Chapter Text
“They… did what?” Iida stared, not entirely sure he’d heard right as Kirishima and Kaminari rushed through, their bags over their shoulder, the new headsets sat in inside happily.
“The server isn’t going to be up for another few hours, but you know the online MMORPG The world?” Kaminari grinned, leaving everyone in the main room staring in confusion. “They got someone who was a master with support gear to jump trades! He made the prototype for a headset game system! The cartridge is replaceable, so they can come out with new games, but for right now, the headset is coming out with the main game it’s being released with. Second Life is a game you play while you’re sleeping! All the fun of video games, but you don’t have to worry about wasting waking hours on it! It’s a win-win!” Kaminari held up his bag, and Midoriya chuckled, nodding.
“I already got one.” He admitted, earning a few surprised glances. “It came free with the AllMight special edition Dell Workhouse M1490 that was just released last week, if you pre-ordered it. I didn’t even know until I went to pick it up two days ago.” He chuckled, seeing Kirishima staring in surprise.
“And you weren’t bragging about it?” He asked, a bit surprised at Midoriya’s modesty.
“Why bother? I don’t know anything about it. I heard it was a gaming headset, but that was all I really know. Is it really that interesting?” He tilted his head, seeing Kaminari jump the back of the couch before starting into a list of why he thought this was going to be the best gaming console of all time.
Though Midoriya rarely bothered with things like video games, his time almost entirely wrapped in being a hero, studying and working hard, the thought of playing a game and having fun while sleeping did strike him as intriguing.
“It’s just too bad that they’re insisting on everything being so lifelike.” Kaminari sighed. “It’s a 99% level of realism, so everything except dying is going to feel the same. If you get hit, it’s going to hurt. If you work out, even if you don’t get the muscle memory, your mind can still figure out the motions. The problems are that you have to look like your character to some degree. It’s kind of sad.” Kaminari looked longingly at his bag. “I kinda want to be a big, buff warrior. Girls flock to guys like that.” He grinned, flexing his arms as if showing off giant muscles, and Kirishima chuckled.
“I can do that, at least. But I’m already like that. Honestly, I could see the draw of looking more like you. Maybe a wizard, or some sort of magician?” Kirishima shrugged, though the words left him confused.
“A what now?” Midoriya asked, staring in confusion, leaving the others staring back.
“A wizard? Magician? It’s a fantasy game. There’s gonna be beasts, people, elves, all sorts of things. It’s gonna be a blast!” Kirishima chuckled, heading towards the elevator. “I’m gonna go glance over the directions before I start on my homework.”
“Ah, hell! I forgot about the homework! Hey, help me study?” Kaminari nearly begged, jumping from the couch, following after with a pleading voice.
“I’m hoping Bakugo’s still willing to help me. If he’s not going to help me, we’re both fucked.” Kirishima sighed as the elevator doors opened, the two of them slipping in with everyone else watching, confused and a bit intrigued.
“You have the headset?” Iida turned to Midoriya, who nodded.
“Yeah. It’s up in my room. I thought it was some sort of weird VR screen or something. I didn’t know it was a gaming headset. I may actually have to look into it.” He glanced over, lifting a finger to his chin, curious about what it would be like.
“Gaming?” Midoriya nearly jumped out of his skin, turning to look at Bakugo who was passing behind the couch, not really having paid much attention, though he did happen to over hear. “When did you get into that?” He asked, the corner of his lip pulling up in teasing amusement. Midoriya could practically hear him yelling that it was something cool and interesting, that he shouldn’t be anywhere near it.
“I got the new DreamScape headset. I was just talking about it with Kirishima and Kaminari, who are on their way to your room, I think?” He pointed, a chuckle in his voice as Bakugo rolled his eyes.
“Ah, hell. I don’t wanna be here, but I don’t wanna go up to them.” He grumbled, lowering his hand with the Pocari Sweat he had just been sipping from, reaching up to dab the sweat from his forehead with the towel he had over his shoulders. “Deku, let me go hang out in your room for a bit.”
