The three Adventurers were camped away from the road, under a tree. It had been two hours since Tenko Shimura had joined their Party.

Bakugo was busy smashing rocks together over a small bundle of scavenged sticks from the nearby woods. He grunted as he brought his two hands together with the might of his Barbarian class and watched hopefully as the collision created a few sparks. He groaned outwardly when the sparks landed on the wood and nothing came of it. Again he brought the rocks in his hands together only to hear a loud crack.

The pair of rocks Bakugo had been using had split apart in his palms and crumbled through his open fingers. "God fucking damn it!"

Shimura watched as Bakugo tossed what little remained of his rocks off into the grassy field. "Experts huh?"

Bakugo whirled on Shimura. "Shut it, you fucking Necromancer! I don't see you trying to help start a fire!"

"That's because I'm not."

Bakugo's eye visibly twitched.

"I am attempting to learn a Pyromancer spell," Shimura flipped through another page of his spellbook.

"I thought you could only raise Undead? You know, cause you are a fucking Necromancer?"

"I am. But I am still a Mage. Just because I specialize in one form of the arcane over another, does not mean I cannot still learn those spells. It's just… more difficult."

"How difficult?"

Shimura spared Bakugo a brief glance upwards from his book before continuing to scour the current page of its information. "Let's put it in more brutish terms so that you may understand."

"Careful."

Shimra plowed on. "You are a Barbarian. All Barbarians have some variation of the Rage skill. Anyone can rage, but only a Barbarian can Rage. Power can be strengthened by passionate anger but only a Barbarian may reap the benefits of losing little to no energy after using the skill."

"So what you're saying is that you can learn a Pyromancer spell. But it will consume too much mana to be used properly or efficiently."

Shimura blinked and gave Bakugo a wide eyed stare. "Yes, yes that's right."

Bakugo rolled his eyes. "I'm an angry person. Not an idiot. Cant you just say that Fucking? Fucking Necromancer."

"Right."

"This is fucking stupid." Bakugo stood up and shouted at the tree. "What the fuck is taking you so long Deku?"

Izuku jumped and smacked his head against the trunk of the tree. "Ow."

Shimura sighed. "I think I can learn the Sparks spell if only you'd keep your mouth shut."

Bakugo glared at the Necromancer. "Fuck you."

"Fuck you too."

"Nuh uh. I said it first."

"Then I said it second. And I'll say it third. Fuck you."

"Piece of shit Necromancer. Deku!" Bakugo stomped away from the unlit campfire and towards the tree.

"Yes? Kaachan?" Izuku asked his childhood friend as he rubbed at his forehead.

"You got that moss yet?"

Izuku shook his head and looked up at Bakugo. "How am I supposed to know which moss is which? I'm not a Herbalist."

"Just grab whatever you used last time!" Bakugo waved his hands around.

Izuku felt around at the base of the tree and gripped the green colored moss. For the past couple of weeks since Izuku and Bakugo had set out from their village, Izuku had been using the red moss to start fires. It had a dryer quality to it and he remembered his mother starting fires with it at home. "I don't see what I used last time, Kaachan. It probably doesn't grow this far north."

"Then just grab some moss."

Izuku shrugged his shoulders and began to rip up a handful of bright green moss. Growing beneath an overgrown root, Izuku found some blue moss. The only other moss Izuku could find was a tiny patch of brown moss growing on a strange bulbous black and white plant.

Bakugo was right. They would have to experiment and hope for the best.

As it turned out, hoping for the best was not the right call.

Izuku and Bakugo stared down at the unlit campfire. Shimura raised his eyes above his book and looked at the strange phenomenon. Izuku's hands were blue. He had tried to start the fire with the blue moss.

To their credit, the blue moss had caught on fire after the first spark from Bakugo's new rocks.

To their detriment, the blue moss melted against the heat and turned into… water.

"For fucks sake, Deku!"

"What an interesting conclusion."

"I didn't mean to do it!"

Now they were left with an unlit campfire that was wet…

The group didn't have to be geniuses to know what that meant.

Izuku's shoulders dropped. "I'll gather some more firewood."

Bakugo folded his arms. "Idiot."

For once, Shimura agreed with Bakugo. "Perhaps you should have tested the properties of the moss aways from the… kindling."

Izuku was defensive. "How was I supposed to know the moss was magical!"

"Because it's blue moss." Bakugo smarted off.

"All moss is magical," Shimura corrected.

Bakugo and Shimura shared a look.

"Really?"

Shimura nodded. "All moss carries some trace of elemental magic. As do most plants you would find out here in the wilderness."

"Huh. Weird."

Shimura gave Bakugo a look. "It's not weird. It's perfectly normal. All life has magic inside."

"It- we do?"

Shimura nodded.

Izuku finished taking off his wet shirt and looked back towards the camp. "We do?"

