Momo sadi thoughtfully, "Given everything you've said and shown us about upgrading abilities, that may come later."

"Speaking of upgrades, Yaomomo," Kyoka leaned in close to her friend, "check these out."

"All right," Mom called for our attention, "I hope no-one minds ramen, I have placed an order for dinner. Izuku, Ichiraku will have a party platter for 15 for you to pick up at 6:20."

I looked at my phone, and since it had synced back up with the server, it now read 6:01.

"But there are only nine of us," Momo frowned.

"Well the six of us did just get quite a workout," Mom explained, "So we might eat a little extra. And if we don't eat it all..."

"Second Day Ramen?" I asked her excitedly. Mom nodded. Tsu licked her lips. And the other ladies all looked confused.

"Aren't the noodles all mushy?" Ami asked.

"No, Inko-baa-chan fries them up crispy..." Tsu started to explain Mom's semi-secret recipe for the leftovers.

"You'd better get going, Izuku," Mom told me.

\Do you need some help?/ Cassandra signed, not wanting to broadcast to All Might or the others having other conversations.

"No, he has it," Mom said, somewhat forcefully.

"I'll be back in about a half hour," I told Cass.


After Izuku was gone, Midoriya Inko gathered the girls together. Tsu was standing next to her, and they were looking sternly at the others.

"Now I want to know," Inko asked sternly, "What are each of your intentions for my Izuku?"


Status Changes for Midoriya Izuku:
Level: 19 → 21
Max Health: 643 → 696
Max Energy: 1059 → 1186

Attributes:
(S)trength: 48 → 49
(A)gility: 48 → 49
(E)ndurance: 49 → 49
(Q)uickness: 48 → 49
(W)it: 45 → 46
(I)ntuition: 45 → 47
(C)harisma: 30 → 33
(D)etermination: 56 → 57
(L)uck: 21 → 23

Unspent Points:
Attribute: 72 → 84
Skill: 33 → 43
Talent: 4 → 5

Skills:
Oral Hygiene (C): 21 → 22
Analyze (W) – Battle Scan: 44 → 45
Dodge (A/Q): 29 → 31
Telekinesis (I/D): 34 → 36
Basic Karate (A): 38 → 39
Boxing (S): 31 → 33
Parkour (A/Q): 34 → 36
Physical Resistance (E/D): 33 → 38
Running (Q/E) – Jet Set Run: 29 → 31
Acrobatics (A): 20 → 21
Ki Blast (D/W) LB: 18 → 20
Ki Slice (D/W) LB: 17 → 18
Ki Healing (D/E) LB: 20 → 22
Ki Reinforcement (D): 37 → 38
Throwing (S/A): 10 → 12
Telekinetic Attack (I/A): 22 → 25
First Aid (W/A): 6 → 7
Telekinetic Armor (I/E): 22 → 23
Telekinetic Aura (I) LB: 29 → 32
Kung Fu Fundamentals (Q/E): 19 → 20
Wing Chun Quan (A/Q): 15 → 16
Telekinetic Rampart (I/E): 14 → 15

New Talents:
Shop I
Psychometabolism, Basic


Author's Note: Yes, Inko is actually taller. She was crushing her self not just emotionally, but also literally with her power. Now that's she's emotionally unchained and using her power more, she's recovered some of her former height.