A giant wooden door filled his vision, creaking as it slowly opened.
His vision was filled with green, and a wave of mana washed over him, a swirling wave of each kind of mana, making him feel energised, powerful. He tried to grab onto some of the mana, but it slipped through his fingers like water.
He huffed as the feeling of power left him, the mana continuing onwards as if he wasn't even there. He got to his feet and stepped forward, but felt too much resistance in the air, something was blocking him.
A bell rang out from the doors, which Izuku now realised were identical to the doors of the UA dungeon. The bell continued to ring, speeding up with each one. Izuku felt something rising in his chest.
Had he done something wrong? Was this the dungeon trying to tell him something? Was the earth mad that he had told it how he would use its power? Was the dungeon mad about the Steelbringer, thinking he wasn't grateful for the gifts he had already been given?
He opened his mouth to speak, to yell, to do something to placate the earth, or the dungeon, whichever it was but found himself silent, not even a peep escaping him. The ground rumbled around him, sounding almost as if it was laughing at him.
Before his eyes, a shade stepped out of the doors.
Small, probably not even up to his waist, it almost looked like a demi-Rat, if it had been turned as a child. It waved its paw towards Izuku, motioning for him to come towards the door, but Izuku still couldn't move.
The demi-Rat shade seemed understanding at least when Izuku didn't move. He saw it turned around without any further hassle, walking back towards the inside of the dungeon. As the doors started to close, Izuku heard a voice, so soft he had to strain himself to hear it.
"Hmm. You're nowhere near ready yet. Continue to grow, and I will see you in my Core Room, Izuku Midoriya."
The door slammed right as the shade finished speaking, and Izuku jolted, his eyes flying open as he was slammed back into the world of the awake.
Izuku landed on the floor with a thud.
He groaned as the hardwood floors shocked him, and pushed off, getting to his feet. This was… not his room at the Inn. Where was he? He had been dreaming about something, but he couldn't remember what… ah well, it probably wasn't important if he couldn't remember it.
Shaking off the tingles down his back he had gotten from… whatever he had been dreaming about, he racked his memory. Got back to Mustafu with Melissa, went to check on Mei… "Ah!"
He glanced around as he realised that he must have fallen asleep at Mei's house after they had finished wrapping the hilt of his new sword and making a scabbard for it. It was surprisingly fun, trying to make the materials do what he wanted them to. Maybe in another life, he could have been a craftsman?
Shaking his head, Izuku reached down to grab onto the pommel of his new sword but didn't find anything. Where was [Steelbringer]?! He only panicked for a moment though, as he saw that his weapons had just fallen off of the table next to the couch he had been sleeping on when he had fallen.
He picked up [Steelbringer] and his [Ratbone Dagger] carefully, making sure they weren't chipped or anything. Luckily magical weapons were sturdy, so the wooden floor hadn't damaged them.
He also put the [Whip of the Duke] back on his waist. He was less worried about it being damaged, as it wasn't as valuable to him as the other stuff. He was probably going to sell the whip anyway, it didn't really fit his fighting style.
"Yo kid, you good? I heard a thump."
Izuku yelped as the voice appeared behind him, and spun around to see… Mei if she was a guy? And like way taller? Wait, no that was stupid. "Are you Mei's father?"
The man flinched, letting out a hiss. "Ouch, kid. I don't look that old, do I? Damn that gremlin, gonna give me wrinkles and grey hairs before I turn 30. Anyway, the names Otto. I'm Mei's big brother and the owner of the forge."
Izuku straightened a bit at that. "Oh! I'm sorry for bothering you by falling asleep in your shop! I promise it won't happen again. I just had a really big day, and I guess I crashed."
Otto waved him off. "Nah, I don't even really care about that. You'd be surprised how much my shop is invaded by that Shield girl for sleepovers, so we have people on the couch fairly often. I'm more worried about what Mei made for you."
Otto grabbed [Steelbringer] off of the table and held it out in his hands. "Do you know how a magical weapon is made, Midoriya?"
Izuku shook his head, he really didn't. He just knew that it was amazing and rare for someone to do so. "No, sir."
Otto nodded as he pulled the sword out of its sheath, watching the slight rainbow glow surrounding the blade as he held it up to the light. "Well, it's not a common thing, so I guess it makes sense you don't know."
