Izuku Midoriya was dreaming.
Some hours had passed since the slaying of the Slime last night and dawn was breaking across the sky. The monsters of the night were retreating to their caves and dungeons where they would continue to hunt, sleep, eat, and breed.
If you lived inside of a village, a town, or perhaps a city you could afford the luxury of sleeping from dusk until dawn. This was not the case for those without.
From Merchants to Wanderers to Adventurers, life on the road was hard. Sleeping was harder. You had to sleep in shifts unless you wanted to be ambushed in the night by people or monsters. Even then you wouldn't get a proper night's rest unless you all went to sleep at the brink of dawn. That way you could get a few more hours before traveling the rest of the day under the sun and over the open road. Until nightfall, then it was rinse and repeat.
So Izuku Midoirya slept next to the dead campfire next to Bakugo and Shimura.
And he dreamed. Perhaps they were all dreaming at this moment. But it was only Izuku who dreamed about the past.
Izuku opened his green eyes and he was not the young man traveling with his friends. He was not yet the Swordsman he had become to become a Hero. He dreamed he was still a boy. A boy in his hometown village where he was born and raised.
And of course he dreamt of…
"Izuku, darling! It's time to wake up. Breakfast is going cold."
Izuku yawned and searched the room. The Midoriya's owned a small two story house in a village deep in the Musutafu Kingdom. The first floor consisted of a kitchen, a fireplace, a front door, and one bedroom for his parents. Izuku lived in the attic.
His mother towered over him. This must have been years and years ago. He was small in his bed.
"Breakfast?"
"I splurged a bit on our coin and purchased some of that Jaku sausage."
Izuku perked up. "Jaku sausage?"
"Hmmhmm."
Jaku was a long way away. It was on the other side of the Yaoyorozu Empire which bordered the Musutafu Kingdom to the east. Anything imported from that distance was luxury. Izuku hadn't thought of it at the time. But his mother liked to spend coin a lot. At least before…
Inko Midoriya worked as a Barmaid. She was only Level Wight. Nothing too extraordinary. It was pretty average for the tradecraft classes. Tradecraft classes tended to reach a maximum of Level Twenty. Half the maximum for the combat and academic classes. But most people with tradecraft classes only reached Level Twelve or thirteen before dying. It was the few and the exceptional who could breach those limits and reach Level Twenty such as Royal Chefs and Imperial Blacksmiths.
So Inko was around the average Level for her age. She wouldn't earn more than five Levels before her time would come.
Izuku didn't like to think about that.
He also didn't like to think about the money. Money was the reason his father was gone. Hizashi Midoriya was a Blacksmith working in a nearby city having to travel a hundred miles just to come home every now and then. He'd send money and gifts through the Messengers Guild. It allows the Midoriyas to live comfortably. Well, comfortably for peasants in some country village.
They were the fourth richest family in the village. With the Bakugo's being the richest with Mitsuki Bakugo being a phenomenal Level Fourteen Designer. One more Level and she would receive attention from more than just the local noble families, maybe even King Enji Todoroki would send for Mitsuki Bakugo's services.
As it was, local noble Lords and Ladies came to their village seeking Mitsuki Bakugo's designs. She wasn't the highest Level Designer in the Kingdom but she was definitely on the way.
As for Bakugo's father, Masaru Bakugo was a Level Thirteen Clothier. As partners, Bakugo's mother would design the clothing and his father would stitch it together. And whenever a fresh idea came to his mother she would order an exclusive contract with one of the local Lords or Ladies to the highest bidder.
The Bakugo's were living the peasant dream with the wage of a minor noble house.
If only their son could have followed in their footsteps they would have been so happy. Now they were worried with concern for their son's safety as an adventurer.
Izuku sat at his family's table eating Jaku sausage with his mother.
Spicy.
Izuku hated it. Now he missed it. He wished he could go back.
Because in a week's time the Midoriya's would receive a package and a letter from the Messengers Guild. Hisashi had purchased a form of insurance with the Craftsmen Guild. Hisashi had been traveling back home to see his wife and son when he was attacked at night by monsters. A letter of Inheritance and a package containing a simple Chest of Storing. Containing almost a hundred gold coins.
And just like that. The Midoriya's became the richest family in the village. And not once did either Midoriya open that chest to spend a single coin. They couldn't. How could they? It was all Hisashi had worked for. For them. How could they spend it? What could they buy that would be worth the loss of Hisashi Midoriya?
Nothing.
