Update(22/07/2018): All three chapters got a minor rewrite. The biggest change is on the ID system, though. Now the monsters can only escape if Izuku lets them, since the portals close right after he passes through.
I was compelled to change after a reviewer pointed out how convoluted the whole thing was. It was basically an excuse to push some drama into the story. The future script was for a boss to pass through the portal and cause havoc in the city. Izuku was going to fight him but lose, and then a pro hero was going to save the day.
I looked at this and then realized: If this cenario happened, Izuku wouldn't open the IDs anymore. It wouldn't be like him to selfishly open more IDs, potentially endangering the city, just so he could get some Exp. So, the ID system is now more vanilla.
Now, I'll proceed to answer the reviews of guests and people I forgot.
A guest asked if Izuku will be able to manipulate chi. Answer: Yes and no. In the world I'm building up, chi, ki, mana, prana, od and chakra are all the same thing but with different names on different civilizations. So Izuku is already manipulating chi, but in his game interface it's called mana.
Some people asked if he'll get One For All. I'm honestly unsure, as The Gamer is already OP on its own. Send your opinions and reasoning if you think he should or shouldn't.
To nathanforte40: The carry weight for Izuku is represented by (STR x 4). As you said before, most of your stat ideas are already covered, so I probably won't add more stats.
Two or three people asked about the party system. The answer is a big no-no. For me, it's a shitty powerup at its best, and an obnoxious plot device at its worst.
Pairings are still being decided. As always, remember to review or PM me to clear any of your doubts.
Now, enjoy the "new" chapter.
Izuku walked in his school uniform. Today was monday and he was already reaching the entrance for Aldera Junior High.
For once in his life he was excited for a school day.
He tossed a coin up, caught it and repeated the same action again and again. "Heads." He said as the 100 yen coin went up once more. It made its trajectory and landed on his palm, showing the sakura branch symbol.
+1 LCK!
He'd been doing this since exiting his home, slowly increasing his luck. Passing through the gates, he entered the building. His arrival was a bit late, but he knew nothing happen because of it. The teacher always got in late too, after all. To his mild surprise, he caught the said teacher while making his way to the class. But that was good surprise. That meant he could talk with him sooner.
"Good morning sensei." He greeted politely. The teacher turned to him with with a tired expression on his face.
"… Good morning Midoriya." The older man managed to slur out.
"Is it okay I if make an announcement before class?" Izuku asked. Normally the teacher would ask some questions, but in his tiredness, he just nodded. They both entered the classroom.
Bakugo Katsuki leaned back in his chair and put his legs over the desk with a scowl in his face. To his right, he could hear the two extras that followed him everywhere babbling away. He glared at them, opening his hand and using his quirk. They both seemed to shrink on themselves, but after a few seconds they resumed their talk, this time in a lower tone.
Goddamn, Mondays were boring. If he wasn't so dedicated to keeping a good record, he could be doing a thousand things better than waiting for some dumbass teacher to come and teach him useless crap he was never going to use on his life.
On Mondays, everyone knew to stay away from Katsuki, because if he was in a bad mood by default, on the first school day that was multiplied by ten. The only exception were these idiots at his side, but they had no common sense. It shouldn't be possible for two humans beings to be that fucking dense. It also shouldn't be possible for a teenager to make explosions out of sweat, so he mostly ignored them and sometimes used their money.
Speaking of being dense, He spotted a head full of green hair entering the classroom along with the teacher.
"Settle down, class." The damn teacher spoke with that same tired tone. Why even teach a class if you're gonna do it looking like you're dead inside?
The professor didn't bother to tell him to take his feet off the desk. After spending a year with Katsuki's delinquent tendencies, he just stopped caring like all of them did. "Before we start homeroom, Midoriya has an announcement to make." He was delaying the class so Deku could spout shit no one cared about? Not on his watch, motherfucker.
"Oi, teach. Nobody gives a fuck about whatever Deku has to say. Not even you. Just get on with it." He clarified annoyed, finishing by waving his hand. Honestly, this place was full of idiots. He couldn't wait to get into U.A and get rid of them.
The rest of the class laughed like the bunch of extras they were. The teacher sighed and pinched his nose. Katsuki looked for Deku's reaction. What he saw made him widen his eyes slightly.
He was smiling. No tears, no stuttering, no hiding behind the teacher like he was under attack. The bastard looked nonchalant. And that was no good. If Deku had manifested some hidden backbone on the weekend, that stupid dream of his would resurface. Katsuki couldn't have that. He had to be the only one applying to U.A; One quirkless idiot trying in the same year as him would ruin everything.
Trying, because there was no way he could pass, except for cheating.
The real roblem was that mass media, like the fucking degenerates they were, would drop like vultures on the subject of a quirkless freak going for the U.A exams. And that would take the spotlight out of him, thus ruining everything.
While the extras were still chuckling, Deku stepped forward, looking like he made announcements in front of the class everyday. His posture was straight, his expression was calm and his smile was turning Katsuki's annoyance into anger.
"I am no longer quirkless." Before anybody could dispute that claim, Deku's hands shined a bright green and formed a sphere made from some sort of energy.
The laughter died out. The teacher looked at Deku shocked, actually showing emotion for once. The rest had the same reaction. Deku just kept smiling and made the sphere disappear.
In a impressive display of athleticism, Katsuki leaped from his chair and landed at the desk, explosions forming in his hands. "DEKU! What the fuck is this,huh!? Were you hiding your quirk this whole time, bastard!?" He screamed in fury, barely holding himself back from lunging at him in front of the teacher.
"Bakugo, get off the desk. Also, no quirks in the classroom." The teacher regained some of his cool and waved off his outburst with ease built from months of practice. Katsuki never took it too far inside the class because of his perfectionist streak and desire to debut as a hero with an spotless record. They couldn't do anything about what he did outside, though.
With a deep scowl and posture of restrained rage, he sat down and settled for trying to burn a hole into the green haired boy through glares instead of his quirk.
"So what's your quirk?" One of the extras asked Deku. Homeroom was over and the next teacher hadn't arrived yet. All of the idiots were standing around his desk, smiling as if they never laughed along when Katsuki beated the shit out of him. Bunch of hypocrites.
Katsuki himself, very begrudgingly, had already accepted that Deku wasn't hiding his quirk. Contrary to what most people thought, he wasn't stupid, meatheaded bully. If there was one person that truly wanted to be a hero, it was Deku. Problem is, he was born useless. While other people had at least bad quirks, Deku couldn't even come out with his mother's shitty telekinesis.
But even so, the little shit kept going at it. Acting as if society itself would bend over and suck him off, just because he really wanted to be a hero. That attitute pissed him off.
Heroes had to win, and Deku was the opposite of a winner.
But this would change if he had a quirk. So why would he hide it? The only plausible reason was to get pity from others, but that didn't happen during his whole fucking life. In conclusion, Deku wouldn't have put up with half the shit people did to him since he was four, just to reveal he had a quirk all along. He was stupid, but not that mentally retarded.
"Yeah shitstain, what is it?" He shouldered past the nameless secondary characters and glared straight at the no longer quirkless idiot. For a moment, Deku's face flickered into his old scared expression, but that only lasted a mere second. Like a switch had been flipped, he smiled at him and lifted an arm.
"It's Psionics. It lets me use my mind to perform feats. I only discovered it yesterday, so I don't know much about it." Deku explained while the ethereal substance shifted in his palm.
"If all you can do is make shapes with it, why even bother? You're still useless after all." He walked off and sat on his chair, his expression returning to the usual scowl. Deku was still just a pebble on his path, quirk or not. He wasn't even worried.
