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.
The Dungeon
Midoriya woke up startled, looking around in confusion, drenched in sweat, feeling awful. He sat and tried not to think about the nightmare he just had in detail, remembering what happened two nights ago as well. He had nightmares about that girl the past few days. After checking the system for some time, he got up, giving Bee some food before checking the clock, deciding to get ready to go to school earlier.
"You know you can leave whenever you want, right? That's the reason I haven't bought a cage or something like that. You're free to leave."
The small bird just clicked her beak in disapproval, returning to her food.
"All right."
While eating breakfast, Midoriya's eyes kept shifting towards Inko's face, wondering what exactly this power would imply and what his role in this new world would cost him and his mother. He didn't want to think about it, but Ikki's words resonated inside him.
While Midoriya walked to his school, something strange happened inside his mind. He didn't know if this was caused by his near-death experiences, but his brain was constantly vigilant, catching any strange moves or interactions between the people around him, registering everyone as a potential threat. Somehow, it was like his survival mode was on since the moment he stepped out of his house, feeling a strange fear towards the outer world, imagining that death could jump from just around the corner at any time.
How right he was.
As Midoriya was midway, he looked behind his back for the seventh time and saw Bakugou walking the same way, paying him no mind, until the boy caught up to Midoriya, speaking as they walked.
"Oy, Deku, someone told me they saw you walking into Yuei this Sunday, is that true?"
Midoriya registered the question, but something about the phrasing annoyed him, so he kept moving without a word.
"The fu- Are you deaf, I'm talking to you, Deku!"
Midoriya turned for half a second to answer with a cold expression:
"And that's not my name."
Bakugou just halted after hearing that and smiled, his hand sparkling as he lost his temper and leaned forward to jump and teach Midoriya some manners, but as he blasted his hands to propel himself forward, Midoriya dashed backward, passing by Bakugou at the same time he was moving forward making Bakugou lose track of his movement, and before Bakugou could even turn, he heard and felt two impacts at the side of his face, blasting him away with great speed, making him loudly collide against a trash can. Before he could even get up, Midoriya was already next to him, pointing his hand down:
"Heal"
Before Bakugou could react or get up, Midoriya said in a low voice:
"I don't have time to play right now, Katsuki, so before you go apeshit, think about the people around us and his cellphones that are already on." As he said that, Bakugou looked around, still from the ground, and saw at least 3 people pointing to the noise made by the two, while a few others were filming with their cellphones.
"De- Deku... I'm going to fucking murder you-"
"Sure, but not here. I don't want to lose my chance to get into Yuei because of a street fight with you... You're not worth it."
As he said that, Midoriya pointed his left hand to cast his Touch and walked away, leaving Bakugou enraged and in complete shock after what just transpired.
The school day was something that Midoriya couldn't describe in words. Everything felt like it didn't matter anymore. Why was he studying theoretic math or history or grammar? This didn't matter out there. None of this mattered when someone is out to kill you. What once was his primary focus, now felt like a waste of time and effort. The only thing that still tied him was the need to enter Yuei, and for that, he would still need good grades.
After ignoring deadly gazes from a furious Bakugou, Midoriya walked out of school through a different route, trying to lose Bakugou and his bullshit. There, taking a different path, Midoriya felt an overwhelming danger.
It was as if someone was literally behind him, a pair of eyes locked to the back of his head, someone breathing on his neck.
He turned quickly, his hands ready to start combat, but there was no one there. He looked around for some time before relaxing.
'What the hell was that?'
"Search"
After waiting, the search came back empty, as there was nobody there.
He turned and resumed his walk, wondering if his paranoia was somehow getting to his head, and missed the ashen blonde-haired girl who leaned from an alley, resuming the stalk of her pray.
Midoriya was trying to get back to his neighborhood through this new path, aware of his surroundings at all times, imagining what he was going to do from now on, when he heard a strange sound coming from a nearby alley, stopping in front of it, taking a few steps back when he heard a ghostly whisper say as if it was speaking next to his ear:
"Help... Somebody help."
Midoriya felt a chill and looked at the end of the alley, trying to find the one speaking, but there was nothing. Some people walked by him and didn't even turn to the whisper, that came a second time. He looked around and heard the whisper a third time, taking a step towards it, but stopped, frowning.
'Something is wrong. This has to be a trap, maybe done by some villain, or maybe something related to the Other Side. I need to be extra careful from now on or I can end up in the same situation as before. You can't be that naïve anymore, Izuku.' He tried to look for any signal of life coming from the alley, but found nothing.
"Search"
As his power expanded towards the alley, it hit something, revealing a shape, like some kind of invisible oval barrier, and he walked closer to analyze it.
"Analyze"
[?]
[?]
[?]
"What is this? It's the first time my Analyze can't read something."
Midoriya raised one hand to touch the invisible wall, trying to understand it, so his Analyze could gather information, but when his fingers touched the layer, something or someone pulled him.
All images and sounds around him vanished, leaving him inside a completely dark and soundless world. He could only feel the momentum, as if he was entering something at high speed, or as if something was rapidly passing by him. Midoriya just looked at the darkness around him, until the strange sensation was gone and he could see that there was no more alley. He found himself in front of a giant arch, with a staircase leading down to an underground level that wasn't visible to his eyes. He just looked around, shocked, but before he could take any conclusions, a window appeared in front of his face.
[Dungeon discovered]
[The King's Tomb](Hard)
[A new quest was added]
[Dungeon Quest][v]
[The King's Tomb]
[Objective - Defeat King Targ]
[Optional - Defeat all enemies]
[Rewards]
[50000 EXP]
[50000 Gold]
[Weapon Box](Unique+)
[Armor Box](Unique+)
[Acessory Box](Unique+)
[Optional Objective Rewards]
[50000 EXP]
[50000 Gold
'Oh no.'
Midoriya looked down the staircase but saw only darkness, feeling the same thing he felt inside the restaurant two days ago, and later, when meeting Toga Himiko. He pressed his lips together, feeling his legs start shaking, but before the fear could settle in, he heard the same voice that called him from the alley, but this time, it wasn't ghostly, it was a human female voice.
"SOMEONE... PLEASE... HELP US."
Midoriya's fear disappeared as he felt a chill, instantly running down the staircase.
As he descended, torches started lighting up, illuminating the way, until he reached the bottom. There he saw something that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
He saw horror movies before, but they were nothing compared to the horror in front of him.
At least 5 people were fighting against monstrous creatures, while the floor was full of severed limbs and bloody corpses. These humanoid creatures were at least 8 feet tall, their skins were dark brown, and their arms were almost as long as their bodies. They didn't have ears, eyes, or noses but a giant circular mouth instead, covering the entire space where its face should be. Midoriya looked to his left, noticing one of the creatures that were knelt picking up a corpse, proceeding to open its monstrous mouth, revealing rows and rows of teeth, ripping a dead woman's head off, start chewing with a horrifying cracking sound, while blood dripped from between its teeth. Midoriya instantly vomited, turning his head away from the horrific scene, recovering shortly after, spotting the people who were still alive, trying to defeat at least 8 of those monsters, while others were on the ground, bleeding to death.
Midoriya never felt more afraid in his life, but for a moment, for a single moment, something inside his head snapped him out of his state of shock. Somehow, the fact that he already survived a frightening situation before, when he thought Ikki was going to murder him, helped him calm down as if his subconscious was telling him that being in shock wouldn't help in this situation, as it didn't help before. That weird feeling of 'not again', made him able to think through all of this madness. One moment where he took a deep breath and his mind cleared. The air was saturated with a disgusting stench, a mix of blood, excrement, and something soiled, and he wondered if that was how death smelled like. In that moment of clarity, he remembered Ikki and Ai. He remembered everything they taught him, their warnings, and most important, Ikki's words when he was about to leave the restaurant.
Midoriya-kun, I want to say something before you go.
Ikki-san?
