A Hero's Journey: Izuku's Odyssey
By: Bubbajack
Editors/Co-Authors: IcySnowSage, First Hassan
Disclaimer: We don't own Shit! We are in no way forced to say this due to the lawyers holding cease and desist papers in our faces.
Note: Big thanks goes out to my Super Donors Selmephren, Bobby Glass and Meraj Alimi. We thank you for your patronage!
Ch.1: Reborn in another world.
The quirkless boy known as Izuku Midoriya awoke with a gasp. He had charged rather recklessly at a villain with a slime quirk that had taken control of his childhood frenemy Katsuki 'Kacchan' Bakugo. The last thing he recalled was the heat of the fire, the scent of smoke in the air, the cries of people in panic, and Bakugo's arm forcibly being moved towards his face, and a look of terror in Bakugo's red eyes as his fist touched Izuku's face.
He looked around at his current surroundings. All black with not a shred of light. It was void of any form of structure or ornamentation. It was just a gaping maw of unending darkness that he just so happened to have no trouble seeing in. Izuku got up and quickly noticed he was standing on solid ground. Or what passed for solid ground in this place. Cupping his hands over his mouth he called out. "Hello?! Is anyone here!?"
"There's no need to shout, I'm right behind you," A female voice replied, causing the boy to jump and turn around to see who spoke to him.
The woman standing before him was pretty. She had long light aqua blue hair tied up in a ponytail, sky-blue eyes, and pale skin. Her clothing consisted of white sleeves with beige and blue trim that weren't connected to the rest of her outfit, a dress that ended in a layers miniskirt, and thigh-high boots. She honestly looked so pretty that Izuku didn't even feel right standing in the same space as her. So he bowed politely. "U-Um, h-hello m-miss. C-can you tell me w-where I am?"
"Well aren't you just a polite little gentleman?" The woman cooed before she frowned a bit sadly for him. "I am Aqua, goddess of water, healing, life, and the afterlife, and I regret to inform you that you've died this day."
Izuku's jaw dropped as he pointed at himself. "I-I did?" Aqua nodded. "I died? Like, died, died?"
"Yes, I'm very sorry for your loss," Aqua apologized sincerely while bowing in respect for the sacrifice he gave.
Instead of ranting and raving like most people did and trying to bargain with her for another chance or crying and getting angry before accepting their situation, the young boy took a breath and let it out as he felt a pressure on his body life knowing that his connection to the mortal coil had been severed. "Okay. So, what now Aqua-sama?"
Aqua blinked. She'd never met such an odd boy before. Death usually brought sadness and sometimes comedy but she did not expect resolution. Resolution that was stalwart and unbending as the weight of his situation came down upon him. How very interesting "You… aren't upset? Most are when they've found out they died."
Izuku just shrugged. "I ran into that situation intending to die, just hoping I could save my friend in the process," Izuku admitted. "Did I manage to at least do that much?" He asked hopefully showing his self preservation was all but null.
Aqua felt her jaw drop. 'What the hell kinda shitty world did he come from for him to develop such behavior!' She wondered as she used some of her divine authority to look into it. 'What the-?! Heroism is a profession? So it's not much different from being an adventurer I suppose,' She frowned as she looked deeper. 'But he couldn't be a 'hero' because he lacked a certain genetic feature? Even the hero of his dreams said it was unlikely and that he could try being a police officer. What a shame it was to be told that your dreams truly didn't matter and to try something else. That's all he wanted to do too…' Aqua smacked a fist into her palm as she got an idea to grant this mortal's dream. "Right then!"
"Aqua-sama?" Izuku asked.
"I'm gonna make you a super awesome hero in this new world I'll be sending you to!" Aqua declared, hoping to change his fate just a little.
Izuku smiled as bright as a lighthouse. "Really?!" For the first time in his life, things were actually looking up. 'I guess Bakugo was right, jumping off a roof would've worked. Huh, who knew.'
Aqua nodded. "Uh-huh! Now let me think, "How am I going to do this…" The goddess tapped her finger on her chin while contemplating what she could give him to begin his journey. "Yeah, I'll just do that."
"What?" Izuku asked.
"As a Goddess, one of the things I can do is look into other realities. It keeps me from getting bored, you know, like the human concept of television?" When the boy nodded she continued, "Well anyway, what I'm going to do is stick another soul inside of you, and it should be super helpful. Consider this a cheat item for your adventure. All people who choose the path of a hero are given a cheat item after all."
"Oh wait! Hold on now, that could be bad!" Izuku said, holding up his hands and begging for her to stop and think this through. Sadly Intelligence was the dump stat for Aqua.
"Don't worry, it'll be fine, now, who to give you… Oh, she'll work out just great for what I have in mind!" The Goddess said while clapping her hands and completely ignoring Izuku's protest, "She's a sentient AI too so that just makes things simpler," Aqua reached into the air and pulled out of the darkness a voluptuous unconscious girl from a cracked veil between worlds that shuddered all the hues of the rainbow.
She had long dark-purple hair and wore a white shirt with a red ribbon tied around her throat, a black skirt, and thigh-high black leather boots. Covering all of this was a long black coat with tail ends and matching white gloves like a concert conductor might wear.
"Who… who is she?" Izuku asked. She was a beauty as stunning as Aqua herself.
Aqua frowned a bit. "The best way to describe her is a would-be goddess of the moon who lost in her fight for love. It's sad really. I felt sorry for her so I'm giving her, and you another chance, together, in the new world. Simple enough really. Since her tethering to existence is insubstantial at best she can count as a cheat item and not a goddess descending on the world."
"She'll be doing what exactly?" Izuku asked.
Aqua pressed this ghostly image of a girl into Izuku's chest, where she disappeared into motes of golden light that were absorbed into him. "She'll be… I guess you could call her a quirk. Your quirk to be exact."
"Wait, how is that girl going to be my quirk?!" Izuku asked as a circle of golden light appeared around him.
"You'll find out soon enough!" Aqua called out before sending him on his way.
As he began to float up into the air, he called out to the goddess. "Wait! Please! I have one request before you send me off! Please Aqua-sama! Look after my mom for me. Okay?!"
Touched by the boy's care for those he'd left behind she smiled and nodded. "I'll do what I can."
"Thank you~u!" Izuku's voice echoed as he was sucked into the light.
WIth Izuku gone Aqua had some free time so she decided to check on Izuku's mom before another soul was summoned to her. She opened a portal to view into Izuku's world. Her face then grew somber as she saw what happened and will continue to happen in Izuku's world
"Oh no …." was the only thing Aqua could say as she looked into Izuku's world and what would soon become a common recurrence in the future. Knowing there is nothing she could do but watch the tragedy that unfolded.
(...)
Izuku found himself standing on a cobblestone street. Thatch and stonewall houses were as far as the eye could see and a river ran through the town spanned by a stone bridge that had children jumping off of it. The people walking by were garbed in what he would've expected to find in the medieval renaissance period. 'Okay at first glance, it doesn't look like I'm in my world anymore,' the odd stares that followed as they looked at him were not what Izuku expected though.
'Fufufu, of course, you're not my adorable little kouhai,' A sweetly malicious voice replied within his head.
"Who said that?!" Izuku asked, looking around and finding no one.
"It's me, your super cute, amazing, dependable, and beautiful upperclassman BB," The voice replied with malicious cheer. As Izuku felt, this was slightly rehearsed.
Izuku blinked, still seeing no one. Then a thought struck him. "You… you're that girl Aqua-sama stuck inside me before she sent me here aren't you?"
