AN: This doesn't mean Midoriya's partner is decided, just giving a go to another potential companion to try their synergy.
Please read the endnote after reading the chapter for a statement.
Don't forget to review it. Sorry for any typos.
I don't own Boku no Hero Academy. This is a fanfiction using characters from Boku no Hero Academy world, which is trademarked by Kohei Horikoshi.
[System Warnings][Titles][Skills]
{Sound Effects}
"Speaking."
'Thinking.'
Highlighted information.
Written information.
New World
Principal Nezu was smoking outside of his office, his legs dangling from the balcony when he heard Aizawa knocking on the glass door, opening it, seeing the principal putting out his smoke.
"That's not something appropriate to a learning environment, Principal."
"Heh, what can I say, Shota-kun? Old habits die hard."
"..."
"So, what happened?"
"It is done. I just had a talk with the director of the quirk's department."
"Good."
"..."
"Why don't you get it off your chest, Shota-kun? It's painful to watch your struggle."
Aizawa's expression darkened before he asked:
"I know he has potential, but aren't you going a little too far? You already poisoned him and now you're tempering with his quirk's documents. This is not going to look good if someone finds out-"
"I already told you all that it wasn't a potent poison. Ah, I wonder how can I make you understand... Huh... Maybe with this. You were just a child when it happened, but can you remember Recovery Girl's first appearance as a heroine?"
"I do... Why?"
"Do you record that after her first month, she simply vanished for about... Two weeks?"
"..."
"Well, in those two weeks, you can already guess what happened. She was captured by villains because of her quirk. Now, keep in mind that her quirk can only use an individual's energy to heal, so I'd like for you to imagine a quirk like Midoriya's, that can actually heal someone using only his power, in a way Recovery Girl never could. You can see the potential in that, I'm sure you can because I can't be the only one seeing that. Imagine if they have someone infiltrated in the quirk department? Imagine if the documents regarding his quirk were to end up in their hands? They would kidnap him the very same day they got their hands on it."
"Still, don't you think this is getting a little out of hand? If you push too hard, he'll eventually notice."
Nezu pulled another cigarette out, and after lighting it up, turned to Aizawa with a devilish expression.
"To me, this is completely in my hand. As for him noticing, that's expected of him. If he's not stupid, he'll eventually understand that are forces working behind the scenes to protect him, in the same way that forces will work to destroy him. This will be his first lesson in the adult world."
"..."
"It seems that you and the others who are concerned about this cannot grasp the gravity of the situation, so I'll elaborate. Midoriya Izuku is our top priority. He's our city's top priority- Our country's top priority, and I'll take every precaution I seem necessary to assure his safety."
"Like poisoning him?" The black-haired man smirked, and Nezu laughed out loud, turning to him with his eyes shining.
"You understand that this is not a child's tale, right? There's not a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. There's not a happy ending, even if every known villain is dealt with. This is an infinite cycle, and the best we can do is protect the world when our turn is due and eventually lead the next generation to do the same. It's pitiful if you think about it, but we're just here to continue to build the road, that ultimately will lead to the end, but we won't be here to see that happening, just like our predecessors."
"..."
"So yes, I'll poison, blackmail, deceive and destroy anyone who stands in the way of our road, including the boy if I have to."
"Ironic if you ask me."
"If he's the one who'll finish the road, I only hope I'll be here to see it, and if not, it's my job to make sure others don't use him to block our path. This is our responsibility as adults, as teachers, and as heroes."
"..."
"Don't give me that look, Shota-kun, I want the best for him in the same way that I want the best for all of our students, but I must ensure that his power and his future will reside on the right side. I need to make him understand that our side is the right side, not because we are the good guys, but because we understand what must be done to save our people from evil."
"He's just a brat. You can't expect a brat to understand things like this."
"Oh, but that's where you're mistaken. Are you familiar with the concept of developing one's identity?"
"Kinda."
"You have until they hit the age of 3. That's when their identity is formed, and that's the window you have to educate them with values and morals you seem fit, because after that, they start gaining individual traits, thinking by themselves, and creating new values, but their base always remains the same, even if they don't believe in it anymore, they can still respect others that do."
"Why are you bringing this up?"
"To give you contrast. The teenage is one of the worst ages for character development, we all know that already, but the late teens, after sixteen to be accurate, are what I like to call the regret years."
"..."
"You got it already, right? So, to me this age is important in this aspect. If the age of 3 determines who they are, the age of 16 marks the start of the age where they will decide who they want to be, or if you want to twist it, who they don't want to be anymore."
"Umm."
"So yes, I'll keep my eyes on the boy for as long as I can to help him reshape himself into what's needed."
"Suit yourself, but if he ends up not joining Yuei, that will be on you. You can't expect rational reactions from teens."
"Perhaps you're right, Shota-kun, perhaps you're right." Nezu looked up to the sky, wondering if Midoriya's mind could withstand the weight of his responsibility.
'I'm sorry, young Midoriya, but your turn to build the road has arrived sooner than you expected.'
Midoriya felt like he was asleep for a long time, drifting across space until a feeling of extreme danger pulled him from the stupor. He felt like this wasn't the place he should be, remembering the overwhelming fear he felt, forcing him to wake up.
He opened his eyes and there were system windows all around, but he couldn't focus on them. He instantly got up and saw Hayasaka Ai with her back turned to him, picking up something from the floor, sat beside him in some kind of bed, and Hikigaya Ikki, looking at them from the room's doorstep. As soon as the man saw Midoriya getting up, his eyes widened, but Midoriya just jumped, dashing across the room, hitting the wall with his back. He just looked from the man's worried face to the woman's startled expression, feeling lightheaded again. He didn't even realize he started panting, unable of controlling his breath, his arms and legs shaking. He barely heard what the man was saying with his hands up and forward, not getting close.