"Are you okay? You could have hurt yourself, Kacchan."
Not even worried. What could he do? Make a light show for the villains? Katsuki was aiming to be the next number one hero. He wasn't going to worry about another extra. Because that's what Deku had become now: just another extra with a shitty quirk.
"T-that's mean, Kaachan. I-I… I won't let you bully him!"
But he would have to put in extra work on making him learn his place. Now that he had a quirk, the idiot might get cocky.
After classes ended, he waited for the extras to leave and crept up behind Deku. He was on his phone, probably on some hero fansite, the damn nerd.
"Oi, Deku." Katsuki called out. He turned around and pocketed his phone.
"H-Hey Kacchan. What's up?" He asked uneasy, but the same thing from before happened. After a fraction of a second, Deku looked calm again. This was starting to get on his nerves.
"I bet you're feeling real good about yourself, bastard." He took a step forward with a sneer. "Yeah, I bet you spent the entire day jerking off to your useless quirk, thinking 'I might just get into a hero school'!" He mocked in a poor imitation of the green haired boy's voice.
"Well news flash: You won't." Katsuki put his hand on Deku's shoulder and released a few explosions, while at the same time leaning forward to look down at him, taking advantage of the size difference between the two. "I don't want you to apply to U.A-no, scratch that. I don't even want you to think about applying. Am I clear?" He finished with a rough push that sent the nerd into a desk, making him lose balance and fall.
The smaller boy's head lowered, making his messy hair conceal his expression. Katsuki turned around and made his way out of the classroom, but before he could leave, he heard him speak.
"Kacchan." His voice wasn't in the same meek tone he always used. He turned around and saw something rare. Deku was standing and glaring at him with eyes narrowed and fists clenched.
So the nerd thought he could look down at him just because of his shitty quirk.
"Stay the fuck down, Deku. That's where you belong." Red eyes glared back at green orbs with an underlying threat, but the latter didn't waver. Instead, the shorter of the two stepped forward.
"I'm going to U.A, Kacchan. There's nothing that can stop me now." He affirmed with a more controlled tone.
"Are you challenging me? Oh, that's just rich." Katsuki laughed and stepped forward too, but it was clear by his twitching eyebrow and flashing hands that he didn't find the other boy's courage humorous at all.
"I'm not challenging you Kacchan, goddammit! Why do you even care if I want to be a hero or not? I'm not doing anything to affect you!" He exclaimed, spreading his arms wide open.
"I don't give a fuck about you, damn nerd! You're standing in my way and it pisses me off!" He screamed back.
"I'm not standing in your way. You're the one who always pushes me down and tells me I can't do it. Even now, you're literally on my way, telling me what to do." He pointed at him accusingly.
"It's because you keep looking down on me!" Katsuki pulled him by the collar, slightly lifting him. Deku reacted on instinct, grabbing the blond's arm and squeezing. "Ever since we were kids, you always kept looking down on me with those stupid eyes of yours! even though you were the most useless, you always looked on as if you could do better than the best!" He finished by throwing Deku on the ground again.
His reveal momentarily shocked the other boy, leaving a silence in the classroom.
Katsuki gave him one last glare and walked off, kicking every desk on his way to the side.
"I… I never looked down on you." He said looking at the ground. "I admired you. I always thought you were cool because of your strength, and I still do."
Katsuki scoffed and continued to walk. Yeah, right; If Deku respected him, he would act like all of the others and conform with his place on the world. But he didn't. It was clear if you looked in his eyes; Even when everyone said it was impossible, the damn nerd wanted to be strong too. Looking down on people as if he knew better. As if he could do better.
Katsuki left him in the classroom. Despite his efforts, it was clear that Deku intended to surpass him with that useless quirk. So he simply wasn't going to waste his time talking to the idiot. If doing it for ten years, while he was quirkless, didn't work, how could he change his mind in one year? Katsuki hated many things, but wasting his time was on the top, and Deku was a monumental waste of time. The solution was way more simple than talking to him.
He'd just wipe the floor with Deku before the exams even started.
Your relationship with Katsuki has been slightly repaired!
You gain 100 XP!
'Could it really be considered repaired?' Izuku mused. He was on his way home after the talk with Kacch-Katsuki. He was making an effort to stop calling the blond boy with his old nickname, but old habits die hard.
Kac-His reaction had been unexpected. He'd believed that if he finally manifested a quirk, his ex-childhood friend would stop picking on him, but almost nothing changed. Except for Izuku's view on him.
He still respected Kac-Katsuki for his strength, but he longer admired him because of how he used it. He would no longer act as a stepping stone for others anymore.
Not to sound like a broken record, but Gamer's Mind was useful. He wouldn't be able to muster the confidence necessary to even talk with him without the skill.
Sighing, he crossed another street. Man, after gaining a quirk, he was having a lot of important revelations. He couldn't take a day to relax. Today, he and his mother would change his quirk registry, and only tomorrow he would be able to start his training. Yesterday he did nothing but spend time with his mother, which wasn't a bad thing but-
"Guh!"
"Ouch!"
He bumped into someone while muttering, sending all of the things the person was carrying to the ground.
Truly, old habits die hard.
Kyoka groaned and regained her balance. She glared at the person who bumped into her. Why couldn't some people just pay attention? Now all of her things were scattered. The person in front of her, a boy that looked her age, seemed to have a nervous breakdown, bowing repeatedly and shouting apologies.
"I'msosorryIdidn'tlseewhereIwasgoingohgoshIdroppedallofyourthingsI'msosorrymisscanyouforgiveme?" She was barely able to understand him talking thanks to her quirk.
Before she could respond to him, he dived to the ground and started grabbing her things. "Sorry for the freak out. Here, let me grab your stuff." He made his offer, sounding less like a nervous wreck. She could only stare at him. At least he recovered fast.
He rose with her box of LPs. She found them in one of her favorite music shops, that was closing off with one last sale. She wasn't able to resist the extremely low prices, and now had to walk all the way to her house with a huge cardboard box stuffed to the brim.
"Again, I'm really sorry. I wasn't really looking where I was going." The freckled boy said.
"I heard you the first time."
"Really?" He asked surprised. His eyes narrowed and he stared at her for a few seconds until he noticed the very obvious plugs in her earlobes.
"Wow. That's such a cool quirk!" She could swear there were stars in his eyes as he spoke. "Do they function as normal plugs? Are they the reason for why you bought so many discs?" He continued to ask rapid-fire questions, not giving her time to answer any of them. After a second he stopped and muttered something that sounded like 'observe'. His eyes darted from her head to a object that she couldn't see.
"Look, I would love to stay here and tell you everything about my quirk to a random stranger," She started with sarcasm so thick she hoped it could cut through his lack of awareness. "Except I don't. Give me the box." She just wanted to get home and listen to her new collection, not stand here staring at this guy, who she really should stop calling 'this guy' or 'the boy'. Maybe broccoli head. Yeah, that was a good one.
"Oh." Broccoli head sounded better by the second.
"Yeah. Oh."
"Do you want me to carry it? I mean no offense, but this is pretty heavy." Broccoli Head offered. She groaned audibly.
"Look, I got nothing against you…"
"Midoriya."
"I got nothing against you, Midoriya, but I can handle it. Now just give me the box." She was starting to get annoyed at him.
"You look like you're about to fall over. And I don't think the bump has anything to do with it." The nosy teenager countered with a frown, but it was the truth. All of the trains that led to her home had passed, and so she walked with the giant box through entire neighborhoods.
"… Fine, do whatever you want." She gave in, sighing. There was no reason to get angry at Midoriya. He was just offering out of courtesy. Kyoka started to walk in the direction of her house and her company followed quickly.