"Fufufu! Bingo, my adorable little kouhai," The voice replied. "If you would do your senior a favor and head to the river?"
Not seeing the harm in it, Izuku went to the riverbank and muttered to himself, "Now what?"
"Look down," BB asked.
Izuku did so, instead of seeing his own reflection in the crystal clear waters. He saw the same girl with purple hair from earlier. Her eyes were open now revealing them to be the same purple as her hair, and she had an almost cruel smirk on her face as she looked back at him. "So you're my adorable little kouhai… you're cute!" BB declared after giving him a once over and licking her lips at the delicious cinnamon roll before her. She could just eat him up. She decided to leave out what her occupance in his soul did to his appearance.
Izuku blinked. He'd never been complimented by a girl before in his life, much less one as pretty as her. Suddenly she smiled. "You think I'm pretty. How sweet."
"I um I… yes. So… BB-chan, what exactly are we supposed to do, now that we're here?" Izuku asked as he crouched down and looked into the water. The reflection of the goddess in his soul could only smirk.
"I've… no idea Izu-tan," BB admitted with a shrug. "Aqua never said what we were supposed to do, did she?"
Izuku realized with a start that no, she did not. "Um, this is bad isn't it?"
BB closed her eyes and nodded. "It could be yes," Seeing her adorable little undergrad beginning to squirm made her want to squeal in joy, but she held back. She couldn't have him breaking down and dying on her. That would end this second chance both of them had. "Before we start freaking out though, you should spend your ability points."
Izuku was lost. "My what?"
"Tada!" BB said as she snapped her fingers as a pointer and a screen appeared next to her.
Str: 8 -1 bonus
Dex: 8 -1 bonus
Con: 8 -1 bonus
Int: 14 +2 bonus
Wis: 8 -1 bonus
Cha: 8 -1 bonus
Luk: 8 -1 bonus
Ability Points to Spend: 30
"What is this?" Izuku asked.
"These my adorable other half are your statistics. As you can see, outside of intelligence, they all suck, since, despite your drive to be a hero, you never did any training to improve yourself whatsoever before you died the first time around."
The boy hung his head in shame as the verbal barbs dug into him, "It would hurt a lot less if it weren't true BB-chan."
"I know right?!" The girl said as she smiled like a game show hostess as she pointed her pointer at Izuku. "Anyway, that is the past. Right now, you get a do-over. Thirty points to spend where and however you'd like. Although one of these stats isn't right at all," She pouted and then proceeded to use her pointer to add a one in front of the luck stat making it an eighteen.
"All things considered meeting two goddesses, being reincarnated, and finally getting to live your dream of being a hero. I would say you are pretty lucky right, my adorable kouhai?"
The freckled boy nodded. "Yeah you got a point there BB-chan," Izuku cleared his throat. "So what kind of stats should I pick, do you think?"
BB pointed at herself in complete surprise. "You want my advice?" The boy nodded. BB, seeing a chance to tease her junior and help him, couldn't deny his request. "Well since you asked, I took a peek at your memories and noticed you were super-shy before you died. Like, you never talked to a girl or anything. That's just sad," Izuku hung his head. It was sad. BB then clapped her hands together. "Which is why I think you should put your points into charisma. It'll make you likable, actually able to hold a conversation, and it can be used to cast magic."
Izuku blinked in surprise and slight wonder at what BB said. "Is magic a thing in this world?"
"You bet it is!" BB said, giving him a thumbs up. "But only wise, smart, or charismatic people can use it."
Izuku was confused about what charisma had to do with magic, but he shrugged. "Okay, what next?"
He and BB spent the next hour going over his stats, personal background, and race. He wanted to stay human, but then BB piped up, "I'm afraid it's too late for that kouhai, Aqua sticking me inside you has had… some unintended side effects,"
"What do you mean by side effects BB?"
In response her form faded from the river and in its place was a slender dark skinned elf with long silver hair and red eyes that burned like coals, it was only the light smattering of freckles on his cheeks that made Izuku realize that he was looking at his own reflection at the moment.
"What in the hells happened to me?" Izuku asked as he reached up and touched his now regal and dark features.
"Due to our haphazard fusion you've been turned into a dark elf, a Drow to be specific," BB informed him.
"Why an elf?" Izuku asked.
Clearing her throat BB replied, "I subsumed the divinity of several earth mother goddesses binding you to natural energies such as nature spirits so elf. One of those goddesses was Pele in Hawaii so think of it like getting a tan kouhai. Also you can see in dim light and the dark."
"Okay, okay I can work with this…" Izuku said, taking a breath to prevent himself from hyperventilating.
"You also might be a little tiny bit permanently inclined towards evil," The hybrid goddess added quickly.
Running a hand down his face, Izuku said, "What?"
"Well Drow are kinda… naturally inclined towards evil? That said, you can still be lawful!" BB finished optimistically.
"Joy," Izuku deadpanned, "Is there anything else I should know?"
BB hummed for a minute before she said, "Your name, it isn't exactly… elvish."
"No, of course it isn't. We've already changed my appearance. Why not give up the last bit of my old life with my name?" The deadpan was strong with Izuku at this point.
"You're embracing your inner drow quite readily my kouhai," BB said approvingly, "But BB, being the awesome sempai she is, has come up with a solution! She looked up the meaning of your name, and found the elvish equivalent! You may proceed with praising me now!"
"What is it?" He found himself asking, tentatively as BB pouted at not being praised.
"Calenim Glaer," BB promptly replied, "You could just go by your last name Calenim for short."
Just to make sure he asked, "You just used last name first right?"
"Yep, Calenim means "Green valley" in Sindarin and Glaer means "Tale", can translate to 'a tale from long ago' which one possible reading of your first name, is that alright?"
Izuku stood up and dusted himself off, smiling satisfactorily, "Yeah that'll do."
"You sure?" BB asked slightly worried Izuku would be spiteful and angry that his gift also kind of cursed him.
Izuku looked at his stats once more while looking at his hands and saw the nice tan and lightness in his new limbs and body.
