A lot of people have been thinking this so I'll just say it now! Every party that enters the dungeon gets their own 'instance' like in a game. It's why the dungeon confirms how many people the party has in it when you enter it!

That's why Izuku and Bakugou didn't see each other.

Melissa sat on a box near the South Gate, waiting for her 'escort'.

From what her dad had hinted at, the person probably had the [Heroic] trait and was using this as a [Quest]. She didn't have anything to do today other than some basic chores, so she didn't mind helping out someone.

She had changed out her 'around-the-town' outfit for her 'adventuring' (a term she used loosely) outfit. Her normal outfit was blue and very comfortable, but this one was a bit more protective.

A white shirt went under a grey leather vest, with enchanted leather gloves going up to her elbows. Her belt was filled with various materials needed for the limited spellcasting she was capable of, as well as an enchanted dagger on his hip.

Her black pants went into some enchanted, knee-high leather boots, and the front was padded to act as a bit of a shin-pad. She still had her glasses, but she had tied a piece of string around the back of her head to make sure they didn't fall off.

She had just finished putting her hair up into a ponytail, to keep it out of her way while she worked, when she saw someone new arrive. She hadn't seen them before, and they were looking around as if searching for someone.

"Appraise"

Izuku "Deku" Midoriya

Level 11

Class: Earth-Quaker.

Traits: Prodigy, Determined, Heroic, Earth-Touched.

Active Quest: Shield the Shield.

She chuckled a bit as she saw the 'active quest' bit. Standing up, she walked over to him and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hello. Izuku Midoriya, right? Or would you prefer Deku?"

The boy jumped, before spinning and facing her. She glanced up at the rat-hood-thing he was wearing, before noticing that he had flinched when she said 'Deku. "Sorry, do you not like that name? I just thought you might because it showed up on my 'appraisal' screen."

Izuku nodded, letting out a sigh before bowing. "Apologies, Lady Shield. I'd prefer if you referred to me as Izuku. Unless you wish to call me Deku, then that will be fine."

Melissa pouted. She knew her dad was pretty important, but all the bowing and speaking 'properly' had gotten old years ago. "Lift your head, Izuku. I'd much rather you spoke to me like you would any of your peers."

She saw something flash in his eyes when she said that, but it disappeared the instant it arrived. "Of course. Sorry, I'm still trying to get used to Sir Shield, and I didn't know if you shared his… distaste for formality."

She smiled. "Don't worry about it. Now, I know your class and the fact that you have the [Heroic] trait, so why don't we get this quest started?"

Izuku smiled from under the Rat-hood, nodding. "Of course Lady Shield. Lead the way! I don't know where these [Mana Spring]s actually are, just how far away they are. Should be at least an hour to get out there, and an hour back."

Melissa nodded. "I estimated the same. And drop this 'Lady Shield' nonsense. Just call me Melissa. You're friends with Mei, right?"

Izuku nodded.

Melissa hummed. "Then we're good too! Any friend of Mei is a friend of mine! Just keep up your end of the deal, alright? She's really excited about you supplying stuff for her, and if you hurt her by scamming her for free gear, I will tell my father."

Izuku gulped. "I wouldn't drea-"

Melissa gave him an innocent smile. "But I'm sure you wouldn't, being all [Heroic] and all. Gotta grill you anyway, it the friendship rules, ya know?"

She saw Izuku nod in a golem-like fashion and smiled, starting to walk out the south gate and into the surrounding grasslands. "Alright, then. Let's get a move on!"

Izuku didn't know what to think about Lady Shie- Melissa.

He had already been a bit intimidated by her, seeing as she was the daughter of the foremost mage in all of Mightia, so he treated her as he had been taught to treat nobles, by putting his head down and speaking respectfully.

Why was it that both of the nobles he had met so far seemed so determined to waste the practise he had put into his 'formal" voice? He wished he knew. Maybe all nobles were like this, and the village elders had just been messing with him?

And then she had gone and threatened to tell Sir Shield if he ever scammed Mei. Which would most likely end up with him being barred from the dungeon, as well as a fine. And while he would never even think of doing that to someone, he could tell she was 100% serious about the threat.

They were currently walking through some of the forest nearby Mustafu, close to one of the [Mana Spring] that they needed to check on. They hadn't had any trouble so far, so Izuku had decided to check in on his stats, now that he had evolved his class.

