"Do you have everything?"

"Yeah Mom, I got everything."

In the early morning, the Midoriya household was busier than usual as the mother and son prepared for the young teen's first day at U.A.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say she's more worried than you are," Chuckled Ethan as he float into the living room.

It certainly seems like, thought the teen to himself as he placed the last of his things into his inventory.

Inko shouted from the living room, "What about your handkerchief? Do you have it?"

The teen answered back, "yes!" Straiginthing his blazer, Midiroya grabbed his phone from its charger. " I've got it! No time, Got to hurry!"

With the last of his preparations made, Ethan and Midoriya made their way to the front door, but were stopped once again by Inko, "Izuku!"

Worried about being late, he let out an exasperated, "What!?" But he straightened himself when he saw his mother's smile. Emotions like love, compassion, and pride in her son caused the woman's lips to tug upwards. "You look great."

Midoriya smiled back at his mom, "Thanks, mom. I'll see you matter."

The matriarch of the Midoriya family waved her son goodbye as he left for his first day at his hero academia.

Walking along the road on this early spring morning, Ethan spoke up. "I hate to sound like your mom, but you got your sword and everything. You're pretty limited with offensive options without it."

Midoriya checked his inventory and confirmed with a nod. "I have it, but…" he rubbed the back of his head, "I-I really don't think I'll need it. It's only the first day."

Ethan shrugged his shoulder, "Better to have it just in case, you never know what might happen at the number one hero school."

"I-I guess you're right U.A. is known for having an unorthodox teaching style. The teachers have a-"

"Dude chill," Ethan said with a mild glare. "I can tell you about going into one of your mumble storms and it's too early for that."

A nervous chuckle escaped the teen's lips as they boarded the train bound for U.A. In the time between the entrance exam and now, the pair had been hard at work with some training of their own. While All Might had instructed the teen to take it easy for a while, Ethan was determined to make progress in the understanding of how One for All melded with his skills. The golden warrior's reason is that the better Midoriya's combat effectiveness the better. But most efforts could not be explored due to the recoil of One for All, much to Ethan's annoyance.

"A-Are you still upset about my level," Midoriya asked nervously.

Ethan clicked his teeth, signaling that the teen was right. "You bet that super big robot only managed to get enough exp to go up to level 16. That's bullshit!"

"I-it's better than nothing," Offered the teen. "I doubled my level at the very least."

"I'm still angry," Sighed the warrior. The pair exited the train and he continued, "As you get high in level, it's going to get harder to get XP and level up again. Add to that we haven't had the opportunity to use that method at all. If this was Lucid Adventure, we'd already be around the 40s."

Unsure of what to say to the man, Midoriya elected to pull up his stats screen and look at his growth.

[Name: Izuku Midoriya]

[Level: 16]

[Strength: 37]

[Intelligence: 61]

[Agility: 36]

[Dexterity: 60]

[Luck: 20]

[Stamina:40]

Despite Ethan's protest, Midoriya was happy with the level of growth. Almost all of his stats had nearly doubled, even his luck stat. There's also the added combat experience he had gained from the entrance exam. Since that was his first time using a sword to fight, he was certainly an amateur, but the two had spent some time polishing Midoriya's swordplay. It was nowhere close to being a top-cut skill, but Midoirya chopped it up to lack of real experience. Something he hopped to get in spades at U.A.

And as that thought crossed his mind, the towers of the super school came into view, and he quickened his stride to make it to class on time. With the map he had memorized, he hurried up the stairs to the section which held his new classroom.

"1-A… 1-A," he muttered to himself as he walked down the hall. When He saw the class number on a placard near the door, he smiled before looking at the door in front of him.

The door reached all the way to the ceiling, with a small handle located at the bottom and a larger one at the middle. "Jeuses man," Ethan voiced. "I know this a superhero world, but this door."

"It does have to be accessible for everyone," muttered the teen. Reaching out and grabbing the handle of the door. Midoriya took a deep breath as he readied himself, Everyone in class will be the elite of examinees it will be the best of the best. His mind went back to the blue-haired teen with the glasses and Kaccahn. I really hope those two are in another class.

With a gulp, he opened slid the large door open and his attention fell to the arguing happening in the classroom.

"Remove your foot from that desk," Shouted the blue-haired teen. "Such an Action is insulting to those who came to U.A. before us as well as the craftsman who made it."

Bakugo barked, "As I care. What middle school are you from, you extra?"

"Wow, Class hasn't even started and he's already making friends," Ethan commented sarcastically.

Of course, they'd both be here, thought Midoriya as he listened to the two conversations. "I'm from Somei Private Academy. My name is Tenya Iida."

"Somei!?" Bakugo let out an annoyed snarl at the school's name. "A stuck-up elitist, then? I should Blow you to bits."

Ethan looked sidelong at Midoriya, "Any chance of him getting kicked out for saying stuff like that in a 'Hero' school."

