A Bard's Tale
By Bubbajack
Beta/co-author: IcySnowSage
Disclaimer: We don't own Shit! We are in no way forced to say this due to the lawyers holding cease and desist papers in our faces.
Ch.1: Reborn in another world.
The quirkless boy known as Izuku Midoriya awoke with a gasp. He had charged rather recklessly at a villain with a slime quirk that had taken control of his childhood frenemy Katsuki 'Kacchan' Bakugo. The last thing he recalled was the heat of the fire, the scent of smoke in the air, the cries of people in panic, and Bakugo's arm forcibly being moved towards his face, and a look of terror in Bakugo's red eyes as his fist touched Izuku's face.
He looked around at his current surroundings. All black. It was void of any form of structure or ornamentation. It was just a gaping maw of unending darkness that he just so happened to have no trouble seeing in. Izuku got up and quickly noticed he was standing on solid ground. Or what passed for solid ground in this place. Cupping his hands over his mouth he called out. "Hello?! Is anyone here!?"
"There's no need to shout, I'm right behind you," A female voice replied causing the boy to jump and turn around to see who spoke to him.
The woman standing before him was pretty. She had long light aqua blue hair tied up in a ponytail, sky-blue eyes, and pale skin. Her clothing consisted of white sleeves with beige and blue trim that weren't connected to the rest of her outfit, a dress that ended in a layers miniskirt, and thigh-high boots. She honestly looked so pretty that Izuku didn't even feel right standing in the same space as her. So he bowed politely. "U-Um, h-hello m-miss. C-can you tell me w-where I am?"
"Well aren't you just a polite little gentleman?" The woman cooed before she frowned a bit sadly for him. "I am Aqua, goddess of water and the afterlife, and I regret to inform you that you've died."
Izuku's jaw dropped as he pointed at himself. "I-I did?" Aqua nodded. "I died? Like, died, died?"
"Yes, I'm very sorry," Aqua apologized sincerely.
Instead of ranting and raving like most people did and trying to bargain with her for another chance and crying and getting angry before accepting their situation, the young boy took a breath and let it out. "Okay. So, what now Aqua-sama?"
Aqua blinked. She'd never met such an odd boy before. Death usually brought sadness and sometimes comedy but she did not expect resolution. "You… aren't upset? Most are when they've found out they died."
Izuku just shrugged. "I ran into that situation intending to die, just hoping I could save my friend in the process," Izuku admitted. "Did I manage to at least do that much?" He asked hopefully.
Aqua felt her jaw drop. 'What the hell kinda shitty world did he come from for him to develop such behavior!' She wondered as she used some of her divine authority to look into it. 'What the-?! Heroism is a profession? So it's not much different from being an adventurer I suppose.' She frowned as she looked deeper. 'But he couldn't be a 'hero' because he lacked a certain genetic feature? Even the hero of his dreams said it was unlikely and that he could try being a police officer. That's all he wanted to do too…' Aqua smacked a fist into her palm as she got an idea to grant this mortal's dream. "Right then!"
"Aqua-sama?" Izuku asked.
"I'm gonna make you a super awesome hero in this new world I'll be sending you to!" Aqua declared hoping to change his fate just a little.
Izuku smiled as bright as a lighthouse. "Really?!" For the first time in his life, things were actually looking up. 'I guess Bakugo was right, me jumping off a roof would've worked. Huh, who knew.'
Aqua nodded. "Uh-huh! Now let me think How am I going to do this…" The goddess tapped her finger on her chin while contemplating what she could give him to begin his journey. "Yeah, I'll just do that."
"What?" Izuku asked.
"As a Goddess, one of the things I can do is look into other realities. It keeps me from getting bored you know, like the human concept of television?" When the boy nodded she continued, "Well anyway, what I'm going to do is stick another soul inside of you, and it should be super helpful. Consider this a cheat item for your adventure."
"Oh wait! Hold on now, that could be bad!" Izuku said holding up his hands and begging for her to stop and think this through.
"Don't worry, it'll be fine, now, who to give you… Oh, she'll work out just great for what I have in mind!" The Goddess said while clapping her hands and completely ignoring Izuku's protest, "She's a sentient AI too so that just makes things simpler," Aqua reached into the air and pulled out of the darkness a voluptuous unconscious girl.
She had long dark-purple hair, was wearing a white shirt that had a red ribbon tied around her throat, a black skirt, and thigh-high black leather boots. Covering all of this was a long black coat with tail ends and matching white gloves like a concert conductor might wear.
"Who… who is she?" Izuku asked. She was a beauty as stunning as Aqua herself.
Aqua frowned a bit. "The best way to describe her is as a would-be goddess of the moon who lost in her fight for love. It's sad really. I felt sorry for her so I'm giving her, and you another chance, together, in the new world."
"She'll be doing what exactly?" Izuku asked.
Aqua pressed this ghostly image of a girl into Izuku's chest, where she disappeared into motes of golden light that was absorbed into him. "She'll be… I guess you could call her a quirk. Your quirk to be exact."
"Wait, how is that girl going to be my quirk?!" Izuku asked as a circle of golden light appeared around him.
"You'll find out soon enough!" Aqua called out before sending him on his way.
As he began to float up into the air, he called out to the goddess. "Wait! Please! I have one request before you send me off! Please Aqua-sama! Look after my mom for me. Okay?!"
Touched by the boy's care for those he'd left behind she smiled and nodded. "I'll do what I can."
"Thank you~u!" Izuku's voice echoed as he was sucked into the light.
WIth Izuku gone Aqua had some free time so she decided to check on Izuku's mom before another soul wa summoned to her. She opened a portal to view into Izuku's world. Her face then grew somber as she saw what happened and will continue to happen in Izuku's world
"Oh no …." was the only thing Aqua could say as she looked into Izuku's world and what would soon become a common recurrence in the future. Knowing there is nothing she could do but watch.
Izuku found himself standing on a cobblestone street. Thatch and stonewall houses were as far as the eye could see and a river was running through the town spanned by a stone bridge that had children jumping off of it. The people walking by were garbed in what he would've expected to find in the medieval renaissance period. 'Okay at first glance, it doesn't look like I'm in my world anymore.'
"Fufufu, of course, you're not my adorable little kouhai," A sweetly malicious voice replied within his head.
"Who said that?!" Izuku asked, looking around and finding no one.
"It's me, your super cute dependable upperclassman BaeBae," The voice replied with malicious cheer.
Izuku blinked, still seeing no one. Then a thought struck him. "You… you're that girl Aqua-sama stuck inside me before she sent me here aren't you?"
"Fufufu! Bingo, my adorable little kouhai," The voice replied. "If you would do your senior a favor and head to the river?"
Not seeing the harm in it, Izuku went to the riverbank and muttered to himself, "Now what?"
"Look down," BB asked.
Izuku did so and instead of seeing his own reflection in the crystal clear waters. He saw the same girl with purple hair from earlier. Her eyes were open now revealing them to be the same purple as her hair, and she had an almost cruel smirk on her face. "So you're my adorable little kouhai… you're cute!" BB declared after giving him a once over and licking her lips.
Izuku blinked. He'd never been complimented by a girl before in his life, much less one as pretty as her. Suddenly she smiled. "You think I'm pretty. How sweet."
"I um I… yes. So… BB-chan, what exactly are we supposed to do, now that we're here?" Izuku asked as he crouched down and looked into the water. The reflection of the goddess in his soul could only smirk.
"I've… no idea Izu-tan," BB admitted with a shrug. "Aqua never said what we were supposed to do, did she?"
Izuku realized with a start that no, she did not. "Um, this is bad isn't it?"
BB closed her eyes and nodded. "It could be yes," Seeing her adorable little undergrad beginning to squirm made her want to squeal in joy, but she held back. She couldn't have him breaking down and dying on her. That would end this second chance both of them had. "Before we start freaking out though, you should spend your ability points."
Izuku was lost. "My what?"
"Tada!" BB said as she snapped her fingers as a pointer and a screen appeared next to her.