Shimura, even though he was hunched over himself on the ground with a spellbook in his lap, he managed to look down at them by angling his nose up high and sneering. "How do you think the Levels work? It's all magic. We are by our very design, magical creatures. Just as the monsters we will be fighting are made up of the same, if not, then a similar magic." He gestured around them. "Even the very grass we walk on has magic. The air we breathe and recycle through our bodies. It is all magic."

Bakugo looked thoughtful.

Izuku couldn't help but ask. "So I can cast spells?"

Bakugo actually looked kind of hopeful at the suggestion.

Shimura killed their hope with a shake of the head and a playful smirk. "Ah, the wills of the non academics. Always curious about what they can't have. No. Only a Mage or a subclass of Mage like Pyromancer, Geomancer, Aeromancer, or a Necromancer like myself can harness and use the mana within our bodies. It is because of our academics in which we can understand and communicate with the magic inside of ourselves and turn that into arcane energy for us to use as we will."

Bakugo looked down into the plans of his hands. "But we've still got magic in us? We just can't use it?"

Shimura nodded. "Precisely."

"But why not?" Izuku finished wringing out his shirt and began to shake it out."

Shimura frowned and returned to his book. "That is simply the way of the world."

Bakugo stood up. "Whatever. Come on Deku. Let's find some more kindling."

It was half an hour later when they returned to the campsite. Shimura was still reading his book. Though he had a look of consternation about his features.

"Any luck?" Bakugo asked him.

Shimura sighed. "No, this is a really shitty spell."

Izuku dropped his kindling. He crouched down low so he could begin covering the original damp spot with dry soil. "Shouldn't it be easy to learn then?"

Shimura didn't look up. He only muttered two words. "Too easy."

Bakugo began placing the kindling over the dry soil in a ring of small rocks. They two had cleared the area of grass with the use of their skills earlier, Lesser Slash and Power Swing. It wouldn't do to catch the whole earth on fire would it?

"So what's taking you so long?" Bakugo asked.

"It's too fucking easy, all right," Shimura snapped. The Necromancer's patience had run thin. "I'm too high of a Level to learn this spell."

Izuku gaped. "Too high…"

Bakugo bared his teeth. "What?"

"I'm not at a low enough level to learn basic spells like this." Shimura tossed the book down. "You academics wouldn't know this but, you can only learn certain spells at certain levels."

"So just learn a better fire spell," Bakugo said.

"It doesn't work like that. There's no foundation to build the spell off of, I need-"

"You need the basic spell before you can learn something stronger right?" Izuku finished for Shimura. "I can't learn stronger sword skills without learning the basics. So if you don't learn the basic spell within the right Level range…"

"You can't do shit," Bakugo finished with a huff. "God fucking damn it. Fucking useless."

"Hey!" Shimura glared at them. "I am a Necromancer. A fucking Necromancer. Not a Pyromancer and not a Mage. A Necromancer. I raise and control the dead."

Bakugo balled his fist. "This. This is why I wanted a fucking Healer, Deku. Not some fucking corpse freak!"

Shimura jumped to his feet. Unlike Bakugo, he did not have his fists balled. Instead they were poised with the middle and index finger outstretched. "Says the lackwit Barbarian. You can't even use magic. All you can do is swing that big axe of yours around. Anyone could do that!"

"Can anyone split your skull in one strike like what I'm about to do?"

"Let's see if a Healer can put a gaping hole in your chest before you can even lift your fucking axe!"

"Guys! Guys!" Izuku scrambled in between the two of them, accidentally kicking over the kindling in the process. "You don't mean what you're saying. Both of you, we are all tired. We don't have a fire started and monsters will be out for blood soon enough. Why don't we split their skulls and fill them full of holes instead of each other? Come on. Let's just breathe."

Izuku was right. Night had set a while ago. If it hadn't been for the light of the full moon above they would be stumbling around in the dark. Izuku wondered how Shimura was able to read even in this light. Were the pages enchanted. Or was there something else, magical that Izuku didn't know.

Before meeting Tenko Shimura. Izuku and Bakugo had grown up in a small remote village. There had been no Mages. Just having Shimura in their Party for a couple of hours and they had already learned so many things about their world that they hadn't known of before. It was eye opening.

Izuku knew that they needed Shimura. Not just because of his intellect or because of his class. But because he had come to them, asking if he could join them.

Sure Bakugo hadn't agreed. Sure Izuku had acted on impulse to invite and accept Shimura into their Party. But, didn't they owe Shimura a chance. They were Adventurers, lower Level then Shimura to be sure, but they were still more experienced. Didn't they owe Shimura a try?

Didn't Izuku owe Shimura a chance to be welcomed as a friend?

Didn't Bakugo owe Shimura a chance to show his own strength in combat without making assumptions that he was a useless Mage? A Necromancer?

In their village. Both Izuku and Bakugo had been raised on the tales of evil Necromancers.

