dvd3
Animal Cruelty isn't very heroic, so that wasn't really an option. And the euphoria of suddenly gaining a load of exp makes him tunnel vision on killing people. Plus, the only animals really available to him are house pets and strays, so there aren't any bears or wolves for him to kill.
SSJ-Jolt & Nublyss
I thought about that at first, but I wanted to make him struggle. The thing here is that he had no way of gaining exp, and so like a typical game, he kills monsters, or in this case villains. And I haven't played a JRPG or table-top RPG before so, idk I guess. But I'm sticking to him killing people. That's like the entire point of this fic. I tried writing a fic where hr can earn exp in fights, but I couldn't think of a good way to di it.
"Talking"
'Thinking'
Transition…
[System]
Chapter 2
Light streamed through the blinds as the sun rose. The beams of sunlight shone onto the sleeping form of a green-haired boy sleeping on his desk. The alarm clock had yet to ring. The room itself was strewn with various hero merchandise and posters of game characters. It was quite a peaceful scene. Until the clock began to chime with the #1 Hero's catchphrase.
"I AM HERE! I AM HERE! I AM HERE!"
"Eh? What?"
Izuku woke with a jolt. He hadn't meant to sleep at his desk, but he conked out while planning. He shut off his alarm and changed out of his pajamas. He looked over his unfinished notes. He remembered that he had a plan but couldn't remember. Something about being a hero.
He left his room and saw his mother cooking breakfast.
"Ah, Izuku! I'm making breakfast! Could you set the table?"
"Sure."
It was nice, doing these mundane tasks after the whole fiasco yesterday. He killed someone. He killed someone. It finally settled in. He had blood on his hands.
'Well, it can't be helped, right? I couldn't help it. He attacked me first. But I could've run away. I didn't have to stab him. But the police said I did well. So it was fine right? I can kill in self-defense. It was fine right? I'm not in trouble RIGHT?!'
"Izuku? Are you alright?"
"I... It's just what happened yesterday kind of set in."
"Aww... Sweetie, I know that it's hard. But I think that in the end, it's better that you're here than the villain."
"You think?"
"It would be better if he was arrested but it couldn't be helped. I think you're just fine."
"Oh. I guess you're right."
"It'll never go away Izuku, but just know that you were in the right. If you get attacked you defend yourself. But when you become a hero, don't kill people ok? That wouldn't be good for publicity."
Chuckle* "You're right. Thanks, mom."
"Anytime honey."
Breakfast was eaten and Izuku retreated back to his room.
'Mom was right. I was in the right. And there was one less villain in the world. They won't respawn like in the games, so if I get rid of them, then there'll be fewer villains on the streets. That's perfect. Bakugou talks about it all the time, killing the villains, so I could totally do it too!'
There were people who did this. It was on the tip of his tongue. People who acted as heroes but didn't have the hero license. Vigilante! He was going to be a vigilante. But that was illegal, but he needed to level up in order to be a hero.
He decided to look for his gear first. If it was too expensive, he would find another way, but he needed this. He had to make up 10 years' worth of leveling in a year, and this was the best way.
"I'm going out!"
"Stay safe!"
Izuku didn't reply as he left. There was a chance that he would get in a fight again so it was best not to lie. He made his way to the shopping mall. He doubted that they would have what he needed but it wouldn't hurt.
As he entered the crowded shopping mall, he made his way to a map. It was mainly clothes, food, accessories, but he saw a store selling outdoor gear. Perhaps they had something? He made his way to the store and entered.
It was mainly filled with hiking gear, tents, fishing rods, and more stuff he wasn't interested in. However, his eyes caught a sign in the corner of the store.
Hunting Supplies
'Bingo.'
Izuku made his way to the back, drawing a few questioning glances as to why a child was in such a store but was otherwise ignored. They had camouflage clothing, animal call devices, bait, and other stuff. He was a bit disappointed at the selection. He expected some guns but was let down, but given Japan's gun laws, it made sense.
He did see some knives. Some were meant to skin the animal, some were meant to dissect stuff, and there were general survival knives. He picked one out and held the case. It would be pretty suspicious for him to buy just a knife. He began to stroll through the store, browsing for anything to ease the suspicion that the knife would cause. He was near the front of the store when he saw the perfect tool.
