The world spun in a kaleidoscope of colors, a dizzying whirl that made my stomach lurch. One moment, I was sitting at my desk, scrolling through my phone, and the next, I was tumbling through a void of light and sound. My name—my old name—didn't matter anymore. It was gone, erased like a half-remembered dream. When the spinning stopped, I found myself lying on a bed in a room that felt both familiar and alien. Posters of a muscular, grinning hero with blond hair and a star-spangled costume plastered the walls. All Might. My heart skipped a beat. I knew this place. I was in the world of My Hero Academia. And I was Izuku Midoriya.
I sat up, my head pounding as memories flooded in—not mine, but his. Izuku's life, his dreams, his pain. The quirkless kid who idolized heroes, who scribbled in notebooks about their powers, who endured years of bullying for being "useless." I felt his emotions like they were my own: the sting of Bakugo's taunts, the quiet hope of one day becoming a hero, the weight of a world that told him he'd never be enough. But I wasn't just Izuku. I was someone else, too—someone from another world, reborn into this one at fifteen years old, with all my knowledge of My Hero Academia intact.
As I tried to process this, a sharp ding echoed in my mind, like a notification from a video game. A translucent screen materialized in front of me, glowing with neon blue text that hovered in the air like a hologram.
Welcome to the Gacha System!
I blinked, my jaw dropping. A gacha system? Like those mobile games where you roll for characters or items? The screen flickered, and more text appeared.
User: Izuku Midoriya
Age: 15
Quirk: None (Pending Activation)
System Objective: Assist the user in becoming the greatest hero by unlocking abilities, skills, and items through the Gacha System.
Starting Bonus: 1 Free Gacha Pull (Legendary Tier Guaranteed)
Would you like to initiate your first pull? [Y/N]
My hands trembled. This was insane. A gacha system in My Hero Academia? I knew the dangers of this world—villains like All For One, the League of Villains, the looming threat of Shigaraki. If I was going to survive as Izuku Midoriya, let alone become a hero, I needed every advantage I could get. I reached out, my finger hovering over the glowing "Y" button. My heart raced. What would I get? A quirk? A weapon? Something game-breaking like All Might's One For All? I pressed the button.
The screen erupted into a burst of golden light, spinning like a slot machine. Images flashed—fire, lightning, a sword, a shadowy figure—before slowing to a stop. The text glowed brighter.
Congratulations! You have unlocked: Quirk – Dimensional Pocket (S-Tier)
Description: The user can create a personal pocket dimension to store and retrieve objects instantly. Storage capacity grows with system level. Additional abilities may unlock with upgrades.
Bonus Reward: 100 Gacha Points
I stared, my mind racing. Dimensional Pocket? It wasn't One For All or some flashy combat quirk like Explosion, but it was versatile. I could store weapons, supplies, maybe even trap enemies if I got creative. The 100 Gacha Points were a nice touch, too—currency for more pulls, I assumed. The screen updated again.
Current Gacha Points: 100
Available Pulls: Common (10 points), Rare (50 points), Legendary (100 points)
System Level: 1 (0/1000 XP)
Next Objective: Enroll in U.A. High School and pass the Entrance Exam.
I leaned back on the bed, my mind buzzing. U.A. High. The entrance exam was months away, and I knew what it entailed: a written test and a practical exam where candidates fought giant robots for points. As a quirkless kid—or rather, a kid with a newly acquired quirk—I'd need to train hard to compete with people like Bakugo, who'd been honing his Explosion quirk for years. But with the Gacha System, I had an edge. I just needed to figure out how to use it.
____________
The next morning, I woke up in Izuku's small apartment, the smell of rice and miso soup drifting from the kitchen. Inko Midoriya, Izuku's mom, was bustling around, her green hair tied back as she prepared breakfast. My heart clenched at the sight of her. She was just as I remembered from the anime—kind, worried, endlessly supportive. I wasn't her son, not really, but her warmth felt real.
"Izuku, honey, are you okay?" she asked, noticing my dazed expression. "You look pale."
"I'm fine, Mom," I said, the word slipping out naturally. "Just… thinking about school."
She smiled, but her eyes were tinged with concern. "You've been working so hard on your hero notebooks. I know it's tough, but I believe in you."
I nodded, forcing a smile. Izuku's dream of becoming a hero was now mine, and I wasn't going to let it slip away. After breakfast, I grabbed one of Izuku's notebooks—Number 13, filled with detailed analyses of heroes' quirks—and headed to a nearby park to test my new quirk.
The park was quiet, just a few kids playing on swings and an old man feeding pigeons. I found a secluded spot behind some trees and focused. The system had said Dimensional Pocket let me store and retrieve objects. But how did it work? I held out my hand, picturing a pocket dimension like a video game inventory. A faint shimmer appeared in the air, a small, glowing rift about the size of a basketball. I grabbed a nearby stick and tossed it into the rift. It vanished without a sound.
"Okay," I muttered, "let's try getting it back."
I focused again, willing the stick to return. The rift reappeared, and the stick shot out, landing in my hand. I grinned. This was cool. I tested it with other objects—a rock, my phone, even a water bottle from my backpack. Each time, the rift swallowed the item and spat it back out when I called for it. The system chimed in my head.
