It was late afternoon when Izuku returned to the Guild Hall.

He was absolutely wiped. Even if he hadn't been doing any of the actual physical work, he had used an absurd amount of Mana to create multiple Golems, and even more to keep them equipped with tools and running at 100% efficiency while they chopped up trees and cleared the ground.

He was fairly happy with the progress he had made with his project. He wouldn't have a house of sufficient size for 5 and maybe more people for some time, but for now, he had a large swath of land cleared of any trees, shrubbery and rocks, ready to be built upon.

But that was for another day. For now, they had a quest to go do, some people to help. Yawning, he pushed open the door to the Guild Hall and headed over to the loud corner of the room, already instinctively knowing that was where his party was.

He waved to them as they saw him approaching. Sitting down in his seat, he yawned, accepting the plate of food Darkness handed him. "Thanks, Darkness. Hey guys. How are you all?"

Darkness smiled at him, her cheeks reddening. "We're well, Izuku. I am curious about what you did today, though. You left quite early, and Megumin said that you were doing a 'secret artificer project.' Could it be that you're designing more Golems based on that hero from your homeland?"

She seemed oddly excited about Golems in general, which was something Izuku could relate to, but she seemed to be trying her best to at least keep her voice down. Smiling at her, he laughed. "Not at the moment, no. Not planning on making any more Golems based on All Might until I am confident that they won't go crazy. Even then, I might not."

YunYun tilted her head to the side, looking confused. "I think I missed something. Who's All Might?"

Izuku's head whipped around to her so fast she was honestly a little worried for his health, but as he opened his mouth to talk, Aqua shoved one of the frog legs into it and spoke instead. "All Might is this big hero from Izuku's homeland. Super buff, wears flashy enchanted armour and has his hair shaped in a 'V'. Izuku's kind of obsessed with him."

Finishing the mouthful of frog leg he had in his mouth, Izuku continued. "And why wouldn't I be! I know it sounds crazy, but where I came from there are villains, I guess the best comparison would be bandits, here, causing havoc almost every day, and All Might is the #1 Hero, who goes out every day to stop Villains and help people! He's probably saved more people than I've ever met!"

Megumin sipped from her cup of water, watching Izuku start to rant about All Might. From her own… experience with subjects she was passionate about, she knew that this could go on for a while. She checked the clock on the wall and hummed.

"Hey, Izuku, sorry to interrupt but shouldn't we start getting ready to head out? I'm gonna bring Hakobu and I need your help getting some walls set up so he can carry stuff for me."

Izuku had been a few seconds from showing them his completely accurate All Might face when Megumin spoke, and he blushed as he noticed his entire party, and beyond, staring at him. Dropping his head, he hummed into his frog leg and nodded.

"I guess we should probably start getting ready to go, yea. Adding some walls to Hakobu shouldn't be too hard but I'll need to see how much stuff you're bringing."

YunYun jumped up and bounced on her feet. "Alright! Let's get packing!"

YunYun, Megumin, and Darkness started heading upstairs after they finished their food, but Izuku grabbed Aqua's forearm to stop her from following right away. "Hold up a minute, Aqua. I have something for you."

He placed his bag down on the table and could almost feel the smile Aqua was giving him as he rummaged around in it. "I knew it was just a matter of time before you gave an offering to your Goddess! What is it? Money? The fanciest wine you could find?"

Izuku laughed as he pulled out the |Digital Pocket Watch of Luck| from his bag and held it out to her. "Nothing like that. I uh… found this. I wanted you to have it."

Aqua reached out and yoinked the pocket watch out of his hands. "No takebacks! Oh wow, this is beautiful… wait is that Eris? You offered up an amulet with Eris' face on it to me?!"

Izuku let out an 'eep' and waved his hands. "No! I mean, well kind of. But I didn't make it! It's a magic item that increases Luck, and Eris is apparently the goddess of Luck, so I think it's meant to be thematic. But it's also not an amulet. Try opening it."

She still looked a little grumpy, but Aqua pulled the watch open, and Izuku smiled as she gasped in surprise. "It's a clock! And like, a digital one! Where did you 'find' this, Izuku?!"