You have to understand that the Other Side isn't like a game. That place is literally hell, so I want to make you understand that when you find yourself face to face with death again, and I'm sure you will in the near future, remember this: Don't ever give up... It doesn't matter how impossible the fight seems, or how powerful or frightening the enemy looks... Don't ever give up like you did today.
...
I'm not trying to humiliate you by saying this, I'm trying to make you understand that if you want to survive in this world- In our world, you have to fight till the bitter end. I know you're a kid, but today was the last day you could use that as an excuse. From now on, you're not a kid anymore, you can't be, because if you can't take something from this experience and grow up, you'll die the next time, and then, it will be game over for you.
'Well, I know you said near future, but this is a little too soon, don't you think, Ikki-san?' Midoriya thought while taking another deep breath, sweat running down his cheeky.
"Analyze"
[Devourer - Level 15]
[HP - ?][MP - ?]
[A demonic form that hunts on the first floor of The King's Tomb]
[Physical Attack - 250]
[Magic Attack - 0]
[Physycal Defense - 250]
[Magic Defense - 0]
[Type - Demon]
[Unique Bonuses]
[Can regenerate itself after consuming any kind of organic matter]
[?]
[?]
"IS NOT WORKING! THERE ARE TOO MANY- WHERE ARE OUR BLUES?!"
"They- They freaking ate her... They just ate her... We're all going to die... We're going to die... Don't let them eat me... Please... Don't let them-" A man was sitting while grabbing his head, leaning back and forth. Midoriya looked at him and wondered for a moment if that was how he looked like when he was in the same state. He turned to the others and analyzed them, seeing that now, their status window showed their colors.
[Level 12]
[Green]
[Quirk - Speed Enhancement][v]
[Level 10]
[Red]
[Quirk - Blade's Dance][v]
[level 8]
[Green]
[Quirk - Archer][v]
[Level 11]
[Green]
[Quirk - Deadly Eye][v]
[Level 9]
[Blue]
[Quirk - Spectral][v]
Midoriya also noticed another change. The names were being displayed over their heads just as before, but now, they had Hit Points and Magic bars, as well as the color respective to their quirk around their names. Midoriya looked up, expecting to find the color yellow above his head, but saw that his color was not the one Ikki linked to healing.
His color was white.
'I'll save this question for later.' He thought while positioning to begin, noticing that one of the people that was fighting just spotted him standing there.
'You just have to analyze them, Izuku. You can do this. You can do this!' He shouted to himself, concentrating on the enemy ahead.
"Who-" The man who noticed Midoriya started to ask out loud when he saw the boy shouting:
"Sacred Blast"
The white sphere of sacred light hit the monster that was eating a cadaver, blasting after impact, damaging two more that were near the first. After the blast, Midoriya saw their HP bar over their heads became red after being slightly drained and that their names blinked, becoming red as well.
[250 damage inflicted]
He saw a small white number appear and fade on top of the monsters' heads and Analyzed again.
[HP - 1750/2500][MP - 0]
'Now I can see its HP. All right, it's not impossible to defeat them. Their HP is nothing compared to Ikki's... Just stay calm. I'll need at least 10 sacred blasts to defeat each one. There are... 10... 11... 12 of them, but my sacred blast can deal damage to multiple targets, so if I want to make this more efficient, I need to put them together. Right! First things first, I need to go help the wounded, right? Rescue is the priority in any hero action. Maybe I should define the monsters' speed and attack pattern while I heal those in need.'
Midoriya created his plan of action, remembering what he had read in the previous months about how heroes behave themselves in their work environment. For all the effects, in theory, the boy could call himself a hero because of the amount of knowledge about heroes and hero work he had accumulated through studying theoretics.
He saw the three monsters that were hit by his attack running towards him, dragging their longs arms across the floor, but even though they were fast, they were nothing compared to Ai's speed, or Ikki's Lightning Step. Midoriya saw that from up close, the monsters had really sharp claws, as they tried to claw him, missing when he rolled out of the way, his training paying off when he realized his body really became faster and stronger. He dodged another attack and raised both his hands towards the humans, dual casting.
[Touch²](Enhanced)
[Preventive Healing²](Enhancement Failed)
[Heal²](Enhanced)
[Cleanse²](Enhanced)
[Preventive Healing²](Enhancement Failed)
The group looked down at their own bodies, wondering why they were shining with golden or green light, feeling their wounds closing and their strength returning.
"What the hell is this?!" One man asked, looking at the [Preventive Heal] on top of his head.
"I don't know what the hell is going on, or who he is, but we need to help him-"
"NO!" Midoriya shouted and saw that all the monsters that were attacking the group, were now running towards him, even though he didn't attack them.
"Wha- You're a Yellow, aren't you? You can't be thinking about defeating all of them on your own!"
"Stay away! Or I may end up hurting you with my attacks." Midoriya saw one monster going towards the mage girl that was down and raised his hand again, dodging another claw attack before casting.
"Heal"
He then understood at the moment the monster stopped in its tracks, ignoring the girl to turn and come after him.
'It's the healing!'
Aggro.
The excessive healing was increasing Midoriya's aggro levels, making the monsters focus on him instead of the others.
'So my healing counts as a form of threat to them... That simplifies things. I already got their attack pattern, and their speed is slightly above mine, so a dodge can take me to safety. Well, this is perfect.'
He thought while another claw attack came, but this time, there were too many, attacking consecutively, so he had to dash away to gain some distance.
"Dash"
"Sacred Blast"(250)
"Sacred Blast"(250)
"Dash"
He took advantage of the distance to recover his stamina bar, running in circles, eyeing the group recovering HP overtime on the side, renewing the healing one more time, just to be sure.
{DIM}
[Through a specific action, an active skill was created]
[Active Skill: Divine Protection - Level 1 - 0.01% towards Level 2]
[Through the use of multiple healing abilities on multiple targets, the player created a way to heal multiple individuals at once, pouring the grace of the goddess over them]
[Can heal up to 6 targets]
[Heal - 200 HP per second]
[Adds buff on cast - Goddess's Grace]
[Goddess's Grace - While the Goddess's Grace is active, all healing will be increased by 50%]
[Goddess's Grace Duration - 15 seconds]
[Cast command - ?]
[Casting time - Instantly]
[Mana consumption - 200]
[Cooldown - 1 minute]
'Goddess?!'
Midoriya tapped while dodging again, and saw that now, all twelve monsters were completely aggro'd onto him.
'All right, now for the ending.'
"Dash"
"Dash"
He put distance between him and the monsters, raising both hands.
"Sacred Blast²"(750)
"Sacred Blast²"(750)
"Sacred Blast²" (2470)
[Devourer defeated](x12)
[EXP Gained - 6000](500x12)
Midoriya gasped when he saw the last blast making the monsters explode. He also saw that the damage was displayed in yellow color instead of white.
'Wha- 2470 damage?! Was that a critical hit? Holy- If I landed that before, I could've instantly killed all of them.' He thought while seeing the monsters' bodies disintegrating on the floor, leaving shining objects behind.
'So they drop items, just like in any game, huh?' He approached and saw three gold coins and a few strange objects.
"Analyze"
[Gold Fragments]
[Amount - 1200]
[Currency used on the Other Side]
[Can be exchanged for any ordinary currency in different ratios. 1:10 for Japanese Yen]
[Glass Shard](Misc)
[Amount - 3]
[Can be sold to merchants or dissolved into raw materials]
[Sell Value - 50 Gold]
[Rotten Meat](Misc)
[Amount - 7]
[Has uses in necromancy]
[Sell Value - 5 Gold]
'I'll get to you later, for now, I have work to do.' He thought while putting everything inside his inventory, before turning to face the group that was eyeing him in shock. Midoriya noticed that after the adrenaline spike, his legs and hands were shaking again, so he clenched his hands into fists, forcing himself to stay cool.
He approached the group but stopped at least 20 feet away. The two men that were holding the front line using swords and shields were exhausted, one of the green ones that were in the back was bleeding severely while the other was in complete shock. The blue girl was just staring at the place where the monsters were defeated.