"Calm down, boy. Take a deep breath. C'mon, we're not going to hurt you... Just breathe."
Midoriya looked around, but there were no windows for him to escape. He saw the man taking a step forward and instantly raised his right hand, shouting from the top of his lungs:
"SACRED BLAST"
"SACRED BLAST"
"SACRED BLAST"
"SACRED BLAST"
Every time the energy sphere hit, Ikki simply grabbed it with his left hand, squeezing it, reducing the explosion damage and radius like it was nothing.
Midoriya couldn't think, he couldn't speak, he couldn't hear. Right now, his body was only reacting to keep him alive. It was fear that was pushing him to act.
The man kept walking slowly towards him, and Midoriya felt like hitting rock bottom. He gasped and closed his eyes, tears starting to flow. He covered his face and slid to the floor, breaking into a sob, incapable of controlling himself.
It was so unfair.
He lost the notion of time, so after a few seconds, or a few minutes, he felt a touch, looking between his fingers to see the man knelt next to him, a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm so sorry, kid. We thought you were an enemy. I'm sorry for hurting you- We're so, so sorry."
Midoriya saw that Hikigaya's expression was full of regret, and eyed the woman who also moved closer, seeing that she was sweeping tears with the back of her hand, trying to hide her face.
He didn't know how to answer, so he just remained there, sat at the corner, eyeing the two. The man got up, turning around while wiping something from his face as well, walking to sit on the bed while the woman just sat on the floor next to his legs and stared at Midoriya with sad eyes. Nobody said anything for many minutes until Midoriya's breakdown started to dissipate. He looked around the room and saw small statues on a shelf, a closet to the left that looked really old, and some kind of wooden chest on the corner. They saw the minor change and took advantage of him getting out of his state of shock.
"Midoriya, isn't it?" He heard Ikki asking in a soft voice and turned towards him. Midoriya just nodded his head, unable to find his voice, so Ikki continued:
"Again, we thought- Listen, all I can do is to say we're sorry. We thought you were sent here to kill us. I'm sorry for hurting you, Midoriya. Er... My name is Hikigaya Ikki, but you can call me Ikki, and this is my wife, Hayasaka Ai."
Midoriya took a deep breath and wondered what was going on with his body as he trembled again, his arms and legs shaking even more.
"I'm afraid that won't go away for some time." He pointed to Midoriya's limbs and the boy just looked back at him, slightly frowning.
"That overwhelming feeling of fear. I know it. I felt it before. It will take a while for your mind to work properly again. The moment that you find yourself face to face with certain death for the first time, something inside you snaps- I... All I can say is that I'm sorry for making you feel that."
"I- I don't... Get it." Midoriya could finally find his voice.
"Oh- What you don't get?" Ai asked, looking impressed by the boy's recovery speed.
"Why... Why would I- Why would I even want to hurt you?"
"Well- That's harder to explain. The people who- Our enemies have many ways of trying to deceive others." She said while scratching her head.
"Midoriya-kun, you said you got your quirk a few weeks ago... And that your quirk told you to find us, right?" Ikki started asking.
"Yes."
"Can you please elaborate that a little better?"
"Ummm... Okay. Well- I... I was... Quirkless my whole life, but a few weeks ago, I woke up with some kind- With some kind of game interface in front of my eyes, and since then... I've been getting levels and skills."
"A game interface?"
"Yes... It is like- Like an RPG. It gives me skills, statuses, quests, and rewards."
"All right... Go on."
"Well- One of those quests... Actually, two of those quests are related to the two of you. One is called Knowledge is the wise's blade, and the other Knowledge is the wise's shield. They told me to look for you to get information about- Dungeons and Creatures."
The couple was hanging in every word being said, and after Midoriya stopped, they eyed each other before Ai whispered:
"Midoriya, you don't- Is it possible that you don't know about the Other Side?"
"Other Side?"
They eyed each other again, and the woman sighed as her eyes showed only pity and shame.
"Midoriya-kun, we don't really understand the reason this... Interface of yours told you to ask us for information about the Other Side, but if we tell you about this, you may not be able to go back to live your life normally. Are you really okay with that? I want to warn you that even a small piece of information about our world, will completely change your life from the moment the words reach your ears."
Midoriya felt almost normal now, but something inside him was definitely wrong.
"I don't think I fully understand what you mean by that." He said while looking down for the first time, seeing bandages over the cut in his chest. He frowned and wondered why hadn't he noticed that earlier, raising one hand, whispering three times:
"Restore"
He looked at the almost healed cut, wondering how he was going to explain the faint scar on his chest.
"A yellow? How in the world did you do that?!"
"Huh?"
"How did you heal that wound so fast?"
"Ah... I'm... Some kind of healer."
"Healer? You're a yellow, aren't you?"
Midoriya shrugged, wondering what they meant by that and why they looked so shocked, but before he could ask, Ai got up and left the room, while Ikki took deep breaths. After a minute, she came back with tea that Midoriya instantly analyzed to be sure it wasn't poisoned. What a strange instinct... As if they needed that to kill him.
They could kill him anytime they want.
He could die at any moment.
And that overwhelming fear crushed him again.
"Calm down, Midoriya." Ikki's voice broke his line of thought, and he looked at the man, who was with his right hand raised.
"Breathe slowly... And please, calm down. We're not going to hurt you. I give you my word that you won't be harmed."
'How does he know? How does he know what I'm feeling?' The question was so obvious in Midoriya's frown, that the man answered:
"I told you... I've been there before. Your brain will register any action as a hostile action while you're in survival mode, so it's only natural."
Midoriya forced himself to breathe steadily, expelling the thoughts about his imminent death out of his mind. Ai slowly pushed a cup towards him, hurrying to move away to sit next to Ikki.