But Shimura didn't look evil to Izuku.

Shimura was prideful, arrogant, knowledgeable, and so much more. That didn't make him evil. That just made him more human. So what if he was a Necromancer? Why should the many be judged by the actions of the few? It wasn't right.

What would the Might Knight say, if he were here?

Probably to hack off Shimura's head and be done with it.

The Might Knight had slain great Necromancers before. Even the Great Evil himself.

But the Might Knight was also known for his kindness. His humility. His humanity.

Wouldn't he give Shimura a chance too?

"Kaachan," Izuku stepped towards Bakugo and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know you're upset. I invited Shimura into the Party and accepted him without listening to your input. I'm sorry."

Bakugo blinked. Red eyes narrowed and then he turned his face away. "Whatever."

Izuku grabbed his shoulders. "I am sorry. I am sorry I invited him. That I accepted him."

"We were supposed to be in this together," Bakugo whispered. "I wanted a fucking Healer. And you went and brought us him. A fucking Necromancer. Deku, you know what our mother's would say."

"I know. I know, Kaachan. But what about the Might Knight? What would he say? Wouldn't he give him a chance?"

Bakugo stiffened.

Izuku knew why. Both Izuku and Bakugo also grew up hearing the stories and the legends of the Might Knight. He was their idol, their hero. He was the reason the two had decided to strike out on their own. So that they too could do some good in this world. So that they too could become Heroes.

Izuku wasn't done with Bakugo yet. There was more to say. "I am sorry. But I did invite him. And I did accept him. So it's our job as more experienced Adventurers to show him what we know."

Izuku finally turned to address Shimura. "I'm sorry that Bakugo has been standoffish with you. I invited you into our Party because you asked me. But you think you know everything. When you don't. You're right. You are an academic and we're not. You know more about the magical elements of this world. More than we could ever know."

Shimura was proud of Izuku's words. Izuku's acknowledgement.

"But. That doesn't mean that we are stupid. So stop treating us like we are. Do you know how to slay a Gargoyle? So you know how to hunt? Track?" Izuku shook his head. "Stop pretending to be better than us. Because you're not. But the same goes for us." Izuku smiled sadly at Shimura. He looked at both Bakugo and Shimura. "Can we try this again?"

Bakugo kicked up some dirt and mumbled. "Fine."

Shimura lowered his fingers and his shoulders sagged. "Sure."

"You really stink. You know that, Crusty?"

"Crusty?"

Bakugo held a dagger towards the campfire. Something dead and skinned was cooking on the tip. "Yeah. Cause you are fucking disgusting. Your hair, your face, your skin, your smell. It's all crusty as shit."

The brown moss had been the correct moss. It hadn't started a fire as quickly as orange or red moss. But it still worked to get the fire going. Meanwhile Bakugo had returned with two dead rabbits.

The Necromancer had no qualms about skinning the rabbits. He just didn't know how to do it. Bakugo showed him what to do. Izuku had finished setting up their bed rolls and the night was getting on. The moon was high, it was almost midnight. The monsters would be coming soon.

Shimura nibbled on a piece of cooked meat. "I'm not crusty. And besides. I can't help it that I can't afford a stay at the bathhouse."

That gave both Bakugo and Izuku some pause.

Izuku sat his iron mug of water on the ground next to him. "Wait. You mean?"

Bakugo recoiled away from Shimura. "When was the last time you washed?"

The longer it took for Shimura to answer with his finger scratching at his scalp, Izuku felt noxious. "A couple years, maybe."

Izuku wanted to throw up.

Bakugo stood up from his seat around the campfire and pointed. "Don't give me that shit! When's the last time you used a river?"

Shimura looked just as appalled as Bakugo and Izuku. "A river? Fuck that. The water is too cold."

"No wonder you smell like a fucking corpse. Fucking Necromancer!"

"Hey, I do not!"

Bakugo shared a glance with Izuku.

Izuku nodded and reached for the spare soap in his knapsack.

"Whatever. So what if I smell a little."

Bakugo watched as Izuku held the bar of soap behind his back. The two childhood friends were in agreement. Unlike this social degenerate. Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugo had been raised right by two loving mothers. Bathing was not a commodity you could dismiss. Bathing was basic hygiene. And Shimura was about to learn this the hard way.

Bakugo checked the moon. They didn't have long before the monsters came.

Izuku held the spare bar of soap tightly behind his back.

His mother, Inko Midoriya, would've had a heart attack had she heard how long it's been since Tenko Shimura had washed. It was practically villainous, an unjust wrong in the world that needed to be corrected.

Shimura wasn't stupid. Despite current beliefs shared amongst the group for not bathing in literal years. Shimura was well read and understood life on the streets. More importantly he recognized the looks being shared between his two Party members and felt wary.

Bakugo nodded towards Izuku. "Deku."

Izuku nodded back. "Kaachan."

