AN: Went back and fixed some errors – I really don't know how the missing words issue came about. Special thanks to those that pointed them out specifically, it helped speed things along considerably. Hopefully this chapter loads alright.

WARNING! – Protagonist chooses Evil alignment. That also means some innocents are very much not making it to the end of the chapter

AN Edit: Since people keep commenting about it - the protagonist (still dark gray to me) will in fact kill some people. Why? Because loot. No other reason. In the gaming genre I consider this more pragmatic then evil since profit. I know people who kill an npc just for their hat. The same applies here. This "spree" will continue throughout chap 2 and 3, since she's not powerful yet, and will drastically slow down in the next universe as there less things to steal and she doesn't need it so much. End of announcement.

Chapter 2: First steps in BokuHero

[Boku no Hero Academia] world Selected. Before your entry, you may select World Modifiers

"For credits, right?" I ask, trying not to sound overly bitter about that.

Indeed

"Let's see it"

Timeline selection:

[Standard, Midoriya Izuku time] 0 Credits

[Pre-series, All-Might time] 25 000 Credits

This one is a no-brainer. "Standard anime start for free, please"

Selected. Credits remaining 33.359

Background selection:

[Go as you are] 0 Credits

[Go as you are plus Quirk] 5 000 Credits

[Re-Customize Appearance plus Quirk] 10 000 Credits

[Existing Background] 20 000 Credits

"I can backtrack, right?" I ask with hope in my voice. I know I will have to spend some credits on the 'Winning Condition' thing but I don't know how much. Having a Quirk added is really tempting and my [Sin of Greed] is once again panting in my ear.

You can

I sigh in relief "Thanks. Let's go for Quirkless for now then. Gotta save up those Credits."

Selected. Credits remaining 33.359

Winning Condition selection:

[Become the n.1 Hero] 0 Credits

[Become the n.1 Villain] 0 Credits

[Kill wielders of One for All and All for One] 0 Credits

[Become a Pro Hero] 10 000 Credits

[Become A-Rank] 25 000 Credits

[Compete in the Sports Festival] 30 000 Credits

No brainer again, the second to last one. It's doable in a short-ish time span. And can be done either as villain or hero. You just need power and renown. As for the rest? The first three? Nope. Nope and nope. The free ones are really difficult and can't be really done without committing myself fully to this World. I came here to get more powerful quickly, hopefully, so those are out. The Sports Festival on the other hand is super-easy, I just need to get admitted into the U.A., but… that would mean high school. And being a hero and confined to one place, the same going for the fourth option. Not really the shopping spree I was looking for. So becoming A-Rank it is.

Selected. Credits remaining 8.359

Do you wish to change your selection?

"Yes, please" I nod, "I'll take a Quirk in the second selection."

Acknowledged.

Quirk Selection:

Oh, boy, here we go again. I don't even peruse the list. It's depressing. I can see all those awesome powers but I don't have enough Creds for them. Like before they are arranged from the cheapest onward so I already know I have to go for item number one. [Random Quirk] is free. The second item is already at 5k so no chance.

Please Luck, you're at 31, give me something nice. Please, please, please.

"Select [Random Quirk], please"

Rolling for [Random Quirk]

Please, please, please…

Perk Received!

Shape-shift Quirk: You can change your appearance at will. *limitations

YES! I'll take that! Not crappy at all. Thank you, fate! Thank you, System! Thank you, dice!

You're weird

'Maybe' I shrug, not caring. I am now more focused on the limitations part. The description ends there but maybe if I click… Ah, nice. There is quite a bit of text there, having that in the main description would be annoying. I like how neat the System is.

Thank you.

Anyway. Shape-shifting is good but apparently I am restricted to my race. Game race, meaning I can't make myself an elf. I can have pointy ears but they won't make me an elf. Huh, I guess that is for race-restricted items and stuff like that? Also, does that mean I can change races? Pretty neat, I guess that would be in the modifier selection for credits like this has been.

Not being an elf aside, I also can't turn into an animal. Which makes more sense than the elf thing. I also change appearance only, can't make myself have blades instead of arms and similar modifications. But, I apparently can change sexes. Which makes less sense. It just said I can't have extras and being male would definitely add me an 'extra' if you know what I mean.

That is just the Devs having fun

"Genderbending?"

You know it

I will probably try that at some point. Still, no wings, no gills but I can get a cock. Talk about priorities.

Eh, still an absolutely amazing Quirk to pull. After all, My Gamer is the most powerful Quirk of all and this is a fantastic secondary. Especially since I kinda plan on going the villain route. I want to steal me some Skills and then leave this World and never come back. I can have a civilian persona and shape-shift into my villain persona.

This was the last selection. Proceed to Jump?

I pause for a moment but then I nod. I can't think of anything that I need to do here, I'm ready to brave the new world.

Jumping in 3…

2…

1…

Once again my vision flashes white but this time when I come to, I can see a nice suburban neighborhood. Without zombies. An excellent view this.

I fire up my [Observe] and am not surprised to see that the closest home to me is the Midoriya residence. Which means I am in Japan, more precisely Musutafu. Weird name for a city. Ok, priority one, find out the date. I'm guessing this is the very beginning of the anime so I have a few months before the entrance exams to U.A. high school. Priority two, find myself a place to stay.

Checking my Inventory I see some starter cash, which is nice, so can get a room somewhere. Long term, [Influence] is probably the way to go. Make myself a nice minion and stay at their place. Need to level up that though. Mark that as priority three.

Planning other things can wait, I need that room first and I can plan there. I can also take care of priority one on the way, I just need a newspaper or something.

I mentally mark Midoriya's house on my map, such a pity about that no-minimap thing, and make my way towards city-center.

A week later

The woman I'm having dinner with ends her call, which I shamelessly eavesdropped on, and looks at me with genuine remorse "I'm so sorry but there is an emergency at the hospital and I have to leave."

I smile as charmingly as I can "Of course, saving lives takes precedence to any date. Besides, we managed to get to desert."

"Yes, I was looking forward to it" the woman looks down on her half-eaten sweet, "Again, I'm so very sorry. Perhaps we can try this again tomorrow? I shouldn't be on call."

Grinning I nod "I look forward to it. I hope everything goes well at the hospital."

"Me too. I'll call as soon as I can to discuss tomorrow. I really need to go now"

"Don't let me keep you"

The woman is already on her feet with her coat on. She hesitates though and then bends down, quickly pecking me on my lips "I really want to meet you tomorrow. Bye, Shouichi-san."

"Bye" I smile and watch her leave.

+ 1 CHA

My Shouichi form grinned at that, making my handsome visage even more charming. I really like Shouichi, he is the ladies' favorite. Mine too, definitely the best-looking male form that I tried on.

Yes, I did try the gender-bending. I tried and used many forms, not wanting to leave any possible traces. Right now I'm using most of those forms to level up my [Influence]. And flirt, flirting boosted CHA like nothing else did. [Influence] is rather subtle but I can feel the effects getting better and better with each passing level. The biggest problem with it is that I can't spam it on one person but have to spread it around. Hence my disguises.

I really went to town on those, changing hair, muscle-mass, height, clothes. I kept this to my male form, keeping female as my default and eventual villain debut. I really like that this world is so varied, people having all kinds of colored hair and peculiar mutations. I'm currently sporting a deep violet hair and dark grey eyes and I'm not out of place in the least.

"May I offer anything else?" a waitress approaches my table.

Noting that it isn't the waiter that was serving me and my date the whole evening but a waitress instead, I take a little peek into her mind with [Telepathy]. Oh, she was my date leaving in a hurry and hoped she had a chance with Shouichi so she persuaded her friend to switch. How fun. I won't say no for another subject for my [Influence].

[Influence]'s level has increased by one!

How nice. Shouichi captures another one. Nothing suspicious about that. Not that I think that [Influence] would ever be investigated.

"No, thank you" I smile at the waitress, "Only the bill, please."

"Of course"

She scurries off, a blush on her face, and I finish my own dessert with gusto while calling up my Skill Tab.

Influence (Active)[Level 26] – Target feels compelled to trust you and follow your lead - 39.600 MP/use; progress to next level: 9%

Oh yes, this one is growing nicely.

Being in a living world for a change, I have focused on the Telepathy-derived Skills of Mind Mage. I switched the class back when doing so for better leveling too. In only a week I made some very satisfying progress in [Telepathy] and [Memory Alteration], as well as that aforementioned [Influence]. All this also boosted my Stats, INT and CHA in particular. Handsome telepathic Shouichi and my other forms were farming CHA at awesome rates with just some flirting and occasional one-night stands. Though, having sex as a male? Definitely a different experience. Such a pity even heroic/anime Japan is a little conservative regarding same-sex relationships.

"Here you go" the waitress is back.

I smile and pay, not really interested in her. I already leveled everything enough for one evening and I'm ready to go home. Well, the hotel. Especially since I will be moving tomorrow. With a bit of [Influence] and [Memory Alteration] I managed to get a nice apartment by insinuating myself as a roommate to a peppy Hero agency clerk named Hisa. A free-loading roommate actually, really proud of that, I will only be paying for groceries and stuff like that. I really love Mind Mage.

Leaving the restaurant behind I leisurely make my way back to the hotel, using [Telepathy] as I go. This way I only get snippets but it is enough to both entertain me and to level my [Telepathy] even further. The rate I'mgoing I expect it to max reasonably soon.

Your INT has risen by 1

And that is always welcomed.

My non-combat Skills are getting a nice grind, a stark contrast with my tutorial world, but that doesn't mean the combat ones lay forgotten. Quite the opposite actually, as now I have access to dungeons. The [ID Create/Escape] comes from the Skill Book I received at the completion of HotD but I only have access to two dungeons right now since they are regulated by player level. One dungeon is, to my great dismay, zombies. The other is goblins.

Despite my exasperation I tried the zombie dungeon first, right on my second day here. It was lower level than the goblins and I wanted to see how much dungeon zombies differ from HotD zombies. The answer? Quite hilarious as the [ID Create] brought me right back there. It was the same fucking world, just more dungeon-y. By that I mean that the exp gains were better, the enemies actually dropped loot and the variety of zombies was much much higher. And it came with a Zombie Boss too.