Str: 8 -1 bonus
Dex: 18 +4 bonus
Con: 14 +2 bonus
Int: 15 +2 bonus
Wis: 15 +2 bonus
Cha: 19 +4 bonus
Luk: 22 +6 bonus
Congratulations you are a Drow of the Dark Seldarine. More Impressive you are blessed by fate and shadow! You are a DROW NOBLE! And not a woman +4 to luck. You are inclined for neutral evil but your innate kindness and honor make you pass as Lawful Good (Read: Lawful Evil to all Others). You gain a +2 bonus to Dex and +1 to Charisma, Wisdom, and Intelligence. You have innate magic in the ability to cast dancing lights, deeper darkness, faerie fire, feather fall, and levitate at will. You are constantly detecting magic (careful you may have a sensual overlord around strong magicians). You also gain the usage of divine favor, dispel magic, and suggestion. You do not need to sleep a full eight hours, are sensitive to sunlight, have Superior Darkvision up to 120 feet, and Fey Ancestry that protects you from charm magic and sleep magic. You are also more perceptive when not in direct sunlight (obviously) and have innate resistance to spells. Sweet Heavens you lucked out kid! You are also resistant to fire because a literal Volcano goddess is in your soul. You also gain …
T̷̲̯̺͖͙̓̔̐̕̚ʜ̶̧̖͈͈̙͆̔̊̇̏ǝ̸̨̱̬̻̙̂́̿̄̀ ̵̖͖̣͍͖̉̑̈͌̿o̶̱̯͍̪̰̍͑̅̋͠ḷ̴̡̹̣̎̈́͐̇̚ͅb̷̲̰̠̞̠̽̾͛̾͗ ̴̙̗̺̹̞̅̃̎̕͠Ɉ̵̠̲̺͇̋̆͑́̒͜ǫ̷̢̤̙̑̆̀̑͋͜n̷̙̥̞̙̙̐́̎̃͠ϱ̶̻̰͓̘͙͛̔̈́̇̚ὺ̵̟̭͚͓̥͂̀̒̉ǝ̴̡̫̺̙̓͛̒̀̓͜ ̶̡̲̟̲̭̈́̀͗̇̇d̶͔̱̤̩̠̍͗̅̔͝ǝ̵͉̜͙̬̘͛͑͗̐̚ɔ̸͍͈̬̮̜̊̀͐̽͝ɒ̷̤̲̹̰͔̅̿̄̋̈υ̴̣̱̳̏͌͊̀̇͜ͅƨ̶̦̘̬̰͙͊̀̃̓̚ǝ̵̘̖̦̞̖̆̀̐̍̂ ̷̣̬̜̝̞͒̑̿̀̔ỏ̶͎̝͍̳͍͗͗̕͠ʇ̵͍̖̼̮̉̾͂̍͑ͅ ̵̡̫̬̻̪͆̃͘̚̕Ɉ̵̛̙̘̯͍͖̀̄̄͆ʜ̸̧̫̖̰̰̽̕̚͘͠ǝ̷̪̪̟͕̟̉̋͌̈́͐ ̴̯̗͍͖̮͗̀̾̅̚b̸͎̩̖͕̮̾͛͐̚͠ɒ̸͇͙̩͕̫̐̀̏̊́ɿ̷͕̼͓̠̂͛̌̿̕͜ʞ̴̨̥͎̻̘̎͗̑̏̚ ̶̧͎͖̗̪͐͒͗̂͠q̶͇̬͔̤̩̀̈́̊̽͝ʜ̸̙̖̰̣̆̅̎̓̓ͅɒ̷͈̺̫̗̎̋͛̉͘ͅɿ̵͔̥̯̜̥́͒̓̐̓o̶̜̺͍͖̖͑͒̾̓̕ɒ̶̦̙͖͇̗̓̔͗̈̿ʜ̶̡̙̩͖́̋̊̂̈͜ƨ̴̗̠͇͚̮̄̄̐̌̑ ̴̺͖̝̖̥̀̿́̈́̆į̸̗͎̜͕̏͋̎͑̃n̵̪͖͍̲̖͊̓͒̐͠ʇ̸̯͇̲͔͍̒̒̓̋̅ḽ̵̨̖̯̱̾̅̉͆͝ΰ̵̛͔̯͕̤̐͌͠ͅǝ̸̫̱͕̭͓̔͂́̆̕n̵͙͕̗̻̟̿̇̈̊̍ɔ̷̛̞̦͓́̓̅̓ͅͅǝ̷̨̮̻̪̭̓͊̃̚̕
Izuku nodded in awe and slight fear in what he read, "Wow BB you really helped me out all things considered. Even If it makes me be seen as evil and whatever that last thing is."
BB shimmered as she danced a little jig in joy at her Kouhai's praise and swiping some sweat away at what her 'other' patron caused Izuku to gain, "Thank you so much Kouhai, your strength is kind of crap though."
The boy just shrugged. "That's fine, I don't see myself as a macho giant sword carrying type anyway. I just don't have the guts."
BB put a hand to her temples and sighed. "If you say so," She then cheered. "Now, let's go get some gear! Since you chose witherbloom student as your background, you start with a pouch full of fifteen gold pieces, some clothes befitting your profession, proficiency with a herbalism kit, and can learn one extra language of your choice. You already know Common, and Elvish by default."
"What do you suggest as an extra language?" Izuku asked as he hurried down the street, his attire changed to that of long black slacks, leather mudstained boots, a white shirt under a green vest, and a cowled canvas black cloak. With his bag of gold in hand, he walked down the streets of this town, whose name he didn't know the name of, with his hood pulled up so as not to attract attention. Yet he was so focused on finding a shop that he didn't notice people giving him, the new stranger in town, a wide berth. He looked to be a man on a mission, not one to be crossed. Although some wondered why a foreigner was in the Town of Beginnings of all places.
"Since you're a Drow now Kouhai, can I suggest Infernal? Drow are famous for cavorting with and summoning demons from the Abyss."
"I'd like to not sell my soul to a demon thanks," the now named Calen replied as his mind turned towards more important things. 'Okay, store, store, store, gotta find a store,' Izuku thought. He stopped in front of a pair of women heading down towards the river with wooden tubs in their hands, likely out to do their laundry. They made way for him as he walked down the street, only for him to stop and address them, "Excuse me, ladies?"
"Y-Yes, sir?" The younger of the two said. She was a young girl with short wavy blonde hair, with a pair of bat wings coming out of her head, she blushed as she stared at him, something about him just made her feel all tingly.
"Would you happen to know where I could procure supplies? I just got into town and am low on funds," Izuku mumbled, but his voice came out slightly grim due to his cloak.
The older of the two, a voluptuous pink haired woman who just oozed sex appeal even just standing there replied, "Just down the way there is a shop run by a formerly famous adventurer sugar," She pointed across the bridge and down the way.
It took all of Izuku's willpower not to stutter. "Thank you, miss."
"Of course," She reached into her washtub and handed him, of all things, a flier. "Here, why don't you come and visit us sometime, you look like you could use a good dream."
Izuku took the flier and looked it over as the women walked away. He froze almost midstep. 'Succubi Wet Dream Services?! We make your dreams come true?! What kind of world have I ended up in?!' Yet a dark voice in the back of his head was urging him on 'Take them make them yours, by force if necessary,'
Izuku shook his head, clearing that thought away, 'I'm better than that,' he chastised himself.
"Mou~u! If anybody can make your wet-wet dreams come true, it's BB-chan!" BB complained from inside his head. "Besides, isn't it a senior's job to take care of her junior?" She purred seductively. She also shook her hips suggestively while leaning closer to Izuku giving him a great view of her breasts.
'Not like that, it's not!' Izuku rebutted as he hurried down the street hounded by BB's impish laughter.
~A Hero's Journey~
The shop the succubus had directed him to seemed nice enough. It had tinted stained glass windows both on the door and facing the road making the shop stand out. It had a sturdy wooden door in place banded with iron and the walls were made of thick stucco and stone. A sign on a pole out front said, "Wiz' Magical Tools and Rare Goods"
"Well, this seems to be the place," Izuku muttered to himself before he went in. The interior was cast in a rainbow of light, and there was a small circular table set off to his left that had a couple of chairs set around it for chatting or snacking if Izuku had to guess. Directly in front of him was a large counter with several items on display. Shelves and cubby holes were stocked to the brim with everything from scrolls to daggers. He walked up to the counter and rang the bell once.
"Oh, a customer?! Coming, coming. Wowowowo Oh no," The sound of breaking glass was heard as Izuku heard a body slam into the floor.
Izuku rushed behind the counter all the while calling, "Are you alright?!"
What he found was a beautiful pale brunette with long wavy hair sitting on her stone floor amidst a small puddle of glass. She was wearing purple and gold-trimmed robes that did nothing to conceal her voluptuous figure. She looked up at him from her position and smiled awkwardly at the handsome elf(?) in front of her, her purple eye meeting his, the other hidden by her bangs. "Oh hello. Thank you for coming to check on me, but I'm fine, really."
