Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Izuku Midoriya woke up one day shortly after his fourteenth birthday, to see something he had never seen before. Well, not never seen before. He had played video games, and they had tutorial screens like what he was seeing. But Izuku wasn't playing a video game. He hadn't even touched a video game in years. Which begged the question, what was he seeing? 

[You have been selected to use the System. Do you accept?]

[Yes] [No] 

There was no more information, no clues as to what it really was. Izuku was thinking as hard as he could, trying to come up with every possible conclusion. "Hologram quirk? Illusion quirk? But who would play a prank on me this early? Am I dreaming still?" It was currently 5:30 in the morning, well before most people got up. Even he wasn't sure why he was up this early. Whatever the power behind the screen was, it started to get impatient. Because another screen popped up. 

[Do you accept?]

[Yes] [No]

Izuku really wasn't sure what to do, but he pressed yes anyways. He decided "Sure, might as well see where this goes." He was thoroughly in the camp that this was a dream of some sort, because he didn't know of any quirks that could get this elaborate. 

[Welcome to The Gamer. Start Tutorial?] 

[Yes] [No]

Even with as few games as Izuku had played, he knew never to skip the tutorial, so he pressed yes again. And surprise, surprise, another new screen popped up. This time, is was the main menu, along with a short explanation. 

[Main Menu]

[The main menu is where all other menus are stored. There are five menus. Character is where your stats are found. Inventory is where all items and equipment are stored. Quirks is where quirk skills are held. Skills are where other skills are held. Quests are where quests are held. For more information, select each tab.] 

[Character]

[Inventory]

[Quirk(s)]

[Skills]

[Quests]

Standing up and getting dressed as he read the message, Izuku selected the first tab, that being Character. 

[Character:

Name: Izuku Midoriya

Level: 1 (0/100)

Title: N/A

HEALTH: 130/130

STAMINA: 22/22

MANA: 60/60

STR: 3 

AGI: 6

EN: 2

DUR: 3

INT: 10

CHA: 2 

Stat Points: 0

Skills: N/A

Quirk(s): N/A] 

[This is your character sheet. Lots of information is stored here. Your name, level, active title (which can be changed by selecting the Title tab from this screen once you unlock at least one), Health, Stamina, and Mana values, stats, stat points, skills, and quirks, are all listed here. STR, or Strength, is how physically strong you are. AGI is Agility, and it is how fast you can move and react. EN, or Endurance, is how long you can do things. Represented by your stamina bar. DUR is short for Durability, and this is how much damage you can take, represented by your health. INT, also known as Intelligence, is tied to your mana. It affects the strength of magic attacks. CHA is Charisma. This is how well you can interact with others. Each stat can be boosted in two ways. Stat Points, which you get from leveling up (3 per level), or by working that stat. Gear may provide temporary stat boosts as well. The lower your stats are, the easier it is to improve them. When Mana or Stamina reach 0, you suffer from penalties such as exhaustion or migranes. When health reaches 0, you fall unconsious. You can go into negative health as far as your Dur Stat before you die. Currently, you can fall to -3 health and still be alive. Falling into negative health adds the status effect dying, and you slowly lose health at a rate that depends on how severe your injuries are.]

Izuku was a little disappointed with how low his stats were, but it made sense. He wasn't a very physical person, so those stats being low made sense, but his intelligence was something he sort of expected to be higher. Another screen popped up, explaining the formulas for Health, Stamina, and Mana. 

[Health: (100 x Level) + (Dur x 10). 

Stamina: (20 x Level) + (EN)

Mana: (50 x Level) + (INT)]

Leveling up seemed to be the best way to improve his Health, Stamina, and Mana values, but he didn't know how hard it was to do that. In some video games he played, levels came in at high speeds in the beginning then slowing down later on, while in others you had to fight tooth and nail for each and every one right from the start. And then there was the method of leveling up. Because even that wasn't the same across every game.

Shaking himself out of those thoughts, Izuku moved on to the next tab, that being inventory. It was rather boring at the moment since he didn't have anything in it. There was a crafting tab, but he was too low level to access it. Still, he read the explanation for it. 

[This is your inventory tab. You currently have 15 slots. You can earn new inventory slots by completing quests or buying/earning certain skills. There are limits to what can be stored in your Inventory. You have equipment slots as well. These do not count towards inventory slots. Money can also be stored in the wallet, which is found in the inventory tab. There is no maximum cap to the wallet, but it does not earn you any interest. It also will not automatically convert foreign funds to local funds but can be manually done at any time at no cost to the Player.] 

[Equipment:

Helmet: N/A

Chest: N/A

Pants: N/A

Shoes: N/A

Ring 1: N/A

Ring 2: LOCKED (LEVEL 5)

Necklace: LOCKED (LEVEL 10)

Back: LOCKED (LEVEL 20)

Main hand Weapon: N/A

Offhand Weapon: N/A]

Not the most interesting tab, but not a useless one either. And it looked like normal clothes and pajamas didn't count towards his equipment either, which was nice. He didn't want to have to walk around in armor all the time to get their bonuses. And he also had accessory and weapon slots. Even if three of the accessory slots were locked by him being too low a level. Izuku wanted to check out the quirk tab, but the quest tab started flashing, so he decided to choose that one next. 

[Quests:

Quest: Tutorial Dungeon

Objectives: Clear the Tutorial Dungeon

Rewards: 20 EXP, 1000 YEN, 1 Common-Mythical Quirk (Performance Dependent), 1 Common-Mythical Item (Gear) (Performance Dependent)

{Quest has Already been Accepted}]

[This is the quests tab. You have been given one tutorial quest to begin. Quests are given out by the system when appropriate or needed. Some quests have failure penalties. Luckily, this one doesn't. Quests can have all types of rewards, from EXP, to quirks, and everything in between. Some quests are automatically accepted, while others can be denied if you so choose. But beware, once a quest is denied, it is not likely to be offered again. Harder quests give better rewards. Some rewards are predetermined while others are random.] 

The quests tab was another simple one, but there was only so much that one could do. Izuku could have tried to do the tutorial dungeon, but he wanted to check out the rest of the tabs first. He decided to look at quirks next, and it was about what he expected. But the prospect was exciting, nonetheless. 

[Quirks

Quirk List: None]

[Quirks is where all your quirks are held. Quirks mainly come as quest rewards and come in six rarities. Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Legendary, and Mythical. Quirks can level up and evolve, but higher rarity quirks take more effort to do so. Some quirks evolve once they reach their level cap, while others have other conditions to evolve. Not all quirks can evolve, and not all quirks can evolve the same number of times. Evolution doesn't guarantee the quirk becomes a higher rarity, but an evolving quirk will never go down in rarity.]  

This tab would get complicated with time, but with it being so empty, it was hard to be complicated. The only tab left now was skills. Wasting no more time, Izuku selected it.

[Skills

Skill List: None

Skill Points: 0]

[Skill Shop (LOCKED: LEVEL 5)]

[This is the Skills tab. Any skills you purchase or earn are stored here. Skills can be purchased from the skill shop with Skill Points or unlocked through certain conditions. Earn Skill Points from leveling up, (1 per level) or from quests. Skills themselves can also be earned from quests, or as rare drops from dungeon bosses. Skills can level up from use, and some skills can evolve similar to quirks. Skills don't have rarities, but better skills are harder to earn, either requiring more points and higher levels to buy, or drop from tougher bosses.] 

And that was the end of the tutorial menus. But before Izuku could exit the skills menu, he was awarded a few skills. 

[Skill: Gamer's Body

Type: Passive

Description: You are a gamer. Due to this, you cannot be permanently harmed in any way. After 8 hours of sleep (Can be further reduced by certain skills), your Health, Stamina, and Mana will be restored to 100% and any injuries you may have suffered during the time between resting will be healed. You can even regrow organs and lost limbs should the need arise. Your growth is also unlimited.] 

[Skill: Gamer's Mind

Type: Passive

Description: You are a Gamer. You cannot suffer from mental illnesses. Your emotions will never overwhelm you. Should an emotion almost overwhelm you, it will be suppressed enough for you to function or silenced completely. Your mind is also capable of adapting to new situations easier than the average person.] 

[Skill: Analyze LVL 1/5]

[Type: Active]

[Description: Using this skill has different effects depending on what it is used on.

Cost: None] 

They were each powerful skills, and it made sense. The characters you played as in games never lost limbs, suffered from PTSD, or anything else that could keep them from fighting. Or at the very least, never in a way that wasn't purely for story purposes. Now, Izuku couldn't either. And Analyze was just incredibly useful anyways. 

The only part left was the tutorial dungeon. But how did Izuku access it? "Tutorial Dungeon?" He asked the empty air. And the Gamer responded. A rift in space opened up, swirling into a glowing blue portal. It looked similar to the portals from an anime that Izuku watched, one from the pre-quirk era. 

With nothing else to do, Izuku walked into the portal. Maybe not the smartest thing to do, but he did it anyways. And it was just the tutorial, right? How hard could it be? 

As Izuku walked into the portal, his vision went white. Then, after a few seconds of extreme nausea that nearly caused him to fall over, everything returned to normal. Well, not normal. He was no longer in his room or wearing his pajamas. He was in a large grassy plain, with thick fog at behind him and in a wide circle surrounding the plain. He wasn't sure what was beyond it, but he decided it was probably a good idea to not go into the fog. Within a few seconds, another screen popped up.

[Welcome to your first dungeon run. Dungeons are a great way to improve your level and skills. Stats also improve faster in dungeons, but finding opportunities to level them up may prove challenging. Dungeons can function in many different ways. Almost all have enemies to defeat, and bosses to overcome. However, some bosses may spawn right away, or may only be spawned once specific conditions are met. Other dungeons may not have any enemies or bosses, instead challenging your puzzle solving skills and only spawning enemies if you fail the puzzle in some way. As this is a tutorial dungeon, enemies drop no loot, and you are temporarily unable to improve your stats or skills through any means. You will be granted three skills to help you fight for the duration of this dungeon. Skills are assigned based on your current stats. The boss will spawn once all regular enemies are defeated. Good luck.]

[Dungeon 

Dungeon: Tutorial Dungeon

Enemies: 5/5

Bosses: 1/1]

Izuku found he could dismiss that window at will, then call it up with a thought. He also checked out the three skills he was given. 

[Skill: Dash LVL 1/20

Type: Active

Description: Activating this skill drains 1 Stamina every second to increase your movement speed by 10%. This skill cannot be used if Stamina is under 10%.

