Chapter Text
When you awaken the next morning, you’re rather disoriented at first.
Your body moves by muscle memory, since it’s used to waking up in your actual bedroom. Well, your bedroom in the real world, that is. Your bedroom that already feels like a nostalgic piece of the past.
But no, you’re not there anymore, and you’ll just have to become accustomed to your new reality. Yawning as you shuffle around a few times, you eventually blink away enough morning fog to slowly sit upright in your bed.
Only to be immediately greeted by a screen.
[Rise and shine, lovely lady! It’s a new, exciting day!]
I have to deal with this first thing in the morning? Give me a break.
“Not now,” you mumble groggily, turning away from the screen. “I need to wait until I’m not so drowsy anymore. And eat breakfast first.”
Unfortunately, you can’t exactly avoid the system’s interface, because its screen can pop up practically anywhere it wants. Right in your line of sight.
[But don’t you want to know how your Quirk works? I thought you’d be looking forward to it more. It’s so awesome, after all!]
Your Quirk? Well, yeah. Of course you want to know more about it, but the last time you tried, it told you practically nothing. Apart from the cringeworthy name it has.
Although… maybe something has changed since then?
Since the system is being so insistent for once (when it usually only tells you the bare minimum of what you’re asking for), you navigate through the interface until you reach the right place.
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[ PLAYER QUIRK OVERVIEW ]
NAME: Lovemaxxing
──► The most amazing, beautiful, show-stopping Quirk anyone could ever ask for!
ABILITIES: VIEW ADDITIONAL INFORMATION? [X]
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It has changed. Last time, it wasn’t letting you venture any further at all. In fact, it even told you that additional information hadn’t yet been unlocked. Finally. You might finally be able to figure out exactly what kind of Quirk you have.
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[ PLAYER QUIRK OVERVIEW: ABILITIES ]
❖ PASSIVE ABILITY
[ Base State: Radiant Presence ]
The base state of your Quirk grants you the ability to increase your stats by improving your relationships with your love interests and completing their corresponding quests. Stats can also be improved by training, but they scale much more based on affection and overall standing with your love interests.
❖ ACTIVE ABILITIES
[ Active 01: Love Beam ]
This active ability allows you to fire off cute, pink energy beams! The energy beams are of course all strictly heart-shaped. If you want to charge up the beam for maximum damage, make a heart shape with your hands and give it some time to build. This ability scales with POWER.
[Active 02: Affection Drain ]
This active ability allows you to temporarily enhance any chosen stat (only one stat can be enhanced at a time, and TECHNIQUE cannot be enhanced) by making direct contact with someone and draining some of their energy. This ability scales with ENDURANCE.
(Additional information has not yet been unlocked…)
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Wait… this might actually be kind of strong??
When you first saw that your Quirk’s name was Lovemaxxing, you were prepared for the absolute worst, but you get it now. That was just the system being ridiculous as per usual. It’s only called that because your Quirk, by default, revolves around romancing characters and maxing out your stats. The entire premise of you being transported here was for a dating sim, after all. Your Quirk might have a stupid name, but now that you’ve seen what kind of abilities you have, you’re starting to feel more optimistic.
“So, I have even more abilities than those two?” you ask. “I just haven’t unlocked them yet?”
[Exactly! Your Quirk is inherently special because of all its components, so think of it like how other people have different special moves. You’ve unlocked the first two abilities so far, but there’s so much more that you’ll be able to do!]
Wow. That’s exciting. Well, you were already excited from the moment you realized what world you were in, but the initial shock factor was quite extreme. Nevermind the fact that the system put you through endless chaos on the very first day.
Now, though, seeing that you do have powers, you can’t help but be in awe. Even if you’re only going to be living here on a temporary basis, until you return back to your old world, you’ll actually get to experience what it’s like to have superhuman abilities. You’ll get to experience what it’s like to be a hero.
Yes, it’s bound to be scary at times too, but you can feel yourself getting swept up in the moment more and more.