Bakugo dropped the cooked meat from the blade of his knife into a ragged cloth and sat it on the ground next to his dagger.

Izuku slowly rose to his feet, treating Shimura like a stray cat.

None of this was helping to ease Tenko Shimura's sudden sense of anxiety. "Uh, guys?"

They were on him in a single heartbeat. Two pairs of hands reaching, pulling, and finally lifting Shimura up and off the ground.

Shimura failed in their grip. He tried to slap and pry their hands off of him. He tried to kick and shove them away.

The two carried the struggling Necromancer one foot after the other almost in perfect synchronization. They were also very quiet. Not a single word was shared between them. They didn't have to speak to tell the other what to do. They had each learned this specially from their mothers.

"Stop! What the? Fucking… let me go! Put me down! Someone! Help! Help!"

Izuku and Bakugo ignored the pleas from the degenerate and continued carrying him off into the darkness.

They felt eyes tracking their journey from a distant tree line. But they didn't dare to stop on their quest. This was a personal mission that hit way too close to home for either of the young men.

Shimura paled and stilled in their arms when he heard the sounds of rushing water.

"N-no! You wouldn't dare! Stop! Fuck! Help! Stop! Fuckers! I'll kill you! I fucking swear! Stop! Help!"

Izuku and Bakugo began to adjust their grip on Shimura. Shimura used this to his advantage, he got one foot on the ground and kicked. The force from the momentum nearly knocked Izuku over. But Izuku was a Swordsman. He had the footing of a Swordsman and he knew what to do and he kept his balance.

Bakugo began clawing at Shimura's clothes, undressing the Necromancer till he was bare as the day he was born.

Shimura was shrieking now, trying to cover up his modesty and glowering at the two with his own crimson eyes. "You fuckers! This isn't funny!"

Bakugo nodded. "It isn't."

Izuku agreed. "This is very serious."

"I'll use your corpses for pack mules!" Shimura shouted with his shoulders barred over covering his chest and his hands placed strategically over what made him a man. He wasn't that intimidating.

"Now?" Izuku asked Bakugo.

"Now," Bakugo confirmed.

Shimura brought one hand up to get at least one spell off when Izuku and Bakugo shot towards him.

There wasn't time to hit both Izuku and Bakugo. Shimura let the dread wash over him with sudden defeat. "I hate both of you."

In one swift motion the teens grabbed Shimura and tossed the naked Necromancer into the river.

Then the two, without taking a moment to make sure Shimura was okay, looked at the Necromancer's clothes.

"What do we do with these?" Izuku pointed.

Bakugo's face was shadowed in the moonlight. "Burn them."

Izuku wanted to nod. He really wanted to. However…

"These are his only clothes…"

Bakugo didn't say anything.

"It wouldn't be right. Making him travel naked."

Bakugo stared beyond Izuku. "Wash them then."

"Kaachan?"

Bakugo made his own way down into the river, taking his own clothes off. "Good luck, Deku."

"Kaachan!"

"I'll never forget your sacrifice."

"Kaachan!"

Katsuki Bakugo was not happy.

He was not happy with a lot of things at the moment.

It was dark. Midnight was fast approaching and monsters would begin to hunt soon.

Midoriya had invited a fucking Necromancer into their Party without listening to Katsuki.

Katsuki had wanted a Healer or at the least a Mage. Someone more versatile than an evil corpse worshiper.

He shivered at the thought of the Great Evil, one of the strongest Necromancers in the entire world. Someone who Might Knight had struggled against in his prime. And of course there were the other tales of evil Necromancers. Those were a copper a dozen.

And Midoriya had placed him in their Party. A total stranger. A fucking Necromancer!

Katsuki eyed the howling man flopping around in the current.

Tenko Shimura was annoying. He thought he knew everything and he thought he could look down on Katsuki. Katsuki hated it, hated him.

Not to mention the smell. God, no wonder he smelled. The cretin hadn't bathed in fucking years.

Katsuki did not feel sorry for the poor bastard.

And Katsuki was mad at Izuku because they were supposed to be in this adventure together. They had left their village in hopes of becoming famous and heroic Adventurers just like the Might Knight who always saved the day and beat the bad guys.

But it didn't feel like that at the moment.

It felt divided.

And it was because of that fucking Necromancer. Evil bastard.

Sure he looked harmless and pretty pathetic. But none of it fooled Katsuki.

The idiot was only pretending to drown. The Necromancer did know how to swim, right?

Katsuki finished undressing and jumped into the river.

He let the cold current wash over him. Wash the anger away from him.

Midoriya had brought up the Might Knight.

What would the Might Knight do?

Probably cut the filthy Necromancer down.

Especially after facing the Great Evil.

But what would that idiot Deku do?

He would try his best to save the Necromancer. No, the stranger. The person. That was how Izuku Midoriya saw Tenko Shimura.

Katsuki rose to the surface and sighed. Cold water dripped from his blonde hair.

