16You never forget your first head-on collision with a truck. Most of the time, it's because there is no second time. Either you're paralyzed for life after the incident, you're a little more careful around roads, or you straight up do not survive the experience.
I was pretty certain I'd fall into that last category.
Instead I woke up, decidedly not dead, and facing an unfamiliar ceiling. The room around me was small, but it had a large set of sliding glass doors that lead out onto a small balcony at one end, another window on the wall next to me, and a desk in the corner. The bed I was laying on was cozy and plush, but like everything else in the room it lacked any personalization, covered in plain white sheets. Definitely not a hospital room, It was cute, modern, and minimalist in a way I'd never been in my entire life. That left one option:
I was in someone else's house, in someone else's bed.
Definitely not freaking out, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood up, intending to go and thank the (hopefully) kind stranger who scraped me off the pavement and then get myself back home. Instead I managed to catch a glimpse of myself in the full length mirror hanging on the wall beside the bed. It was me, yeah, but me from when I was 14 years old, gangly, disproportionate body and all. Heck, even my hair was the same- hanging in front of my face in a way it hadn't in years.
I'm not proud to say I screamed like the little girl I'd become, but hey, you try waking up deaged in a stranger's apartment and tell me how you react.
I frantically searched my pockets for my phone, and found nothing but a few dollars and a hair tie. Just as I began to feel the cold hand of a panic attack begin to close around my throat, a box popped up in front of me.
Welcome to the game, user!
You have slept in your own bed, 100% Heal!
I stared at the floating text for what must've been a full minute and a half.
And then I started crying.
Have you ever just been completely and totally overwhelmed? Felt like too many things were happening, to fast for you to keep up? Felt stress hit you like a truck?
I heaved, scrubbing at my face with my hands. Everything was fine, I just needed to calm down. I was probably just high on pain meds or something. Heck maybe I was dead after all. Either way, when I opened my eyes again the box would be gone.
I opened my eyes.
And the box was still there.
I poked it, not expecting any kind of reaction from what I had hoped was a fever dream or side effect of the meds I was hopefully on.
Instead of vanishing like smoke like I'd expected, it rippled, jiggling like the weird bath gel my sister had picked up at the mall a few weeks ago.
Finally I could feel myself begin to cross into the hysterical, slap happy side of being completely overwhelmed, the kind that let laughing relieve your tension and stress, even if it wasn't always appropriate.
I kept poking the box, giggling as it rippled, and I could feel some of the stress simmer down, just a little. After a while of playing with the box, I heard a soft 'ping!' and a new box opened in front of me.
System asks that the user please stop poking the window.
"Oh, Sorry." I replied to the window, and pulled my hand back.
Now that I had calmed down, I allowed myself to take stock of the situation. I was, somehow, not dead. And stuck in a video game, as a 14 year old. Amazing. I took a deep breath, than another. Everything was going great.
"Um, system? Can you explain what, exactly, is going on here?"
User has entered the game. System is in charge of the user's user interface.
"Okay...can I leave the game?" Even as I asked I could already tell what the answer would be.
Exiting the game just means losing faster.
I sighed and wiped my face with my sleeve, guess that meant there was no going home.
"Alright, cool, great. Well, first things first then. Where am I?"
User is inside the Home Base. Granted by the system, this small apartment belongs to the user in order to provide a permanent address. Home Base can be upgraded to a larger size, or with decorations to provide passive bonuses.
Interesting. That explained why the system referred to the bed as my own, I guess, and it was certainly better than sleeping out on the streets. Hell, it was already nicer than the place I'd had in college, so this wouldn't be too hard.
"Great, this place is really nice- thanks for the home, system!" I smiled up at the air and hoped that my gratefulness was being adequately communicated to the...AI? God? Which was now seemingly in charge of my life and continued existence.
…
You're welcome, User.
After that I took some time to explore the rest of the apartment. While it came with all the furniture I might need, including a small kitchen I was itching to try, it was severely lacking in the essentials.
Mainly food. And clothes, to a lesser extent, but mostly food. I remembered the few dollars I'd dug out of my pocket and decided a small trip to the store was in order. I headed for the door, slipping on my shoes which had magically appeared next to it. I stepped outside, pulling my jacket tighter around my frame as I headed down the stairs for the street below me. As I was walking though, an older woman stopped me on the staircase.
"Oh, Katsuki-chan! Headed to the store?" She smiled, the skin around her eyes wrinkling in a way that made me think she's give good hugs. Almost immediately though my mind caught up with what she said.
I was the only person on the stairs though, so she had to be talking to me. I guess that meant that...Katsuki? was my name now.
"Y-yeah! Just need to pick up some groceries!" I laughed. "It was nice to see you! Have a good evening!" The old woman laughed and patted me on the shoulder before continuing on her way. I made sure she was all the way up the steps before I hurried down the rest of the stairs and ducked into an alley. Yeah, groceries were important, but first...
I needed to make sure I knew what kind of game I was dealing with.
Memories of dating sims and horror games filled my head and I winced. Hopefully nothing like that. I might've played one or two, but by no means did I have any desire to live in one.
"Hey system, is there anything else you can show me?"
With little fanfare besides another small 'ping!', a bigger box opened up in front of me.
True name: Lillian Wright
Given name: Touko Katsuki
Nickname:
Title: The Gamer
Physical: 5
Mental: 5
Control: 5
Energy: 5
Skills:
Gamer's Body Max: Allows the body to be adaptable and experience quick growth or recovery.