With my power I got to the boss on my first attempt and slayed it too. My easy progress was no doubt helped by my new Title, Slayer, which gave me bonus damage to all undead. Setting aside my reservations about this dungeon, I got a fair amount of exp, some potions (both health and mana) and money. Yen for some reason. That reason probably being that I'm in a Japanese world again as it dropped the local currency. Aside the exp it was nothing to be excited about until I got to the boss. It was a tough nut to crack that one, but he served me well by dropping two items that were finally something worth mentioning – a [Unnamed Valyrian Steel Sword] that too gives bonus against undead, and a [Knight's Ring] that gives + 10 STR and + 10 VIT.

The sword went into Inventory, an excellent find, especially if I ever go to the Game of Thrones universe, and the Ring I equipped right away. The ring wasn't anything ostentatious so I even kept it visible.

Abandoning zombies yet again, the next day I tried going into the goblin dungeon. It was a far bigger challenge as the goblins were much smarter than zombies. They worked together, had a variety of weapons and even magic through Shamans, their magical unit. Seeing the opportunity I went full Assassin, getting my exp and class leveling that way. The exp was better than the zombie yields and it was funnier seeing them panicked about an unseen enemy. Since I was using this method I have yet to battle the dungeon boss.

I think on that for a moment, then shake my head "Nah, not tonight. Maybe tomorrow."

Once I'm in my hotel room I drop the Shouichi disguise. I'm planning a dungeon run and I felet better in my own skin so to speak. First though I pack my things in preparation for tomorrow – I can't turn up empty-handed with everything in Inventory so luggage it is. When I have everything ready, I equip my dungeon gear. Which is to say my old biker leathers, still my best armor. I definitely have to get my hands on some pro-hero gear, they are usually really good. I Observed that on the pro-heroes that could be seen around the city.

My last check is obvious "Status"

Name: Sofia Vetinari
Level: 19 (40%)
Title: Slayer

Class: Assassin (Lvl 43)

STATS
HP - 273.000 (441.000)
MP - 2M
STR - 39 (49)
VIT - 70 (90)
DEX - 158
INT - 138
WIS - 153
CHA - 74 (79)

LCK - 20 (36)

Available Stat Points - 89

I actually get another nice kind of loot in the goblin dungeon – Stat Stones. I only get them from the Elite Goblins and only very very rarely. When I use them in my Inventory, they give me a permanent point into the indicated Stat. I got two VIT Stones, one STR Stone and one LCK Stone. I kept all of them in my Inventory for later but naturally I used the LCK one. And then I used my spare Stat Points to round the number up. I also hoped this increase in overall luck will get me some more of those Stones or other goodies.

Content with my Status, I activate my [Evasion Stance], just in case, and give the command "ID Create: Goblins."

Hello you little green-skinned uglies. Let's play.

I was doing some tinkering on a circuit board when my roommate comes back earlier than anticipated. I'm not doing anything that incriminating – sure the board is for a bomb but it can be for a lot of other stuff. Not that Hisa would notice.

Hisa's enthusiastic shout breaks me from my reverie "Heya, sweetie, I had the best day at work!"

We aren't together, despite the appellation, but my roommate likes using it. All the time. Not that I mind but sometimes she can be too happy. I like her though, definitely one of the better roommates to exist. Putting down my circuit board I decide to indulge her "Ho? What happened?"

Hisa grins and plops down on the chair opposite me and opens up a bottle of tea which she gulps down eagerly. "Phaaa, I love this stuff. Anyway, Midnight came to visit my boss and I got to talk to her!"

"Midnight's a teacher at the U.A., right?" I hum, "What did she want with Ryukyu?"

"No idea, they talked in private!" Hisa shrugs, not losing her smile, "I think they are friends. -ish. She's really nice. Though I have to say she caused quite a stir among all the boys at the office."

"Makes sense, I don't know that much about her but I know about her pheromones Quirk"

"Yeah, she's so cool. And she recommended me a bar when we were talking. Me and some of my colleagues have decided to check it out tonight. Interested?"

I hum again, absently tapping my half-finished work, thinking about it.

"Come on," Hisa cajoles, "Two Side-kicks are coming too. They have the best stories about Ryukyu!"

I did want to try using [Influence] on someone a bit higher-up than regular civilians, this would be the perfect testing area. And being nice to the Sidekicks could prove useful too, they should be better connected than Hisa.

On the other hand I already had plans for tonight. Tentative plans, but still plans. I think it is time for my villain alter-ego to have her debut. A nice quiet Skill sucking. I even got my target – she's got a fire quirk, nothing like Endeavor but still fire and I want to try sucking up some fireball Skill or something. Hopefully it will work – it should be classified as a Skill. The Quirk itself is a Perk and I can only steal Skills, but it should work. It will work. If I get something like a cooking skill then I will be very morose.

Then again, I guess I could do that tomorrow just as well. I nod and Hisa's face somehow brightens even further "I'll come."

"Awesome! We meet in front of the Agency at nine and we walk there" my teal-haired roommate claps enthusiastically.

"Okay" I nod again, this time smiling. Maybe I can still try carrying out my little plan. Just at an earlier hour. I could try to see if my target is alone. If she isn't, I'll go tomorrow.

Wow, that really sounded serial-killery. Which I suppose is what I have planned but I can't bring myself to care. This feels exactly the same as planning a dungeon raid against the goblins. Besides, this is why I came into this world in the first place. Without this, there is no reason for me to stay. I don't even know why I am thinking about this again, I already made an executive decision to stop. I am not feeling bad, I am feeling bad that I am not feeling bad. If that makes sense.

"You really should stop thinking so much" Hisa chuckles, already changed out of her work clothes.

"I wholeheartedly agree" I laugh.

"What are you working on anyway?" she asks, pointing at the circuitry board with a rolled up magazine.

I shrug "Nothing really. Just tinkering, seeing if I can make it flow better."

"I always thought engineers would be more nerdy than you" Hisa winked and sprawled on the couch, unfurling her magazine.

"I am plenty nerdy" I smirk. And I have been actually toying with the idea of selecting Engineer as my next class. It would mean more INT and better gear. I have been kinda counting on better drops from dungeons to be honest. Also, the field of robotics is really advanced in BokuHero, so I might even look into that. Eh, we'll see when the time comes. Especially if the selection changes.

"Did you check out that gym you were talking about?"

"I did. I think I'll continue going there." I did desperately need more HP, which for me right now meant more STR.

"Find me a nerd that does that"

"Tadá"

Hisa snorted "Ok, I'll admit to you being a dork."

"I know"

X

Tonight is the night.

Is that too much Dexter? Let's start again. Tonight is the night… Ok, I'm rolling with it. Whatever. I have a plan, I have a disguise and I have a target. And most importantly, I have the opportunity. And a motive. I really want my fire Skill and proof that I wasn't an idiot in coming to this world.

I really hope this works.

My black biker gear blends well with the shadows and my maxed [Stealth] makes me almost invisible. Now it's only a matter of entering the house. I already checked, my target is alone and with my [Telepathy] I ascertained that she doesn't expect anyone tonight.

Everything goes according to plan, I telekinetically jump onto the balcony, open its doors with some more telekinesis and silently enter. My target is watching tv, blissfully unaware of my intrusion. It is now that I start feeling quite bad about what I'm doing but I still follow through. She is unconscious and I'm free to apply [Mind Thief].

First though I shut down her tv, clean up and carry her to bed. Nobody should find anything wrong unless they enter the bedroom. It also fits the theatricality of my disguise – since I am going to suck a Skill, I decided to go for the classic vampire look. Long black hair, deathly pale, high cheekbones and, most importantly, pointy teeth.

In that vein, pun intended, I also plan to disguise my motive. A vampire sucks blood so I am going to take it. I'll use [Telekinesis] to pump the blood and drain it into my Inventory (thankfully the inventory is infinite). I can have a Tab for that, might come in handy someday. There are true vampire universes after all.

What was the point of all this? I don't want this to smell of All for One. I don't want to get involved in that shit and I don't need All Might after me because of a misunderstanding.

Alright, the moment of truth. [Mind Thief]

New Skill Acquired!

Flamethrower (Active)[Level 1] – Launches a stream of fire from your palm - 500 MP/use, 300 dmg, applies [Burn]

I worked! It fucking worked!

My victory dance is interrupted by a meowing of a cat from outside. I better hurry up and leave the scene of the crime. But first, my vampire impersonation.

Naturally I don't bite, that would be going way beyond. And it felt disrespectful. And also idiotic since I would leave saliva behind. Better stay all covered up as I am, helmet included.

I make quick work of it, relatively speaking, draining a corpse of blood is a pretty long process, and I flee into the night.

Only when I feel safe enough and far enough, I remove my helmet. Even further and even more out of view, I change faces. Not to my own but another. Only when I am nearing Hisa's agency building I find a place to change into myself as well as changing my clothes. Gone is the wannabe Lestat, in its place is Sofia Vetinari, ready to go to a bar.

With all my double backing I arrive just in time for the meet-up. Hisa perennially happy face turns even happier and waves at me vigorously as I approach.

"Guys, this is Sofia, my roommate" Hisa announces when I come in hearing distance.

A chorus of 'hi', 'hey' and similar greets me from the small group. I give one in return.

"A few people are meting us at the bar too" Hisa grins, "We are just waiting for Akira are we're good to go."

"I see him" one of Hisa's friends with a rather unflattering hawk beak points to the distance.

With the group complete Hisa makes the introductions. Normally I'm pants at remembering names so really thank you [Observe]. As we get moving I get involved in some small talk as well as some questions about me. It's all pretty normal like what is a foreigner doing in Musutafu, what do I do for a living, what is my Quirk… Pretty much the same questions Hisa asked when I came to live with her. I had no trouble answering, especially since the System had been so nice and provide me a back-story here as well as documentation. Funny thing though, it didn't tell me until way later. But at least it was before I made a fool of myself and faked a quirk or being quirkless. So, officially my quirk is Alter Appearance.