"Cleanse" Midoriya pointed his hand to the green man and turned to the others after seeing the bleeding stop.
"Umm... Hi."
"Who in god's name are you?" The Red-quirked man asked, his face showing only awe after seeing Midoriya's abilities.
Midoriya remembered his first lesson: Never trust people inside the dungeons.
"Ah, my name... Well, let's just say that's... Not important at the moment, so I'll skip that part for now, sorry."
"Wha- Oy, kid, is this the way to speak to your elders?" The green-quirked man came stomping towards Midoriya, and he felt apprehensive for a second, but saw the red one putting himself in his way.
"What the hell are you doing, Daichi"
"What you mean?! I'm about to teach an insolent kid his place-"
"Are you trying to get us killed again?"
"Huh?!"
"I told you we weren't ready to defeat these monsters, but you insisted... And that cost us half of our group... And now you want to attack the person who saved us? The hell is wrong with you?!"
"..."
The green man named Daichi sheathed his sword and turned, while the other walked slowly towards Midoriya, but the boy wasn't paying attention to them anymore. Right now, Midoriya was having a strange moment.
The boy felt, for the first time in his life, his value.
He heard them thanking him for his help, but he felt that they were as grateful as they were fearful of him, and that shot a strange sensation across his body. It was good not to be just a stone that people ignored or kicked around. It felt good to finally be noticed as a force and have value as a hero, and more important, as a person. While eyeing the group, a small part of his brain thought a strange thing.
'So, this is how strong people feel all the time.'
And it was a pretty good feeling.
"We have nothing but gratitude to offer you, boy- I mean- Sorry, I didn't mean to insult you by calling you that."
"It's all right... And I'm wondering that maybe you can offer me more than gratitude."
"Is there something you need from us? Name it and if possible, we'll do it."
"Information."
Half an hour later, the last person was getting up, looking around at the horrifying scenario. Midoriya saw the blue girl named Lila knelt next to the headless corpse, crying profoundly, while others were recovering torsos and limbs, assembling them over a sheet.
"What are you going to do now? I mean, there are two more levels and I don't think we'll be able to clear the dungeon by ourselves. Maybe we could join forces?" The red man named Akagi asked, making Midoriya break eye contact with the corpses to look at his face.
"Well, Akagi-san, as much as I'd like to do that, I can't... Trust you so easily."
Midoriya said, feeling his mind break, hearing Ikki's voice inside his head again:
It doesn't matter how trustworthy they look or sound, don't trust anyone you find inside the dungeons.
Ever.
"How- How do you know my name?!"
"Er... Ah- That's a secret, sorry."
"Ummmm... All right, I won't push for details on how you know that, and for your words, I- I think that's understandable, I mean, I don't know what got into me to ask- I'm sorry, I'm just a little nervous about what happened and worried about the others since we must keep going."
Midoriya narrowed his eyes and Analyzed him again.
[Emotions]
[Worried/Emotional/Scared]
'Huh.'
"Well, it's not like I can just leave this place, right? You just told me that once you enter a dungeon, you have to kill the boss or the dungeon won't allow you to leave."
"Yes, that's right."
"Since I want to understand what's inside a dungeon, I think it will be good if we stay close for now, but please... Don't try anything."
Murders happen all the time inside dungeons.
"I wouldn't dare... I believe you're stronger than all of us combined. We just got our oaths and join our guild-"
"Oh, that's actually a topic I want to discuss if you don't mind."
"Eeer... What about it?"
"Wait, you just said Oath?"
"Yeah, we call the action of knowing about the Other Side and deciding to fight, an Oath. It's an oath made to the world, so we are promising to fight the dangers and evils coming from the dungeons to protect the earth at all costs."
'Umm, what if the Tower called upon humans after the Other Side started to leak, so they could stop it, giving them the power to do so, but if this theory is correct, the Tower isn't actually responsible for the dungeons. I need more information about this, but I don't think they know much more.'
"Ummmm, I believe we're done here, so... Are you ready to move on?" Akagi asked while looking at the number of limbs and torsos, stashed inside the sheets.
"What about... Their remains?" Midoriya pointed, trying not to look directly at it.
"We'll come back for them after we finish... We need to give them a proper burial at least."
"I get it. Well, we can go."
As they walked forward, Midoriya remained a few steps behind, imagining if this wasn't too much, hearing Ikki's voice responding to him pronptly.
Never give your back to anyone inside the dungeons.
They kept walking down, and another staircase appeared, leading to another level. As they reached the leveled floor, they looked around suspiciously.
"Search"
[Cooldown is not ready yet]
(55 seconds remaining)
"Wait one more minute, I need time to search the area for enemies."
"You got it-"
"Oy, Akagi, why the hell are we taking orders from a child? Are you fucking kidding me?"
"I already told you to zip it, Daichi-"
"I didn't waste years of my life training to come here and just be bossed around by a toddler."
"I'm fifteen-" Midoriya frowned, but the man approached him, his face enraged.
"Shut your damn mouth, you don't get to order me or any of them around, got it?!"
After hearing those words, after everything he just experienced, Midoriya felt something coming up to his throat, but before swallowing it back, he let it out for the first time in his life, unaware of how it would sound.
"Would you like to die instead?"
The silence that followed that question was deafening. Daichi's hand went to his sword's grip, but Midoriya remained standing still, his [Dash] ready if needed, not breaking line of sight with the man.
"Are you threatening me?"
Midoriya felt his heart pounding, and the same thing coming up, but since it felt good to let it out the first time, he did it again.
"It depends... If you're threatening me." Midoriya felt his hands tingling. This thrill was something he never experienced before in his life. What was this? What was this place that was messing with his mind this much?
"You-" Before Daichi could do anything, Akagi grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back, shouting:
"IF YOU WANT TO DIE, GO AHEAD AND DIE ALONE TO THE BEASTS, BUT DON'T DRAG US WITH YOU! WE ALREADY LET OUR FRIENDS DIE BACK THERE, AND WHO DO YOU THINK WILL HAVE TO TELL THEIR FAMILIES, HUH?! I TOLD YOU WE WEREN'T READY FOR THIS, AND NOW THAT SOMEONE CAN HELP US LEAVE THIS PLACE, YOU PULL THIS SHITTY ACT?!"
"Friends- Are you kidding me? I barely knew them... And if they died, it was because they were weak-"
Midoriya felt a desire to punch that guy, but didn't have to because Lila did it for him. She wasn't physically strong, but it was a punch strong enough to push him back a little.
"Don't you fucking dare... To insult them... You piece of shit."
"Hoho... You bitch. Oh, you're so fucking dead-"
Midoriya saw the man running towards Lila and dashed sideways, appearing between the two, raising his right hand, starting to cast the Sacred Blast. Once Daichi saw that, he stopped and just stared, seeing Akagi positioned to stop him as well, his sword and shield drawn. Daichi looked from face to face for some time, spitting on the floor before turning, walking directly inside the wide area.
"Daichi- WAIT!" Akagi tried to warn the man, but he just looked over his shoulder.
"Fuck you. And fuck you too, nameless prick, you can all go to he-"
He never finished that sentence, because a quick sharp sound filled the air, making everyone freeze, as Daichi's head hit the floor and started rolling towards them, his body stiffening before spasming, falling to the floor, blooding flowing to the ground.
"What the hell happened-" Akagi started, and one of the green men started shaking and whispering.
"No, we need to get out of here... Not again... Not again... Please... I can't take it anymore... Please... Let's leave... I beg- I beg you, get me out... I'll give you anything... Just get me out-"
"Quiet." Akagi said, looking around while Midoriya was standing still, his eyes locked on the headless body.
It was the first time he watched someone being killed.
Just like that.
Like a fly being slapped.
Like a cockroach being stomped.