Midoriya could only let out a breath before the blue-haired teen meet his eyes as he stood in the doorway. Iida walked in a very strange manner towards the door. "I'm from Somei Private Academy…"

"I heard you before," Midoriya said putting his hands up in mild defense. "I-I'm Izuku Midoriya. Pleased to meet you."

Several of the other students perked up slightly at the mention of his name and Ethan noticed it, "Seems like everyone is a little interested in you. You did tie for first on the entrance exam so you might have a couple of eyes on you."

He noted Ethan's words as Iida continued, "Midoriya… you perceived the true nature of the practical exam." Iida looked dejected off to the side, "While I did not! I misjudged you. I hate to admit it but you were the superior candidate."

I didn't perceive anything, thought the green-haired teen. As he looked at Iida, Maximum survival instinct kicked in, and above Iida's head was his level.

[Tenya Iida Lv 50]

"Level 50, huh," Midoriya said with a low whisper. Kacchan is level 52. So Iida is almost as strong as Kacchan. I wonder what level the rest of the class is.

"What was that Midoriya?"

He blinked several times before realizing that what he said didn't go unheard. "Oh nothing," he said with a nervous chuckle.

"Ah, that curly hair!"

Spinning around quickly, Midoriya and Ethan recognized the voice as the brown-haired girl from the entrance exam. It's that nice girl. She's too cute in that Uniform. His face immediately turned bright red, as he tried to cover his face with his hands. "You got in," She continued. "Just like the present mic said! Makes sense though that sword attack was awesome!" She waved her fist around like she was swinging an invisible sword.

Ethan could only snicker in amusement as Midoirya blushed, " No, I mean I have to thank you for speaking on my behalf…" Looking up at the girl's bar above her head Midoirya noticed her level and her name."

[Ochaco Uraraka Lv 47]

"Uraraka," continued Midoirya absently mindlessly noticing the girl's level was also in the high forties.

Uraraka blinked several times, "How do you know my name?"

Realizing that he had said her name before she introduced herself, the greenette immediately began to panic and apologize Meanwhile, Bakugo could only think back to a few weeks ago at Aldera junior in the teacher's office.

…

Bakugo grabbed Midoriya by the collar, hoisting him off the ground for a second. "What dirty trick did you use, you quirkless nerd!?"

The two were behind their middle school, alone where they could have a talk in private. Dead set on getting answers, Bakugo dragged Midoriya out to figure out the truth. "You're just a Quirkless nobody, and yet you manage to get the same score as me." His grip on Midoirya's collar tightened. "I was supposed to be the first and only one from this backwater school." But now my plans have been torn to shreds. So what gave you the idea you could do what everyone wanted!"

For several seconds Midoriya was silent, and Bakugo assumed that the cowardly nerd he had always known wasn't going to say anything. But what surprised him was when Midoriya grabbed his arm. "Someone told me," Midoriya began. "No… Two people told me that I-I could become a Hero." With increasing strength, Midoriya picked himself up, "I've earned this Kacchan. That's why… for them… I'm gonna be a hero no matter what."

…

Bakugo could only think back to that day with annoyance and curiosity as the bell signaled the beginning of class. He actually stood up to me… There's something fishy about all this."

Meanwhile, Midoriya still tried his face from the girl that was several inches away from him. "So it's something with your Quirk? That's Super neat, you must have a really amazing Quirk. But we've got the entrance ceremony and guidance sessions today," Uraraka continued, oblivious to the panic she was causing the boy. "Wonder what our teacher is going to be like. I'm so nervous."

"If you're going to socialize, then get out."

Any words that were going to come out of the teen's mouth were silenced by the sounds of an older man. Turning around Midoriya, Iida, Ethan, and Uraraka saw a large yellow sleeping bag on the ground. It was lying there motionless, with only the head of long black hair coming from the opening near the top. Slightly unzipping the sleeping bag, the man pulled out a juice pouch, "This is the hero course."

The whole class was silent as the bag rose to its feet, Ethan was the only one in the room with something to say. "What the heck is with this guy? Is he your teacher or something?"

Midoriya swallowed at the thought and the haggard man continued as he fully emerged from the sleeping bag. "It took you eight seconds for you to quiet down. Time is a precious resource. You lot aren't very rational. I'm your homeroom teacher, Shota Aizawa. Pleased to meet you."

The emotion of the whole class shifted as everyone seemed shocked that the grizzled man before them was not only a pro hero but their teacher. "Guess you get all kinds of weirdos at this school," Ethan commented.

If he's our teacher then he's a pro hero as well, but I don't recognize him, Midoirya thoughts continued to follow similar trains of thought as he looked at his teacher's level.

[Shota Aizawa Lv. 62]

Only level 62, thought Midoriya. He's not that far from Kacchan and Iida. How strong is he?

Any further thought we put on hold as Aizawa pulled out a gym uniform from his sleeping bag. "Quickly now, change into your gym uniforms and head out to the grounds."

…

As all this was happening, All Might sat in the teacher's lounge. The system of teaching here at the U.A. is unlike any other. Teachers have quite a bit of freedom with how a class is run. I need to find out who Midoriya has for his homeroom teacher.