A too good of a party trick, kinda annoying when people ask you to try on this or that. With this group I oblige a few times and then issue a blanket no for more. Not that it deters a very annoying man from trying, from what Hisa said about him in the past, he fancied himself a womanizer. I put him under my [Influence] and ask him to stop. I was planning on using that on all of them anyway, just after a few drinks and conversation.

The bar Midnight recommended is actually pretty nice although it's trying for a Hawaiian or Polynesian theme for some bizarre reason, but it manages to pull it off without being too tacky, something I previously thought to be wholly impossible. Hisa has called ahead and managed to get us a table which was fortuitous as the place was getting fuller by the second.

"You get your own drinks at the bar" one of Hisa's friends observes, "We do it in shifts so someone holds the table?"

"I'm buying yours, Sofia" Hisa grins, "Since I dragged you out, it seems only fair. You are on your own after the first though."

"Heh, alright, thanks" I smile. What a darling girl.

"What do you want?"

"A lot of people seem to be drinking something blue, how about that one"

"Something blue coming right up"

Since I'm getting my drink without needing to go to the bar, I'm one of the three to hold the fort. Hisa's friends are actually quite nice and effortlessly pull me into their conversation. I was planning to farm some CHA here but my mind keeps going back to my vampire-self and the events surrounding it.

I got my first elemental Skill. When I started the Game I have thought it will be easy to create those Skills – I mean, everybody can imagine a classic DnD fireball – but that has proven untrue. I can easily make the 'arcane' Skills, pure magic, but the elements never quite work out. It seems the Class elementalist is there for a reason. BUT. Now that I have a starting Skill, have a feel for the fire, I am reasonably sure I can branch out with it. Make new fire Skills. Maybe even elemental Skills as a whole but somehow I think that won't work out. I will just have to collect the other elements then. Like the Avatar, heh. Aang will have nothing on me.

"What about you Sofia?"

I blink, returning to the conversation at hand which I have been listening to only minimally "Who has the potential to enter the Top Ten? Hm, my bet is Kamui Woods."

The hawk-like woman nods vigorously "That's what I have been saying! I mean his…"

I once again pay only a fraction of my attention to the pro-hero discussion, now mostly because I see Hisa talking to two new people and bringing them towards our table. A quick [Observe] pegged them as the Ryukyu's Sidekicks my roommate mentioned.

Getting more interested, I check out their Stats. I already Observed several pro-heroes to see how I compare and was both heartened and disappointed to see that I was entirely in their league, but not higher. Most pro-heroes had two amazing Stats and then the rest was above average. And by amazing I mean to say that I even saw some 300 high Stats out there. But those are rare and usually over-specialized. I'd be really interested to see how All Might looks in the Stat department, him being who he is. Also, the Top Ten must definitely rate higher than the 'normal' pro-heroes. By a hundred Stat points? Higher? Lower?

Right now my measuring stick is the aforementioned Kamui Woods, the definite up-and-comer if what I remember is true. His Stats are good but nothing reaching three hundred yet, he is making do with the versatility of his Quirk and rather keen intellect. He is also one of the most balanced heroes I saw, no Stat left behind. Even his Luck is pretty good. I even got my first regular Quest about it - 'Surpass Kamui Woods'.

Yeah, he is my goal for now. In comparison, the two Sidekicks that joined us are a little under my level. Well, not Level, just level. One Sidekick is the melee type, his Stats concentrating around STR and VIT, while the other one is the intellectual, favoring INT and WIS. The highest their Stats go though is 150 but that is only the INT, the rest being lower, making me feel good about myself.

But I still need a lot more training, definitely doing into a dungeon tomorrow. I have Skills to form and Stats to grind. Should finally reach that Level 20 too.

As the conversion in the now bigger group flowes, I find myself under the scrutiny of the intellectual Sidekick Shizuka, hero name Miss Grey Eyes. No idea what that has to do with her quirk, but whatever.

"Hisa-san mentioned your quirk is Altered Appearance?" Shizuka asks, readjusting her glasses on her nose in a very anime move.

"Indeed it is," I agree freely, "But please don't ask me to change anything, I already performed enough."

"I can imagine, though I have always been far more interested about the various effects a quirk can have on the body. Transformation-type quirks are the most intriguing as they cause the most complex changes to body. Yours is a good example, I would surmise that the cells in your body are in constantly in flux, ready to accommodate any changes"

"Yes," I nod, also beginning to think more about my new quirk, "Pity though I can't make any internal changes more complex than bones."

Shizuka hums "Even if you can't change more than your skull it is still quite interesting. Ryukyu-sama has a very powerful transformation quirk as well, but she can only change into one form and back. You can change to whatever you wish. That is not common."

"True. Constant flux, huh…"

"Indeed. I would love to…" the Sidekick starts but her probable appeal to study me a little is interrupted by her colleague calling for her.

I don't mind in the least her being called away. Not only there will be no studying me, I'm also stuck on the body in flux thing and want to think on it further. A body in constant flux, that was a great description for a Gamer's Body. Every new Perk, every new Stat Point changes my body. Or is it the essence of it? Super-adaptability and unlimited growth is what the Gamer power really is.

I should be able to do more. Much more. My Skill stealing is a good start though, I will definitely continue doing that in the absence of bountiful Skill Books and my Skill creation problem. Still, my body in flux. I'm still stuck on that. My [Mind Thief] workes through telepathy, I burrow into the target's mind and live their experiences with the Skill to make it my own. Maybe if I tried something similar but more comprehensive, a more comprehensive look not into just the mind but the body, I might extract more. My body should be able to mimic and adapt, it could take it and incorporate it somehow.

In theory.

Very much in theory, but I hope. Nay, I believe. And I will try it during my next vampiric impression.

"Hey, it's Midnight!" Hisa whisper-shoutes, getting the attention of the entire table, me included. With my new resolution I'm sitting more relaxed and eager to celebrate.

"She's coming towards us!"

"No way!"

"Everyone act natural!"

"Yeah, right, maybe if you stopped jumping"

Everyone falls silent when Midnight arrives, flashing a smile to Hisa "Miyanagi-san, right? Didn't I recommend this bar to you only this morning?"

Hisa was her usual peppy self "Well, we do like to drink."

"Amen to that" Midnight laughed, "So I will be right in guessing that a round of shots will be welcomed?"

"Definitely" the male Sidekick announces loudly as he is in fact returning to our table with a tray of filled small glasses.

"Please join us for this round?" Hisa gestures.

The pro-hero grins and deftly steals one of the drinks from the tray "Don't mind if I do."

I follow suit, everybody grabbing a drink and cheering. And boy are we loud, and that is still fully sober. Anyway, back to my originally intended experiment, the 'see how Influence works on higher leveled people'. Midnight is both a good and a bad target for it, and the same reason applies to both – she too has something of an [Influence] herself. Her quirk Somnambulist affects people, making them sleepy. She might be more aware of her body and her feelings than your average Joe and recognize what is externally induced and what isn't. She also has a high INT Stat so there is that.

[Poison Resistance]'s level has increased by one!

Yeah, yeah. Good Skill but I could really do without it being triggered by booze.

One shot down and Midnight actually asks to be introduced to everyone. That's a pro-hero for you I guess, working those public relations. Because I sincerely doubt she is really interested in virtual strangers she will probably never meet again.

Curious, I peek into her mind.

Oh boy, guess that dominatrix theme she has going on isn't just for show, huh? We literally just met, and she's assigning us roles in an orgy? Ok, it's apparently just a mental exercise, but what the hell? And she's grading us on how hard we would be to top? Who the heck made this woman a teacher?!

"And this is Sofia, my roommate" Hisa gestures to me, second to last to go in introductions.

"She's got an awesome quirk!" one of the more inebriated men around the table calls, heart eyes sent to the pro-hero. What a moron.

"Oh?" Midnight eyes me, cocking her head to the side in question.

I smile, pumping my charm hoping to disguise… this. [Influence]!

Success!

…and it worked. And now to see if it was noticed… huh, it was. I'm actually surprised. Oh well, [Telepathy] says she's reserving judgment until she hears what my quirk is. Guess I have to level [Influence] a bit more or work in that INT of mine.

I shake my head with a smile "More fun than awesome. Though, it does make for an interesting ice-breaker."

"She can change her face features at will!" Moron continues with a dopey grin. Fortunately that is not directed at me but rather his attention is still firmly on Midnight.

The pro-hero flashes me an impressed smile and my [Telepathy] says she has attributed the workings of my [Influence] on the professed quirk. Like with a changed appearance I can make myself more attractive and trustworthy-looking, and I can tailor that to specific people. Not a bad deduction, damn wrong, but not bad. And it works for me.

"That is interesting. Can you change into me?" Midnight asks eagerly.

I decide to oblige and stare at the woman. Once I'm confident I got hear features down, I will my face to shift. Naturally I can't replicate her glasses but the rest should be up to par.

The group cheers loudly while the hero, as well as the side-kick Miss Grey Eyes, look more intrigued than anything. Though the side-kick is interested from a scientific perspective, Midnight's thoughts go in two different tangents. One is quite heroic.

"Impressive indeed. Perfect for an actor, or a thief"

I shrug "Not interested in either. Besides, as a thief I could defeat a camera but not any other countermeasure, not the mention the heroes."

That gets me and approving smile.

"I think she just uses it to get laid" Hisa puts her two-cents in, much to the amusement of the group.

Which neatly brings me on the second thought tangent of Midnight's – how fun it would be to fuck her mirror image. Heh, I can't picture her doing a parent-teacher conference but this seems far more in character. I know she has a serious side too but I guess she reserves that only for when necessary. She's a fun one indeed, a bit disturbed but hey, who isn't.

Since I'm undecided if I want the pro-hero's attention on me, I decide not to meddle with her decision with any Mind Mage Skill. Because she seems to be actually considering asking me to sleep with her with her own face on. Let the chips fall where they may. But I do have to wonder, would she consider it sex or something more akin to masturbation… Not that I would mind either way, mind you.

Oh, I would be interested in one more thing.