The world felt so dark and bleak for Izuku.
Bakugo tried to cheer him up.
But Izuku's world had fallen apart. The Midoriya's had stopped eating Jaku sausage. They began saving every coin they made. Inko worked harder than ever before.
And Izuku…
Izuku stared up into the open blue sky. He was laying down on a grassy hill. Pondering the future and the past.
His dad had been a Blacksmith. His mother was a Barmaid. What kind of a class did Izuku want? What did Izuku want from life?
His best friend was laying right next to him wondering these same things.
Only he still had a father.
No. Izuku shouldn't think like that. It was wrong. So he wouldn't. Instead he would think about what he enjoyed doing.
Classes were a strange thing. They helped people grow and become better at what they were good at. However you could only get one class and it wasn't even your choice sometimes.
Sometimes… fate just handed you the class.
Chores were a good form of training children to see which class they would prefer to have for the rest of their lives.
Only Izuku didn't enjoy any of his daily tasks around the village. And he didn't have some innate metalworking talent like his father had. He wasn't a people person like his mother. So what was he? What was he meant for?
"This is boring."
Izuku glanced over at his friend. "Watching the clouds?"
"Thinking about the future."
"Oh." Izuku looked up again. His friend was right. This was boring.
"So what if I don't want to become like my parents. Stupid old hag," Bakugo said.
"You shouldn't call your mother a hag," Kaachan."
"I'll call her whatever I want, Deku." Bakugo huffed. "She's old and she's stupid and she's clingy and fucking stubborn. I don't want to be like her."
"I don't want to be like my parents either."
Bakugo spared Izuku a brief look. "Sorry about your old man, Izuku."
Izuku closed his eyes and exhaled. A dandelion blew upwards and landed in Izuku's messy green hair. "It's okay."
"No, it's not."
"No. It's not," Izuku agreed quietly.
The two layed there for most of the evening. What else was there to do for them in a small village like this?
On the way back down to the village under the setting sun, Izuku picked up a stick.
Bakugo eyed him. "A Scavenger class?"
"Hmm?" Izuku blinked and then shook his head. "No, nothing like that. I was just thinking. That this stick kind of looks like a sword."
Bakugo snorted. "A sword?"
Izuku nodded. "Yep." He adjusted his grip on the end and began to swing it around wildly. "Haha. Look at me, Kaachan! I'm an Adventurer, slaying evil monsters!"
Bakugo shook his head. "You're an idiot."
Izuku stopped and smiled. "I don't think I'd make a good Adventurer anyways. I don't like killing things. I'd much rather save people than have to fight off evil."
"What's the point in that? Fighting is what being an Adventurer is all about."
"What? No. Kaachan, you're missing the point. Adventurers save people from monsters. They are Heroes!"
"No," Bakugo argued, picking up a stick of his own that looked more like a club. "Adventurers kill the bad guys!"
Bakugo swung at Izuku.
Izuku cried out and fell backwards. Bakugo brought his club down on Izuku's stick and the two clashed momentarily before Bakugo overpowered Izuku and tossed the stick away.
"You're weak, Deku. You'll never make it as an Adventurer. You should just become a Waiter or something."
Izuku brushed off his clothes and glared at Bakugo. "I am not weak."
"Are too."
"Am not."
"Are too."
Izuku remembered the night that followed. The Watchers had been ambushed and slain. The village slept on as monsters stalked in the shadows.
Izuku remembered the screams. The fire. The blood.
The monsters.
They were of all shapes and sizes. Terrible things cloaked in charred skin with rips and tears showing red and pink gore beneath. Faces wreathed in bright fire. Long claws dripping with crimson…
Izuku remembered running behind his mother through the village. Running away from the monsters.
Izuku remembered wetting his pants as one of the monsters leapt down from a burning house and landed in front of them. His mother had pushed Izuku back. She stood in between them. Shouting for Izuku to run. To run and hide. To live for her. For his father.
Izuku remembered not running. He remembered crying. And he remembered running back towards his mother, screaming. It was a war cry.
Izuku shoved passed his frantic mother and ducked down low to grab a stone. Then he hurled it at the monster's flaming face. The stone hit and cracked something.
The monster cried out and roared burning red flames into the night sky.
Izuku remembered how terrified he was. How much he shook.
The monster turned it's flaming breath towards Izuku and his mother and this was it…
This was when…
Everything went dark. But the roaring flames could still be heard.