But Katsuki wasn't Midoriya. And he never would be. It was one of the reasons Katsuki despised Midoriya. It was his friend's ability to look beyond the surface. To understand someone else, maybe even more than the person understood themselves.

That kind of level of empathy. It was impossible for Katsuki to understand. And he hated it. Hated Midoriya for it. And of course because of this same reason, he loved his friend.

Izuku Midoriya was special. Something the world would miss without even knowing of his passing. Katsuki knew this, deep in his bones.

Katsuki did not believe Midoriya was right to bring the Necromancer with them. But he did believe in his friend. He trusted his friend.

"Fucking Deku," Katsuki whispered to himself. He called out to his friend. "Are you done with that soap yet? Kind of hard to wash without it!"

Midoriya frowned and raised the clothes in his arms from where he was standing further down in the river. "What do you think?"

Ha! It wasn't like Midoriya to get edgy. That was Katsuki's thing. Which meant that Katsuki had gotten under his skin. Perhaps now Midoriya would consider kicking out the stray corpse fucker from their Party.

A sudden wave of water smashed into the back of Katsuki's head. Katsuki whirled, eyes wide, arms ready to strike at whatever…

The Necromancer stood just a couple feet away, sending another wave of water Katsuki's way.

Katsuki spluttered. "What the-"

"Haha! Take that and that. I'll fucking kill you!"

"K-kill me?" Katsuki pounded a fist into the water. Water sprayed upwards and partially blocked another oncoming wave. "I'm gonna murder you, Necromancer!" Katsuki growled.

Midoriya looked up from his hands and watched as his friend and new friend began to fight with the cold water of the river.

He looked back down to the nasty, oil and whatever else stained clothes in his hands and sighed.

And that's how it went. Midoriya continued to wash the Necromancer's clothes while Katsuki and the Necromancer faced off against one another in mortal combat.

"Huh? How about this you fucking crusty ass creep!"

The water fight became one sided very quickly. Katsuki was a Barbarian. He was jacked with muscle. The Necromancer wasn't built for combat such as this and he knew it. The Necromancer began to backpedal. "Stay back!"

"And let you get away with this? You started this, Crusty!"

The Necromancer cursed and spoke an incantation. "Hidden Darkness."

Katsuki stumbled as the moonlit river suddenly vanished. The light was gone and so was the sound. Katsuki couldn't even feel the cold from the river anymore but he could still feel the current pressing up against his chest.

"What the fuck?"

The words seemed to die in the air.

He was trapped in a dark void with no way out. Katsuki trudged forwards and felt resistance against his arms. They felt so heavy.

Something splashed across his face. He couldn't see it nor could he feel it. But he noticed the water going down his throat and through his nostrils all the same. He coughed and choked and slammed a fist down. And then another.

A spell. It had to be a spell. Hidden Darkness.

Katsuki roared into the oblivion.

"Fucking Necromancer!"

Another wave of water crashed into his face, choking him.

This was bad. Very bad.

This was a spell that negated light, made him deaf, and lost his sense of touch.

A terrifying spell if this was in actual combat.

But Katsuki wasn't helpless. He was a fucking Barbarian.

The Barbarian roared a skill. "Power Swing!"

The weight on his arms began to lift and he brought both arms about in a circular motion against the current. He felt something building. Raw power, physical energy gathering and then releasing in a single direction as he threw his own wave of water at the Necromancer.

And then the darkness was gone.

Katsuku could see the river, the trees, Midoriya, and the flailing Necromancer.

Katsuki coughed once more and spat up some water. "Try that again."

"You could've fucking killed me!"

Katsuki snorted. "Try that spell again."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, Crusty bastard."

Less than an hour passed by and the three young men were trudging back to their campfire almost completely naked.

Tenko Shimura had to admit. He did feel much better after some time in the river.

It had been hell at first. So cold. Way too cold. And it was still cold. Tenko was shivering. But at least he wasn't shivering alone. He smirked as he watched Midoriya and Bakugo shiver all the way back to the campfire beside him.

It had been hell. But it had also been… fun.

What a strange word.

Fun.

It was something Tenko hadn't felt in a long time. Not since the day his family had been murdered…

Not since he had murdered his family.

What was he doing? Traveling with these two kids? They were so low Level. Granted, one of them was only two Levels beneath Tenko himself. But still. What was he doing here? With them?

Becoming an Adventurer? Slaying monsters? Earning a fortune?

Those all sounded wonderful. Wonderfully naive.

So what was he doing here?

Tenko didn't know. Or rather he wasn't sure.

He didn't like Bakugo. Not one bit. The kid was a brat. A jerk with no manners.

He liked Midoriya. The kid was nice and tried to appease all parties in any social conflict. Tenko could respect that. He'd also call it foolish.

What was their Quest again?

To slay some beast in the Emerald Mountains. That was several days worth of journey.