I smirk at Midnight "Since I showed you mine, show me yours? A mild dose? Please?"

The raven-haired hero chuckles "People in bar usually fall asleep after drinking. But suit yourself. Ready?"

My group moves so that Midnight is right next to me. She smiles, positively wickedly, so I hurry to say "Please don't dose me too much."

"No worries," the smile remains, so my worries do as well, "That wouldn't be fun. Besides, I have to be careful to only target you, I'll hold back."

Both my memory and my [Observe] say that her quirk works though smell, so Midnight cleverly raises one hand and takes me by the chin.

[Somnambulist] blocked with [Gamers Mind]

Awesome, another experiment complete. Extreme success too.

Now, despite her smirk Midnight really did hold back a lot, her thoughts speak of my struggling to keep my eyes open but overpowering it easily. And that is exactly what I give her. I let my eyelids flutter for a moment and then rapidly blink when her hand falls away.

I check, no suspicions. Super.

"Wow" I nod respectfully.

Midnight makes a show of buffing her nails on her blouse as the group does another round of hoots and excited calls. The moron from before asked if he could be put under too, a peek into his mind showed he rather wanted to be under Midnight herself, but the pro-hero simply shook her head and declared her quirk off-limits. Instead she proposed more drinking which was readily accepted by all.

It doesn't take long for Midnight to excuse herself, after all she didn't come to the bar for us. When the pro-hero returns to her previous plans, whatever and whoever with they were, the group gets even more raucous. I'm not a fan of excessive noise or drunken humor but I guess Hisa's friends are bearable enough. Not that I intend to stay too long, just the polite amount of time – I kind of really want to go into a dungeon and try my new fire Skill. That said… if Midnight were to approach me with an alternative program for the night, I can go try out Skill creation tomorrow just as well.

Contrary to the description of [Gamer's Body], having the body of a game character, I do have to go to the bathroom. I have never heard of a game in which you actually have to do that – sleeping and eating, sure, but never the opposite. Fact remains, I am human that way. And it is in the bathroom that Midnight approaches me with a proposition. Or more like, the proposition.

So yes, change of plans.

I quickly pop over to the table, telling Hisa I'm leaving, and then meet up the pro-here outside the bar.

"Let's go to my place" Midnight half-orders, "My address isn't exactly secret and I would prefer your roommate didn't know of this. If you could be discreet."

"No problem" I shrug, not really interested in bragging. Or the lengthy discussion and gossip fest Hisa would no doubt initiate.

"Come on then"

With a slight smirk on my lips I follow her. How fun, a pro-hero is going to have kinky sex with a fresh murderer. One that intends to farm many more Skills soon. A villain and a hero, very classic.

Achievement Unlocked!

Cannonade: You have meaningfully interacted with a canon character; Achievement Reward: 50 Credits

Oh, I'm going to interact alright.

Two days later

"ID Close" I intone in tired satisfaction and watch the mirror-breaking effect it has on my reality, returning me to my room in Musutafu.

I'm rather looking forward to a quick shower but first I make my way to the fridge and eagerly gulp down the cold tea there. I glance at the clock and nod to myself when I see that it is still early in the afternoon. I went into the goblin dungeon as soon as my roommate left for work and was there until I reached that Level 20 and slayed the dungeon boss. Since a new dungeon will open for me with my level up, I left the goblin dungeon well and truly wrecked, not to mention quite singed.

"Status" I mumble, deciding to take that shower now. I smell like smoke.

Name: Sofia Vetinari
Level: 20 (13%)
Title: Slayer

Class: Assassin (Lvl 47)

STATS
HP - 381.800 (576.800)
MP - 2M
STR - 46 (56)
VIT - 83 (103)
DEX - 179
INT - 158
WIS - 166
CHA - 80 (85)

LCK - 20 (36)

Available Stat Points - 94

Not bad, especially that INT Stat. But I guess it makes sense with all that Skill creation. I now have a buttload of fire Skills but I've kept them low level since I don't really need them at the moment, not as much as I need to finish leveling my Class, grind some Stats or that Level 20. I definitely have to check what the new dungeon option is some time soon.

I also got some pretty nice things from the goblins, some more Stat Stones that I have yet to use and most importantly, the loot from the boss. The Goblin King wasn't happy with me when I culled his subjects but he wasn't that difficult of an opponent. He was a summoner type so it was more quantity over quality. Upon his death I got the [Bone Circlet] that boosts INT and WIS by 15, guess the goblins needed that, a gacha token, and a Skill Book, [Summon Wolf]. Hopefully that one means I get one of those big wolves that the goblins rode, those were very neat.

The Circlet is in my Inventory and the Skill Book I immediately used which now leaves the gacha token. My first. My Luck is pretty good and I have a Perk for it, so I shouldn't get anything completely rubbish. But I keep my expectations low, I know I won't get Excalibur or anything like that.

"System, could you roll for the gacha for me please?" I ask as I get into the shower.

Sure. Rolling for gacha

Item acquired

Hei's Mask (Darker than Black)

+20% damage to all your electrical attacks

Definitely not useless but not really all that helpful either. Right now I mean. Might want to look for someone with a lightening quirk though. Speaking of Skill stealing… tonight I will go out again. I have my eye on a shadow-based quirk that I was really surprised to see in a civilian. It's definitely hero-grade but I guess the man simply prefers his elementary teaching post. Hero society's loss, my gain.

My target also has a wife, a shrew of a woman, that has a far less valuable quirk. I'm thinking I could try that greater theft on her. See if I could steal more than just a Skill.

I finish my shower and dry my hair. Then I dress in my stalking clothes. I have done recon yesterday but if I will be moving tonight, I need to confirm it's a good time for it.

Scribbling a short note for Hisa that I would be coming home late, I leave the apartment while resisting the urge to whistle. That would be supremely creepy of me.

Tonight is the night… Yeah, again.

Anyway, it's a little after eight and both my targets are at home and have no plans beside that. Which suits me perfectly. The woman is in the living room watching tv while the husband is upstairs at his computer. Probably still working, poor dedicated sod.

My entry is undetected and since I went in from ground level for a change, I go after the woman first. Casting [Bind] and then [Force Choke] is a tried tactics so I don't deviate. Once she's out I quickly bind her conventionally before I go after the teacher. Neither saw me coming so I have them both in their bedroom, unconscious and bound, in a jiffy.

Alright, here it is. First I run through my 'plan' again, and then I delve into the woman's mind and then from there spreading outward. Despite my plan I have no idea where I'm going but then the Game decides to help me up.

You have created a new skill!

Stat Thief (Active)[Level 1] – Takes a prominent Stat Point of the target and adds it to the user. Warning! Kills target. 500.000 MP/use

You have stolen 1 DEX

I nearly collapse in relief and the headache that I feel starting. I did it, I can't believe I did it. It worked.

Sitting down I allow both my mind and my Mana to recuperate. But I just can't stay idle for long, my mind is already racing with future possibilities. There is one little snag though – the woman is dead, there will be no Skill stealing from her anymore. It is either/or. Skill or Stat.

Don't be greedy, be thankful this came through

'I am, I so very am' I chuckle, 'But you know me, always nitpicking. I am very grateful that it did in fact work. Thank you.'

You're welcome

Deciding I rested enough, I stand up again and go for the man. He is still completely out as I delve into his mind, this time with the already proven [Mind Thief].

New Skill Acquired!

Shadowport (Active)[Level 1] – Teleportation through shadows within eyesight - 5000 MP/use

Excellent, I got exactly what I wanted. Must be Luck.

Once again I thank the System, it's only polite, and I go about disguising my tracks. Which basically means more blood for my Inventory.

When that is done, I flee from the scene of the crime. While I'm itching to try out my new teleport, I resist and do it the tried and true way, better to experiment in a dungeon. As I rapidly leave the house behind I look at my watch – I wasn't there even an hour. That almost felt… disrespectful? Anticlimactic? I don't know. But it felt something.

Ah well, I have a new Stat and a Skill, so excellent haul. I will need to find some more muscly victims to boost that STR Stat, especially if I am to surpass Kamui Wood in raw Stats.

'Quests'

Surpass Kamui Woods

Overtake the pro-hero in pure base Stats

KW current Stats*

STR – 130

VIT – 157

DEX – 185

INT – 103

WIS – 99

CHA – 62

LUK – 24

Award: 50 000 exp, 500 credits, ?

I close the window, humming to myself. I'm doing pretty good on that front. Only STR, VIT and DEX are still in play, and I am only a few points short in DEX. For the moment anyway, the man is still getting stronger too, albeit at a slower pace than I. With a sigh I reflect on the, let's call them 'warrior stats'. They suck. Well, VIT is ok but my STR is well and truly horrible. There aren't enough victims for that, I will need to train the old-fashioned way.

I still refuse to use my free SP. Not on STR, that would be just me being lazy. As low as I have it, it levels pretty easy with dedicated effort. I just have to… dedicate it. Or choose a fighter Class next which I don't want to. So exercise it is. The LCK Stat, there I will use the SP on, a nice twenty-five is a nice round number.

Boo, why can't I steal more than just one point from a person. They don't need it anymore.

Again, don't be greedy

'Yeah, yeah, sorry. Just grumbling'

Just level up the Skill moron, it will work better

'oh'

'OH'

'You know what, I really love you, System!'

Yeah, yeah

"Another body was found this morning in Musutafu, marking it the seventh victim of the 'Vampire Killer'. The police have released no information aside from the identity of the victim which is Uchiayama Kouki, age 29, intern at Musutafu General Hospital. Once again the victim has been found exsanguinated in his own home. Best Jeanist, the No. 4 Hero, has issued a statement"

"… In our age of quirks the lines between villain and murderer are blurred, but rest assured that both the police and the heroes are united in being committed to finding the perpetrator of these vampiric killings. I urge the public to be vigilant and call on the police tip-line should you have any relevant information. But I also urge you not to attack or detain anyone who happens to have a blood-related quirk. Should you know or see anybody with a relevant quirk, please call the tip-line and do not take the matters into your own hands. We as a society must not fall apart at the seams, we must pull together to see this murderer behind bars. Thank you."