Izuku looked around and quickly found a broom made out of reeds, and began sweeping up the glass around the woman. When she tried to protest he gently pushed her down in place as he sweeped up the glass and said, "Don't move! You might cut yourself. Just stay right there until I'm finished."
The woman stopped moving, "Oh! Alright," She waited until Izuku managed to get the broken glass into a tortoiseshell dustpan and then into the trash before standing. She dusted herself off and looked at the kind man who helped her, "Thank you for helping me, sir. I am Wiz, owner, and proprietor of this shop. How may I help you?"
"I was told I could come here to buy some gear? I… just got into town and to be honest, I don't have much on me."
"How much do you have?"
"Fifteen gold pieces? What'll that get me?" Izuku asked shyly while rummaging through his silver locks.
Wiz covered her mouth to hold back the squee at his cuteness. "Oh my, in my shop? Nothing. These are all High-level items which are worth thousands of gold each or in the local currency millions of Eris," Seeing his deflated expression Wiz consoled. "The blacksmith down the way, however, does owe me a favor so if you tell him I sent you and that I'm letting you call in my marker for that… 'Stamina potion' I brewed for him, he should set you right up for a little bit of nothing, okay?"
"Really?!" Izuku brightened up with a smile that warmed Wiz's cold undead heart. Then frowned. "Why're you helping me?"
"Don't question why!" BB exclaimed. "Just take advantage of this rare opportunity my foolish little kouhai."
"Shh, quiet BB."
Wiz cocked her head to the side. "Who is BB?"
Izuku sighed, "It's complicated Wiz, but she's kinda my familiar I guess? She speaks to me telepathically."
"Oh!" Wiz brightened in understanding immediately thinking of some of the spirits she talked to that others couldn't see, "That makes sense… you do know you don't need to talk back to her directly right? Just thoughts will do," She smiled. "Otherwise everyone would think all of us wizards and archwizards were crazy, you see? If we went around all the time talking to things only we could see and hear."
Izuku smiled. "I do see yes," He bowed, "Thanks for the tip. I'll go visit the blacksmith now."
"W-Wait!" Wiz didn't know what made her do it, even several years later, but she called out to him as he was going through the door. He turned looking at her expectantly. "Might I know your name?"
A look of surprise crossed the young man's eyes as he bowed to her again. "My apologies. I'm Glaer Calenim, it was nice meeting you Wiz."
"Nice meeting you too! Come back anytime! I'll make tea!" She called as he left the store. 'He didn't make a big deal about not being able to buy anything like most people do. Though he did bow a lot. I wonder where he's from. Glaer Calenim… What a strange name. Maybe Vanir knows of him. I haven't seen an elf with skin that dark before?'
~A Hero's Journey~
Izuku found the smithy easily enough. He just had to go where Wiz pointed and look for one of the few stores that could accommodate a forge. He walked in through the front door and was surprised at all the weapons that were on the walls. He liked the many different shapes and features that the weapons held and wondered which ones would best accommodate his drow race. The Blacksmith was a big muscly intimidating guy with a mohawk, full beard, and an eyepatch over one eye. "What can I do for you, stranger?" he asked, putting his palms on a table bristling with weapons as he sized Izuku up. Izuku looked around the shop for a bit, looking at the weapons in more detail seeing the hard work and craftsmanship put into each, and then spoke. "I need weapons, and armor."
"Well," The man grinned. "You came to the right place. Take that cloak off and let's get a good look at you shall we?" Izuku lowered his hood, and the man crossed his arms. "Hmm, yep, I can tell just by lookin' at ya you're the dexterous type. Little to none explosive upper muscle strength eh. I can tell you are fast on your feet but probably not able to cleave a man if half huh? You're certainly not going to be swinging around a greatsword anytime soon are ya lad?"
Izuku shook his head. "No sir. I need something small and light that is easy to fit in my hand. Also, Wiz told me to tell you, she was calling in her marker for the stamina potion?"'
The man suddenly tensed and shushed his customer. "Quiet, quiet boy! Keep it down will ya!" He looked around, seeing no one, motioning Izuku closer before he continued. "Keep quiet about this, yeah? I don't need my drinkin' buddies knowin' I need some… help in the bedroom."
'Wait, is he using a stamina potion for what I think he's using one for?' Izuku asked himself.
'It's viagra, it's totally viagra,' BB affirmed while giddily laughing to herself.
'That's just wrong!'
Seeing his horrified look the man sighed, "Alright, how much do you want me to pay you to keep quiet?"
"Pay me? I…" Izuku didn't know what to do. So he asked BB. 'Help?'
'See if you can get at least a thousand out of him.' BB said.
'Not helping!' He retorted before he sighed and took a breath. "Eight hundred."
The man wiped the sweat from his brow in relief. "Eight hundred Eris… okay, I would've gone for a thousand five hundred but you're alright."
Izuku wasn't finished, "Eight hundred eris and you outfit me with some gear."
"That's perfectly acceptable," The man agreed. "Like I said, you look like the dexterous type so I'm thinking studded leather, a brace of three daggers, a rapier, and a hand crossbow."
"Umm," The boy had no idea what any of that was so he just nodded. "Alright."
The blacksmith, whose name he found out was Smith Black as he ran around his shop collecting items, placed a metal-studded chest piece that had layered leather over his shoulders and thighs, gloves, and a belt, on the counter. Next came a simple thin sword, its hilt a metal swirl pattern, while the blade looked like a thin rod that came to a sharp point. To Izuku, it looked more like an oversized sewing needle than the edged slightly curved katana he was used to back home. Next came three daggers all on an interconnected belt, and last, was the hand crossbow. It was made of some dark wood and it had raised slats on either side of the firing mechanism where he assumed the arrow would go.
Once it was all on the table, Smith looked Izuku in the eye. "Alright kid, have you ever worn leather armor before?" Seeing Izuku shake his head, the man nodded. "Right, I'll give you a quick crash course on how to don and doff your armor and weapons."
He did just that, it took half an hour, and he showed the young boy in that time how to put on the leather cuirass, gloves, shoulder pads, bracers, and greaves while also showing the proper places for his weapons. The daggers could go around his waist or diagonally across his chest for example the rapier should always go on the hip opposite his dominant hand unless he was ambidextrous and his quiver should hang diagonally on the opposite side of his rapier. The reason for the raised slats on the hand bow was so that three arrows could be loaded at once. All he had to do was cock it and then fire. The crossbow went in a holster on his hip when not in use. Izuku thanked the man profusely when he was done. "Don't worry about it, kid. You seemed nice enough. Just make sure to keep this between you, me, and Wiz yeah?"
Izuku nodded, pulling his hood back up. "Can do sir, by any chance, is there somewhere I can go if I'm looking for work?"
"There's an Adventurers Guild just across the large bridge. You can't miss it," The man pointed, "In fact. You should be able to see the top of the building from here," The man said as he pointed out his window into the now setting sun.
Izuku peered out the window and into the glare. Sure enough, he saw the top of a dome-shaped building, it was either a gold or bronze spire that had numerous… 'Are those phonographs sticking out of the top of that tower?' Izuku asked himself.
"They certainly seem to be kouhai," BB answered. "My how strange. Fufufu, I wonder what kind of fun we can find there."
Izuku turned back to Smith, "Thank you, sir!" He made to leave when he noticed a poster stuck to the man's wall. He looked at it. It read:
"Wanted Dead or Alive. All known affiliates to the succubus smuggling ring. Pay is 10,000 eris a body and 20,000 eris per person captured alive. All Succubi have been known to disappear near the graveyard and never return."