As long as it took him further away from Kamino. There was no way the riders would ride all the way to the Emerald Mountains to catch him. And if they did? Monsters would get them. Or they would find some other criminal to arrest.

But they wouldn't find one with a high bounty. Not like Tenko Shimura. Wanted across three kingdoms for murder, necromancy, using the dead to kill the living, thievery, burglary, and one case of arson. If someone put together the three bounties from the three separate kingdoms one would be looking at a nice sum of Three thousand gold coins. If only they could deliver his head to more than one kingdom to be paraded around on a pike.

Tenko was lucky when he stumbled across these two. They were his ticket out of the frying pan. He just didn't know if it was the fire or yet another flying pan he would be jumping into.

When they finally arrived at their campfire they hung up their clothes on a makeshift rack constructed from scavenged branches to dry. Whatever was left of Bakugo's meat had been stolen by a pair of red foxes. Bakugo howled about that.

Tenko ignored it and began to read his spellbook again. The words began to glow with a purplish hue and he picked off where he had finished earlier.

Mass Undead Summoning.

These two thought he had been reading about how to light a measly little campfire. Child's play.

Bakugo didn't keep his ranting and raving up for long. Tenko was glad for it. He really didn't like Bakugo.

He'd almost killed Bakugo earlier. Him and Midoriya. It would have been easy. He had the spell at the ready.

It would have been comical to watch as that babbling buffoon tripped and felt at the massive hole that would've been in his chest. Lethal.

The group had few health potions. Tenko had already made sure to check out the group's supplies for himself. Lesser Health Potions wouldn't save either boy from his Death Ray spell.

Midnight had come and gone and the group was deciding on who would stay up for the first watch.

Tenko was going to offer when Midoriya claimed the shift for himself. Bakugo followed second. "I don't trust his crusty ass," Bakugo said.

Crusty. Crusty ass.

How… childish.

Tenko wondered if Bakugo would remain childish if he only knew just how much danger he was in with Tenko in their group.

Which brought Tenko back around to that question.

What was he doing here and what did he plan on doing?

Tenko laid down in his bedroll and let sleep come over him. There was plenty of time to answer both of those questions.

"Hey, Crusty! Get your ass up, now!"

Tenko grimaced as he felt Bakugo's boot press into his side. "The fuck?"

The Barbarian snarled in his ear. "Monster attack!"

Tenko shot up from his bedroom, red eye's wide. "What? Where? How many?"

"Not sure," Bakugo whispered.

The Swordsman finished putting on his clothes and unscathed his sword.

Tenko started and then grabbed for his now dry clothes hanging near the dying fire.

"I know I felt something watching us earlier," Bakugo said.

"Earlier?" Tenko threw his cloak over his shirt. Midoriya had tried his hardest but some of the stains in Tenko's apparel were permanent. What did a few stains matter?

Tenko didn't care either way. Clothing was immaterial. As long as he could still cast spells he would be fine.

He did smell better though.

Maybe these baths had some merit to them.

Bakugo gripped his axe and stared out into the darkness. The moon was nearly gone and out of the sky. Morning would arrive in a couple of hours. The faint glow of blue could be seen on the far eastern horizon.

"Yeah. When we finished scrubbing your ass." Bakugo didn't take his eyes off of the darkness. "I felt something watching us."

"And you didn't say anything?" Tenko asked the brute idiot. Tenko raised his hands and pointed into the darkness of the night with his middle and index fingers outstretched. Whatever was out there would soon be dead. Even if the Swordsman and the Barbarian were low level. Tenko could handle himself no problem. He might even get a corpse out of the encounter to use.

While it was true he didn't know Raise Undead spells nor some lesser form of Reanimation, Necromancers could still level by experimenting with the deceased. Learning how the body functions and what holds a body together.

Unless they were facing an Undead threat…

"Detect Life," Tenko said the incantation and felt his sight shift until something glowed red. Something big.

"What's out there? And how many are we dealing with?" Bakugo asked.

"One," Tenko answered the easier question first. Then he considered running away. Surely if his Party were smart enough they would see the folly in staying to fight a monster of this size. Then again, they claimed to have slain a Gargoyle. Impossible, perhaps a stroke of luck or the beast was crippled. A Level Two Swordsman and a Level Three Barbarian, killing a Gargoyle? Tenko called bull and shit on that one.

"What is it?" Midoriya asked as if Tenko would and could know.

"I don't know. I can only sense the life energy inside of the creature. And it's big."

"Big?"

"How big?" Bakugo eyed the darkness.

"I don't know. Really fucking big." Then again. These two still claimed to have slain a Gargoyle. In the face of danger they might just try to save face and fight off whatever the hell this thing was. Tenko wouldn't put it past them.

It was a shame it didn't last very long. Tenko hadn't gained any gold nor levels from traveling with them in less than a day. He had hoped for more.