"Now, there are a few things we need to ask if you don't mind." Ai started.
"Ummm... Okay."
"You really know nothing about the Other Side?"
"If you're talking about the... Afterlife, I think everyone knows very little about it-"
"That's fine, you gave us a satisfying answer."
"I'm sorry- I'm not following."
"Listen carefully to this, Midoriya. What you're about to learn is extremely unsettling. Look, if you can picture an image of a desolated and destroyed world, filled with all kinds of devilish and fiendish creatures, then you can definitely imagine what the Other Side is. This place is something that we should've never known about it but ended up entangled with it. Going from there, the dungeons are nothing more than an extension of said world, pouring pure evil into our world. They are an abomination."
"An abomination? What are you talking about?"
"The dungeons are the most dangerous place that exists in our world-"
"Er... When I- When I was about to tell someone about the dungeons, the system warned me not to, saying it would have severe sanctions. Is this related to what you're about to say?"
"How strange... This system of yours. I'd like to know more about it later if that's okay with you, but for now, let us explain this to you: The dungeons are, for the lack of a better world, a piece of hell."
"Hell?"
"Think of it like this: When you talk about the afterlife, most religions have different views, right? They have different suppositions based on their beliefs, right? Some of them believe in heaven and hell, others in some variations of eternal damnation or infinite bliss, and so it goes."
"Ummm, right."
"Well, they're not that far off, Izuku."
"What you mean?"
"When you die, and your soul is not pure, you are sent to hell, but you're not really going to the hell people know. You're going to the place called Other Side."
"Pure?"
"There are actions that can corrupt one's soul, and once your soul is corrupted, you're destined to go to the Other Side."
"..."
"The Other Side is- How can I explain this- A world, that exists... Behind our world- Ummm, I don't know if you can understand-"
"A parallel dimension?" Midoriya frowned, and both Ai and Ikki raised their eyebrows.
"Maybe you can. Yes, the Other Side is a parallel dimension, existing beside our own. There, the souls of the sinners are trapped."
"So there is a place like hell... Who would've thought? Well, I- I still don't understand what does that have to do with me?"
"Calm down, we're getting there."
"Oh- Sorry."
"Ah, no, it's okay- I'm not scolding you. Look, the souls trapped inside the Other Side, can never leave that place. They will remain there for eternity, being put through a cycle of transformation."
"So it is like our known hell-"
"In this aspect, yes, but the difference is that, at first, when sent to the Other Side, the souls just wander, lost in despair and sadness, nothing like punishment made by something or someone."
Midoriya thought about that for a second, his mind coming back to normal.
"So the souls are trapped inside the Other Side for eternity? Where do these dungeons come in?" Midoriya asked, but Ai was speaking in a frenzy, and barely heard his question, continuing to explain.
"Inside the Other Side, in the center of the desolated area, surrounded by horrors and monstrosities, there is a place we named: The Red Tower."
"Please, hold up a minute... I still don't get it what are the dungeons." Midoriya raised his hands and Ai slowed down, frowning.
"I haven't explained yet, right? Well, let me put it this way. Inside the Other Side, there's just an infinite number of wandering souls that are destined to suffer in that empty cold world, but then something happened. One day, inside that place, a giant tower appeared. This tower, upon its own creation, somehow pushed parts of the Other Side out of their plane of existence, making it collide against ours, opening sockets of evil energy, that gained form inside our world."
"The dungeons?"
"Yes. We assumed that the energy coming from the Other Side emulated a concept of our world and shaped these sockets into dungeons... Just like in a game."
"And this tower was responsible for it?"
"Exactly. The Red Tower. A place filled with monsters and horrors. We know something by now that is slightly disturbing... We created the game design that exists in our world after the Red Tower, so it's not like the Tower copied the human gaming design. The person responsible for creating games was actually one of those who interacted with the tower first, so he or she copied the Tower's style and took it to our world, transforming it into a game."
"Hold up, so our dungeons description and our games of exploring dungeons and stuff are from-"
"The Red Tower. It is a real concept that was turned into a game for our fun. The person responsible for it died horribly, of course, but his legacy is still there. He managed to spread partial knowledge of the Tower's concept to the human world, and when the Other Side created the dungeons, we thought that the concepts were the same as our games, but they were originally the Tower's concept."
"Wait- You said the souls of sinners were trapped inside the Other Side- Pushed to our realm, commanded by the Red Tower... Are you saying that after they are pushed to our world, their souls become the monsters inside the dungeons?"
"How- Well, yes, that's exactly right." Ai frowned and eyed Ikki, slightly intrigued by Midoriya's understanding of things, but continued shortly.
"They become cursed creatures. Their souls are twisted and reshaped by the Red Tower, reappearing inside the Dungeons in our world."
"I think... I think I get it."
"Hold your horses, Midoriya, the shocking part comes now."
"Now?!"
"Yes... You see, the Other Side always existed... It was always there, so nobody knows if it was ever created or if it has an end. What we know, is that the first humans who entered that place alive, gained abilities, and that said abilities vanished after they returned to our realm."
"Abilities?"
"Quirks."
"Hayasaka-san... Are you telling me- Are you saying that our quirks come from the Other Side?"
"Quirks never existed in this realm. Quirks were gifts handled to chosen humans who entered the Other Side in order to stop the Tower. Don't you find it strange that out of nowhere, quirks just starting popping everywhere? Did it never occur to you that something set this chain of events in motion, leading to what we have today? Quirks were gifts handled to chosen humans who entered the Other Side."
"Why? With what purpose? And who gifted them with quirks?"
"That is unknown. We have known about a single incident where that realm's reality first collided against ours, and that's when the first humans adventured there. We can only assume that the purpose was to defeat something inside the Red Tower or the Red Tower itself, but no one ever managed."