Izuku tried his best to put a confident smirk on his face, but from the way Aqua looked at him it probably came out a weird, shaky grin. "I, uh. I'm not telling? Gotta have some secrets, haha!"

Narrowing her eyes, Aqua pocketed the watch, and Izuku could almost feel something warm fill the air for a moment as a soft golden glow surrounded her for an instant, before disappearing again.

He then let out a yelp as Aqua grabbed him by the arm and started dragging him upstairs so that they could also get to packing.

Izuku pulled his bag onto his back, leaning forward slightly to counter the weight.

He had been kicked out of the room while the girls got changed and packed their clothes, and was waiting for them to be done in the hallway. Strapping |Dawn| to his hip, he knocked on the door to their room in the Guild Hall. "Is it ok for me to come in again? I still have to adjust Hakobu for Megumin."

There was quiet for a moment, the only noise being some rustling and some laughter before he heard Megumin begin to speak, being interrupted by Aqua. "No YunYun, put that bac- Yep! You're good to come on in now!"

Slowly, he pushed the door open and raised an eyebrow at the sight. Megumin was currently trying to pull his school jacket off of YunYun, who was wearing it. Both of them froze as he saw them, YunYun letting out an 'eep' and covering her face. "I'm sorry! I'm just cold! I didn't realise it was yours at first and then I was really comfy! I can take it off if you want!"

Izuku knew that YunYun's outfit was a bit… exposed, and could see how she would be cold. He scratched his cheek and laughed awkwardly, banishing the image from his head. "I mean, I'm not using it… so I guess it's fine if you want? You can take the trousers if you want, Megumin? Your legs are probably cold as well, right?"

He laughed inwardly as Megumin released YunYun and pulled his pants out from the small pack he had. She looked at him, a confused look on her face. "Are… are you sure that's OK? I don't want you to be embarrassed about us taking your clothes..."

Izuku waved his hands. Why would he be embarrassed? The kids at his old school used to steal his stuff all the time? "Don't worry about it. I've got plenty of spare pants and shirts, and you, well, you don't? I don't think I've seen you wear anything warmer than your skirt thing the entire time I've known you."

Megumin nodded, holding the pants out in front of herself. Aqua laughed, and Izuku turned to her. "You too, Aqua. I overheard the other day that winter should be coming in a month or two. Would you like me to see if I can make you some better clothes?"

She shrugged. "I mean, I'm pretty good in the cold, it doesn't usually bother me, but warmer clothes are always super comfy so I won't say no if you wanna make some!"

Izuku nodded, looking at the other girls. "I can also look into making you all some more protective clothes if you want."

Yunyun frowned. "But the guys in the guild hall said that this kind of shirt would help me make friends…"

Izuku's eyes narrowed immediately as he thought about what she meant by 'this kind of shirt'. It was pretty clear to him what they had meant. As he pondered what she had said, Aqua smiled at her and spoke.

"They were being gross and mean. We're all your friends now, so you don't have to leave your chest unprotected now! And hey, you see how well made Izuku's clothes are, imagine how much cooler you'll feel in quality stuff like that! You'll definitely have a better outfit than Megumin here..."

Izuku frowned at Aqua, who just gave him an innocent smile that he definitely didn't fall for. Pitting rivals against each other like that? Glancing over to the two Crimson Demons, he saw the twinkle in their eyes. 'It seems to be working…'

He spoke up. "Look, before you two blow up the guild hall because of a scuffle, how about I just make everyone a new outfit if they want it? We all adventure in what are essentially our day clothes except for Darkness, but even then she could wear shorts and a t-shirt and survive more damage than the rest of us combined."

Getting a unanimous 'yes!' in response, Izuku smiled and pulled out his book, summoning a pen with |Tool Summon| and writing it down so that he could remember to do it later on.

They left the room after that, now that they were all packed up and ready to leave.

Exiting the guildhall, Luna waved to their group, and so Izuku waved back, giving her an awkward smile.

He was still a bit shaken by what she had told him, but he wouldn't hold the customs of this world against her. To each their own, and all that.

