"So, kid, do you know what happened here?"
A reporter asked, stretching his microphone toward Midoriya's face. His arm was slightly bruised with some cuts around his forearm—using his power so irresponsibly had caused injuries. Something Izuku had already expected.
Izuku's expression showed clear signs of nervousness. Even after ten months of training, he still wasn't used to the spotlight. Speaking in public was a huge problem for the boy.
And the crowd surrounding him didn't help either. His attack had drawn the attention of dozens of people walking near the alley.
Izuku had completed half of his mission. The only thing left was to show the video he had recorded to the authorities. The most logical thing to do now was to run in search of a police station.
He turned quickly toward the exit of the alley—it was his chance to escape an awkward moment—and prepared to run...
But before he could move his leg forward, a soft hand touched his arm. Curious, Izuku slowly turned his head to the side and came face-to-face with a beautiful girl—the same one he had saved moments earlier.
"U-um… Sorry. I just wanted to thank you for saving me earlier," she said shyly, looking away so she wouldn't have to look directly at her hero's face.
"No problem," Izuku replied with a smile. "That's what a hero does!"
"Are you a new hero by any chance?" she asked curiously. She had never heard of a hero with freckles and green hair—traits that were quite specific, to be honest.
"Not yet... But I plan to become one someday."
Taking advantage of the distraction the conversation had brought, Izuku took off running toward the alley's exit—before either the reporter or the girl could ask any more questions.
---
"I think this will be enough proof."
Said the officer, nodding to the other policemen who were holding the homeless man by the arms. Both officers led the man to the patrol car, where they transported him to a prison made for that type of criminal.
A few minutes earlier, Izuku had arrived at a nearby police station. When he entered, he waited patiently until one of the officers could see him.
He showed the video to the officer and explained the full context behind it.
[Ding! Defeat this abuser and show the video to the authorities. Reward: (Skill) Silent Steps]
---
"How do I activate this skill?"
This question stuck in the boy's mind.
It was a situation he hadn't even imagined.
Even though he had completed the mission, he had no information on how to activate a skill.
When he got back home, he didn't notice any changes—not even small ones—in his footsteps. He started to think that maybe this generous-looking system was actually a scam...
That's when a new notification sounded in his mind, interrupting those thoughts. He paid attention to the text on the floating blue screen.
[Ding! A skill has been acquired! Silent Steps. To equip it, you must go to the "Skills" menu.]
Was the solution to his problem really that simple? He had almost misjudged the system.
"Skills," Izuku thought. Instantly, a new menu opened, creating a floating screen that replaced the previous one.
---
[Skills]
Lv. 1 Silent Steps.
He clicked on the skill icon, and a soft "click" sound confirmed his action. Now he was sure the skill was working.
He got out of bed and started walking to the kitchen, hoping to notice some kind of change. And to his luck, he did. His footsteps were much quieter than usual—it felt like he was walking barefoot, even though he was wearing his classic pair of red sneakers.
Obviously, his footsteps could still be heard by others—this was just a level one skill and would probably take time to master.
Since he was already in the kitchen, he grabbed a quick midnight snack. After finishing his meal, he went back to his room to finally get some rest after such a productive day.
He was satisfied with the system's reward—it would be very useful in the future and also proved that the system was not a scam.
---
Day 2.
Izuku was walking alone through the city streets, using his newly acquired skill.
Since leaving his house, he had kept it activated and noticed that it used up a little more energy than usual. But he also noticed a small floating message every time he took 10 steps.
[Lv. 1 Silent Steps: +1 Exp]
[27/100]
Since he earned one unit of experience every ten steps, he calculated that he would need to walk 1,000 steps to level up the skill. It didn't seem like much—but it was roughly equal to one kilometer of walking.
Enjoying his stroll through the city, he decided to walk to the park and take in the natural scenery.
When he arrived, a wave of nostalgia hit him, reminding him of many good memories from his childhood...
But soon, a feeling of pain came over him. The same place that gave him peace was also the one that caused him the most hurt.
Shaking off the sad thoughts, Izuku heard a child crying nearby.
He decided to check what was happening and followed the sound of the crying. He approached calmly and peacefully so as not to scare the child.
When the child saw Izuku, he immediately pointed his finger toward the top of a tree.
Izuku followed the direction the finger was pointing and was surprised by what he saw—it was a puppy. That didn't make any sense—how could a puppy climb a tree that tall?
"How did he get up there?"
Breaking the silence, Izuku asked the child, who was still wiping away a few tears.
"I-it was a tall man who passed by... He saw me playing with my puppy and for some reason got really mad. He grabbed Pluto and threw him on top of the tree!" the child explained.
Izuku was shocked to hear what had happened. He was relieved that the puppy had managed to stay on the tree branch for so long.
[Ding! Please choose one of the options!]
[Cliché Hero: Save the puppy by climbing the tree normally, nothing flashy. Reward: (Skill) Climbing]
[Hidden Villain: Ignore the child and keep walking. Reward: (Skill) Analytical Gaze]
[Bully or Hero?: Find the person who caused this and hang him from the tree by his underwear, Ben 10-style! But don't forget to save the dog first. Reward: Intimidating Presence]
Izuku: ...