My head felt groggy, as if I'd just woken from a deep sleep.
The afternoon sun streamed through the classroom windows, spilling across the side of a young man's face, glinting faintly like a mischievous spark.
Outside, birds chirped, and the rhythmic scratching of the teacher's chalk filled the air—soft but persistent, a sound that somehow managed to irritate me.
"Lock, don't sleep. Class is over."
A gentle, delicate voice drifted to my ears—so light it felt like it might vanish with the wind.
I opened my eyes. Beyond the window, a clear blue sky greeted me.
"I dreamed about the time before I reincarnated again. The past really does feel like a dream."
Letting out a quiet sigh, I murmured to myself—words only I could hear—and ignored the person who had woken me.
Until—
"Poke, poke—"
A light, ticklish sensation touched my back.
I turned to glance behind me. At the desk behind mine, a girl sat with slender brows arched in mild concern.
Our eyes met for a brief moment.
She had short, dark purple hair with slightly angled bangs, delicate and composed features, a straight nose, and thin lips.
But what truly stood out were her earlobes—each ending in a cord that looked like a data cable.
Sunlight streamed through the window, catching her profile just so. Tiny dust motes floated in the light, glimmering faintly, as though a soft halo surrounded her.
Jiro Kyoka…
Someone who had once existed only in fiction, now sitting right before my eyes, so vividly real.
Unbelievable.
My name is Lock. I'm a reincarnated soul.
In my previous life, I was an ordinary guy who stayed up all night watching anime—ironically, a show called Fairy Tail. I must have dozed off mid-binge, because when I opened my eyes again, I found myself in an unfamiliar world.
Lesson learned: staying up all night chasing anime and "cultivating immortality" is definitely a bad idea.
Anyway, it's been a full year since I woke up here. After piecing things together, I realized that this world… is the setting of My Hero Academia.
The girl in front of me, Jiro Kyoka, and that "Symbol of Peace" known as All Might—both exist here. Proof enough.
It all started with a baby in Qingqing City—a "luminous infant." After that, reports of people with extraordinary abilities began appearing all over the world. Fire, electricity, gigantification, flight… countless supernatural phenomena emerged.
Soon, these powers came to be known as "Quirks." And over time, even people's appearances began to change, shaped by their unique abilities.
Jiro's own earlobes, those cord-like extensions, are part of her Quirk. They're actually headphone jacks—she can plug them into walls or the ground to transmit and detect sound waves, among other uses.
What once seemed impossible in fiction had become reality.
Now, generations later, nearly 80% of the world's population possesses Quirks.
Of course, that kind of power has its downsides. Some people, driven by greed or malice, began abusing their Quirks before new laws could catch up, plunging society into chaos.
But from that same chaos rose the "Heroes"—the ones who stand against villains and protect the innocent.
It's thrilling, right? The kind of story that stirs any young man's blood.
Except… the body I reincarnated into belongs to the remaining 20%.
A Quirkless.
The original owner of this body suffered an unimaginable blow because of that.
He fell into despair, his life spiraling downward—until, overwhelmed, he chose to end it.
To me, though, it wasn't worth dying over. Hitting rock bottom just means the only way left is up, doesn't it?
After all, in a world full of Quirks… even if you don't have one, that doesn't mean you're powerless.
Because I, Lock, have something else.
A system.
When I reincarnated, something came with me—something called The Strongest Mage System.
It claimed it could extract the magic of every wizard from Fairy Tail.
At first, when it bonded to my soul, it even gave me a method to cultivate magic power. But after that… silence. No response, no guidance.
And so, for the past year, I've followed the cultivation method faithfully. But embarrassingly, I still haven't learned a single spell.
…
"Lock, have you thought about your choice for the volunteer form?" Jiro asked softly, hesitating a little.
It was September—the end of the semester. Both of us were about to enter our third year of junior high.
At this age, we could no longer be carefree kids. For the first time, the future loomed ahead, and we had to choose our paths.
Yesterday, the school handed out the volunteer forms to every student.
After junior high, everyone is required to attend high school. But there are two types of schools: those focused on academics… and those that train future Heroes.
Jiro and I have always been close—closer than just classmates.
We grew up in the same neighborhood, played together as kids, and have been in the same class ever since.
Childhood friends.
Because of that, she knows a lot about me.
My determination.
My lack of a Quirk.
My family's situation.
And the Hero agency my family runs—one that's been closed for some time.
It can only be inherited by a Pro Hero.
That's why I have a reason to become a Hero… but not the ability.
Maybe that feeling of helplessness was what pushed the original owner to despair.
Before I could answer Jiro's question, the bell rang, signaling the end of class.
Four o'clock in the afternoon.
Not just the end of class—
After school.