...
The cashier was almost ready to leave their shift. They were ready to play the new game they got yesterday. However, a small child came to the cash register and dropped off a survival knife and a fishing rod, drawing a raised eyebrow from the cashier.
"What?" Asked the boy as he tilted his head.
"You want to buy a knife?"
"Yeah?"
"It's dangerous you know."
"Ugh, I know that. But mom won't let me bring one of her kitchen knives outside the house. So I need my own so I can skin the fish when I get one."
The man looked at the boy once more and shrugged. Whatever the boy wanted to do it wasn't his business. It wasn't against the rules either so the cashier let it go.
"Have a nice day."
"Thank you, sir."
...
'That was close.'
Now Izuku had a knife! And a fishing rod. Maybe he should try fishing? He's never done it before and games have fishing in it sometimes.
'I already bought it so I guess there's no harm.'
Izuku brought the stuff home. Keeping the knife hidden he greeted his mom.
"Hi, Izuku... is that a fishing rod?"
"Yeah! I saw it in a game and wanted to try it."
"Ok honey. Maybe we could save some money on fish!"
"Ha! That's if I can get any!"
Izuku entered his room and took out the knife. It was a 7-inch steel blade with a reinforced handle. It was quite the upgrade from a broken bottle, that was for sure. Izuku stowed it away into the back of his drawer and set down the fishing rod. He still needed armor or padded clothes at least. He didn't get injured thanks to his quirk so that was a relief. He needed a disguise, something to hide in. He went to the computer and searched for pictures of vigilantes. They usually had dark clothing meant for stealth, but there was one who had an All Might hoodie.
'That... could work?'
He had some All Might hoodies, but that seemed too bright for someone to go around in at night. He had some gaming graphic hoodies as well, but that seemed too obvious.
'I need some dark clothes. I'll go tomorrow.'
Izuku spent the rest of the day playing video games and testing different aspects of his quirk. Turns out the time slow or "bullet time" as he calls it, makes him perceive time at a slower rate, making everything seem to slow down. It was hard to move during this though because it felt like real life lag, the bane of gamers.
...
Next Day, School...
Izuku felt himself getting antsy. He was itching to test his newfound strength, but he didn't want to show off just yet. Bakugou was being himself, self-absorbed, loud, etc. Izuku laid his head in his arms and tried to sleep. If he wanted to go out at night, he needed as much energy as possible. It was almost impossible though, with one of the loudest people in the school right in front of him. The teacher wouldn't quiet him down either. They never did. Izuku internally sighed at the sight. He already knew the material, but he was forced to sit through the lectures anyway. If only he could be like Bakugou and get preferential treatment.
...
Katsuki took a look at Deku. He always got the highest grades, and now he was sleeping in class! Deku was looking down on him!
"Oi! Deku!"
Izuku looked at the living firecracker and groaned.
"What do you want Bakagou?"
"Why the hell are you sleeping? Are you looking down on me?!"
"Ugh. No, I just stayed up late studying. Go sit your ass down and leave me alone."
"Hah? Who do you think you are speaking that way to me!"
"If you think so highly of yourself why don't you play with yourself instead of bothering some extra? Or are you that insecure that you have to look down on weak quirks to feel better?"
The class began to snicker as Bakugou's ears began to turn red in embarrassment and anger. His face contorted into his signature face of rage as he glared at the verdette, a silent message being transmitted.
'After class you're dead!'
Izuku himself was more occupied with his newfound confidence. He was stronger now, he's killed, someone. It made the boy in front of him seem like a child trying to look strong more than anything, with how he keeps saying "kill this and kill that". It didn't seem to faze the child with a body count.
Bakugou plopped himself down into his seat, glaring at anyone who let out a peep. The teacher went back to their lecture, writing on the board as to not show his smile. While he wanted to scold Bakugou, he knew that those explosions were not something you wanted to be on the receiving end of.