Izuku felt dismayed that young women were being kidnapped. He thought of the first two people he met and the kindness they gave him. Izuku feared they may be next. He gently ripped the poster from its place and turned to Smith.
"Hey Smith, can I take this?" Izuku asked, holding up the wanted poster.
Smith waved him on. "Go ahead, kid. So far nothing's been done for those poor girls at Wet Dream, maybe you can do something."
Izuku nodded as he pulled his hood up. "I'll do what I can, Smith-san."
After the boy had gone, Smith tugged at his beard and asked himself while thinking about the strange lad he just talked with,. "What does 'san' mean?"
~A Hero's Journey~
Before he headed out onto this bounty mission, Izuku decided it would behoove him to get set up at the guild first. The three-story gray stone building looked more like a church than anything that screamed 'guildhall' to him. It had a round stained glass window on its highest steeple, the roof was covered in red tile, and stone pillars held everything up, as two massive red oak doors stood guard one of them ajar. Izuku silently let himself in. A busty blonde immediately greeted him in a cream-colored top with honey-colored hair. "Hey there, take a seat wherever you'd like and someone will be right with you okay?"
"Sure. Thank you," Izuku replied as his gaze swept the room.
The interior of the place was much different than its exterior. The floor and pillars that held the roof were made of pale white marble. There were long tables made of planks of wood and held together with bands of iron, wrapped around one of the marble pillars was the skeleton of a giant fish. The remnant of a past glory perhaps? Izuku wasn't sure, but it looked cool. Off near the back was a teller counter, the pretty woman from earlier was manning that, and a staircase that led to the upper level that from the looks of it had rooms for rent. He approached the nearest table and sat down.
"Hey kid, you new here?" A familiar voice asked.
Izuku turned and was surprised to find Smith-san had somehow beaten him to the guildhall and was enjoying what looked to be beer. "Smith-san? How did you get here so fast?"
"Hmm? Oh, you must mean my twin brother!" The man said in an equally pleasant fashion. "Well, welcome to Hell's Gate newbie, I'm Griff Black."
"Hello, nice to meet you Griff-san," Izuku said with a nod.
Griff smirked. "You're too polite by half kid. If you're here to try your hand at being an adventurer, word of advice, toughen up a bit and don't take crap from folks. They'll just take advantage of you. Now go buy me a drink."
Feeling this was a test, Izuku scowled an inner rage at this 'human' trying to command him, and growled out, "Buy your own damn drink."
Griff slapped him on the back. "That's the spirit kid! Can't just let people walk all over you."
He smiled a bit showing off his sharpened canines, "Thanks. So uh, how does one go about becoming an adventurer Griff?"
Griff thumbed towards the teller counter in the back. "You gotta go talk to Luna for that kid. She'll set you upright."
Izuku got up from his seat and made his way towards the back. The woman whom he now knew was named Luna was standing behind the enclosed counter. Now that he got more than a passing glance at her, he could tell she was older, maybe twenty, with hazel eyes and wearing a white blouse with cut off jeans. He offered her a smile which she boisterously returned. "How can I help you today, cutie?"
Coughing into his hand to avoid sputtering at the woman's blatant flirtations, he said, "I'd like to become an adventurer, what do I need to do to make that happen Luna-san?"
The guild mistress smiled at him. "Well, there's a one thousand Eris registration fee and with that, all you need to do is touch this magical device here," She motioned to the blue orb that was floating amidst various other pieces of gray metal. "Will fill out your registration card and let us know what classes will suit you best."
The boy rubbed his head awkwardly. "Uhh… I don't know if I have one thousand Eris… will gold also work?" Izuku asked.
Luna nodded as her eyes shined with greed at making a profit today, "Oh yes, gold is perfectly fine!" She replied as she reached under her teller table. "Just let me get set up here," She said as she set up a weight scale. "Alright, whenever you're ready sir…."
"Glaer Calenim, Luna-san," Izuku introduced himself. He was so nervous he kept forgetting to do that. He reached into his coin pouch and pulled out a single gold coin. He placed it on the opposite scale and Luna's eyes widened as she did her best to even out its weight. "Just how heavy is this thing?!"
'BB?'
'One-tenth of a pound, as is standard,' The sentient AI replied with knowledge gifted to her about Izuku's background and gold received from it.
Telling Luna as much, Her eyes widened. "If this is pure gold," BB assured Izuku who in turn assured Luna it was, "Then this one coin is worth 186,057 Eris," Luna looked at him stunned, "Sir, uh Izuku, where did you get this coin?"
"Um, questing and funds for my research!
Luna blinked. "Did you rescue a princess?"
Izuku shook his head, intending to joke to lighten the suddenly tense mood that fell over the guild. "No, a goddess of the moon almost died after her heart was broken."
'A goddess! What kind of monster is this guy!?' Everyone in the room was thinking at the same time.
Seeing his joke fall flat, Izuku just sighed and held his hand out, "Can I just get my money please?"
Luna was quick to comply, thinking she was getting on the nerves of some kind of veteran adventurer from a far-off and distant land. "O-Of course! Right away!"
Izuku felt bad making the woman rush around like that, but he felt awkward just standing there, and he could feel everyone else's eyes on his cloaked back staring at him. He glanced behind him just to be sure and everyone froze at his piercing glare from his crimson eyes, they shivered before quickly staring down into their drinks. 'Yeah, they're going to act like they weren't doing it.'
'That guy's death glare is scary,' Everyone else was thinking nervously as they nursed their mugs of beer.
"H-Here you are sir!" Luna replied, coming forth with his money. Izuku pulled his cowl up closer to hide his blush. Luna's flushed face made her look even cuter to him. "Thank you," He mumbled, accidentally giving off the air of a gruff loner. "Did you already take out your adventurer fee?"
"Y-Yes."
"How much would it cost me to rent a room here, provided there are ones for rent?" Izuku asked, keeping his gaze fixed on the floor, not that Luna could tell due to the shadows up his hood. All she could make out was his glimmering hair in the light of the guild.
"They're 5000 Eris a night," Luna told him without mentioning that was nothing to a seasoned adventurer. Especially one who had the means to rescue a goddess.
Izuku nodded. "I'll take one thank you."
Luna nodded. "For how long?"
"For however long I'm in town," He reached into his coin pouch and flipped her a gold piece. "Half of this is for the room fees, and the other is for all the trouble," He then turned to leave only for Luna to reach out and grab his hand. She stuttered out a reminder while also being grateful for his generosity, "W-Wait Izuku sir! You forgot to actually register as an adventurer."
'Oh, I did forget, silly me,' He thought to himself. 'Miss Luna's hand is warm,' he also thought. "Right, so do I just hold my hand over this thing or?"
"Yes, that's all you need to do."
Izuku did so, causing the sphere to glow a bright blue as a small pinpoint laser at the bottom of the device began to etch something onto a piece of paper stroke by stroke. Once it was finished, Luna took the ticket and read off, loud enough for everyone to hear, "Rather abysmal strength, exceptional dexterity, and charisma. You also have above average constitution, wisdom, intellect, and your luck is the highest I've ever seen!" She said surprised. "With stats like these the only class you don't qualify for is the close combat classes such as fighter or barbarian. Of course there are two that specifically fit you well …" She gulped. "Warlock and Blood Hunter."
The patrons of the bar froze and became deathly quiet at the mention of those two classes. The women gulped in fear and tried to hide behind their male comrades. The men held their weapons tight while those with a thicker spine stared at Izuku waiting to see what he would do. The target of everyone's attention tried to hide his anxiety by keeping his eyes on Luna and ask the only question on his mind."What is that bad?"
