Shadow Monarch Hero: Viridian (SMH: Deku rewrite)

Chance Encounter

"Is this... real?" Yaoyorozu asked, her eyes still puffy as she waved her hands through the holographic boxes. It made Izuku laugh, remembering how he'd done the same when he first saw it.

"I guess it depends on how you define 'real,' but if it's any indication, I took on an entire E-Rank Dungeon by myself. I'm way stronger," he responded.

"Then what is it?" Yaoyorozu's cares began to fade as her curiosity took over. "Is it a late Quirk Manifestation?"

Izuku immediately went to respond with "no," but stopped himself short. Quirks only ever manifested in Awakened Humans, but very few ever got them. There was no limit to when they could appear. Some got Quirks immediately upon Awakening, others had to wait years or even decades. One of the oldest Heroes didn't even get their Quirk until they were around 80 or so and was already retired.

Quirks defied all logic, even logic relating to Awakenings, which pushed humans past what physics considered possible. Quirks, like Endeavor's, made his flames have virtually limitless heat as long as he could supply Mana. Whereas other Heroes with flame magic had a very stanch limit on what they could output.

By that logic, there was no reason that this System couldn't have been a Quirk. With the way it broke all rules of Awakening, it wasn't out of the question.

"But it's too complicated for a Quirk..." Both Izuku and Yaoyorozu muttered to themselves at the same time. Looking up, they held a tense staredown for just a moment, before snorting in laughter.

"I feel like I'm losing my mind," Yaoyorozu said, an enormous grin stretching across her face. "These past few days have been so insane that I just..." She trailed off, the face of the giant creature momentarily reappearing in her mind. So she got back on track and asked. "Does it have any sort of intelligence?"

"Well it doesn't respond to questions, but it acknowledges verbal commands and comes up with these abilities I'd never even thought of before, which means it's not basing its behavior or powers off my own memories or creativity. It's coming up with this stuff on its own."

"So like it's... preprogrammed?" The two glanced over to the green boxes, a shudder running through their body.

"By whom?" Izuku lowered his chin, muttering to himself. "That giant thing was trying to kill us. Then again, the System was tied to that Gate. Maybe it wasn't trying to kill us... but just toying with us, making a big show of things. Perhaps it was just a puppet."

Yaoyorozu ignored him. She wasn't being rude, or even trying to avoid the memories of the Gate, it was just that her focus was now directed at a new box. "What's that?"

[Secret Questline Initiated: Inner Circle]

[Inner Circle Part 1: A Trusted Partner has been completed!]

[Rewards:]

1. Quest: Inner Circle Part 2

2. E-Rank Elemental Gem of Player's choosing.

3. B-Rank Instance Dungeon Key

[Secret Quest: Inner Circle Part 2: A Fellow Warrior]

[Requirements:]

1. Complete the B-Rank Instance Raid key given to the Player with the Player's trusted confidant.

Awkwardness shot through the pair as they read the word "partner," but it passed as Yaoyorozu was more focused on the second part. "I- No..."

Izuku didn't have to ask what she meant. "I understand. There's no way I could drag you back into a Dungeon after all this." He was disappointed, but hid it well. The two had obviously grown closer and Izuku would've loved to have an A-Rank like her as company, especially with her newfound knowledge of the System. "I..." He gathered his words carefully before speaking, not wanting to upset the girl. "You don't have to answer this, but... why did you take on Hero Work?"