Ok, ok… that was a lot to unpack.

And if he didn't want to have a panic attack over what it might mean, he would have to save it for later, after he cleared the boss and got back to the surface.

But while Izuku was a lot of things, stupid wasn't one of them.

When the dungeon itself, if that really was what had sent him the message, tells you to take a break before fighting a boss, you take a break. But it also left him with a small problem.

He couldn't leave the dungeon.

Every time you entered a new floor through the Warp Pads, you committed to beating the floor before you could leave the Dungeon through the exit Warp Pad. And seeing as the Warp Pads where after the boss fights, Izuku was stuck inside the dungeon until he beat them.

And because he didn't have any HP potions, his only option to get back to 100% of his HP was to get a good nights sleep. He didn't have any open or fatal injuries, so he should get the natural regeneration buff of sleeping.

The Hobgoblin had been absurdly strong for the floor it was on, and it had taken him by surprise. But there were only 2 more rooms before the Boss Chamber, meaning that if they were at the usual difficulty, he could clear this floor and then sleep outside of the Boss Chamber.

It would mean that he wouldn't be able to make it to his talk with Melissa and Mei, but… waiting was still the right thing to do. Dying to the boss because he was rushing would also mean he wouldn't make it back tonight, and he really didn't feel like dying today.

So he sheathed [Steelbringer] and his [Ratbone Dagger] back on his hip, scanned the room, looking for where that small chunk of [Enhanced Steel] had landed. He spotted the soft pink glow shining out from under one of the Goblin bodies and walked over to it.

He pushed the Goblin off and picked up the chunk, throwing it up in the air and catching it, before putting it in his pack. It was only just big enough to fit perfectly in his palm, but that was still amazing!

Walking around and collecting some of the Goblins weapons to sell when he got out, he contemplated his plan of action. He probably should clear out the rest of the floor, except for the boss room, before finding an area he could sleep.

Monsters, bosses excluded, could rarely leave their room if the adventurer took too long. And with the weirdly strong Hobgoblin and the message from the Dungeon, he wasn't really willing to test his luck at this point.

Clenching his hand around the pommel of [Steelbringer], Izuku walked through the door and into the hallway towards the next room of the dungeon. He kept his eye out for those wall traps and was able to dodge a few.

It was weird, he really hadn't even been going through the dungeon for very long, maybe a week at the most, and yet he still felt like the longer he was in here, the easier it became to sense where the traps were coming from, like an instinct for dodging them growing faster than normal.

Was that something that just happened when you levelled up as quickly as he had been for the last week? Or did it have something to do with the fact that the Dungeon seemed to have some sort of interest in him?

Those questions were stopped in their tracks as he heard the screeching of Goblins from around the corner of the hallway. He took a deep breath and rubbed his chest to soothe the dull ache of his ribs.

Peeking around the corner, and sighing with relief at the fact that it was just Goblins in the room, Izuku nodded to himself. He could do this. He'd clear the floor, sleep the night to recover his resources, then go into the fight with the Floor 2 Boss with a clear head and a rested body.

He'd just have to hope Melissa and Mei didn't worry too much about him.

"Summon Minor Rune: Searchlight"

"Find Izuku Midoriya."

A small mote of light appeared in her palm, darting around the packed tavern area of the Inn that Izuku had said he was staying in. The adventurers that were already there, at varying levels of drunkenness, didn't seem to care about it.

Melissa frowned as the light bounced around the room, before zooming back over her palm, dissipating. That meant that Izuku wasn't in the tavern section. Was he upstairs in his room?

Mei poked her shoulder. "Is he here? I don't know how that spell works with people"

Shaking her head, Melissa sighed. "Basically the ball jumps around and if it shines some of its light on the person or objects you specified, it gets really bright and gives me a menu update."

Mei frowned. "So he's not here, then."

Melissa hummed. "At least, not down here. He might be up in his room. Go grab a table for us and I'll check with the Innkeeper."

Nodding, Mei skipped away, weaving in and out of the tables over to an empty booth on the edge of the room, and Melissa headed over to the bar. The Innkeeper saw her coming and looked her up and down.

"How old are you lass? I don't care how rich you are, I don't sell the hard stuff to anyone under 18."

Melissa glanced down and realised that she was still in her nicer casual clothes, a blue shirt with black pants, covered in a large troll-leather cloak made from the high-quality materials that her father had gotten from the Elven Kingdom.

Pulling down her hood, she fluffed her hair so it fell outside of it. "I am 19 actually, but I'm not here for alcohol. Just to find someone, and maybe get some dinner?"

The Innkeeper raised their eyebrow at her but nodded. "Alright then. Who are you after? I know most people in this area of town. Or is it someone who's got a room here?"

Melissa smiled. "His name is Izuku Midoriya. He came into town about a week ago. I was told that he was staying here."

The innkeeper hummed for a moment, nodding his head. "Yea, I know him. What'd he do for you to search for him? Steal something off ya?"

Melissa waved her hand and shook her head. "Nothing like that, we were going to meet here tonight with my friend, but he's not here yet. We were just wondering if he was up in his room."

The innkeeper's eyebrows rose, and he glanced over to where Melissa had motioned, seeing Mei waving at them. "Damn. Lucky kid, I wouldn't think he would have it in him to bag the both of ya."

Melissa blushed and sputtered as she tried to correct the man when he shrugged. "But he hasn't come back today, so I can't help ya. If that's all, did you know what you wanted to eat?"

Melissa shook her head, and the Innkeeper shrugged again, grabbing a wood board from under the counter. "Fine, here's a menu. If you decide what you wanna eat, tap the centre of the table and a server should be there soon."

Melissa grabbed the board off of the man and sprint-walked back to the table Mei was sitting at, only to run into someones back as she glanced at the menu. "Oof!"

"Guh, oh, it's you, Miss Shield."

She teetered a bit, but Kurimuzon held her up. "Good to see you, Miss Shield. I was just helping Miss Hatsume here with a pest issue."

As Kurimuzon moved out of the way to let Melissa sit down, she saw that was holding a boy with spiky black hair and a blue and white bandanna by the back of the shirt. She also noticed that said boy was unconscious, a red square on his forehead.

Kurimuzon chuckled. "Not that I had to do much, Miss Hatsume here had him pretty well sorted. But as a City Guard, it's my job to deal with people like this."

Melissa glanced over to Mei, who was sitting up straight, an innocent smile on her face. "He was being weird and tried to take your spot, so I bonked him with my hammer!"

Melissa chuckled, shaking her head. As Kurimuzon said his goodbyes, taking the boy away with him, Melissa sighed. Mei perked up. "What's wrong? Did the Innkeeper dude know where Izuku was?"

Melissa shook her head. "Nope, he apparently hasn't come back to the Inn at all today. I wonder where he is then."

Mei hummed, putting her chin to the table. "Do you think he's alright?"

Melissa nodded. "I'm sure that wherever he is, he's fine. He'll probably be here soon anyway, so we should worry too much."

Mei nodded. "Should we get food while we wait, then? I'm pretty hungry."

Smiling, Melissa scooted over until they were shoulder to shoulder and placed the menu on the table. She could worry later if Izuku still hadn't shown up. But for now, he was just a little bit late.

"Sure! What do you wanna eat?"