After a couple of minutes flipping through the faculty registry, a top-secret document that lists all the teachers of the U.A. All Might found the teacher listed as 1-A's homeroom teacher. Crap, All Might thought. Aizawa huh? Stay strong Young Midoriya… he's nothing but trouble.

…

"A Qurik Assemsnet test," said almost everyone in class 1-A in unison.

"I'll give this guy credit, he works fast," Ethan said with a chuckle. "He's really throwing you guys into the deep end."

Midoriya wordlessly nodded his head as the nice girl from before asked, "What about the entrance ceremony, or guidance sessions!?"

Aizawa waved his hand dismissively and turned around. "No time to waste on that stuff if you want to be heroes." His words surprised the class and he continued. "U.A. is known for it's 'freestyle' education system. Naturally, that applies to the teachers as well." Class 1-A looked at their teacher confused. "Softball throwing, the standing long jump, the 50-meter dash, endurance running, grip strength, side-to-side jumping, upper body training, and the seated toe touch. Your standard no-Quirks allowed gym test."

Ethan let out a snarl, "Jesus. I remember doing exercises like these back when I was in school."

"This country still insists on prohibiting the use of Quirks when calculating the averages of those records. It's not rational and sooner or later the board of education is going to learn better." The teacher's eyes fell on Bakugo, "Bakugo. How far could you throw in middle school?"

"Sixty-seven meters," answered the explosion user.

Aizawa nodded and tossed a softball to him. "Now try with your Quirk. Do whatever just don't leave the circle. Give it all you got."

Bakugo looked at the softball in his hand and walked over to the circle. I'll add a little boom to the pitch, he thought as he rolled his shoulder. Now inside the throwing circle, he took a deep breath before stepping forward. With his arm behind him, he railed his arm forward and launched a powerful explosion. "DIIIEEEE!"

Dust blew up from the ground as several students covered their eyes. Die? Thought the green-haired teen among them. After several seconds, the ball, now charred and black, landed on the ground and rolled for several feet. The device in Aizawa's hand beeped and he turned the device to everyone. "It's important for us to know your limits. It's the first rational step to finding out what kind of Heroes you can be."

"Whoa that was awesome," cried a boy with red spikey hair.

Another boy said in surprise, "705 meters? Seriously?"

Man, this is bad, Midoriya thought while his classmates roared in excitement. These eight events. I didn't know t-

"Dude chill." Snapping out of his thought, the teen looked at Ethan. "It's just a test to gauge your strength. It's not some do-or-die test."

Midoriya did smile a little bit at the man's words, but one of his classmates cried out. "So we can use our Quirks for real! Man the hero course is so much fun."

"Fun…you say?"

The whole class looked back at their Sensei, his expression more serious than it had been just a moment ago, "You're hoping to become heroes after three years here and you think it'll be all fun and games." His cold eyes looked at them and the class shuttered. "Right… The one with the lowest score across all eight events will be judged hopeless and be EXPELLED."

Ethan could only facepalm at this news, "Alright then…" With the snap of his fingers, Ethan transformed into his golden armor and turned to Midoirya. "Looks like it is do or die time."

Midoriya could only swallow the lump in his throat. I can't use One for All since it's all or nothing. I can't regulate the power yet.

"Your fates in our hands," said Aizawa. He brushed his hair back revealing his bloodshot eyes to his students. "Welcome, this is the hero course of U.A. High!"

"Now hold on." To Midoriya's right, Uraraka spoke up. "It's only the first day. Even if it weren't… That totally unfair!"

"And you think natural disasters are?"

The question caught the class's attention "Natural disasters, Highway pileups, rampaging villains. Calamity is right around every corner. As a Hero, it is your job to combat the unfairness of the world. Here at U.A., it's our job to make sure you can." Aizawa taunted the class with his finger, "that's Plus Ultra. Use your strength to overcome it all. So bring it. The demonstration is over now. Now… it's for real."

The emotions of the class were mixed. Some were hyped on adrenaline. Others were nervous but determined. Some even feared their first day would end in smoke. Midoriya certainly fell into the last category and Ethan knew it. "Don't worry kid," he said walking up to Midoriya's side. "You've got THE Hardcore Leveling Warrior at your side. Remember that giant robot you beat up during the exam? That's way harder than this stupid test." With his trademark grin on his face, Ethan wrapped his arm around the teen's shoulder, "Let's show this Old Man what we can do."

For a second Midoriya wasn't sure what to make of Ethan's words. But the confidence of the man seemed to lighten his spirit and fill his heart with determination. Ethan's right. I might not have One for All available to me. But with my other skills. Maybe I can…

He took a deep breath and exhaled sharply. "You're right." He said in a low tone, "We can do this."

Somehow, Ethan's grin grew more comprehensive, "That's what I'm talking about."

"Alright…" Aizawa's voice drew the attrition of the class once more. "Let me explain how you'll do the test. Across the field area, several stations have been set up. The test order is the 50-meter dash, Grip Strength, Standing Long Jump, Side side jumping, Throwing, seated toe touch, upper body, and ending it with an endurance run. Move quickly through each station or I'll expel you immediately, understood?"