"That was from Best Jeanist from the Japanese Hero Headquarters. Both heroes and the police have increased their presence in Musutafu to help the effort in catching the Vampire Killer. The city mayor has…"

I hum and return my attention to my perfectly buttered toast. The mayor's opinion is largely irrelevant, what isn't irrelevant is the substantial increase in patrols, both police and hero. My Stealth was as high as it could be and [Shadowport] was coming along, but anyone with a perception-type quirk can make me. I have a few contingency plans for that but I would rather not use them. Right now the plan is to stay the course and try to find a perception quirk of my own – I created a telekinesis-related Skill along the lines of echolocation, but it seems people notice the pulse being emitted. So not ideal. My best course of action is stealing the Skill form somebody.

I should also stray a bit further from my usual hunting grounds and go to the outskirts of the city for a change – that should force the heroes expand the search grid and stretch themselves thin.

All this scrutiny is quite a bit of a pain but the results are worth it in my opinion – I got my fire, shadow teleportation, a DEX Stat, and now I added [Electric Sheathe], an electric enhancement to all weapons that gave bonus damage and inflicted paralysis, [Poison Touch], which is pretty much self-explanatory,and 1 STR and 1 VIT. And that is without the Skill I formed on my own using those as a basis. I now have plenty of fire, lightening and poison Skills in my arsenal.

I have already accepted that I won't really be able to level my Stat thieving in this world but it is a good side-dish, Skills have priority. Still, it's a massive loss that I can't Stat steal from goblins or other dungeon creatures. Still sore about that by the way.

Noted

I mean I could go and steal Stats and Skills from an entire apartment block in one night, but that would probably put me into an A-rank threat and I want to regulate that myself. It isn't the time for that yet.

Still, despite my rather small-time murdering, I acquired a Title as soon as the news came up with their moniker for me. I now can equip [Villain] as my Title which gives me increased rep gains with those of 'Evil Alignment' and +10% to all Stats when fighting against those of 'Good Alignment'. Oh, and sets my own Alignment to Evil. Naturally. I hadn't known the alignment mechanic worked here before this. Right now I'm 'Neutral Evil'. Fair enough.

"Another, huh" Hisa commented, looking at the tv over my shoulder.

"The seventh they say" I nod. It was accurate though this one I did kill the day before yesterday. Guess it took a while to find his body.

"That's horrible. I really hope they catch him soon. I sure won't be going out while there is this maniac on the loose"

"Doesn't he attack people at home?"

"Sure, but he must stalk them somehow, it can't be random"

"I suppose" I nod, maybe doing some random selection would be good for me. If the Skill is not worth it, I'll take the Stat.

Hisa looks at me in dead serious "You be careful out there, alright?"

"Definitely"

My roommate chuckles "Then again, do I even have to worry? You've been staying at home for the past few days, tinkering with whatever that project of yours is. Didn't know you were an engineer."

I wasn't just an engineer, I was an Engineer. Brand new Class, having topped up Assassin recently. "I dabble."

Hisa grins "Yeah. Anyway, I have to go to work. Good luck on… whatever it is you're dabbling in."

"Thanks" I grin right back. I'm indeed planning on working on it today, getting some levels in my new Class.

At first I was hesitant on which Class to choose after Assassin – a fighter class was in serious consideration since most would give me a nice tidy boost to STR and VIT, my worst Stats which I really need to raise. In the end I decided to postpone my fighter career and instead focus on crafting gear for myself. I can be a fighter whenever and wherever, but this world has some excellent crafting material and blueprints. Pro-hero gear sells at exorbitant prices, read profit, and gives great bonuses. I can't be going around in my biker leathers forever, now can I?

So Engineer it is. The +2 INT and +0,1 LCK every Class level also isn't anything to sniff at. I depend on INT for almost all of my attacks so let's make me a heavy hitter.

Engineer Skills were a little unusual, being a production Class and all. Most of them were passives related to designing and building, and I have only three actives – [Structural Analysis], [Repair] and [Reinforce]. Methinks the Game ripped off Nasuverse a little.

Still, leveling the Class was going well even though it kept me more in my apartment than in any dungeon. I haven't even finished exploring the third type of dungeon – Moonlit Forest.

My gear was more or less coming along, getting better with each level of Skill but I was running short of material. Well, not short short, my HotD days were very fortuitous indeed, but I was starting to require more advanced material. And since I refuse to pay if I can steal…

Looks like I'll be adding to my list of crimes. My nights are getting rather full.

Or maybe I can do some Stat/Skill stealing during the day. There are plenty of NEETs in this country, they stay at home all day. Though I probably won't be able to mooch any STR from them…

Tomorrow then, today I am planning to dedicate to the gauntlets I'm building. They are the Mk II and I fully expect a lot of re-dos, but they should work well enough.

Not the whole day though, I'm also planning a gym visit. Not only they have weights for those with strength quirks, a lot of people go there too. A lot of people with nice Stats and some nice quirks. Training and recon, all in one.

Might also visit Hisa at work, being social and all that.

Oh so many plans…

Lovers from two opposing sides that can never coexist, truly star-crossed, a hero and a villain. Not that my new girlfriend Kaori, the Glaive Hero: Dextera, has any idea what I am up to at night when she is not with me. To increase the thrill, this woman is one of the pro-heroes that are tasked in finding the Vampire Killer. Fun, right?

"What are you thinking about?" Kaori asks, caressing my hair. Big bad hero likes to be the big spoon.

"Work," I say with appropriate sheepishness, "Yours to be exact."

The hero chuckles "Now should I be flattered that you don't want me to leave or insulted that your mind is already so functional."

"My mind is always functional"

"I'd say, you fawning over my gear yesterday was pretty cute though"

"I do dabble in this stuff you know"

"I know, we are literally in your room which looks more like a workshop"

"You just don't get feng shuei"

Kaori snorts "Yeah, feng shuei, right. I hope I don't trip over your feng shuei again."

"I told you to watch out for the copper wire. And for a pro hero with an agility quirk you sure are clumsy"

"I was distracted!"

"I took off my shirt" I arch my eyebrow with an appropriately dry reply.

"See!" Kaori's eyes widen innocently.

I chuckle.

Kaori sighs wistfully "And I would love to 'see' again, very much so, but I guess I have to go to work."

"You guess? Stop being lazy and go" I grin.

"Mean" Kaori pouted but got out of bed with a smile.

The hero goes for my shower, grabbing the duffle bag with her costume. It's a pretty good costume with some nicely made gear, and she has a robo-glaive! Very RWBY. I studied it in detail and with my Skills and Class I am sure I can recreate it without too many issues. Though, I would go for a stronger alloy in…

"This is your science face, thinking again?" Kaori asks, having returned pretty quickly. Or maybe I was just lost in thought about building her weapon for myself.

"Mhhm" I nod happily, burrowing myself deeper into the covers.

"Cute" the hero bends to give me a kiss, "I have to go. I'm on patrol tonight and the next two days but I should be free for lunch sometime?"

"Sure, we'll text" I smile, shrugging would be just impolite. I have a lot of stuff to do and Kaori is way secondary to them.

"Be careful if you go out" Kaori reminds with a light frown.

"You'll catch that vampire soon" I reassure.

"We will. We actually have a briefing today about him, try some new strategies"

"I feel safer already" I smile, mentally making a reminder to scan her for which strategies are those. After all, at least half the reason I am dating her is the information she gets. I'm already up to 16 vampire drains and law-enforcement is getting frantic.

"Bye" Kaori gives me another smile and leaves. I hear a "Bye, Hisa-san!" and the thump of the door, letting me know the hero has left. Time to do some villainy then. After breakfast though.

"Mornin" Hisa greets me with a yawn, "Cereal?"

"I'll think I'm make myself something a little more filling" I hum, eager to start the day and work on my armor project. I recently acquired some goodies so I can definitely make some progress.

"Suit yourself"

Hisa clearly isn't wholly awake yet, for such a peppy person she really isn't all that usable in the morning. I used to be that way too but Gamer fixed me up. Now I even exercise in the morning, quite vigorously, especially since I'm so close to getting a 100 in VIT. I only need two points in it now to get my Perk. I expect it to be double Health regen to go with the Mana one from WIS, which will sure come in handy. My CHA Perk is getting real close too. I'm quite curious what that one will be. The STR threshold is still far but with Engineer on I managed to get my INT to easily climb over 200 which also gave me a Perk – Spellslinger, which increases range of all my INT-based attacks.

I've been here in BokuHero a full month and I have to say that I am overall satisfied with my progress. I'm not god tier or anything but honestly that would've been boring. I don't usually play games on 'easy' after all.

Another thing has enhanced my feeling of progress and that is my Quests that have finally started showing up. So far nothing overly important, they are just about the goals that I have set on myself. I had a quest about my thieving expeditions for example. It's a chain quest wanting more and more stolen blueprints, tools and materials. Similarly, another quest wants me to manufacture a whole new set of armor by myself. Both things I very much wanted to do anyway, only now I get bonus exp when I fulfill them. Some Credits too, even conventional money. For someone who doesn't have normal work, it's a nice bonus to my already cushy cash reserve built out of dungeon drops.

That armor is my current project. I already have the gauntlets, plate and a half-finished helmet. I don't really know how to qualify something for a 'set' but so far everything has the label of 'Mk IV Power Armor' so it should work despite the different pieces having different functions. Right now I am focusing on enhancing my Stats rather than give it any Skill or ability - STR for the gauntlets, VIT for the plate, stuff like that. It's actually quite fun figuring out, the stolen blueprints helped a lot though.

"You fiddling with your machines today?" Hisa asks, starting to go back to normal human via a gregarious application of coffee.

"Correcto"

"You're been working on them really hard recently, got inspired?"

I chuckle and truthfully nod "I have lots of ideas."

"Kaori-san let you inspect her robo-glaive?"

"Why are you trying to make it sound dirty?"

"I'm not!" Hisa defends with a very not believable snort, "Just that inspecting her weapon…"

"You keep using the same tone" I roll my eyes despite my amusement, "The winking doesn't help."