Otto resheathed the sword. "Magic comes from two things, the skills that are given to us by the system, and the intent of the person using those skills. It's why when people are in life or death scenarios, or times when they are determined or enthusiastic, you can see them get just that little bit more powerful. It's like adrenaline for mana."
Izuku hummed, thinking that over, and Otto continued. "And with craftsmen and women, the intent of the creator is a major part of crafting when using high-tier and magical materials. A sword that the creator was passionate about making will be higher quality than a mass-produced item, understand?"
Izuku nodded slowly. "So you're saying that… [Steelbringer] is the way it is because Mei was passionate about making it?"
Otto smiled softly. "I doubt her passion alone was all it took, but yes, that's what I'm trying to say. I don't doubt that my forbidding her from using the material made her so desperate to use it that her excitement over finally making a sword with it powered her skill even further than normal."
Izuku had an idea. "Oh, she was also using that new rune that Melissa made while making it, the one that increases skill efficiency."
Otto whistled, shaking his head. "There you go. Mei is one of the most passionate and enthusiastic smiths I've ever had the pleasure of knowing, let alone being related to. Couple that with Shield's new rune, and I don't doubt that she overcharged the sword with intent while forging it."
Putting his hand on Izuku shoulder, Otto's face suddenly darkened. "A magic item is usually considered the masterpiece of a smiths collection. To give it our for free, even with a contract behind it, is almost unheard of. Therefore…"
Izuku winced as the smith's hand closed around his shoulder, showing off the impressive grip strength smiths had as he squeezed Izuku's shoulder. "If you ever mess with her, or dash her hopes, or hurt her at all, It won't matter how many levels ahead of me you've gotten at the time I'll break you under my hammer no matter what."
Izuku huffed, crossing his arms. "Why does everyone assume that I'm going to mess up this contract? Seriously! You and Sir Shield both threatened me about it. I would never intentionally hurt someone, especially not someone who's given me such a great deal!"
Otto raised his hands as he took a step back. "Ok, ok, I get it. I'm just telling you, adventurers aren't our favourite people, alright? So while you being a source of [Enhanced Steel] has gotten you in Mei's good books, you're not in mine just yet."
Izuku frowned. Why didn't Otto like adventurers? He made it sound like Mei didn't either, except for him? That was weird. Usually, adventurers were welcomed and encouraged to trade with stores because they had the most loot.
"I get it. I promise that I won't let Mei down and that I'll prove to you that I'm not someone you have to worry about. I owe Mei more than I think I'll ever pay her back with, just from this sword alone."
Otto hummed, turning back towards the forge. "Good, you at least know how important [Steelbringer] is. Now, go use it so you can keep Mei's stores of [Enhanced Steel] high, alright?"
Izuku smiled as Otto started walking out of the room, and clipped [Steelbringer] into place on his hip, the weight of the sword feeling right. "Of course! Before I go though, where is Mei? I thought she might want to see [Steelbringer] one more time before it was used."
Otto chuckled. "She's out, said she had to tell Shield about the sword. She said to say goodbye to you though, which is honestly more thought she's put into about anything or anyone other than smithing in a long time."
Izuku nodded. "Alright then, I'll be off for the day. Thanks for letting me sleep here, I can pay you back if you'd like."
Otto waved him off, obviously denying his offer, before heading into the forge. Izuku followed him and passed by, heading back out into the streets. He waved back to Otto to say goodbye, but the man didn't see him, focused on the workbench in front of him.
Otto looked towards the door as Midoriya left his line of sight.
He didn't need Midoriya to pay him back for something as simple as a nights sleep on their couch.
The smiles he had seen Mei with for the last few days was more than enough to pay back a hundred nights of sleep.
Izuku yawned as he exited the Hatsume forge, blinking the sleep out of his eyes.
His hand fell to [Steelbringer] on his hip, and a smile wormed its way onto his face. How could he not be insanely happy about having it? It was amazing! Pulling his hood up over his head, Izuku started towards the dungeon.
And promptly slammed right into someones back. "Oh! Sorry!"
He looked up to see who he had run into and froze as his eyes met a pair of red ones, fury glowing in them as Bakugou stared down at him.
"Identify"
There was silence for a moment as Izuku saw Bakugou's red menu appear in front of his face, knowing what was about to come next.
"And what the fuck do you think you're doing, Deku?"