Effect: Boosts movement speed by 10%

Cost: 1 Stamina/Second]

[Skill: Mana Bullet LVL 1/10

Type: Active

Description: Channels mana into a physical form. Costs 10 mana to form and can be charged for up to 5 seconds at the cost of 1 additional mana per second, for a 10% increase in damage per second charged. Higher levels can be charged for longer and deal more base damage.

Effect: Forms a damaging bullet that scales in size, damage, and travel speed based on INT and charge time. 

Cost: 10 +1(*Charge Time) Mana]

[Skill: Mastery of Mana LVL 1/100

Type: Passive

Description: Your Mana recovers faster than it should.  

Effect: +5% Mana Regeneration]

It was unclear how much of a boost that much mana regen was, and with how little stamina he had and how small the boost was, Dash wasn't the most useful skill, but Mana Bullet was cool. Izuku really wanted to test it out, but he didn't know how fast his mana regenerated, and he didn't want to waste a shot only to get in trouble in a fight. Luckily, he would get his chance to test it out in a real fight. 

With five enemies in an open area with nowhere to hide, it didn't take long for one to find Izuku. It was a wolf. Not a magical-looking wolf either, just a regular wolf. It was clearly aggressive, so it must have been an enemy. Izuku decided to analyze it. 

[Analyze

Enemy: Wolf 

Role: Mook

LVL: 2

Health: 60/60

Stamina 30/30

Mana: 0/0]

It wasn't that strong, but wolves almost never traveled alone, despite the saying 'lone wolf'. And sure enough, two others quickly joined the first. They were each slightly weaker than the first, each being level 1, but Izuku was now outnumbered. 

[Analyze

Enemy: Wolf 

Role: Mook

LVL: 1

Health: 40/40

Stamina 25/25

Mana: 0/0]

[Analyze

Enemy: Wolf 

Role: Mook

LVL: 1

Health: 40/40

Stamina 25/25

Mana: 0/0]

Izuku couldn't see if they had any skills, perhaps if he had a higher level analyze it would tell him, so he was left in the dark if they could do anything special. The first wolf stepped forward and Izuku took a step back. This continued until Izuku was at the edge of the fog, and he didn't want to go any further. Especially as he caught a glimpse of a creature in the fog and analyzed it. 

[Analyze

Enemy: Fog Guardian

Role: Gatekeeper

LVL: ???

Health: ???/???

Stamina ???/???

Mana: ???/???

WARNING: LEVEL IS TOO LOW TO ANALYZE THIS ENEMY. COMBAT IS ADVISED AGAINST.] 

That settled it, Izuku was not going into the fog. As the wolves closed in, Izuku aimed his hand at the strongest one, and shouted "MANA BULLET!" He wasn't entirely sure if that was how to activate the skill, but it was apparently enough for the Gamer, because a small blue orb of energy formed in his hand before shooting out towards the wolf. It was fast enough that the wolf couldn't dodge it, and its health bar, visible ever since Izuku analyzed it, lowered by 5 points. But despite not doing much damage, it did throw the wolf back enough to give Izuku an opening to get away from the fog. 

The other two wolves closed in, and Izuku ran. Of course, they gave chase and they were faster, but not faster to the point he couldn't dodge them. Still, running would only get him so far, because other wolves could close in, if the enemies were all wolves that is. Some dungeons had varied enemy types. This was just a tutorial dungeon, so it was supposed to be simple, but there was no way of knowing. 

With no real option other than to stand his ground and fight, Izuku stopped running. He had to dodge three attacks, but his agility was just high enough to do so. Especially when he remembered Dash and used it to boost his speed by a bit. He only used it for enough time to put some distance between himself and the wolves, because he was slightly faster than them with it active. Once again, he used mana bullet, but this time he began charging it. It went from a bullet sized projectile to an orb, three inches in diameter, that looked like it would do more damage. Once it was fully charged, it turned from light blue to a darker blue, showing that it was stronger. 

Not wanting to miss and waste the attack or the mana, even if it was regenerating fairly quickly, Izuku waited for the wolves to close it. And seeing as he had already targeted the stronger wolf, he did so again. But this time, when the attack impacted the wolf, it exploded, dealing 8 damage to all three wolves. Once again, the force of the attack was enough to knock all three wolves down, and one took some extra damage from being landed on, now at 29 Health. 

Izuku continued dodging and throwing Mana Bullets until he ran out of mana, successfully taking out one of the weaker wolves and seriously damaging the other two. But with his mana too low to shoot another bullet yet, he was left with no other choice than to punch the wolf that attacked him. With his strength so low, it did next to nothing in terms of damage, but a good punch to the nose was enough to shock anybody's system, and the wolf reeled back, saving Izuku from taking a nasty bite. 

Eventually he would win if he could avoid taking damage, but that was tough. Especially when the fourth opponent joined the fight. Izuku stumbled forward and cried out in pain as searing pain spread out across his back. His health dropped by 20 points, and it nearly dropped further as one of the wolves tried to take advantage of his guard dropping, but he had recovered just enough mana to use one more mana bullet, throwing it back again. 

Spinning around, Izuku analyzed the new enemy right away. But it wasn't a normal wolf. 

[Analyze

Enemy: Beastkin (Wolf) 

Role: Miniboss

LVL: 3

Health: 140/140

Stamina 60/60

Mana: 0/0]

It looked like a werewolf and had much higher stats than the wolves. It was also labeled as a miniboss, which the dungeon didn't say it had. Izuku had to be careful then, dungeons had secrets as well. That made them even more dangerous if they could hide powerful enemies inside, like this miniboss or the Fog Guardian. With him now being outnumbered three to one once again, Izuku had to find a way to even the odds. His punches did next to nothing to the wolves, and this miniboss was even tougher. 

An idea popped into Izuku's mind about how he could do that. His mana was recovering at a fast enough rate to give it a try, but if it didn't work, he would be in serious trouble. He formed another mana bullet and charged it to max, running away while he did so using Dash, it was difficult to use both skills at once, but it gave him the time he needed to pull off his idea. See, not too long ago Izuku had read about a quirk that functioned similar to mana bullet. It allowed the user to charge up energy to a certain degree and shoot it out like a projectile. 

But the other thing the hero with that quirk could do, was shape the attack. Izuku might have been much weaker, but maybe he could do the same. So after the bullet was fully charged, he tried to shape it into a weapon. And the Gamer responded by giving him another temporary skill. As well as a message to come with it. 

[This is only a tutorial, but ingenuity deserves a reward. Mana fully restored.]

[Skill: Mana Blade LVL 1/10

Type: Active

Description: Mana forced into solid form. It takes concentration and mana to keep it going, but in the right situation, this is a useful tool in your arsenal. 

Effect: Forms mana into a bladed weapon of the user's choice. Stronger weapons can be formed at higher levels and with higher INT. Damage scales with STR and INT.

Cost: 1 Mana/Second]

With his mana fully restored, that gave Izuku a full minute to work with. He hoped that would be enough. The weapon he made was a dagger, the blade less than 5 inches long, but it would have to be enough. As the level 2 wolf charged at him again, lunging to bite Izuku, he stabbed forward with his dagger. It easily pierced the wolf's skin, taking a large chunk of health off, and causing the wolf to quickly bleed out, as Izuku stabbed it in the chest, possibly hitting something vital. 

Just like the last wolf Izuku beat, it disintegrated into smoke, quickly dispersing into nothing. That just left one more wolf and the miniboss, which Izuku fought with newfound confidence. His mana blade was much stronger than his mana bullets, and he only took another couple of hits before the enemies fell. The final enemy, as the dungeon said 1/5 enemies remained, was another normal wolf that Izuku quickly dispatched. 

He should have had more hesitation from killing, but Gamer's Mind prevented that. There was no room for hesitation in a fight anyways. That got people killed. 

With the last wolf dead, the boss spawned. And it wasn't a quiet affair. A portal opened up, and a massive red dragon walked out. Every fiber of Izuku's being told him he couldn't fight that thing, and a quick use of analyze told him as much. 

[Analyze

Enemy: Ancient Red Dragon

Role: Tutorial Boss

LVL: ???

Health: ???/???

Stamina ???/???

Mana: ???/???

WARNING: LEVEL IS TOO LOW TO ANALYZE THIS ENEMY. COMBAT IS ADVISED AGAINST.] 

For obvious reasons, Izuku began panicking. It was quickly quashed by Gamer's Mind, and he was put further at ease by another screen popping up. 

[Tutorial Dungeon Rule: You cannot die. Your health cannot fall below 0. Upon reaching 0 health, you will be removed from the dungeon. Dungeon is considered complete upon exiting the dungeon, not defeating the boss.] 

Izuku wanted to win, but it was just beyond him. The dragon charged at him, covering the ground quickly, and Izuku dove to the side. He tried firing off a mana bullet, but if it did any damage at all, the dragon didn't show it. 

And then it was over. The dragon took a deep breath and blew fire straight at Izuku. The flames washed over him, and the heat was too intense for a moment, but then it was gone, and Izuku's vision went black as his health reached zero.

As his alarm went off, Izuku sat bolt upright in his bed. He was still in his pajamas; there was no evidence he had ever gotten out of bed. "Was it all a dream?" He asked himself. "But it felt so real!" 

To test it out, he said "Quests?" And the magical video game screen appeared. 

[Quests:

Quest: Tutorial Dungeon (Complete)

Objectives: Clear the Tutorial Dungeon

Rewards: 20 EXP, 1000 YEN, 1 Common-Mythical Quirk (Performance Dependent), 1 Common-Mythical Item (Gear) (Performance Dependent)

Accept Rewards?]

[Yes] [No]

Izuku almost cried. It seemed real. He had a power of his own. "Accept Rewards." He said aloud. 

[Calculating Rewards]

[Rewards Calculated]

[All Enemies Defeated: Item Reward Improved]

[Miniboss Defeated: Quirk Reward Improved]

[New Skill Discovered: Skill Reward Unlocked]

[Dispensing Rewards]

[Quirk: Dense Muscles LVL 1/50 (Uncommon)

Type: Mutant 

Description: Your muscles grow denser and stronger much easier than a normal person. 

Effect: Improves Rate of STR growth by 2%]

[Item: Ring of Knowledge (Uncommon)

Description: A wooden ring carved from the branches of the Tree of Knowledge, improving your mind and its capacity for growth by a small amount.