"I meant that totally innocently"

"I'm sure"

Hisa's face got positively wicked "Besides, if I were to make it dirty I would assign that robo-glaive to you. You can't fool me, Kaori-san might be a strong pro-hero, but I know who calls the shots."

"And that's right" I nod imperiously. Of course it is, Kaori is hopelessly under my [Influence] and my Gamer-provided stunning body is doing the rest.

Hisa laughs heartily and gets up to get more coffee. And if I know her, sneak some kind of chocolaty snack too. Which will be followed with more discussion of my love life. Pity though, Hisa is a huge romantic while I pretty much chose Kaori because of her investigator status.

Though if one squints and keeps silent about the serial killer angle, the meet-cute was not the worst. Ever since the taskforce to catch me was established I kept an eye on it, duh, and I was Observing any and all heroes and police officers that had a connection to them. Which basically means I have been camping in a café nearby with my [Observe] active. Nothing overly suspicious, I think. Still, Kaori did notice my staring and interpreted it another way. Not the murderer scoping up the competition but in an interested sense. She immediately smiled at me and sauntered over. All cocky and flirty. Naturally I flirted back, I finding it supremely funny that she was tasked to catch me and here she was trying to charm me. I charmed her right back and now I can deep scan her any time I want to get my info. And, more importantly, I have a girlfriend with an epic body. Epic. All that hero work makes you quite ripped and very much flexible it seems. And the 'I'm the villain you're looking for' thing has still not stopped being funny.

Naturally, my spree continues without impediment. I'm actually going prowling again soon – almost pity that the two Skills I'm doing it for, [Stat Thief] and [Mind Thief], kill the victim as I didn't get to try out my new toy on a non-dungeon character. You see, killing a bunch of what System called 'perfectly innocent people', unlocked another achievement – Serial Killer. And that one awarded me with [Serrated Dagger]. The dagger is an awesome dexterity-scaled weapon, and it inflicts [Bleeding] to boot. By DEX-scaled I mean that it always inflicts six times the amount of my Dexterity. Unfortunately only to a max of 1000 dmg. Still, a terrific starter weapon. A few quick jabs and pretty much anyone who isn't a hero, or otherwise has high HP, is down for the count.

I kinda get the feeling the dagger is meant for a more fantasy, or medieval world. It fits the aesthetic and generally there is much more fighting with weapons. Over here only a few heroes have weapons, mostly relying on their innate talents and quirks. For all that I am a mage, I like weapons. Really, really do. Epic-looking sword and armor? Yes, please.

And as the dungeons weren't the gear bonanza I expected, I have to build that epic-looking stuff myself. And we're back to Engineer Class. And I fully expect that sooner or later I will be taking the other Production Classes too. After all, stuff you build yourself is innately customized to you and your needs. It will probably not be as strong, but it will definitely beat any 'uncommon' tiered loot. Well, once I advance in level of course.

Which is something I'm going to do right now. I load my plate into the dishwasher and then take a small detour over to the fridge. Gotta keep hydrated all through work of course. With my bottled tea in hand I wave to a much more awake Hisa and retire back to my room.

There is tinkering to be done!

I don't usually jog, especially not in the real world as opposite to a dungeon, but it is a good way to not only lightly train but mostly do reconnaissance. My vampire raids are getting harder and I stayed on top of it only thanks to a perception quirk I had to hunt down. I'm still not satisfied with it, I'm sure I can do better. I actually have an eye on a pro-hero with one such quirk, one they brought from a prefecture over specifically to find me… Is it stupid? Kinda. Am I going to kill him and drain his Skill? Hell yeah. I already have a plan involving poison and not being anywhere in his vicinity. He has 'Radar' as his quirk, pretty impressive range too. I already know where to find him, I only need to work out some kinks in my plan and to wait a little – I don't want to give away that I have a source on the Vampire Taskforce.

Fun fact, I was deemed a B-rank threat, sight unseen. I might actually complete my quest without even doing anything flashy. But probably not, A-rank is for the real heavy-hitters. Though if the famous vampire were to attack, say the Sports Festival of the U.A…. Do an impressive enough showing and I might get promoted to A-rank, fulfilling my obligations to this World.

But that is months away. The entrance exams to U.A., the ones that Midoriya participates in, are in a little under nine months and the Sports Festival is about half-a-year after that? Lots of time to make myself stronger, better equipped, and to come up with something truly A-rank-worthy.

Speaking of Midoriya, he is the third reason for my jogging. Him and his mentor, All Might. Here they are, cleaning up the beach just as the anime depicted. The green-haired boy is still a weakling, but All Might, even though injured and far from his peak form, is a monster. Yeah, I'm not going anywhere near him. He would crush me in melee like a grape. With him I would need to keep my distance and stall for time to let his power fade. Or attack him mentally somehow. Hm… But that is plan B and onwards, plan A is still very much 'not be around him at all'.

Better be prepared though so I engage my rather impressive 259 INT as I jog away. And that is not counting the [Bone Circlet] that gives me additional fifteen. I have yet to replicate that in my armor – so far the highest I managed was a +10 boost. But my Engineer Skills have room to grow yet, I definitely aim to max them. Besides, Stat boosts are only one facet of what I can do with my creations. Now that my Mk VII armor is finished, it is time for MK VIII, this one focused on much more than just pure enhancement in Stats.

Hmm, maybe I also could sell some of my lower-tiered stuff. Good gear is expensive and I would be willing to undercut the price a little, provided it was no questions asked.

Methinks it's time to find some villains.

I'm already using [Telepathy] and [Observe] to survey people as potential victims, now I'll just add 'connected to underground market' to the shopping list. I could take commissions too, I'm sure the villains will have good ideas about gear that I might want to add to my own.

Luck? Luuuck? Be nice to me~~ You are 44,1 with all the boosts now, I want to find a villain~~~ Still, it is kinda funny that I got a +5 boost to LCK from an omamori, a charm bought at a temple. Hisa bought it for me, a prayer of protection against the Vampire Villain. Precious.

Another jogger crosses me, one going in the opposite direction and then into an alley to my left.

I love you Luck. I love you System.

Are you going to [Deep Scan] him?

'Indeed. And then probably kill too, to be sure. And he looks buff anyway.'

+1 WIS

'Thank you for your approval' I chuckle out loud and set to follow my new target. I love that System isn't judging.

I adapt to the host. It is how I can create suitable quests

'So if I say, wanted to conquest this world, I'd get a quest for it?'

Yes

Do you want to?

'Nah, too much trouble and not enough interest on my part. I will probably do some conquering at some point, but not here. In some nicer world, one I will want to stay in more long term.'

Interesting

'We'll see what my next World selection will be. Right now in BokuHero I am just to get strong quick. And maybe get some more Credits in the bank for later selections.'

I'd recommend more questing

I chuckle again, 'Indeed. Which is exactly what my little friend here might just help provide…'

"Money, money, money, must be funny… in a rich man's world. Money, money, money…"

Perhaps you could steal yourself the [Singing] Skill

"Always sunny…" I sigh, "You know, System, that was just mean."

Merely stating the truth

"It's not that bad" I frown. Just to prove my point I take it again from the top. "I work all night, I work all day to pay the bills I have to pay. Ain't it sad. And still there never seems to be a single penny…"

[Quest Alert!]

Rescue Operation: Ears!

Objective: Finish your shower

Award: Skill Book [Singing], +5 Credits

I stop washing my hair "Really!?"

You like Credits, don't you

"This is like, manipulation! I can sing dammit!"

What are you going to do, never ever finish your shower?

"I can have the Skill Book and never use it"

…

"HA!"

Flaw Received!

A Stubborn Bitch: Gives a permanent -200 to WIS

"I'm sorry! Really, really, REALLY sorry!" I desperately grovel, "I'll use the book! Right away!"

Flaw [A Stubborn Bitch] lost

I sigh in relief and quickly finish my shower to comply with the demands. "You know, that was beyond mean. I was just happy about my new business."

Take the Credits and stop whining

"You used to be nicer"

I am nice, that should show you just how bad your singing is

I wonder if I should mention that now having the Skill means I will have to train it, but that doesn't seem at all smart right now. Instead I decide to focus on my new business, without the happy singing.

And boy do I have a reason for that happy singing – only five days since my entry onto the black market and I made quite a sum. And that was only for selling nothing of real value to me. And I also received my first commission this morning which also doubled as a Quest. Nothing difficult either, the client just wanted an EMP bomb. Easy enough, I actually have a version of it in my Inventory already back from my assassin leveling. I just need to look it over with my new Engineer eye and higher INT. I'll give it a day, two days? so that it looks like I really worked on it. My time is precious and I don't want the clients to expect a next day delivery.

Since this quest is as good as done, maybe today I could try getting the radar quirk. One of my big concerns doing this in the vampire fashion is that it might up my ranking. I don't want that A-rank yet, not when I have so much I still want to do here. Still, killing off a pro-hero might do it. Perhaps I could kill him in another fashion so that it isn't attributed to vampire me? Hmmm.

I mean I could just kidnap him. Not leave a body. I tried this with Inventory and it stores bodies just fine… Yes, a one-off that won't be directly linked to my vampire self. That should work fine.

The hotel the hero is staying in I already scouted in disguise so that is done. Now I only need to deliver the poison. Nothing consumable will work, he never orders anything from the service, eating with the members of the taskforce or simply buying something himself. Something airborne then? Or I could soak his pillow in something. I have this one poison that reacts well with moisture and body heat. If the hero falls asleep on the pillow, he is sure to get a dose. The downside is that this poison isn't all that strong.

But… it should keep my target under and completely oblivious to a drone that could inject him with something a little more fun. And by fun, I mean potent. I could also see through the drone if it was safe to come pick him up.

That leaves the problem of possible guards and surveillance. I'm real sneaky now but I would have to be super careful… Well, looks like I will have to go in as a maid again.

Deciding not to lose any time, I head to the hotel in question. Not directly, of course, and not in a single face either. Kaori told me of another tracking quirk that hadn't worked on me only because of my paranoia.