"Y-yes Sir," said most of the class.

"Well let's head over to the 50-meter dash."

With those words, Class 1-A began walking toward the area designated for the 50-meter dash. As they walked in a group, Midoirya hung back a bit of distance from the group to talk to Ethan. "Do you have a plan?"

"Kind of," Ethan said with a shrug. "There is one skill you can use that may give you an edge but the big factor is your buff from Lucky Coin. I never really had many skills that gave me buffs since I had Lucky Coin and my Golden Armor. The ones I did have are too high level for you to use now. I don't know how long it will take to complete these tests, but these tests are split between strength and agility-based tests. You just have to get a buff for either strength or speed."

"That's a big ask," Midoirya noted as he took the coin off the chain. "Any other Ideas?"

"The endurance run and seated toe touch are kind of out of the question. I can't think of any of my skills that would help with flexibility and the run might just be better off with Lucky coins buff. And a word of warning, don't go up and do your dash when Bakugo does. His explosions could hurt your time. Try to go last."

"Alright."

As the two finished their talk and plan, they came up to the line for the 50-meter dash. He watched as several of his other classmates finished their tests.

"3.04 seconds," said a robotic voice.

Aizawa watched as Iida crossed over the finish line with blazing speed. Like a fish in water. We'll see how he does in the other events.

The speedster rejoined the rest of his class when he noticed the hand of Midoirya signaling him to come over. "That was amazing Iida! You're amazing!"

"Thank you," smiled the bespectacled teen. "Of course given my Quirk, a test of speed like this is nothing for me. But I'm looking forward to how you perform Midoriya."

"I agree with Iida," Said another voice joining in the conversation. Walking up to the two boys was the girl that had run alongside Iida. A green-haired girl slightly slouched over with her hands hanging in front of her. "You got first on the exam along with that Bakugo guy right? You both must be really strong."

The green-haired teen blushed and rubbed the back of his head nervously as Iida looked at the girl, "Indeed. Your name… I believe it was Tsuyu Asui correct."

"Everyone just calls me Tsu," she said with a nod.

Iida and Midoriya nodded their heads as the aspiring gambler took a look at her level.

[Tsuyu Asui Lv. 47]

She's in the upper 40's, thought Midoriya. A nudge from Ethan reminded the teen of why he signaled the teen over in the first place. "Actually, Iida, I was wondering if I could get some help from you?"

Both Iida and Tsu looked curiously at their classmate. "Help? It's a single-person event, so I wouldn't be able to help you even if I wanted to."

"It's a bit complicated but," Midoriya quickly pulled up the menu. Surprising the other two students with him. "If you would accept this friend request, It would mean a lot."

Suddenly, a semi-transparent screen like the one Midoriya used appeared before Iida. Its appearance caught the teen off guard as he read what was on screen.

[Friend Request]

[Would you like to accept the friend request from Izuku Midoirya?]

The other two looked at the screen curiously. "A friend request? Is this part of you Quirk Midoriya," Tsu asked curiously.

"If I remember correctly, I thought your Quirk had something to do with weapons Midoriya."

He rubbed the back of his head, "it's complicated… I really don't have a lot of time to explain. But if you accept the request, you'd really help me. Please!"

The green-haired boy bowed deeply to his classmate. Iida was left unsure of what to do, without any explanation. This could come across as Midoriya asking for help to cheat and part of him wanted to decline the offer.

But the sincerity in his classmate's eyes was telling enough that nothing nefarious was intended. With the raise of his hand, Iida clicked the accept button on the request. "I'm not sure what help I could provide, but I'll assist as best I can."

With those words, Midoriya smiled as Aizawa called out, "Koda, Midoriya you're up."

Hearing the call of his name, Midoriya rushed over to the start line."Thank you, Iida. Follow me. As he did, he pulled the Lucky Coin and held it tight in his hand. Please something good, Please something good. Flicking it with his thumb, Midoriya caught the coin mid-air and a sky-blue glow covered his body.

[Use Skill: Lucky Coin]

[Sucsess: Movement Speed increased]

Midoriya smiled widely as some of his other classmates watched him curiously. As he stepped up to the start line, he looked over to Iida who was still curious as to what 'help' he was providing. The green-haired teen reached out his hand in Iida's direction and called out, "Borrow."

[Use Skill: Borrow]

[Borrowing Agility]

A blue light surrounded Iida and the teen was surprised, to say the least. However, what supposed him the most was the message that echoed in his head. As if it had been whispered in his ear.

[Status: Under Contract]

[Agility Decreased: Movement Speed decreased by 50%]

The light seemed to collect into a single mass before flying at Midoriya. Who briefly glowed before the light faded. My body, Thought Iida. It feels like I'm walking through water.

Back at the starting line, Midoriya took a ready position as the robot called out. Sorry, Iida, it will just be for a second.

"Ready… Set… Go."