"Okay!" He brightened, as if carrying a box though the town was a reward and not a chore. "Can I use my quirk on it? It'd make it easier."
"What are you gonna do with it?" She inquired with suspicion. There was no guessing on what would he do. What if his quirk damaged her things?
"I'm going to put it in a pocket dimension." She almost stopped walking.
"… A pocket dimension?"
"Yeah, pretty much-" A pause "… I guess it sounds a bit weird when I say it like that." He finished sheepishly. "I really am getting used to my quirk, huh." He muttered after, but her quirk caught everything as if he whispered into her ear.
"…" Her hand rose to pinch the bridge of her nose. 'It's his quirk, Kyoka, so it sounds completely normal for him. Don't do it.'
"Really? Silly me, here I thought pocket dimensions were common." She exclaimed in a fake surprised tone. 'You had one job.' Her mind chided her.
"… Still, can I do it?"
She sighed and nodded. This was going to be one long walk.
Would it be weird to start praising a part of your quirk religiously? A part of Izuku's mind wondered as he continued to walk. He was talking to a girl. A girl! Maybe not right now, but they had talked earlier.
His mind was on a chaotic state. It was basically Gamer's Mind alone, valiantly fighting off the feeling of embarrassment that always came when interacting while interacting with the opposite sex. This embarrassment eventually always won, because apparently not even supernatural powers could make up for several years of not socializing with people of his age.
But Gamer's Mind activated again after a few seconds, giving him some seconds of feeling normal. He looked to his side once again, just to confirm this was real.
Jiro Kyoka
[Condition]: No injuries; Physically exhausted.
[Mood]: Bored
[Quirk]: Earphone Jack
She has plugs that hang from her earlobes. This grants her enhanced hearing and the ability to channel the sound of her heartbeat into them.
{Specifics}
Yep. It was a girl.
Contrary to the skeleton, there were no stats or HP on Jiro-san. He'd also disabled the function that showed history on the Settings. Knowing this kind of thing about random people would make him feel uncomfortable.
"Hey, are you okay?" Jiro-san's voice brought him back to reality.
"Y-Yes!" He answered way too quickly.
"Are you sure? you look way too red in the face. You're not overusing your quirk, are you?"
"I'm fine, really. Thanks for your concern." He was definitely not fine. Embarrassment was winning against the influence of Gamer's Mind.
"I'm not concerned about you. Who knows what might happen to my things if you fall over in quirk exhaustion out of some misplaced sense of chivalry." She rebutted him quickly, giving embarrassment the final push it needed. He scratched the back of his head, the red on his face increasing.
[Gamer's Mind] Activated.
"No need to worry." The idea of making a shrine for Gamer's Mind gained more merit each second. "It doesn't work like that. It can only be overused by surpassing the weight limit."
"You need to stop doing that. It's creepy."
"Doing what?"
"One moment you're being a nervous wreck, next second you're normal again. It's really off-putting." She clarified.
Was that how the effects of Gamer's Mind looked to other people? If so, he needed to control his expressions more.
"S-Sorry. I'm just a bit embarrassed."
She gave him a confused look and opened her mouth to ask a question, but shook her head and continued to walk at the last second, leaving an awkward silence.
"So… why all these discs?" Midoriya asked. They had been walking for a few minutes by now.
"No reason. There was a big sale and I bought them." She answered, short and to the point, ending the conversation and restoring the silence.
"Miss…"
"Jiro Kyoka."
"How much time will it take to get to your house, Jiro-san? I kinda have an appointment later…"
"If you had one, then why did offer to help?" She asked flatly. Even so, she upped her pace discreetly. He flinched at her bluntness and looked away.
"… I don't know; It just seemed wrong to let you do it. The words came out of my mouth before I could think."
"That's stupid. You can't just go around saying things and offering your help without thinking about it first." She explained, hoping to put sense into this hopeless guy's head.
"Yeah, but I don't have a problem with being stupid if it helps someone."
Despite his nervous tendencies, he could be pretty stubborn, huh. The more you know.
"… I can respect that." She said sincerely. It took a strong will to ignore other people's opinions and do what you wanted.
That brought a lull to the conversation. As both of them continued to walk through Musutafu, they stumbled upon a very common scene. Two heroes were apprehending a criminal with the police force's assistance. She recognized the pros as Cementoss and Ectoplasm. Just the typical hero patrol.
Midoriya certainly didn't think the same, however. In the blink of an eye, there he was, asking for autographs.
Kyoka watched amused. The two costumed men shared her feeling, signing the green haired boy's notebook with grins on their faces. Midoriya took a picture with both of them, his own smile so large it reminded her of another top hero.
He came back red in the face, but the quirk on his lips hadn't diminished one bit. "Oh no, don't mind me. It's not like you're carrying all my stuff and have an appointment later. You go, Mr. Hero Fanboy." Her smirk wasn't as big as his smile, but it had just as much mirth to match it.
"S-Sorry. But it's Ectoplasm and Cementoss. I couldn't pass this opportunity up."
"Sure, sure." She waved his excuses off.
"Don't you like heroes, Jiro-san?"
"Who doesn't? In this day and age, they're pretty popular. I'm also planning to go into a hero school, so that helps too."
"Really? Me too! I want to try for the Heroics Department on U.A."
She looked at him. Pocket dimensions was a crazy useful quirk, especially for a hero. But it was better suited for support. The U.A entrance exam was biased for combat quirks. She examined him. His face was really plain looking, and his constitution looked very frail.
But the look on his eyes when he spoke about being a hero cleared her worries. Kyoka had no doubts that she would find him on U.A two years from now.
"I'm also going to apply for U.A." She announced, cutting through his rambling. Midoriya beamed at her, looking in awe as if she had already graduated as a pro. She found this childish side of him to be weirdly endearing.
The subject of heroes seemed to liven up their interaction. The two teenagers talked about everything from favorite pros to other hobbies. Eventually, they arrived at the Jiro Household, and Midoriya used his quirk to bring back her box. She thanked him, and asked for his contact information so they could keep in contact.
His face erupted in a vibrant red, and that combined with his hair made him look like a human tomato.
"S-SurE!" His voice cracked at the end, but nonetheless he fished through his pockets and pulled out his phone. He watched, slack-jawed, as she added her own contact information inside of his phone.
"Here." She gave his phone back. He took it carefully, almost as though the device would explode at any moment. After seeing his social awkwardness, Kyoka logically concluded this was the first time a girl ever gave him a phone number.
"I-I'll see you later- I mean talk to- I-I mean-"
"I'll keep in contact. Bye, Midoriya." She grabbed the box and entered her house smirking, leaving the stuttering mess at her door.
You have unlocked Jiro Kyoka's Social Link! You and Jiro are now acquaintances.
I'm so proud of you, Izuku. Only the second day and you already discovered your first route.
You gained 100 EXP!
… Was this real life? Or had everything since yesterday's morning been nothing but a dream? Izuku looked at his phone in a daze. There it was: A girl's number.
He pinched himself in the arm; Nothing changed. Nothing had changed when he did it yesterday too. This wasn't a reliable method. He needed more proof-
[Gamer's Mind] Activated.
His breathing came back to normal; His posture relaxed and he pocketed his phone. This was just too much. Why couldn't he get a semblance of his old routine!?
16:11 PM
Izuku sighed. There was no time to stop and keep thinking about it. As he said to Jiro-san, he had an appointment. Sending a quick message to his mother, he turned around walked in the direction of his home.
Overall, it was a pretty simple affair. He and his mother got into the government building, requested a change on the records, and now Midoriya Izuku officially had a quirk.