Str: 8 -1 bonus
Dex: 8 -1 bonus
Con: 8 -1 bonus
Int: 8 -1 bonus
Wis: 8 -1 bonus
Cha: 8 -1 bonus
Luk: 8 -1 bonus
Ability Points to Spend: 30
"What is this?" Izuku asked.
"These my adorable other half are your statistics. As you can see, they all suck, since, despite your drive to be a hero, you never did any training to improve yourself whatsoever before you died the first time around."
The boy hung his head. "It would hurt a lot less if it wasn't true BB-chan."
"I know right?!" The girl said as she smiled like a game show hostess. "Anyway, that is the past. Right now, you get a do-over. Thirty points to spend where and however you'd like. Although one of these stats isn't right at all." She then proceeded to use her pointer to add a one in front of the luck stat making it an eighteen.
"All things considered meeting two goddesses, being reincarnated, and finally getting to live your dream of being a hero. I would say you are pretty lucky right my adorable kouhai?"
The freckled boy nodded. "Yeah you got a point there BB-chan," Izuku cleared his throat. "So what kind of stats should I pick do you think?"
BB pointed at herself. "You want my advice?" The boy nodded. BB seeing a chance to tease her junior and help him couldn't deny his request. "Well since you asked, I took a peek at your memories and noticed you were super-shy before you died. Like, you never talked to a girl or anything. That's just sad," Izuku hung his head. It was sad. BB then clapped her hands together. "Which is why I think you should put your points into charisma. It'll make you likable, actually able to hold a conversation, and it can be used to cast magic."
Izuku blinked. "Is magic a thing in this world?"
"You bet it is!" BB said, giving him a thumbs up. "But only wise, smart, or charismatic people can use it."
Izuku was confused about what charisma had to do with magic, but he shrugged. "Okay, what next?"
He and BB spent the next hour going over his stats, personal background, and race. Apparently, if he wanted to he could become something that wasn't human. He decided to stay human but went with the Urban Bounty Hunter Background as it gave him contacts with seedy and reputable people alike, and he got paid more for bounties.
Izuku stood up and dusted himself off, smiling satisfactorily, "Yeah that'll do."
"You sure?" BB asked.
Izuku looked at his stats one more time.
Str: 8 -1 bonus
Dex: 16 +3 bonus
Con: 14 +2 bonus
Int: 14 +2 bonus
Wis: 14 +2 bonus
Cha: 18 +4 bonus
Luk: 18 +4 bonus
+1 Bonus to all stats for being a vanilla human CONGRATULATIONS!
Izuku nodded. "Yep, That'll do."
BB grimaced. "But your strength is crap though."
The boy just shrugged. "That's fine I don't see myself as a macho giant sword carrying type anyway. I just don't have the guts."
BB put a hand to her temples and sighed. "If you say so," She then cheered. "Now, let's go get some gear! Since you chose urban bounty hunter as your background, you start with a pouch full of twenty gold pieces, and some clothes befitting of your profession."
Izuku's attire changed to that of long black slacks, leather mudstained boots, a white shirt under a green vest, and a cowled canvas cloak. With his bag of gold in hand, he walked down the streets of this town, whose name he didn't know the name of, with his hood pulled up so as not to attract attention. Yet so focused on finding a shop was he, that he didn't notice people giving him, the new stranger in town a wide berth. For he looked to be a man on a mission and not one to be crossed.
'Okay, store, store, store, gotta find a store,' Izuku thought. He stopped in front of a pair of women heading down towards the river with wooden tubs in their hands, likely out to do their laundry. They made way for him as he walked down the street, only for him to stop and address them, "Excuse me, ladies?"
"Y-Yes, sir?" The younger of the two said. She was a young girl with horns on her head.
"Would you happen to know where I could procure supplies? I just got into town and am low on funds," Izuku mumbled, but due to his cloak, his voice came out slightly grim.
The older of the two, a lavender haired woman who happened to just ooze sex appeal even just standing there replied, "Just down the way there is a shop run by a formerly famous adventurer sugar," She pointed across the bridge and down the way.
It took all of Izuku's willpower not to stutter. "Thank you, miss."
"Of course," She reached into her washtub and handed him, of all things, a flier. "Here, why don't you come and visit us sometime, you look like you could use a good dream."
Izuku took the flier and looked it over as the women walked away. He froze almost midstep. 'Succubi Wet Dream Services?! We make your dreams come true?! What kind of world have I ended up in?!'
"Mou~u! If anybody can make your wet-wet dreams come true, it's BB-chan!" BB complained from inside his head. "Besides, isn't it a senior's job to take care of her junior?" She purred seductively.
'Not like that, it's not!' Izuku rebutted as he hurried down the street hounded by BB's impish laughter.
The shop the succubus had directed him to seemed nice enough. It had tinted stained glass windows both on the door and facing the road making the shop stand out. It had a sturdy wooden door in place banded with iron and the walls were made of thick stucco and stone. A sign on a pole out front said, "Wiz' Magical Tools and Rare Goods"
"Well, this seems to be the place," Izuku muttered to himself before he went in. The interior was cast in a rainbow of light, and there was a small circular table set off to his left that had a couple of chairs set around it. Directly in front of him was a large counter that had several items on display. Shelves and cubby holes were stocked to the brim with everything from scrolls to daggers. He walked up to the counter and rang the bell once.
"Oh, a customer?! Coming coming," The sound of breaking glass was heard.
Izuku rushed behind the counter all the while calling, "Are you alright?!"
What he found was a beautiful pale brunette with long wavy hair sitting on her stone floor amidst a small puddle of glass. She was wearing purple and gold-trimmed robes that did nothing to conceal her voluptuous figure. She looked up at him from her position and smiled awkwardly, her purple eye meeting his, the other hidden by her bangs. "Oh hello. Thank you for coming to check on me, but I'm fine, really."
Izuku looked around and quickly found a broom made out of reeds, and began sweeping up the glass around the woman when she tried to protest he said, "Don't move! You might cut yourself. Just stay right there until I'm finished."
The woman stopped moving, "Oh! Alright." She waited until Izuku managed to get the broken glass into a tortoiseshell dustpan and then into the trash before standing. "Thank you for helping me, sir. I am Wiz, owner, and proprietor of this shop. How may I help you?"
"I was told I could come here to buy some gear? I… just got into town and to be honest, I don't have much on me."
"How much do you have?"
"Twenty gold pieces? What'll that get me?" Izuku asked.
Wiz covered her mouth. "Oh my, in my shop? Nothing. These are all High-level items which are worth thousands of gold each," Seeing his deflated expression Wiz consoled. "The blacksmith down the way, however, does owe me a favor so if you tell him I sent you and that I'm letting you call in my marker for that… 'Stamina potion' I brewed for him, he should set you right up for a little bit of nothing, okay?"
"Really?!" Izuku brightened up. Then frowned. "Why're you helping me?"
"Don't question why!" BB exclaimed. "Just take advantage of this rare opportunity my foolish little kouhai."
"Shh, quiet BB."
Wiz cocked her head to the side. "Who is BB?"
Izuku sighed, "It's complicated Wiz, but she's kinda my familiar I guess? She speaks to me telepathically."
"Oh!" Wiz brightened in understanding, "That makes sense… you do know you don't need to talk back to her directly right? Just thoughts will do," She smiled. "Otherwise everyone would think all of us wizards and archwizards were crazy, you see? If we went around all the time talking to things only we could see and hear."
Izuku smiled. "I do see yes," He bowed, "Thanks for the tip. I'll go visit the blacksmith now."
"W-Wait!" Wiz didn't know what made her do it, even several years later, but she called out to him. He turned looking at her expectantly. "Might I know your name?"
A look of surprise crossed the young man's eyes as he bowed to her again. "My apologies. I'm Midoriya Izuku, it was nice meeting you Wiz."