Pushing off the block, Midoriya raced down the straight with speed he had never felt before. Borrowed agility combined with the speed boost of Lucky Coin… Using all his might, Midoriya sailed across the finish line.

"5.55," said the robot.

Before even beginning to catch his breath, Midoriya raised his arm once again at Iida. "Here you go, Iida."

Once again a blue light coated Midoriya the light collated into a ball that sailed towards Iida. As the light touched his body, another strange message played once again.

[Contract Fulfilled: Movement Speed returned to Normal]

Suddenly, the weight he had felt disappeared instantly and the speedster was able to move as he once did. Jogging over to the teen recovering his breath, he asked, "Midoriya what was that?"

He rubbed the back of his head, "I-it's a lot to explain but a part of my Quirk allows me to 'borrow' some stats from a friend and return them when I'm done."

That explains why he wanted me to accept the 'friend request', thought the speedster.

"I-I'm really sorry Iida. I didn't have time to explain the details 'cause I didn't know when my turn was going to happen and I-I know it must have been weird for you to have some of your stats borrowed like that…"

Iida watched in confusion as Midoirya mumbled to himself rather than him. "Midoirya." Snapping out of reality the aspiring gambler looked at his new friend. "It's quite alright," he smiled. "I believe you didn't have any ill will towards me in your intentions. Besides, As heroes, we must work together and help those in need." Iida waved his arms in a robotic fashion, "As an aspiring Hero I could not overlook someone who is in need of help."

Hearing those words cause Midoirya to smile but Aizawa's voice caught their attention. "Next is the grip strength test.."

The next several tests went similarly, Iida would go first then I would borrow what stats I could. Compared to his speed, Iida's strength was a lot less, but being able to borrow from him allowed me to perform far better than I would have on my own.

Finally, It was time for the Softball throwing. Aside from Kacchan who already went, Everyone else gathered around the circle to watch. In the circle now was Uraraka, She touched the pads on her hand to the ball, and a small pink flash accompanied it. With a throw as strong as she could, she throw the ball and everyone in the class watched it sail into the sky.

They watched for several seconds… then several minutes. Finally, the device Aizawa had beeped. Flipping it over to display the score, the whole class roared as the symbol for infinity was displayed.

"Infinity!? Wow?! The infinity symbol really popped up."

"Midoirya, you're up," said Aizawa as he tossed a new ball his way.

Clumsyly catching the ball, he nodded and walked over to the circle. Thanks to borrowing, I've been able to do Ok on several tests. But I really need to do well here to be safe. As this thought crossed his mind, he looked over at Iida who was standing next to Bakugo. This gaze didn't go unmissed by Aizawa. As Midoriya stepped into the circle, he raised his hand to activate the borrowed skill once again.

[Erorr: Skill blocked by Erasure]

[Lucky Coin buff loss]

Panic quickly set in as Midoirya didn't feel the power of Borrow coursing through him.

"I erased your Quirk," said Aizawa, his hair raised high into the air.

Wait… Erased. Erasure… "You're the pro hero erasure head!"

The class chattered about the identity of the Teacher while All Might stood behind a wall some distance away. He hates media appearances. Says it interferes with his work.

"I've been watching you since we started," continued Aizawa. "You've been 'borrowing' your strength from your classmate. The fact you've had to do that proves you don't belong here."

The teacher approached Midoriya and the scarf around his neck extended wrapping around the teen. "What happens when you're alone? What happens when you are unable to have people who can fight with you? If you can't stand on your own, you're just wasting everyone's time."

"I-I can do it on my own. I-"

"You mean with that ridiculous power you used back at the entrance exam." Midoriya's eyes went wide. "I may not know the full extent of your Quirk, but your little clash with the zero pointers proved that you have the same reckless mindset as All Might. Your arms and legs were broken after one attack. In a real fight, you'd be totally useless. Broken after just saving one person."

Aizawa pulled the teen closer, peering into his soul with those bloodshot eyes, "With that power of yours, you can't be a hero."

A second of silence between the two passed and Aizawa loosened the scarf as his hair fell. "You've got your Quirk back. Give it another go. Let's get this over with."

The teacher began to walk away and Midoiya was at a lost. He didn't have any clue about what to do. But for some reason, every fiber of his being was telling him to prove his teacher wrong. To prove to his teacher that he belonged here just like the rest of his class.

"This is IT."

From his right, Ethan spoke up for the first time in a while and smiled sidelong at his partner. "This is the perfect setup. Ask him?"

"I-I Don't k-know," Midoirya stuttered. He knew what IT was and part of the teen was still hesitant.

"That old man over there," he said pointing to Aizawa as he walked away. "He thinks your chances are less than 1 percent. I'm sure of it. But odds like that are a surefire victory for you and me. We can do this"

Midoirya opened his mouth once again, to say he didn't have a plan but the look in Ethan's eye had the radiance of pure confidence. Midoriya didn't know Ethan very well. He didn't know about his personal life, he didn't know about his family, he didn't know about what he did outside of Lucid Adventure.