"..."
"And now, here comes the worst part."
Midoriya felt apprehensive, but thought he just heard wrong.
"The golden baby came from the Red Tower."
"..."
"The golden baby that started giving quirks to humans... That baby was not born in this realm. That baby came from the depths of the tower... Smuggled into this world. That baby was the entity responsible for gifting quirks to the chosen humans who'd try to fight the dungeons or the Red Tower."
Midoriya needed some time to process that. He thought about the possibilities and just shook his head, unable to believe what he just heard.
"Then all of our quirks- All of these special abilities-"
"Were meant to be used inside the Other Side."
"It doesn't make any sense... Someone would've already spread this information."
"And that's the other point. The Other Side's existence is a tabu, and violating a tabu result in death."
"Tabu?"
"Ummmm... Think of it as a secret. A secret that is so massive that normal humans can never know of its existence. It is the equivalent of someone dying, meeting god, and returning to tell everyone that god is real, or that there is no god, or someone traveling through time to learn about something that still doesn't exist, coming back later to create the same thing. It's forbidden. The world itself won't allow the information about the Other Side to be shared because it shouldn't be known."
"The World?"
"Za Warudo-" Ikki whispered under his breath and Ai slapped his arm, hissing towards him in disapproval.
"Stop it! This is serious!"
"Sorry, sorry." He said while trying not to smile.
"Ignore this idiot. The world... You can imagine the world as a living entity- Ummm, I believe it's better to call it an unstoppable force."
"And how does the world... Stops people from sharing this?"
"By killing them. I said it's an unstoppable force, so it will use its only tool to stop this knowledge from spreading across this realm."
"Which is?"
"Providence."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Luck."
"Luck?"
"Yup."
"Luck? Like... Winning the lottery?"
"Oh, sorry, I meant bad luck. Like being run over by a car, or being hit by lightning, sudden deaths... Every time one of these events happens, it is the world, getting rid of someone who had broken the rules or those who, unfortunately, witnessed something that they shouldn't. Have you ever wondered why people who don't have any kind of disease suffer sudden deaths? No medical explanation... Simply falling dead. Or why sometimes people suffer the most uncommon accidents? Things that you only see in movies. Series of impossible events happening in succession. All of this isn't happening by chance... Those who are not chosen by the world cannot know about this, and the sanctions, as you said, are indeed severe."
Midoriya went silent for some time, analyzing all the information he just received. He tilted his head and asked after a few seconds:
"How can one enter the Other Side?"
"Hah." Ikki almost barked, looking impressed and suspicious at the same time.
"Ummm... I thought you were going to be more cautious about this- Well, it's your life. There are portals that lead to dungeons, and at the end of every dungeon, you have the option to enter the Other Side. There, you can find the Red Tower."
"But wait, these dungeons are here in our world, right? So, at the end of these dungeons, we can go to the Other Side... Doesn't that mean they are not a part of the Other Side anymore? How are they still connected to that plain? They sound more like portals than something still connected to the Other Side."
"In theory, these random dungeons are not part of the Other Side, but in practice, it's like the dungeons are a part of the other side that got out of control and invaded our world, that's why some people started going into these places to stop its advances. Nobody knew what would happen if people weren't to intervene, so these special humans started entering the dungeons to put an end to them."
"And the Hero Association doesn't know about this?"
"Some do, but again, if you're not one of the chosen humans, you can't spread the information. The information just finds you, and then, you're in."
Midoriya eyed the two, imagining a scenario where everything they just told him wasn't true, but he couldn't. He saw their powers, and he could see in their faces how everything they just explained was real.
"Hayasaka-san, how are the insides of a dungeon?"
"Well, most dungeons are based on normal places, like caverns or castles. They have only regular monsters and a boss, but there are dungeons where you can find extremely difficult puzzles or even hallucinations. These dungeons retained aspects of our world, and even though we don't know who build the dungeon, we can speculate that the Tower is responsible for it."
"There are legends about levels with multiple bosses, but I never saw with my own eyes." Ikki mended.
{DIM}
[Quest update]
[Knowledge is the wise's blade][Completed]
"Oh- I just completed your quest." Midoriya moved his hand and received the rewards.
[Dungeon access is now unlocked. New tab added to the interface]
"New tab? Ummm... Dungeons."
As Midoriya said the word, an enormous window appeared, and he saw a list full of [?] signs.
"Everything is locked, but it's giving me a page full of... Maybe available dungeons?"
"Well, just in our district there are at least five dungeons, so yeah, there are a lot of them across the city just waiting to be sealed."
"So, once you finish a dungeon... It's automatically sealed?"
"Well, not exactly. Sometimes, killing everything is all it takes to seal a dungeon and stop the Other Side's spread, but sometimes just killing monsters won't do. Sometimes you have to understand what the dungeon represents and deal with it."
"What you mean by represents?"
"When they are created, it's almost like the dungeons have... Life. It feels like you're entering a living thing... You can feel something pulsating inside, like a heart."
"Weird."
"Well, yes, and sometimes you have to understand what a dungeon represents in order to destroy it. Let me give you the most famous example. One dungeon kept reappearing day after day, and nobody knew how to close it until a guy understood he had to interact with the last boss in order to seal it."
"Interact how?"
"Yea, I kid you not, he had to understand what the boss was and from there, develop a way to reach an ending to its story. In the end, he had to lie to the creature that some lady that he loved was not dead, and that he needed to go back to where he belonged in order to not destroy her world... And the creature bought it, so that dungeon never opened again."
"..."
Midoriya analyzed the two again, checking their emotions to see a hint of a lie, but there were none.
[Concerned, Speculative, Sad]
[Speculative, Intrigued, Curious]
Upon moving his eyes through their statuses, Midoriya noticed something he had forgotten.
