Dave Toruko was not the kind of person people described as heroic.
He wasn't cowardly—just realistic. Risks were things to be calculated, not embraced. In twenty-two years of life, he had learned that most disasters came from people acting before thinking.
Which was why, when his body moved before his mind could object, Dave was genuinely surprised.
"Hey—!"
The shout came out rough and unplanned.
A child stood frozen at the edge of the crosswalk, eyes wide, feet rooted to the asphalt. A car tore through the red light, brakes screaming too late.
Dave didn't think about consequences.Didn't think about odds.
He grabbed the child and pushed.
The impact came a heartbeat later.
Pain flared—brief, overwhelming, final.
As darkness rushed in, Dave's last thought wasn't regret.
It was confusion.
That wasn't like me at all.
+Between Life and Something Else+
Dave expected nothing.
Instead, he found himself suspended in a white, undefined space—no ground, no sky, just awareness stripped of sensation.
"…Huh."
He wasn't panicking. That alone told him this wasn't a dream.
A presence manifested—not visually, but conceptually. Like a system acknowledging a user.
[Subject Identified: Dave Toruko][Cause of Death: Voluntary Heroic Action]
"Wow," Dave thought. "Even the afterlife runs diagnostics."
[Your final action deviated significantly from your established behavioral profile.][Such deviation carries value.]
Dave frowned."Value how?"
[Eligibility for Reincarnation Confirmed.]
That got his attention.
+The Gift+
Information unfolded around him—branching paths, probabilities, structures that reminded him uncomfortably of a game interface.
Dave stared.
"This is a gacha, isn't it."
[Correct.]
"Of course it is," he sighed. "No rerolls?"
[Denied.]
Figures.
The presence continued, impersonal but precise.
[Your destination world has already been determined.][Criteria: Cognitive familiarity, emotional investment, survival probability.]
Dave didn't need to ask.
"…My Hero Academia."
[Confirmed.]
He closed his eyes—mentally, at least.
A world of heroes, villains, and a society that mistook symbols for solutions.
He knew it well.
The wheel spun.
Once.
It slowed.
Stopped.
[Result Acquired: Quirk — HIVE]
+Hive+
Dave didn't feel power surge through him.
Instead, he felt organization.
Understanding bloomed—clean, structured, almost elegant.
Hive was not a boost to intelligence.
It was a restructure.
His nervous system would no longer function as a single, centralized processor. Instead:
Cognitive functions could divide into parallel, semi-autonomous processes
Motor control could self-optimize independently of conscious thought
Learning occurred through continuous feedback between mind and body
Not instant genius.
Not invincibility.
Just… scalability.
"If I survive long enough," Dave thought calmly, "I'll become something dangerous."
[Within biological limits.]
Dave smiled faintly.
"Reasonable."
+Rebirth+
The presence began to fade.
[Reincarnation Sequence Initiated.]
"Wait," Dave said. "One thing."
[Proceed.]
"…Do I at least get to keep my name?"
A pause.
[Granted.]
"Good," Dave said. "I'm already tired."
+A World of Heroes+
Pain returned.
Then warmth.
Air rushed into lungs that had never breathed before.
A cry tore from his throat—small, weak, undeniable.
Voices shouted.Lights blurred.
Dave Toruko opened his eyes to a world where heroes were real.
He didn't feel chosen.He didn't feel destined.
He felt aware.
"I know this world," he thought quietly."I know its strengths. I know its failures."
This time, he wouldn't just watch from the sidelines.
He would grow.
Slowly.Carefully.Calmly.
End of Chapter 1