But Midoirya knew that Hardcore Leveling Warrior was a man of well-earned confidence. And now, when the odds were against him Midoirya swallowed the lump in his throat. Ready to prove that he's earned the title of Gambler he inherited.

Will he give it his all and go down swinging, Aizawa thought as he walked away. Or shrink away from the challenge and end up with the lowest score?

"Aizawa-sensei."

Turning around, he saw the teen with a softball in his hand but there was something different about him. But it didn't matter that much. Part of the teacher knew to expect words of rebuttal, words which would be summarized as 'I will win'.

However, In all his years of teaching, he had never expected to hear these words uttered to him.

"Do you wanna make a bet?"

For what felt like several seconds, Aizawa stood motionless as the question asked by the young teen sank into his head. "What did you say?"

Midoirya swallowed the lump in his throat and continued, "You don't think I can make it? That I'm not cut out for the hero course. Are you willing to make a bet on that?" The Teacher's eyebrows went up and he continued. "If I succeed in your expectations, I stay in the hero course. A-and if I don't-."

"You'll leave?" Questioned Aizawa. The teen was silent, only stretching his hand. Signaling to the man to shake if he accepted the bet. This kid is either arrogant… or he actually has a plan? Be it out of curiosity or out of the genuine belief that the teen had no chance. Aizawa took the hand of the teen, shaking it as he did. "I accept."

Suddenly, as soon as the words left his mouth, a glow not unlike the one he had seen emmit from Midoirya during the test shone from around the two's hands. The teacher let go of his student's hand as he heard in his ear…

[Challage accepted]

[Summoning Moderator]

In the sky above the class, light began to form a ball-shaped object that grew and grew in size. Light also began to be admitted from the ball and several of the class wondered what was happening. "What's going on," asked a blonde boy with a black strake in his hair.

All of 1-A watched as from a puff of smoke a figure now appeared. A tall pink-haired woman stood as the thing forming from the ball of light. Her hair was short and in a messy bob cut. As she floated down to the ground, the class saw that her right eye was gray and its pupil looked to be that of a sword. Her other eye was covered by an eye-red leather eye batch. Her clothing caused the eyes of several students to go up. She wore a black skin-tight body suit that hugged her body and euphemized her chest. The only gaps in the suit were around the woman's hips and waist, leaving a single stripe of fabric going down and rejoining the rest of the fabric as it went down her legs. As for accessories, around both of her biceps and thigh were leather sheths that held golden knives. Her hands and upper forearms were covered by black metal gauntlets and her footwear was a pair of black boots. However, the most striking thing about the woman was the set of wings on her back. Seemingly made of blue energy

"Woah, a Boobalicious babe appears from the sky," said a very small purple-haired teen.

The rest of the class muttered at the appearance of the woman and Ethan looked up at her in surprise. "Dacon!?" His words earned a side long look from Midoriya and he explained. "She was an NPC in Lucid Adventure. Servant of the combat god and was the moderator for duels alongside her brother. I guess she somehow became the Moderator for your betting."

Midoriya nodded as the woman, now identified as Dacon, turned to Aizawa and Midoriya. "Alright you two, You've made a bet. If Midoriya exceeds Aizawa's expectations, he wins. If he doesn't, he losses. What do you guys want if you win?"

Aizawa wasn't sure what to make of this until Midoirya said, "This is Dacon. She's the Moderator for the bet."

He nodded and turned back to the woman, although skeptical he said, "If Midoriya fails, He will be expelled from U.A. And if you're moderating, Midoriya will also fail if he breaks his arm."

"You fine with that," Dacon asked now turning to Midoriya.

"I am."

Dacon nodded, "Alright. What do you want?"

Midoriya took a deep breath and said, "I would like some of Aizawa-sensei's stats."

The words caused the teacher to raise his brow but the woman flew back into the air. "Ok, the wager is set. Now began!"

"I'm not sure what you're Quirk is letting you do," Aizawa said, getting Midoriya's attention. "But let's see if you're blowing hot air."

Once again, Aizawa walked back over to where the class was standing and Midoriya stood with the softball in hand, his whole hero career riding on this test. Remembering that his previous buff from lucky coin had gotten erased by his teacher. He flipped it again.

[Use Skill: Lucky Coin]

[Sucsess: Strength increased]

I can't break my arm or I'll lose the bet. But I can't regulate my power. I have no choice but to use full power, otherwise, I'll lose. Throwing back his arm for the pitch, Midoirya knew exactly what he had to do. If I can't control the power, I'll just control where I put the power!

Aizawa watched as the teen took his final throw, "You've got no chance…"

The teen's arm came over his head and his thought continued to buzz. Aizawa-Senesi is right. At this rate, I'll never be a hero. Because… I have to work way harder than everyone else… IF I want to make it! Time seemed to slow down for Midoriya as the ball left his fingers. He felt the sensation of the ball leaving his hand at the very last second. At the very last moment, his pointer finger made contact with the ball, he used One for All with all his might.

This is what I can do NOW!

