ROLL CALL!!!
YOU KNOW THE DRILL, EVERY 250 PS = 1 EXTRA CHAPTER!
I DONT HAVE A PATREON SO IF YOU WANT TO SUPPORT READ MY OTHER STORY: MY SCUMBAG SYSTEM
***
Izuku trudged away from Aldera High, waiting until he rounded the corner and disappeared from sight before letting his shoulders drop.
"Sweet freedom," he muttered, rolling his neck until it cracked. "Eight hours of playing the intense, brooding badass. My face actually hurts from all that glaring."
He stretched his arms overhead, feeling the satisfying pull of muscles that were stronger than they had been just days ago. The cool afternoon air felt amazing after being trapped in that stuffy classroom, maintaining his facade while Bakugo simmered behind him like a pressure cooker about to blow.
A few passersby gave him curious glances. He probably looked strange—a high school kid in uniform suddenly behaving like he'd just been released from prison. He couldn't bring himself to care.
『Pretty impressive performance back there,』 Arcan's voice echoed in his mind. 『I especially liked the psychological warfare. 'Without your Quirk, you're nothing special.' Brutal.』
"Thanks. I workshopped that line while he was kicking my chair during math class." Izuku ran a hand through his green hair and frowned. "I still can't believe all those years of bullying, and the teachers just sat there pretending not to notice. What kind of school lets that happen?"
『The kind that values Quirks over character, obviously. Why else would they keep a ticking time bomb like Bakugo enrolled?』
"Fair point." Izuku glanced at his reflection in a store window as he passed. The face looking back at him was still jarring, round, freckled, with those enormous green eyes that seemed designed for maximum innocence. "All in all, a great day for one new and improved Izuku Midoriya."
He stopped dead in his tracks.
"Wait. Why the hell did I just think of myself as Izuku?"
He rubbed the bridge of his nose, a chill crawling up his spine that had nothing to do with the afternoon breeze. The memory package Arcan had forced into his brain wasn't just data. It was something deeper, more insidious—an echo of the boy whose body he now inhabited.
『The integration is working as intended,』 Arcan said, sounding supremely unconcerned. 『You needed to be able to respond naturally when someone calls you Izuku or Deku. Think of it like muscle memory, but for your brain.』
"It's weird as hell is what it is." Isaiah resumed walking, more slowly now. "It feels like there's a ghost in here with me."
『There's not. Trust me, I'd know. This vessel was emptied out completely before you moved in. What you're feeling is just data finding its proper neural pathways. It'll stabilize soon enough.』
"If you say so." Isaiah wasn't entirely convinced, but he had more pressing matters. He checked his status screen:
Name: Izuku Midoriya
Level: 1 | Title: Quirkless Loser | Class: None | Attribute Points: 470
ATTRIBUTES:
Strength: F(25/25) | Agility: F(25/25) | Vitality: F(25/25)| Intelligence: F(25/25) | Sense: F(25/25) | Aura: E(7/25) |
Twenty minutes later, Isaiah pushed open the door to the Midoriya apartment, greeted by the smell of something delicious simmering on the stove. Inko looked up from her cooking, her face brightening.
"Welcome home! How was school?"
"Productive," Isaiah answered, giving her a polite nod.
"That's wonderful! I'm making hayashi rice for dinner. It should be ready in about an hour."
"Thanks. I'm going to change and do some exercise first."
Her smile faltered slightly. "More exercise? You just got back from school..."
"The routine helps," he said, tapping his temple meaningfully. "Keeps my mind off things."
Understanding dawned in her eyes, followed immediately by that mixture of worry and pride he was learning to cultivate. "Of course. Don't push yourself too hard, though."
"I won't."
In his bedroom, Isaiah stripped off the school uniform and opened the dresser drawer. Izuku's wardrobe was limited and uninspired—mostly plain t-shirts, simple shorts, and a disturbing number of All Might-themed items they hadn't gotten around to selling yet.
He pulled out a pair of black basketball shorts and a white t-shirt. The shirt had exactly one word printed on the front in stark black letters: "SHIRT."
Isaiah stared at it for a moment. "This kid had the weirdest sense of humor."
『Or none at all,』 Arcan suggested. 『Maybe he just wanted people to know what he was wearing in case they got confused.』
"Either way, it works for me."
He sat on the edge of his bed, contemplating his next move. The daily quest was still active, and completing it would give him 50 more AP, putting him over the threshold for rank-up.
"Should I just do the rank-up now? I've got 470 AP, and the quest reward would put me at 520. That's more than enough."
『Hold your horses, genius,』 Arcan cut in, her voice dripping with condescension. 『You rank up now, and the Daily Quest difficulty and rewards might scale up with you. Squeeze every last drop of AP out of this F-Rank lemon before you move on.』
Isaiah grimaced. "Fine. The grind continues."
He dropped to the floor and began his push-ups. With his maxed-out F-Rank stats, the exercise was no longer the struggle it would have been for the original Izuku. His movements were smooth and powerful, each push-up a controlled demonstration of his new strength.
"One, two, three..."
By fifty, he wasn't even breathing hard. By seventy-five, he felt a light sheen of sweat, but nothing close to fatigue. At one hundred, he rolled over seamlessly into sit-ups, his core muscles responding with unexpected power.
The sit-ups went even more easily than the push-ups. When he finished, he checked his quest log:
► Daily Quest Progress! 「Stop Being So Pathetic」
- Complete a 10km Run (Pacing must not drop below 15 km/h) [INCOMPLETE]
- Perform 100 Push-ups (Perfect form only. I'm watching.) [COMPLETE]
- Perform 100 Sit-ups (No cheating.) [COMPLETE]
『Just the run left,』 Arcan noted. 『Try not to get distracted by any muggers this time.』
Isaiah grabbed a water bottle from the kitchen, told Inko he was going for a run, and headed out. The late afternoon sun cast long shadows across Musutafu, painting the city in shades of amber and gold.
Instead of heading right toward downtown where he'd hunted criminals before, Isaiah turned left.
『Where are you going? The quickest 10K route is toward the city center.』
"I want to see the ocean," Isaiah replied simply.
『That's... unusually sentimental of you. Why?』
Isaiah shrugged as he picked up his pace. "I haven't seen a real beach in years. Not since I was a kid in my first life."
『Weird flex, but okay. Just make sure you maintain your pace.』