Chapter Text
On his way home from school, burned and soggy notebook under his arm and fresh scorch marks on his uniform, Midoriya Izuku decided he wanted to live.
He wasn’t good at it. He was weak and small and stupid and quirkless. But damn it, he wanted to keep trying.
Because when that thought flashed in his mind, what if I really jumped? – he felt himself turn around and look back.
He was fourteen years old. He had survived fourteen goddamn years and counting. Quirkless, useless, no friends – and he’d still survived.
He felt his heart burning like an overworked muscle as he turned back to the future and kept walking toward it.
And then, of course, a terrifying villain burst out of a sewer grate and started suffocating him.
Damn it, Izuku thought as the world slowly faded to black. I have the worst timing.
The world stayed black for a moment.
And then, in that blackness, text.
LOADING…
Tip: Everything has a weakness.
Izuku stared at it for a solid three seconds before he was launched back into his body, eyes filled with tears and throat filled with slime.
The sludge villain gurgled in victory. The corners of his vision were tinged red.
Everything has a weakness.
So, okay… what would liquid’s weakness be?
…Shit.
If this doesn’t work, Izuku thought, I’m going to light something on fire.
He clamped his teeth down and swallowed.
The sludge villain dropped him to the ground immediately, screaming. “What did you do, you little –”
“FEAR NOT, CITIZEN! FOR I AM HERE!”
Izuku panted for air as All Might charged onto the scene, punching the sludge villain and sending it flying back. Glad I got out of the way of that, Izuku thought.
Then he fell to his knees, vision swimming, and threw up.
“Son, are you all right?” All Might ducked his head into his vision. He wiped his mouth quickly, kind of unable to believe the day he was having – he’d just almost died, and now his personal hero was right in front of him while he was actively vomiting. He gave a weak nod. “Well, okay!” All Might said cheerfully, and took off into the sky.
Izuku stared at where he’d gone for a moment. Then he picked up his notebook and started walking home.
He still felt a little sick and a little weak, but he’d thrown up quickly enough that he didn’t think he’d have lingering side effects from eating someone. (Oh God, he just ate part of someone. He hoped the villain wasn’t hurt too badly.)
More importantly, there was something floating right in his vision. When he concentrated on it, he realized what it was. Text.
TUTORIAL
Make your way back home.
Izuku intended to do just that.
Maybe that way he’d be able to have his panic attack in peace.
Izuku brushed past his mom with a polite smile as she welcomed him home. The text changed.
TUTORIAL
Enter a room alone.
Well, if that didn’t make him want to not enter a room alone – but fuck it, what else was he supposed to do? Go to his mom and say, “Hey, so, I just swallowed a bunch of human sludge and now I’m hallucinating game screens?” He was not worrying her with any of this shit unless he absolutely had to.
He entered his room and closed the door – and the moment he did, jaunty music started playing.
TUTORIAL
Welcome to the Game. The environment will remain paused until you complete the tutorial. Say “continue” aloud to continue.
Izuku pulled his phone out of his pocket to see if that was where the music was coming from. He tried to press the on button. It didn’t budge. He went over to his computer and tried to open it. It was sealed shut.
Izuku would probably freaking out a lot more if he weren’t still in shock from almost fucking dying ten minutes ago. As it was, he decided to make the most of it. “Continue,” he said.
TUTORIAL
To change your settings, say what you want to change and your options will be shown.
LANGUAGE JAPANESE
TEXT SIZE MEDIUM
TEXT BACKGROUND TRANSPARENT
TEXT BORDERS BORDERLESS
CONTROLLER VOICE COMMANDS
NOTIFICATIONS DISABLED
“Voice commands seems pretty inconvenient…” Izuku mumbled, instinctively trying to pry open his notebook before remembering that it was a.) ruined and b.) locked in space and time. “Controller.”
To bind a controller, press its on button now.
Izuku wasn’t a console gamer, but he did have his phone. He pressed the button to turn it on, and this time, it did. Whatever this was, it’d be a lot less awkward to control if he didn’t have to speak aloud all the time.
Smartphone bound.
CONTROLS
Select/Continue Power button
Text input mode Tap screen
Text input Keyboard
Scroll Volume up/down
Menu Home button
Settings Back button
[LOCKED] [LOCKED]
[LOCKED] [LOCKED]
[LOCKED] [LOCKED]
[LOCKED] [LOCKED]
Voice activation is still enabled. Controller still works for its intended use. The Game can sense your intentions and will respond to the controller only when desired.
