A/N: I noticed that one of the most popular fics here, The Gaming Deku by RagingSoul, had a huge amount of activity with only two chapters. It seems like a lot of people really want an Academia/Gamer fic to happen. I decided to take a crack at it, since I've been interested in writing some sort of Gamer fic in some fandom. I've made a couple tweaks to the Gamer system rather than just exactly copying it. Hopefully you guys like the changes I've made. Enjoy!

Izuku watched, wide eyed, as the pro hero and supervillain faced each other down on the bridge in front of him. On the right was Kamui Woods, an up and coming hero who operated in the area. Kamui was quite mysterious, a tall masked hero who never showed his true face. His mystique was part of the reason for his rapid rise in popularity, though of course he would have gotten nowhere unless he had been skilled enough to back up his image.

Opposite him, on Izuku's left, was a monstrous, unknown villain. He looked mostly humanoid, except for the massive, ugly facial features that were currently contorted into a snarl. Izuku supposed that the villain must've recently decided on his criminal profession, since he hadn't seen the ugly brute before and such an unsubtle quirk would certainly have caught the media's attention if it had been used illegally previously.

Izuku loved to watch the pro heroes fight villains, both because he was a personal fan of the heroes and because it gave him a chance to learn more about different quirks and the people behind them. He quickly scanned the hero using his quirk.

Name: Kamui Woods

Level: 33

Title: Hero

HP: 5250 / 5250

SP: 4184 / 4350

STR: 166

STM: 174

DEX: 196

VIT: 175 (Quirk Bonus: +20%) = 210

INT: 137

WIS: 152

Quirk: Arbor (Allows usage of Wood-based abilities, +20% Vitality)

Izuku scribbled down the information in his notebook quickly. He was excited to note that Kamui had leveled up since the last time Izuku had scanned him. The young hero aspirant turned his eyes back to the stare down, scanning the villain this time.

Name: Unknown

Level: 23

Title: Criminal

HP: 6200 / 6200

SP: 6187 / 6400

STR: 124 (Quirk Bonus: +100%) = 248

STM: 128 (Quirk Bonus: +100%) = 256

DEX: 109 (Quirk Penalty: -25%) = 82

VIT: 139 (Quirk Bonus: +100%) = 278

INT: 61

WIS: 54

Quirk: Giant Transformation (+100% STR, STM, VIT, -25% DEX while transformed)

Izuku scribbled down this information too, exchanging the unknown name for "Giant Villain". It was somewhat annoying that names wouldn't show up until he actually learned them, even though he could read off someone's intelligence and other attributes right away, but it wasn't too much of a big deal for him so he shrugged it off.

Comparing the two sets of stats against each other, the young man quickly concluded that Kamui would likely be able to beat the villain by utilizing his speed advantage to dodge the villain's attacks until he got tired. Kamui has more than double the DEX of his opponent, meaning that it would be almost impossible for him to get hit. Plus, his wood attacks were versatile enough that Kamui could keep his opponent from running away and still whittle down his opponent's HP while dodging. Kamui was not very powerful, and likely couldn't stop his opponent outright, but he would win the war of attrition.

You've gained +1 WIS for accurately evaluating the combatants.

Izuku smiled. He enjoyed observing heroes at work on its own, but the benefits of evaluating the hero-villain matchups definitely motivated him to continue his pastime. Izuku quickly checked his own stats, smiling at the progress he was making.

Name: Izuku Midoriya

Level: 11

Title: The Gamer

HP: 2100 / 2100

SP: 2250 / 2250

STR: 87

STM: 90

DEX: 94

VIT: 84

INT: 101

WIS: 115

Quirk: The Gamer (Provides the Gamer's Mind and Gamer's Body Abilities)

The young boy had discovered his own quirk, the Gamer quirk, at the age of 4. At first he had been ecstatic, having finally unlocked his own super-cool ability so that he could train to become an amazing super hero just like All Might. However, his dreams had soon been tested by the cynical comments of his schoolmates.

"What? Your quirk is that life looks like a video game to you? That's dumb."

"How do you expect to fight crime with that? Are you gonna look at the bad guy until he gives up?"

"I bet you're lying about having a quirk. I bet you're actually quirkless!"

It wasn't long before rumors had spread, painting Izuku as a quirkless loser who was lying to try and fit in. Some people still believed him about his quirk, but even they agreed that Izuku's dream of becoming a hero was unreasonable. Izuku was often teased about his quirk or apparent lack thereof, but he wasn't deterred. Izuku was determined to become a hero, no matter what it took.

