"I'VE BEEN ASLEEP FOR THREE WHOLE DAYS? What happened to Yaoyurozu-San and Heatwave-Sensei? Are they safe?" Midoriya asks, rapid-fire.
"They're both safe, but . . . " The official starts, and Midoriya knows something is going to be said that he may not like. "The Inferno Hero: Heatwave lost an arm, so he'll have a lot of difficulty fighting as both a Hero and a Hunter. He might choose to retire. As for miss Momo Yaoyurozu, she seems to have been heavily traumatized, so she is currently receiving therapy. We're not sure if they will continue to work as Hunters. Also, Native and the other Hunters are-" Midoriya cuts him off.
"No . . . It's okay. I've heard enough." He lowers his head, memories flashing through his mind. Native running from the room, Manual being sliced in half, the doors closing as one by one his Party left him.

"Only six people survived the Double Dungeon. Hunters are aware that their job entails danger, but disasters such as this rarely happen. After receiving a report from the survivors, we sent the 'White Tiger' Guild and our Surveillance Agents. But by the time they got there . . . Everyone was already gone. You were the only one we found lying in the Dungeon, and the Statue of God, as well as the other stone statues, were nowhere to be found."
"That's impossible!" Midoriya exclaims, shocked.
"We're in disbelief as well. We would've considered other possibilities if we'd found even the slightest discrepancy in the survivors' accounts . . . or if we hadn't discovered body parts of the deceased Hunters at the scene. This is just a guess, but . . . We think you may have undergone a second Awakening." 'A second Awakening?!'

The capabilities of a Hunter's powers are determined when they first Awaken. However, in rare cases, some Hunters Reawaken. There have also been instances of Hunters surpassing their limits. Some C-Rank Hunters have advanced to A-Rank, and some B-Rank Hunters have advanced to S-Rank.

"This is a Mana meter." The Association Representative says, putting a strange device on the bed. It looked like a seismometer with a large purple crystal embedded in the middle. "All you have to do is place your hand on top of this Essence Stone here." 'If what the survivors said is true, and there were Magic Beasts High-Level enough to instakill, that means they can't be taken down by an average Hunter. We may have to recruit not just A-Rank Hunters, but S-Rank Hunters to take care of them. It's hard to believe that such deadly Magic Beasts disappeared without a trace . . . ' The machine's meter beeps as the numbers spin; Midoriya had placed his hand on the crystal. 'Izuku Midoriya was the last survivor in that Dungeon, so it's only natural that we suspect him of Reawakening. However . . . ' He looks down at the meter.

10

'I suppose Trash will always be Trash. . . . Even the weakest E-Rank Hunters score at least 70 . . . '
"How are the results?" Midoriya asks, curiosity piqued.
"I think we have taken up too much of your time." He says, walking from the room.
'What the . . . I got all excited for nothing. But did this thing not bother those guys?' He glances up at the display before him, hovering in mid-air.

MESSAGE

- You have unread messages.

'Could it be that they can't see this thing?' He wiggles the toes on his right leg. 'My leg was cut off, but it's back to normal now . . . ' He touches his chest again, confused. 'And I got stabbed in the chest right before I died, but there's no wound. Was I dreaming . . . ? How much of it was real . . . ?'
"Maybe I should have told them . . . that I can see this stuff . . . " He stands on the bed and pokes at the display, his finger falling right through. Nothing changes. 'Is this not a touch screen?'
"Izuku, you just woke up. What are you doing?" A tall girl with black hair dyed neon blue at the tips and bright green eyes walks in, a school bag slung over one shoulder. "Don't tell me you hurt your head, too. I told you to be careful!" The girl screams, getting as close as she can. "I was worried sick!"

" . . . Sorry." Midoriya mutters, looking away from the irate teen.
"Why are you the only one getting hurt all the time?! Everyone else seems to be okay!" Midoriya smiles slightly at his sister's antics. 'I can't believe I was going to die and leave my sister behind. I think I'm still partially dreaming, but . . . ' He looks down at his sister, who was standing in front of him with her hands on her hips, completely oblivious of the display mere centimetres from her face. "Got it? If you get hurt one more time, I'm gonna drop out, get a job, and make you quit the Hunter business!"
"Kitoa. Can you see this?" He points at the display still flashing in front of his face.
"See what?" She looks at him like he's lost braincells, and he could practically feel her using her Quirk to check his health.

" . . . Never mind. When you have an unread message in a game . . . What do you have to do to view the message?" She glances across at him, green eyes glowing. Her Quirk allowed her to check the health of others with a glance, and since she'd been Awakened, she'd been dead set on becoming a Healer for Raid Parties.
"I have to open the Message Box?" Midoriya asks, and the display changes.