"Nice meeting you too! Come back anytime! I'll make tea!" She called as he left the store. 'He didn't make a big deal about not being able to buy anything like most people do. Though he did bow a lot. I wonder where he's from. Midoriya Izuku… what a strange name.'
The Blacksmith was a big muscly intimidating guy with a mohawk, full beard, and an eyepatch over one eye. "What can I do for you, stranger?" he asked, putting his palms on a table bristling with weapons as he sized Izuku up. Izuku looked around the shop for a bit and then spoke. "I need weapons, and armor."
"Well," The man grinned. "You came to the right place. Take that cloak off and let's get a good look at you shall we?" Izuku lowered his hood, and the man crossed his arms. "Hmm, yep, I can tell just by lookin' at ya you're the dexterous type. You're certainly not going to be swinging around a greatsword anytime soon are ya lad?"
Izuku shook his head. "No sir. I need something small and light, that is easy to fit in my hand. Also, Wiz told me to tell you, she was calling in her marker for the stamina potion?"'
The man suddenly tensed and shushed his customer. "Quiet, quiet boy! Keep it down will ya!" He looked around seeing no one, motioning Izuku closer before he continued. "Keep quiet about this yeah? I don't need my drinkin' buddies knowin' I need some… help in the bedroom."
'Wait, is he using a stamina potion for what I think he's using one for?' Izuku asked himself.
'It's viagra, it's totally viagra,' BB affirmed while giddily laughing to herself.
'That's just wrong!'
Seeing his horrified look the man sighed, "Alright, how much do you want me to pay you to keep quiet?"
"Pay me? I…" Izuku didn't know what to do. So he asked BB. 'Help?'
'See if you can get at least a thousand out of him.' BB said.
'Not helping!' He retorted before he sighed and took a breath. "Eight hundred."
The man wiped the sweat from his brow in relief. "Eight hundred Eris… okay, I would've gone for a thousand five hundred but you're alright."
Izuku wasn't finished, "Eight hundred eris and you outfit me with some gear."
"That's perfectly acceptable," The man agreed. "Like I said, you look like the dexterous type so I'm thinking studded leather, a brace of three daggers, a rapier, and hand crossbow."
"Umm," The boy had no idea what any of that was so he just nodded. "Alright."
The blacksmith, whose name he found out was Smith Black as he ran around his shop collecting items, placed a metal-studded chest piece, that had layered leather over his shoulders and thighs, gloves, and a belt, on the counter. Next came a simple thin sword, its hilt a metal swirl pattern, while the blade looked like a thin rod that came to a sharp point. To Izuku, it looked more like an oversized sewing needle than the edged slightly curved katana he was used to back home. Next came three daggers all on an interconnected belt, and last, was the hand crossbow. It was made of some dark wood and it had raised slats on either side of the firing mechanism where he assumed the arrow would go.
Once it was all on the table, Smith looked Izuku in the eye. "Alright kid, have you ever worn leather armor before?" Seeing Izuku shake his head, the man nodded. "Right, I'll give you a quick crash course on how to don and doff your armor and weapons."
He did just that it took half an hour, and he showed the young boy in that time how to put on the leather cuirass, gloves, and the proper places for his weapons. The daggers could go around his waist or diagonally across his chest for example the rapier should always go on the hip opposite his dominant hand unless he was ambidextrous and his quiver should hang diagonally on the opposite side of his rapier. The reason for the raised slats on the hand bow was so that three arrows could be loaded at once. All he had to do was cock it and then fire. The crossbow went in a holster on his hip when not in use. Izuku thanked the man profusely when he was done. "Don't worry about it, kid. You seemed nice enough. Just make sure to keep this between you, me, and Wiz yeah?"
Izuku nodded, pulling his hood back up. "Can do sir, by any chance, is there somewhere I can go if I'm looking for work?"
"There's an Adventurers Guild just across the large bridge. You can't miss it," The man pointed, "In fact. You should be able to see the top of the building from here," The man said as he pointed out his window into the now setting sun.
Izuku peered out the window and into the glare. Sure enough, he saw the top of a dome-shaped building, it was either a gold or bronze spire that had numerous… 'Are those phonographs sticking out of the top of that tower?' Izuku asked himself.
"They certainly seem to be kouhai," BB answered. "My how strange. Fufufu, I wonder what kind of fun we can find there."
Izuku turned back to Smith, "Thank you, sir!" He made to leave when he noticed a poster stuck to the man's wall. He looked at it. It read:
"Wanted Dead or Alive. All known affiliates to the succubus smuggling ring. Pay is 10,000 eris a body and 20,000 eris per person captured alive. All Succubi have been known to disappear near the graveyard."
"Hey Smith, can I take this?" Izuku asked, holding up the wanted poster.
Smith waved him on. "Go ahead, kid. So far nothing's been done for those poor girls at Wet Dream, maybe you can do something."
Izuku nodded as he pulled his hood up. "I'll do what I can Smith-san."
After the boy had gone, Smith tugged at his beard and asked himself. "What does 'san' mean?"
Before he headed out onto this bounty, Izuku decided it would behoove him to get set up at the guild first. The three-story grey stone building looked more like a church than anything that screamed 'guildhall' to him. It had a round stained glass window on its highest steeple, the roof was covered in red tile, and stone pillars held everything up, as two massive red oak doors stood guard one of them ajar. Izuku silently let himself in. He was immediately greeted by a busty blonde in a cream-colored top with honey-colored hair. "Hey there, take a seat wherever you'd like and someone will be right with you okay?"
"Sure. Thank you," Izuku replied as his gaze swept the room.
The interior of the place was much different than its exterior. The floor and pillars that held up the roof were both made of pale white marble. There were long tables made of planks of wood and held together with bands of iron, wrapped around one of the marble pillars was the skeleton of a giant fish. The remnant of a past glory perhaps? Izuku wasn't sure, but it looked cool. Off near the back was a teller counter, that was being manned by the pretty woman from earlier, and a staircase that led to the upper level that from the looks of it had rooms for rent. He approached the nearest table and sat down.
"Hey kid, you new here?" A familiar voice asked.
Izuku turned and was surprised to find Smith-san had somehow beaten him to the guildhall and was enjoying what looked to be beer. "Smith-san? How did you get here so fast?"
"Hmm? Oh, you must mean my twin brother!" The man said in an equally jovial fashion. "Well, welcome to Hell's Gate newbie, I'm Griff Black."
"Hello, nice to meet you Griff-san," Izuku said with a nod.
Griff smirked. "You're too polite by half kid. If you're here to try your hand at being an adventurer word of advice, toughen up a bit and don't take crap from folks. They'll just take advantage of you. Now go buy me a drink."
Feeling this was a test, Izuku scowled, and growled out, "Buy your own damn drink."
Griff slapped him on the back. "That's the spirit kid! Can't just let people walk all over you."
He smiled a bit. "Thanks. So uh, how does one go about becoming an adventurer Griff?"
Griff thumbed towards the teller counter in the back. "You gotta go talk to Luna for that kid. She'll set you upright."
Izuku got up from his seat and made his way towards the back. The woman whom he now knew was named Luna was standing behind the enclosed counter. Now that he got more than a passing glance at her, he could tell she was older, maybe twenty, with hazel eyes and wearing a white blouse with cut off jeans. He offered her a smile which she boisterously returned. "How can I help you today, young man?"
"I'd like to become an adventurer, what do I need to do to make that happen Luna-san?"
The guild mistress smiled at him. "Well, there's a twenty thousand Eris registration fee and with that, all you need to do is touch this magical device here," She motioned to the blue orb that was floating amidst various other pieces of grey metal. "Will fill out your registration card and let us know what classes will suit you best."
The boy rubbed his head awkwardly. "Uhh… I don't know if I have twenty thousand Eris… will gold also work?" Izuku asked.
Luna nodded as her eyes shined. "Oh yes, gold is perfectly fine!" She replied as she reached under her teller table. "Just let me get set up here." She said as she set up a weight scale. "Alright, whenever you're ready sir."