Izuku remembered the man towering over Izuku and his mother. Red cape flowing in the hot wind. A red and blue shield with a white eagle taking the brunt of the fire attack.
The man was in a suite of red and blue armor, crafted from an assortment of legendary metals.
Izuku and his mother had been saved.
By the Might Knight of Musutafu.
"Never fear," the Knight spoke to the two cowering villagers behind him. "For I am here to save you."
The Might Knight brandished a golden sword with a ruby gem glowing on the end of the hilt. The blade seemed to sing to Izuku as the Might Knight cut the monster in half.
Later. Izuku remembered watching with Bakugo who had also been saved by Might Knight.
"Wow. He's so cool."
"The coolest."
Izuku admired the Knight carrying villagers to safety over his shoulders.
Bakugo admired the strength the Knight used to slay the evil monsters.
Izuku knew what happened next. The Might Knight would give a speech and some gold to help the village rebuild. It would never cover the loss of those who had died in the attack. But it was something.
Izuku and Bakugo would then go on to ask the Might Knight one very important question.
The world shifted and darkness swallowed the Might Knight.
Izuku screamed.
This isn't right. This was what happened.
Izuku watched as his mother was devoured by a giant lizard.
"Izuku? Why did you leave? Izuku?"
Izuku cried and lunged with his sword. He was no longer a boy. He was a young man, a Swordsman. He had a class. The class he had received the very next day after the attack.
Izuku swiped and cut at the giant lizard but it wasn't enough.
The lizard swallowed his mother whole and snarled at Izuku.
Izuku raged at the monster and aimed to kill. He'd take out it's eyes. It's tongue. He'd cut open it's belly and he'd save his mother!
The lizard grew wings and snapped it's jaws at Izuku.
Izuku dodged and continued his assault on the beast.
Bakugo joined him.
"You're weak, Deku."
Izuku howled as he stabbed at the giant winged lizard. "I know."
"They'll all die because you are weak."
"I know."
"We will die because you are weak."
"I know!" Izuku finally managed to cut through the lizard's scale hide and blood scattered into the night.
Shimura appeared on his left. "It's too late. You can't save anyone."
"It's never too late!" Izuku stabbed into the weak spot he had made.
Shimura grinned. "Too late."
"Never!" Izuku rammed his blade deep into the lizard and heard it's death cry. It hurt to hear. Izuku never liked killing things, even monsters. Everything screamed when you killed it.
Izuku pulled the lizard open and climbed inside. "Mother? Mom?"
Izuku fell. He fell deeper into the monster he had slain. He fell until he landed in a burning pit.
The Might Knight looked down on him.
Izuku could see through the Knight's visor. A single tear. "I'm sorry, Izuku Midoriya."
"Damn it Deku! Wake the hell up!"
Izuku coughed as a boot slammed into his side. Izuku clutched at his stomach and glared up at Bakugo. "What was that for?"
Bakugo turned away and began rolling up his sleeping bag. "You were having a nightmare."
"Oh."
The trio hit the road as soon as they could. The road was mostly dirt trodden with small patches of half buried cobblestones every now and then. It was a beautiful day.
Perfect for training.
But none of the group was ready to train.
A Slime ambush in the middle of the night was a great way to lose some sleep.
"Soooo…"
Izuku glanced over at Shimura who was walking beside him. "What's up?"
Shimura stared ahead of the group for a while before giving Izuku a questioning look. "What is this thing we are hunting?"
Izuku blinked and had to think for a couple of seconds. "Oh. The Beast? Our Quest?"
"Yeah." Shimura nodded. "Just what are we up against?"
Bakugo snorted in front of them.
"What?"
"Nothing." Bakugo didn't look back. "I thought you were eavesdropping on us in the Adventurers Guild. How come you don't know the details? Unless your Listening spell is faulty?"
"What! Faulty?" Shimura glared at the back of Bakugo's spiky blonde head. "There is nothing faulty about my magic. And if you recall as much, then you would remember I put a spell on everyone who came in that evening. I was listening to multiple people at once. The only things I picked up from you guys was that you had felled a Gargoyle and you were going to the Emerald Mountains."
Bakugo hummed but didn't say anything more.
Izuku tapped his chin with a finger. "Well, to start with. Our Quest is to hunt the Beast in the Emerald Mountains. Nobody has seen the monster and lived to describe it. But there have been people to find… the bodies. What was left of them."
It was horrible to hear about then and it was terrible to talk about now. Monsters. Izuku hated them. Terrible creatures that preyed on people. People like his father.