Megumin immediately brought Hakubo up beside Izuku as they reached the town gate, smiling as she sat on top of her minimal amount of stuff. "So you're actually going to make us cooler outfits? Do you have any ideas for mine so far?"

Izuku tapped his chin as he walked, thinking. "I reckon that for you specifically, something like medium mage armour. It needs to be protection focused rather than movement focused, seeing as you're kind of done after your attack."

He snapped his fingers as he remembered something. "Oh! And the crystal in your staff, I wanted to know more about it! Can I look at it quickly with my |Infuse Magic Item|?"

Tilting her head, Megumin struck a pose, which looked odd while she sat on Hakubo. "It's bad form to ask a mage to give up their sacred weaponry, Izuku! But as a party member, I shall trust you with it!"

Izuku grinned as she passed over the staff, and quickly used his skill on it so that he could give it back straight away. As usual, a scroll appeared in his hands, and he passed the staff back to the girl, who looked surprised that just touching it was all Izuku needed.

"To answer the question I can see you thinking, It's easy if I'm just looking at an item, I do actually have to be touching it to infuse it, but I'm not going to for the moment. Hakubo isn't strong enough to carry the both of us and all our stuff."

She nodded and grabbed the staff back from him, looking over his shoulder as he read the scroll.

Minor Manatite Staff

Spellcasting Focus

Attuned to [Megumin of the Crimson Demons]

The Manatite crystal at the tip of this poorly made staff makes casting spells slightly easier and increases the attuned user's mana pool by 5%.

Izuku smiled as he let the scroll fade away. "I thought as much! The crystal in your staff actually helps with your mana pool, and makes spellcasting a little easier!"

Megumin looked at her staff. "Yea? Wait, did you not know Manatite existed?"

Izuku froze and gulped, before putting a smile on his face and turning back to her. "No, of course, I did! I just wanted to make sure your staff actually was? I.. uh… there are people who make fake ones in my homeland? Just double checking it didn't happen here…"

Megumin gave him a look that made him pretty sure she didn't believe him, but she didn't press it. Instead, she continued. "So why is it so important that I have a Manatite staff for our clothing?"

Izuku smiled. "Well, I was thinking of including things like necklaces and bracelets made out of manatite to help you all with your spellcasting! In my homeland, our heroes use equipment that helps their powers a lot, and while a lot of the principles wouldn't work here, some do!"

Megumin's eyes widened. "That makes sense! And I'd look so cool and rich covered in stuff like that! You must make me some eventually! When we have the money to buy all of the material, of course. Manatite isn't cheap."

Izuku laughed. "Don't worry, I plan on getting all of you guys the best gear I can make, no matter how much the stuff costs. You're my friends and I… well I've never really had that before so I'm not going to disappoint any of you."

Megumin frowned at that, glancing back to YunYun for a moment and catching her eye. It was clear that YunYun was listening to them talk, even as Darkness and Aqua argued because YunYun sent a sad smile Izuku's way.

Megumin got a pang of guilt in her chest, before shaking her head. She was working to move past that with YunYun now. Turning back to Izuku, she smiled. "That's really kind of you, Izuku!"

Izuku looked at her and smirked. "I guess it is, but it does come with one condition. You'll only get the new clothes after I've seen you cast at least 3 spells that aren't |Explosion|."

Megumin froze. She could hear YunYun giggling from behind her, but she didn't look back, instead just stared at Izuku. He held her eye, smiling softly at her. "You…"

Izuku continued to smile. "I mean, you already promised to add points into your mana reserves, right? So it's a win-win. You get cool clothes that help with mana, and you also get more types of magic you can do with said mana."

Megumin flipped her pointer in the air as she tried to refute him, but quickly realised she had nothing to do so with. She had promised that when she joined, hadn't she… damn. "When did you get so crafty?"

Shrugging, Izuku looked ahead of their group and at the approaching tree-line. "I'm not sure, to be honest. Being here, away from ja-my homeland… It's nice. Makes me feel like I can be more confident. You girls being my friends has certainly helped, too."