"Midoriya Izuku, Luna-san," Izuku introduced himself. He was so nervous he kept forgetting to do that. He reached into his coin pouch and pulled out a single gold coin. He placed it on the opposite scale and Luna's eyes widened as she did her best to even out its weight. "Just how heavy is this thing?!"
'BB?'
'One-tenth of a pound, as is standard,' The sentient AI replied with knowledge gifted to her about Izuku's background and gold received from it.
Telling Luna as much, Her eyes widened. "If this is pure gold," BB assured Izuku who in turn assured Luna it was, "Then this one coin is worth 186,057 Eris," Luna looked at him stunned, "Sir, uh Izuku, where did you get this coin?"
"Um, bounty hunting!
Luna blinked. "Did you rescue a princess?"
Izuku shook his head, intending to joke to lighten the suddenly tense mood. "No, a goddess of the moon."
'A goddess! What kind of monster is this guy!?' Everyone in the room was thinking at the same time.
Seeing his joke fell flat, Izuku just sighed, "Can I just get my money please?"
Thinking she was getting on the nerves of some kind of veteran bailiff, Luna was quick to comply. "O-Of course! Right away!"
Izuku felt bad making the woman rush around like that, but he felt awkward just standing there, and he could feel everyone else's eyes on his cloaked back staring at him. He glanced behind him just to be sure and everyone froze, before quickly staring down into their drinks. 'Yeah, they're going to act like they weren't doing it.'
'That guy's death glare is scary,' Everyone else was thinking nervously as they nursed their mugs of beer.
"H-Here you are sir!" Luna replied, coming forth with his money. Izuku pulled his cowl up closer to hide his blush. Luna's flushed face made her look even cuter to him. "Thank you," He mumbled, accidentally giving off the air of a gruff loner. "Did you already take out your adventurer fee?"
"Y-Yes."
"How much would it cost me to rent a room here, provided there are ones for rent?" Izuku asked, keeping his gaze fixed on the floor, not that Luna could tell due to the shadows up his hood.
"They're 5000 Eris a night," Luna told him without mentioning that was nothing to a seasoned adventurer.
Izuku nodded. "I'll take one thank you."
Luna nodded. "For how long?"
"For however long I'm in town," He reached into his coin pouch and flipped her a gold piece. "For all the trouble," He then turned to leave only for Luna to reach out and grab his hand. She stuttered out a reminder while also being grateful for his generosity, "W-Wait Izuku sir! You forgot to actually register as an adventurer."
'Oh, I did forget, silly me,' He thought to himself. 'Miss Luna's hand is warm.' he also thought. "Right, so do I just hold my hand over this thing or?"
"Yes, that's all you need to do."
Izuku did so, causing the sphere to glow a bright blue as a small pinpoint laser at the bottom of the device began to etch something onto a piece of paper stroke by stroke. Once it was finished, Luna took the ticket and read off, loud enough for everyone to hear, "Rather abysmal strength, exceptional dexterity, and charisma. You also have above average, constitution, wisdom, intellect, and your luck is the highest I've ever seen!" She said surprised. "With stats like these the only class that really suits you is…" She gulped. "Bard."
All the women in the room flushed and edged away from him, while the men who were sending him glares forgot their previous fear of him. "What is that bad?"
Luna shook her head. "N-No not exactly, it's just that bards have a notorious reputation for… Well…"
"They sleep with anyone!" One male voice called out.
"Yeah, they're girlfriend stealers and homewreckers!" Another cried.
Izuku instinctually backed into the counter. "Umm, are you all labeling me without even getting to know me? I'd like to point out I just got into town and haven't done any of that yet."
Luna moved to his defense. "He's right you know! Just because Bards have a bad reputation for sleeping around and generally ruining people's lives doesn't mean Izuku is going to do it. So let's give him a chance okay everyone!"
Then a mumble overtook the crowd, how there were two kinds of Bards. There was the first kind, the one that sings bawdy songs and that sleeps with anything female… Then there was the other one. The cutthroat, back alley spymasters and espionage artists, who would do whatever it took out of the light of day to keep the peace. Considering the new guy admitted to being a Bounty Hunter that saved a goddess of the moon, they were all pretty sure what kind of 'Bard' he was. Everyone silently went back to their drinks without any more fuss. Izuku pocketed his card and made for the door. "Izuku, where are you going?"
"Some girls have gone missing of late Luna-san, I'm going to retrieve them," Izuku replied, glancing back only to give her a reassuring smile.
Luna and several other women present found themselves blushing, and a certain girl with dark hair and crimson eyes decided to follow as stealthily as she could in the mysterious stranger's wake.
Izuku walked down the road he was told by a passerby led to the graveyard. He looked at the flier again. 'Why would Succubi be doing at a graveyard anyway?'
'Succubi feeds off of life energy my adorable little kouhai.' BB informed him. 'If something was causing the ghosts in the graveyard to be restless, it would be like a sign out front that said all you can eat buffet to them.'
"Ah… that makes sense," Izuku muttered to himself. "So first we need to find out what is causing the unrest of the dead in the graveyard, then we need to put a stop to that and figure out who is kidnapping the succubi, how, where they're taking them, why, and for what purpose,"
"You don't need to concern yourself with the why if you don't want to. You could just track down the bad guys, kill them and collect your reward," BB told him. "After all, you're not getting paid to save anyone."
Izuku shook his head. "It's not about the money BB-chan it's about helping people who're in danger. The money is just a nice bonus."
"You're such a bleeding heart hero Izu-tan. That reminds me, we never did set your proficiencies earlier well. We couldn't since you didn't really have a class. Would you like to do so now while we walk?"
"Sure? What do you suggest?"
Izuku heard BB giggle evilly in his head. "Fufufu. Well, if you're going to take this bounty hunting bard thing seriously, then I'd take Stealth, Insight, Investigation, Perception, and Persuasion. They help you find clues, hide and spot hidden foes as well as traps, and get into places you're not supposed to be in."
"Okay then let's do that," Izuku agreed.
"And… done!" BB said triumphantly.
Izuku felt like electricity was racing up his entire body for a moment, and he stood stock-still. When it passed, he kept on walking… only now, he was picking up the sounds of footfalls behind him, off to his left. 'Someone is following me,' He quickly realized. Walking calmly down an alleyway he hid behind a few crates and waited. Soon enough, those same footfalls came to a stop in front of the alleyway. He waited to listen as the person, quickly identified as female, walked past his hiding place.
"Where could he have gone? He was right here a moment ago, right?" He heard the girl ask herself. She walked past his position, and that is when he struck. Drawing a dagger from the holster on his chest Izuku rose like a phantom from behind the refuse and crates. He all but glided silently behind the girl, who had short black hair and was wearing a black jacket, pink skirt, stockings, and black shoes. On her waist was a shortsword and in her left hand was a silver staff. None of that meant anything to Izuku, as he slipped his dagger around her pale throat and asked, "Why're you following me?"
"Ah! I-I t-thought you m-might need help!" The girl stuttered out before whining piteously, "I'm sorry!"
Normally Izuku wouldn't be so confrontational, but he'd just died, been reincarnated into another world with a high fantasy setting, and he didn't really know who to trust besides BB. So he felt he was being justifiably paranoid at the moment. He turned his dagger's edge to the side and pulled it across the girls' throat, showing her he wasn't going to kill her, but he easily could've. He then put the blade away. "Turn around," He ordered.
She did so and he got his first good look at her face. She had red eyes that were framed by her dark-brown locks. She was wearing the most absurd jacket that had a giant boob window in it. 'Maybe that's in style around here?' He wondered to himself, deciding not to bring it up. "Who are you and why are you following me?"
"M-My name is Yunyun, and I thought you might need help with your rescue sir so I decided to tagalong from a distance… I didn't want to be a bother," The girl said looking at the cobblestones in slight shame.
"Are you an adventurer?" Izuku asked, making her look up in shock.
"Y-Yes would you like to see my credentials?" She offered him her card, and Izuku took it. "Archmage huh? He muttered to himself. 'I'm thinking of taking her on board. What do you think BB?'