Effect: +5 INT, Boost to INT Growth (Small)]

[Skill: Mana Bullet LVL 1/10

Type: Active

Description: Channels mana into a physical form. Costs 10 mana to form and can be charged for up to 5 seconds at the cost of 1 additional mana per second, for a 10% increase in damage per second charged. Higher levels can be charged for longer and deal more base damage.

Effect: Forms a damaging bullet that scales in size, damage, and travel speed based on INT and charge time. 

Cost: 10 +(1*Charge Time) Mana]

Just to make sure, because Izuku could never be too sure when so much was on the line, he formed a small orb of mana in his hands. He just held it there, not charging it. It was real! He really had a power now! He almost cried, but he didn't let himself do that yet. Then his mother walked in. 

"Izuku, are you still aslee- What is that?!"

CHAPTER END

Chapter Text

Being surprised like that, Izuku shot off the mana bullet he had formed. Luckily, he wasn't charging it, so instead of exploding when it hit an All Might figurine, it just snapped the figurine in half. Also luckily, it wasn't a rare one. More proof this entire system was real. The damage was real, and Inko very clearly saw it. "Izuku." Inko probed carefully. "What was that?" 

"A quirk? Izuku responded, not too sure about it himself. Was the Gamer a quirk in itself? Or was it something else? 

Inko gently floated the two pieces of the All Might figurine over to her, as if trying to confirm it was real herself. "You have a quirk!" Inko cried in joy. She dropped the broken pieces and hugged Izuku tight. "Oh, I'm so happy for you! Now you and Katsuki can be heroes together!" She didn't notice him flinch slightly at the mention of Katsuki. Izuku considered telling his mom about the true nature of his power, and seeing if he could somehow show her, because he just could never be too sure that it was real. 

As his first test, he analyzed his mom.

[Analyze

Name: Inko Midoriya 

Quirk: Simple Telekinesis

LVL: 4

Health: 460/460

Stamina 85/85

Mana: 238/240]

Izuku noted a few things from his test. First, he could use mental commands to use his skills, as well as verbal commands, which was helpful. Two, the level-based scaling for Health, Stamina, and Mana seemed to apply to everybody, not just him. However, dungeon enemies followed their own rules. And third, his mom wasn't level 1 like him. He decided it was because she was a lot older than him and just had more life experience. But she wasn't a super high level because she had never really gotten into any fights. Izuku was sure that if he analyzed a hero, they would be a much higher level.

Seeing her son deep in thought and muttering to himself too quickly for her to understand, Inko looked more at the damaged figurine. It wasn't a perfect break, but there was no sign of melting or burning around the impact zone. The wall behind where the figurine previously sat was undamaged thankfully, but Izuku would have to be more careful in the future. 

Once Izuku shook his head to snap himself out of his analysis, he decided to try something "Show screens to Inko Midoriya." He used the western format of her name, because that was what the Gamer used. And sure enough, he got a confirmation message, which he accepted. Then, Inko blinked and she could see the screens surrounding Izuku. 

"What is this?" She asked, going into analysis mode herself. "Some sort of hologram." She tried poking it, but her fingers went through the screen. "Not solid. Can you touch them?" Izuku nodded. "Not solid for me." She corrected. "Do you know what it is?" Inko asked. 

Izuku shook his head. "It just showed up today. For some reason I woke up really early, and all these screens were just there." Izuku explained the tutorials and the tutorial dungeon as best he could to his mom. She got most of it, having played a few video games in her younger years as well. Video games were older than quirks after all, and most people had played at least a few. 

She just about crushed Izuku with how tight she hugged him when he told her about the dragon that beat him in the dungeon. Once she calmed down from that scare, Inko asked "What will you do now?" 

"I'll start training to be a hero. Really training, not just studying heroes. And I'll work on getting more skills and quirks." Izuku answered. The fact that The Gamer let Izuku get actual quirks was nothing short of incredible. Almost as incredible as the Gamer itself. And as if listening in to Izuku's conversation with his mom, a new quest appeared from the Gamer.

[Quest: Grow Stronger

Objectives: Reach level 5 and raise all stats to at least 15. 

Bonus Objective: Raise all stats to 15 without using Stat Points

Rewards: 100 EXP, 5000 YEN, 2 Skill Points

Deadline: February 21st

Bonus Rewards: 1 Uncommon Quirk]

[Accept] [Decline]

"I guess the Gamer wants me to get stronger too." Izuku noted. "It is just reacting to what I say, or is there an actual intelligence behind whatever this is?" He asked himself as he selected the accept button. As a test, he said "My end goal is to get into U.A. I don't know how strong I'll have to be to get in, but I have almost a full year before the entrance exams. That should be plenty of time. Right?" 

No quest appeared, despite Izuku hoping for one. But that didn't answer much about who was in control. With his mother aware of his new power, Izuku didn't have to worry about her getting concerned, because he told her about his Gamer's Body skill, and how he couldn't really go overboard because he would always be healed after a good night's sleep. The next step was to figure out how to train all his stats. He pulled up his stats to look at them all. 

[Character:

Name: Izuku Midoriya

Level: 1 (20/100)

Title: N/A

HEALTH: 130/130

STAMINA: 22/22

MANA: 60/60

STR: 3 

AGI: 6

EN: 2

DUR: 3

INT: 10

CHA: 2 

Stat Points: 0

Skills: Gamer's Body, Gamer's Mind, Analyze, Mana Bullet

Quirk(s): Dense Muscles] 

Izuku's stats were all low, so he would have to work hard to improve them. Honestly, Izuku wished he could see the stats of others, because he wanted to compare his current stats to somebody in good physical shape, like Katsuki Bakugo. His main bully, his former friend, and the strongest person at Izuku's school. "Strength I can probably improve by lifting weights, Agility will go up if I run, and Endurance will too. Intelligence is going to be the easiest. All I need to do is study for a while. Durability is tied to my health, so to level it up without using points, I need to take hits. But how would I level up Charisma?" He wondered aloud. 

Luckily, Inko was still in the room, and she had an idea. "Charisma can be seen as social skills." She told her son. "I love you Izuku, but you're awkward around people. Girls especially." She had seen a girl wink in Izuku's general direction at the mall before, and Izuku had pretty much shut down completely. He had no social skills whatsoever, something she planned on helping him with. "But I can help you with that." Inko was no master of social skills, but she was better than her son. 

"It's also tied for my lowest stat." Izuku said. "That means it should be easy to level up, at least to start with." Today was a Sunday, meaning no school. So, Izuku could start his training now. "I think I'll go on a run to start with. My endurance is also my other lowest stat, so a run should level it up at least once." 

He got dressed and went to put on his shoes, when Inko spoke up. "Aren't you forgetting something?" She asked as she set the table for the two of them. "Breakfast is an important start to the day, especially if you're going to start working out."

She had first gone to get Izuku because breakfast was ready. She had made eggs and pancakes. Not the healthiest breakfast, but not the worst either. 

Izuku and Inko ate in silence, neither sure what to say. Izuku could tell his mom was still worried about him, and Inko still had reservations about her son being a hero, because of how dangerous it was. She also knew he was being bullied at school, but he refused to reach out to her for help and wasn't sure how to start the conversation herself. 

Once Izuku left, Inko decided something. "I hurt him in the past by not supporting his dream." She saw it in his eyes that it had crushed him when she had apologized as an answer to him asking if he could be a hero. "But now, I'll do everything in my power to help him be the best hero he can be!" She wasn't sure what she could do. She was no fighter, she wasn't as naturally intelligent as her son, and she was extremely out of shape. But she would be there for her son every step of the way. And the first step was to get into good shape with him. 

Luckily, Izuku was still going down the stairs of their apartment, so Inko was able to rush outside and call out to him "Give me a chance to get dressed Izuku! I'll come with you!" 

Izuku smiled, happy to have his mom join him. He too noticed the rift between them, and knew the cause of it, so he would happily take any opportunity to shrink that rift. 

It was a few minutes wait, but Inko got dressed in a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, similar to her son. Neither of them exactly had workout clothes, which was something Inko would have to fix, but they would make do for now. 

The two decided on a short run, just going up and around a few blocks. Despite taking it slow, both of them were exhausted by the end of it and their stamina was drained considerably. However, there was a benefit. At least for Izuku, seeing as he had improved growth by nature of having the Gamer. 

[Run Completed: +1 EN]

It was a start. With his endurance up to 3, he would be able to run for longer tomorrow. If he could find a halfway decent gym near his house, that would really help boost his stats, but the only one he knew of was run by a quirkist bastard, and even though Izuku had a quirk now, that didn't mean he wanted to associate with somebody like that or support his business. 

Then, a solution to his issue came to light. Not from him, but from the Gamer. Because Izuku got a new quest. 

[Quest: Community Service/Grow Stronger PT. 2

Objectives: Clean Takoba Municipal Beach]

Deadline: February 21st

Rewards: 1000 EXP, 100000 YEN, 1 Epic Item (Gear), 1 Rare Quirk, ???

Failure Penalty: Not Attracting ???'s Attention]

[Accept] [Decline]

The ??? part of the rewards and failure penalty was a little concerning, and Izuku hadn't seen Takoba Beach in a while, so he didn't know how bad it was now, but Izuku wanted to accept the quest. It had really good rewards, and cleaning up that much trash might help boost his stats. 

Before he could hit accept, Inko said "Why don't we go look at the beach first? Then you can make your decision. She hadn't been in a while either, but she knew the last time she saw it, the beach was totally trashed. Literal mountains of trash littered the beach and cleaning it all up in less than a year seemed impossible. And there was something else slightly strange about the quest. 

"Why February 21st?" Inko wondered. It seemed like a strange date with no real importance, but it had popped up twice now. Izuku had the answer though. 

"February is the month the U.A entrance exams take place. I think the Gamer wants me to take that exam and pass it. If I remember correctly, the exam is on the 26th most years, so that gives me five days before the exam to complete both quests." Once again, the Gamer seemed like it was listening in, because it gave Izuku another quest.

[Quest: PLUS ULTRA!

Objectives: Pass the U.A entrance exam

Bonus Objective: Pass the U.A entrance exam in 1st place/Pass the U.A entrance exam and break the Record for most points.

Rewards: 50000 YEN, 10 Skill Points

Bonus Rewards: 1 Epic Quirk/1 Legendary Quirk

Failure Penalties: Not getting into U.A's hero course.]