Their conversation continued on for only a short while after that, as Izuku had seemingly gotten lost in his own thoughts. Eventually Aqua pulled her into an argument she and Darkness were having about All Might golems, and she was distracted from the heartfelt smile on Izuku's face as he looked behind him and at the group.

Using |Farsight| made it fairly easy to spot the Goblins way before they could pose any threat.

The goblins weren't even being that subtle about their presence at the crossroads. From where Izuku and his party were standing, he could see a few dead horses and an overturned cart on the side of the road, set up like a barrier.

He guessed that the cart was where most of the goblins would be. It wasn't massive, but it was above average, and from what he had heard about goblins, could probably hold 10-12, max. The girls had gathered behind him and stared over his shoulder, but they couldn't see as far as he could.

Relaying the information to the girls, he started thinking about how they should do this. "Any suggestions for this fight? I've only got one big thing, I don't think the merchants will like it if we detonate their route, so no explosions for now."

Megumin pouted and Izuku patted her on the shoulder stiffly, drawing his hand back and listening to the other girls talk. Well, Darkness and Aqua specifically. YunYun was just sitting next to him silently, although he could tell she had an idea, from the excited look on her face.

"YunYun? Do you have an idea?"

She jumped, letting out nan 'eep!' as Izuku spoke, but calmed down and nodded, rubbing her hands together, clearly nervous. "I uh, I have a spell that can probably immobilise them all if I do it right? That'd make them easy to pick off, right?"

Izuku smiled and nodded, pulling out his notebook on instinct, a pen appearing in his hand with quick use of |Summon Tool|. "That sounds great! What's it called?"

YunYun blushed and placed her hand on the ground, and a small circle around it turned a deep purple, and Izuku watched in awe as her hand sunk into it like quicksand. Eventually, she pulled her hand out and the floor turned back to packed dirt.

"It's called |Bottomless Swamp|. It basically makes the ground suck the target down if they walk over it, and I don't really think any goblin could be strong enough to overcome it. They aren't the strongest monsters around. The only issue is that I have to constantly focus to keep it up. I won't be able to cast anything else while it's active."

Izuku hummed as he took the downside into consideration. He glanced over to the other three girls. "How does this sound? Darkness and I gather the goblins' attention, and once they've started coming this way, YunYun casts |Bottomless Swamp|, and then we can finish this quickly!"

Darkness gave him a thumbs-up as her cheeks reddened, Aqua smiled and nodded, and Megumin pouted but grunted an affirmative. Smiling, Izuku turned back to YunYun, whose grin was so big he wondered if it hurt.

"Alright, that's the plan then. Go get set up in a place where you think you can get all of them, YunYun. Aqua, can you go with her as a lookout? And if something attacks the both of you and you don't think you can fight it alone, yell out as loud as you can, and we'll all come over as soon as we can, alright?."

Aqua nodded. "Ok! But don't expect to hear any screams! We're super cool adventurers! I'm an arch-priest and YunYun is an archwizard!"

Izuku nodded. "I know that, but you don't really have any combat moves, and YunYun will be focused on keeping |Bottomless Swamp|| up. Maybe I should make a Golem to go with you?"

Aqua frowned, crossing her arms as she pouted at him. "Izuku! We'll be fine! I'm feeling really lucky today!"

Izuku watched as she grabbed YunYun and let the girl lead her to where she thought was a good spot to use her spell, before spotting a boulder that came up to about chest height. Pressing his hand to the rock, he allowed |Create Golem| to activate, and the rock seems to sprout stubby arms and legs as it stood up, now reaching his shoulders.

He patted the rock and gave it its orders. "Protect Aqua and YunYun to the best of your ability. Shield them if they need to retreat, and attack the one hurting them if they are unable to run away."

A soft pulse of green light flowed from his hand and into the impromptu golem, which started to walk after the girls. Izuku turned back to Megumin and Darkness, purposefully ignoring the glare he could feel from Aqua as the Golem caught up to her and YunYun.

Smiling, he started walking towards the goblin's encampment, waving for the girls to follow him.