The AI 'harrumphed', "Well, my boobs are bigger for the record, and BB-chan could totally handle Izu-tan's carnal urges by herself, but yeah go ahead."
'None of that has a damn thing to do with her getting into the party or not,' Izuku deadpanned.
"Which one?" BB shot back slyly, "The party going on inside or outside of your pants right now as you look at her?"
Izuku ignored his semi-sulking, always playful AI to answer Yunyun. "Alright, you can come with me."
"R-Really?!" Her eyes started glowing a deep crimson due to her excitement as she clasped her hands together and started hopping up and down.
"Yes," Izuku replied as he handed the excited girl her card back. "I could use some extra help. You know the area better than me among other things. There are a few rules, however." Yunyun nodded. Prompting Izuku to continue, "Firstly if I tell you to run you run. No questions asked. These people are likely slavers and wouldn't think twice about adding a pretty girl like you to their collection, succubi or no." Yunyun blanched and nodded fiercer than before. "Secondly, do not hesitate to kill if it means preserving your own life. These… people and I use the term loosely, have a kill order out on them. That said, we're going to try and take as many alive as we can. More money that way."
Yunyun nodded. "Right, I've got some spells that should be useful for that, sleep gas and such."
"Good," Izuku was starting to like her already. "Lastly if at any point you don't want to continue, let me know and you're free to leave, collecting whatever share of the money you've earned up to that point. Any questions?"
Yunyun shook her head, prompting Izuku to speak. "Good, then I have one for you Yunyun. Why are you helping me find missing succubi? I was under the impression demons weren't well-liked by others."
"They aren't, but my Clan, the Crimson Demon Clan is… that is to say, we're not fully human, but not fully demons either. We were artificially made, the first of us, a long time ago and well, it's complicated but it boils down to me not wanting to hurt people just because of what they are. If they were doing something bad that may be different, but I don't think that's the case."
Izuku was silent for a moment digesting her words as well as something else. 'Hey BB, how did I know all that stuff I just said?'
"You seem to have subconsciously accessed my databases pertaining to this world, in particular, my little kouhai," BB replied, "I didn't expect that to happen but it's interesting."
'Okay, what's that do?'
Izuku could hear the sound of BB tapping away on a keyboard in his head. "Think of it like a subconscious information gap filler. It will feed you information as needed to complete your current objective, but you'd need something to go on first. While it can tell you things you don't know, you still need a lead first; you can't make quantum leaps in logic out of nothing."
'That's cool, amazing really,' Izuku praised. 'So what else can you tell me about this world?' He thought as he walked motioning for Yunyun to follow.
BB was happy to comply. "Eris, the goddess of fortune is the primary goddess of this world. She has the most followers, the currency is named after her as you know and she is the patroness of merchants, adventurers, and thieves."
Izuku nodded, filing that away. "What else?"
The faux-goddess continued, "The world is at war with the Demon King, whose fortress is far to the north of here. Said fortress is locked behind an impenetrable barrier, upheld by his eight generals. This war has been going on for several generations now hence, the hatred of demonkind."
Izuku nodded, he figured as much. 'And, There's always a catch. What is it? Also, why was I acting so gruff back there?'
Remember, your backstory is that of an Urban bounty hunter. You're now the type who'll do whatever he has to, to catch his mark."
'Wait so your saying picking a backstory actually altered my personality?!'
"To a minor extent, yes," BB affirmed. "But anyway, onto that catch you were wondering about."
'Wait a second!' Izuku demanded, 'Don't just gloss over it like its nothing!'
BB sighed. "Is it really all that important though? Before you were a weak scared little kid. Now you have both the drive and more important than that ability to actually do something when people are in danger. That's what you've really wanted right?"
'Well yeah but, not at the cost of changing who I am,' Izuku replied.
"Stupid Kouhai, did you honestly think you could still be a hero and not come out of your shell? Don't be naive. In order to become what you've always wanted to be, a hero, change was inevitable, usually, it's painful. It's up to you how much you let yourself be changed though."
"Izuku…" Yunyun called out to him, "Is everything alright? You seem lost in thought.
"Uh oh kouhai you've upset your mistress, better go console her and let her know everything is alright," BB snarked.
"I'm fine Yunyun, I just have a lot on my mind," Izuku replied. 'And her name is BB.'
"Love you too Kouhai," BB teased.
Izuku ignored her jibes in favor of telling his new party member, "C'mon, I need you to lead me to the biggest dive bar in town."
"Why?" Yunyun asked, "Such a place would only be filled with criminals."
Izuku pointed at her. "Exactly. Where else do you think we'll be likely to pick up information on a succubi smuggling ring?"
A look of comprehension dawned in the Archwizards eyes and she nodded. "Right, I might know of just the place, follow me!"
The Braying Ass was as ramshackle as they came. The windows of the place were all but opaque with dirt, as was the wooden floor of the place. The dingy bar was caked with sawdust and was manned by a shifty looking old man with a single blue eye who kept trying to clean already dirty looking glasses with an already filthy looking rag. Rickety looking tables and chairs were strewn throughout the place haphazardly and everyone was shiftily looking at one or another, nursing drinks. The atmosphere couldn't be any more different from the guildhall. Izuku pulled his cloak tighter about his person and Yunyun donned a hooded cloak even before entering, and the two approached the counter feeling all eyes on them.
The barman eyed them suspiciously as they approached. "Yer new round these parts are ya? I don't like new faces," he said with a scowl.
In response, Izuku flipped the man a gold coin. The barman snapped it up like it was his firstborn, narrowing his single eye at Izuku suspiciously. "What you want' in?"
"A drink for the lady and myself, along with some information?" Izuku said, doing his best to keep his voice even.
"What ta drink, and what kinda info?" The barkeep grunted.
"Two beers, and as for info… I've heard tell that someone's trafficking in demons around here, and I was looking to get a cut of the action."
The Barman eyed him suspiciously, as he poured their drinks from a wooden keg. "Aye, that may be. What of it?"
"If I wanted to get in touch with such people, where would I go?" Izuku asked as he flipped another gold coin between his knuckles.
Plopping the drinks down in front of them, the barkeep replied, "Ye'd need to head down to the Deadman's Den an' ask for Reaver you would."
Izuku looked to Yunyun, "I've never heard of the Deadman's Den, have you?"
"Only by reputation," Yunyun replied, "It's a gambling den where if you can't pay they'll happily sell you in the slave trade or that's how the rumor goes. I've never been there myself."
"How do we get there?" Izuku asked the barkeep before he sipped at his beer, it was fruity and tasted like nutmeg. He liked it.
"Down by the north end of the city, by the docks where the boats come in. You'll find it easily enough," The barkeep replied.
Izuku downed the rest of his beer, before tossing the man the other piece of gold. "Thanks," He turned to Yunyun. "Ready to go, partner?"
"Just a moment," She poured her beer into a flask she procured from somewhere. "No point in wasting a good drink."
"Bounty Hunter," The barkeep called. "Be careful going after Reaver and his boys, they mean business, and unless you wanna end up in chains or dead, you'd best be prepared to kill to keep your lives."
Izuku looked back and nodded. "We will let's go, partner."
"Right!" Yunyun said, beaming, happy to finally be part of a party.
The north side of Axel town was one big dock. As it's where the riverboats came in and unloaded their cargo from upstream and either sold it if it was perishable like fish or produce. Things like cloth, weapons, or spices were sold here, and then they moved onto the next town. Sailors on shore leave were making their way along the streets happily, while women in the world's oldest profession were doing their best to entice them away from their earnings by flashing a bit of leg or posing just so that they were all but letting the men who hadn't seen a real woman in who knows how long see down their bodices. Izuku ignored them and pulled Yunyun closer to him when he saw some of the sailors leering at his companion in an almost predatory fashion. "Stick close to me," He muttered.
"Uh-huh."