A cloud of dust was kicked up as the ball soared through the air. Everyone, Bakugo and Aizawa included, watched in amazement as the ball was sent flying across the large field. For several seconds the ball reminds in the air until it rolled to a stop upon hitting the ground.

Aizawa notice the finger of his student as his device beeped in his hand.

715.9

He used his full power but just concentrated it into his fingertip.

"Sensei…!"

Aizawa looked up to see the smiling expression of his students. Although he was still in pain from breaking his finger, he clenched his fist. "I… can still fight."

A wave of emotions rushed over Aizawa as he looked at Midoriya. "This kid!"

"And that settles it!"

Everyone looked up into the sky and Dacon pointed a finger at Midoriya. "Midoriya has won the bet and now it's time for you to select your prize." The one-eyed angel snapped her finger and everyone watched as Aizawa started to glow. From his body, four chests appeared from nowhere and hovered in the air in a loose row. "You're too low to take all of them, so pick one out of them."

I asked for stats so each one of that chests must contain a random stat. With his good hand, he pointed to the one he wanted. "Second from the right."

Dacon nodded and grabbed the chest Midoirya wanted and tossed it over to him. The remaining chest floated back to Aizawa and disappeared along with the light. "With that, the bet is over. I'm done here." in a puff of smoke, Dacon disappeared leaving the class to wonder about Midoriya's Quirk.

One person especially was wondering and it was the explosion user Katsuki Bakugo. What the?! Quirks never manifest past age four. It's impossible… but that woman, and that power… He said he earned this. Curiosity quickly turned to anger and Bakugo fired off explosions as he ran toward the green-haired teen. "What the hell!? You better explain yourself Deku!?"

As the explosion grew closer, Midoirya clenched the chest he was holding. But suddenly Bakugo found his torso and face being held back by a cloth strap. The explosion in his palms also stopped and he said, "What the? This cloth is so stiff."

"It's a captured weapon made of carbon fibers and special alloy wire." Aizawa glared at the blonde-haired teen. "Geez, stop using your Quirk already. I'm getting dye over here."

"Cool Quirk. Lame drawback," commented Ethan.

Reasling his student, Aizawa turned his attention back to the class. "We're wasting time. Get ready for the next event."

The class followed his instructions and began to move in the direction of the next test. Midoirya walked away as well, stashing the chest in his inventory while also pulling out bandages and first aid supplies from the first kid he had. Uraraka helped him as he walk as Bakugo thought back to the past. He wasn't supposed to be more than a pebble in my path.

…

"Alright, I've calculated your scored from all the events so it's time for the results."

The class held their breath as the moment of truth was upon them. One student in particular could only hold his breath as his teacher spoke. Thanks to Iida letting me borrow his stats, I did a lot better then I would have done without it. But my only real record of worth was with the ball throw. It's only thanks to having first aid supplies in my inventory and Ethan that I was able to keep it together as long as I did during the endurance run and the remaining test…

"Your total scores reflect your performance in each event," Aizawa contained. "Explaining the process would be a waste of time, so all you get is the final ranking."

With the press of a button, a hologram screen appeared and everyone in class looked at the board. Knowing better, Midoriya started from the bottom of the list. But to his joy, he was not the last on the list. Instead, he was ranked number 18. This feeling of joy was short-lived as the screen disappeared.

"By the way, I was lying about expelling someone…"

The was a silent beat as the whole class had to process what he had said.

"That was a rational deception," he smiled.

"Alright, Fuck this guy," growled Ethan. "I had to play drill sergeant during those final test cause we were afraid of failing."

The class was in a mixture of sighs of relief and surprise at this news. Except for Yoayorozu, who said, "Well of course it was a lie. Didn't take much to figure it out."

Putting the remote away Aizawa started to walk away. "Anyway, we're done here for today. Your documents about the curriculum and such are back in the classroom. Give them a look. And Midoriya." The greenette snapped to attention as his teacher handed him a nurse pass. "Have Recovery Girl fix you up. Tomorrow's trails aren't going to be any easier."

With a blank nod, the teacher finally walked away and left his students alone to get back to class.

…

"Man I'm pooped," said Midoirya.

Ethan place his arms behind his head as he floated in front of the teen, dressed in the hoodie he wore. "Can't blame you. Has been a wild first day." He was bout to say more when he perked up at something, "heads up. That blue-haired guy with the gasses is coming."

Blue-haired guy with glasses thought Midoriya. Turning around, the one he expected happened to be approaching him. "Iida."

"Heard me coming did you," he smiled. "How's your finger?"

"Oh, it's all fine thanks to Recovery Girl," Midoriya chuckled awkwardly. "She healed it with her quirk so I feel a lot better."

Iida smiled at his classmate, "That's good to hear. You have quite a strange Quirk Midoriya. For it to injure you in such a way, not to mention you 'borrowing' my speed and strength."

He rubbed the back of his head nervously, "I'm really sorry for that Iida. I must have really come off as weird for asking you to do that. I wouldn't have succeeded in the test had it not been for your help. Thank you so much, Iida."