Just like that. A life was gone. His mind, his soul, his will, his past, present, and future. Everything this man was, just disappeared in front of Midoriya's eyes, leaving just a sack of meat and blood on the floor. Midoriya heard a shout overtaking the strange continuous shrill in his years, and looked to his right, seeing Akagi with a disturbed expression.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! AREN'T YOU GOING TO HELP US?!"
"Ah... Yes. Se- Search." Midoriya said while swallowing compulsively.
As the wave dispersed, Midoriya felt each touch, as if it was his hand touching each signature. The Search made the being's silhouette visible, and Midoriya's eyes widened.
"Analyze"
[Cursed Wolf - Level 16]
[HP - ?][MP - ?]
[A ferocious beast that hunts on the second level of The King's Tomb]
[Physical Attack - 500]
[Magic Attack - 100]
[Physycal Defense - 50]
[Magic Defense - 0]
[Type - Demon]
[Unique Statuses]
[Possesses invisibility as long as it has magic]
[?]
[?]
"They are invisible... Cursed Wolves. Thirty of them scattered across the floor."
"Thirty?!" Akagi asked astonished.
"They have half the defense of the Devourers back there, but double their attack."
"Devourers?"
"Yea, that's their names- Oh, I think you guys don't know their names."
"No, we don't, and my armor could barely reflect those... Devourer attacks, so I don't think I can hold these... Cursed Wolves off."
"All right, let me think."
'That speed when it... Killed Daichi. That was weird, but I wonder if they all can move like that. I guess I'll need to try.'
"I'll try something, so keep your guard up."
"Wait- What are you doing?!"
Midoriya walked slowly, stopping right next to Daichi's body, being careful to not step on the puddle of blood, looking around, until he felt it. It was the same as Ai. The overwhelming murderous presence that he sensed when he first met the Praying Mantis came again, as if he was inside the restaurant again. A strange warning for him to move or die.
"Dash"
He moved back just in time to feel a breeze and felt the invisible being coming again, but the other people present couldn't feel or see it at all.
Although he was really worried, he never stopped analyzing. He felt the presence coming a second time, but the speed was normal, so he dashed again and dual cast while aiming in front.
"Sacred Blast²"
The two energy balls hit the huge wolf, which instantly became visible. Its fur was completely black, and it had six eyes, four ears, and two tongues. Also, its tail had some kind of curved blade on its end that Midoriya deduced was the culprit for Daichi's death, since there was a small trace of blood on its edge. Midoriya got ready for another advance but saw the wolf stiffen, before collapsing.
[Cursed Wolf defeated]
[EXP Gained - 600]
He looked around again and saw another silhouette.
"Analyze"
[Cursed Wolf - Level 16]
[HP - 700/700][MP - 1000/1000]
"I can one-shot all of them if I'm double casting, so I think we're good- Wait, this might help." Midoriya moved his hands and pulled the staff from his inventory, analyzing its stats again, frowning while using it.
'Nevermind, this is a piece of junk.'
He concentrated again, and noticed movement ahead, as the wolves noticed the missing one, walking towards the place it was killed.
'So they can adapt- I thought they were also controlled by some kind of system, but I guess I was wrong. Time for some experimentation then.'
"What are you doing-" Lila started asking, slowly moving towards Midoriya.
"Just wait. I'm trying to understand their pattern." Midoriya answered while slowly walking around the silhouettes.
'Is this a distance-based system? So as long as I remain out of their range, they can't perceive me, but where would it be the line?' He thought while taking calculated steps towards the invisible beasts, until one of them noticed his presence, running towards him at full speed.
"Got you."
"Sacred Blast²"
[Cursed Wolf defeated]
[EXP Gained - 600]
The other wolves that were near the second to fall instantly turned and saw Midoriya, running towards him.
'So you can hear as well? That will come in handy.'
"Sacred Blast²"
[Cursed Wolf defeated]
[EXP Gained - 600]
"Sacred Blast²"
[Cursed Wolf defeated]
[EXP Gained - 600]
[Cursed Wolf defeated]
[EXP Gained - 600]
"Sacred Bla-"
The third cast was interrupted by a movement coming from behind. Midoriya hadn't noticed one wolf that made its way behind him, aiming its attack towards his head, but before the attack aimed at Midoriya's neck hit, the boy thought fiercely about something. In a heartbeat, the blade came to end his life, but it was blocked by the [Mana Shield] that was already on.
[MP - 1980/3300][141 MP/10 sec]
[MP - 750/3300][141 MP/10 sec]
'Yea, I'm two steps ahead of you!' Midoriya thought wildly.
The attack pushed Midoriya away, making him drop and slide across the floor, quickly looking up to see the wolf's silhouette coming again for a second strike.
"No, you won't!"
"Sacred Blast²"
He saw the monster being blasted away and turned towards the rest, which was conveniently packed in the far side of the area.
"All right, here I go."
"Sacred Blast²"
[Cursed Wolf defeated](x2)
[EXP Gained - 1200](x2)
"Sacred Blast²"
[Cursed Wolf defeated](x8)
[EXP Gained - 4800](x8)
"Sacred Blast²"
[Cursed Wolf defeated](x11)
[EXP Gained - 6600](x11)
"Flow"
"Sacred Blast²"
[Cursed Wolf defeated](x3)
[EXP Gained - 1800](x3)
"Sacred Blast²"
[Cursed Wolf defeated](x2)
[EXP Gained - 1200](x2)
{DIM}
[You leveled up]
[Status Window]
[HP - 2344/2344][60 HP/10 sec][MP - 3500/3500][141 MP/10 sec]
[Midoriya Izuku][Level 5 - 0.01% towards level 6]
[30 status points available]
[Physical Attack - 83.2]
[Magical Attack - 737.6]
[Heal Points - 301]
[Cooldown Reduction - 1%]
[Magic Perforation - 1%]
[Strength - 12]
[Dexterity - 22]
[Intelligence - 44]
[Constitution - 21]
[Spirit - 48]
{DIM}
[Through a specific action, an active skill was created]
[Active Skill: Celestial Wrath Level 1 - 0.01% towards level 2]
[Through damaging multiple demonic enemies at a time using holy light, the player abandoned his support role, destroying everything in his path with raw damage]
[Deals holy damage to a target, spreading around it, dealing 25% of the original damage as additional damage to secondary targets]
[Deals 500% more damage do Demons and Undead]
[Cast command - ?]
[Casting time - Instantly]
[Mana consumption - 100]
[Cooldown - 3 seconds]
"Dear lord... Who are you?" Lila whispered under her breath, staring at Midoriya.
"What you mean?"
"For you to use your quirk so fast- You must be in some of the big guilds, aren't you?"
"Ummm... Yes." Midoriya lied.
"Your casting is so clean and precise, and it has been ages since I last saw an emitter capable of doubling the damage by double casting."
'Well, I thought that was just my special trait, but there are actually others that can double-cast? Tch.' Midoriya slightly pouted and walked to gather more items scattered around the floor.
[Gold Fragments]
[Amount - 4100]
[Cursed Tooth](Misc)
[Amount - 48]
[Can be sold to merchants or dissolved into raw materials]
[Has uses in necromancy]
[Sell Value - 100 Gold]
[Rotten Meat](Misc)
[Amount - 26]
After all the wolves were defeated, Midoriya noticed Akagi knelt next to Daichi's body doing a prayer before dragging his corpse to a corner, doing the same with his head. After they used another sheet to cover his body, they start moving towards the staircase that led to the final floor.
While they walked down the staircase, the girl asked while looking over her shoulder.
"Are you a yellow?"
"Huh?"
"When we were on the first floor, you... You healed us, right? The only color I know that can heal is yellow, but all yellows that I know of can only heal."
"What you mean, only heal?"
"Ummm, you can say that yellow engulfs slightly powerful quirks, so they can only do one thing. Yellows can only heal as if the world restricted them to not make them too powerful."
"..."