They made their way past stalls and shops of people hawking their goods, and past trash-strewn alleyways. They just followed the stream of bummed out looking sailors who looked down on their luck coming from the back allies. Soon enough they came to what looked like a two-story house, it had a balcony on the second level and was in dire need of a new coat of white paint as its current coat was horrendously chipped and its shingles were all but gone off the roof. Some tough looking guys carrying clubs were sitting out front on the stoop decked out in leather armor. They stood when Izuku and Yunyun approached.
"What'chu want?" A man with dirty blonde hair asked before he spit on the ground showing he was chewing tobacco.
"I was told this was a place to come to play cards. That right?" Izuku asked.
"Maybe." The other guard replied who had a broken nose that made it look like he had a pig snout. "You got any money on ya?"
"An' who's the girl?" A third asked he had a mohawk of blonde hair.
Izuku quickly looped his arm around Yunyun's. "Arm candy you understand?"
The men nodded and grinned lecherously. "How much did she cost?" The pig snouted man asked.
"More than you can afford I'm afraid," Izuku replied easily pulling Yunyun closer and placing a kiss on her cheek while pulling away he muttered a 'sorry' into her ear.
"Yeah, probably with a girl that cute. Anyway, you got Eris?" The blonde thug asked. Izuku flashed a gold coin making the man blink. "That can't be real right?"
"Let him in already," A voice spoke from above. "You don't really expect him to spend his coin out in the street do you, Clyde?"
"B-Boss!" The blonde spoke.
Izuku looked up and beheld the man who would become a constant thorn in his side in the future. He had messy black hair and fine features, and a thin strip of a beard in between his lower lip and his chin. He was wearing fine leather attire, a half cape on his back, a belt across his shoulder and waist, and a holster on his left hip which had a gun.
'Well guess this isn't a high fantasy world after all,' Izuku thought to himself as he called out, "Reaver I presume?"
The man on the balcony bowed. "In the flesh, I was having a portrait done when I heard the conversation. You seem to know my name, but I don't know yours."
"I'm new to town," Izuku replied, holding up his heavy coin pouch.
Reaver's dark-brown eyes gleamed with greed. "Well come on in then," He made his way back inside and Izuku and Yunyun were allowed to pass, but not before they heard him say to the painter. "Do you really think my cheeks look that chubby?… Bang! "Clyde, do come up here and clean up this mess!"
The blonde sighed, mumbling, "Fourth time this month." before he called, "Coming boss!"
The interior of the Deadman's Den was full of tables. Some were long, others were short, and all manner of people were crowded around them some were throwing dice, others were playing card games, the smell of tobacco smoke was heavy in the air on the far left of the room was a makeshift bar. That was basically boards nailed into the wall with bottles of drink.
"Sorry about that, I had to think fast and," He was cut off by Yunyun squeezing his arm to hers a bit tighter.
"Don't worry about it, it got us inside. Now, what though?" She asked, "Even with all my magic I don't think we can take all the people in here."
There were over twenty people in this place and none of them looked too friendly. Every single person was armed with at least a dagger and Izuku saw a couple of heavy crossbows and even some greatswords among the people here. "Just give me a moment to think," He whispered. He had a silent conversation with BB. 'BB-chan, I'm really lucky thanks to you right?'
"Oh yeah!" BB happily informed him, "You could totally break the bank of this place if you wanted to… Fufufu! That's the plan, isn't it my little kouhai?" BB asked as she clapped her hands in sadistic glee.
Izuku just grinned. "Okay, I've got a plan. We're gonna go play some cards."
Yunyun looked at him dumbly. "Huh?"
Izuku grinned. "Just trust me," He said as he moved over to the left where a teller was in a cage and being guarded by some beefy looking guards who had metal-studded clubs in hand glaring at him suspiciously.
Izuku slid a gold piece across the slate towards the man. "What can I get for this?"
The man's eyes widened before he picked up the coin and bit down on it then he weighed it on a scale much like Miss Luna had done before him. The man handed him a hundred black and white chips. Izuku gave ten to Yunyun and said "Go play some games."
"Do you have any idea how many Eris you just gave me?!" Yunyun asked him as she stared at him incredulously while he headed towards one of the tables.
"Nope now go have fun honey," Izuku finished with a wink.
Yunyun flushed a little bit. 'He's just trying to blend in, he's just trying to blend in,' She told herself even though she felt her cheeks burn red hot.
"Boss! We've got a problem!" One of the bouncers said opening the door to Reaver's chambers without knocking and looking away when he found Clyde on his knees along with one of the succubi servicing the boss.
"Do you fucking mind Jonathan? I'm clearly in the middle of something here?!" Reaver sighed before standing up and pulling up his pants, "Nevermind, you've killed the fucking mood now, so what is it!?"
"Um, boss we've got someone downstairs close to breaking the bank," Johnathan replied awkwardly.
"Fine I'll be right down, and man the fuck up, it's not like you've never walked in on someone having sex before. This is a whorehouse and gambling den for goodness sakes!"
"Yes sir!" Jonathan said watching the succubi as she walked out, ass swaying only to wince when Reaver smacked him upside the head.
"Test out the new merchandise later, lead me to this problem now," Reaver demanded.
"R-Right," Jonathan said, leading his boss out to the balcony. Reaver quickly leaned over and got a bird's eye view of what he considered his one of his many ,small but profitable kingdoms. He quickly spotted the trouble. The cloaked man he'd let in earlier was sitting at a blackjack table surrounded by a small mountain of black chips. They surrounded him on either side, framing his face like twin peaks.
"How much is he up?" Reaver asked, intrigued.
"Ten million Eris," Jonathan replied. "No signs of cheating via magic have been detected. As far as we can tell, he's just that lucky."
Reaver whistled. "I see," He made his way down the stairs towards the game everyone else had crowded around. He tapped the sweating dealer on the shoulder. "Johan, go take five you look a mess man."
"B-Boss! I-I'm real s-sorry I dunno how he does it!" The weasel-faced dealer replied.
Reaver just patted the man on the shoulder. "Some people are just born lucky. I should know, I'm one of them."
Reaver turned and faced the boy who looked relaxed. "Hello, gambler whose name I still don't know."
"It's Izuku," The boy replied easily, "I hope you don't mind, but I made myself comfortable."
Reaver laughed. "Mi casa es su casa," Reaver said, widening his arms and gesturing around. "You've made yourself quite a haul," Reaver noted. "Could we perhaps comp you a room with free room service?" Reaver made note of Yunyun standing not far away from Izuku and smirked. "I see you brought your own entertainment, two is always better than the one you know?"
"Reaver," Izuku said, with an edge of force in his tone. "I didn't come here to play cards or break your bank."
That caught the scoundrels attention wondering what his motives were. "Ah, then what are you here for?"
"Originally, I came here to collect the bounty put on your head by the Wet Dream shop," Izuku admitted shocking Reaver at his blunt honesty.
Reaver laughed while everyone else tensed and his men put their hands on their weapons. "Well, you're a bold one aren't you?! What changed dare I ask?"
He motioned to the succubi servers all of whom were wearing nice red velvet but revealing attire. "They don't look like they're being forced to work here. No chains, no slave brands on them anywhere. So what's really going on?"
Reaver nodded. "Perceptive, I like that in a man," Reaver said. "To answer your question they aren't being held against their will, they work here, for me," Reaver snapped his fingers and pointed to the bar motioning for a couple of drinks which were quickly served. Two glasses of brandy were placed before the two. Swirling his in his glass for a moment before taking a sip, Reaver explained. "You see Izuku, the Succubi who come to me, simply don't get enough energy from draining what little energy they get from giving lustful adventurers dreams. Some, simply need more energy then what that job provides, while others are what you would call 'purists' who believe in the old ways, that is to say, fucking a man for his semen."
Izuku nodded. "I see, so they came to you because they had no other option," He sipped at his drink. It wasn't bad, but he preferred the beer at the Braying Ass.
"Correct!" Reaver said toasting the young man. "So you see, the bounty being placed on me is quite baseless. Just something concocted by vengeful succubi who keep losing their workers to me is all."