So he explored his quirk, learned the ins and outs of its function. He learned about the two parts of his quirk, the Gamer's Mind and Gamer's Body. Gamer's Mind allowed him to resist psychologically debilitating effects like fear and pain, improving his ability to use logic under pressure. Gamer's Body allowed him to improve himself physically almost without a limit; he may not have started out stronger or smarter than anyone else, but as he grew, trained and leveled up, his stats would improve until far after any normal human would reach their peak. He could also recover from injuries and exhaustion much more easily than most, being fully refreshed by a good night's sleep.

Little four year old Izuku dreamed of being a pro hero like his idol, All Might, and knew he had to grow up big and strong to have any chance of realizing that dream; so, after seeing that some regular physical activity would raise his stats, the young boy began training. Not much at first; four year olds are not known for their dedication or attention span after all. However, they are energetic, and Izuku liked seeing the notification pop up that his stats had increased. During his free time, in between watching videos of superheroes, playing with action figures and playing outside, little Izuku began doing a few push-ups here, a few sit-ups there, some running around, usually only enough to gain a skill point or two.

Later, as he recognized the hill he had to climb before he would be able to become a hero, he began training more regularly and more intensely. He may not have been given the flashiest or most impressive quirk, but he had been given the means to make himself strong enough to be a pro hero despite his limitations, and he was determined to take advantage of that opportunity.

These points added up over time. Izuku, who began as a short and scrawny child, grew into a strong and healthy young man. He had maintained his lean frame, but his hard work had caused most of his baby fat to evaporate, leaving behind well developed and dense muscles. He was stronger than any of his classmates by a wide margin, and likely stronger than some of the teachers too. However, Izuku hadn't focused solely on his physical abilities.

The abilities granted by Izuku's perk had not only allowed the boy to improve his physical abilities without a limit, he had also been able to improve his mental abilities and skills without reaching any sort of peak. Just as physical training continued to build up Izuku's Strength, Stamina, Vitality and Dexterity, mental exercises helped him build up his Intellect and Wisdom. Izuku regularly read and learned about various topics to improve his Intellect, while playing strategy games and planning out strategies related to different hero and villain quirks to improve his Wisdom. He had already been bright as a child, but the continual benefits of mental training had sharpened his mind into a knowledgeable, strategic machine.

Thus, Izuku had cultivated impressively high stats despite being a relatively low level (it was tough to level up without fighting, and Izuku couldn't exactly take on villains without a quirk). He was particularly proud of his INT and WIS stats, which were as high or higher than those of many lower level villains and pro heroes. Heroes and villains were so busy training their bodies, they often neglected to train their minds. Izuku felt good about his stats and abilities; he was far stronger and smarter than anyone else his age, and was approaching the point where his stats would start to match those of sidekicks and low-level pro heroes.

However, despite his progress, Izuku couldn't help but feel a healthy dose of doubt. While The Gamer quirk was certainly useful, it didn't grant him the kind of combat abilities that were universally required for heroes to stand a chance against powerful villains. Simply matching the stats of the quirk-possessing heroes and villains wouldn't cut it; he would have to go above and beyond, possess stats double, maybe even triple those of his peers to have a snowball's chance in hell of being able to fight alongside or against the powerful quirks that heroes and villains had. Regardless of how impressive it was for him to be as strong or as smart as a pro hero, he would still get stomped in any kind of fight with anyone who had a useful quirk.

Some days, Izuku simply didn't believe it would be possible for him to be a hero. With how useful his quirk would be in a fight, he may as well have been quirkless.

The young Gamer's depressing thoughts were interrupted as another hero entered the battle in front of him, Mt. Lady sending the giant villain flying with an impressive kick. Izuku readied his pencil and scanned her; he had no previous data on her because she was a brand new hero, and he was interested to see what kind of stats she had.

Name: Mount Lady

Level: 26

Title: Hero

HP: 6100 / 6100

SP: 6173 / 6450

STR: 134 (Quirk Bonus: +250%) = 469

STM: 129 (Quirk Bonus: +250%) = 452

DEX: 137 (Quirk Penalty: -25%) = 103

VIT: 122 (Quirk Bonus: +250%) = 427

INT: 97

WIS: 103

Quirk: Gigantification (+250% STR, STM, VIT, -25% DEX while gigantic)

Huh, her quirk is pretty similar to the villain's, but more effective… if she hadn't knocked him out with that surprise attack, their clash of raw strength would probably have caused a lot of damage… still, her perk provides a large stat boost that'll put her way ahead of essentially any villain, so she'll probably be very successful as a hero… except that she caused quite a bit of damage to the bridge just with her surprise kick… her massive size and strength while transformed will limit the utility of her perk in enclosed areas... Izuku scribbled down the information alongside his personal notes and observations before turning back to the scene, only to see that his view had been blocked by photographers attempting to capture the… feminine appeal of Mt. Lady.