"It was no trouble at all, I'm just happy none of us were expelled." Iida put his finger on his chin, nodding, "But Aizawa-sensei sure fooled us. He made me think 'this is how it is at the top.' Our own teacher deceiving us like that…"

"I can't believe you were afraid of this guy," Ethan remarked. "He's such a square."

Midoriya couldn't help but agree with Ethan a little bit and the three of them heard a call from behind them. "Hey!"

Turning around, Uraraka was hurrying up to them. "You two! Heading to the station? Wait up."

"Oh you're Uraraka, correct," asked Iida.

She nodded, " yeah. It was Tenya Iida right? And Midoirya… Deku?"

Ethan let out a snort followed by some laughter as Midoriya clamored, "Deku!?"

"Hmm? During the test, that guy with the blond spikey hair called you Deku right?"

Midoirya blushed as he waved his arms from side to side, "Um… my real name is Izuku Midoriya… 'Deku' is a name Kacchan has called me since we were kids."

"A derogatory pet name then," Iida nodded.

Uraraka put her hands together and apologized. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know. But…" She did a little fist pump. "Deku screams 'do your best.' I really like it. Plus it's kind of cute."

"DEKU IT IS!"

Ethan began to laugh louder as the tomato face Midoriya declared that a girl could call him Deku. While Iida asked if it was truly alright, something crossed Uraraka's mind. "Hey before I forget." The other three turned and looked. "How did you know my name back in the classroom Deku? You said it was part of you're Quirk, but all that stuff you did during the tests was also part of your Quirk right?"

"I was actually wondering the same thing," Iida questioned. "If it's not too much trouble to ask…"

Midoriya scratched the back of his head and Ethan said, "come on. We knew that this would come. Just give them the back story we made up."

Nodding to the man motionlessly to the man, Midoirya said, "I-it's all really complicated. But the s-simplest way I can explain it is that my Quirk gives me the powers like I'm in a V-video game, and everything I did today was just one of my skills." This was the backstory Ethan and Midoriya had come up with to explain the complex nature of Midoriya's power. As an added bonus, it was an easy way to hide One for All as the inherited power could just be written off as a skill.

"Wow, that's super cool," gawked Uraraka. "That means you're like a video game character in real life."

Midoriya's face turned even redder and Iida, "What a strange Quirk indeed? And that chest that appeared from Aizawa's body. Is that also a part of your 'skills'?"

He nodded then suddenly remembered, "oh that's right. I never opened the chest."

"That right," Ethan nodded. "Open it now. Sooner the better."

The red-haired man's words were mimicked by Uraraka. "Can you open it now, I wanna see."

"I-I guess we can," chuckled the teen nervously. Opening his inventory, an action which did get attention from the other two teens with him. He retrieved the chest from his inventory and held it in his hand. I really need to get more luck. So please Luck! Luck! With those final prayers to nobody in particular, Midoriya undid the latch to the box and flipped the lid open.

As the lid swung open, golden light began to be admitted from the box and the word 'luck' flew from the inside of the box into midoriya's chest.

[Luck stat obtained: Increased by 100]

"My luck went up by 100!?" Midoriya exclaimed out loud.

"See what I was telling you," Ethan grinned. "With betting, you'll be able to level up your stats like never before. It's the fastest way."

Going now to his stats screen, Midoriya saw that his luck stat went from the 20 it was this morning, to 120 now being his highest stat. "Wow, So it really is like a Video game," commented Uraraka with a big smile on her face.

"I'm not too familiar with video games myself," Iida said with his thumb on his chin. "Did something happen?"

Midoriya had forgotten that he was not alone and blushed as he closed the menu. "It's fine. I just got a big reward from the chest and It caught me off guard."

"I see, as much I would like to discuss it, I believe we should be heading to the station, it is getting rather late," Iida commented.

"Oh right," Uraraka. "We better hurry if we don't want to miss the train."

Following his new friends' leads, he quickly followed behind them as they walked quickly to the station.

…

Now lying in bed, Midoriya could help but reflect on the prize from the chest. "I-I really can't believe my luck stat went up by 100."

"Believe it," Ethan said. "Like I've been telling you, it's way faster than leveling up normally. With a couple of good bets, we'll have the best stats in no time."

"Still, I feel bad taking them from people."

Ethan clicked his teeth, "You're such a goody two shoes. If it makes you feel any better, you didn't take all of your teacher's stats. Your level lets you take some of one stat. Get a higher level and you can take more."

Midoriya let out a sigh of relief as that had been a concern of his. "That's a relief to hear. But as good a way to level up as this is, I think It would be best not to use it on my classmates. I could seriously end up hurting them if I take too much."

With it being as late as it was, Ethan was in no mood to fight the teen's good nature. "Alright fine. Just turn over and go to sleep."

Nodding in agreement, Midoriya closed his eyes, and sleep quickly grabbed hold of him.

Quicker than it should.

[System: Requirements Meet]

[First Whisper Activating]

[Beginning transport]