[Quest has already been accepted.]

"Looks like you're right. Whatever this power is, it's pushing you towards your goals." Inko agreed. If those goals shifted to something else, it was likely that the Gamer's quests would shift towards that new goal as well. Seeing as they still had one more quest to accept, but Inko wanted to see the beach before Izuku accepted it, the two of them left towards the beach. 

The beach was even worse than Inko feared. Some of the piles of trash stood taller than the apartment building they lived in. And there were at least four piles that large, and the entire beach was just covered in trash that ranged from broken glass, to scraps of metal, appliances like fridges and dishwashers, and even a couple of cars. Izuku was supposed to clean all this up by himself if he accepted the quest. 

Still, Izuku wasn't deterred from wanting to take it. "I want to get as strong as possible." He told his mom as he hit the accept button on the quest. "That means using everything at my disposal. Including cleaning this beach." 

He stepped onto the beach, and a swirling blue portal appeared, just like the tutorial dungeon. A screen appeared as Izuku nearly walked into the portal by accident. 

[Takoba Beach Dungeon

Recommended LVL: LVL 1

Rewards: Removes 2% of trash from the beach.

Attempts Remaining: 25/25]

[Enter Dungeon?]

Completing the dungeon would make cleaning the beach easier, because a small amount of trash would be removed by finishing it. He could only clear half the beach that way, but it was still a good deal. There was just one thing. "I'm not ready to clear the dungeon." Izuku decided. With his stats still so low, he wasn't confident in his ability to clear the dungeon and survive. This wasn't a tutorial, so he could die if he wasn't careful. And if the dungeon boss was anything like the tutorial dungeon boss, he didn't want anything to do with it yet. 

The portal vanished, allowing Izuku entry to the beach. He started picking up the smaller scraps of trash, but there was nowhere to put them. Any visible trashcan was so full it was overflowing, and there was no dumpster close enough to make it viable to dispose of the trash there either. Luckily, the Gamer had another solution. Once Izuku picked up the trash, a progress bar appeared at the top of his vision, and a glowing spot appeared just outside the beach, with a glowing sign above it labeled 'Trash'. 

When Izuku put the empty cans he had picked up into the glowing spot, they vanished and the progress bar ticked up to .001%. It wasn't much, but it was a start. "Okay. I can do this." Izuku said, mostly to himself, as he did some math. "My deadline is February 21st. That's a little over nine months to get this done. Let's call it 275 days to finish. If i can clean .4% a day, I'll finish right on my deadline. But that's not giving myself any days to rest, while assuming I clean it all myself without doing the dungeon. I should be able to finish long before that with help from the dungeon once I can do it, but I don't know when that'll be. So, I'll try to clean .5 percent of the beach each day, and I'll be done with plenty of time left to spare." 

Inko looked at her son, worried for him. Yes, his power would prevent him from burning out physically or mentally, but if he pushed too far, he could still get hurt. "Can I help you Izuku?" She asked him. 

That broke Izuku out of his muttering streak, and he looked at his mom. "I'd like that. You won't be able to do the dungeon with me, but we can clean the beach together." With permission to help from her son, Inko pulled a few smaller pieces of trash over to her, depositing them in the Gamer's trashcan that it had made for the quest. Once again, the progress bar went up, though she couldn't see that. 

The two of them cleaned together for an hour, getting the progress bar up to .05%. In order to complete Izuku's goal for the day, it would take 10 hours. Completing the dungeon would be four days' worth of work in however long it took Izuku to clear it. Unless it took over four days to complete that single dungeon run, it was likely that completing the dungeon would be more efficient, at least in the beginning. Furthermore, it was also a source of EXP that would help Izuku level up and complete the other quest he had, which was to reach level 5. 

The sun was starting to get higher in the sky, and both the Midoriya's were already tired. Neither one was used to working out much. However, Izuku did earn stat points. 

['Workout' Completed: +2 EN, +1 STR]

Because of how low his stats currently were, raising them in the beginning would be pretty easy. The real issue was that he didn't know how good his stats were compared to the rest of his peers. 10 INT was probably pretty good compared to most students, as Izuku was usually pretty high on the rankings for his school. But the rest of his stats were below average. His one that that was probably average other than his INT was his AGI at 6. He didn't fall completely behind in the 50-meter dash in the yearly fitness tests his school did for gym class, but he was still outpaced by a good number of his peers. 

After a few minutes break, Izuku said "I'm ready to keep going." His stamina had gone untouched the entire time, meaning it was more a resource like mana instead of a general view of how much energy he currently had, but he had caught his breath and started working again. Inko stayed resting, her out of shape body betraying her more than she would like. So, she watched Izuku work and silently cheered him on until she was ready to go back to work. After a little over another hour, they had reached .1% of the beach cleaned. Izuku got another alert saying he had gained another 1 point in EN and STR, but otherwise nothing changed. During their next break, Izuku decided something. 

"I want to go into the dungeon and try to clear it." He spoke. He was breathing heavy from exerting himself, but he was otherwise fine. His health, mana, and stamina were still full, and he was ready to push himself. 

Inko looked at her son with worry in her eyes. "Are you sure? What if the boss is like that dragon, and too strong for you to fight. This isn't a tutorial dungeon, and you could get seriously hurt." 

Still, Izuku wanted to do it. "I know the risks." He told his mom. "But I need to push myself harder than anyone else, just to catch up. All the other kids have quirks, and they've been preparing for the hero school entrance exams for a while. I'm behind, and I need to work harder than them if I'm going to be the best hero I can be." 

In the end, it was Izuku's choice. Inko couldn't stop him, nor could she protect him forever. "Okay. But be careful. Don't take any unnecessary risks and try to escape if you're in too much danger." Izuku agreed to be careful and tried to enter the dungeon. 

He had to leave the beach and enter it again for the dungeon prompt to appear again, but once it did, he pushed the button to enter the dungeon. The portal swallowed him, and he went to whatever alternate dimension or whatever space he was in during the dungeon. 

[Dungeon Entered]

[Dungeon: Takoba Beach Dungeon (Trash Castle) {LEVEL 1/25}

Enemies: 8/8

Mini-Boss: 1/1

Bosses: 1/1] 

Izuku looked around the beach and saw it was extremely different. There was a massive castle made out of trash, complete with a drawbridge, a moat, and a wall surrounding the castle. There was one guard on each side of the bridge outside the wall, two top of the wall, and another four loosely scattered around the area. No sign of the mini-boss or the boss yet. But Izuku knew better than to let his guard down. 

The entire structure was made out of trash. Scrap metal, plastic, car parts, appliances, all fused together to form one massive wall. Behind Izuku was a massive wall of fog, and he assumed it stretched all the way around the dungeon to prevent him from going too far. 

There were smaller creatures roaming the fog, and Izuku analyzed one. And he decided the fog was still too dangerous for him, even though he could see the stats of the monster. 

[Analyze

Enemy: Fog Goblin

Role: Gatekeeper

LVL: 8

Health: 1000/1000

Stamina 700/700

Mana: 650/650]  

One day he might be brave enough to venture out into the fog, but that day was not today. Turning his attention to the enemies in front of him, Izuku noticed they were all knights in full armor, but it was rusted and broken, entire chunks missing from areas. There was pitch black skin underneath the armor, visible through the missing chunks. The ones on the ground had swords, while the ones on top of the gate had bows and arrows, and they all looked equally rusted and damaged. But Izuku was unarmed, and that put him at a disadvantage. He would have to hope the enemies weren't too strong. 

He analyzed one of each variant and had hope that this wouldn't be too hard for him. Both variants of the knights were weak. Weaker than the wolves he fought. 

[Analyze

Enemy: Scrap Knight (Sword)

Role: Mook

LVL: 1

Health: 20/20

Stamina 30/30

Mana: 0/0]  

[Analyze

Enemy: Scrap Knight (Bow)

Role: Mook

LVL: 1

Health: 20/20

Stamina 30/30

Mana: 0/0]  

Analyzing a few more revealed some level discrepancy, with a few of the knights being level two and one even being level 3, with higher stats to show for it, but Izuku wasn't too worried. Even the level 3 was weaker than the mini boss he fought in the tutorial dungeon, and he beat that.

"Okay Izuku, no more stalling. Let's go pick a fight." Going against a group of enemies would be tough, and those archers would make things difficult. But there was one of the knights that was alone and in a spot the archers wouldn't be able to fire at easily. It was the highest level, but it only had 60 Health, and if Izuku could take it down, things would only get easier from there. 

As Izuku snuck around to where that Knight was, trying to avoid attracting any attention from the other knights and getting swarmed, Izuku tried to form a mana blade. He didn't want to go into the fight unarmed after all. However, he got an alert. 

[Skill Level too low for Skill Modification. Level up Skill {Mana Bullet} first.] 

That was a bit of a bummer, and Izuku wondered why he was allowed to do it in the tutorial dungeon, but he supposed the tutorial dungeon broke a lot of hidden rules anyways. Shaking off his disappointment, Izuku managed to approach the lone knight undetected. "Mana bullet!" He said quietly and started charging it. Once it was fully charged, Izuku shot the projectile at the knight, hoping to get the early lead. 

Seeing as it wasn't facing another direction, the knight obviously saw the large blue projectile racing towards it and blocked with its sword. The detonation blew the sword to bits but managed to reduce the damage the knight took by a lot, only depleting his health by 3 points. 

Taking the weapon out of the fight would have to be good enough, and Izuku wanted to conserve his mana incase those knights on top of the wall didn't want to come down. He didn't want to have to dodge arrows for too long or find a way up there, so not using mana would be a good idea. 

By now, the knight had spotted Izuku and began charging. Izuku met the charge head on but quickly regretted that decision. With his STR only at 4, he was still pretty weak. And when he and the knight met each other's punches, Izuku was the one thrown back. The knight wasn't too strong, but it was stronger than Izuku right now. Izuku would have to rely on his 6 AGI and hope he was faster than the knight. 

And that proved to be the case, when he circled around the knight and landed a punch to the back of the head. The knight stumbled forward, showing that it wasn't very sturdy. Knowing that he wouldn't win this with just his punches, Izuku scooped up the broken sword of the knight, which still had the jagged edge on it, and stabbed the knight as it turned around, doing much more damage. The knight's health dropped by another 20 points, and it staggered back. 