Dimensional Pocket Capacity: 10 cubic meters (Level 1)
Stored Items: Stick, Rock, Phone, Water Bottle
Ten cubic meters was a decent amount of space—enough to carry weapons, supplies, or even emergency gear. But I needed to test its limits. Could I store living things? Energy? I tried tossing a leaf with a caterpillar on it into the rift, but the system buzzed with an error.
Error: Living organisms cannot be stored at current level.
Fair enough. I'd need to level up the system to unlock more features. The question was how. The system mentioned XP, but it didn't specify how to earn it. Completing objectives like the U.A. entrance exam was probably a big source, but there had to be smaller ways—training, helping people, maybe even fighting villains.
____________
Over the next few weeks, I threw myself into training. Izuku's body was scrawny, but I had his determination and my own knowledge of the My Hero Academia world. I started with basic fitness—running, push-ups, sit-ups—in the park every morning. I used Dimensional Pocket to store weights, making it easier to carry heavy equipment without drawing attention. The system rewarded my efforts with small bursts of XP.
+10 XP for completing daily workout
Current System Level: 1 (50/1000 XP)
It wasn't much, but it was progress. I also practiced with Dimensional Pocket, experimenting with how quickly I could summon items. By the end of the first week, I could retrieve my phone from the pocket dimension in under a second. I imagined using it in combat—pulling out a shield to block an attack or tossing out a smoke bomb for a quick escape.
School was tougher. Aldera Junior High was a minefield of bullies, led by Katsuki Bakugo. I'd known he was intense from the anime, but facing him in person was something else. His crimson eyes burned with contempt as he cornered me in the hallway one afternoon.
"Still dreaming of being a hero, Deku?" he sneered, sparks popping from his palms. "You're quirkless. Give it up already."
I clenched my fists, Izuku's memories of years of torment bubbling up. But I wasn't the same Deku. I had a quirk now, and a system. "I'm not giving up, Kacchan," I said, meeting his gaze. "I'll prove I can be a hero."
He laughed, a harsh, mocking sound. "You? Prove something? You're nothing." He shoved past me, his shoulder knocking me into the wall. I gritted my teeth but didn't retaliate. Not yet. Fighting Bakugo now would be suicide—he'd been training his Explosion quirk since he was a kid. I needed to get stronger, smarter.
That night, I sat at my desk, staring at the Gacha System interface. I had 100 Gacha Points, enough for a Legendary pull or two Rare pulls. The entrance exam was still months away, and I needed something to boost my combat ability. Dimensional Pocket was great for utility, but it wouldn't help me take down robots. I decided to risk a Rare pull, hoping for a combat skill or weapon.
The screen spun again, this time glowing silver. When it stopped, new text appeared.
Congratulations! You have unlocked: Skill – Enhanced Reflexes (A-Tier)
Description: Increases reaction speed and agility by 50%. Effect scales with system level.
Remaining Gacha Points: 50
I pumped my fist. Enhanced Reflexes was exactly what I needed. The next day, I tested it at the park, dodging imaginary attacks and sprinting through an obstacle course of trees and benches. My movements felt sharper, faster, like I was moving in sync with the world around me. The system chimed again.
+20 XP for training with Enhanced Reflexes
Current System Level: 1 (70/1000 XP)
____________
As the weeks passed, I settled into a routine. Mornings were for physical training, afternoons for school and avoiding Bakugo, and evenings for studying quirks and planning for the entrance exam.
I poured over Izuku's notebooks, adding my own notes based on my knowledge of the anime. I knew the exam would involve fighting robots for points, but I also knew about the hidden "rescue points" that rewarded heroic actions. With Dimensional Pocket and Enhanced Reflexes, I could focus on mobility and strategy—saving others while taking out robots.
One evening, as I walked home from the library, I heard a scream. My heart raced. This was Musutafu, a city crawling with heroes and villains. I sprinted toward the sound, my Enhanced Reflexes kicking in as I dodged pedestrians and leapt over a fallen bike. In an alley, I found a girl cornered by a thug with a knife, his quirk making his hands glow with a sickly green light.
"Stay back, kid!" the thug snarled, noticing me.
I didn't have a hero license, and using my quirk in public was illegal, but I couldn't just stand there. I activated Dimensional Pocket, summoning a metal pole I'd stored earlier. The thug lunged, but my Enhanced Reflexes let me sidestep easily. I swung the pole, catching him in the knee. He yelped, dropping the knife, and I tackled him to the ground, pinning him until a nearby hero—Kamui Woods—arrived to take over.
The girl thanked me, tears in her eyes, and the system chimed.
+50 XP for heroic action
Current System Level: 1 (120/1000 XP)
I grinned, adrenaline still pumping. I was starting to feel like a hero. But the entrance exam loomed closer, and I knew I'd need more than a pole and quick reflexes to pass. I needed another pull, something to give me an edge. With 50 Gacha Points left, I could afford one more Rare pull. But should I save for a Legendary? Or risk it now?
As I stood in the alley, catching my breath, I opened the Gacha System interface. The neon text glowed, waiting for my decision.