"That's really interesting. Well, I have another... Er... I'd like to ask you two something about a different matter, but if- If you don't want to answer, it is ok." His face transpired a hint of fear.
"Go ahead." Ikki said.
"Why do you have so many PK points, and who exactly is coming after you?"
"PK points?"
"Yes, it's the number of people you've killed."
They both seemed surprised.
"You can see that?"
"Yes."
"Well-" Ai started, but it was Ikki who explained.
"Remember about the humans that were sent to clear the dungeons and stop the Tower? They ended up entering the Other Side and the Red Tower itself. There, they found many things, like monsters, of course, but also treasures and strange knowledge, and since these treasures could be taken back to our world, murders weren't so rare, forcing people to create groups to protect themselves. These groups later developed into larger associations, to the point they became so big that they started fighting other associations for the control inside the Red Tower."
"Inside the Tower or for the dungeons' control?"
"Both. Once you clear the dungeons and close their branches, you have the Tower's floors to clear, but they are on another level, thus the associations."
"Like guilds?"
"Yes, exactly like that. When you reach a certain point inside the Red Tower, you can find something we call Oasis. These oases are immense areas with almost infinite basic resources, like wood, iron, food, water, and many gems worth millions of yen. When a guild reaches an Oasis, they settle a base in the said floor, not allowing another guild to pass through, weakening them, since they can't clear more floors and become stronger."
"So your titles come from the time you were inside a guild?"
"Our titles?"
"Yes. Praying Mantis and Blue Lightning."
Ikki seemed really shocked right now, while Ai was visually uncomfortable.
"It's hard to believe you're not one of them because only our enemies know the information you just gave us, but don't worry, I do believe you're not with them... I'm just saying that the fact that you know this, well, that was the reason we suspected of you earlier... You called my wife Hayasaka-san, but she never said her name. Also, we thought that when you said your quirk sent you here, you were trying to throw us off."
"..."
"Well, we were part of one of those guilds, and we fought alongside them for decades, but after so much carnage, we wanted out... And that's when- Well, they tricked us into believing they would allow us to leave, sending people to kill us a few days after we left. We killed many people, but we never killed innocents, that I can assure you."
"I see."
"Anyway, so now that you know everything about the dungeons and about the groups that lie inside of it, it's time to tell you about the creatures." Ikki changed the subject.
"Oh, yes, that's the last quest I have- Well, apart from the other one that I can't do yet."
"What you mean a quest you can't do?"
"It has requirements, and if not met, the system won't allow me to do it."
"Umm, so your own power is telling you you're not strong enough and is restraining you?"
"Yes."
Ikki scratched his chin and wondered, but decided to not verbalize his doubts about that system.
"Well, let's leave that aside for now. Creatures. The creatures you find inside dungeons are simply the lost souls sent to hell, twisted by some evil force, and placed there to destroy those who go there to conquer the dungeons. You don't have to worry since they're not human and any memories they had from their previous lives are completely gone. We don't know what, but something strips them from everything that once defined them as humans, using just their souls to create more monsters."
"..."
"Creatures have types, and depending on the types, you can use a specific quirk to take advantage of that. You'll find out that most dungeons have only one type of creature, which is good, but a few will have multiple types, and that's slightly more difficult if you're not powerful enough, or if your group isn't capable."
"Noted."
"The force all the quirk's users have is called Magic, but this term is not our term from games. It was created by something inside the Other Side, and it stands for Mundane Attraction to Greed, Insolence, and Catastrophe. Whatever that was that was gifted to us, made it possible for our quirks to work in here. We think that is our stamina that allows us to keep using our quirks, but it is Magic that is responsible for that, so we use magic to sustain the abilities given to us in the form of quirks, again, based on our souls, while others will gain abilities from relics, like Ai."
"Relics?"
"Yes, that camouflage you saw earlier, is not part of her quirk, it is something that comes from her daggers. Show him, Ai."
She moved her hands with a gracious movement and one of two huge daggers appeared out of nowhere, finally allowing Midoriya to analyze it.
"Analyze"
[Twin Vipers' Daggers +0](Super)
[Acquired from the Twin Vipers' boss]
[Has a high chance to poison the target]
[Poisoned targets take more damage, have impaired movement, and take damage over time]
[Physical Attack - 1394]
[Critical - 25]
[Poison Chance - 75%]
[Unique Bonuses]
[Viper's Stalk][v]
[Can transform the light around the holder's body, making their silhouettes disappear]
[While camouflaged, the weapon's critical chance is increased to 50]
[Taking damage will cease the camouflage effect]
[Requirements]
[Green]
[Level 80]
[Dexterity - 300]
[Strength - 200]
"This weapon is absurd- I mean, the physical damage alone is crazy, not to mention it's plus zero."
"Hold up, what did you just do? Another skill? Analyze, wasn't it?" Ikki frowned while leaning closer.
"Yea, it allows me to analyze things like information on people or objects."
"And what you meant by plus zero?" Ai asked, interested.
"Huh... It's a refinement value. My power also gave it a quality ranked as Super, so it can be refined 9 times. I don't know how strong it can be after being refined, but I believe it should be a lot."
"So you can see stats in items too, huh? And even improve the items' strength?"
"I never tried, but I think so. It says Twin Vipers' Daggers +0, acquired from the Twin Vipers' boss."
"That's actually impressive... I really got this from the time we killed the Twin Vipers, remember, Ikki? That dungeon doesn't even exist anymore, so it's amazing that you can know its origins." Ai said while making the dagger disappear again.
"I have a question, there is a weird requirement called [Green]. What exactly is that?"