"So yellows are basically a group of their own, vital for any incursions or fights, of course, I mean, guilds with strong yellows could easily defeat stronger guilds because the healing turns the battles into a resistance competition. Imagine if you had to attack someone for 2 minutes, using all of your magic to defeat them, but then a yellow comes and heals your enemy so you have to do it all over again. It is certain death to fight against guilds with strong yellows, so the guilds created plans to dispose of them behind the scenes. Most of them were assassinated or blackmailed into committing suicide using their families as leverage."
"That's awful."
"Yea... So, are you one?"
Midoriya just remained in silence, wondering what that would imply from here, and Akagi just frowned while looking at the boy.
They finally arrived at the last floor, according to Akagi, and looked around, but it was empty.
"Is your ability to search ready?"
"Not yet, just give me a few seconds."
"All right. While we wait, I'd like to warn you about this boss."
"Warn me?"
"Yes. This is considered a weak dungeon, because of the number of enemies and floors, but the reason why very few people try to finish this one is because of this boss."
"Ummmm... Go on."
"I never saw it, but people often refer to it as King."
"Oh yes, that's his name, King Targ."
"Targ? How do you know that?"
"..."
"All right, I get it, another secret, but do you know anything about it? A way to kill it without risking our lives?"
"I'm sorry, but no... We'll have to see what he can do, also, my search is ready. Are you two ready?" He asked Lila and Akagi, who nodded.
"All right, what about those two? Are you sure it was a good idea to leave them behind?" Midoriya asked looking up the staircase they came.
"Yes, inside a dungeon, the monsters won't reappear until you finish it and leave, so it was actually fine leaving them to guard the bodies. They would be more of a liability, that I can assure you."
"Okay. Here we go. Search."
As the power started to spread, they were looking everywhere, trying to spot the boss, but the room was empty, apart from a big chest next to the far wall.
"Is that the loot?" Lila asked while pointing, and Akagi answered.
"Yes, but the boss should be guarding it."
Midoriya kept looking around, trying to find the monster, but eventually gave up, there was no place that it could be hidden.
"So, what now? We just open it?" Midoriya pointed while frowning.
"Well, yes, but since you saved us, you're more than welcome to its contents."
"I didn't help you because of that- I heard someone calling for help-"
"Oh, so my broadcast actually worked?"
"Broadcast?"
"Yes, it's a magic I created that allows me to communicate through great distances using my familiars, but since we were inside the dungeon, I wasn't sure if it was going to make it out." She created a spectral otter made of blue energy, that played in her arms before vanishing.
"I was passing by an alley and heard it as a whisper."
"Thank god I gave it a try, otherwise we would all be dead."
Midoriya eyed the chest again, wondering.
"Since you guys wanted it so much, how about we share what's inside?"
"I told you that you can take everything. If it wasn't for you, we'd be all dead-"
"Don't worry, we'll split whatever is inside."
"..."
Midoriya walked timidly towards the chest, looking everywhere, his dash ready, when he heard a strange male voice speaking out loud.
To those who seek what is not theirs by right
I ask you this, so you can prove your mighty
I am what you need, yet, I am already part of you
I am what you seek, but too much of me will kill you
I can kill or heal, but that is up to you
I am a gift, a burden, and a curse, that you have to live through.
What am I?
Answer me right, and yours is the prize
Answer me wrong, and the King shall rise
{DIM}
[Quest updated]
[The King's Tomb]
[Objective: Solve the Keeper's riddle]
"Oh. My. God." Lila whispered after looking everywhere, trying to see if the voice was actually coming from something.
"Is this one of those puzzles?" Midoriya asked, remembering Ai's words.
"It's a riddle, but something changed. This dungeon never had a riddle before. I don't know what made it change, but this is great news for us, we have one chance to get it right, or I guess we'll have to defeat the boss."
"So the dungeon changed? I guess Ikk- Well, the fact that we can finish without fighting surely is great."
"Yes." Lila agreed, wondering why the boy held up the name he was going to say.
"All right, I'm awful when it comes to these things, what about you, Lila?" Akagi scratched his head.
"I'm worse." The girl timidly smiled.
"So it's up to you." Akagi looked towards Midoriya, who was completely absorbed in thoughts, with his hand on his chin.
'To those who seek what is not theirs by right? That's strange.'
"All right, I'll speculate a few things, so you two feel free to jump in with any insights." Midoriya said out loud, turning to the two.
"Okay."
"So it knows we do not own the treasure inside the chest, meaning it is something sentient-"
"Let me stop you right there. You don't need to analyze the thing that asked the question, just imagine that's the Tower. All we need to do is solve the riddle given to us."
"Ummmm. All right, I was just trying to point the whole picture, but since I'm wrong to include the being, let's go to the riddle part. I am what you need, yet I am a part of you."
"That can be many things... I don't know... food?"
"Is food a part of you, Akagi?" Lila frowned.
"I mean, in a way, it is. Food becomes energy to our bodies."
"Could be, but humans need more things, so let's not get ahead of ourselves. I am what you need, but too much of me will kill you... So it is telling again that we need it, but that too many of it will kill us, so it is something that we need, but at the same time, something that can be harmful to us."
"It can kill or heal, but that is up to us," Lila said while looking at the ceiling.
"So the change is up to us. We have control over how it works."
"I am a gift, a burden, and a curse, that you have to live through." Akagi recited the last part, and Midoriya became silent.
"How about we list the things humans need first-"
"This is easy. I already know the answer." Midoriya said while looking towards the chest, and the voice spoke again.
Speak.
"Wait, shouldn't we discuss first-" Akagi started asking, but Midoriya said while facing forward, his expression showing excitement.
"You are... Water."
To the wise, the prize.
To the stupid, the punishment
As you cannot escape
King Targ's judgment
They saw the chest opening, and out of thin air, a ghostly form appeared. It was a ghostly skeleton wearing a golden crown, holding a sword while floating.
"Er... What?! I was right, wasn't I?" Midoriya's question was answered when the monster flew towards him, and completely ignored the boy, attacking Akagi, who rolled out of the way. Midoriya saw the attack destroying a part of the ground and wondered how in the world a ghost could do that.
Midoriya saw the boss moving to attack Lila, but Akagi moved into parry the blow, being pushed to his knees by the force.
"What's going on?!" Lila asked, looking at Akagi.
"I don't know- This thing is too strong!" Akagi said between his teeth, blocking another attack, being pushed back by King's Targ strength.
"Of course! We are two different groups... And since I solved the puzzle, I'm the one who got the prize." Midoriya said under his breath, seeing the monster's name in white color, the same color as the name of the Devourers or the Wolves before he attacked them.
Akagi and Lila looked at each other, their faces showing horror as they realized they were by themselves. Akagi pushed the boss and used a combo of slashes, dealing some damage, and Lila got some distance, creating some kind of spectral elemental made of blue energy that started shooting strange attacks from its hands towards the boss, who instantly turned to her, passing by Akagi in a heartbeat, unleashing a devastating strike towards the elemental and the girl, who just closed her eyes.
"Dash"
Midoriya flew by, pushing the girl out of the way, seeing the swing made by the boss destroying a part of the ground again. If that were to hit her, she would've been sliced in half.
He instantly saw the boss's name becoming red and smiled nervously.
"Analyze"
[King Targ - Level 25]
[HP - 17.400/20.000][MP - 4.300/5.000]
[The King's Tomb Boss]
[Cannot be taunted]
[Takes 50% less physical damage due to Ephemeral bonuses]
[Attack - 1000]
[Physical Defense - 500]
[Magical Defense - 500]
[Type - Ephemeral]
The boss started looking around for some time and Midoriya took advantage of the time to quickly read the additional information about that type.
[Ephemerals][v]
[Ghosts and specters without physical bodies]
[Take 50% less damage from any type of physical attack]
[Has improved movement speed]
[Can move through units]
[Has weaknesses against ice abilities]
Midoriya healed Akagi and Lila with his Touch and saw that he was with aggro again, so he just ran away, seeing that this time, things weren't going to be so easy, since the ghost wasn't actually running, but floating around with great speed.