Luna shook her head. "N-No not exactly, Blood hunters are some of the most zealous destroyers of evil while warlocks have a notorious reputation for… Well…"
"They're traitors!" One male voice called out, stirring up the room.
"Yeah, they always go off and join the Demon King asking for his dark knowledge!" Another cried.
Izuku instinctually backed into the counter with his hand going towards his rapier. His nervousness made his hood fall, letting the whole room see his face in all its glory. Many women swooned as exotic and handsome looks. The men admitted in their own thoughts that he was quite the looker. He could barely hold back his nerves, "Umm, aren't you all labeling me without even getting to know me? I'd like to point out I just got into town and haven't done any of that yet."
Luna, a smidgen distracted by Glaer's foreign and enchanting looks, moved to his defense. "He's right, you know! Just because Warlocks have a bad reputation for chaos, evil, and generally ruining people's lives doesn't mean Glaer is going to do it. So let's give him a chance, okay everyone?! I mean he also qualifies for bloodhunter so he could be a hunter of evil warlocks."
Then a mumble overtook the crowd, how there were usually two kinds of Warlocks. There was the first kind, the one that causes chaos, discord and destruction wherever they go in their pursuit of dark knowledge… Then there was the other one. The stalwart defenders of the night, who dip into the unknown headfirst with just their wits and few spells even calling on fiendish powers out of the light of day to keep the peace. Considering the new guy admitted to being on a quest that saved a goddess of the moon, they were all pretty sure what kind of 'Warlock' he was. Everyone silently went back to their drinks without any more fuss. After all, a bloodhunter warlock hybrid couldn't be that bad right? Izuku pocketed his card and made it to the door. "Glaer, where are you going?" was the question voiced by Luna thinking the crowd scared off a prospective rich patron.
"Some girls have gone missing of late Luna-san,I have a target now I must hunt them. I'm going to retrieve them and bring those I can home," Izuku replied, glancing back only to give her a reassuring smile.
Luna and several other women present found themselves blushing at the sensual smirk that Glaer displayed on his handsome and dare they think arousing face, and a certain girl with dark hair and crimson eyes decided to follow as stealthily as she could in the mysterious stranger's wake.
~A Hero's Journey~
Izuku walked down the road he was told by a passerby led to the graveyard. He looked at the flier again. 'Why would Succubi be doing at a graveyard anyway?'
'Succubi feed off of life energy found in dreams/nightmares my adorable little kouhai,' BB informed him. 'If something was causing the ghosts in the graveyard to be restless, it would be like a sign out front that said all you can eat buffet to them. After all, what is death but an eternal dream?'
"Ah… that makes sense," Izuku muttered to himself. "So first we need to find out what is causing the unrest of the dead in the graveyard, then we need to put a stop to that and figure out who is kidnapping the succubi, how, where they're taking them, why, and for what purpose,"
"You don't need to concern yourself with the why if you don't want to. You could just track down the bad guys, kill them and collect your reward," BB told him. "After all, you're not getting paid to save anyone."
Izuku shook his head. "It's not about the money BB-chan, it's about helping people who're in danger. The money is just a nice bonus."
"You're such a bleeding heart hero Izu-tan. That reminds me, we never did set your proficiencies earlier well. We couldn't since you didn't really have a class. Would you like to do so now while we walk? Also since you're a Warlock you get to choose a Patron."
"Proficiencies, Patron? What do you suggest for both of those?"
Izuku heard BB giggle evilly in his head. "Fufufu. Well, if you're going to take this bounty hunting Warlock thing seriously, then I'd take Deception, and Investigation. Your race gives you perception and your background you chose gives you Nature, and Survival. Fundamentally speaking you need to deceive and investigate others when on a case. You also will be booking it a lot in the wild looking for supplies so nature and survival are tantamount. We lucked out that Drow also gain perception. Also you got an herbalism kit so you can practice some minor alchemy if you want."
"Huh guess fortune is favoring me for once. Thanks BB," Izuku agreed.
"And… done!" BB said triumphantly as she waved her pointer and a small sparkle effect came from Izuku.
Izuku felt like electricity was racing up his entire body for a moment, and he stood stock-still. When it passed, he kept on walking… Only now, his ears twitched and he was picking up the sounds of soft footfalls behind him, off to his left. 'Someone is following me,' He quickly realized. Walking calmly down an alleyway he hid behind a few crates and waited. Soon enough, those same footfalls came to a stop in front of the alleyway. He waited to listen as the person, quickly identified as female by the sound of her voice and the figure she exhibited as she walked past his hiding place.
"Where could he have gone? He was right here a moment ago, right?" He heard the girl ask herself. She walked past his position, and that is when he struck. Drawing a dagger from the holster on his chest, Izuku rose like a phantom from behind the refuse and crates. He tried with all his might to be quiet and silent as he got behind the girl, who had short black hair and was wearing a black jacket, pink skirt, stockings, and black shoes. On her waist was a shortsword and a silver staff in her left hand. None of that meant anything to Izuku, as he slipped his dagger around her pale throat and asked, "Why're you following me?"
"Mm yes a little closer now my child, blood must flow for a message to be seen," whispered a velvety voice in the back of Izuku's mind.
"Ah! I-I t-thought you m-might need help!" The girl stuttered out before whining piteously as she felt a small trickle of blood come from the small cut on her neck, "I'm sorry!"
Normally Izuku wouldn't be so confrontational, but he'd just died, been reincarnated into another world with a high fantasy setting, and he didn't really know who to trust besides BB. Also it just felt so ….. Right … to instill a little terror in this girl. So he felt he was being justifiably paranoid at the moment. He turned his dagger's dull edge to the side and pulled it across the girls' throat, spreading the small trickle of blood across, showing her he wasn't going to kill her, but he easily could've. He then put the blade away. "Turn around," He ordered with all the charisma and command he could muster.
The girl stiffened and shook a little in terror or fear Izuku cared not. She did so and he got his first good look at her face. She had red eyes that were framed by her dark-brown locks. She was wearing the most absurd jacket with a giant boob window. 'Maybe that's in style around here?' He wondered to himself, deciding not to bring it up. "Who are you and why are you following me?"
"M-My name is Yunyun, and I thought you might need help with your rescue sir so I decided to tag along from a distance… I didn't want to be a bother," The girl said looking at the cobblestones in slight shame and disappointment for being useless…. again.
"Are you an adventurer?" Izuku asked, making her look up sadly and nod.
"Y-Yes would you like to see my credentials?" She offered him her card as her hands trembled, and Izuku took it. "Archmage huh? He muttered to himself as he looked over her stats and basic skills. Nothing seemed inadequate and all things considered she was quite high leveled for a beginner. 'I'm thinking of taking her on board. What do you think BB?'
The AI 'harrumphed' in dismay, "Well, BB's boobs are bigger for the record, and BB-chan could totally handle Izu-tan's carnal urges by herself, but yeah go ahead."
'None of that has a damn thing to do with her getting into the party or not,' Izuku deadpanned.
"Oh but it does, my sweet sweet little lamb. You have to sate your desires first before you can move forward," soothed the voice a little stronger now. Izuku's pause and the look of shock on BB's face showed that he wasn't the only one who heard that.
"Who was that and which one do you care more for my sweet kouhai?" BB shot back slyly not missing a chance to strike while also thinking of who or… What is tampering with her sweet cinnamon roll?, "The party going on inside or outside of your pants right now as you look at her? After all, maybe that voice was right whoever she is."