Deciding to end it, Izuku pelted the knight with mana bullets, deciding to hide and recharge his mana before he took on the archers on top of the wall. Each mana bullet took another chunk out of the knight's armor and health, until its health reached 0 and it vanished in a puff of smoke. 

[Enemy defeated: 80 EXP, 50 YEN, 1 Ruined Sword Hilt]

That was enough experience to push Izuku to level two, and he almost used the points to buff his STR stat a bit but remembered his quest to reach 15 in all stats without using stat points. So, he refrained. Luckily, leveling up completely refilled his mana and Health, as the sting of getting punched in the face once faded into nothing. 

"Alright! Level 2!" Izuku celebrated. But he couldn't celebrate for long, because another knight started walking over. But this one was only level 1, and Izuku wasn't scared of it at all. "Let's go!" He shouted and rushed towards the knight as he charged another mana bullet. Maybe Izuku was becoming a battle junky, but he loved the adrenaline rush he was getting. 

"I'LL TEAR YOU APART!"

CHAPTER END

Chapter Text

With almost double the mana he had before, Izuku no longer felt he had to be as careful with it. He decimated the next knight, this time getting a ruined helmet that he equipped for a single percentage of damage reduction. Thankfully, any armor he equipped was invisible and intangible, as were the accessories, so he wouldn't have to unequip it ever, nor would he have to answer any questions about it. 

He only got 10 EXP, which was a little odd. How did one knight give him enough EXP for a level up, while this one gave him next to nothing. Especially as the requirement to level up went up by 200 EXP, for a total of 300. The system didn't offer an explanation, so it was left a mystery. "Is it because I'm higher level than it? This knight was level one, a third of the level of the previous knight. Then it should be offering about a third of the experience. Because I was a lower level than the other knight, I got more EXP, but I get less because I'm higher level than this one. Or maybe I got normal amounts of EXP from this one, and the other knight gave me a ton more EXP because it was higher level. Or maybe the Gamer is helping me again." 

Izuku continued scratching his head until he got shot in the arm with an arrow, forcing him to break his concentration. Pain exploded up and down his arm as the arrow sunk into his bicep, but it only did a bit of damage. Without thinking, Izuku ripped the arrow out, dealing another few points of damage, and making the pain worse, before his health started slowly draining. A symbol of a drop of blood appeared next to his health, with a timer reading 12 seconds. 

"That arrow must have inflicted the bleeding status!" Izuku deduced. Status effects weren't covered in the tutorial, but they were fairly common in games, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure this one out. As Izuku took cover behind a trash pile, the archer fired more arrows that all thankfully missed, and after the timer hit zero, the bleeding stopped and Izuku's health stopped ticking down. From that one arrow, he was down to 210 health, meaning it did 20 damage total. Part of that was because Izuku ripped the arrow out, but the bleed status had appeared before that, so it was getting shot that triggered it. 

"Okay, the archers are dangerous. I should focus on them next." But he didn't get that chance, because from the top of the tower, the knight blew a horn. Izuku risked peeking out from behind the trash mound and saw all the remaining knights rushing to his location. "Oh crapbaskets!" 

With him about to be surrounded, Izuku tried something again. His mana bullet skill had leveled up in that last fight, and while it wasn't enough on its own when he tried to form a mana blade during the fight, he had something that might help with the process. He pulled out the ruined sword hilt, and tried to channel mana bullet into it, hoping it would act as a catalyst to re-create the mana blade skill. And between his base skill being one level higher than the start of the dungeon, and the sword giving it a form to copy, it worked. 

[Skill: Mana Blade LVL 1/10

Type: Active

Description: Mana forced into solid form. It takes concentration and mana to keep it going, but in the right situation, this is a useful tool in your arsenal. 

Effect: Forms mana into a bladed weapon of the user's choice or reinforces an existing weapon. Stronger weapons can be formed at higher levels and with higher INT. Damage scales with STR and INT.

Cost: 1 Mana/Second]

All that was left of the sword was the hilt, the chipped and rusted metal blade being replaced by a blade of glowing blue mana. It was still only about the size of a dagger, but it would have to be enough. Now, as any true swordsman would tell you, going against a platoon of fully armored knights armed with swords while only armed with a dagger was a recipe for getting yourself killed quickly and painfully as you were run through by the weapons with longer reach before you could do anything. 

Even Izuku's slight speed advantage wouldn't be enough to bridge the gap, because when it came to bladed weapons, size really did matter a lot. If your opponent's weapon was three times longer than yours, you were going to have a bad time, guaranteed. And fighting multiple opponents at once just made that issue worse. The only thing that somehow didn't make Izuku's situation worse was the knights with bows. Seeing as all the knights were significantly taller than him, they shielded Izuku from the arrows that may fly by blocking the archers from having a clean shot. 

However, this was also a low-level dungeon. The lowest level dungeon possible actually. So, these knights were neither skilled, nor well equipped. They had poor armor that couldn't even fully stop Izuku's weak punches, and their weapons were on the verge of falling apart as it was. That gave Izuku somewhat better odds, as his weapon would easily pierce the knight's armor. But one issue still stood. How was Izuku going to land any attacks when the knights would be able to keep him at a distance?" 

By abusing Gamer's Body, that's how. Gamer's body turned Izuku's body into the body of a video game character. He could still feel pain, but it was always temporary as long as he survived. And while the skill didn't say it, injuries also faded faster. With how weak the knights were, they could only do a few damage points even with their swords and arrows so long as Izuku wasn't stupid about it, and Izuku had plenty of health to tank injuries for a bit. 

That didn't make it easy to force himself to take those hits though. Pain was a hell of a deterrent, and even with Izuku's high pain tolerance from a decade of bullying, getting stabbed, sliced, and shot hurt a lot. So, he gathered all his courage, took a deep breath, and threw himself at the group of four knights in front of him, and started stabbing. 

Black blood sprayed from the first wound, which Izuku managed to score on the knight's heart, and it dropped dead instantly, giving Izuku 20 experience and another 50 yen, but no other drops. For his efforts, he got his once by each of the other knights with swords, reducing his health by another 30. It hurt like a bitch, and blood soaked his white shirt, but he was alive. 

The next knight didn't fall in a single hit, as it managed to deflect Izuku's stab into its shoulder, and punch Izuku in the face for another five damage while he got stabbed two more times from the other knights, and an arrow sank into his shoulder, dealing another 30-damage total. He got a message as the bleeding status was inflicted again before it vanished after just a couple of seconds. 

[Skill: Bleed Resistance LVL 1/50

Type: Passive

Description: After sustaining serious blood loss multiple times, your body has adapted to it. Now you won't bleed as easily. 

Effect: Increases resistance to the {Bleeding} status effect by 1%. Reduces duration of {Bleeding} by 1 second.]

[Survived Serious Injuries: +2 DUR, +1 EN, +1 STR]

As the notifications came in, new power filled Izuku's body. It wasn't a lot more, but it was enough to be noticeable. His next stab killed the injured knight, and Izuku actually managed to dodge one of the other attacks from the knights with swords, and the arrows that came from the knights on top of the wall. 

With his added durability increasing his health by 20, he had a max of 250 health. He had taken 60 damage in the fight right now, and 10 in the previous fight, meaning he was down to 180 health. More than enough to win this fight, but possibly not enough for the mini-boss or the boss afterwards. His health wasn't regenerating either, so he had to assume he could only regain health outside of combat. His mana was also at about half, but his stamina was still full because he didn't have any skills that relied on it, and apparently regular strenuous activities didn't cause it to drain. 

If he continued to gain experience like he was, it wouldn't be enough to level him up again, so he wouldn't get a full heal like he had before. That meant he had to conserve health. That was easier now that he wasn't facing six opponents. But four was still dangerous. He took one more hit as he managed to slash another knight's throat, but he quickly dispatched the final knight that was close to him as well. 

That only left the two knights on top of the wall, but Izuku's mana was getting low, so he dipped behind a trash pile to let it regenerate for a bit. As he caught his breath, he checked his inventory for anything useful and realized something. He never equipped the artifact that he was given. It boosted his INT by 5, and made his INT grow faster, but he just forgot to equip it. His mana didn't change, but he could feel it. His spells would pack more punch now. He started charging a mana bullet, and once it was fully charged, he saw the difference one skill level and 5 INT made. The orb was about the size of a bowling ball now, though the color wasn't much different than before.

Izuku ran out of cover and threw the sphere of destructive mana at the knights. He aimed right between them, hoping the explosion would be enough to finish both of them off, and he was partially right. The sphere hit the wall right below the knights and rocked it with an explosion. The knights were damaged by it, and while they survived, they did get knocked off the wall. Izuku couldn't see what happened to them because they fell behind the wall but based on the two notifications giving him EXP and money, as well as a rusted bow, he judged that they died in the fall. 

With a sigh of relief, Izuku allowed himself to relax a bit. But he quickly brought his guard back up when the drawbridge started lowering, and two more enemies walked out of the castle. One was a horse in rusted armor, while the other was another knight. This one had a spear, and his armor didn't look nearly as rusted, and there was a tattered red plume on the knight's helmet. It wasn't quite pristine, but it was more put together than the knights Izuku just killed. The knight was obviously riding the horse, and Izuku realized this would be a difficult battle. 

He analyzed both enemies to see their stats. 

[Analyze

Enemy: Armored Cavalry Horse

Role: Miniboss

LVL: 1

Health: 400/400

Stamina 200/200

Mana: 0/0]

[Analyze

Enemy: Scrap Knight Captain 1

Role: Boss

LVL: 1

Health: 250/250

Stamina 90/90

Mana: 30/30]

It seemed a little odd that the mini boss had higher Health and Stamina than the boss, but Izuku figured it out. The horse was just transportation. It was a horse so it was bulky, fast, and could run for a while, but it couldn't really fight on its own. The knight was weaker physically than the horse, but he was armed and could fight independently of the horse. 

Then something really unexpected happened. The boss spoke. "So, you are the one assaulting our fortress. You have slain my men while I was at a Captain's meeting. Quite efficiently from the looks of it. You are not nearly as injured as I thought you would be. Tell me, why are you doing this? What purpose do your actions serve?" 

Izuku realized there may be a way to bypass the boss here. He was given a chance to talk to the boss beforehand, and he might be able to avoid a fight if he chose his words carefully. "Your 'fortress' is falling apart. It poisons the land and takes away the beauty of this place. I am sure it was once wonderful, but that is from a time long past. I am here to restore this place to its proper state. Your fortress as it is, isn't a part of that. I'm sorry, but I can't allow this to continue." 