Fine, you can admit it. Having a Quirk is cool. It’s really cool.
“I don’t have to reveal my Quirk’s name to anyone though, do I?” you ask with wide, pleading eyes.
[Officially, no. You’re just required to register your Quirk and explain the nature of your abilities, to some extent. Keep in mind Quirks can also be updated in the registry at any time. Remember, that’s how Midoriya Izuku was able to change his documentation from being labeled as Quirkless!]
“Has my Quirk already been submitted, then? I feel like I could get in trouble for not registering it on time. I mean, if I’m planning to become a hero, I should probably figure that out soon, right?”
[Don’t worry about any of that! I’ve already taken care of it for you. Currently, your Quirk is registered as being some sort of energy beam emission. Since you’ll discover more about your Quirk over time, it’s best to keep the details vague to start.]
Okay, good. That’s one less thing to worry about. Not only do you have a Quirk that you can actually fight with, but over time, you’ll unlock even more abilities. As a die-hard fan of My Hero Academia, it’s practically impossible to contain your smile right now. You just still can’t really believe all of this is happening. You can’t believe that you get to be part of your favorite characters’ lives—and they’re not just characters anymore—while also having your own Quirk.
As annoying as the system can be sometimes (a lot of the time, really), you can tell you’re going to love it here. Plus, you have multiple lives, right? Or multiple save points, whatever. The point is, you automatically have a ton of plot armor, right off the bat.
What could possibly go wrong?
“I have a question about my second ability,” you say. “The first one sounds pretty straightforward. The higher my power stats are, the more damage my beams will do, right? And you said technique helps improve my Quirk’s overall skill, as well as allowing me to unlock more abilities over time.”
[Yep, you’ve got it! You’re such a good listener! Oh, actually… I should say you’re such a good reader! Since I’m not actually speaking aloud! Teehee!]
“I’m begging you to stop it with the teehee thing.”
[Aw, okay.]
You’re about to continue speaking, when the screen suddenly changes again.
[...sad teehee noises.]
I’m getting ragebaited way too easily by this damn screen.
“So, about my second ability,” you say, gritting your teeth to keep from losing your temper, “it says that I can drain energy from someone I make direct contact with. Does it matter what kind of contact?”
[Nope! You just need to be physically touching, in some shape or form. For example, placing your hand against them for a few moments will work just fine. It’s just like how Monoma Neito copies Quirks. The moment he’s making direct physical contact, he can steal the target’s Quirk. With a few exceptions, as you already know, of course!]
“Is Monoma going to be another one of my love interests?”
[I can’t tell you! Like I said before, it’s way more fun if you find out yourself!]
“I mean… not really,” you sigh. “I’d rather know exactly who I need to interact with, from the very beginning. There are a lot of characters I like, but I’m going to have to focus on the ones I need to win over. Actually, I’ve been meaning to clarify this too, but when will I know if I’ve fully maxed out a love interest? I’m guessing I’ll be able to see it on their profile?”
[You’re spot on, as usual! When you’ve progressed far enough with a specific love interest, you will receive an alert and also be able to review your progress through the love interest profiles. Here’s something that’s really neat, though! As you’ve already seen, it’s possible for affection meters to drop, and even to go into the negatives. This will be an ongoing challenge, because it means you won’t always progress linearly with your targets. There will be setbacks along the way. However, once you’ve fully won over one of your targets, that will instantly count as a completed character route. Even if that particular love interest gets upset with you or you lose favor with them, the completion can’t be overwritten. It’s like a permanent achievement you unlock, so don’t worry too much about maintaining a perfect impression around the board once you get to the highest progress tiers!]