Izuku closed his eyes and breathed in through his nose. "Level One and Two Adventurers are banned from taking the Quest. The only reason we could accept it was because Kaachan is Level Three. Parties of beginner Adventurers have tried and failed. This monster must be stopped."
Shimura said nothing. He only waited for Izuku to continue.
"We know it might be immune to Pyromancy. One of the parties had two Level Two Pyromancers and they still didn't come back from the Quest. It's strong enough to fight off a party of a Level One Axe Thrower, a Level Two Monk, and A Level One Spearman. So it can take on groups of fighters at a time."
Bakugo huffed from in front of them. "Damned thing has been targeting the mountainside. Anywhere from travelers to villages. A Guardsmen patrol found a village torn to splinters. Found a few refugees on the road and escorted them back to the city, for what good it did. Their lives, their family, their home, gone."
"So, we are going to stop by the city of Hoth first. See if we can… find out more."
It was all so tragic.
And yet. It was a common story. Monsters killing people and destroying lives. It was just another fact of living in this world. It was why Izuku wanted to get stronger. So he could protect and save everyone from the monsters. Just like the Might Knight.
Shimura spoke up beside Izuku. "I've never been to Hoth before, what is it like?"
Bakugo the ever poetic Barbarian answered. "How the fuck should we know. We've never been there either, Crusty."
"Would you stop calling me that!"
"Maybe when you stop smelling like evil incarnate."
"I bathed last night, you forced me too!"
"Yeah, and you still smell, Crusty!"
"Have you traveled much, Shimura?" Izuku asked in between the argument. He hated it when people fought. Even verbally. People shouldn't fight people. Only monsters did that.
"Hmm? Oh, travels? I uh." Shimura shook his head. "Only from the southern Kingdom of Tatooine."
"You're from Tatooine?" Izuku's eyes were round and wide. He couldn't help but be surprised. That was so far away.
"Yeah." Shimura didn't elaborate. Izuku really couldn't blame him. The things he had heard about the desert Kingdom of Tatooine. It didn't sound great.
Bakugo looked off to the East. "At least you're not from Endor."
"Are they still at war with the Yaoyorozu Empire?" Shimura asked.
Both Izuku and Bakugo nodded their heads and then gave each other a look.
"There's been rumors floating around the Musutafu Kingdom," Bakugo said. "That King Todoroki is going to fucking marry the Yaoyorozu Crown Princess."
"That's not true, Kaachan. I heard she was going to marry the Musutafu Crown Prince."
"Which one was that? I forget, King Todoroki has several children."
"The youngest, Kaachan," Izuku strained not to tear his hair out. "Shouldn't you be more concerned with our Kingdom's politics?"
"Why should I give a damn about the King's family. The only thing that does matter is that there might be a marriage between the Yaoyorozu and the Todoroki families. Meaning that our Kingdom might be pulled into someone else's war."
"You think they'll ask Adventurers to fight?"
"What?" Shimura looked between the trio worriedly. "They can ask Adventurers to fight in wars?"
Bakugo scoffed. "Who else? Sure most armies are filled with Soldier classes. But if you want someone who packs a real punch. Enlist a Level Twenty Adventurer who specializes in slaying Behemoths. Imagine what a guy like that could do to an army. Now imagine if you had your own army of Adventurers like that."
No one spoke for a little while.
Izuku broke the silence. "How could you not care about Princess Fuyumi, or Prince Natsuo, or Crown Prince-"
"Because I don't give a shit about a bunch of spoiled brats, Deku!" Bakugo laughed. "What? You think they care about us? You think they even think about us? Fuck no! And if they cared, they wouldn't pull us into a war."
Again silence.
And again. Izuku broke it. "So, Shimura. Have you ever met the Might Knight?"
Shimura gave Izuku a deadpan expression. "Nope."
Katsuki Bakugo had a bad morning.
First he was woken up with a filthy Necromancer's foot in his mouth.
Next he was getting shouted at for disturbing the Necromancer from his sleep.
Then Midoriya had the nightmare.
"I'm not weak. I'm not weak. I won't let anyone die. I'm not weak."
Katsuki and Shimura watched as Midoriya tossed and turned in his own bed roll.
While Shimura wasn't privy to their past. Katsuki could guess what he was dreaming about.
Katsuki was angry with a lot of the recent happenings too. Like how the fucking Necromancer nearly let them get killed by Slimes last night.