Nobody questions my presence among the cleaning crews, I only have to temporarily Memory Alter them so that they remember me as a colleague and not a newbie. It means I will have to do some actual cleaning, but that isn't as bad. I'm assigned to the rooms one floor above my target's room which is perfectly fine, I'll just have to slip in after the maid downstairs is finished.

Normally it takes all morning to clean the assigned segment but with my impressive speed, both normal and telekinetically enhanced, it shortens the time I need. Plenty of time to sneak downstairs and into the hero's room. It's nice, pristine and smelling vaguely of mint. Hm, in comparison my cleaning is a little bit sloppy. But then again, I am here as an assassin, not a cleaning lady. In that capacity I withdraw a small bottle form my Inventory and thoroughly spread its contents over the two pillows, both sides. Then I take a small camera I made and strategically place it so that I could see the bed. The loaded drone is hidden as well.

This should work. Cleary the hero isn't expecting any visitors with nefarious intentions – I did look around very thoroughly with my [Observe] and there are no trap or surveillance equipment. His quirk also only works on organic things, so he shouldn't pick up the new addition to his room.

Ah well, even if he does notice something wrong, it's not like the cleaning lady's face can be linked to me, the gadgets either. I should be in the clear should this go to shit. One never knows with quirks, but I have been really careful. I hope.

Returning to 'my' floor to clean that last room and retrieve my trolley, I quickly finish up. My 'character' has today's afternoon off but I still take lunch with the rest of the crew. Hey, free lunch is free lunch. It's part of their benefit package.

Now, where to camp out. I mean I could return home and go to a dungeon or do some engineer work but I don't want to take my eye off radar-boy. I don't know his shifts, he might come back to his room to take a nap. I have to be there when the poison takes effect. I plan to use my shadow travel, so I at least need to be somewhere I can see into the hotel. The closer to my target, the better.

Having enough time, I start checking out the apartment block near the hotel, many apartments should have a clear enough view. Key is finding a place to [Shadowport] where no people can see me. I have left the curtains open in one room that is not supposed to be occupied, but anything can happen in the span of a day. Still, that is where I am aiming for. I'll adapt if necessary.

Breaking into another person's home is old hat by now and this one was particularly easy. Also nobody was home so I made myself comfortable and set to wait, my little camera working perfectly and showing me the hero's empty room. I also installed another camera to see when the owners would be at the door so I'd have time to react and put them to sleep and Alter their memories.

With nothing better to do than to check the monitors form time to time, I take out a book out of my Inventory. A nice and light novel, perfect for relaxation. I have been meaning to read it for some time but this new World has kept me busy.

Despite my expectations, the hero comes to his room quite late – I'd have thought that with them hunting a vampire, they would focus on the night. Guess not this night then. Pity he didn't came home sooner, it would've spared a small family the pain of getting knocked out. Anyway, he is in his room, alone. Now it is a matter of waiting for him to go to sleep and my poison to take effect. Two hours tops is my estimate.

A beer, a shower and some light reading and Mr. Radar goest to bed. My camera can see well in the dark as does my little insurance policy of the drone. I'm give my poison an hour and I'll deploy the drone for a far heavier sleep.

I still remain in the apartment, I will teleport only if everything goes exactly to plan. Though I have to confess myself excited. This is different than my usual heists or huntings. This is against a pro-hero. A respected one at that, Kaori was very impressed with him and his experience with working with various law-enforcement.

In turn I am very impressed with myself, turns out that poison was the way to go to deal with mister 'perfect spatial awareness'.

Minutes pass and I still wait. And wait. And… now. Nice and easy. I pilot the small drone out of its hiding place and watch it take careful aim. A quiet 'phut' signalizes the release of the poisoned dart.

The hero does not move.

I feel the urge to celebrate but I know it is too soon. I can celebrate all I want after the fact. Let's go.

[Shaodowport] takes me into the room on the sixth floor which has fortunately remained unoccupied. I have my biker helmet on along with my old biker leathers, sticking to my disguise, and I sneak one floor down and to the room I want.

Once again the lock proves easy and I slip in, confident that no one saw me. First thing I do is [Observe] my future victim and I breathe a sigh of relief when his profile clearly displays his 'poisoned/asleep' status.

I approach him carefully, ignoring the slight awkwardness of him sleeping in the nude. Here he is, all mine.

[Stat Thief]

New Skill Acquired!

Presence Detection (Active)[Level 1] – Gets you a sense of what and who is surrounding you, range 10m - 500 MP/use

Grinning under my helmet I put a hand over on his chest, ready to throw him into Inventory. But then a shiver of coldness travels along my spine and I know I screwed up.

"What, he's not appetizing enough for you?"

I turn around with all the reflexes my DEX affords me and cast [Grasp Heart].

Turns out, that was a pure waste of mana as the being in front of me is made of purple smoke. I know that… man? He is a character in Boku no Hero Academia. A villain that can teleport too, and he's working with that creepy dude with the hands that wants to kill All Might.

"I only wish to speak" smoke-man raises his arms in a gesture of surrender, "Besides, I have no blood or heart to affect, Miss Vampire Killer. Hah, the heroes truly have no idea they even got the gender wrong, how amusing."

"What do you want?" I ask, pitching my voice lower than usual. Something in my arsenal could surely kill him but I don't want to make a mess. And, yeah, I am curious about what he's doing here. Worst comes to worst, I either flee or try [Subjugate] on him. He might not have a heart, but he clearly has a mind. And now I wish I had trained [Subjugate] a little bit more than the paltry 15 it is. I'll remedy that when I get out of here.

"I am called Kurogiri" the smoke-man gently bows, "And I am a villain. My boss would like to speak with you, villain to villain, about a possible alliance."

"Why are you here?"

Kurogiri nods towards the corpse "The heroes expected him to find you. Since we wanted to meet you, I was watching him so that we could get to you before the heroes or the police. I was quite surprised to find you here, but it is most fortuitous. You are quite resourceful and that only increases your value. We truly do not intend any harm, my boss just wants to talk."

Before I could reply, Kurogiri forms one of his portals. Warp Gates I think. Boy, I would love an ability like this. And maybe I can… "If you would follow me. Of course you may take the snack with you or feast beforehand."

I hum, weighing my options. Eh, who am I kidding, of course I am going. Villains have nice quirks too and this way I could be connected to canon if only peripherally. Might be fun, and fun is what games are about.

"I'll eat later" I say to my would-be-kidnapper and I store the hero in Inventory, making it look like he is falling into my shadow. I am turning to be quite the performer.

"Interesting" Kurogiri remarks, "You have quite a wide array of abilities. Blood manipulation, influence over shadows, and what else. A true vampire it seems."

"Where does that portal lead?" I ask instead.

"My bar. And hideout"

I hum and initiate a self-destruction mechanism on my camera and drone and set it on delay. Seems my vampire disguise is holding and I don't want to shatter that illusion, so my machines have to go. The camera would be probably ok, but the drone is too much.

"Alright. I'll take a Bloody Mary"

Kurogiri chuckles "As the lady wishes."

The travel through his gate is instantaneous and rather pleasant. Less pleasant is seeing the hand-villain, his name completely eludes me, sitting on a bar stool talking with himself. He's really creepy.

"Boss, we have a visitor" Kurogiri announces and slips behind the bar, fetching a tall glass for my drink, "Miss Vampire Killer."

"Oooooh" the hand-covered face inclines with interest, "Where did you find her, Kurogiri?"

"Standing over Mr. Takanaga. It seems she too did not appreciate his quirk"

Hand-man giggles, voice high like a little boy "Did you devour him?"

"Not yet" I shrug, forcing down my revulsion and the frisson of fear. I am grateful to Kurogiri who hands me a glass full of red, something else to focus on other than the man.

"Oh? You are willing to show us your face? How polite" hand-man giggles again. Tomura! His name is Tomura. I think.

"Korogiri-san said you wanted to talk?" I prompt instead, taking my helmet off. After all, it is not my face they're seeing. And I'm getting thirsty. My [Observe] also detects no poisons and actually promises my bloody Mary to be 'excellent'.

"A vampire indeed" Kurogiri chimes in when my face is revealed. Thanks pal, I put a lot of effort in it. And the teeth don't bother me anymore.

"I did want to talk" Tomura? nods, "Tell me, vampire-san, what do you think of heroes?"

"They get in my way" I shrug, "Nothing else to tell."

"What if I told you I have rallied villains, united them in a League of Villains, to strike against the heroes? To dispose of this era of so-called peace, let the true nature of man, violent and cruel, run rampant" Tomura says, surprising me with his eloquence and burst of sanity.

I still shrug "Good for you? I wouldn't mind a fewer heroes around but I am out for myself, not any ideals of villainy."

"There is safety in numbers," Tomura hums, the sound quite sinister from under the hand, "If we have found you, the heroes will no doubt do so as well. Sooner or later."

And here we go, the subtle threat of exposing me. "That might be true, but I sincerely doubt your League has any villains of quality aside you two. Numbers in this case would actually be to my detriment rather than safety."

"I have been preparing to kill All Might" Tomura decides to drop his bomb, "I have means to do it and the will. Oh, yes, the will indeed. After I shatter the illusion of his 'peace', the new era of villains will rise. But I understand your skepticism. How about you seeing it with your own eyes?"

"Being cannon-fodder against All Might while you prepare your weapon?" I chuckle, "That doesn't sound very appealing."

"Nothing so crude, my plan is still being formulated and I am sure you will be convinced of its success" Tomura said calmly, very self-assured, "And I am sure you'll come to appreciate a friend that could free you from police custody should you get arrested. Wouldn't you like to be friends?"

"I wouldn't mind a friend" I play along, "Provided he's on the up and up."

"How about a gift? Kurogiri?"

The smoke-made bartender presents a phone "A burner phone, a way for us to contact you. We also have a villain in the adjacent room. He was very rude to Tomura-san and tried to attack. We have no further need for him. Perhaps you can still find some use for him."

I admit, this was quite nicely done. Threats and blackmail, all neatly wrapped up in politeness. I like it. No need to be crude, this is how high-end criminality should be.