Izuku just slept through the rest of the school day, unaware of the growing anger and excitement of the boy in front of him. Bakugou was getting more and more riled up, watching the clock. counting the minutes until the end of the day. He was flexing his hands, building up as much sweat as possible. He wanted more than anything to put that level one extra in his place. The class could feel the tension in the air. They kept looking at the pair, ready to see the carnage that would occur. The teacher seemed to sense it too, as once school ended, they disappeared out the door.
Bakugou spun around the second the teacher left the room, setting off his quirk at the extra behind him.
"Agh!"
Two students yelled out as they were caught in the explosion that detonated in their direction, giving them second-degree burns. The students fell from their desks, however, a certain green-haired student wasn't one of them. As the smoke cleared, it was revealed that an orange-haired girl and a gray-haired boy were on the ground, not the verdette who dared stand up to Bakugou.
"Hah? Where'd the extra go?"
*Clunk*
The sound brought everyone's attention to the door, where a certain boy was seen exiting the classroom, oblivious to what had just transpired. Bakugou's face twisted in rage as he launched himself towards the door, making everyone else scatter from the explosions. When Bakugou reached the door and flung it open, the hallways were filled with students going home, but no sight messy green-haired boy.
Meanwhile, with Izuku...
Izuku was walking out of the gate, needing to buy dark clothes for his new nightly gig. He went to the mall and bought a black hoodie, black pants, and black shoes. He was thinking of getting some color, but he felt that black was best for staying hidden. He bought the clothes and went home to complete his homework. He hid his latest purchase and completed his homework as always. He was getting restless. He was planning on being a vigilante for the first time after all. A little bit of nervousness and excitement was in order.
Night...
It was 1:00 AM when Izuku woke up thanks to his quiet alarm. He woke up and began to put on his vigilante costume. It was a basic black hoodie with black sweatpants and black shoes. The hunting knife was hidden in the pocket and the mask was on his face. Looking in the mirror, Izuku looked super suspicious, but he didn't mind. If anything, that would make people try to seek him out, and he would kill them. Izuku made his way to the front door as quietly as he could. He left the apartment and looked out into the city from his doorstep. He could hear cars and see people walking out and about.
Izuku made his way out into the city, looking at the alleys, looking for trouble. Well, he was looking for people causing trouble, not looking to cause trouble. Was what he was doing considered trouble? Probably. It didn't really matter now. He needed to get stronger. He had killed with a broken glass bottle, now he had an actual knife. He felt ready. After walking around the city, he couldn't find anyone doing anything in the alleyways. Probably because he was in the city, rather than the seedy outskirts.
Izuku took a deep breath and steeled himself. He began to make his way towards the poorer side of town. The number of pedestrians began to wane as the building started to become increasingly dilapidated. People started to go from office workers to drunks and homeless people. It made Izuku more confident. He had taken on a man similar to them before. It wasn't long before a scream rang out from a nearby alleyway. Izuku looked around, seeing everyone not bat an eye. It was a normal thing that happened in the area, so they kept on their way, lest they be harmed as well.
Izuku began to walk towards the source of the scream and peeked in from the street. There was a man against the wall, being held up by something impaling him, bleeding out, and a bulky man leafing through a wallet. Izuku now had his target. He reached into his hoodie pocket and unsheathed the blade from its case. He made his way into the alley, hoping to get close before he was noticed. However, he did gain attention, just not from his target.
The man bleeding out saw the boy and called out to him, making the boy grimace.
"Hey, kid! Call an ambulance!"
"Huh? Oi, kid. Get out of here and I'll pretend I never saw you."
Izuku sprinted at full speed down the alley, putting his DEX into use. The unexpected speed boost through the man for a loop. Izuku ran the speed of someone with a weak speed quirk and brandished his knife. The man scowled and readied his quirk.
"I warned you once kid, and that's generous even for me."
The villain pointed his elbow, which had a hole in it, and aimed at Izuku. The sound of pressurized air being released could be heard as a large projectile was shot out. Time slowed as Izuku went into bullet time, although the speed at which the spear was flying at him was too fast for his newly enhanced INT. He threw himself out of the way and roughly fell to the ground, the knife flying from his hand and concrete scratching him through his clothing. He coughed a bit, clutching his side, not noticing the villain approaching until it was too late.