He decided to put it as Psionics. Most of his skills could be passed up as psychic skills, such as the energy blasts and the calmness of Gamer's Mind. He could use the excuse of a shield to justifie Gamer's Body, and the rest were skills that anyone could learn, like martial arts and first aid.
Currently, both Midoriyas were back home and Izuku was in his room, furiously scribbling on his notebook with his right hand, and making a map of Musutafu with his left hand. He had already finished homework, his training schedule for stats was complete, now he needed to pin down Instant Dungeons for gaining EXP. He was selecting spots away from most hero patrols, since IDs were supposed to be places where monsters appear.
Izuku opened his Menu.
Stats
Skills
Equipment
Inventory
Quests
Instant Dungeons
Social Links
Settings
Load Game
Expansions
Help
The ID function was there now. The game probably hadn't showed to him before because of his inexperience. Who knows what might've happened if he went in without any previous explanation…
He opened the ID menu to check which ones were available to him.
{Create ID}
{Escape ID}
The second option was blurred out, but he could see enough to understand what it said. Izuku selected the only option he could. The screen shifted accordingly, showing different options.
[Training Grounds]
[Kobold Lair]
[Magical Forest]
Just three, huh? He selected the first option to see what it did.
[Training Grounds] Lv.1: Time for a training montage! This spawns an empty plot of land filled with test dummies. It can be customized in real time by the player, so go nuts. Lasts for 4 hours. Cooldown: 20 hours
{Create}
'This is getting ridiculous'. And if the tutorial was to be believed, the IDs would get better as he leveled up. Could other people enter these spaces? If so, he could make lots of money by loaning them as a training facilities. He closed it and opened the other ID.
[Kobold Lair] Lv.1: A small cave filled with kobolds. Lasts for 2 hours. Cooldown: 120 hours.
{Create}
"Aren't twenty enemies a bit too much?"He asked to no one in particular.
[Magical Forest] : A forest with various types of vegetation and mystical creatures. Lasts indefinitely.
{Create}
He was entering a dilemma. Should he grind the current IDs until he found anything or unlocked new ones, or spend more time to find the more rewarding spaces?
To solve this situation, he brought up his stats screen. Intelligence helped in problem solving, right? He had a lot of points to spare, and his curiosity was at its peak. He touched the INT symbol.
INT: 41 { - / + }
Stat Points: 60
{Save}
He increased it by nine, just to get an even number. After touching the save option, He went back to the menu.
Stats
Skills
Equipment
Inventory
Quests
Instant Dungeons
Social Links
Settings
Load Game
Expansions
Help
He selected 'Expansions' and waited. The screen flashed and showed a typical display of an online game shop. Izuku mentally scrolled through the available ones.
[Perks and Traits Expansion]: This adds a whole new layer to your quirk! Every 5 levels, you gain a special skill to liven up your gameplay. {Download}
[League of Legends Expansion]: The most played game in your world, now as part of your quirk! Adds items, IDs, NPCs and mobs from League of Legends. {Download}
[RWBY Expansion]: A minor expansion. Adds Huntsmen weapons and Grimm. {Download}
[Noble Phantasm Pack]: Adds new legendary weapons from the heroes of old. {Download}
[Sacred Gear Pack]: Adds new artifacts handcrafted by deities. {Download}
You can only use 3 of these expansions, so choose carefully. More will be available in the future, so be sure to not download everything at once!
He instantly touched the first one. Items and IDs were pretty good, but he could find them whenever he wanted. New skills however, required expertise or specific methods. So free skills every five levels was the way to go.
Selecting this option will download the [Perks and Traits Expansion] to your quirk. Are you sure this is what you want?
{Y/N}
Downloading now… It will take 24 hours for the changes so set in.
For the rest of the expansions, he would need to do his research. Izuku recognized two or three of them, but it was only superficial knowledge. Heroics was his big passion, not games.
After researching everything to its fine details, Izuku finished his map. Looking at the clock, he sighed; It looked like training would only start tomorrow.
You crafted a [Musutafu City Map]!
By using certain tools and resources to create an item, you have unlocked a new skill!
[Crafting] Lv.1(Passive): The skill to manufacture with skill and attention to detail. Allows creation of Common items.
Now that you have a map, you can access the Map function in the Menu! Be sure to try it out.
Stats
Skills
Equipment
Inventory
Maps
Quests
Instant Dungeons
Social Links
Settings
Load Game
Expansions
Help
Sure enough, there was a map option. When selected, it showed the layout of Musutafu within a screen. The points he marked were represented as bright red dots.
Izuku spent the rest of the day studying, managing to increase his INT by 2.
The next day was uneventful. Which was good, because Izuku needed time to process all of the changes that happened to his life. At school, things seemed… better? He wasn't really sure. Katsuki and his cronies stopped stopped harassing him, but the former kept sending glares that he would never be able to notice if it wasn't for Detect Bloodlust.
His other classmates had done a complete one-eighty; They treated him like an actual person now, instead of just following Katsuki's lead. Some of them even had invited him to hang out later!
He should be feeling good. Everything was going great in his life, so he should be smiling and accepting these offers. But he didn't.
Was it hate? Was it bitterness? Why did he refuse every offer his classmates made? Even with Gamer's Mind and increased intelligence, Izuku was struggling to find an answer. And it was killing him.
To forget the questions that plagued his mind, he put everything into his studies with the excuse of increasing his stats further. When he wasn't studying, he was increasing his luck. He couldn't really develop physical stats in class.
But after class was another story. Wearing his workout clothes, which was just a cyan tracksuit with his usual red shoes, he left his room and gave his mother a goodbye. Learning his lesson from before, he exited the apartment, going to the place that would serve as his main training spot.
The Dagobah Municipal Beach Park was located in a coastline at the south of Musutafu. It was once a famous public spot where mostly couples would walk, but rampant pollution destroyed the place. Nowadays, it was used to store all sorts of thing people threw off. A genuine junkyard just west of Tokyo.
But it was the perfect place for testing his quirk. No one actually visited it, they just got rid of their garbage and walked off in order to not be caught by the authorities. It would be very difficult to notice his abilities being used when he was deep within heaps and mountains of trash. He walked around the once beautiful beach, trying to find an spot with even grounding. After minutes of stepping over thrash, he found a place relatively clear.
"Create ID" Responding to his intent, his quirk activated and the space around him started to shift. Heaps or trash disappeared, turning into short hills and dummies in the vague shape of an human. Sand gave way to short grass. The view to the Pacific ocean shifted to an endless horizon. In a matter of seconds, Dagobah beach turned into a grassy plain. Such was the power of Illusion Barriers.
Izuku looked around the distorted space, and noted no imperfections. He literally manipulated space like it was a party trick, and was feeling no drawbacks. Eventually, he reached the barrier's limits and passed them. His view changed back, and the Training Grounds turned into Dagobah Beach once again. He turned around and saw the same view of when he first arrived.
He nodded to himself. An outsider wouldn't be able to see anything within this barrier. If they entered by accident or use of a space quirk, he'd just play it off as training his own quirk. He entered the Training Grounds again and grabbed his skill book. He had gotten it on the skeleton-filled ID, and was going to test if he could learn it.
This is a skill book for [Electric Aura]. Do you wish to learn this skill?
{Y/N}
He touched the 'Yes' button. He wasn't going to try and read the whole thing again.
This time, since he already had mana unlocked, there was no big change. The book disappeared and knowledge flowed into his head.
[Electric Aura] Lv.1(Active): Wraps your body in a layer of electricity that stimulates your nerves. This technique speeds up neural synapses reaction time, and pushes physical prowess to the absolute limit, allowing tremendous raw speed and power. Doubles STR and DEX, costs 20MP/min.