Gamer's Mind Max: Allows the user to interact with and perceive the game interface.
Well, that explained a lot.
Thankfully it seemed that I was in an RPG, though different than the ones I was most familiar with. No reverse harems, actual harems, or casual murder here, hopefully. The name, on the other hand, made me a little worried. I knew enough japanese to recognize the romanization of it, but if the rest of this experience was going to rely on me reading any, then I was screwed.
"System, can I get a quick summary of what's going on in this game? Why did that lady seem like she knew me?"
I could almost feel the system compiling its response as it considered my question. Finally another glowing box of text appeared in front of me.
"Welcome to Your Hero Academia! Your name is Katsuki Touko, age 14. Born in the age of quirks, you live in Musutafu, Japan with your parents who are often away for work overseas! But don't worry about your location, dear user! All japanese will be translated by the system for an easy experience! Please work hard and be the best Hero you can be! \^o^/"
I stared at the window in shock. "...You didn't write that. Did you?"
User is correct. System simply copied and edited another system's introduction.
I blinked, suddenly relieved that my seemingly standoffish companion hadn't suddenly gone full genki girl on me.
"Thank god."
I asked for a map next, mulling over the information that the system had just given me as I followed the short path to the convenience store.
As if the little name drop hadn't been enough, the location outright confirmed it, as did the various mutations I saw on citizens as I walked down the street. I was in the world of My Hero Academia, a world chock full of superheroes and supervillains. Where 80% of the population could do something straight out of your imagination. I wondered, for a moment, if I was quirkless, or if this game interface would count as a quirk. As I thought this another window opened up alongside the map.
System will not register as a quirk, though user may obtain one through leveling up or through special items.
I nodded. That made sense I guess. I was still physically the same as I was before I came here, just younger and...not a smear on the pavement. As I neared the convenience store, a thought popped into my head.
"So you chose my name then, system?"
Yes, user. System is proud of his choice.
I laughed.
"So why don't you use it? I'm sure it'll help me get used to being called something new."
Another small window opened up:
User will need 10,000 more affection points to unlock that level of familiarity.
I sighed. "I don't suppose those are actually a thing I can get?"
No.
Inwardly I was grateful. The less this... game thing changed my interactions with reality, the better. Affection systems had always rubbed me the wrong way, and I had no desire to experience that in my day to day life, or at all.
With that somewhat settled, I once again resumed my walk.
20 minutes and a few groceries later I was back in my apartment, heating water on the stove to make some hot tea. During the walk back I had attempted to pay more attention to my surroundings, particularly the people. It wasn't hard either, just seeing some of the physical manifestations of some people's quirks was amazing. I might have even stared too much, resulting in my first real skills:
Observe, Level 1: Stare like a weirdo and gain more information on your target, at this level observe only shows basic information.
Deception, Level 1: Somebody catch you staring like a weirdo? Deception will help you make them think they're the weirdo. Increases likelihood of people believing you.
It was almost as if the system was trying to tell me something.
There wasn't much left to observe after I had tried my new skill on every surface in the apartment, however, and I was quickly growing bored. I knew the threadcount of my sheets, the cleanliness of the bathroom, hell I even knew how thin the walls were, down to the millimeter.
Which led to my current situation: playing 20 questions with the system.
"Okay, system, what's your favorite color?"
System still thinks this game is pointless, but it's favorite color is the 10^-12 wavelength.
Wasn't that the frequency for gamma rays? I shook my head and turned back to the stovetop where a small kettle was leaking steam into the air. The tea was ready.
As I poured the tea for myself I remembered something I'd been meaning to ask. With a backstory already made for me, and a permanent address provided…
"Does this game's story want me to go to UA?"
I couldn't deny that part of my was giddy at the thought. I'd always wanted to be a superhero when I was younger, and even if that dream had faded as I'd gotten older, suddenly being confronted with the ability to make it happen made me excited and nauseous at the same time.
User is correct. This module provides its players with a permanent address so that entry into UA or other academies is not restricted by means or lack of documentation. This is also the reason for the reduced age and backstory.
I hummed and ran the numbers. I'd managed to pick up a newspaper while I was out getting groceries, confirming the date to be March 28th. It still amazed me that the system managed to translate everything I saw into comfortable, familiar english, but that was besides the point. After checking with the system and confirming the deadline for applications, I realized that I'd have just over 10 months to get myself ready for the exam.
As if confirming my thoughts, another window popped up in front of me.
QUEST: Going to Scho0l!
Be a productive citizen and make it into the best highschool in the country- UA. Bonus rewards will be awarded based on placement in the entrance exam.
Note: Be careful about the department you apply for- once accepted it is hard to switch, and course curriculum will be a major factor in future growth paths.
REWARDS:
-UA Uniform
-1,000 EXP
-?
-?
FAILURE
-Become a drain on society
-Locked out of future advancement paths
Accept?
Y/N
Well, that settled it. If I was going to continue on in this world, I'd have to go back to school.
And become a hero.
At least, assuming I could pick something up in the next 10 months. Hopefully I'd be able to scrape by, but even if I had to apply to a less combat oriented course, it wouldn't be too terrible. I wanted to be a hero though. And with it so close, with my childhood dreams creeping back to center stange, I couldn't help but hope that I would be able to do it, that this game could give me the power to make my dreams come true.
I hit the button to accept the quest, and just like that started my journey to try and make something of my new life.