"Oh, I forgot to tell you that. Quirks are defined by us who interact with the Other Side in colors that represent their basic attributes. Red for brute strength. Green for speed or agility enhancers. Blue for emitters. Purple for transformation. Black for mutants. Yellow for healing. Only a quirk or a machine capable of identifying the item can tell which color they represent, so I guess your quirk is one of those."
"So if someone who's quirk isn't defined as green were to try and hold your daggers-"
"Here, try it." Ai spawned one dagger and handed it over to Midoriya, who slowly reached for the handle just to feel the strangest thing.
It was like the dagger weighed a ton. He instantly felt the weight in his hand and let go of the weapon, seeing Ai's hand fly to catch it before it reached the floor.
[You do not meet the requirements to equip the item Twin Viper's Daggers]
[Green - x]
[Level 80 - x]
[Dexterity - 300 - x]
[Strength - 200 - x]
"Sorry, it's like... It's too heavy. I can't even hold it. And the system is warning me I don't meet any of the requirements to use it."
"Well, there you have it. You can't use something defined for a type of quirk, but this applies only to these items that are found inside the dungeons, so don't forget that."
"All right."
"So, that's it, even if it is an item, it can absorb the essence of a quirk, and grant that quirk in the form of an ability to the wielder. This is what we do, using the quirks that were a gift to us, or abilities that exist in relics that are found inside dungeons or from bosses' corpses." Ikki finished with a gesture.
"..."
"You okay?"
"I'm just thinking about something. It is almost like the Red Tower has the same power I have- I mean, partially. If what I'm speculating is right, the Tower is the entity or the residence for the entity responsible for giving people quirks, items, magic, and abilities, you know, since it was the Tower itself that pushed the existence of the Other Side to our world. After hearing all you said, it feels like the Tower did all this willingly- I don't know if that's the right word, but it feels like the Tower or whatever lives in it is responsible for everything. I'm trying to understand what exactly would do that, but I can't guess that without understanding the Tower."
"Well, nobody really knows if the Red Tower is an entity, or if there's someone pulling the strings, but you are weirdly right. It's kind of unsettling seeing you speculate things this fast and nailing it after just learning about everything."
Midoriya was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't even notice the compliment, whispering to himself while looking at the floor.
"Now, going back to the creatures-"
"Tell him about the types you know, Ikki." Ai tapped his shoulder.
"I was going to, honey- Listen, there are multiple creatures inside these dungeons, some even unknown, but I can teach you a few things I know about some of them."
"Demons and Undeads, for example?"
"Wait, what?! How do you know that if you never went inside a dungeon?"
"Ah, remember the power I used? That white ball? That skill has additional damage against Demons and Undeads, so I just deduced that."
"Well, now that you put it like that, you are possibly the most well-equipped person to clear any dungeon."
"Why?"
"Most monsters inside dungeons are either demons or undead, and many others have a weakness to holy damage, I mean- there are a few quirks that are not used in the normal world because they don't work in here. Quirks that do more damage to these types of creatures are called Holy Quirks. It's a kind of quirk that allows the owner to call for some kind of celestial aid, and when under their influence, the users have an edge against monsters with... Evil roots."
"It's like all of our RPG's systems and acronyms are being said... It's really weird to think about it." Midoriya scratched his head and after a brief pause noticed something he missed.
"Wait- What you mean by evil roots?"
"Well, we can't actually see their types like in a game, so we just assumed after studying their physical characteristics. We ranked them as Animals, Beasts, Demons, Ephemerals, Humanoids, Shadows, Structures, and Undeads. These are the types we know something about, but there are dungeons with more types, we are sure about that."
{DIM}
[Quest update]
[Knowledge is the wise's shield][Completed]
Midoriya just stared in silence at the wall in front of him, wondering how much was happening on a daily basis, and yet, nobody knew about it. After a few seconds, Ikki spoke:
"It still bothers me... Seeing kids play using a pattern that I only saw inside a nightmare. It also makes me wonder how many things were invented that are actually real in some other place... What other things are we doing that have a different meaning."
"Yea." Midoriya quietly nodded.
"So, you know it all... How are you feeling?" Ai questioned again.
"It's a lot to summarize, but I think I get it all. This Other Side breached our world in the form of dungeons, and people went there to understand and try to stop it, being given powers by some kind of entity that controlled that baby or had that baby's power at the time. These people fought the dungeons and entered the Red Tower to fight whatever was there but never managed to see who or what was behind the curtains."
"And the baby was stolen-"
"Yea, someone brought the baby to earth, starting to randomly distribute quirks that were meant to be used to stop the spread of the Other Side."
"I'm a little impressed, you understand things pretty quick for someone your age."
"Thanks. Well, although it sounds insane, I think I get it all."
"Well, there are still a few things you'll have to learn, and judging by the little we saw in your expression, I don't think you'll like it." Ai smiled weakly and Midoriya's smile faded.
'Uh-oh.'
Midoriya walked out of the restaurant quietly, until he found a bench near a park, sitting while putting his head in his hands. There, he thought about what just happened. He remembered the feelings he had when Ikki moved in to kill him. The feelings he had when his mind realized there was no way out. That was something he never wanted to feel again, that feeling of fear and impotence. If it weren't for Ikki's hesitation, he would've died like a nobody.
The fifteen-year-old learned at that moment, that this life was more than just fighting and beating villains. It was at this moment that he understood what it takes to be in the front lines. Risking your life is nothing like what you see on the television, where you only see a hero fighting with a smile on his face. It was not black and white. It was not only good versus evil, hero versus villain. While he thought about the fight he had back at the restaurant, the whole thing was constantly crushing his spirit. Death hanging over his head at all times, and the feeling of despair when he knew he couldn't fight back... When he knew he wasn't strong enough to protect his own life.
It was terrifying.
'I need to become stronger. I have to because I don't want to feel like that... I don't want to be left at someone's mercy like that ever again.'