"Dash"
"Sacred Blast"
[200 damage]
"Akagi-san, Lila-san, I need help... You two did 2.600 damage- Damn... The first time you attacked, so I'll just draw him around- Argh. And you keep dealing damage... If he turns on you- Dash- I'll heal you, so don't worry." Midoriya shouted orders while running, jumping, and dodging the incoming attacks.
Lila cast another spectral elemental and started shooting spectral arrows, while Akagi, started following the boss, striking every time he had a chance, while the boss kept floating after Midoriya.
The boss HP started to decrease, and Midoriya felt confident this was going to be okay, but when it reached 10.000, the boss stopped his pursuit, leaving a roar, and its body started to twist and shake.
Midoriya took advantage of that to use his [Flow] and get his mana back, using the preventive heal on Lila and the Restore on himself and Akagi. He aimed his hands and dual cast another [Sacred Blast] but a window appeared on top of the King's head while he transformed.
[Invencible]
The boss's body started to twist and bend, and suddenly, they saw something growing from it, involving the ghost. It was like flesh tendrils came from his insides, enveloping him over and over again until it suddenly stopped, and now, the king had something resembling a corporeal body.
"Analyze"
[King Targ cast Resurrection][v]
[Ressuction]
[Doubles all physical damage dealt]
[Doubles all magical damage dealt]
[Doubles all physical damage received]
[Doubles all magical damage received]
[King Targ is enraged][v]
[Enraged]
[+ 50% Movement speed]
[+ 50 Critical Chance]
"NO- GET AWAY FROM HIM, AKAGI-SAN!" Midoriya shouted when the man dashed forward, trying to get aggro before the boss could go after Midoriya again, but the boss just turned and swung its enormous blade, cutting through Akagi's shield, right arm, and right leg, who fell screaming in agony.
"Argh- Ugh... Oh my fucking god- Ah... Ahhh... AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"NOOOOOOO!" Lila cried in despair, creating two more spectral elementals that started shooting arrows at the boss, who turned and ran towards her.
"LILA, DON'T!" Midoriya shouted while raising his hands:
"SACRED BLAST²"
[1000 Damage]
Midoriya saw the spell turning the aggro to him, and instantly dashed twice, getting more distance to cast towards Akagi.
"Cleanse²"
[Bleeding Debuff Persists]
"Cleanse²"
[Bleeding Debuff Persists]
"C'MON... PLEASE!"
"CLEANSE²"
[Bleeding was removed]
Midoriya saw that Akagi was already passed out from the shock and blood loss, and saw another swing coming from the boss, rolling out of the way, but not in time, as he felt the tip of the blade slightly cutting his back.
[1100 Damage received]
'THAT MUCH?! AH- THE DOUBLE DAMAGE!'
He saw the boss coming again and wondered if he should use his mana shield, but there was no time. The King swung his blade, and Midoriya barely dodged, seeing his clothes being hit, trying to time the monster's attacks.
"Sacred Blast²" (1000)
"Dash"
"Sacred Blast²" (1000)
"Sacred Blast²" (1000)
"JUST SIX MORE! KEEP DOING DAMAGE, LILA-SAN!"
Midoriya got some distance from Targ, thinking that if he could cast from afar, he would be safe, but the creature just raised one hand, sending a blast of strange dark energy that flew at high speed towards Midoriya's face. The attack came so fast, the Midoriya wasn't able to do anything other than raise his mana shield in time, which instantly got shattered.
[MP - 0/2344]
[Flow - 2 minutes, 13 seconds remaining]
That was it.
Midoriya saw the monster coming again, raising its sword, its red eyes glowing as it brought it down. His dash was ready, but his stamina was still missing, and when the swing came, Midoriya thought about Ikki's words for a moment. He quickly remembered what he was told about never giving up, but this was too much, even for him. He could only see the sword coming, and suddenly, a shape appeared in front of him.
He just saw Lila's back, with her arms open, taking the blow with her body, instantly falling to the ground. Midoriya saw the small rune on top of her head exploding, healing her body, stopping her from being instantly killed, but she was still wounded, and without treatment, she was as good as dead. He looked at the boss again and saw Targ pulling his sword back. Midoriya mentally shouted to himself to move, to take advantage of the window that Lila gave her life to create. He ran and saw the boss running after him.
Midoriya saw the boss starting the movement to attack, and then it hit him.
This was a monster, and something was definitely pushing it to act, but this thing still had to look at him to attack. His movements were strange, but they were still movements made by something sentient. This was a thing with a mind, not just a husk.
He took one big step to the right, and the monster's eyes followed him. Midoriya analyzed the moment he started the movement, throwing himself to the other side, hearing the sword opening a crater on the ground. He looked back and saw Targ eyeing him, coming for a second attempt, but Midoriya looked him in the eyes, as he brought the sword down, falling into the same faint a second time.
Midoriya felt his dash returning, but he chose not to use it just yet, taking advantage of this trick to buy time, seeing Lila's HP falling to dangerous levels.
[Flow - 1 minute, 29 seconds remaining]
He got up after dodging and glared at the King, who got straight and frowned, showing an enraged expression. Midoriya's eyes never left his face, as he swung his blade again, but this time, as he started the movement, Midoriya took his fake step to the right, but instead of faking again, he actually took the step, seeing the sword coming and changing its trajectory in the last second, hitting the place he was about to dodge to.
"Ah... I knew it. You do learn."
The monster pulled his sword back and didn't begin the movement for another attack, eyeing Midoriya with a strange expression. It was as if it was evaluating him.
Suddenly, without any hint, he attacked, using a diagonal slash that he hadn't used yet, trying to catch Midoriya off guard, but the boy was in the zone, his eyes locked on his every movement, not missing any changes. Midoriya just dodged the next two attacks, looking up to face the King again, standing 10 feet away, looking him in the face.
"This is like rock paper scissors... If I can guess right, I win."
[Flow - 48 seconds remaining]
Suddenly, the King took a step forward, but Midoriya couldn't feel any danger coming from the monster, which was at least 10 feet tall. He looked up and met the King's gaze, which was looking down at him, and felt like he was dreaming when he heard the being speak with a twisted voice.
"You... Want... Crown?"
Midoriya's heart started pounding as the words were registered in his mind. The King's voice was like a mix of many voices into one.
"Crown?"
"You... Challenge... Targ... You... Want... Crown?"
"Ah- No... I don't want your crown. No crown... I just want to leave- Just leave."
"You... Leave." The King raised one finger and pointed at Midoriya.
'Is this thing bargaining with me? What is happening?! Calm down Izuku-'
"They too." Midoriya pointed to the two, taking advantage to cast his [Touch] on Lila with the mana he got from his regeneration.
"No! They... Stay!" Targ's expression changed, as if he was angry again.
"No, they will come with me, or we can continue this."
"Con- tinue?"
"They leave too, or... We fight." Midoriya tried to communicate in a way this strange creature could understand.
Midoriya saw the King actually taking some time to think, eyeing him with a strange expression, and out of nowhere, his body started to dissolve, as he returned to his original ghost form.
"Leeeeave." His voice was held in the air as he disappeared, and then nothing else could be heard.
Midoriya saw a window appearing and this time, it has fireworks all around.
[Congratulations]
[Dungeon Cleared][v]
Midoriya took a deep breath and suddenly remembered about the two, running to check on them.
"Flow"
"Cleanse²"(Enhancement Failed)
"Cleanse²"(Enhanced)
"Restore²"(Enhanced)
"Restore²"(Enhancement Failed)
"Touch²"(Enhanced)
"Restore²"(Enhancement Failed)
He saw Lila starting to move, and noticed that her wound had stopped bleeding, running to finish healing Akagi. After a few minutes, the girl blinked slowly and looked around, dizzy, until she found Midoriya knelt next to Akagi, getting up, walking towards them to kneel next to the two. She saw his arm and leg severed and the yellow light surrounding his body, coming from Midoriya's hands.