Midoriya was amused at the thought, half expecting him to be joking, but as he stood and headed to the elevator, he was surprised to hear footsteps follow. They headed into his room and Bakugo plopped down at the foot of his bed, glancing around at the posters and figurines that all stared back with lifeless gazes. “Alright, why did you get the headset? That thing isn’t cheap. It’s not something you could just go get on a whim.” He looked over, a bit confused. “I was barely able to get one with what I was saving up from rewards from the few jobs I took so far.” He watched.
Bakugo had spent the last year rushing around, working hard to get himself the best internship in this, the beginning of his final year. A few jobs he took had pay, sidekick for hire for a day or two, and since he’d already had a big name for himself, The Explosion God DynaMight who had helped take down the Paranormal Libaration Front and had become one of the most promising heroes of UA. The pay wasn’t too much, but it was enough for him to know Midoriya hadn’t just had the money laying around.
“I kinda got it for free.” He shrugged. “The new laptop I got the other day, it came with it. I only managed to get the laptop because of AllMight helping me out with a few jobs, I didn’t know that it was going to turn into something like this.” He shrugged, lowering himself to sit beside him on the bed, a bottle of water he’d grabbed from the entryway dresser in hand. “I didn’t even know what it was until they told me a little bit ago.”
“Fucking wasted on a little shit like you, I swear.” Bakugo rolled his eyes, earning a chuckle. “You don’t know shit about games like that. You should be a wizard or something and stay away from the trouble. You’ll end out getting your ass reamed.” Bakugo watched, seeing Midoriya laugh at that.
“Maybe. I don’t know. I’ll have to go and see, right? It’ll be interesting, at least.” Midoriya grinned, surprised to find himself a bit excited at the thought. “Hey, Kacchan, maybe I’ll try to be just like you in the game.” He turned, shrugging. “That could be fun!”
“You couldn’t pull it off.” Bakugo grinned, though Midoriya could see that it wasn’t simply joy, but a threat. “You could try, but you’re nothing like me. The original would always win between the two of us.” He watched, seeing Midoriya swallow, looking down.
“Yeah, you’re right.” Midoriya chuckled. “Besides, I don’t think the world would be ready for two of you.” He grinned, giggling at the growl he heard from beside him before he glanced over.
“You should be some weak little bitch that stays in the back. At least you’re a guy, so you’ll have higher strength, but you don’t have enough experience with these games to get to level 10.” Bakugo watched as Midoriya stared, at first a bit surprised and confused at the declaration before a grin slid over his mouth.
“Oh really?”
And that was why, even though the game wasn’t supposed to come out for another hour, Midoriya plugged himself in, pushed on by a need to prove Bakugo wrong.
“I can’t stand… him…” Midoriya looked around, seeing the world around him flicker on, white floors scrolled as far as the eyes could see before he noticed a seat lower from the sky, a guy about eighteen with a flat expression and a cold voice registered moments later.
“Welcome to Second Life Character Creation. Do you know what race you want to be?” The man asked, and Midoriya shook his head.
“No clue.” He shook his head, remembering Bakugo’s words. “Hey, what are the different species in the game? Stuff that uses magic?” He asked, and with a wave of the hand, bodies scrolled around before him, rocks and trees, different colors and sizes as far as he could see. “Ah… humanoid, please?” He looked up, and the man nodded, thinking.
“The most common humanoid species that use magic on high end would be Humans, Elves and Beasts. The beasts generally have lower magic count than the others, but when leveling up, their magic can grow faster, if it’s focused.” He watched, seeing Midoriya look at the three before he sighed.
“Hey, can I be a girl?” He looked up and the guy stilled, a confused look sliding over his face, the look surprising Midoriya.
“Ah… I’ll go ask my boss.” He closed his eyes and for a moment was unresponsive.
“Oh.” Midoriya whispered, a bit surprised, as he’d thought the man was some sort of AI from the flat expression and voice.