He was also angry because he himself hadn't been able to kill the Slime. He was weak. So fucking weak.
So in Katsuki's emotional turmoil. He kicked Midoriya awake.
The day was looking to be another long and boring one.
Midoriya and Crusty were talking about magic theory and skills and blah blah blah.
It wasn't that Katsuki thought it was boring to talk about. It was just that he had already come to these conclusions last evening when Shimura mentioned the Levels were a result of some magic inside of all of them. Katsuki could believe it. And it helped the world make a lot more sense.
And it raised some more questions. Questions that Midoriya and Shimura were asking right now.
"So why is it so limiting? If we all have magic, why is it so specialized? Why are we so limited? To one class? To specific skills, spells, and whatnot. And how come this magic is locked away?"
"Excuse me?" Shimura looked at Midoriya with interest.
"Well. If we have this power inside of us to begin with. Why do we have to unlock it through Levels?"
"Because it has to grow," Katsuki said before Shimura could give his own answer. "That's what we do when we Level. We grow stronger from that experience. We have to let that magic inside grow stronger. It's also why non academics can't cast spells. Because we don't focus on growing our magic, we focus on growing our skills."
Shimura was giving Katsuki the fish eye. "That was… how did you? Those were my thoughts exactly. Well not exactly. But still… how?"
Katsuki flashed his teeth. "I wouldn't know. I'm just a dumb Barbarian after all."
The Necromancer flushed and looked away. "Well. It was a good deduction for a non academic class type."
There were a lot of things in the world that bothered Katsuki. Evil, Injustice, monsters, liars, and cowards. And Necromancers of course. However a small wedge was beginning to form as an exception to that last bother. You would never catch Katsuki Bakugo alive and saying that he was fine with Shimura in the Party.
Shimura was an annoying know-it -all who didn't know it all and looked down on anyone without a Mage related class. He was a sneak and there was something fishy going on with him.
All the same. Katsuki, kind of, didn't care for, and wasn't bothered…
He didn't mind the…
Katsuki hated that Shimura was a Necromancer.
But he didn't…
Fucking shit. It's nice to trade some actual barbs with someone besides Deku.
It was like pulling teeth to admit anything goo- positive about the filthy Necromancer.
"You know what else I deduce?"
"What?"
Katsuki looked back at Shimura and glared. He still didn't like the Necromancer.
"I deduce you could've helped with that Slime earlier than what you let on. I deduce that you are an evil Necromancer!"
"Kaachan!" Midoriya spotted Katsiki with a glare of his own. It wasn't all that effective. It was like being glared at by a puppy.
Katsuki ignored Midoriya. "And I think you're a lying sneak. I mean come on. When we can you, you stank of evil."
It was a nice day today. A long road with climbing hills and swooping valleys. Colorful and loud forests.
The three stopped for a break after four hours. Katsuki went hunting, Izuku started a quick fire, and Crusty read out of his book.
Then they were back on the road. They were trying to get as far as possible before sunset. They came across a broken bridge over a small river and much to the dismay of Crusty, Katsuki urged the trio forwards.
"Cold! Cold! Fucking shit. It's cold!"
The Necromancer complained a lot.
"I'm hungry."
"I'm tired."
"I'm cold."
"I'm hot."
"Are we there yet?"
Katsuki had to give Midoriya some credit. How he hadn't exploded at the Necromancer's complaining yet was beyond Katsuki's own patience.
"Shut the fuck up!" Katsuki whirled after Shimura complained about sore feet while walking next to a field of corn. "Would you just shut the fuck up already!"
Midoriya hasn't liked Katsuki's comment nor tone.
"Kaachan, be nice!"
Be nice?
Katsuki Bakugo was many things. But nice? Never.
So. When you were a Barbarian and you hit a brick wall, you did the only sensible thing. You hit the brick wall with another brick wall.
"I'm itchy," Katsuki complained. Much to the wide eyed reaction of Midoriya and Shimura. Two could play at this game.
"My axe needs sharpened."
"I'm thirsty."
"Can we run the rest of the way?"
"Who wants to spar?"
"I want to hit something."
"How about we-"
"All right. All right. I get it," Shimura yelled back at Katsuki.
And Katsuki smirked. "Get what?"
Shimura pointed. "You. Me. This. Just, fucking stop already."
"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just a big dumb Barbarian."
"Kaachan," Midoriya reprimanded.