"I am just a spinner of webs and threads my dear budding godling and you my dear elf can think of me as your first benefactor. Prove to me your worth and I shall reward you. Fail and… well just don't fail," the voice quietly spoke as she got softer and softer then she disappeared.
Izuku ignored his semi-sulking, always playful AI and mysterious benefactor turned to answer Yunyun. "Alright, you can come with me for now. Wouldn't hurt to have some backup."
"R-Really?!" Her eyes started glowing a deep crimson due to her excitement as she clasped her hands together and started hopping up and down. Doing wonderful things to her breast and causing Izuku to thank the heavens that he was male.
"Yes," Izuku replied as he handed the excited girl her card back. "I could use some extra help. You know the area better than me among other things. There are a few rules, however." Yunyun nodded enthusiastically as she wiped the blood off her throat. Her fear was forgotten and being overwhelmed with joy at being accepted. Prompting Izuku to continue, "Firstly if I tell you to run you run. No questions asked. These people are likely slavers and wouldn't think twice about adding a pretty girl like you to their collection, succubi or no," Yunyun blanched and nodded fiercer than before. She remembered some of the stories her friend Arue told her of how crimson demons made great … ahem… livestock to breed magic casters. "Secondly, do not hesitate to kill if it means preserving your own life. These… people and I use the term loosely, have a kill order out on them. Use any means at your disposal to stay alive, whether spell or dagger alright? That said, we're going to try and take as many alive as we can. More money that way for us. Have to feed the spectacle of a public execution."
Yunyun nodded. "Right, I've got some spells that should be useful for that, sleep gas and such."
"Good," Izuku was starting to like her already. "Lastly, if you don't want to continue at any point, let me know and you're free to leave, collecting whatever share of the money you've earned up to that point. Any questions?"
Yunyun shook her head, prompting Izuku to speak. "Good, then I have one for you Yunyun. Why are you helping me find the missing succubi? I was under the impression demons weren't well-liked by others."
"They aren't, but my Clan, the Crimson Demon Clan is… that is to say, we're not fully human, but not fully demons either. We were artificially made, the first of us, a long time ago and well, it's complicated but it boils down to me not wanting to hurt people just because of what they are. If they were doing something bad that may be different, but I don't think that's the case."
Izuku was silent for a moment, digesting her words as well as something else. 'Hey BB, how did I know all that stuff I just said?'
"You seem to have subconsciously accessed my databases pertaining to this world, in particular, my little kouhai," BB replied, "I didn't expect that to happen but it's interesting."
'Okay, what's that do?'
Izuku could hear the sound of BB tapping away on a keyboard in his head. "Think of it like a subconscious information gap filler. It will feed you information as needed to complete your current objective, but you'd need something to go on first. While it can tell you things you don't know, you still need a lead first; you can't make quantum leaps in logic out of nothing."
'That's cool, amazing really even,' Izuku praised. 'So what else can you tell me about this world?' He thought as he walked motioning for Yunyun to follow.
BB was happy to comply. "Eris, the goddess of fortune, is the primary goddess of this world. She has the most followers, the currency is named after her as you know and she is the patroness of merchants, adventurers, and thieves."
Izuku nodded, filing that away in his memory, especially the bit about thieves. "What else?"
The faux-goddess continued, "The world is at war with the Demon King, whose fortress is far to the north of here. Said fortress is locked behind an impenetrable barrier, upheld by his eight generals. This war has been going on for several generations now hence, the hatred of demonkind in general. Also records and information on the demon king are sparse. Especially the identities and information on all of his generals and himself. In fact I can't even find a direct link to what started the war in the first place. It just happened at some point. There are records of other goddesses as well in this world."
Izuku nodded, he figured as much. 'And, There's always a catch. What is it? Also, why was I acting so gruff back there and to the point?'
"Remember, your backstory is that of a Strixhaven Student. You're now the type who'll seek out monsters, plants, and even humans to not only better learn their anatomy, but also take advantage of any magical properties their bodies might possess, which is why you took up bounty hunting, it's easier for you to get materials that way. Especially if the materials are ahem fresh."
'Wait so your saying picking a backstory actually altered my personality?!'
"To a minor extent, yes," BB affirmed but waved off Izuku's concern, "But anyway, onto that catch you were wondering about."
'Wait a second!' Izuku demanded, 'Don't just gloss over it like it's nothing!'
BB sighed. "Is it really all that important though? Before you were a weak scared little kid. Now you have both the drive and more important than that ability to actually do something when people are in danger. That's what you've really wanted right? What is wrong with giving a little bit of yourself?"
'Well yeah but, not at the cost of changing who I am. If I change who I am I would no longer be the person who saved you,' Izuku replied.
"Stupid Kouhai, did you honestly think you could still be a hero and not come out of your shell? Don't be naive. In order to become what you've always wanted to be, a hero, change was inevitable, usually, it's painful. It's up to you how much you let yourself be changed though," It hurt BB's heart to be so harsh to Izuku but she knows that if she didn't the world would consume him. She will not lose her kouhai. N!
"Glaer…" Yunyun called out to him, "Is everything alright? You seem lost in thought.
"Uh oh kouhai you've upset your mistress, better go console her and let her know everything is alright," BB snarked to hide her worry.
"I'm fine Yunyun, I just have a lot on my mind," Izuku replied. 'And her name is BB.'
"Love you too Kouhai," BB teased.
Izuku ignored her jibes in favor of telling his new party member, "C'mon, I need you to lead me to the biggest dive bar in town."
"Why?" Yunyun asked, "Such a place would only be filled with criminals."
Izuku pointed at her. "Exactly. Where else do you think we'll be likely to pick up information on a succubi smuggling ring?"
A look of comprehension dawned in the Archwizard's eyes and she nodded. "Right, I might know of just the place, follow me!"
~A Hero's Journey~
The Braying Ass was as ramshackled as they came. The windows of the place were all but opaque with dirt, as was the wooden floor of the place. The dingy bar was caked with sawdust and was manned by a shifty looking old man with a single blue eye who kept trying to clean already dirty looking glasses with an already filthy looking rag. Rickety looking tables and chairs were strewn throughout the place haphazardly and everyone was shiftily looking at one or another, nursing drinks. The atmosphere couldn't be any more different from the guildhall. Izuku pulled his cloak tighter about his person and Yunyun donned a hooded cloak even before entering, and the two approached the counter feeling all eyes on them.
The barman eyed them suspiciously as they approached. "Yer new round these parts are ya? I don't like new faces," he said with a scowl and slammed his fist on the counter causing the rickety bar to shake.
In response, Izuku flipped the man a gold coin. The barman snapped it up like it was his firstborn, narrowing his single eye at Izuku suspiciously. "What you wantin'?"
"A drink for the lady and myself, along with some information?" Izuku said, doing his best to keep his voice even. He was shaken a little at the initial malice.
"What ta drink, and what kinda info?" The barkeep grunted, putting the coin away in his pocket.
"Two beers, and as for info… I've heard tell that someone's trafficking in demons around here, and I was looking to get a cut of the action."
The Barman eyed him suspiciously, as he poured their drinks from a wooden keg. "Aye, that may be. What of it?"
"If I wanted to get in touch with such people, where would I go?" Izuku asked as he flipped another gold coin between his knuckles.
Plopping the drinks down in front of them, the barkeep replied, "Ye'd need to head down to the Deadman's Den an' ask for Reaver you would."
Izuku looked to Yunyun, "I've never heard of the Deadman's Den, have you?"
"Only by reputation," Yunyun replied, "It's a gambling den where if you can't pay they'll happily sell you in the slave trade,or sell you for materials, or that's how the rumor goes. I've never been there myself."