He got up and walked home, wiping an occasional tear that fell down his face, but these tears weren't from fear, as his face showed a determinate expression that he never showed in his entire life.
As Midoriya walked home, he tapped on the windows that he ignored a few minutes ago.
[Your constitution was raised +8]
[Your dexterity was raised +2]
[Your intelligence was raised +2]
[Your spirit was raised +25]
[Your speech was raised +2]
[Preventive Healing has leveled up]
[Preventive Healing has leveled up]
[Mana Shield has leveled up]
'This is not enough.' He thought while closing all the windows, taking out his phone to check the hour, but a long scream made him look around with a frightened expression.
"What was that?" He looked behind his shoulder to the place he came from, but there was nobody there, and then he heard it again.
"Search"
He saw the wave spreading, but it stopped too soon, probably because it was still in its early levels, so he just walked towards the noise, trying to identify its origin.
After turning a few corners, Midoriya heard a third time and realized he was right in front of it, turning into a dark alley, spotting a group of men apparently trying to assault a girl.
His adrenaline kicked in and although he wasn't experienced in fighting, he didn't have to physically fight any of them.
"Hey!"
Everyone back in the alley turned after hearing his voice, but couldn't even react to the blast of energy that followed, knocking down two of them. Midoriya approached to check if his saving attempt didn't harm the girl and saw that she was hunched at the corner.
"Are you ok? I'm sorry about that, I just heard the scream and came to help." Midoriya started explaining himself when he felt one of the fallen men grabbing his ankle.
"Please... Please-" The man begged, unable to speak properly.
"Let go... What were you trying to do to her-"
"Please... Save us-"
"Save you?! What are you talking about-"
And then, Midoriya looked up and saw the girl standing in front of him, staring him in the eyes with a maniac smile, a knife in hand covered in blood, the same as her high school uniform. Midoriya saw her arm moving and dashed backward, barely in time to avoid the slice aimed at his throat. He felt pain and touched his neck, seeing that it had a tiny cut, looking forward again, trying to understand what the hell was going on, and to his surprise, the girl spoke in a joyful tone.
"That was pretty cool. What was that?"
'Analyze'
[Status Window]
[HP - 14.230/15.380][MP - 890/890]
[Toga Himiko][Level 29]
[Strenght - 107]
[Dexterity - 154]
[Intelligence - 111]
[Constitution - 77]
[Spirit - 40]
[Emotions]
[Homicidal/Excited/Aroused]
[Informations]
[Race - Human]
[Nationality - Japanese]
[Sex - Female]
[Blood type - AB]
[Age - 16]
[Quirk - Transform][v]
[Occupation - None]
[Companion - None]
[Lover - None]
[Current Title - None]
[Job - None]
[Guild - None]
[PvP - 77]
[PvE - 81]
[PK - 13]
[Relationships]
[?]
[Individual Description]
[A cheerful, bloodthirsty, and sadistic girl with a fixation on blood]
[?]
'What in the- What is going on?!'
"That bleeding also looks pretty cool on you."
"Wha- I thought you were being attacked- You're the one who attacked them?! Why?!"
"Huh? Them? They wanted to do lewd things to me, so they followed me here, but they weren't the only ones looking for fun tonight... As for the reason... Why else? Because I love it~"
She purred the last part while licking a bloody finger, making Midoriya's eyes widen.
'I need to get out of here- But I also need to help them... Maybe I should attack her- Or maybe I should lead her away from here- I don't know what to do!'
"That face you're making is so cute, but I think we can improve that a little more." The girl swung the knife around her hand with great finesse and ran towards Midoriya while laughing out loud, delivering a flurry of attacks, as the boy just jumped and rolled out of the way, getting slightly cut a few times. He dashed once and saw the girl coming straight at him, her face completely red, but that was exactly what he wanted her to do.
"Dash"
He dashed aside and instantly raised his hands.
'Time to put the dual cast to test.'
"Sacred Blast²"
As the two energy spheres flew, he saw the girl's face changing into a worried expression, and back to a deranged smile when she simply did an impressive jumping pirouette, like a ballerina, dodging the two projectiles that hit a wall, breaking it.
"C'mon, stop running... It's not cute to keep running~" She said while coming again, and Midoriya desperately tried to think of another plan while the fight continued, so he bought time moving away from the alley, forcing her to follow him.
The seconds passed, and Midoriya was now full of cuts, bleeding in his arms and chest, and the girl started shaking, both hands on her cheeks.
"YES! Yes... You're perfect now... Let me just become like you... Let me just kill you-"
Midoriya ran towards her, and her face expressed shock for a second, quickly recovering, moving to slice his neck, but when the blade was near him, she felt hitting something solid, confused by a strange white sphere that just appeared between them. They were face to face now, and she could only see him with his hands raised, aiming at her abdomen, releasing the two blasts at once.
"Sacred Blast²"
She could only feel the impact and the pain after being blown away by the blast, flying for a good forty feet, hitting a wall.
'I was right. If I recognize something like a projectile, the [Mana Shield] will block it.' Midoriya exhaled, grateful that the trick he just tried, worked.
Toga slowly looked up, feeling groggy, and saw something unbelievable.
"Cleanse²"
"Touch²"
She saw the scratches and cuts starting to close, or simply stop bleeding and blinked repeatedly, just to be sure she was seeing right.
"What was- What was that?"
Midoriya raised one hand and threw another [Sacred Blast], which she barely dodged, rolling out of the way, just to see a second one coming, hitting her in the face, knocking her down again.
For a second, Midoriya worried about overkill, but the girl slowly got up, using her hand to wipe the blood that was coming from her nose.
"Ah~ Look at what you've done. If you wanted to see me bleed that much, you could've just asked... Hehehe."