Izuku "Deku" Midoriya

Money: 53 copper, 12 silver, 1 gold, 0 platinum

Level 11

Class: Earth Quaker

HP: 90/90

Mana:60/60

Stamina: 100/100

Strength: 15

Agility: 15

Endurance: 17

Intelligence: 20

Luck: 8

Available Abilities:

Double Strike:

Your attack does double damage, before any reductions.

2 Stamina per Attack.

Lunge:

Instantly dash forward a distance equivalent to your [Agility] and perform an attack.

4 Stamina per Attack

Defenders Shield:

When standing within 5 metres of an allied creature, you can reduce the damage they take from an attack by an amount equal to your [Endurance]

2 Stamina per use

Identify:

Allows you to see the stats and abilities of anything below a danger rating of 2. 1 Mana per use.

Skill does not consume mana if the target is an [Earth]-type monster or item.

[Earth] Shield:

Halves the damage for a single strike that hits you. Costs 5 mana for each hit.

Completely negates [Earth]-type damage for a single hit. Costs an additional 5 mana for each hit.

Traits:

Prodigy:

You learn things more quickly and more easily than others.

50% boost to XP gain.

Determined:

Nothing can stop you from achieving your goals.

Resistant to the [Fear] effect.

Heroic:

You are naturally inclined towards the protection of those who need it.

Gives a 50% boost to all stats when a sentient creature with a non-combat class is within the line of sight of your opponent.

Grants the ability to set and accept quests for added XP.

Earth-Touched:

You have a class attuned to the [Earth] elemental affinity.

50% reduction to damage coming from [Earth]-type attacks.

May the blessing of the Earth give you strength.

"So, what are menu quests like?"

"Huh?"

Izuku closed the menu in his hand as he heard Melissa speak. They hadn't talked a lot during their walk, as Izuku had been focused on keeping an eye out for monsters or animals. "What do you mean?"

Melissa tilted her head to the side, looking like she was trying to find the right words. "You know, like. How does it feel to be on one? Do you have a compulsion to finish it as soon as possible, are you drawn in certain directions or anything like that?"

Izuku scratched his head and hummed. "Uh, nothing like that, really… It's more like, I'm constantly aware of what I need to do? Like, if someone asked me to do something, I might accidentally forget about it, but when it's a quest, it's like it's ingrained into my memory."

He continued. "While a quest is active, I can basically remember the exact requirements and wording of the quest without having to re-open my menu and finding it. But it doesn't point me to where I need to go or anything like that. At least, it doesn't for me. I've never met another person who could do quests, so I only have my own experience."

Melissa had been nodding along as he spoke, tapping away at one of her golden menu screens. "I see. So no compulsions or anything like that? You don't have a need to complete the quest?"

He paused for a moment. Had he ever not done a quest? He couldn't remember not finishing a quest he had started. But was that because they were fairly easy, or because he was forced to try and finish it?

"I… I don't know? I've never failed a quest before, but I'm not sure if that's just because all the quests I've had were fairly easy or not. I'm not sure if I would be compelled to keep doing it even if I didn't want to after accepting."

Melissa hummed and smiled. "That's alright, I didn't expect you to be a fountain of answers about this. You're fairly new at this whole adventuring thing, right?"

Izuku nodded. "Yea, the village that I grew up in was in a fairly mana-barren area, meaning we didn't have a lot of monsters to fight, and the ones we did the guards usually fought. The only reason I was able to get to Level 6 before arriving in town was because of people giving me a bunch of fetch quests."

Melissa frowned. "Your parents didn't help you train your class? I thought all parents did that."

Izuku flinched. That was… a sore spot for him. "I, uh. I'm an orphan. Or at least the elders think I am. I was put on the Elders doorstep one night, and no one ever came back to claim me, so…"

Melissa placed her hand on his shoulder. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have asked that. That was insensitive about me."

Izuku shook his head. "No, it's fine. I don't mind telling you but please don't go spreading it around. I'd rather not have any more incide- Woah!"

Izuku was stopped mid-sentence as they exited the treeline, onto another set of grasslands. And nearby, there was a burst of colour, more beautiful than anything Izuku had ever seen before.

The swirling, multi-coloured light floated off of the ground, above a crack that was leaking a similar mix of colours. Izuku was stunned.

Melissa laughed softly, a lovely sound, and nodded. "And here we are! [Mana Spring] number one! What do you think, Izuku?"

Izuku just gaped at the swirling mass of light, gobsmacked. "It's amazing!"