The knight captain considered Izuku's words. "You fight for a noble cause. But I swore an oath to the master of this castle. To defend him to my last breath. I do not intend to break that oath. However, I will give you a chance. Walk away now, and I will forgive your transgressions. Abandon this foolish mission. You cannot hope to stand against us all. Me and my platoon were the weakest this castle has to offer, and you have struggled." 

Behind Izuku, the portal opened back up. He could leave right now, and nobody would blame him. But he had a feeling the Gamer would punish him for it. And it would feel like giving up on the beach. "I won't run!" Izuku stood firm, calling up his mana blade again. It was a little longer now, but still not quite a sword. 

"I see." The knight looked down. "Then I will not hold back." The knight snapped the reins and the horse charged at Izuku. It was fast. Almost faster than Izuku could react. Almost. He managed to raise his mana blade just in time to block a stab aimed at his heart, destroying the blade in the process. He was pushed back as the horse rushed past, and Izuku's mana dropped as the blade reformed. 

This happened two more times, and Izuku finally realized he wouldn't catch up to the knight. He would have to use a ranged attack. But the mana bullet took too long to charge to do any real damage, and the horse might be able to dodge it. 

Izuku reached into his inventory and pulled out the rusted bow he got from killing one of the archers. If he could form a mana bullet into a sword, why not into an arrow? He didn't get a new skill from it, but he did manage to form a mana arrow as he nocked back the bowstring. After aiming carefully and charging the arrow for a few seconds, Izuku let it fly as the knight charged at him again. The arrow sunk into the horse's armor and exploded, knocking the horse off its feet, and somehow dealing 150 damage. Izuku didn't believe for a second that it would do that much damage against the knight captain, so he deduced the horse must have taken more damage than usual. 

"A formidable foe." The knight captain acknowledged as he got up from the spot he had been thrown to when his horse got hit like that. He leaned down to speak to his horse. "I am sorry old friend. I do not know if we will survive this encounter." The explosion had completely destroyed the horse's armor and left a serious wound in its side. The bleeding status effect was quickly draining its remaining health, and the horse was too weak to stand again. 

With a solemn look as his horse's health continued to drain, the knight captain put his noble steed out of its misery, granting Izuku experience and money. "Goodbye old friend. I will not let your death go unpunished." 

[Miniboss defeated: 100 EXP, 500 YEN, 3 Rusted Steel Fragment]

The knight captain looked at Izuku with clear fury in his eyes. "You shall pay for that." Bright orange flames coated the spear tip, and the Knight Captain prepared to fight on foot. 

For a moment, Izuku felt bad. Then he had to remind himself, this wasn't real. It was just some sort of simulation created by whatever the Gamer really was, to make Izuku stronger. Still, he apologized. "I'm sorry. But I won't let you stop me! I have to get stronger! And you're just an obstacle on my path to that!" 

That only seemed to piss off the knight even more. "I will not be a mere obstacle! I am so much more than that! You know nothing of the history of this castle, of the noble warriors who defend it! You say I am just an obstacle? Then prove it! Slay me right here and prove your strength to all!" 

Izuku put away his bow to form a mana blade, and the skill leveled up from enough use. At level 2, and with Izuku's boosted INT from his ring, Izuku was able to create an actual sword, not just a dagger. It was a small sword, but it was a sword, nonetheless. And while he had never trained with a sword before, Izuku had studied all sorts of heroes, and there were heroes who used swords like the small katana, a wakizashi, Izuku had formed. 

The two charged at each other, and Izuku had to throw himself to the side to avoid being skewered by the spear's longer reach. He managed to get in close, but the Knight Captain blocked Izuku's slash with the shaft of his spear. He kicked Izuku in the chest and sent Izuku tumbling backwards. "I will not lose here!" The knight captain declared. "For those I protect. And for those you have slain. I swear, you will fall here." 

But Izuku wasn't giving up either. "I won't let you stop me! I will become a hero, and nobody will stand in my way!" Pouring more energy into his katana, the sword glowed brighter and Izuku charged again. This time, he was ready when the knight captain stabbed at him with his spear, and Izuku grabbed the shaft as it rushed past him. Seeing as the knight captain was already moving his body forward, it was a simple matter to pull him forward, even with Izuku's poor strength stat. 

And by pulling the knight captain off balance, Izuku was able to stab him with his sword. It did a good chunk of damage, but it didn't end the fight. The knight used another spell to stop the bleeding, though it didn't restore his health. "You are fighting for a dream." The knight captain said as he and Izuku exchanged blows. They had fallen into a rhythm, stabbing and slashing and blocking with their weapons the best they could. Each one was losing health, but seeing as Izuku had less health going into the fight, he was losing. 

"I am!" Izuku confirmed as he dodged another jab and returned fire with a mana bullet. His mana was running low at this point, and the knight was still going strong. Izuku was down to 80 health, and the knight was at about 120. If Izuku didn't do something soon, he would lose. "I will save everyone with a smile, just like he does! With this power I was granted, I'll keep getting stronger, until I can do it! This is my first step! Cleaning this beach! AND YOU'RE IN MY WAY!" 

Izuku used his wakizashi to deflect the spear one last time before he dispelled it. Then, he poured every last bit of mana he had left into a mana bullet, and with only 30 health left from the intense battle, fired off the orb of magic. At such close range, there was nothing the knight captain could do to dodge, and he wasn't fast enough to block it with his spear. The attack struck true, slamming into the knight captain's chest, detonating and throwing Izuku back. 

When the blue smoke cleared, a broken chest plate lay in the sand, but there was no other sign of the knight captain. Further proving that Izuku had one, multiple screens appeared. 

[Boss defeated: 150 EXP, 900 YEN, 4 Rusted Steel Fragment, Broken Chestplate] 

[Tough Battle Won: +2 STR]

[Dungeon Complete: Teleporting in 3]

[Teleporting in 2]

[Teleporting in 1]

As the count reached 0, Izuku's world went white again and he exited the dungeon.

When the light faded, Izuku found himself standing back at the entrance to the beach. Inko was sitting on a nearby bench reading a book. She saw Izuku reappear and instantly freaked out, as he was covered in blood. "IZUKU!" She screamed as she ran over, dropping her book in the process. 

"Oh my god!" She pulled his shirt off and checked all over for any injuries, but because he had leveled up from that last fight, she found nothing. After thoroughly checking over her son, Inko was eventually satisfied that he was okay, and asked "What happened?" 

Izuku told her all about the knights with swords and bows, and how the beach turned into a castle made of trash. "The knight captain could talk. He had some things to say, and now I can't help but wonder if that dungeon was more than just a construct made from the beach form and the gamer's power. Gamer, can you clear this up a little?" 

[High level humanoid enemies, as well as most humanoid bosses, have some level of sentience and can speak. They are not truly alive, but they have knowledge of the dungeon they reside in, and act according to that knowledge. There is a story to every dungeon, and discovering that story can reveal hidden quests, bonus rewards, or affect the difficulty of the dungeon.]

In other words, there was lore in each dungeon, if Izuku cared enough to look for it. But the Gamer was saying that none of the enemies were really alive. Just imitations of life created by its power. With that settled, Gamer's mind kicking in to ease Izuku's worries about the enemies he just killed, Izuku turned his attention to the rewards he could claim. He pulled up the dungeon screen and hit accept. 

[Takoba Beach Dungeon Cleared

Recommended LVL: LVL 1

Rewards: Removes 2% of trash from the beach.]

[Accept Rewards?]

Izuku accepted the rewards and watched a small amount of trash from the beach vanish in a faint yellow glow, and the meter at the top of his vision go up by 2%. More work done than he and his mom had managed to complete all day. He also stepped onto the beach to view the dungeon again and saw that it was different just like he expected. 

[Takoba Beach Dungeon

Recommended LVL: LVL 2

Rewards: Removes 2% of trash from the beach.

Attempts Remaining: 24/25]

[Enter Dungeon?]

The dungeon got harder with each time it was cleared. The reward didn't increase, but he did get more experience from the enemies, better loot, and the opportunity to hone his skills against tougher opponents, so that was good. But it also wouldn't be as simple as he first thought. But that was an issue for another day. It was still early, but Izuku was exhausted after clearing the dungeon, and he seriously needed a shower. While he hit the option for no, Izuku said "I'm done for today. Let's go home." 

Inko agreed right away. She could tell her so was on the verge of collapse, and while his wounds were healed by leveling up, he needed time to recover from the long battle. "Of course. Let's go." She went to pick up her book and put it back in her purse, and the two made their way back to their house. It was an uneventful walk back. No villain attacks, no heroes signing autographs, no bullies messing with Izuku, nothing. Once there, Izuku took a quick shower than basically collapsed into his bed. He was so glad he didn't have school today. Comfortably in his bed, he drifted off into a blissfully dreamless sleep. 

CHAPTER END

Chapter Text

[Character:

Name: Izuku Midoriya

Level: 3 (50/600)

Title: N/A

HEALTH: 360/360

STAMINA: 71/71

MANA: 163/163

STR: 9

AGI: 8

EN: 11

DUR: 6

INT: 13 +5

CHA: 4

Stat Points: 10

Skills: Gamer's Body, Gamer's Mind, Analyze, Mana Bullet, Mana Blade, Bleed Resistance,

Quirk(s): Dense Muscles]

That was what Izuku's stat page looked like after another week. He had yet to do another dungeon run, as the level two dungeon was harder and he barely survived the first one. He wanted to get his stats all to at least 15 before he tried to reach level 5. Honestly, if it went the same as his last run, one more dungeon run should be enough to hit that threshold, but he wanted to make sure he was safe first. 

He had spent the last week studying, training, and working on his skills the best he could. Mana Blade and Mana Bullet only seemed to progress if they were used against living targets, so they were still stuck at level 2. Izuku also wasn't' about to start cutting himself to level up Bleed Resistance, so that was still at level 1. Gamer's Body and Gamer's Mind couldn't level up, so that only left Analyze. It had reached level 2 quickly after the dungeon as he used it on a few of his classmates, including his main bully Bakugo Katsuki, so he was able to get a bit more information now. And his only quirk, Dense Muscles, also leveled up to level 2 just from Izuku working out his STR stat. The quirk now improved his STR growth by 4%, which wasn't a huge difference, but it was still useful.