“Creepy way to put it, but okay,” Izuku mumbled. He pressed the power button.
TUTORIAL
Press Home to open the menu.
Izuku unlocked his phone and pressed the home button. It was already on the home screen, which is probably why nothing changed, but it might also have something to do with the so-called Game.
Then he looked up, and – oh. Something changed, alright.
MENU
Stats
[LOCKED]
[LOCKED]
Relationships
Quests
Achievements
Help
TUTORIAL
Open Stats.
Izuku hit the power button.
MIDORIYA IZUKU
TITLE: N/A
LEVEL 12
STRENGTH 3
INTELLIGENCE 10
CHARISMA 6
HP 175/200
ST 50/150
MP [LOCKED]
TUTORIAL
Select a stat to reveal sub-stats.
Izuku had a feeling anything under Strength was just going to be depressing. He scrolled down and pressed Intelligence.
INTELLIGENCE 10
ANALYSIS 15
MEMORY 9
PROBLEM SOLVING 8
MATH 7
SCIENCE 8
LANGUAGE 7
TUTORIAL
To add a stat, use text input or say its name. Continue when ready.
“So Analysis is my highest stat… makes sense, since I do so much of it.” He wasn’t sure what stats he could add or what that would even do, so he hit Continue.
TUTORIAL
Open Relationships.
Izuku opened the Relationships tab to see the depressingly limited roster of people in his life.
MIDORIYA INKO
Relation: Mother
Level: 100 (Unconditional love)
BAKUGOU KATSUKI
Relation: Bully
Level: -73 (Hatred)
TUTORIAL
Continue when ready.
And that was about it. It was nice to get confirmation that his mom loved him, at least, but still… Izuku stared at the text uneasily, anxiety returning to him for the first time since the attack. Kacchan… hated him? But he didn’t even hate Kacchan, and he’d never done anything to Kacchan!
Izuku’s hand shook slightly as he pressed the button to continue.
TUTORIAL
Open Quests.
Izuku opened the Quests tab.
QUESTS
Survive the Sludge Villain (COMPLETE)
Survive a spontaneous villain attack.
Rewards: 10000XP 10 Stat Points
Bonus: Escape the sludge villain on your own (COMPLETE)
Rewards: 5000XP 5 Stat Points
Get Into UA (NOT STARTED)
Pass the entrance exam for UA’s Hero Course.
Rewards: 50000XP 10 Stat Points
Bonus: Score first in the written exam
Rewards: 10000XP 5 Stat Points
Bonus: Score first in the physical exam
Rewards: 10000XP 5 Stat Points
Bully Beatdown (IN PROGRESS)
Get your bullies to leave you alone before you graduate middle school.
Rewards: 50000XP 10 Stat Points
Bonus: Complete quest by raising Bakugou Katsuki’s Relationship score
Rewards: 25000XP 5 Stat Points
TUTORIAL
Stat points level stats. Levelling stats increases XP gains for all substats. Only base stats can be levelled with points. Press Continue to claim rewards from completed quests. Continue when
ready.
Izuku wasn’t sure how much XP he needed to level up, but those numbers looked big.
More importantly… Stat Points?
“So I can boost my stats by doing quests…” He’d have to do some math to get the numbers figured out, but theoretically, if he used them strategically, he could use his points to push him past the normal human benchmark!
That last quest worried him, though. Why was it even there, anyway? He’d given up on being left alone a long time ago, written it off as futile. Maybe if he really needed the points he’d try it, but…
Izuku pressed Continue.
TUTORIAL
Open Achievements.
Izuku did.
ACHIEVEMENTS
Eat Your Way Out
Consume part of an opponent during combat.
Rewards: +2 levels to Unarmed Combat Title: Cannibal
TUTORIAL
Equipped titles provide specific bonuses. You can equip one title at a time. Press Continue to claim rewards from completed achievements. Continue when ready.
Izuku didn’t know whether to laugh or throw up again. The bonus level up was probably good. The title, on the other hand… He shuddered and pressed Continue. When he did, the music cut off abruptly.
TUTORIAL COMPLETE!
You can review the tutorial at any time by pressing the split screen button or using voice commands.
Good luck!
The text disappeared.
Izuku walked over to his bed, lay down, and slept for twelve hours.