Opening my eyes, I blinked as I took in the infinite void around me, "Where am I?"
My voice rang out in the abyss even though there was nothing for the sound to bounce off of. Fortunately, I wasn't left alone in the darkness for too long, as a bright flash of fire nearly blinded me, making me squint my eyes.
"You, my friend, are in the Abyss. The space between reality and nothingness," A suave voice answered me, and I turned around to stare at the man standing in the void like it was solid ground. With his slicked-back hair, chiseled jawline, pitch-black suit, and a pair of dark shades covering his eyes, he exuded arrogance to the point where I wanted to bury my fist in his face.
"W-who a-are you?"
The man grinned as he reached up and took off his shades, revealing two orbs of dark red fire instead of eyes, "You may call me Lucifer, Prince of Hell."
My stomach dropped, "I-I d-died?! Am I going to hell?!"
Lucifer's smile stretched to almost inhuman proportions, "Well, yes, you did die. And yes, normally, you would be going to hell."
I shook my head back and forth, "W-why me, I-I didn't kill anybody?!"
"Maybe not, but you certainly don't deserve to go to heaven, not with your search history," Lucifer responded with a wink, "Luckily for you, I've come to offer an olive branch."
"O-olive branch?" I asked hesitantly, not dumb enough to trust the devil himself, "W-what do you want?"
Lucifer's smile slipped, and for a moment, I worried that I had somehow pissed off the devil before he let out an exhausted sigh, "Do you know how boring running eternal damnation is after a few thousand years. I need some entertainment, which is where you come in."
The devil snapped his fingers, and a long scroll appeared in the air next to him, "Now, since I know every sinful act you've committed, I believe you'll have no problem agreeing to my arrangement."
"I-I don't understand," I stammered out pathetically as my brain struggled to keep up.
"Oh, it's quite simple. I want you to reincarnate in a world of your choice so you can live out your most deranged fantasies." Lucifer said with an impish grin, "I'll also throw in a few changes to make things more interesting, so what do you say?"
For a long moment, I didn't reply as my brain short-circuited from the sheer ridiculousness of my new reality. Frowning at my hesitation, Lucifer snapped his fingers in front of my eyes, "Look, it's either this or you're tortured for all eternity. So just sign the damn paper already."
Lucifer then held out his hand, and a large feather pen appeared. I wordlessly took it as the scroll floated over and unfurled, flipping past thousands of lines of unbroken text before it reached the bottom, asking for my signature.
In a daze, my hand drifted to the page and quickly signed the scroll. I absently watched as bright red ink, the color of blood, oozed from the pen. When I finished writing my signature, the ink glowed with a dark red light as it dried, cementing the agreement.
Lucifer let out a dark chuckle as he snapped his fingers, making the scroll disappear. "Perfect. Now that all the legal stuff is out of the way, it's time for me to work my magic."
Before I could react, Lucifer's hand shot forward, sinking into my chest like a dagger, and I let out a gargled scream of pain as I felt his hands wrap around my heart, "Don't worry, this will only last for a few seconds. Now, just take a deep breath and sleep."
I felt my vision glaze over as my body went limp. The last thing I saw was Lucifer's devilish grin before I passed out, wondering what my fate would be.
But the next thing I knew, I shot upright in bed as my eyes flashed open, grabbing my chest only to feel no pain. Once my heart stopped racing, I let out a sigh of relief as I realized it was just a dream. Eager to forget about the day I threw myself out of bed only for my feet to meet cold wood flooring instead of the customary carpet of wasted energy drinks and take out containers.
Looking around the plain, unadorned room, I started to panic, wondering who had taken all my figurines, posters, and collectibles. That's when I spotted a sealed red envelope resting at the foot of my bed.
A pit opened up in my stomach, and for an entire minute, I stared at the piece of paper, waiting for something to happen. When nothing did I eventually worked up the nerve to walk over and opened the envelope.
'Dear human, who I can't remember the name of. It is your old pal friend, Lucifer; sorry about the whole heart-ripping thing. I've found that it's easier to just rip the bandaid off without telling people first. But before you get too mad, let me tell you about the custom-made scenario I spun up just for you.
So, for the basis of this world, I used My Hero Academia, but where's the fun in watching you relive the entire anime? While there will be a lot of similarities, I took the liberty of implementing a few much-needed changes. And since I don't feel like writing a whole bunch, here are the patch notes.
1. Increased world size by 100%
2. Increased chance of animals awakening quirks by 100%
3. Increased chance of plants awakening quirks by 25%
4. Added Alpha Particle to the realm
5. Increased chance of Alpha Particle Infusion by 10%
6. Added Quirk Evolution System.
As to what all of that means, basically, in addition to villains, heroes now have to deal with hordes of quirk-enhanced animals. This is why if you look out your window, you'll see a massive wall straight out of Attack on Titan. This is because of a newly added mechanic called Alpha Particles, which also ties into the new quirk system.
Alpha particles are responsible for triggering the quirk awakening process in both animals and humans. Over time, more particles accumulate, allowing the quirk to evolve and enhance the user. However, this process can be amplified if the user consumes Alpha-infused items, which come in all shapes and sizes.
If you still don't understand what I'm saying, just picture MHA with elements of a cultivation novel mixed with the Monster Hunter franchise. You'll pick up a lot of the finer details as you progress through the story. Also, don't think you can sit on the sidelines and do nothing. You're going to be front and center one way or another, so I suggest you take this stuff seriously.
Have Fun, Lucifer
PS: Your new name is Kenji Aotoma. You were born an orphan but emancipated yourself at the age of seventeen, and you now live alone. There also a bank account in your name with roughly one hundred thousand dollars in it. So financially, you should be covered for a while. Also, don't worry, I was kind enough to give you a system that should activate when you reach the end of this letter.'
True to his word a holographic window popped up in front of my eyes and I eagerly read over what it had to say.
[Welcome, Host, to the ErosSystem, your personal guide to living out your wildest and most deranged fantasies. However, to achieve such lofty goals, you must work hard to accomplish the task set before you.]
[ErosSystem]
Name: Kenji Aotoma
Race: Human
Quirk: Unawakened
Eros Points: LOCKED
[Stats]
Locked
[Companions]
Locked
[Loot Box]
Locked
[Perks]
Locked
[Quests]
Strength Training
[Quest: Strength Training]
Task(s):
Do 1000 Push up [0/1000]
Do 1000 Sit-ups [0/100]
Do 1000 Pull-ups [0/1000]
Run 100km [0/100]
Reward(s):
Lucifer's Blessing
Quirk Awakening
+1000 Eros Points
Full System Unlock
Failure Condition: Yes
Time Limit: One Months
Staring at the insane training regiment, I almost shed a tear. I had been an overweight shut-in in my previous life, needless to say I didn't relish physical activities.
'But considering the system was created by the devil himself, I bet the failure condition is even worse than the quest.'
Already sweating from the mere thought of exercise, I reluctantly went to check if Lucifer had spawned any gym clothes for me to wear.
'It can't be too bad.'