Oh, what a relief. That’s incredibly important, because even though this is set up like a dating sim, it’s still an actual world. Unlike in a standard dating sim, here, you can’t just ignore your love interests. You can’t just pretend like one of them doesn’t exist if you’re temporarily focusing on someone else. Their perceptions of you will ebb and flow, and it’s entirely possible that even once they do fall for you, you could end up doing something stupid to make them upset. The fact that you don’t necessarily need to keep everyone happy 100% of the time once you’ve maxed them out is crucial. Otherwise, you might never be able to get out of here. Ever.
[That being said, while you’re still progressing with your love interests, their feelings of you will naturally fluctuate. They won’t like it if they see you flirting with someone else!]
“Yeah, I think that goes without saying.” Your head slumps forward, a low groan reverberating from your throat. “Which is going to make this really hard. Because it’s not like a video game. In dating sims, romanceable characters are predictable, and they usually have certain places they like to hang out. If you avoid those places, you also avoid running into them. On the other hand, if you want to find them, you know exactly where to look. I have to keep reminding myself this isn’t going to be a direct replication of that. This is just life in a different world.”
You sit in silence with your thoughts for a while, and luckily, the system doesn’t chime in for a change. Every time you think you’ve gotten used to this, you’re hit with a wave of disbelief all at once. It’s just so unreal. Well, it is real, but it still doesn’t really feel like it.
At least you have a Quirk to call your own. At least you have a way forward, a way to improve—and you’ll be able to experience My Hero Academia to its fullest extent. Maybe that’s why you were transported here. Because you weren’t ready to let go. Because this is how you’ll finally be able to close such an important chapter of your life.
“Wait,” you realize, and you hurry to grab your phone off your nightstand so that you can swipe its screen open. For a while, you just stare at it. You stare long and hard at the numbers and the words.
Yesterday, you barely even had time to think because so much was going on. You briefly glanced at your phone for the time and for directions to get home, but your mind wasn’t actually able to process everything. It didn’t hit you. Not until now, at least.
The U.A entrance exam hasn’t happened yet, but based on the season we’re currently in, that means…
[Why are you staring at your phone so intently? Are you wondering about the date? I was going to mention this soon anyway, but it seems like you’ve already beat me to it! Now that you know your Quirk’s initial abilities, you can start training to use them better, since U.A’s entrance exam is in two weeks!]
Your jaw drops open.
“That soon?!”
[Yeah! It’s no fun if you start with a lot of time to spare before the main plot, right? This way you’ll get to be part of the action way sooner!]
Is this system breaking down or something?? Are its processing abilities barely functional, or what? The less time you have to prepare for U.A’s entrance exam, the lower your odds are of even getting in. Then what? Has it already forgotten that the highest letter stat grade you have right now is F? There’s a plus sign on that F, but either way, you haven’t even hit D-tier yet. Those are the starting parameters you’re working with.
It looks like you have no choice but to do a lot of compulsory training. Or maybe it’s called something different when it’s voluntary, who knows. Regardless, you’re in much more of a hurry than you first thought. As if yesterday wasn’t chaotic enough. You can’t believe you dared to hope that things might be somewhat peaceful today.
Letting out an exasperated groan, you finally make your way out of bed and head to the kitchen for breakfast. You won’t be able to think properly on an empty stomach, and you definitely won’t be able to train on an empty stomach either.
Thankfully, much like with the overall design of the house, the system seems to have specifically picked out all the food to your liking as well. You have plenty of ingredients to make use of, as well as some pre-packaged meals that look similar to what you used to eat back in your old world.
You eat, take a quick shower, do your skincare (it even seems like the house is stocked with a bunch of beauty products), then you change into a clean outfit and open up the system interface to review a few things.
Since you texted him a little bit last night, Izuku’s affection meter has gone up, but Chisaki and Katsuki’s affection meters have stayed the same. You wonder if it’s possible for meters to increase or decrease even when you’re not interacting with them. Like, if you’re on their mind for whatever reason, will that change their affection, or does it only change in direct response to things you say or do?
You consider asking the system—because even now, you still have a lot of questions—but coincidentally, it seems to have something to say to you instead.