"What's the deal with them disappearing around the graveyard?" Izuku asked.
Reaver scoffed. "Of course, who's going to go into a graveyard at night since it's supposed to be 'haunted'? It's a meeting place for any new recruits since I don't want them being tailed back here."
Izuku nodded. It all made sense but… He just didn't know. Something just felt off. Like it, all fit together too well to be believed. 'BB can you tell me anything about this Reaver guy?'
"Checking," BB replied as she adapted her powers a little and started to connect across the world through the snippets she could find. The bits of divinity left in her connected out into the world and searched for relevant information to help her poor junior. She sifted through all the info until she found what little information she could find., "Hmm, he owns a boat called the Reaver. It makes bimonthly trips down south to the Demon Lords Territory."
'What could his cargo be? The succubi?' Izuku asked.
"Could be," BB affirmed. "The Demon King would likely view the Succubi as traitors."
Izuku closed his eyes. Then opened them glaring at Reaver. "Tell me, Reaver, how long have all of these girls been working here?"
"Suzie has been here a month and a half," Reaver replied motioning to a pretty blonde who waved at Izuku "Why did you want someone experienced?"
Izuku shook his head. "No, I'm just trying to figure out when your next trip up north is. Should be in about two weeks now right?"
Reaver suddenly stopped smiling. A scowl etched itself on his face, and his eyes burned with malice at that tidbit of information reveal. "How do you know about that?"
"I've got people," Izuku replied calmly leaning forwards. "So Reaver, as I see it you've got two options."
"Which are?" Reaver asked as he downed his brandy like a shot and motioned for more. The tension in the room was palpable. Suzie who was serving drinks did so with trembling hands.
Izuku ticked off on his fingers. "Firstly, you can not take that trip up north like you're planning to do and just keep the ladies here. I'm sure they make you quite the profit while also seeing to it their own needs are fulfilled."
"And the second option?" Reaver asked, throwing back another shot of brandy.
"I bankrupt this place, then report it to the adventures guild who will see to it that it gets shut down and the succubi get either returned to the Wet Dream Cafe or at worst deported. Everyone loses, except for me because I'd be leaving with all this," Izuku motioned to the mountain of money in front of him.
"What about the option where I kill you and put the girl on my next boat trip up north?" Reaver opined. Thumbing the handle of his pistol as he did so.
Izuku shook his head. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, see I told the whole guild I'd be down by the docks before I left and if I didn't come back by dawn tomorrow, they're to raid the place."
Reaver's knuckles popped with how hard he was clenching them. Eyes narrowed. He ground out through clenched teeth, "So what do you propose?"
"Take option one," Izuku said. He pushed half of his winnings back towards Reaver. "I'll even pay you to do it."
Reaver sighed out a laugh. "With my own money?"
"It's either that or I break your bank and leave you with nothing," Izuku replied, his own eyes as hard as Reavers. "Also, I'll be checking in on the girls from time to time, you understand right?" He said with a fake smile.
Reaver sighed in annoyance. "Of course you will," He then motioned Izuku away. "Now get your money and get out of here."
"Sure," Izuku replied, collecting all of his chips. "You won't see me for at least another week."
Reaver chuckled. "Don't trust me do you?"
Izuku gave him a look that consisted of a quirked eyebrow, "why would I trust a poisonous snake?"
"Get the hell out of my casino bounty hunter, and take your partner with you," Reaver called over his shoulder.
"We're going Reaver, and remember I'll be back," Izuku called.
"I'm counting on it," Reaver said as he sipped his brandy. "What an interesting young man. It seems this business transaction is a dead end. Oh well I have plenty of other opportunities to profit."
"That… That was amazing Izuku!" Yunyun praised, practically skipping as they walked along the pier making their way outside of the northern district of Axel. "You stood up to Reaver, and actually got us out of there alive!"
Izuku sighed in relief, glad he was out of there. "It was dangerous and stupid, but it worked so I guess it wasn't stupid." He looked to Yunyun apologetically. "Sorry again for kissing you on the cheek like that."
Yunyun blushed and waved her hands at him frantically. "N-No no! D-Don't worry about it! It was a good plan and got us in the door."
Izuku nodded. "Good so I'll see you at the guild tomorrow then?"
"T-tomorrow?" the Demon Clan member asked half hopefully.
The bounty hunter nodded. "Well yeah, we're partners. I thought we made a pretty good team… I mean unless you're busy…"
"NO!" Yunyun denied. "I mean no I don't have any plans. I'd be more than happy to partner up with you for as long as you like."
That caused Izuku to grin. "Great. So I'll see you tomorrow then. Where are you staying anyway? I can at least see you back to your place."
Yunyun blushed and looked at the ground, "Umm, in a tent."
Izuku thought he had misheard. "Did you say a tent?"
The girl nodded sadly embarrassed. She worried Izuku may be ashamed of her and leave her behind like oh so many other teams did. "Yes."
The messy-haired boy nodded and surprised her again this day with her next statement. "Right then follow me."
He led the way back to the guildhall and quickly found Miss Luna. "Luna-san, I'm going to need to rent another room for Yunyun please."
The blonde woman smiled. "Of course, I'll get a room set up for her right across from yours alright?"
Izuku bowed respectfully. "Thank you, Luna-san," He then turned to his partner. "Did you leave anything important at your campsite?"
Yunyun with tears collecting in her eyes, shook her head as she smiled. "No, and thank you for doing this. I'll pay you back, I promise."
The new bounty hunter on the block shook his head, "Don't worry about it, let's just focus on forming a good party yeah?"
Yunyun's eyes glowed crimson in excitement. "Right!"
He turned to the Guild mistress. "What's for dinner Luna-san?"
The blonde smiled cheerfully. "We've got all manner of beef products. A group of adventurers took on a group of minotaurs and that got us several pounds of quality beef."
"Any steak?" Beef was a rare commodity on an island nation, but even Izuku and his mother afforded it from time to time.
Luna sent him a wink. "We sure do! I'll send a server over to take your order hon."
Izuku motioned to a short bench tucked in the corner near one of the giant windows. "Would you like to go sit down?"
"Sure," Yunyun chirped, practically skipping over to the table. Izuku found her cheer to be infectious and found himself smiling a bit himself as he made his way over. For a brief moment, he stopped worrying about how his mother was doing in his absence and about any potential backlash from Reaver. He let himself relax for the first time since he arrived in this new world.
Angling himself so his back was facing the wall and he was facing the rest of the open floor while his own form was obscured by both shadow and the open wooden door, Izuku turned to his new friend first real friend he's had since he was four if he didn't count Wiz which he sort of did. "So Yunyun, forgive me if this comes off as rude, but what did Reaver mean earlier when he said you were expensive goods?"
The girl looked surprised but not offended. "Oh! Have you never met or heard of the Crimson Demon Clan before?" When Izuku shook his head, she elaborated. "Well, that's what I am." She said with pride, "We're known for being powerful spell casters, and our eyes glow red when we get excited."
Izuku's own eyes lit up in recognition. "Oh! I thought I was just seeing things."
Yunyun shook her head and giggled. "Nope. My eyes were really glowing."
Despite it being so common, the boy looked impressed. "Wow, that's so cool. So you're a spellcaster and I'm a bard which is also a spellcaster. Speaking of, I might need to get myself a musical instrument."
"Might? I thought all bards used musical instruments to cast their spells," Yunyun replied.
'BB, is that true?' Izuku asked.
"To a point, it depends on what kind of Bard you want to be little kouhai," BB replied. "Bards can be everything from musicians to oratory loremasters and storytellers. You lean more towards the second type known better as Seanchai, which is a Gaelic term for a storyteller and historian."
'Thanks, sempai,' Izuku replied gently, leaving BB squeeing in happiness in his mind before he informed his companion. "Actually Yunyun, I'm a Seanchai which is one who collects lore, stories, and history."
"Oh wow! That sounds so cool. And you're also a bounty hunter?" She asked.