Speaking of bullying, a lot of it had stopped. Izuku had shown off his mana bullet skill to people, and while some people still picked on him for being such a late bloomer, most had stopped and the teachers would even step in now to stop it if it happened in front of them. Most of the teachers anyways. 

But that all culminated one day, when Izuku finally stood up to Bakugo. Unlike most kids at the school, Bakugo actually had a really impressive quirk. That being explosion, a quirk that could create explosions from the user's sweat. The teachers treated him like the second coming of Jesus, and while the other students hated his arrogant attitude, they all accepted the fact that he was better than them in every way. 

And unfortunately, it wasn't unfounded arrogance. At least not totally. Bakugo did believe he was better than everyone else. Absolutely everyone. Even pro heroes. Hell, he even believed he was better than All Might, the greatest hero in the world. That obviously wasn't true. But compared to the rest of the students at Aldera, he was impressive. Strong, fast, smart, talented, Bakugo Katsuki really seemed like he had it all. 

And for reasons completely unknown to Izuku, Bakugo hated him. Izuku wasn't stupid. Not by a long shot. He knew that Bakugo wasn't his friend anymore, and now that he had power of his own, Izuku wasn't desperately clinging to that long gone friendship like his life depended on it. But Bakugo wasn't impressed by Izuku's power. 

One day after school, Bakugo approached Izuku in the classroom after the teacher had left. "I don't care what sort of power you have now." He told Izuku. "You're still just as useless as before! And if you even try to go to U.A, I'll kill you!" As Bakugo turned to leave, he stopped and turned to look at Izuku over his shoulder. "But hey, if you really want a better quirk, then you should take a swan dive off the roof and pray for one in the next life." 

For the first time, Izuku saw red. He had heard of people getting so angry it clouded all judgement, but he had never experienced it until now. Before he could process what he was doing, a mana bullet slammed into Bakugo's back, knocking the blond-haired teen to the ground. 

"You cheap shotting bastard!" Bakugo shouted as he stood up. Explosions crackled in his palms as he spun around to face Izuku. He snarled "I'll fucking kill you!" Seeing as Izuku had already struck the first blow, there was no going back from this. The gamer seemed to think so too, because it issued an emergency quest. 

[Emergency Quest: Ya shouldn't a did that!

Objectives: Survive your 'sparring match' with Bakugo Katsuki. 

Bonus Objective: Beat that smug asshole into the ground! (Win the fight.)

Rewards: 400 EXP, 3000 YEN, 3 Skill Points

Bonus Reward: 1 common quirk

Timer: 2:00]

[Quest has already been accepted]

Ignoring the unexpected snark from the Gamer, Izuku saw that he had no choice but to fight. So, Izuku used analyze on Bakugo to check his stats. They were a lot higher than Izuku's. And since Analysis leveled up, Izuku could see a bit more about him to see just how much higher they were. 

[Analyze

Name: Katsuki Bakugo

Quirk: Explosion

LVL: 7

Health: 705/725

Stamina 170/170

Mana: 370/370

STR: 19

AGI: 20

EN: 30

DUR: 25

INT: 20

CHA: 4]

Bakugo's charisma was the same as Izuku's, but the rest of his stats were much higher. Even if Izuku was more skilled than Bakugo, which he wasn't, literally everything about Bakugo was better than Izuku. It would be an uphill battle if that was the case, but when Bakugo was such a skilled combatant? Izuku shouldn't have stood a chance of winning. But he didn't have to win, just last two minutes based on the timer that was ticking down. 

And that wasn't to say Izuku had no advantage though. His one and only advantage showed when Bakugo blasted forward. Izuku dodged the incoming right hook, grabbed Bakugo's wrist and upper arm, and flipped Bakugo over and slammed him into the ground, hard. Then, while Bakugou was down, Izuku shot a mana bullet into Bakugo's back again, reducing his health to 670. 

"You always start with a big right hook Bakugo." Izuku wasn't going to call him by his childhood nickname anymore. 'Kacchan' died the day Bakugo started bullying people. It just took a while for Izuku to see that. "I know how you fight. I've watched you for years. Every beating, every burn, I've seen it all! I may not win, but I refuse to lose!" 

All the while, Izuku was charging another mana bullet into what he dubbed a mana bomb, since the charged version exploded. Bakugou blasted himself up into the air and kicked Izuku in the chest, sending Izuku tumbling backwards. But he didn't lose focus enough to drop the mana bomb, so it continued charging until it reached full charge, and Izuku threw it at Bakugo. The mana bomb clipped Bakugou's arm as the blond bomber tried to dodge, but that was enough as it exploded on impact, throwing Bakugo into the wall. 

"You're stalking is as creepy as ever Deku!" Bakugo said as he picked himself up from the ground, breathing heavy from getting the wind knocked out of him by the impact with the wall. "But even copying my explosions won't be enough to beat me!" As if Bakugo owned the concept of explosions. Izuku could count a dozen heroes off the top of his head that could create explosions of some kind as well. 

Izuku had to fight the urge to roll his eyes at Bakugo's statement, but he managed it. The timer was down to 45 seconds, meaning Izuku just had to hold off Bakugo for a little bit longer. Easier said than done though. And Bakugo showed off his own intelligence by adapting in combat. He blasted towards Izuku again, winding up that big right hook. But it was a trap. When Izuku went to dodge the right hook, Bakugo flipped in midair and brought his heel down in a brutal axe kick. Had it not been for the invisible helmet that he wore, Izuku might have very well been beaten right then and there. 

With the helmet, Izuku's health was still reduced by about 40, and he was sent crashing to the ground. "DIE DEKU!" Izuku rolled out of the way, hiding beneath a desk that got blown to smithereens when Bakugo's explosion hit it. 

If he stayed on the ground, Izuku would lose eventually. He just couldn't do much from there. So, he jumped up and headbutted Bakugo on the way up. There was a sickening crack, and blood spurted out of Bakugo's now broken nose, making him clutch it and stumble back, falling onto a desk and breaking it because of how flimsy it was. Izuku prepared another mana bomb, but before he could fire it, the teachers arrived. "WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON HERE?!" 

Both Izuku and Bakugo were bruised and bloody, the classroom was in ruins, and multiple desks were broken. Smoke alarms were going off, and the two boys had some serious explaining to do. The timer ticked down to zero, and the quest was marked as complete. Somehow, Izuku also got the bonus reward. Maybe because he managed to do more damage than he took in that fight, maybe because Bakugo was the one on the ground when the timer ran out. 

However, Izuku couldn't check those rewards, because he was currently being shouted at by the teachers. And to his surprise, Bakugo was getting reprimanded as well. "Fighting on school grounds is unacceptable!" The teacher talking to Izuku shouted. "Public quirk use is also extremely illegal, and one of you could have gotten killed! You'll be expelled for this!" 

That was when Izuku had enough. "Oh, so now you want to talk about public quirk use and fighting in school?! What about all the times you walked by me getting blown up by Bakugo and didn't say a word? What about all the times I was cornered by a whole group of other kids, and you encouraged them to keep going? What about all of that?!" The teacher stuttered over excuses, but Izuku didn't want to hear any of them." 

"I'm going right to the police with this." Izuku decided. He knew that he could get in serious trouble too, since he did shoot Bakugo first, but at this point, he didn't really care. He just wanted to see this school shut down and all the people who tormented him within its walls to face justice. 

Of course, the teacher tried to stop him. "You can't! Do you know what that would do to this institution? You would ruin the future of every student here!" 

"And I'm supposed to care about that?" Izuku asked, his eyes blazing with fury. "This whole school has been trying to ruin me since I first stepped foot through those doors! I think it's long past time I returned the favor!" 

Then, the teacher tried to physically stop Izuku. "You're not going anywhere!" He said as he grabbed Izuku's arm, trying to hold Izuku in place. Izuku held up the mana bomb he had yet to dispel and aimed it at the teacher. 

His voice dangerously level, Izuku said "Let go." Was Izuku acting out of character for himself? Maybe. But he was done taking this school's shit. And it worked. The teacher let go of Izuku's arm, and he stepped back, holding his hands up. 

And Izuku left. Nobody tried to stop him. Not even Bakugo, who was stunned into silence for two reasons. First, the kid he constantly called useless just stood up to him and won. And second, the school was treating him like he screwed up, despite all that he did was try to put 'Deku' in his place. 

On the way to the police station, Izuku looked at his rewards for the quest. He didn't get anything directly for beating Bakugo, no experience or yen or loot, but Bakugo was still alive. Everything else that dropped experience had died first. And Izuku was glad that Bakugo survived. Izuku could easily say that he hated Bakugo, but that didn't mean he wanted his former friend dead. Shaking his head to clear his mind of such thoughts, Izuku accepted the rewards for the quest. 

[Emergency Quest: Ya shouldn't a did that! (Complete)

Objectives: Survive your 'sparring match' with Bakugo Katsuki. 

Bonus Objective: Beat that smug asshole into the ground! (Win the fight.) {Completed}

Rewards: 400 EXP, 3000 YEN, 3 Skill Points

Bonus Reward: 1 common quirk

Accept Rewards?]

[Yes] [No]

[Dispensing Rewards]

[Quirk: Telekinesis (Common) LVL 1/15

Type: Emitter

Description: Your mind is strong, strong enough to directly affect the outside world.

Effect: By enforcing your will on an object, you can move it without needing to physically touch it. Scales with INT and level, allowing for larger objects to be moved.

Cost: Spends mana based on the weight and size of the object moved. Reduced with higher levels.]

Izuku was so distracted by his new quirk, he didn't notice that he made a wrong turn from the school. Sort of. Instead of going to the police station, his body started moving on autopilot as his mind focused on his quest rewards. That made him take the turn to go to his house. And because he was so distracted, he didn't notice the manhole cover shaking. He wasn't able to react in time to get away from the mass of dark green sludge with eyes and a mouth that surged out of the sewer. 

"Today's my lucky day!" The sludge villain said happily. "A medium sized skin suit, perfect for escaping that stupid hero!" Sludge tentacles invaded Izuku's throat as he tried to scream, and Izuku's stamina and health were quickly dropping from the lack of air. Luckily, Gamer's mind kicked in and calmed Izuku's panicked state, allowing him to think clearly. 

He first tried to claw his way out, but that was useless as the villain's body was too liquid to be grabbed. Next, Izuku charged up a mana bomb to the bare minimum it needed to cause the explosion, and forced it to detonate in place, blowing the villain off Izuku's face, and giving Izuku a few much needed seconds of air. "THAT HURT! YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!" 