[Since you seem worried about how much time you have left until the entrance exam, I can help you out! I really shouldn’t be offering you so many incredible opportunities, but I guess I’m just as excited as you are!]
Incredible opportunities? Yeah, right. After how many times you embarrassed yourself yesterday, you have reason to be doubtful.
“I’m good,” you sigh. “I’d really rather not. I think I should just take things at my own pace for now.”
[Really? You’re refusing my generous offer? Even though it’ll be the quickest way to earn new skill points?]
“Can’t I just try doing compulsory training or whatever for a little while? Progress might be kind of slow, but I still want to try and get used to things. Let me see how it goes at first, and then if I haven’t made a decent amount of progress soon, I’ll take you up on your offer, alright?”
Weird. For some reason, the system isn’t responding, and usually, it’s impossible to shut this thing up.
Frowning, you turn away to briefly check your phone. Well, it’ll have to respond soon. Since you don’t even know how to access that digital training landscape without the system’s help.
[...oh, no! This is terrible!]
“What is it?” you blink. “What happened?”
[I’m suddenly losing control of my own interface! It’s all slipping away from me! I think I’ve been corrupted by a virus! I can’t… I can’t fight it! The virus is too strong!]
…bro.
You can’t believe how infuriating this thing is, but before you can even angrily snap that its cheap acting isn’t convincing you at all, the screen changes.
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[ SECRET QUEST UNLOCKED! ]
CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING TO BEGIN:
■ Option A
■ Option B
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You stare at the screen with wide, frozen eyes. It’s similar to the advanced quest from before, where you chose Chisaki, except this is called a secret quest for whatever reason. Probably because you don’t even know what the options are??
[LAUNCHING: Secret Quest. You have 30 seconds to make your choice. If you don’t choose, the system will randomly choose for you. Either leave your fate up to chance, or take it into your own hands!]
This again?!
It really is just like before. No matter how hard you try, you can’t exit the prompt, and it seems that whether you make a decision in time or not, you’re going to be forced into this quest anyway.
This is bad. There are only two options on screen, and even though the system is calling this a secret quest, not an advanced quest, you’re willing to bet those are the two remaining options from last time. The two options that were still left over after you picked Chisaki.
Shigaraki and Dabi.
You try to remember what the selection looked like yesterday. This is, by all accounts, awful, but you still maintain that Shigaraki is the most dangerous of all. Yes, it’s possible for him to make friends—like he canonically does with the League—but he also has the hardest time controlling his temper. Especially since you’re still in the very beginning of the series plot-wise.
From what you remember, Shigaraki was the first option in the advanced quest list, Chisaki was the second, and Dabi was the third. Since you chose Chisaki and removed him from the options, sequentially, Shigaraki must still be the first option, and Dabi must be right below him.
[Time remaining: 15 seconds.]
You don’t have a choice. No matter what, you cannot meet Shigaraki at this point in time. You’re way too weak. He’ll destroy you in the blink of an eye, and just like that, one of your life checkpoints will be gone. You can’t afford to lose any of those fail-safes this early on. You literally haven’t even gotten into U.A yet.
“I guess Dabi it is, then,” you chuckle humorlessly, tapping on Option B.
[Your choice has been registered. LAUNCHING: Secret Quest. Selection made: Option B.]
[Now revealing secret options…]
[Option A: Shinsou Hitoshi.]
Oh?
Wait, nevermind. You got paranoid and assumed that it was going to be the same thing as last time, where you had to choose from a list of villains, but in that case, it would’ve just been called an advanced quest again, right? There wouldn’t have been much of a point in hiding the options from you either, since you already saw them last time.
Phew. Okay, this is fine. You’re just going to meet a new character, but it’s not going to be such a big deal—
[Option B: Shigaraki Tomura.]
…what.
[Target finalized. Teleporting you to: Shigaraki Tomura.]
You don’t even bother to scream. You just stand there with a blank, unamused expression, somehow feeling more irritated than anything else.