Although it cost a lot of mana, several minutes with doubled speed and strength was nothing to scoff at. But he would only use it at the end of his training, due to the mentioned high cost.
However, before even training, he needed to create new skill. Most of the actives were for offense. He had to cover all of his bases. Attacking was all good, but a hero did more than beating up villains. Mana extended from his hand, forming into the vague shape of an rectangle. The shape twisted and shifted and turned into a perfect green war-door shield.
By manipulating of mana into a defensive way, you have unlocked a new skill!
[Mana Shield] Lv.1(Active): Creates a shield made of raw mana. It has 5 armor and costs 20 MP.
Izuku tried out various shapes. Round shields, bucklers, kite shields, oval, coffin,etc. The skill leveled up accordingly.
[Mana Shield] is now Lv.2!
[Mana Manipulation] is now Lv.7!
[Mana Shield] is now Lv.3!
[Mana Manipulation] is now Lv.8!
[Mana Shield] is now Lv.4!
[Mana Manipulation] is now Lv.9!
[Mana Shield] is now Lv.5!
[Mana Manipulation] is now Lv.10!
[Mana Manipulation] is now Lv.11!
[Mana Shield] is now Lv.6!
[Mana Manipulation] is now Lv.12!
For some reason, this skill grew way faster than his other ones. Now he was going to try the reinforcement technique his first skill book talked about.
He released more mana than ever before. spirit energy exited his nerves and flowed through his entire body. Bones hardened, muscles strengthened and his skin toughened.
You have developed a new skill!
[Reinforcement] Lv.1(Active): boosts the body's structure with spiritual energy. Raises STR and DEX by 5, for 5 minutes. Costs 40 MP.
He got into a basic stance and threw a quick jab. His body was moving easier, and every single movement seemed infinitely smoother. With quick start, he sprinted up to a dummy, jumped over it and delivered a kick to its head. The thing went into the ground in record time.
He looked at it. Surprisingly, it wasn't the cliche sack with sticks for arms. It was more akin to a beige colored, semi-realistic mannequin, with its arms spread wide and legs squared up. He Observed it.
Training Dummy
Lv.1
A human shaped dummy created by yourself.
Armor: 9999/9999
[Unbreakable]: This object cannot be destroyed.
{Change}
Now that he had attack offense and defense, he needed mobility. If only he had more mana… He'd used it all up making consecutive shields and the little he had left was used unlocking Reinforcement.
Well, no use in standing around doing nothing. He started stretching his body, but after a few seconds realized it was useless. He had the body of a video gamer character, there was no need for the usual procedures. So he laid on the ground and started doing sit-ups.
Izuku was on the grass, still exercising and waiting for his mana to regenerate. At some point, his martial arts skill stopped leveling up, so he was doing good old fashioned physical training. Around him, there was some piles of trash he used as lifting weights.
Your training is paying off! +1 STR!
He finished the repetition and unlocked his phone to see the time.
17:06 PM
Okay, so according to his calculations, his mana should be full by now. He could have used meditation to regenerate faster, but he'd preferred to advance his stats instead of spending time idle. Before creating more skills he looked at his status page to check out his growth and confirm his math.
Midoriya Izuku, The Gamer
[True Name]: Izuku Midoriya
[Title]: The Gamer
[Level]: 7(76.71%) [Race]: Human
[Money]: 4000 yen {Specifics}
STR: 24
DEX: 28
VIT: 28
WIS: 44
INT: 55
CHA: 27
LCK: 30
Stat Points: 51
[Condition]
HP: 164/164 MP: 220/220
Overall, it was pretty good. Satisfied, he turned around and lined up to a dummy.
He bent his legs slightly and prepared to dash once again. At the last moment before moving, he expelled mana through his legs, increasing the speed and distance of the stride. In less than three seconds, he was in front of his target.
But instead of attacking it, he did the same thing from before and expelled mana from his inferior members, leaping 10 meters into the air.
"Whoa!" The view only birds and gigantification quirk users had daily was incredible. Even if it was an artificially created space, the green plains and blue sky let him mesmerized. Izuku was slowly descending and enjoying the view. But he couldn't stay like this for too long. So he moved mid-air and prepared to strike the dummy again.
Unfortunately, he wasn't used to jumping this high. He flailed awkwardly in the air before unceremoniously crashing into the grass. So much for looking cool.
You have created a new skill!
[Mana Rush] Lv.1(Active): Releases mana from the inferior members, causing a burst of speed. Costs 12 MP.
He used the skill twice, meaning he still had 196 mana points. More than enough to test out the Electric Aura. He had saved it for last, and was itching with curiosity on how much of an upgrade it would give him. Already up, he used his recently found knowledge to transform part of mana into electricity.
[Electric Aura] Activated!
Something sparked inside of him. His nerves accelerated and his body did the same, making everything around him look slower. The blue glow of electricity started to surround the outside of his body, forming a barrier. His hair spiked up due to the negative charges. He picked up a brick from the ground and it felt lighter than a small pebble. Tossing it up in the air, he watched awestruck as the thing fell in slow motion. He was experiencing the kind of thing he only saw in movies.
But it was time to stop fooling around. This skill could only be kept for eight more minutes, and he had to make the most of them.
Izuku turned around. The electricity around him hummed as he took a running position. The third test dummy of the day was ten meters away from him. In normal conditions, he would reach it in 5 or 6 seconds.
But there was nothing normal about him right now.
He shot out at incredible speeds, leaving a crater at his starting position, and went through nine meters in one single second. Taking another step which left made the grass disappear in a burst, he reached his target in the fraction of another second and brought his arm back for a punch.
He stomped forward with waist and shoulders rotating in unison and delivered a vicious haymaker.
Boom!
The dummy was sent flying in a incredible burst of electric and kinetic strength, but to him, it was still moving in slow motion. He jumped higher than ever before, almost reaching the outside of the barrier, and rotated his body mid-air to face the ground. Bending his legs and channeling more electricity to them, he kicked off.
In a whoosh, Izuku descended like a meteor. He flipped forward to increase momentum, then lifted his leg as high as he could. Reaching his target, he executed a perfect axe kick.
His feet connected with its chest with a crack, sending dust and grass everywhere. But the thing stayed intact due to its unbreakable status. The same couldn't be said for the ground; The grass had disappeared, leaving a ground full with cracks.
[Electric Aura] Deactivated.
The humming stopped, the electricity dispersed in a show of sparks and his body turned back what it was. But the giant grin he had since the start stayed there. He opened his stats and saw that he still had around 150 mana left. Channeling more mana into his hands he approached another dummy.
The knowledge on how to use that technique was linked with how to transform mana into electricity. That meant an upgrade from basic arrows and blasts.
His hands sparked, the green energy around them transforming into electricity once again. Putting a palm forward, he tried to shoot it like he did with mana blast. The results weren't good; Electricity was extremely hard to manipulate. Bolts of energy shot out haphazardly, shocking the dummies and burning the grass. His hands fizzled out, the transformed energy completely vanishing.
You created a new skill!
[Discharge] (Active): Releases a burst of electricity from your body. Damage varies on mana spent. Base cost: 10 MP.
No matter how much he tried to control it, he only ended up using Discharge. Eventually, he stopped to think about what he was doing wrong.
'The reason I can use Electric Aura without difficulty is because I'm releasing a moderate charge so that my body can handle it. The energy that surrounds me is the leftovers that escape. This technique is turning the flow of mana into electricity. Which means it's moving naturally, but in a different form. When I try to control it instead of letting it move naturally, it just bursts out. That means the problem is my lack of control. Mana Manipulation is at level 12, but how many levels exist? I have to increase my control, or I won't be able to execute more complex attacks.'