A peace was formed between Katsuki and the Necromancer. It was tenuous. And both parties occasionally tried to snipe across the borders. It was kind of peaceful. Peace enough for Midoriya and Shimura to begin talking again.
And the talking turned into experimentation.
Katsuki was still walking in front. He couldn't see what they were doing but he could listen to them. He wasn't going to turn around and watch the Necromancer use Necromancy.
But he was curious.
Bone Creation. Midoriya was right. With a spell like that, Crusty was pretty valuable. Just… wouldn't Steel Creation have been better? Or better yet, Diamond Creation? Or Gold Creation?
Of all things… Bone Creation.
Fucking Necromancer.
Tenko Shimura concentrated on the magic swelling up in the tip of his finger. Then slowly and carefully, he began to spin some bone. It wasn't the hard and solid bone you would normally pull from a corpse. It was like a soft bone, not liquid but not solid. Something in between like a gel.
Tenko began drawing into the palm of his other hand with a finger. He brought his finger side to side on a figurative X and Z axis. Going in lateral movements that added to the next line of bone. And then again and again to add layers on a figurative Y axis.
Shimura was aware of Midoriya watching from over his shoulder as they walked. It felt odd, knowing that someone was watching him perform Necromancy and Shimura didn't have to think how to silence his watcher or how to run away in case he was a Necromancer Hunter.
A rare combat class that had sprouted up after the Great Evil's failed annihilation of the entire world.
Failed.
That was how the world had seen it. But from Tenko's perspective? From every other Necromancer's perspective?
It was a massive success. Four whole Kingdoms. Gone. Alderaan. Illum. Byss. And Kijimi. Their villages and towns were rubble crushed beneath the feet of thousands and thousands of Undead. Their cities abandoned wastes with collapsed and ruined architecture. Their countryside filled with death magic and thus no life could flourish.
Tatooine was filled with plenty of death magic too. Not so much that it couldn't keep all life from living. It had also been the Necromancer's last stand after being pushed back by the Might Knight in the Musutafu Kingdom. Then with the combined arms of the Yaoyorozu Empire and King Todoroki, the Necromancer's army was finally destroyed in the dunes of Tatooine.
The Necromancer, the Great Evil, slain by the Might Knight in the remains of a Bone Giant Sand Serpent.
Tenko had visited the spot multiple times after the death of his family, his village. The strongest source of death magic in all of Tatooine was where the Great Evil had been felled.
Known to have been felled.
Tenko remembered the voice from that night. The voice that had spoken to him after he had killed everyone in his village.
"You have potential, Tenko Shimura. Great potential. To be my apprentice."
The Great Evil was dead. One of the strongest Necromancers to have ever lived. Killed by the Might Knight as everyone knew. But everyone also knew that Necromancers specialized in raising the dead.
Tenko had a theory. Many theories.
But theories couldn't shake reality, no matter how illogical. Because…
"Come and find me when you reach Level Twenty. I will show you the power of true Necromancy."
Tenko had to get stronger. He had to reach Level Twenty. He had to know. That was the problem with academic class types. They just had to know things. They hated mysteries. So of course Tenko had to learn more about the voice that had reached out to him that night.
And so for years, Tenko wandered from Kingdom to Kingdom. Learning and practicing his Necromancy. Until he was chased out. He had been to the Endor Kingdom once before. Plenty of trees had made hiding easy. He managed to go from Level Four to Five just by fighting the monsters in those overgrown Forests.
Then he tried the Yaoyorozu Empire next. Which was a big mistake. Emphasis on big. The Yaoyorozu Empire hates Necromancy. So many spells and wards… Death Magic Detection Enchantments…
Then his first encounter with a Necromancer Hunter.
Tenko thought he was going to die. He ran and ran until he couldn't anymore. He slept in forests and caves. Ate bugs for a long time. Then he finally made it passed the border, a massive river that divided the lands between the Yaoyorozu Empire and the Musutafu Kingdom.
A stowaway and a ship later and he was free from the Necromancer Hunter.
Several months of wandering from city to city, town to town, and here he was. Staking out on a gamble to Level up Adventuring with these two.
Tenko finished weaving his bone and began to pull the death magic from it. Midoirya sucked in his breath as they watched the bone harden. Tenko then handed Midoriya the bone dagger.
"Wow," Midoriya said. "This is amazing." Midoriya began to swing it around in wide arcs. "Hey, Kaachan! Check this out!"
Tenko recoiled away from the dangerous weapon in an attempt to avoid getting cut from and over enthused Midoriya.