"Cleanse" Midoriya whispered again, and most of his cuts stopped bleeding.
"Huh- That thing again. What did you just do? How did you make yourself stop bleeding? Hey... Answer me."
Midoriya saw her expression change from a joyful smile to a murderous glare in a heartbeat. Her voice also changed, becoming low and threatening.
'I need another plan-' He thought too late, as the girl was right in front of him, using all her speed and strength to knock him down against a wall. He felt his head hit the concrete and felt dizzy for a moment, but before he could move, she was on top of him, a knife pressed to his neck.
'The [Mana Shield] can only stop harmful projectiles- Or things I see as a harmful projectile- It can't stop people- Damn it.'
Midoriya just stood still, locking eyes with this girl- No, with this demon in front of him, and again, here he was, at someone's mercy. It was exactly as Ikki said... He learned nothing from his previous encounter with death... He should've been more careful.
"Hey... Answer me... How did you stop the bleeding?"
"..."
"I asked you a question. It is not polite to leave people talking by themselves, you know?" A smirk appeared on her face as she pressed the knife's edge, making Midoriya flinch from the pain, feeling blood coming out.
"Stop, Toga- I healed myself. That's how I stopped the bleeding- I used my quirk to stop the bleeding." He said while leaning back, not paying attention, trying to avoid his death.
"What did you just call me? How do you know my name? Are you one of them? Are you after me?" She asked while narrowing her eyes.
"One of who?! After you?! Wha- I don't even know you... I just know... My quirk showed me your name-"
"I don't believe you."
Midoriya saw in her face that she was about to kill him, so he used his left hand, to cast a [Sacred Blast] towards himself, feeling the pain and the damage from the attack, that pushed both of them aside until Midoriya found himself lying down next to her. He took advantage of the opportunity to grab her wrists together, pushing them above her head, sitting on her stomach. She moved her legs, trying to kick him, but Midoriya slid further down, using his own legs to pin her legs down on the ground. He was now on top of her, holding her wrists with his hands, while pinning down her legs, their faces close, staring at one another.
"Ah... Argh... What the hell is wrong with you?!" He whispered and she just stared back for a few seconds, smiling again.
"Hey, what's your name?"
"..."
"Mine is Toga... Toga Himiko... But I guess you already know that... You can call me Toga-chan though."
"..."
"You know, if someone sees us in this position, they might think we're doing something lewd."
"Would you... Please shut up for a moment?! I'm trying to think-"
"Think about what?"
"About what to do with you- You just attacked those men, didn't you? I'm sure about what I saw."
"Why are you asking about them? Are you a wannabe hero?"
"I- I am."
"Ummm... Then where were you when they were trying to assault me? I mean, I was just defending myself, and now you're hurting me, pinning me down like this."
"You're lying... You lured them there, I can see in your eyes."
"Hehe~ Your face is so cute when you're angry... And these wounds really make you cuter, but I wish they were bleeding more."
She started leaning forward, her face coming towards Midoriya's as he leaned back, but by doing so, he started losing strength in his grip, so he leaned in again, noticing her pointy teeth and what she was trying to do. He tried to pull his face away as much as he could, but saw that it wasn't enough. She was going to bite a chunk of his cheek, so he desperately tried to think about something when he felt the girl trying to free her hands, so he pushed it harder, losing his balance and slightly falling forward.
They both stared at each other while their lips touched.
One.
Two.
Three.
Midoriya just let go of her hands, rolling aside, but she was faster, doing a pirouette, getting on top of him before he could even get up, putting her knife on his throat again, using her right knee to pin his left hand, and her left hand to hold his right arm above his head, her right hand pulling his hair so he could face her. Midoriya glared at her, panting, and saw that her face was completely red again, as her expression turned into a strange smile. It was warm, but at the same time, it was the most terrifying thing Midoriya saw in his life. He just felt hypnotized by her weird yellow eyes, as she let go of his hair, reaching for her knife again, leaning on, but they both heard someone shouting not far from where they were.
"There's someone down over here! There is- Oh my lord, there are some people hurt over here... Call an ambulance!"
"Tch." She let go of Midoriya's arms and got up, stashing her knife again, looking around before running away. Midoriya just took deep breaths, looking around stunned.
'WHAT- WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?!'
He was shaking, top to bottom, and after hearing more voices around, took another return crystal and broke it, vanishing.
Midoriya felt his legs becoming numb and fell to the floor outside of his apartment complex, looking at both his hands, shaking like crazy.
'What was that- Did I just encounter a villain? She really attacked those men right there... She- She was about to kill them- She was about to kill me- And we kissed- What the hell is going on with the world?'
He tried to make sense of everything that happened, cursing himself for jinxing the day by wondering if it could become any better. He just stood there, taking deep breaths, trying to calm himself down while in another part of the city, Toga Himiko was holding the ID card she snatched from his wallet during their fight.
"Midoriya Izuku, huh? I guess I'll make you take responsibility for what you did~"
AN: I want to make two things clear. First, this chapter will end up splitting your opinions, and while some will hate it, some will enjoy it, so to those who'll hate it and drop it, I'm sad to see you go, but just keep in mind that following the canon is really boring, but still, changing too much of the canon will make the story lose its essence, so I'll try my best to conciliate both. As for those hating on Ellara and the high beings, just keep in mind that everything must come from somewhere, and although that looks boring, I assure you that this one it's not what you're expecting. Second, Dungeons and the Other Side will have tremendous relevance forward? Yes, and no. It's more like a second path that nobody knows about, so although it's going to be something significant in developing Midoriya's power, it won't be something that'll take the spotlight as I still intend to somewhat follow canon. Also, remember that the dungeons are not infinite, so eventually, someone could close them all.
Or die trying.