Nodding I pocket the phone – this one is going straight into Inventory, I don't want the two of them tracking me in any manner. [Observe] says that Kurogiri can port to coordinates, not really places or towards people, so I better not give him any coordinates.

"I'll take the rude villain off your hands" I incline my head.

"Excellent! We will truly be the best of friends!" Tomura exclaims, clapping his hands in glee.

"That would be nice" I reply, finishing my drink, "If that is all, I'd like to excuse myself. I hadn't planned to be out so late."

"But of course, but of course" the hand-man giggled, "Wouldn't want to keep you."

"I can take you somewhere if you wish" Kurogiri speaks up.

Fat chance. "No, thank you. A walk at night is always refreshing"

"True. If you'd come this way, I have your meal ready"

I follow the man, a bit curious with what I'll get. If I remember correctly, they work for All for One and he was one to collect quirks. Hm, does he still have the Skill even if his quirk is missing? How does it work. Can people even survive the extraction?

Eh, if he has no quirk I'll just take the Stats, that's good too.

I glimpse at the very broken man and I confess myself surprised, looks like I will be getting a Skill after all. A nice gift indeed. I quickly perform my [Mind Thief] as he drops into Inventory. I can't store anything living and I don't want Kurogiri to realize I just killed him without any blood-sucking. Fortunately my [Telepathy] works on him just fine. Tomura is chaos, but the smoke-man is no trouble, so I know he doesn't suspect anything. Fun fact, they were intending to catch me and offer me to their boss should I have refused their offer. Heh, an offer you can't refuse. Killing me was an option too.

As I walk out of the bar, I note its location for future reference. I will need to wander a little bit and do some anti-tracking measures before going home, but right now I'm enjoying my walk. Wasn't kidding when I said it was nice.

So, this was a little more villain contact than what I planned for. That said, it went fairly well. I will probably be 'blackmailed' into some attack or other, maybe at that rescue center from the anime, but it still went ok. I will need some more contingency plans though.

Ah well, contact with the League was a possibility. Also, better the villains than to heroes to be the ones to find me. Besides, they didn't find me, just Maledicta. Yep, I named my vampire character, another Pratchett reference. I thought I should have one ready if Tomura asked. Now I just have to be careful and not link me and her together.

Still, this was actually fun – I hadn't expected to interfere in canon here, besides maybe stealing some class-A Skills, but since I am now a bit more involved… Eh, we'll see. Right now, business as usual.

Eventful day today.

If I were a true vampire, I would be really full right now. Last night… I might've indulged. Perhaps it wasn't entirely wise, judging by Kaori's apologies about having to stay at work late and the tight voice she used to say it, but I just couldn't resist. A really prestigious cram school was in town for a field trip, and since most of them were aiming for U.A., they had some very nice quirks. I mean, who wouldn't want to imitate Superman and have laser vision? I couldn't possibly pass it up.

OK, it started with laser-vision, but it kinda continued. But in my defense, those kids were really talented! I mean [Presence Concealment] to upgrade my stealth? A healing ability? Those were hero-grade Skills without any hero-grade protection to defend them! So yeah, I indulged. I took all three and never looked back. And then a few others too…

Might want to lay low for a while though, when the news is going to break out, there's going to be a lot of pressure on the police and the heroes to catch me. All societies view an attack at their young as the worst crime. If I was already infamous before, it's nothing to what is to come.

Yeah, laying low is the plan for now. I have enough to do anyway. Commissions to build aaaand, fresh out of a selection, a new Class to level.

Sure, I will be re-equipping Engineer a lot, its Skills are so worth it, but I guess it will be nice to go into a dungeon again. I haven't been slacking off but, I confess I concentrated mostly on building my weapons and armor and experiment around a little bit. Besides, Engineer wasn't meant for dungeons anyway. And my vampire ambitions were a priority too.

But now, I am a Brawler. Although that sounds a bit uncouth, I fully plan to attend at least one lesson of any martial arts or self-defense program in the city to make up new passives or Skills. Right now the class augmented my (level 3) [Unarmed Combat Proficiency] by ten free levels and gave me the sustained Skill [Bolster Defense] which allowes to up my VIT considerably along with a bonus to any of my defensive actions. Not magical though, only physical. Still, not bad. It's similar to my [Evasion Stance], good to have.

Brawler will also give me that sought after STR every level. Not only I need that for HP, I need it to finally surpass Kamui Woods and get my reward. I'm sure it's nothing like the money and exp I get from my commissions and stealing, this should be something good. That question mark in reward practically guarantees it. Anyway, Brawler gives me +1 STR, +1 VIT and +1 DEX every level, so pretty good. Sure, the Vanguard gave +2 STR and +1 VIT, but I wanted the Brawler. I mean, I am in Japan, a bastion of martial arts. Where better to learn unarmed combat.

Hmm, might also take a look at some of the armed classes. The sword is a given, but Japan has an excellent reputation with archery and the spear. Besides, with a killer on the loose, it only makes sense for a weak woman like me to try some self-defense, right? I grin, all too pleased with myself.

The new class being a novelty and all, I decide that today I would brave a dungeon instead of working. I'm rather looking forward to putting on my entire armor and do some smashing. The armor is still my Mk. VII with only Stat increase but it should be more than enough. Especially since I think I'll be returning to basics – zombies. If I am to go pure melee, and my HP being what it is, I'll do some Skill leveling on the easy enemies before I scale up.

"Status"

Name: Sofia Vetinari
Level: 20 (71%)
Title: Villain

Class: Brawler (Lvl 1)

STATS
HP - 766.800 (1M)
MP - 5M (5M)
STR - 71 (89)
VIT - 108 (133)
DEX - 194 (207)
INT - 286 (291)
WIS - 186 (191)
CHA - 111

LCK - 25 (45)

Available Stat Points - 94

Yeah, horde mode is just what the doctor ordered. My INT is exquisite and the other Stats are coming along nicely, just that STR… But that is why I will be focusing on it right now. I'll need to check Kamui Woods again but if his Stats hold, I am already better than him everything except STR and VIT. The latter being roughly 50 points behind and the first about 60. Should be easy to grind with my new class and going melee. The VIT being over a hundred levels much slower now, but STR should catch up pretty quickly. And that is without the free points Brawler gives me.

Alright, enough. Let's go. [ID Create: Zombies]!

I appear on a rooftop, away from the horde. I grin, this time not minding being back in HotD. But first… [Summon Wolf]. It's nice to have a companion. And now, the only thing left is to flex my new armor. Pity I have to unequip the [Bone Circlet] to fit on my helmet, but the set gives me bonus HP.

Ok, let's brawl!

"You look like hell" Hisa announces instead of her usual happy greeting.

"Hello to you too. How was work?" I roll my eyes tiredly.

"No really, like hell. What were you doing today?" my roommate insists.

I sigh and roll my shoulder, Gamer body or no, I do feel tired. But pretty happy. Mainly tired though. Maybe spending the whole day in a dungeon wasn't the smartest thing to do. But hey, the pay-off was good.

"Sofia?"

"Just went a bit overboard at the gym" I explain, it's close enough. I am actually looking forward to a nap, maybe just a quick dinner and an early bedtime today?

"I know I told you to take a break from your machine project, but this isn't what I had in mind," Hisa sighs, "You really aren't one for half-measures, huh?"

"Nope"

"I was thinking we could cook together but how does take-out sound?"

"Heavenly"

"Any preference?"

"Something spicy?"

"Oooh, I haven't had mapo tofu in ages! How about it?"

"Great pick" I hum, I haven't actually ever had it but it was mentioned here and there in anime and manga. I did want to try it at some point.

"I know a great place but it doesn't deliver" Hisa sighs, "I guess I'm going out again."

"Be careful, it's getting dark" I caution, not that she has anything to fear from the vampire killer. But hey, there are plenty of other crazies out there. Like Tomura. The creep. Glad he hasn't tried to contact me yet. Not that I was expecting anything major before the new school year started.

I almost curse and blame Murphy when I hear a ring tone but I quickly calm down when it's not a notification form Inventory but rather the normal ringtone of my 'civilian' phone. "Yes?"

"Hey, love"

"Hey, Kaori, what's up?"

Hisa makes a little wave at me and collects her purse before going out again, hopefully for that food.

"You know how I told you I'd be working late because of the vampire? I might actually make it to meet you today if you're free"

"You caught the vampire and got time off?" I ask, quite curious about the actual reason.

"No, but we do actually have a lead" Kaori surprises me, not pleasantly, "We'll see how it pans out. To be honest, I'm not holding my breath on this one. Boss is trying to drag a hero with a psychic quirk into town, that looks a bit more promising. Anyway, since I pulled a couple of double-shifts and I might be coming down from a tiny triple one right now, I got ordered home."

"Well, I'm really tired too so feel free to come over right now. I'll probably be in my pajamas"

"Oh? How come?"

"Overdid it at the gym" I give her the same excuse I gave Hisa.

"Jealous of my abs?" Kaori laughed.

"Somebody clearly thinks highly of herself. But no, I simply wanted some exercise after spending too much time fiddling with tech"

"I'd gladly let you exercise"

"After a triple shift? If you don't fall asleep right after taking a shower, it will be a miracle"

"That sound like a challenge"

"Sure, if you want, but I warn you that I plan on being a pillow princess tonight"

"Sound like my lucky day! I'll definitely stop for coffee!"

"Is that a jab on my more domineering side?"

"…nope!"

"Just get here"

"Yes, mistress"

"If we were to play it that way, I would prefer 'my queen'"

"Oh. I'll keep it in mind. … my queen"

I chuckle "If you're really stopping for coffee, how about bringing some cake."

"…did you spend all that time in the gym just so you could have cake?"

"I deserve it"

"Alright, I'll pick something up"

"See ya soon then"

"See ya"

I end the call, suddenly feeling quite a bit refreshed. That is both the [Gamer's Body] at work and the promise of cake. And sex. Best of all, food and the rest is being delivered to my doorstep without me needing to do anything. Yep, I am definitely conquering a world at some point, I could get used to this.

AN: Promise I will stop obsessively showing Status once the numbers get out of basic. Right not every Stat point counts, will do a little less later.