The villain grabbed Izuku's face again, but Izuku kept his mouth shut this time, so the villain had a much harder time gaining access. Before Izuku could charge up a stronger blast, another person said "THE ONLY PERSON WHO WILL PAY IS YOU, VILLAIN!" Izuku did his best to turn to the new person, and he knew he would be safe. "WHY? BECAUSE I AM HERE! TEXAS SMASH!" 

All Might, the number one hero, punched the air hard enough to cause a burst of wind that blew the villain apart. Izuku was freed and he dropped to the ground, gasping for air again. Luckily, he didn't pass out, so he was able to recover quickly and stand up. 

With stars in his eyes, Izuku rushed over to All Might, who was downing a couple of two-liter bottles of soda. "That was incredible All Might! Oh, thank you for saving me!" All Might held up a single finger as he finished off the second bottle. 

Once the bottle was empty, All Might stifled a belch, and said "It was no problem, Young Man! I'm just glad to see you safe. Now, if you'll excuse me, I should collect this villain in these bottles. Wouldn't want him slinking away while we're talking." 

"Let me help! I need some practice with my quirk anyways." Izuku paused. "If that's okay." He knew public quirk use was illegal, but he wanted to try it out, and if he had the number one hero's permission, it should be fine. 

And All Might said "I don't see why not. But first, tell me what your quirk is. I don't want you doing more damage than necessary." 

Showing rather than telling, Izuku lifted a small pebble of the ground. A soft green glow surrounded it, and it floated a few feet off the ground. "Telekinesis. Quite the handy quirk. I don't see the harm in giving you some practice with it. But do be careful. You don't want to have to deal with the consequences of accidentally hurting somebody with your quirk." 

Nodding, Izuku agreed to be careful. With permission from All Might, Izuku started gathering the villain's unconscious body and funneling it into the bottles. It took a few tries to grab the liquid, but once he managed to get a hold of it, directing it was a simple matter. Though his mana did drop considerably from it. Much more than it should have for the amount of weight he was lifting at a time. Liquid must have been harder to move than solids with his quirk. 

But with Izuku's help, the cleanup took only a couple of minutes instead of however long it would have taken All Might to collect the villain alone. "Well done, Young Man!" All Might praised. "Now, I must get going. I have to drop this villain off at the nearest police station!" 

Finally remembering his goal, Izuku asked "Could you take me with you? I need to tell the police about my school." 

Being ever the hero, All Might asked "What is going on with your school? Is there trouble? Not another villain, is it?" He then thought 'I'm short on time, but if there really is something going on, I can't just ignore it!'

"No, not another villain. But there is a lot going on there." Izuku decided to tell All Might the whole story. After all, who better was there to trust. "The truth is, I'm being bullied at school. And the staff just allows it to happen. Today, I got into a fight, and they tried to pin the blame all on me. But I'm done being pushed around. So, I'm going to the police and reporting everything that the school has done and allowed to happen." 

Unfortunately, All Might didn't see an issue the police could help with. Not really. Schools being complacent in bullying was nothing new, and unfortunately, the police could do very little. "Young man, I applaud your courage for speaking up. However, that does not seem like an issue to involve the police with. But I am curious, why are you being bullied?" 

Izuku hesitated a bit. Whenever he revealed his quirkless status to somebody, they tended to see things just like the kids at school did. Some were kinder about it than others, but Izuku was generally seen as a waste of space and oxygen. But this was All Might. Surely, he would side with Izuku, right? "Because until about a week ago, I was quirkless." 

He managed to hide it well, but that sent alarm bells ringing in All Might's head. Instead of accusing the boy of what he thought to be the truth, All Might nodded. "I see. Quirk discrimination is quite a crime, and one well worth the police's time. Very well, you can come to the police station with me." All Might scooped the boy up, put the bottles of sludge in his pocket, and said "Hold on tight!" Before he leapt away. 

But All Might didn't take Izuku to the Musutafu police department like Izuku thought he would. In a matter of minutes, All Might had arrived in the heart of Tokyo, and he landed at a police station where a certain friend of his worked. Izuku questioned why they were at that specific police station, but All Might didn't answer. He just led Izuku inside. 

The villain was handed off to the front desk where he was taken for processing, and Izuku was led into an interrogation room and handcuffed to the desk per All Might's instructions. Soon enough, a man in a trench coat walked in. Scared for his safety at this point, Izuku analyzed the man in case he needed to fight. 

[Analyze

Name: Naomasa Tsukauchi

Quirk: ???

LVL: ???

Health: ???/???

Stamina ???/???

Mana: ???/???

STR: ???

AGI: ???

EN: ???

DUR: ???

INT: ???

CHA: ???

WARNING: TARGET IS TOO HIGH LEVEL TO ANALYZE. COMBAT IS ADVISED AGAINST!]

Okay, so fighting his way out wasn't going to happen. Even if the man in front of Izuku had low stats, the difference in level would make it impossible for Izuku to fight. The man sat down across from Izuku and folded his hands on the desk calmly. He scoffed at the handcuffs but didn't do anything about them. "I'm sorry about the rough treatment." The man said. "I'm Detective Tsukauchi. Can you tell me your name for the record?" 

"Izuku Midoriya." Izuku didn't say anything more than that. 

Tsukauchi nodded. "Thank you." He pulled out a notepad and wrote down his name. "Do you know why you're here?" 

Shaking his head, Izuku said "No! I asked All Might for help, and the next thing I know, I was being handcuffed to this desk! What's going on?" 

Instead of answering, Tsukauchi asked another question. "How did you get your quirk?" 

Not wanting to reveal the Gamer to a random stranger, Izuku lied. "I awakened it last week." Which was technically the truth, all this started last week. 

The next question was really strange. "And how many quirks do you have?" Could this man know about the Gamer?

"J-just one." Izuku lied again. Technically, he had two abilities that were classified as quirks. Then he had another ability that was a skill, which he originally passed off for his quirk. Tsukauchi frowned. He wrote something down again, before he sat silent for a while, looking at Izuku. 

Eventually he asked another question. "What is your connection to All for One?" 

That name didn't ring any bells, and Izuku said as much. "I don't even know what that is!" Another frown from Tsukauchi, this one more of a confused frown than a disappointed one. "Can you please tell me what's going on?" 

Sighing, Tsukauchi said "I can tell you a bit. All for One is the name of a dangerous villain that we believed to be dead. Your circumstances made us question that belief, and up until that last question, your answers supported that decision. My quirk is called lie detector. I've been able to tell whether or not you've been telling the truth the entire time. So, now that you know I saw through your lie, how many quirks do you have?" 

"Two, technically three." Izuku answered, prepared to do anything to prove he wasn't associated with a villain. 

That confused Tsukauchi too. "Technically three? Can you elaborate on that?" 

Nodding, Izuku said "I have two quirks. One is a simple quirk called Dense Muscles that improves how quickly my body builds muscle. The other is a telekinesis quirk. But I can also do this. And it's not a quirk." He held up his hand and formed a small mana bullet. Tsukauchi's eyes went wide and be nearly fell out of his chair. 

He said "Those are quirk suppressing handcuffs! How are you doing that? You shouldn't be able to use any quirks!" The fact that Izuku was telling the truth about the mana bullet not being a quirk just confused Tsukauchi more. 

Izuku really didn't want to reveal the Gamer, but it was looking like he had no choice. He tried one last thing before he revealed the Gamer. "It's not a quirk. It might be magic, but I can't say for sure." 

That must have registered as true, because Tsukauchi got back into his chair and calmed down a bit. "Okay, so magic might exist. Good to know. I'd ask how you learned it, but I have a feeling you don't know for sure." Izuku shook his head. "Great. Okay, so, just to confirm. You have no connection to All for One." 

"None. I didn't even know their name until you told me." Izuku confirmed. 

Tsukauchi stood up and said "Okay. I'll be right back." He stepped outside the room, and as the door opened, Izuku saw a skeleton looking man standing outside the door. The door closed before Izuku could hear any of the conversation, but eventually both came back into the room, and Tsukauchi uncuffed Izuku. "I'm sorry about that. We had to take precautions. That villain was extremely dangerous, even to All Might. Now, I heard from All Might that you're also having some trouble at school, something about quirkless discrimination. I may not work in that precinct, but I do have quite a bit of pull with a lot of police stations and heroes around the country. I'm sure I can arrange an investigation on your school. Why don't you give me a few more details." 

After being interrogated like that, Izuku was a little weary of giving the details up, but this was his best chance. "It all started when I was four. I was declared quirkless, and word got around. The other kids started picking on me, and the teachers just let it happen. Later on, I found out it was the teachers who were encouraging the students to pick on me. As the years went on, it got worse. I don't have any friends at school, because nobody wants to hang around the quirkless kid. I'm lucky if I get through a single day without being assaulted in some way." 

Tears started spilling from Izuku's eyes as he continued. "Even my old friends turned against me. Today was the worst though. The worst of the bullies told me to take a swan dive off the roof and hope for a better quirk in the next life." Izuku hesitated a bit on this next part, but he said "I shot him in the back with my magic. That started a fight, and after it was over, the teachers said they were going to expel me and let Bakugo off with nothing again. I got angry and started going to the police, but I made a wrong turn and got caught by the villain All Might brought in. After that, you know the rest." 

For his part, Tsukauchi didn't show much emotion. "I see. Technically, I should book you as a villain for attacking somebody with your quirk. Because there is no way you're convincing anybody but me that you have actual magic and not a third quirk." The skeleton looked shocked at that, but Izuku couldn't tell if it was from the magic part or the three quirks part. "But it sounds like you were already pushed to your breaking point, and knowing how the last few interactions went, it could be said you were preemptively defending yourself. We'll go with that story for now, to keep you out of trouble." 

The skeleton man said "We will also open an official investigation on your school for quirk discrimination. Obviously, you will not be returning there. Let's give your parents a call. I'm sure they're getting worried at this point." 

Nodding, Izuku pulled out his phone and called him mom. She answered right away, and she did not sound happy. 

"IZUKU MIDORIYA! WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE YOU? I GET A CALL FROM THE SCHOOL SAYING YOU ATTACKED YOUR CLASSMATE, THEN YOU DON'T COME HOME! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED I WAS?!"

CHAPTER END