Before Izuku could answer, a serving girl approached with a pen and pad in hand, smiling nervously, "Can I take your order?"
"I'd like a medium steak, and… beer I guess?" Izuku said he didn't know what counted as a side dish in this place.
"Same, oh Izuku get the myconid mushrooms to go with your steak!" Yuyun urged.
Having no reason to distrust a local, much less Yunyun, he nodded. "Okay two orders of Myconid mushrooms on the side please."
"Can I get this order right in for you," The waitress said before she scurried away.
Izuku turned back to Yunyun, "Did she seem tense to you?"
Yuyun nodded nervously, "Yes, it probably has to do with your chosen profession."
Izuku rolled his eyes. "Me being a bard again?"
The dark-haired girl nodded. "Yes, Bards are notorious for enthralling waitstaff with pretty words and sweet nothings, having their way with them, and then leaving them pregnant with a child and moving on."
Izuku shook his head in disgust. "Well, I'm not like that."
Yunyun nodded. "I know you're not. Izuku is a good person."
"Thanks," Izuku appreciated her faith in him. "At least you and Luna-san accept me."
Yunyun looked around before she leaned in and whispered like a gossiping schoolgirl. "Actually, I don't think Miss Luna would mind overly much if you tried to seduce her, considering how old she is."
The bounty hunter blinked in confusion. "Old? She can't be more than twenty."
"You really aren't from around here are you?" Yunyun stated more than questioned. "The marriage age in Belzerg is fourteen since people die so often to monsters or the Demon King's army."
"F-Fourteen?! Really?!" Seeing Yunyun nod Izuku ran a hand down his face. "Wow, I'm already old enough to be married here."
Yunyun filed that little tidbit away for later. "So if you're not native to Belzerg, where do you come from?"
Izuku opened his mouth, then closed it. He was silent for a moment before he said, "That's… a long story, one I don't think you'll believe if I tell you."
"That's not true!" Yunyun said, leaning forward, "Izuku is the first person to ever want to partner up with Yunyun, or even… be her friend," Izuku felt a sense of kinship with this girl. He knew what loneliness was like. "So if he says something is true, she'll believe him."
She was giving him such an earnest look as she leaned across the table. Izuku couldn't help but smile. "Alright then, but you're going to have to suspend your disbelief for me alright because this is my origin story, and it's kinda unbelievably sucky. It all starts in a world where eighty percent of the population are born with something called quirks..."
He kept Yunyun entertained for over an hour as he explained what his life was like growing up quirkless in a society where having a quirk was everything, and how he died, trying to be the one thing he was told by the Number One Hero he couldn't be, a hero. "I guess in the end, All Might was right. I really couldn't save anyone much less Kaachan."
"You're wrong!" Yunyun said vehemently as she stabbed the remnants of her steak, crammed it into her mouth, and chewed it furiously before swallowing before she continued, "You tried to save someone who was nothing but an absolute jerk to you, that was nothing less than heroic. On top of that, you did something while actually trained heroes were doing nothing!"
Izuku smiled, a bit sadly. "True, but in the end, I died so All Might was kinda right."
Yunyun shook her head. "My papa once said, All it takes for the wicked villains to triumph is for good men and women, each capable of being heroes every one of them to do nothing." It was one of her father's less childish moments. She continued, "You said you died?"
Izuku nodded. "I did, I ended up meeting a goddess calling herself Aqua. She was so impressed that I died the way I did she gave… someone to help me become a hero. I don't really feel comfortable calling her a quirk, but her name's BB."
"Fufufu, love you too my precious little kouhai," BB cooed.
Yunyun looked around, upon seeing no one she asked, "Has she been following us?"
Izuku was quick to reply."She's noncorporeal. It's why I knew about Reaver's boat trips," Izuku replied, "She's a font of information among other things."
"Hey, hey, kouhai, I wanna try something gimme a minute okay?" BB requested.
"Alright, BB said she wanted to try something," Izuku explained, upon seeing Yunyun's questioning look.
[Party invite sent to Yunyun, Lv.10 Wizard/Lv.1 Archwizard]
"Eep!" Yunyun said jumping in her seat when she saw a screen pop up in front of her. "Is this the thing BB was working on?"
"I think so?" Izuku replied, confused himself.
Yunyun reached out with a finger and pressed accept.
"One moment please while stats are calibrated to the current system by the admin."
Just a minute later, a stat page popped up in front of both herself and Izuku
Name: Yunyun
Str: 10 0 bonus
Dex: 12 +1 bonus
Con: 12 +1 bonus
Int: 18 +4 bonus
Wis: 8 -1 bonus
Cha: 8 -1 bonus
Luk: 2 -4 bonus
Izuku looked at it and questioned, "Yunyun… how do you have a minus four luck bonus?"
"I don't know?" Yunyun replied confused. "To be honest, I don't know what any of this means."
"I can answer any questions you might have Yun-chan," BB said with slight sadistic glee.
The dark-haired crimson eyed girl blinked. "BB, I presume?"
"Fufufu, yes. I'm the artificial goddess BB-chan! Here to answer all your questions."
'Oh no, 'not another' eccentric person!' Yunyun thought with dread.
"BB-chan isn't a chunni, she can actually back up her talk," The AI Goddess defended instantly understanding how infamous her clan was for their behavior.
Yunyun nodded. "Okay, so what does all this mean?"
"These are your abilities as a person. You get thirty points to spend however you like… I can make recommendations. BB recommends you do something about your truly horrendous luck. She's never seen a stat so low in her artificial life ever. And she knew an archer with quite horrendous luck."
Yunyun didn't need to be told twice. In fact, if she was reading that thing right, the only things she had going for her was her intellect, her dexterity which was gained from running away from others and being healthy. In a rare display of determination, she decided to fix most of that right now.
Name: Yunyun
Str: 12 +1 bonus
Dex: 18 +4 bonus
Con: 16 +3 bonus
Int: 20 +5 bonus
Wis: 12 +1 bonus
Cha: 14 +2 bonus
Luk: 10 0 bonus
"There, that takes care of that 'horrendous luck' of mine," Yunyun said happily as she felt a sudden surge of power rush through her body. She felt heady like she'd drunk too much, but she knew that wasn't the case. She was quite literally drunk with newfound power at the moment. She hiccuped a bit. "I hic, feel a little hic dizzy hic Izuku."
Izuku was by her side in moments fretting over her. "Okay, let's get you in bed for the night Yunyun," He tossed a gold piece on the table as a tip for the waitress before hefting the unsteady Yunyun to her feet. "C'mon just lean on my shoulder, that's it just one step at a time," He said, leading her up the steps giving no one else any mind as he led his partner away. If he had given the room a once over he would've seen others in the guildhall giving him distrustful looks as he led Yunyun up the stairs towards the rooms. How all the waitresses muttered how Izuku may have been that kind bard in reality. He got her cloak off and tucked her into bed with her clothes on. "Feel better Yunyun."
Izuku retreated to his own room just across the hall, happy this day was over and fell into his bed.
Words: 12,860 Number of Pages: 31 Date Completed: 6/1/2020
AN: Hello one and all and welcome to the spiritual successor to Twice Inheritor. Note I said spiritual successor. This is a different beast. It'll be more controlled, the harem won't be crazy and it'll be fun. Snowy will be helping me with this and it will be fun. I hope you all enjoy the ride.
It really is. This is more based on the Grecian odyssey. Oh there will be a journey we just will see how whole izuku's world will be with him gone for a while. After all he is the Hero after all right. Now then just so the reader's know this will be a journey that Izuku will not travel alone. He will gain friends, allies, and even enemies. We thought we would be nice and start on the nice and simple world of konosuba. Beware though because this world holds many many secrets and most of them are not good. Thank you all and I hope to keep Bubba interested with this story.
Thanks as always Snow, well, that just about covers everything till next time everyone, stay safe, healthy, and remember to enjoy life. This has been a Bubbajack and IcySnowSage Production. Peace!