A violent tremor rippled through Arata's body.
It began in his chest—a deep, bone-deep pressure like something inside him was clawing its way out. Then it exploded outward, sending waves of pain down his spine, into his arms, his legs, the tips of his fingers. His vision pulsed, and for a moment, he couldn't breathe.
He grit his teeth, his hand still resting on the unconscious girl's chest, fingers trembling. He could feel it. The Quirk. It was fusing. Integrating.
So this… is what it feels like to awaken.
Every nerve screamed. It wasn't just pain—it was transformation. His cells were being rewritten from the inside out, rebuilt to accommodate something foreign… and yet entirely his.
"Nggh…"
The girl stirred.
Her brow twitched, and a soft breath escaped her lips. She was waking up.
Arata's hand twitched instinctively, ready to react—but he hesitated.
Something inside him, something deeper than logic or training, told him not to. A strange pull—warm, magnetic—tied him to the girl. She was the source of this Quirk. The analysis, the data, the spark—it all came from her. And now, with the Quirk nearly complete, it was like they were linked.
A faint pulse of light glowed from the red ring on his finger. The connection wasn't just biological. It was encoded.
"Quirks are attracted to their origin…" Arata muttered under his breath. "Of course."
He took a breath and made his choice.
No more running from uncertainty. No more hiding behind fear.
In a swift, clean motion, he brought his hand up, fingers aligned like a blade, and cut through the ropes binding the girl's wrists and ankles. She slumped forward into his arms. Her body was soft, feather-light. Her skin was still warm from the Quirk that healed her, still glowing faintly under the cellar light.
Arata's heart pounded harder.
The heat inside him reached its peak—and then, in a flash of clarity, it vanished.
A pulse. A click. A shift.
[Quirk Integration Complete: Super Healing Acquired.]
Arata exhaled sharply, falling to one knee. The burning sensation faded, replaced by a tingling warmth—something alive surging through his bloodstream. It wasn't just energy. It was structure. Stability. His breathing grew smoother. His aching limbs no longer screamed. His fragile body—weak and worn from years of quiet illness—was starting to mend itself in real time.
Then came the second wave.
[Secondary Core Activation Detected.]
His vision swam again—but differently this time.
He wasn't falling into darkness.
He was falling into code.
Symbols. Strings. Commands. A flood of information that had no language, yet made perfect sense. His mind expanded, digitized, processed everything—his surroundings, his body, the girl, even the dust in the air. His world fractured into glowing lines—and then stitched itself back together.
And then…
[S-Rank Quirk Unlocked: Smart Chip]
"You were never meant to be ordinary. Decades of silent accumulation now awaken. Welcome to the world behind the world."
A translucent screen flickered to life in his mind.
Name: Yaoyorozu Arata
Age: 14
Primary Quirk:
• S-Rank: Smart Chip
A data-based Quirk allowing the user to digitize the world around them. Through cognition and analysis, the user can deconstruct, simulate, and interface with reality like a system. Thought becomes code—code becomes power.
Secondary Quirk:
• A-Rank: Super Healing
Acquired via adaptive Quirk synthesis. Rapid regenerative capability. Physical injuries, fatigue, and cellular damage are restored at remarkable speed. Pain is temporary. Falling is permitted. Rising is mandatory.
Attributes
Strength: E
Your body has suffered from chronic weakness for years. Though regeneration has begun, rebuilding takes time.
Speed: D
Reflexes honed from sword training give you a slight edge, but your physical body remains average.
Skill: S
You are a sword prodigy. Even pro Heroes hesitate before your blade. Instinct, precision, and beauty—all in one stroke.
Intelligence: A
You analyze before others act. You see patterns others ignore. Your mind is a battlefield, and you never step in unprepared.
Coordination: A
Your control over movement borders on artistic. A sword in your hand feels more natural than breathing.
Arata stared into the void of data before him, breathless.
He wasn't hallucinating. He wasn't imagining it. He had a Quirk.
No. He had two.
Not just any Quirks, either. An S-Rank and an A-Rank—a combination even Pro Heroes would envy.
He chuckled, low and sharp, wiping sweat from his brow as he leaned back against the wall. The laughter grew, chest shaking, quiet at first, then louder.
"I knew it…" he whispered. "I knew I wasn't meant to stay powerless forever."
He looked at the girl lying beside him—still unconscious, her breathing steady—and exhaled.
This world worshipped power. Strength defined survival. And now, at last, Arata had stepped beyond the threshold.
No longer a Quirkless orphan.
No longer just a swordsman.
Now, he was something else entirely.
A system-born genius. A walking weapon.
And this was only the beginning.