For realizing your shortcomings and working towards correcting them, you gain 1 WIS!
This notification was pretty useful. It basically served as a confirmation that he was right, and gave him more stats. Dismissing it with a wave of his hand, he channeled mana into his hands again. This would take a while.
2 hours later…
[Mana Manipulation] is now Lv.52!
It was ridiculous how much his quirk interfered on his growth rate. Izuku was sure anyone else would have to spend months to get to his level of fine control. He could now change the trajectory of his attacks and make them explode, creating Mana Bombs. It was also possible to create very small tendrils of mana called Mana Strings. And most importantly, he could control electricity naturally, but only the electricity produced by himself.
He wanted to train more, but it wasgetting late and he promised mom he'd come in time for dinner. At least he would get that tiny bit of practice while exiting the beach.
Minutes later, random passersby disposing of their thrash would sight a green-haired boy throwing bolts of electricity at the sand. They did the wise thing and stayed the hell out of his way.
The next day…
Izuku was meditating in the beach. It was around 17:00 PM and the portal to the Kobold Lair was opened in front of him. His mana was almost full, but that wasn't the reason for his current activity.
He was stalling. Izuku knew he was wasting time, but did nothing to stop it. He'd been doing it for an hour; He had come to beach fully intending to open an ID to fight some monsters. But he hesitated and started training, using the flimsy excuse of not being strong enough.
Still now, Izuku was hesitating. Hesitating on opening an ID with monsters inside. Hesitating because of what might happen if he entered.
Hesitating on killing.
In his eyes, the skeletons and zombies from the first ID didn't count, as they were already dead. So he didn't have any semblance of hesitation when striking these creatures. Plus, even if himself didn't know it, he was in a power high after unlocking his mana and so had been hasty, entering the portal without thinking.
But to make the conscious decision of opening a portal and kill creatures that had nothing to do with him, was something he found disturbing. He had no problem in building a hero career on his own blood, sweat and many, many tears, but to carve a path on top of others' lives… That was what a villain did. And Izuku wanted to be the opposite of one.
Kobold Lair was out of the question. It was simply a cave filled with creatures for him to defeat. Even if he entered searching for items, there were too many unknown factors to try. The portal responded to his mental command and dissipated in a quick swirling motion.
He needed to find a good method to gain experience. Maybe creating quests would do the job.
However… He could still try entering Magical Forest. It should be bigger than a cave and thus easier to hide from conflict. Based on yesterday's research, kobolds could be two things: A race of lesser lizardmen, or a bunch fairies. Both of these probably didn't possess anything of value. But in a Magical Forest, he could find items that were literally out of this world. Solution found, he stopped his muttering with two words.
And if his conclusion was flawed, he could simply leave while he could. The portals could be closed by his will, after all.
'Don't be blindly optimistic. What if you find enemies right after entering?' A part of him asked.
He could outspeed them.
'What if they surround you?'
Overpower them.
'What if they can use magic?'
"Create ID"
Izuku sighed. He really should stop thinking about what ifs. He opened his eyes and looked at his Status. With his spirit energy replenished, he got up and walked towards the portal.
His head was invaded with foreign sensations. His nose caught the smell of wet dirt, while the pure air of a forest entered his lungs. The chirping of birds registered in his ears and he accessed his surroundings. As expected of its namesake, the place was full of very large trees that were at least forty feet tall. The ground was a rich brown covered with glistening grass, signifying it rained some time ago. Behind him, the portal twisted and shrunk on itself, disappearing in seconds.
Overall, Magical Forest didn't looked very magical at first glance. But that was a problem that could be solved by exploring.
[Sense Danger] Activated!
Izuku's head snapped to the left, but his body moved far faster than his mind could. Driven by pure instinct, he used Mana Rush and leapt to his right. Right after he did, a limbless mass full of scales hit the spot he occupied.
Hiss!
[Gamer's Mind] Activated.
A snake, and a giant one at that. By his estimations, it looked at least thirty feet long. Its scales were cream colored with brown patterns, and its slitted pupils were glaring at him.
Giant Constrictor Lv.14
STR: 40
DEX: 60
VIT: 30
INT: 3
WIS: 5
CHA: 1
LCK: 1
[Condition]
HP: 194/194 MP: 9/9
{Specifics}
'Well shit.' Was all he could think before his enemy advanced. He rolled away, but the distance he put was not enough. After landing, the critter leapt at him again with fangs bared.
[Fighting Spirit] Activated!
'This won't take me anywhere.' He used Mana Rush to jump up, avoiding death at the last second. While in the air, he pointed both hands downward and channeled mana onto them.
Before the snake could pounce, various arrows made of electricity quickly rained down in its direction. Taking full advantage of its limber body, the giant critter swerved and twisted in ways only its species could manage. None of the attacks connected and Izuku was now descending right in front of it.
With the tides of battle turned, it bounded upwards ready to execute the green haired boy. The latter was too late on his reaction, and as such received the full force of a tackle. The snake wasted no time and sank its fangs on his shoulder, making him let out a pained scream. The rest of its body coiled around him, muffling his cries. They were twisting on the air when it finally finished wrapping itself around him.
Then it squeezed.
Snap!
His screams became more desperate than before. Its scaly body was coiling tighter and tighter, rapidly draining his HP. Agony unlike anything he ever experienced before rushed through his nerves, but his mind stayed calm. Both bodies fell on the ground, and as he couldn't speak, he screamed within his mind.
'Reinforcement!'
The thick scales met resistance from his hardened skin. The snake simply pressed even tighter, moving its head towards the top of Izuku's own. Before it could even open its mouth, the boy let out another mental cry.
'DISCHARGE!'
Blue rays of light exploded from his body, electrocuting the reptile. It let out a anguished noise from its throat, releasing the hold it had on him. Now free and still releasing electricity, Izuku put a hand right under the thing's head and fired a mana blast at point blank.
The head was pushed back, and the body went along with it.
Still on the ground, he pointed his right hand at the snake. A Mana Arrow came out, but completely missed its mark, hitting the bark of a random tree.
His hand was shaking.
The snake let out a disoriented hiss, lifting itself up slowly. Alarmed, he quickly gripped his wrist with his other hand, steadying his aim. His green eyes glared at slitted pupils one last time as he shot another arrow from the tip of his finger.
[Fighting Spirit] is now Lv.2!
Critical Hit!
The attack penetrated the reptile's head and stopped halfway into the brain. Losing life, the body fell on the wet dirt; Before Izuku could calm down however, it twitched. The tail swung back and forth, brushing on the base of a tree.
You gained 450 EXP.
You leveled up!
Izuku let out a deep breath, relaxing his tensed muscles. It was dead. Cold-blooded animals could move after dying for up to an hour due to their special metabolism.
'So much for not killing anything.' He thought bitterly, wiping sweat from his face. According to Observe, it was a constrictor snake, so he probably wasn't poisoned. But this was also a magical forest, and so he checked his Status to make absolutely sure.
Midoriya Izuku, The Gamer
[True Name]: Izuku Midoriya
[Title]: The Gamer
[Level]: 8(33.25%) [Race]: Human
[Money]: 4000 yen {Specifics}
STR: 50(+25)
DEX: 53(+25)
VIT: 32
WIS: 45
INT: 56
CHA: 27
LCK: 35
Stat Points: 61
[Condition]
HP: 138/185 MP: 22/224
He gave out a relieved sigh and collapsed on the ground. He knew no plan survived contact with the enemy, but this was too soon!