It wasn’t more than a few moments before he returned. “Alright. Second Life does not allow Gender changes from your ID scan, but since you’re the first person to log on, they decided to allow you one special request. Do you wish to use it to change your gender?” He asked, and Midoriya swallowed, looking down at the figures before him.
The voice of Bakugo, telling him he was weak and should be in the back, being protected, kept ringing in his ears, and all he really wanted to do was to choose something that shouldn’t be the strongest, choose something sweet and soft and unsuspecting, and turn his character into the biggest bad ass he could manage. “Yes.” He looked up, nodding.
“Alright! Then let’s change this.” The man waved his hand, the three figures before him quickly shifted into women, drawing the attention of both men.
“Oh. The elf…” Midoriya tilted his head, looking her over. She was thin and sleek, her closed eyes large, and the green hair curly and in a long ponytail on her hair, similar to his own, real hair. “Can I change her a bit? Her hair, I want it straight, and… black.” He tilted his head, and the man nodded, waving his hand, though he clicked his tongue and shook his head, waving his hand again, turning the hair white instead.
“Ah, there. That’s more like it.” The guy grinned, a bit more amused now that the girl was becoming more his type. He moved his fingers and her eyes opened, and the man flipped through, finding wide, pink eyes that went perfectly well with the pale skin and white hair. “I’m upping the beautification percentage. You’re already cute as a girl, but it could be better. And a bigger chest.” He grinned, and Midoriya blinked, looking up.
“Hey, maybe I should do some of this?” He shrugged, and the guy looked at him, raising a brow.
“Fine, what part don’t you like?” He asked, and Midoriya looked at her, shaking his head.
“No, it’s not like that. I got into a fight with someone. I’m making her as a bet, but I don’t want him to know it’s me that’ll be kicking his ass.” Midoriya grinned. “Smaller chest, but just a little. That’ll be too hard to move with. Thinner, but… maybe thicker in the hips and thighs?” He looked up, seeing the guy laugh and nod.
“THAT’S more like it!” He grinned, starting in on the smaller details until finally they stood, staring in shock at the gorgeous woman they’d created.
“She’s perfect!” Midoriya grinned, walking around her, seeing her pink eyes face forward, her petal pink lips almost as captivating as her eyes. “Alright! So… do I roll for stats?” Midoriya asked, turning to the man who shook his head.
“That was done as soon as you logged on. Only questions left are ‘Where do you want to spawn’? There’s five continents. North, South, East, West and Central.” He watched, seeing Midoriya shake his head.”
“Don’t care.” He shrugged. “It makes no difference to me.” He admitted, knowing he didn’t know where anyone else was going to spawn anyway.
“Alright, so name?” He asked, and Midoriya stilled.
He needed a feminine name. “Something sweet and cute…” Midoriya sighed, thinking out loud, and the man thought.
“Princess. She looks regal enough.” He offered, and Midoriya stared, looking her over.
“Princess. Yeah, I like that one. I’ll take it. Anything else?” He asked, and the man laughed.
“Yeah! The name’s Firefly. Message me when you get in, alright?” He grinned, hitting a button, and before Midoriya could react or respond, the figure he’d been creating turned to him, flying towards him at a speed that nearly gave him a heart attack before everything went black.
She woke up in the woods. She sat up, looking around, feeling her head throb a little. She could see giant gates of a large town directly behind her, but for the moment, she didn’t have anything to do there. She turned, heading into the woods, wondering how hard it would be to kill basic mobs with whatever she had in her inventory.
“To check inventory, say ‘open inventory’. To open PM systems, say ‘Open PM.’ To open status screen, say ‘Open status’.” The voice was soft, a computer voice that she had a feeling everyone heard right after signing in. She opened her inventory, glad to see she had newbie armor already worn, and a rusty knife. It wasn’t much of a weapon, but it was better than nothing.
She walked away from the town, taking a few deep breaths, a swell of excitement in her chest.