"What happened- Did you kill it?"
"No."
"Huh- Then how are we... How are we still alive?"
"The boss- Targ... He spoke to me."
"He spoke- What are you talking about- Monsters can't speak."
"Well, he could. He asked if I wanted his crown... And when I said I just wanted to leave, he told me to leave."
"Wait... Are you telling me a monster actually talked to you?"
"I was surprised as well. I told him that you two were coming with me, but he didn't want to let you go, so I said we were going to keep fighting and he let go of that form... Becoming a ghost again, telling us to leave."
"..."
Lila just looked at his face, trying to find a hint of a lie, but the doubt and shock in there made her believe in every word, even if it sounded insane. She saw the wound from Akagi's cut in a really good shape and was certain about this boy being yellow, but wondered how was he doing damage? This was strange.
"Why-"
"Huh?"
"Why did you help us? You could've just left. The boss wasn't attacking you... Why did you risk your life to help us? You barely know us."
"I could ask you the same thing. Why did you jump in front of me when I was about to get killed?"
"..."
The girl just remained silent, and Midoriya continued.
"Ummmm... I understand that the Other Side is a place where people show their worst sides, but that doesn't apply to me, and it seems it doesn't apply to you as well. You required help, and I was able to provide help, so that's what I did."
He said while applying the [Painkiller] since Akagi was almost awake, and felt a touch on his shoulder, turning to see the girl resting her forehead there, leaning into him while covering her face, crying into a sob.
"Tha- Thank you- Thank you so much- Thank you for- For saving- For saving him... Thank you-"
Midoriya noticed from the beginning that their status windows shared the same bonus:
[Lover - Akagi Matsuda]
[Lover - Lila Naydu]
After a few minutes, Akagi finally opened his eyes, being instantly hugged by Lila.
"What happened- Lila, are you okay?"
"..."
He looked around and tried to move, but as if he just realized it, he looked to his right and saw his arm and leg missing. His face contorted into a desperate expression, but settled in a mask of acceptance.
"Sorry about your arm and leg." Midoriya said from afar, resting next to the stairs.
"You- You stayed."
"Is that really shocking?"
"Extremely. I can't find the words to thank you for protecting my Lila- You have my eternal gratitude... Green."
"Green?"
"I'm sorry... Since I don't know your name-" Akagi gestured with his remaining hand towards Midoriya's hair.
"It was a fairly close guess, to be honest. Well, the dungeon is over, and we can leave, but I wanted to confirm with you first... What happens to you now?"
"Ah... Well, I'll inform the guild about the outcome of the dungeon... And we'll take our friend's remains with us... We'll call Souta and- The two greens you saw earlier to help us carry-"
"About that report that you're going to make to your guild-" Midoriya started while getting up, walking towards the two, stopping in front of them frowning at the sudden change in Akagi's expression.
"Please- I beg you for mercy- We're not going to tell anyone about you-"
"Wha- I'm not going to hurt you- Why would I even heal you in the first place?" Midoriya frowned again, and Akagi blushed.
"Ah- Sorry, I meant no disrespect by saying that."
"Look, I can imagine this behavior being appropriate inside this place, but you don't have to fear me. Now, talking about your report, I'd very much appreciate it if you left my involvement out of it... I'm not sure I'm ready to be part of this world yet, so if you could... Please, find a way to explain everything without mentioning me."
"You have my word, Green."
"You know, green can be very confusing because that's how you classify quirks... So for now, how about you call me... White."
Akagi eyed him and wondered about the faint smile on his face right now.
"Understood, White."
"Thank you, Akagi-san. Now, for the final thing... That chest." Midoriya pointed and instantly heard from Akagi.
"It's yours."
"I already told you we were going to split it-"
"Please, White-san, allow me to show my gratitude with this small gesture... I can never repay you for saving our lives, so this is nothing but a small gesture, but it is the one I'm making. Everything in there is yours for the taking, please." Midoriya saw the pain in his face and gave up on trying to share.
"All right."
"Ah- Thank you."
He approached the chest and pressed the [Yes] button in the window that popped.
[Acquired]
[100.000 EXP]
[100.000 Gold]
[Queen's Ring][v]
[King's Ring][v]
[Jade Gloves](Green Only)
[Jade Bow](Green Only)
[Jade Hat](Green Only)
[Sapphire Gloves](Blue Only)
[Return Crystal](5)
[Minor Refinement Gem](17)
[Piece of King Targ's Crown](Quest item)[v]
[You leveled up]
[You leveled up]
[You leveled up]
[You leveled up]
"WHAT?!"
[Status Window]
[HP - 3256/3256][72 HP/10 sec][MP - 4312/4312][153 MP/10 sec]
[Midoriya Izuku][Level 9 - 0.01% towards level 10]
[70 status points available]
[Physical Attack - 104]
[Magical Attack - 750.4]
[Critical Chance - 2]
[Critical Damage - 3]
[Additional Hit Rate - 2]
[Dodge - 1]
[Critical Resistance - 2%]
[Abnormal Statuses Resistance - 5%]
[Luck - 2]
[Skill Damage - 312]
[Heal Points - 329]
[Cooldown Reduction - 1%]
[Magic Perforation - 1%]
[Strength - 16]
[Dexterity - 26]
[Intelligence - 48]
[Constitution - 25]
[Spirit - 52]
'Why is it displaying new information now?'
"Is something wrong?" Akagi asked from afar.
"I just- No, it was nothing... Er, would you happen to know something about someone called Queen Amalia?"
"Of course, it's the second dungeon. The King's Tomb is the first, and the Queen's Crypt is the second. Have you found the King's-"
"Crown piece... Yes."
"It's a necessary item to activate the second dungeon- Well, it is yours now."
Midoriya was still amazed, seeing how much experience one single dungeon could provide. Five levels in total, and this was a dungeon of the hard difficulty, but then he noticed, that he was low-level if compared to the others in here, so maybe that was the reason he gained so many levels at once.
"Say something, when you usually finish these dungeons, how much experience- I mean, how strong you become?"
"A dungeon of this level won't strengthen us, so it's done only in the search for items... In this case, the most precious items are from the Green lineage and-"
"Oh, I got three of those."
"YOU WHAT?!" They both shouted in unison.
Midoriya felt startled by their shouts and just stared at them, confused.
"Are they this rare? I mean, their quality is Unique." Midoriya said while taking the items out of his inventory, analyzing them.
[Jade Bow](Green Only)
[Physical Attack - 555]
[Critical - 15]
[Critical Damage - 2%]
[Jade Hat](Green Only)
[Physical Defense - 250]
[Movement Speed - 5]
[Dodge - 10]
[Jade Gloves](Green Only)
[Physical Defense - 200]
[Magical Defense - 50]
[Movement Speed - 5]
[Dodge - 9]
[2-Pieces Bonuses]
[+ 5 Critical]
[+ 1% Critical Damage]
[5-Pieces Bonuses]
[+ 500 Skill Power]
[+ 50 Dexterity]
[7-Pieces Bonuses]
[+ 25 Movement Speed]
[+ 50 Dodge]
[9-Pieces Bonuses]
[Chance to cast Jade's Light while attacking]
[Jade's Light]
[For 10 seconds, increase all skill damage by 500%]
"These are insane buffs for a line of Unique items... What in the world?"
"I can't believe you got three of them... People come here at least five times to get just one."
"Whoa... Guess I'm lucky- Hold up. Isn't sealing the dungeons the real objective here? How can people do the same dungeon multiple times?"
"Every dungeon has a sealing requirement, so if you don't do it, the dungeon will remain open."
"Ummm, so that way you can keep grinding for its contents." Midoriya talked to himself while looking at the items again.
"Correct, but I never saw someone as lucky as you."
'Don't I have a status that gives me lucky?' Midoriya remembered but realized he still had another item to check.