"Then we spread out," Midoirya said to the Party. "Shimura," he pointed to Tenko. "You should stay behind us. You are our spellcaster." He then pointed to Bakugo. "Kaachan, let's spread out. We've got the numbers so let's use that to our advantage. Doesn't matter how big this thing is. We can do this."

Bakugo scoffed. "You don't have to give me some shitty motivational speech. I'll kill this thing in one hit, you'll see."

Idiots. Tenko knew it. Still, if they wanted Tenko to be at the back of the Party Formation then he wasn't going to argue. It put him in the perfect position to bolt once things started looking hopeless. Well, even more hopeless.

He should probably go right now…

But what if it wasn't hopeless? What if it was a weak monster?

Tenko grit his teeth and stood behind Midoriya and Bakugo.

The Detect Life spell wore off and the red glow faded from the darkness from Tenko's sight.

This was it…

Something green and round came into the dim light of the dying campfire. Tenko was quick to notice it's translucency. You could see through it. That narrowed the monster type down drastically. In fact he already had a hunch, as did the rest of the Party.

The monster kept rolling into view. Expanding in girth and stature as it crept closer.

"What the fuck?" Bakugo was ready to cut the thing down.

Midoriya blinked. "I didn't know Slimes could get that big."

And it was big. Massive. You could lay Bakugo and Midoriya out on the ground and maybe match the thing's width. You'd have to stack one Bakugo on top of another to reach its height.

A Slime? A fucking Slime? A really big fucking Slime.

Tenko wondered if he should still flee.

"Kaachan. I'm going to go for my side. Stay back and watch. I want you to make a judgment call. Whatever you think will work? Do it."

"Yeah. Just fucking cut it already."

Tenko watched as Midoriya rounded the Slime and then shouted. "Lesser Slash!"

Midoriya's sword glowed a bright blue color and then he cut clean through the Slime. In the absence of the sword, green slimy goo oozed into the space and began to replenish itself.

Midoriya jumped away from the Slime and looked at his slime covered sword.

Bakugo rushed in from the other side. "Power Swing!"

His axe came down hard on the Slime, parting green goo down to the ground. The Slime shivered before rolling on top of Bakugo.

Bakugo cursed and rolled to the side. Barely missing the Slime as it tried to swallow him whole.

"Fucking green bastard!" Bakugo screamed. "Is that all you got?"

Midoriya appeared next to Tenko. "Use your Fear spell."

Tenko spoke the words. "Low Level Fear."

The Slime wobbled in place. Shaken, but not afraid. It rolled forwards towards Tenko.

Midoriya rushed to the side and again cut with his sword, this time without the use of a skill. And his sword got stuck in the Slime. Midoriya pulled but he could not wrench the blade free. The Slime was pulling on the blade. Pulling Midoriya in. Midoriya let go of the sword and ran back to Tenko.

"Got any bone daggers?" He asked Tenko.

Bakugo must have engaged his Rage Skill as a Barbarian and was hacking away at the other end of the Slime.

"Try and eat me? Well eat this! Fucking green oversized pile of shit!"

The axe cut and cut. Bakugo slammed the axe down more like a hammer and green slime was raining on either side of him.

"Yes, here," Tenko fished inside of his cloak and removed the bone dagger he had hidden.

Midoriya clasped the dagger and returned to the other side of the Slime. Swinging with reckless abandon.

Tenko stood off to the side, never having moved an inch during the fight since it started. He kind of wanted to laugh at how much effort the two were putting into killing one Slime. To be fair, it was a very large Slime. It's probably killed several people to grow that large. All monsters could grow. Just as people could. By killing other monsters and people.

It wasn't a well known fact. Nor was it an actual fact. More like theory and conjecture of the more educated inhabitants of the world. But it made sense. Even monsters were living creatures in their own twisted way.

Slimes on their own could not grow. Nor could they reproduce like other monsters, not normal reproduction at any rate. They reproduced like plants. The largest they could grow on their own was about the size of a small house cat. After eating said house cat, they would be able to eat dogs, and so on and so forth until they were large enough to eat people whole.

Slimes were a fanciful study for academics. Able to take on magical properties from the things they have consumed. The consumption process was very interesting as well. The Slime, the whole Slime acted like a stomach. The Slime would pull something in towards it's core and the center gelatinous mass would work away at it's prey just like stomach acid.

Any magical equipment or properties of the victim would then be absorbed into the gel itself, giving the monster an elemental upgrade. Elemental, not healing nor death magic. Death magic and healing magic had the same effects on a Slime. Many studies had been recorded and Tebko himself had done a few experiments with Slimes he had found in the wilds.

Yes. Tenko could kill this Slime easily. But the question was, should he kill it?

The Swordsman and Barbarian might die.