Eventually, he got up. The wish to stay on the comfortable grass and unwind was strong, but this was a place full of unknowns. Who knows what other creatures could smell the dead body. And if anything came by the scent of blood or the sounds he definitely made, they would find him pratically out of mana.
"Ugh..." He groaned while looking at the sky, as if cursing some entity for putting him in this situation.
[Sense Danger] Activated!
[Sense Danger] is now Lv.7!
And like a punishment from said entity, he heard the sound of bushes rustling and approaching steps. he used Mana Rush and dashed onto some foliage. Ducking low enough to not be seen, he steadied his breathing and waited.
[Sneak] Activated.
People wearing leather garments came from the trees. All three had bandages wrapped around their arms and scars littered in their faces, which were in collective expressions of frustration. The one in the front had tanned skin, short brown hair and was the only one wearing a breastplate, while the other two were sporting vests. He was hacking away at obstructing bushes with a machete while the other two stepped through from behind.
[Sneak] is now Lv.5!
"What the hell is that?" The one in the front said, pointing at dead snake with his machete.
"That's a giant snake, you dumbass. The critters in this forest are like this." The taller of them, which Izuku assumed to be the leader, said. "Now let's go, dammit! Those freaks will catch up if we just stand here!" He screamed, ending with a harsh cough. The others nodded and the three resumed their walk with a brisker pace.
Izuku sighed and leaned back. Crisis averted.
"Those freaks will catch up"
… Or not. What was he talking about. Was the group being chased by something? What if whatever was pursuing them stumbled here?
Should he stay and see or get out in case they were enemies? The answer came in less than a second: He was out of mana, leveled up and alive. Izuku was going to put this first trip as a win on his book and get the hell out.
[Sense Danger] Activated!
"Dasost!" A scratchy voice screamed as people with mutation quirks bursted from the forest. There were at least twenty of them, all with had the appearance of lizards, with green scales for skin, large claws holding spears and clubs and clothing taken straight from the stone age. Izuku observed the one closest to him.
Lizardman Warrior Lv.16
STR: 38
DEX: 34
VIT: 34
INT: 20
WIS: 20
CHA: 12
LCK: 12
[Condition]
HP: 208/208 MP: 80/80
Lizardman? Did that mean their appearances weren't influenced by a quirk? Were these people actually evolved lizards? Was that the reason for their primitive cloth-
[Gamer's Mind] Activated.
'This isn't the time to think about their goddamn clothing!'. He had to see what these 'lizardmen' were up to.
"Pok!" A lizardman in the front said, catching the other's attention. He stood out from the rest with his larger frame and the multitude of weapons he was carrying with him. Izuku could spot a sword and two daggers, along with the spear and shield he was wielding.
Lizardman Captain Lv.25
STR: 60
DEX: 40
VIT: 50
INT: 25
WIS: 38
CHA: 30
LCK: 18
[Condition]
HP: 310/310 MP: 100/100
The squad of lizardmen continued to march forward with weapons at hand, all of them towards... to where the people from earlier exited.
They stopped after a blast of electricity took out one of the warriors.
Critical Hit!
As if they'd agreed to do so, every single one of them turned their head around at the same time and saw a frowning Izuku with his hand outstretched.
The people from eariler were trying to escape, and they had very visible injuries. These lizardmen were obviously the culprits, and if the weapons and war cries were any indication, they planned to kill them or at least cause more harm.
Izuku only planned to buy some time. There was no way he could beat twenty enemies while out of mana.
Quest Created: Hero Wannabe
A lizardmen tribe is pursuing some bandits who tried to steal from them, and your moral compass is stopping you from letting violence happen.
Objectives:
Prevent any Lizardman from causing harm to the burglars.
Rewards:
2000 EXP
x1 Leather Armor
Izuku didn't dare to break eye contact with the lizardmen. He kept staring them down instead of moving, trying to delay the fight so his mana could regenerate.
[Sense Danger] Activated!
However, the downside of delaying was that you also gave your opponent time.
Four spears flew through the air, all falling down on his direction and ready to end his life. Distantly, he could see most of the warriors running towards him.
[Fighting Spirit] Activated!
With no time to dodge and enemies approaching, he improvised. Swiping his hand horizontally, Izuku drew the rusty sword he had obtained in his first ID. His reinforced body easily kept up with the projectiles as he deflected them one by one.
You unlocked a new skill!
[Sword Mastery] Lv.1(Passive): There's lots of jokes to be made about using a sword in the modern age. But who the hell cares, they're cool! This skill increases your damage and proficiency with swords.
While it would be nice, the lizardmen didn't give him the chance to read anything. They relentlessly threw more spears, which were promptly dodged or blocked, and after running out of them, they took out their wooden clubs and advanced upon him.
Izuku dodged a downward strike, his sword already back on inventory, and took aim. Then immediately rolled away from a sharp claw.
Your movements are becoming more fluid! +1 DEX
He dodged and twisted his body around the lizardmen's attacks, but couldn't retaliate. Every time he tried, another one of them came and tried to strike him down. Fighting a lot of enemies at once was becoming too much for him.
He rose quickly, leaned right to avoid a blow and tripped a lizardman, who went down. Aiming once again, he prepared to shoot a blast-
Only to get nailed right in the cheek by a sweeping attack. His neck snapped down as he lost balance.
Critical Hit!
-110 HP
His head throbbed and his vision blurred, but he could still see to some extent. Putting up a hasty, sloppy guard, he reinforced himself and tried to take the brunt of the next attack.
-22 HP
He stumbled a bit from the impact, but stayed on his feet. The lizardman he tripped was already on its feet, and he could scarcely hear two others running at him.
You have unlocked a new skill!
[Adrenaline Rush] Lv. MAX (Passive): You're body is doing everything it can to keep you alive. This skill triggers when you're below 30% HP, instantly giving you 40% of your maximum MP back, along with 45% Damage Reduction, 60% STR and 40% DEX.
[Adrenaline Rush] Activated!
The feeling of part of his mana coming back was everything he needed to turn this around.
[Electric Aura] Activated!
Turning into a blue blur, he tackled a lizardman, bringing him to the dirt. Not wasting time, he immediately leapt to another one and threw a devastating straight to his face, sending him sprawling to the ground. His instincts flared and he leaned to the left, narrowly avoiding the downward strike of a club and lashing out with his leg as a counter. His limb slammed into another creature's midsection, sending his enemie a few inches away and giving him some breathing room.
The captain snarled and drew his sword. Izuku reacted quickly and moved to intercept him. The bigger lizardman was putting Izuku on the defensive with the bigger reach of his weapons, but the green haired boy was able to dodge every slash with his increased speed.
He hopped to the side, barely moving out of the way of a stray spear, but stumbled back after being hit by another one. The lizardman who threw it went towards him and swiped with his claw. He ducked around the attack, stepped beyond his guard and grabbed him. Before he could react, Izuku elbowed him in the gut and threw him over his shoulder.
[Fighting Spirit] is now Lv.3!
The captain kicked the body out of his way and stepped back into a stance. By now, all of the lizardmen who weren't knocked out were surrounding him with weapons at hand. Before he could do anything, the captain pointed his club at him let out a scream
"IOWD!"
After the battle cry, all of them charged at the green haired boy, who stepped up to the leader. He used a Power Strike to break his sword and blocked a counter with his forearm. They traded blows but Izuku was clearly pushing him back while brushing off the other's attacks, thanks to the bonuses of his Adrenaline Rush.
The warriors surrounding him grabbed their spears in unison and charged with a coordinated attacked, intenting to kill him through sheer numbers.
Right before the spears pierced his guts, he discharged, electrocuting all of them. While they were stunned by the attack, he acted.