Checking his watch, Izuku's eyes widened. He was going to be late for class if he didn't get a move on! Depositing his notebook in his bag, the boy took off at a run towards his school, Aldera Junior High.

…

Izuku sat in his seat, panting, as his teacher entered the room to start class. He'd made it just in time.

"So class, as third years, it's time for you to begin thinking about your futures. I have forms here to help you choose where to go, but…" The teacher suddenly grabbed the stack of forms, tossing them into the air. "...All of you are planning on taking hero courses, right?"

The class cheered their agreement, showcasing their quirks. Izuku shrunk down near the back; with the dozens of perfectly viable hero-grade quirks surrounding him, it was easy to feel that his quirk, so inconspicuous that people thought he was quirkless, would be all but useless in the pursuit of his ultimate dream.

From one of the desks near the windows on the left, a scoff cut through the ruckus being caused by the rest of the class. "Half of these kids are gonna flunk out of the hero course in their first year. Don't lump me in with these second-rate rejects, teach."

Izuku looked over at the source of the snide comment, Katsuki Bakugo. A brief scan showed the Gamer that he was not the only one who'd been improving his stats.

Name: Katsuki Bakugo

Level: 14

Title: Student

HP: 1800 / 1800

SP: 1825 / 1825

STR: 67

STM: 73

DEX: 77

VIT: 72

INT: 58

WIS: 64

Quirk: Explosion (Allows usage of Explosive abilities)

Bakugo's stats were very solid, the highest in the class out of everyone except for Izuku. He was a shoo-in for Yuuei, more than strong enough to get in so long as he also passed the written portion (and Bakugo may have been a hothead, but he wouldn't let something as trivial as a written test stop him from getting in to Yuuei). With his powerfully offensive quirk, even Izuku's higher stats wouldn't be enough to win a fight against him.

Izuku's attention was brought back to the class when he heard his name. "...Midoriya wanted to go to Yuuei too, right?"

Suddenly, every eye in the room was on the aspiring hero. Then they all started laughing. Izuku buried his head in his arms, trying to drown out the sound, but he still heard every word.

"Really? He thinks he can get into Yuuei? What a moron."

"Heh, yea, what good is your dumb quirk compared to ours? All of us would get in before you did!"

"What are you talking about? He has a quirk? How about you show us, Midoriya? Oh, that's right, you can't!"

"Useless!"

"Quirkless!"

Izuku was suddenly propelled backwards, falling over as his desk collapsed from one of Bakugo's explosive attacks. "How do you expect to compete with me without a quirk, Deku? Has all of that daydreaming finally gone to your head?"

Izuku scrambled back against the wall, assuring Bakugo that he wasn't trying to compete with him by applying to Yuuei. Bakugo just scoffed at him, returning to his desk as the teacher brought the class back to order. Izuku looked down in shame and embarrassment, wishing not for the first time that he'd gotten a different quirk.

A/N: Stat explanations, because my Beta said so:

STR (strength), VIT (vitality) and DEX (dexterity) are pretty straightforward. Strength is strength, vitality is health/resistance to damage (25 HP per VIT), dexterity is speed.

STM (stamina) is an alternative to mana that I thought up so that there would be a number to reference for someone's overall stamina and current level of exhaustion. SP stands for Stamina Points, and it costs Stamina Points to use attacks or do other things in combat. You get 25 SP per STM point, just like HP and VIT, and if you hit 0 SP you pass out.

INT (intellect) and WIS (wisdom) are two different kinds of brainpower. INT refers to general knowledge, logic and reasoning skills, memory, things like that. High INT means you can plan ahead and work through complex or tough problems. Skills like Engineering (to make gadgets and etc) and other technical skills require high INT. WIS refers to intuition, the ability to think quickly, and the ability to take in information quickly and use it. High WIS means you can react quickly to new information, make strategies and evaluate opponents on the fly. High WIS helps Observe work better, and also allows people to create new moves in the middle of a fight.

A/N 2: I'm not like most authors, I actually like getting flames, so go ahead and give me your flames if you feel so inclined.