That was a good thing for Necromancers, I theory. He might even level up from directing one of their bodies. By leveling up he might learn the Raise Lesser Undead spell. Then whatever body was left, could be his bodyguard and pack mule. He hoped to one day have Bakugo's corpse. He had a strong figure. Perfect pack mule material.

But alas… this was a Slime. And it would consume their bodies whole. Leaving nothing less…

So should he kill the Slime?

Were there any advantages to letting the Slime kill these two? Not that Tebki could think of immediately.

He wouldn't have to listen to Bakugo ever again. That was a plus, surely.

To be honest, Tenko was starting to feel sorry for the poor monster. Slimes had an attention span like most monsters in the world. Either attack the person closest to you or attack the person who attacked you last.

With both Midoriya and Bakugo wailing on the thing from opposite sides, the poor thing couldn't make up its mind.

There was only one way the Slime could get out of this mess and capture its prey.

And the Slime did it.

Both Midoriya and Bakugo had to leap out of the way as the massive Slime split into two. Now it wouldn't have to make up its mind at all.

Genius. Well, genius for a lesser life form with no actual brain. Must have been magic that powered its thoughts. Did monsters have thoughts?

Yes and no.

It depended on who you asked.

But the primary consensus was yes, if given time.

And the Swordsman and the Barbarian had given the Slime enough time to think about splitting into two. That way it could even out the odds of the fight.

Now things were looking to be on the other foot with Midoriya and Bakugo on the retreat.

Tenko really considered the advantages to the disadvantages of letting the slimes kill the two. In the end, he made a decision.

He raised both hands and pointed at both Slimes with his index and middle finger. He breathed out two words. "Death Ray."

Two black bolts of compressed necrotic energy danced across the ground towards the two slimes. Then they penetrated the Slime's gooey exterior and interior until vanishing in the cores. The Slimes jiggled. And then exploded.

Both Midoriya and Bakugo were showered in green goo. A sword nearly took Midoriya's head off. What was left of the campfire was finally put out with puddles of raining slime.

Bakugo just stared at where the Slimes had been and then at Tenko.

"You."

"Me?"

Bakugo was shaking. It was kind of funny. "You could have done that. The entire fucking time?"

Tenko shrugged. "I didn't know it would work." An easy lie, harder to sell.

"Fucking Necromancer! Then why didn't you try that in the beginning?"

"As I said, I was unsure."

"Mother fucker!"

Tenko straightened and began to spin some words for the non academics. "Slimes aren't like most monsters. They typically absorb whatever magic is hurled at them. I was afraid that death magic would only make the situation far more dire for the three of us. Besides, I had the utmost confidence in the two of you. Until it multiplied."

Bakugo spat. "Whatever. I thought you knew everything about magic. Being an academic?"

He did. "We'll that was your assumption to make. And it was wrong."

Midoriya finally said something. It was quiet. "I didn't level up. I really thought I would level up after that."

"We level from difficulty," Tenko explained.

"Yeah, I know that." Midoriya wiped some of the Slime off of his clothes. Then he smiled.

What was wrong with the Swordsman? First he was covered in slime, next he didn't level up like he expected. And now he was smiling? Something was off about him. Tebko already knew that much from the moment he accepted him, Tenko, a Necromancer into their Party. But this was really weird. It kind of creeped Tenko out just how positive Midoriya could be sometimes.

"Looks like we need another bath, Kaachan."

Tenko blinked. That's what Midoriya took away from all of this? Unbelievable.

Bakugo began to shake off the slime like a wet dog. "Fuck you, Deku!"

"I'll get the soap."

"We're gonna run out of soap by the time we make it to the Emerald Mountains."

"Probably." Midoriya was still smiling.

Dawn was almost upon them. Their campfire was dead. Two of them were covered in slime. And they were all tired to boot.

Is this what adventuring was all about?

Tenko found that his dilemma had returned.

What was he doing here? And what was he going to do?

What was he doing here? He was going to gain levels from fighting monsters. Earn gold coins for saving the day and being the hero.

What was he going to do?

Follow in the footsteps of the Great Evil and rid the world of all life. It had been his goal ever since he had murdered his family all of those years ago.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

7.4k. without the author's note. Only meant to write 2k. I was hoping to keep the chapters to this story short so I could write up a quick chapter whenever I got stuck on one of my other stories. Like Izuku: Restarting From Zero. I just finished writing 7k for the latest chapter, 2-5. Then I scrapped it all and decided to begin anew. *sigh*

This chapter was originally going to end when Izuku's point of view ended. But then I kept on writing and writing... ah well. The rest of the chapter would have just been used for the next chapter so yay for longer chapters?

This is going to be a long story. As is the case with all of my stories. I just hate doing little things. Must be some sort of masochist kink because I don't know why else I am writing this much.

Anyways Izuku: Restarting From Zero 2-5 should be done by this Thursday. The next chapter for Liberation might be out this weekend or next week.

As always, thanks for reading my fanfiction and I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day/night!