He barely knew what was happening when he was lifted up, hand constricting around his neck. Izuku struggled as he was brought up to eye level with the villain.
"I gave you a choice." the villain hissed, "You picked a fight with the wrong man and with a weak ass speed quirk."
"I might as well get rid of a waste of space," the villain muttered to himself.
Izuku began to panic, grasping at the hand around his neck. Turns out that the bulk wasn't for show, as even with his enhanced strength he couldn't pry the villain's fingers away. A stray glance at a new icon on his menu showed that he was afflicted with suffocation. Although he quickly looked back at the danger at hand.
"What are you, a vigilante? Surely not, I'm pretty sure they don't have knives..."
As the man started to monologue, Izuku activated bullet time. The grip slowed its constriction as Izuku did his best to find a way out.
'The hand is stretched out, so I can't punch him. What else what else whatelsewhatelsewhatelse-' Izuku felt himself sway by the neck, 'That's right, I have legs. If I could just kick him in the jaw, I could get him to let go!'
Izuku released bullet time, took hold of the man's hand, and used all of his core strength to swing his legs up to kick the man in the head.
"What the!"
The man shouted and pulled away, but he wasn't fast enough as instead of the temple, Izuku clipped the man in the chin, knocking the man out. Both of them fell to the ground, and Izuku noticed that the suffocation status effect went away.
"Oh thank god!" The wounded man gasped, "Nice going kid, now, call an ambulance. I don't think he hit anything important but it hurts like a bitch."
Izuku got up and walked away to pick up his knife.
"Kid?"
Izuku walked up to the man against the wall, pitied look in his eye and knife in hand.
"Sorry, but I'll put you out of your misery."
"Wha-"
The man didn't get the chance to get out another word as Izuku slashed the man's neck, breaking the cervical spine on accident. It did however kill the man instantly, so good for him.
'No level up? Well, I guess he was already almost dead. Welp, EXP is EXP.'
Izuku took the bloodied blade and approached the villain. Izuku brandished his knife towards the downed man. Even if it looked like the villain was unconscious, Izuku wasn't willing to take chances. Especially after getting taken off guard. The villain made no response as Izuku slit his throat, blood spilling onto the concrete.
[Level UP]
[12 to all stats]
[18 Stat Points]
[Level UP]
[2 to all stats]
[3 Stat Points]
[Level UP]
[2 to all stats]
[3 Stat Points]
[Level UP]
[2 to all stats]
[3 Stat Points]
Izuku finally relaxed. The adrenaline began to leave his system as he took in his surroundings. He glanced at the menu, and was blown away by his level ups. However reality hit him in the face as coppery smell of blood entered his nose. It was thick and he could practically taste it. Izuku just wiped the blood off of his knife one the clothes of the villain and began to leave the alley. He pulled his hood up, hiding every colored hair on him, hid his knife away, and promptly left the alley behind. He left the area and boarded the train. The alley he was in was on the other side of Musutafu, so he was rarely in the area to begin with.
Izuku didn't really relax until he was back in his bed, with his vigilante clothes hidden away, and knife washed and hidden. Seeing as how he wasn't sleeping soon, Izuku reflected on his adventure. He had killed someone, for one. It wasn't an accident this time. No, he had actively sought out and killed someone. He then remembered the level ups he got and forgot about his guilt. He had leveled up 4 times! And if his math is correct, the EXP he gained was much more than the time he killed the metal nails mugger.
Izuku's heart swelled as he looked at his status.
[Izuku Midoriya]
[LVL: 9]
[HP: 185/185]
[SP: 102/102]
[STR: 38]
[CON: 37]
[DEX: 34]
[INT: 37]
[12 Points Remaining]
In the span of half a week, he had leveled up 8 times! He nearly burst into happy tears, but held back to keep his mother's asleep.
'Now, how to spend these stat points...'
Welp. That was pretty fun. Uh, I'm trying another way of formatting this chapter. I've set up a poll on my profile. So please help me out! Do you prefer the stats and video game stuff in the center or on the left?
Feel free to review and give me suggestions/criticism!