"Power Strike!" His enhanced fist smashed into the captain's stomach, making him spit blood and fly off. He turned to the still dazed enemies with mana flowing in his hands, and released his new technique.
"Mana Bomb!" A single sphere of energy left from his hand. Moving rapidly, it rotated and grew bigger, finishing by exploding in the center of the reptilian men.
They were sent back by the explosion at high speeds, crashing down one second later.
[Electric Aura] Deactivated.
Izuku exhaled, sagging his shoulders and lowering his arm.
You gained 6375 EXP.
You leveled up!
You leveled up!
You leveled up!
You leveled up!
Quest Completed: Hero Wannabe
You gained 2000 EXP.
You gained x1 Leather Armor.
You leveled up!
He growled and ripped out a spear from his shoulder. There wasn't too much blood covering him thanks to Gamer's Body, but the wounds throbbed and hurt just the same.
Quest Completed! Guardian of Musutafu
You gained 800 EXP.
You gained x1 Leather Armor.
You leveled up!
Congrats Izuku, you reached Lv.10! The difficulty is no longer set on tutorial mode. Also, you get your first perk.
[Perks] act as-
He closed the notification and looked around him. He could just see everything later on the menu, after all. After observing around, he found out none of the lizardmen were dead, merely unconscious.
[Unconscious]: This creature isn't aware of its surroundings and can't do anything.
He looked at the captain's face. Honestly, these... creatures were extremely confusing. Were they lizards with human features or humans with lizard characteristics?
While he wondered about the lizardmen His reward materialized itself in front of him. It was a simple black, leather chest piece that covered the torso and shoulders. If he still had energy, maybe he'd examine the thing in more detail, but in his current state it just went to the inventory without a second glance.
"... Escape ID."
The top part of his tracksuit was completely shredded, and he didn't want needlessly worry his mother, so he also withdrew some spare clothes. After changing, he started to numbly walk with the feeling that he was on the edge of gaining an Exhausted status effect again.
Overall, it was an adequate result. The only thing he killed was a critter in self-defense, which really said how badly he was secretly expecting the whole thing would go. There was one big problem though; His performance.
He couldn't keep fighting like he did. It took being on the verge of death for him to turn around the fight. One might say there were a lot of enemies, but they had the ingenuity of cavemen. All his enemies did was swing around their weapons and scream for his death. What would happen when he found smarter enemies on the other IDs?
The problem lied on his fighting style. Most of his mana attacks required a cast time and a good aim, so when he was overwhelmed, he hadn't been able to shoot once. On close combat, he was worse. His martial arts skills consisted of a mix of various moves he'd seen heroes perform.
He needed to think about how to solve this. Training raw stats was good, but power alone didn't make a good fighter. Izuku grabbed his phone from the inventory.
17:34 PM
If he hadn't spent so much time stalling, maybe he would be able to meditate and enter the ID again. As it was right now, he still had some time to kill before going back, but not enough for more exploring.
'The first skill book said that Mana Manipulation was the basis to learn magic, not magic itself. But where can I find a book that'll teach it to me?' That was something to look into. Fortunately, he had some time to spare.
This is a skill book for [Crafting]. Do you wish to learn this skill?
{Y/N}
Izuku selected 'No' and put the book on a basket. Sighing, he went back to searching. Right now, he was in an old bookstore due to his low budget, looking for books with useful skills. Until now, the best he found was a book on sewing and a series on mechanical engineering.
The idea of consuming them right now passed through his mind once, but was mercilessly crushed right after. He wasn't above the law just because of his quirk. So he paid for the books, stored them and exited the store. It cost all of his allowance, but it was all worth it. Now he would be able to actually craft items, while utilizing materials from the beach.
After arriving home and 'reading' the books, instead of getting new skills, the level of Crafting just went up.
[Crafting] is now Lv.7!
[Crafting] is now Lv.12!
[Crafting] is now Lv.15!
After 'reading', opened the menu and found the perk section right between skill and equipment.
I can't believe you cut me off like that Izuku. I thought we were friends! But like the forgiving interface that I am, I'll still let you informed.
Since you're Lv.10 The difficulty of the game is no longer set on tutorial difficulty. This means enemies aren't dumb and quests are harder but more rewarding.
Now, to your perks.
[Perks] act bonuses on your already existing skills and stats. You can unlock a new one every 5 levels, and the selection you're offered is based on your stats and skills. So if you focus on STR, you will gain STR related perks. Same thing for focusing on sneak. Since you're already at Lv.10, you get to choose 2.
P.S: The perks you didn't choose will be available at later levels.
[Healing Factor]: No need for traditional medicine! This perk increases your HP regeneration by 100%.
[Educated]: This perk will add 5 extra stat points when you gain a new level.
[Swift Learner]: You are indeed a Swift Learner with this Perk, as it gives you an additional 50% bonus to all of your EXP gains.
[Strong Back]: What are you, part pack mule? Grants 120 lbs. as additional carry weight on your inventory.
[Smooth Talker]: You learned to make a convincing argument without understanding what the hell you're talking about. This will increase your INT by 30%, for purposes of dialogue only.
[Toughness]: If nothing else, you can take a beating! Your base Damage Resistance changes to 40%.
[Iron Fist]: SMASH! Punching attacks do 100% more damage.
[Night Vision]: The ability to see in low-light conditions by biological means. This modifies your eyes to see better under low light levels.
He picked Swift Learner and closing the perk menu. Educated and Thoughness were also good, but Night Vision had more utility. In the end, he didn't sweat it and started researching something else. It's not he would lose anything by delaying his decision.
He turned his attention to the computer. Izuku was looking for martial arts schools to develop his hand-to-hand expertise. Most of his current skills were for long range, and his own expertise was severely lacking. Like with magic, he didn't know how many levels the skill had. There were countless styles, after all.
Contrary to what one would believe, martial arts hadn't died out on a society with powers. In fact, with heroes needing to be better and better in combat, dojos were everywhere. Most people who trained in them were emitters and transformation users, but the best places could even help people with mutation quirks to develop their own style.
He found lots of places within Musutafu, but couldn't enter none of them. He and his mother lived comfortably, but that didn't mean they were able to afford the monthly payment required by the dojos in Musutafu. Fortunately, with modern Japan's train system, the place did not need to be restricted.
A few minutes later, he decided to check out a dojo on Chiba prefecture that taught mixed martial arts and was within his budget. Decision made, Izuku spent the rest of his day catching up on assignments to recover from the madness that had invaded his life. But despite the smaller part of him complaining about it, the bigger part was looking forward for the next days.
(AN): Damn, this took longer than expected. I changed a lot of parts because I wasn't satisfied, so it ended up only coming now.
I'm honestly conflicted on this chapter. Part of me thinks it's good, but the more critical side of me thinks it's trash. I'll wait for your reviews to know. Update(22/07/18): Most of you guys liked, so I'm glad.
Give me suggestions for more expansions and/or perks. PM me or review so I can see your ideas. It's something that won't be too breaking on the story, so I think there's no harm done by asking.
Don't read too much on the Jiro scene. I put her in because I thought it'd be more interesting than Izuku bumping into some random person. She also lives close to Musutafu, so I chose her. FYI, The other option was Tokoyami. I tried to make her not too OOC, so tell me if I messed up.
About Bakugo: His relationship with Izuku is still a clusterfuck, but 5% better than before. He still hates his guts, but won't bully him anymore because he has a quirk. In Bakugo's eyes, he just evolved from Deku to another secondary character.
Update(07/07/18): I changed the level you need to gain perks. Now it's every five levels. I ran some math through my head and decided it was better this way.