MESSAGE

[Congratulations! You have now become A PLAYER.] (Unread)

[DAILY QUEST: Preparing to Become Strong.] (Unread)

"Why, what's wrong?" Kitoa asks, still using her Quirk.

"Well, I'm off." Kitoa says, standing in the doorway. She looks to her left, where a girl her age, in the same uniform as her, was leaning against the wall. Her blazer was unbuttoned, and she was wearing a pink hoodie underneath the open jacket. "Let's go."

! NOTICE!

[This System will help the "PLAYER" develop.]

! NOTICE!

[Failing to comply with the System's orders could result in A PENALTY.]

! NOTICE!

[You have received A REWARD.]

"I have no idea what any of this means." Midoriya mutters, reading the three displays. "Come to think of it . . . I remember seeing something similar when I was left alone on the Altar . . . " A memory flashes through his head of a blue, transparent display. ! NOTICE! [You have met all of the requirements to complete the secret Quest: "COURAGE OF THE WEAK."]

MESSAGE

[DAILY QUEST: Preparing to Become Strong.] (Unread)

"Preparing to Become Strong? Open." The display blurs, turning into a Quest Log.

! QUEST INFO!

DAILY QUEST – PREPARING TO BECOME STRONG

GOALS

- PUSH-UPS                                                [0/100]
- SIT-UPS                                                      [0/100]
- SQUATS                                                      [0/100]
- RUN                                                         [0/10 KM]

CAUTION! – If the Daily Quest remains incomplete, penalties will be given accordingly.

Under the notice was a green timer.
"Haha . . . Oh, man. Is this some kind of joke . . . I'm hospitalized. I don't have the strength to do all this stuff." He flops back down on the bed, pulling the sheets over his head. "I'll think about what all this means . . . After I get some sleep . . . " He drifts off, the Daily Quest page still hovering open above him. As the timer winds down, the colour changes from green, to yellow, then to red. A new notice appears, and Midoriya groans, the sudden influx of light waking him up.

! NOTICE!

[You have failed to complete your Daily Quest. You will be transferred to the "PENALTY ZONE" for an allotted amount of time.]

The ground shakes, and Midoriya bolts upright, screaming.
"A- AN EARTHQUAKE?!!" He falls from the bed, landing hard on the floor. His fingers sink into something soft and gritty, and he looks up to see an endless sea of sand dunes stretching in every direction. "I- I'm in . . . THE DESERT?! This makes no sense . . . Was everything really just a dream?" He mutters, completely oblivious to the enormous mound of sand and carapace rising behind him. He turns to look behind him and screams. A dark red name hangs over the creature's head. [Poison Fanged Giant Sand Centipede] The thing was enormous and hideous. Sand poured off of the bug's frame in waves, revealing smooth, shiny black carapace. It opened its mouth and screamed, revealing humanoid teeth with incredibly sharp canines.

Ding!

! QUEST INFO!

[Penalty Quest: SURVIVAL]

GOAL

Survive for the allotted amount of time.

Allotted time: 4 HOURS

Time left: 3 HOURS, 59 MINUTES, 57 SECONDS

"Please tell me this is a joke . . . " Midoriya mutters as the centipede looms over him, salivating. He turned and ran.

He didn't know how long he'd been running for, or how long he had left, but he knew that the centipedes were gaining on him. The noise behind him was deafening. Roars and stomping feet, accompanied by his own terror-filled screaming, made running even more of a priority.

! NOTICE!

[PENALTY QUEST: SURVIVE]

GOAL: Survive for the allotted amount of time.

Allotted time: 4 HOURS

Time left: 0 HOURS, 0MINUTES, 7 SECONDS

He tripped and fell, faceplanting in the soft sand. The lead centipede reared up behind him, and he screamed. Just as the centipede's jaws would have closed around his chest, time froze.

! NOTICE!

["PENALTY QUEST" has been completed.]

He scrambled forward and fell over again, landing on the hospital room floor, sand spilling out around him.
"Penalty Quest . . . ?" Midoriya asks, breathing hard, adrenaline still flooding his system.

MESSAGE

[You have received a reward for completing the Penalty Quest]

[Check your reward?]

Accept                                Decline

Midoriya doesn't have time to finish reading the message before he passes out, completely spent from four straight hours of running. A nurse walks in in time to see him collapsed on the ground.
"Oh, my god! What happened?! I need some help over here!"