[Sapphire Gloves](Blue Only)
[Physical Defense - 50]
[Magical Defense - 200]
[Skill Power - 100]
[Cooldown Reduction - 1%]
[2-Pieces Bonuses]
[+ 100 Magical Attack]
[+ 5% Cooldown Reduction]
[5-Pieces Bonuses]
[+ 500 Skill Power]
[+ 50 Intelligence]
[7-Pieces Bonuses]
[+ 50% Mana Regeneration]
[+ 50 Spirit]
[9-Pieces Bonuses]
[Chance to cast the Sapphire's Light while attacking]
[Sapphire's Light]
[For 10 seconds, increase all skill damage by 500%]
"This blue set is also insane."
"YOU GOT A BLUE AS WELL?!" Lila shouted and Midoriya walked towards them, now that the chest was empty, disappearing.
"Yes, this glove... The statuses are pretty good, but it's a shame I can't use it... Here." He handled the glove to Lila who looked down at his hand and back to his face, unable to say anything.
"What's wrong? It's for Blues, so you can have it, otherwise, it will go to waste."
"How do you know it's for my color?"
"Huh? Can't you tell by the looks of it? I mean, it is slightly glowing blue."
"No, we can't see any glow at all. This item can belong to any color."
"Oh... I get it... But why are you looking at it like that?"
"You don't know about the conflicted magic?"
"I... Have no idea what that means."
"If you try to use an item without knowing its color, your magic can become unstable and can end up harming your body, or in rare cases, even killing you."
"Hahaha... Wait- Seriously?!"
"Yes." Lila eyed the glove again and Midoriya frowned.
"Well, these are Blue gloves, so you can go ahead and use them, I guarantee."
"So you can even tell their color?" Akagi asked, impressed.
Lila accepted the gloves and took off her own, wearing the new ones, looking at her hands with awe.
"How are you feeling?" Akagi asked, worried.
"Perfect. No conflict."
They both turned to look at Midoriya with impressed expressions.
"Who are you?" Akagi asked rhetorically, and Midoriya chuckled. The man started getting up, and Midoriya was about to help, but he raised one hand.
"Don't worry. Lila?"
"Ah, yes."
The girl raised her hands and mana, or magic as they know started taking form, floating towards Akagi's leg, shaping a spectral leg, made of blue energy. The man got up and tested his balance, almost falling, but Lila grabbed his arm and helped him.
"Thanks... It's harder than I thought."
"I never considered that Blues could do that. How does that work? Is that forever? Does it continuously drain your mana- Your magic? What are the requirements?"
"Slow down, White-san, you're overwhelming me." Lila said, looking at Midoriya's hands, moving as if he was writing something down.
"Ah, sorry! This is so incredible that I got a little over the top."
"Ummm, it's not a blue thing... It's my quirk. I have a quirk that allows me to shape my magic into spectral things, and this is one of my specialties, that's why I was recruited to my guild. I named it Reshape. I shape my magic the way I want, and by doing that, I can create multiple things."
"What are the limitations?"
"Well, it depends. In my case, it works as long as I have magic inside of me, but there are stronger quirks into the Other Side that can actually create new limbs, even stronger than a human's, but that is beyond my paygrade." She shook her head.
"That's very interesting- Well, I guess I should be leaving." Midoriya looked towards two strange breaches that appeared in the middle of the room. One had a strange purple light while the other was just colored like the normal colors of the earth.
"..."
"Is something wrong?" Midoriya asked after looking at Akagi's and Lila's expressions.
"It's just- I know this will sound fishy, but we're just- After you leave, we may never see you again, and we are not very comfortable with that."
"Why?"
"I mean, you saved our lives and are leaving after gifting us with this item as well. I feel like we're taking advantage of you, and if you leave, we can never repay what you did for us. I know it's weird, but that's what I'm feeling." Lila said while looking down.
Midoriya took some time checking her emotions tab before answering:
"Ah... You know what, how about this? Let's exchange numbers, and then, we can keep in touch. I can ask you guys things as well."
"Really?!"
"Yes- But please, don't give my number to anyone."
"Of course! Whatever you need, if we can make it happen, we will do it. Let us know if there's anything you need."
Midoriya approached the two portals and saw two windows in front of him, but decided to tap the one on the right.
[Red Tower][Exit Dungeon]
As he was teleported out, the two looked at each other and gasped.
"Is he a Yellow?" Akagi asked.
"At first I thought so, but I'm not so sure anymore. Akagi, what is going on?" Lila said while hugging him again.
"Well, for starters, we're alive, thanks to him, so let's get out of here for now."
"What are we going to say to the Captain?"
"What else? The truth."
"Akagi?"
"That god helped us. That's the only way to describe what happened here. That god sent a guarding angel to save us." He smiled, and Lila leaned to kiss him.
Midoriya was eating Lámen, and put the empty bowl forward before asking:
"Another, Please-"
"YOU IDIOT!" Ai punched him in the head while Ikki was making more noodles.
"Ouch- That hurts, Ai-san!"
"It should! What did we tell you about trusting people inside a dungeon?! Are you stupid? They could be right now telling everyone about you- You even gave them your number!"
"They didn't look like bad people."
"Midoriya, you can't let your guard down!" Ikki said, coming with a bowl of fresh noodles, handling it to Ai, who started finishing.
Midoriya looked down and gave it a little thought, looking up to the two with a convicted expression.
"I know there are bad people in there... But I can't just turn my back on everyone because I'm afraid they're not nice. No, that's not me. I won't let that place affect me to the point that I'll lose my humanity, to the point I can't call myself a hero. I'll try to be careful, but I'll help whenever I can."
"Sigh... You're an idiot, and you'll end up killing yourself one day." Ai said while placing a bowl of Lámen in front of him, her tone slightly kinder.
"But you can't really dislike someone like him, can you?" Ikki whispered from behind her, smiling as he walked to the other side of the restaurant.
"So, you're telling me that twelve of you were reduced to four? And judging by the two Greens' shapes, they weren't very much of a help... So you're telling me that two of you managed to finish The King's Tomb?" An elder man with many scars on his face asked Akagi, who was standing next to Lila.
"That's correct, sir."
"And how exactly you two, who are rank F, cleared a rank E dungeon as a duo?"
"It must have been divine intervention, sir. Only god could've helped us, and I believe he did."
"Spare me, Akagi. I'm going to ask you again, what happened inside that dungeon?"
"Sir, I told you- We fought King Targ and won, Lila's gloves are the proof that we finish it."
The man got up from his seat and walked towards Akagi, who tried to remain calm.
"Then, could you be kind enough to show me the Crown's piece?" He whispered towards Akagi, and he closed his eyes, defeated.
"I didn't think so. Now, Akagi, you were one of the most promissory Reds I have, and you can still achieve greatness if you tell me the truth. I can contact a Yellow skilled enough to create you a new arm and leg-" The man said while walking back to his chair until Akagi's words made him halt.
"I'm sorry, sir, but that's what happened."
The man looked over his shoulder, and Akagi felt he had pushed too far, seeing his leader walking closer again and stopping in front of them.
"I want to know the reason you're keeping this from me, and I want you to understand my position, Akagi. I'm the leader of this damn guild, and I just got word that I lost TEN members at once, and now, my deputy isn't telling me the full story. Can't you see what you're doing, Akagi? Can't you see how is my responsibility to deal with this?"
"I'm sorry, sir, but there isn't-"
Akagi barely saw the movement, but Lila was now being held by her neck, the man's hand becoming red.
"CAP- CAPTAIN?!" Akagi started shouting, but by losing concentration, Lila's spell wore off, and his spectral arm and leg disappeared, making him fall to the ground.
"You have one last chance. What happened inside that dungeon?"
Akagi saw Lila's expression as she desperately tried to breathe and nodded desperately.
"OKAY! I'll tell you- Stop hurting her!"
The man let go of her neck, and Akagi crawled to her side as she coughed.
"Now, from the beginning, if you may." The man said while sitting, crossing his legs.
