Join the patreon for advanced chapters.
Here's the link: patreon.com/MrFlashXO
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Also I have started with another fanfic- Reincarnated in final destination check it out too.
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Hey, I have thought of something. How would it be if I started a website, where u could read all the chapters. At the same rate I release on my patreon?
Would U guys check it out, if I do so?
Yes
No
And is there anyone who knows how to make q website. I have 0 money as of now, so if possible someone who can wait for a while before I pay u.
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It's easy to pretend you're fine when the blueprints are flowing.
When your mind is alive with calculations and possibilities, when your hands are busy soldering copper or configuring servos—yeah, it's easy to forget the loneliness creeping behind you.
But once the tools are down and the system goes quiet?
That's when it gets harder.
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Evening – My Workshop
The Arc Core prototype sat in front of me, humming with soft, blue light. A makeshift casing of reinforced resin and alloy plating cradled the miniature generator I'd cobbled together from scrap batteries, rewound capacitors, and a lot of near-electrocutions.
It wasn't perfect, but it worked. For sixty seconds, I could run a basic field module on it.
That meant one thing.
> [Task Complete: Chest Module – Operational]
Reward Acquired: Combat Overlay Interface v1
System Upgrade: UI Enhancement – Threat Tagging Enabled
+1 Intelligence (Current Sync: 16.4%)
I leaned back in my creaking chair and exhaled slowly.
The interface flickered slightly in my vision. My system was evolving. Each completed task brought sharper processing, deeper blueprint complexity, and new modules I hadn't even touched yet—like urban scouting drones and energy blade concepts.
I should've been ecstatic.
Instead, I just felt tired.
Not the physical kind. That was easy to deal with—my body had been getting stronger every day from all the fieldwork, tinkering, and occasional chase scenes with security drones.
No, this was the kind of tired that came from hiding who you are, day after day.
From pretending you're just a smart, Quirkless kid trying to survive school… when you're quietly building tech that could rival some Pro Heroes.
Even Izuku didn't know how deep the rabbit hole went. He knew I was smart. He even knew I was building gadgets. But I never told him about the system. About the AI assistant that pinged objectives into my mind. About the blueprints I could recall like childhood memories I never had.
I couldn't.
Not yet.
Would he think I was cheating? Would he feel betrayed?
Or worse… would he treat me differently?
---
Home – Nighttime
My apartment was quiet, as usual. Mom and Dad worked overtime again. They always meant well—bought me tools when they could, even offered to help with "robot club stuff" when I lied about what I was doing. But they weren't really here.
Just voices on the phone. Money in the bank. Smiles when I needed them most.
I loved them. I really did.
But they weren't part of this journey.
No one really was.
Sometimes I wondered what it would be like to have a partner—someone who could challenge my designs, keep up with my thought speed, or even just share the load.
Then I shook my head.
"Focus, Yuuji," I muttered, staring at the glowing Arc Core. "No time for wishful thinking."
The system pinged softly.
> [Optional Task Unlocked]
TASK: Field-test the Combat Overlay Interface in a high-stakes scenario
REWARD: Reflex Booster Circuit v1
Difficulty Rating: Moderate
Risk Level: Unscanned
"Great," I muttered. "Subtle."
Still, the reward was worth it. A reflex booster would shave milliseconds off my movements—milliseconds that could mean the difference between blocking an attack and eating concrete.
But a high-stakes scenario?
What exactly qualified as high-stakes for someone who technically wasn't supposed to be out in the field?
---
Midoriya's Apartment – The Next Day
"Yuuji!" Izuku beamed as he opened the door. "You're early!"
"Couldn't sleep," I said. "Figured we could run some U.A. entrance drills."
He ushered me in excitedly, and I took my usual seat beside his stacked mountain of hero notebooks. He was already mid-rant about how Thirteen's quirk could theoretically collapse entire buildings if not regulated.
I listened, nodded, added points now and then. But my mind was elsewhere.
I kept glancing at the cracked wall behind his couch.
I remembered how small he used to look, crying quietly while watching All Might clips.
Now he was stronger. More confident. Still a mess of anxiety, sure—but he was evolving.
And soon, he'd have One for All.
He didn't know it yet, but I did. I remembered canon. I remembered how All Might would test him, how he'd pass on the power, how Izuku would struggle, break bones, and rise stronger.
Part of me was proud of him already.
Another part… felt the pressure.
I wasn't the main character.
I was the support. The side genius. The brain in the chair.
And I was okay with that.
Mostly.
---
Late Evening – Back Alley Test Site
The system guided me toward the test site—a narrow alleyway behind a shipping warehouse downtown. It had just enough abandoned equipment and blind spots to be perfect for a stealth test run.
I activated the Combat Overlay for the first time.
> [Combat Overlay Activated]
Threat Marking – ONLINE
Heat Signatures – DETECTED
Obstruction Mapping – ENABLED
The world shifted subtly.
Lines traced the environment. Walls displayed potential breach points. Two nearby heat signatures pulsed yellow—rats or cats, most likely. I crouched low and tested my movement sync with the overlay.
Smooth.
Silent.
And most importantly—fast.
I had set up a moving obstacle course earlier, using wheeled carts and dummy targets. Now, the challenge was to clear it using only tech, speed, and the overlay interface.
I activated my suit's micro-hydraulics.
My boots hissed softly.
Three.
Two.
One.
I moved.
Dash. Vault. Stun.
Duck. Aim. Fire net.
Sweep left. EMP burst. Overdrive to core.
The overlay calculated everything in real time—like playing a strategy game inside my own mind.
I cleared the entire alley in 27.4 seconds.
New record.
> [Task Complete – Reflex Booster Circuit v1 Acquired]
Sync Boost: 0.8%
New Task Unlocked
I dropped to one knee, breathing hard but smiling wide.
I wasn't falling behind.
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Later – On the Rooftop
I lay on my back, arms folded beneath my head, staring up at the stars. The city skyline glowed faintly around the edges, quiet and full of stories I hadn't touched yet.
I let myself breathe. Really breathe.
I didn't do that enough.
All day I kept myself busy—tasks, gadgets, upgrades, school. But in the silence, the thoughts crept back.
I was different.
No Quirk. No powers. Just me and the ghost of a life that didn't exist anymore.
Would I ever be enough? Not just to fight villains, but to stand beside real heroes?
Midoriya would grow stronger.
Bakugo would explode his way to recognition.
Shoto Todoroki would walk in with fire and ice in perfect balance.
And me?
I'd walk in with wires, schematics, and hope duct-taped to my chest.
I chuckled softly.
It didn't sound so bad.
But it did sound… lonely.
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The Next Morning – School
Hatsume Mei showed up today.
Transferred into our grade early from another class. Pink hair. Wild goggles. Grease-stained sleeves and a manic grin that practically screamed, "I blew something up and loved it."
She caught me sketching a redesign for my flight stabilizers during lunch.
"Oooh! That's genius!" she said, suddenly hovering over me. "Gyroscopic ring flow with inverted rotation? You have to show me the torq
ue calibration!"
I blinked.
"Hi…?"
"Hatsume Mei! Support engineer in training. You build?"
I hesitated. Then smiled. "Takashi Yuuji. Yeah. I build."
Her eyes sparkled.
"We're gonna get along great."
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End of Chapter
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