Gol'bog stirred as noise flooded his noise-catchers.

It was the sound of the sharp shiny sticks bouncing off of stone! Gol'bog smiled. Stoopid, tasty hoomans were about! Gol'bog sprang to his feet and pulled at the horn on his belt, blowing into it and rousing his fellow goblins.

Once all of his goblin brothers and sisters were awake, he put his horn back and pulled out his own sharp shiny stick. Well, his wasn't as big as the Stoopid, tasty hoomans, but the size of the weapon didn't matter, just how you used it! And Gol'bog thought himself very good at using his weapon!

There were 3 voices, but Gol'bog didn't speak the hooman tongue. He looked over to Vel'ort, who did and yelled at the young goblin, demanding to know what the stoopid, tasty hoomans were saying.

Vel'ort listened for a moment before gasping. All of the goblins looked at him for the translation. "You green vermin! Your mother was a hamster and your father smells of elderberries!"

Gol'bog and the other goblins roared at the insult, even if their small minds didn't really understand what the second part meant. But they knew what vermin were! They were not Fluffy Scuttlers! They were Goblins!

Sense left Gol'bog as he and his fellow goblins roared as one, and he kicked down the door to their temporary home in the big wheelhouse they had stolen. He saw the 3 hoomans yelling at them, one standing on what looked like a slime, and charged, his brothers and sisters following him out and onto the road.

The 3 hoomans turned and ran. Cowards! They insult the mighty goblins and then run! Gol'bog was laughing in glee as he watched the weaklings run away.

Then his foot sank into the ground. Then his entire leg. Then everything up to his neck.

'Gob dammit.'

Aqua hummed as he sat on top of the golem Izuku had made and watched YunYun work.

It was a pretty cool spell, she had to give the girl that. Felt kind of icky to be near, and the smell by itself was making Aqua pinch her nose, but the way it just yoinked the goblins into the floor was interesting.

She watched as YunYun hummed to herself, and the field of purple seemed to almost become a grid, with the dirt walkways in between where the goblins were. Now that was impressive. Aqua whistled in appreciation for the finesse YunYun had with her magic and hopped off of the Golem.

She saw Izuku, Darkness, and Megumin walking quickly through the goblins and making quick work of them, Darkness Izuku's back in joy as she stabbed and killed a goblin. She was about to head over when she heard what sounded like an alarm go off in her head.

"Lady Aqua! Lady Aqua! Can you hear me?! It's Luna from the guild!"

Aqua stumbled as Luna's voice hit her metaphorical ears. "Luna? How… what's going on?"

"Oh thank god! Lady Aqua! One of our town heroes has been hit by a powerful death curse! Please! We need your cleansing magic!"

There was a pause for a moment, but Aqua was already running over to Izuku and the others. YunYun, who had let go of her spell now that all of the goblins she had captured were dead, stood up and followed, seemingly aware of her panic.

"Izuku!"

"Do you have any way of getting to Axel quickly? Please, we can't lose Kyouya!"

Izuku's head whipped to her immediately and he started moving towards her when he saw the look on her face. "Aqua, what's wrong? What's happening? Did you get attacked?"

Aqua shook her head. "No, but apparently one of Axel's town heroes was hit by a powerful death curse! They need me in Axel straight away! How fast can we get back?"

Izuku tapped on his fingers, but Darkness spoke up first. "Not for at least a few hours. Why do they need you specifically? The only monster that could place a curse so powerful that a regular priest couldn't remove it would be… oh no."

Izuku looked at Darkness in confusion. "What's wrong? What kind of monster is that strong?"

Megumin scowled. "One of the Demon King's Generals. They must have attacked Axel. We'll need to get moving if we want to save this hero's life!"

They were about to start running back to Axel when YunYun finally caught up to them, crashing into the ground and wrapping them up in a hug. "I heard what was going on! Please trust me and don't let go of anything you're holding on to!"

Izuku nodded to her, sensing that she had a plan. She smiled softly at him and he gripped onto her forearm, the others following his lead. A circle of light appeared around the group as YunYun gathered her mana.

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