Bakugo looked back and shrugged his shoulders. "So? It's just a dagger. Not like it's a sword or an axe. Big deal."
Tenko pouted.
Midoriya beamed at Tenko. "You think you could make armor? Like bone armor?"
"I would have to study the piece I am to replicate. I would have to understand the measurements and how the piece is structured."
Midoriya was still looking at him.
"But yes. I could. In theory, just as I made that dagger. And I could make a bone sword. Or an axe even." Tenko ignored the rude noise from Bakugo.
The group passed by a rough stone path leading away from the road when Tenko halted in his tracks.
This much?
"What's wrong, Shimura?" Midoriya asked him.
"Huh? Hey what's the hold up, Crusty?" Bakugo was glaring.
Tenko ignored both of them and followed the side path away from the road.
"Hey, wait up!"
"What the fuck are we doing now?"
I can Sense it, them. Not too far away from the road. I can feel the magic in the air.
Tenko led the trio to an old shrine. A stone statue cracked and covered in green growth stood in front of a wall of stone in a similar state.
Midoriya pushed forwards and cleared off some vines from a tablet. "H-he… r-rises…w-w-with the m-m-mo-moon. He rises with the moon. A-and s-s-sl-sl-sleeps in the l-light o-of… He rises with the moon and he sleeps in the light of…"
Tenko stared at the word that Midoriya couldn't read. "God of the Sun. It's his name. So this must be a shrine to the God of the Moon."
Midoriya and Bakugo blinked. "Gods?"
Tenko hummed. "Old Gods. You wouldn't know these two unless you've spent a year in a library in a great city."
Midoriya and Bakugo looked up at the imposing figure. The stature was three times their height and size.
Midoriya sniffed the air and flinched. "I heard that Gods gained power when you talked about them."
Bakugo pinched his nose and looked around. "Who fucking cares, let's get back onto the road."
Tenko once again ignored the two and stepped around the wall. There, he found it. The source of the magic in the air. Death magic.
The two followed him and froze.
"Oh my God, is that?"
"What the fuck?"
Magic came from all sources in the world. Fire magic came from places with heat, or through a connection to the sun. Water magic came from places with water or a connection to the moon. Earth, dirt. Air, air. Life with life. It was all pretty self explanatory. And death magic came with… death.
Tenko had felt their presence from the road. Five dead bodies. Humans. Days old, rotting in the sun. Three of them were still intact. Two of them were missing limbs, one of them was missing part of it's head.
Tenko heard Midoriya puke and Bakugo mutter some more curses.
Then they stood in silence. Midoriya and Bakugo, respectful. Tenko in thought.
"What killed the fuckers?"
Nobody knew. Probably some monster.
They might have been Adventurers, Merchants, or even Mages. Or just regular common folk. It was hard to tell. Someone had already looted the corpses, taking even their pants and shirts. Leaving them one undergarment away from nudity. One of them didn't have any undercloth so he or she was nude… it was hard to tell about this one. It had missing sections showing muscle and what lies beneath.
They stood there for a moment longer before Midoriya spoke up. "We should bury them."
Bakugo frowned. "With what?"
Midoriya planted his sword in the ground and began to dig with the blade when Bakugo grabbed his arms and stopped him. "You're going to break the blade."
"But, Kaachan-"
"But nothing! I get it. But, what else can we do?"
Midoriya didn't have an answer.
Tenko on the other hand did have an answer though he didn't dare voice it in fear of an axe to the back of the skull. He was a Necromancer after all. And he needed practice. And the only way for necromancers to practice was to use…
The only problem was that he was a Necromancer who could not raise the dead. He didn't know the spell. Or he didn't remember the spell.
Because he did it before, on that night.
"Then we will come back from Hoth, with shovels. We'll bury them."
And that was that. The trip walked back to the road in quiet company and walked for nearly another hour. Darkness was falling and they needed to make camp. So they did.
Getting more accustomed to the ritual, Teno started helping put more with the fire.
Tenko was to take the second watch after Bakugo tonight.
Tenko studied in his spell book, Midoriya told a story about the Might Knight, and Bakugo stared into the fire, almost mesmerized by something the rest of them couldn't see.
Then sleep came. And soon after, a boot to the ribs.
"Get up, your turn, Crusty."
Tenko waited for nearly an hour until he was sure Bakugo and Midoriya were asleep before sneaking away from the camp.
It wasn't Tenko's first walk in the darkness of the night. He had done it trying to evade the Necromancer Hunter back in the Yaoyorozu Empire. It was dangerous. But necessary.
Tenko heard a noise and stopped still. He whispered an incantation and held his breath. "Detect Life."
And all around him, in the darkness of night, bright red lights began to flash as things crossed paths and tumbled along.
Tebko gulped and watched. He watched as a short creature with a bright life signature passed by right in front of him. He waited and then kept moving forward. Slowly.
Then it happened. Tenko felt something breath down his neck and Tenko nearly tripped.
Right over his shoulder was something big. It's life force shone like a full moon in the darkness.
Tenko steadied himself and kept walking.
Tenko eyed another small creature in the darkness and pointed a finger. "Instigate Low Level Fear."
The little thing squealed and began to sprint away.
The large thing behind Tenko turned and gave chase with bounding steps.
Tenko pressed onwards until he reached the shrine. It wasn't impossibly hard to see under the light of the moon but it was still troublesome.
Tenko stood above the bodies and pointed. "Raise Lesser Undead."
Nothing happened.
Tenko frowned. He opened his palms and raised them towards the sky. "Raise Lesser Undead."
Still nothing.
Tenko felt his mana reserves wavering. With every incantation, he was pouring magic into his hands and into the air around him in an attempt to manipulate the existing death magic.
"Ugh." Tenko glared at the bodies and waved his hands. "Raise Lesser Undead! Raise Lesser Undead! Raise Lesser Undead!"
Nothing.
And Tenko was running out of magic.
The Necromancer wavered. Then fell onto his hands and knees. "What is wrong with me? I am a Necromancer without the ability to raise the dead. But that night. I raised them all, killed them all, leveled the village… and the voice… so why? What is wrong? What am I not understanding? I've been studying every single damned night and day!"
Tenko stared ahead at the dead bodies.
"I just don't understand? You said I had great potential? But… I can't even see it."
Tenko squeezed his eyes shut.
"The only people who believe in me are you and Midoriya."
Tenko sat there.
Midoriya would hate him for what he was trying to do right now.
Bakugo was justified in hating him.
Tenko hated himself too.
Had the Great Evil ever felt like this? Had he always been a prodigy? They had both come from Tatooine.
A horrid place filled with fire and death magic. Slavery…
It was such a novel experience, seeing the other Kingdoms. Ignorant of a life with slavery.
Had the other Kingdoms even known why the Great Evil had been born? He had been a slave, once. Most of the Kingdoms he had destroyed were once great slave owners. But the Great Evil hadn't stopped there. He had kept going. To kill everyone. To cover the world in death magic.
Tenko understood it. He hated people too.
And yet…
Midoriya believes in me.
Tenko sat there in front of the bodies for minutes. Maybe even an hour. Lost in thought.
"I think. I just need to see a properly animated corpse first? Study the connection with magical infusions? A Necromancer in action? Maybe. Or. Oh fuck me, I just don't know."
Tenko tried one last time. "Raise Lesser Undead."
The spell failed again. And Tenko felt the magic leave his body. He was exhausted.
He heard the loud footsteps and ducked for cover behind the wall. He covered his mouth curled up to the sounds of munching, crunching, and swallowing. The ripping and testing of rotting and flesh. And the smell.
Tenko nearly passed out. He nearly pissed himself.
Monsters were attracted to magic. He had cast too many spells in the same location.
More were coming. Walking. Hoping. Running. Crawling. Even flying.
Tenko listened as they got their midnight snack on the bodies.
Then he ran. Tenko bolted as fast as he could under the light of the moon. He ran until he was within sight of the camp. He didn't bother waking up Midoriya, Tenko stayed up the rest of the night. The sounds of crunching and chewing still stuck in his head.
When the others got up Midoriya asked Tenko why he hadn't woken Midoriya up for his shift. Tenko's excuse was poor. Saying he was studying all night.
He wished that he had.
The trio packed up and started walking before the sun reached its pinnacle.
Less than a mile later the trio came across a farm. Midoriya bartered for two shovels and they went back to the shrine to bury what remained. Midoriya vomited at the sight of the half eaten and chewed corpses. One of them was missing.
On the third day of traveling since they had buried the bodies they could see snow capped mountain peaks in the distance. After traveling half a day more they came across a valley filled with greens and grays. A gleaming river winding downwards from the Emerald Mountains. And across the valley the three Adventurers could see the northernmost city within the Musutafu Kingdom. Hoth.