"How do we get there?" Izuku asked the barkeep before he sipped his beer. It was fruity and tasted like nutmeg. He liked it.
"Down by the north end of the city, by the docks where the boats come in. You'll find it easily enough," The barkeep replied.
Izuku downed the rest of his beer, before tossing the man the other piece of gold. "Thanks," He turned to Yunyun. "Ready to go, partner?"
"Just a moment," She poured her beer into a flask she procured from somewhere. "No point in wasting a good drink."
"Bounty Hunter," The barkeep called. "Be careful going after Reaver and his boys, they mean business, and unless you wanna end up in chains or dead, you'd best be prepared to kill to keep your lives."
Izuku looked back and nodded. "We will let's go, partner."
"Right!" Yunyun said, beaming, happy to finally be part of a party.
~A Hero's Journey~
The north side of Axel town was one big dock. The area was famous for where the riverboats came in and unloaded their cargo from upstream and either sold it if it was perishable like fish or produce. Things like cloth, weapons, or spices were sold here to local businesses or merchants, and then they moved onto the next town to make a profit. Sailors on shore leave were making their way along the streets happily, while women in the world's oldest profession were doing their best to entice them away from their earnings by flashing a bit of leg or posing just so that they were all but letting the men who hadn't seen a real woman in who knows how long see down their bodices. Izuku ignored them and pulled Yunyun closer to him when he saw some of the sailors leering at his companion in an almost predatory fashion. To them a fresh untainted lass like Yun-yun was a delicacy, "Stick close to me," He muttered holding her close in one hand and his other at the ready with his weapon.
"Uh-huh."
They made their way past stalls and shops of people hawking their goods, and past trash-strewn alleyways. They just followed the stream of bummed out looking sailors who looked down on their luck coming from the back allies. Soon enough they came to what looked like a two-story house, it had a balcony on the second level and was in dire need of a new coat of white paint as its current coat was horrendously chipped and its shingles were all but gone off the roof. Some tough looking guys carrying clubs were sitting out front on the stoop decked out in leather armor. They stood when Izuku and Yunyun approached.
"What'chu want?" A man with dirty blonde hair asked before he spit on the ground showing he was chewing tobacco.
"I was told this was a place to come to play cards. That right?" Izuku asked.
"Maybe," The other guard replied who had a broken nose that made it look like he had a pig snout. "You got any money on ya?"
"An' who's the girl?" A third asked. He had a mohawk of blonde hair.
Izuku quickly looped his arm around Yunyun's. "Arm candy you understand?"
The men nodded and grinned lecherously. "How much did she cost?" The pig-snouted man asked.
"More than you can afford I'm afraid," Izuku replied, pulling Yunyun closer and placing a kiss on her cheek. While pulling away he muttered a 'sorry' into her ear.
"Yeah, probably with a girl that cute. Anyway, you got Eris?" The blonde thug asked. Izuku flashed a gold coin, making the man blink in surprise. "That can't be real right?"
"Let him in already," A voice spoke from above. "You don't really expect him to spend his coin out in the street do you, Clyde?"
"B-Boss!" The blonde spoke.
Izuku looked up and beheld the man who would become a constant thorn in everyone's side regardless of allegiance. He had messy black hair, fine features, and a thin strip of a beard between his lower lip and his chin. He was wearing fine leather attire, a half cape on his back, a belt across his shoulder and waist, and a holster on his left hip which had a gun.
'Well guess this isn't a high fantasy world after all,' Izuku thought to himself as he called out, "Reaver I presume?"
The man on the balcony bowed. "In the flesh, I was having a portrait done when I heard the conversation. You seem to know my name, but I don't know yours."
"I'm new to town," Izuku replied, holding up his heavy coin pouch showing why he was there.
Reaver's dark-brown eyes gleamed with greed. "Well come on in then," He made his way back inside and Izuku and Yunyun were allowed to pass, but not before they heard him say to the painter. "Do you really think my cheeks look that chubby?…" Bang! "Clyde, do come up here and clean up this mess!"
The blonde sighed, mumbling, "Fourth time this month," before he called, "Coming boss!"
The interior of the Deadman's Den was full of tables. Some were long, others were short, and all manner of people were crowded around them. Some were throwing dice, others were playing card games, even more were enjoying the finer things in life like booze, drugs, and women. The smell of tobacco smoke was heavy in the air, causing Izuku's enhanced senses to act up. On the far left of the room was a makeshift bar. That was basically boards nailed into the wall with bottles of drink that varied in quality of pond scum to top quality liquor. If Izuku didn't look wrong, he spotted some sake and plum wine. Where did Reaver get that?
"Sorry about that, I had to think fast and," He was cut off by Yunyun squeezing his arm to hers a bit tighter. He saw her red cheeks and figured she was ashamed of what he had done to her.
"Don't worry about it, it got us inside. Now, what though Glaer?" She asked with her face slightly covered from leaning on him, "Even with all my magic I don't think we can take all the people in here."
There were over twenty people in this place and none of them looked too friendly. Every single person was armed with at least a dagger and Izuku saw a couple of heavy crossbows and even some greatswords among the people here. "Just give me a moment to think," He whispered. He had a silent conversation with BB. 'BB-chan, I'm really lucky thanks to you right?'
"Oh yeah!" BB happily informed him, "You could totally break the bank of this place if you wanted to… Fufufu! That's the plan, isn't it my little kouhai?" BB asked as she clapped her hands in sadistic glee.
Izuku just grinned. "Okay, I've got a plan. We're gonna go play some cards."
Yunyun looked at him dumbly. "Huh?"
Izuku grinned. "Just trust me," He said as he moved over to the left where a teller was in a cage and being guarded by some beefy looking guards who had metal-studded clubs in hand glaring at him suspiciously. The dried blood on said clubs showed the guards weren't just for show.
Izuku slid a gold piece across the slate towards the man. "What can I get for this?"
The man's eyes widened before he picked up the coin and bit down on it, then he weighed it on a scale much like Miss Luna had done before him. The man handed him several hundred black and white chips. Izuku gave ten to Yunyun and said "Go play some games sweet cheeks."
"Do you have any idea how many Eris you just gave me?!" Yunyun whispered back at him as she stared at him incredulously while he headed towards one of the tables.
"Nope now go have fun honey," Izuku finished with a wink.
Yunyun flushed a little bit. 'He's just trying to blend in, he's just trying to blend in,' She told herself even though she felt her cheeks burn red hot. After all she was just a failure of an adventurer. She just counted herself lucky that Glaer cared enough to include her.
~A Hero's Journey~
A Few Hours Later.
"Boss! We've got a problem!" One of the bouncers said as he opened the door to Reaver's chambers without knocking and looking away when he found Clyde on his knees along with one of the succubi servicing the boss.
"Do you fucking mind Jonathan? I'm clearly in the middle of something here?!" Reaver sighed before standing up and pulling up his pants, "Nevermind, you've killed the fucking mood now, so what is it!?"
"Um, boss, we've got someone downstairs close to breaking the bank," Johnathan replied awkwardly.
"Fine I'll be right down, and man the fuck up, it's not like you've never walked in on someone having sex before. This is a whorehouse and gambling den for goodness sake!"
"Yes sir!" Jonathan said watching the succubi as she walked out, ass swaying only to wince when Reaver smacked him upside the head.
"Test out the new merchandise later, lead me to this problem now," Reaver demanded.
"R-Right," Jonathan said, leading his boss out to the balcony. Reaver quickly leaned over and got a bird's eye view of what he considered his one of his many, small but profitable kingdoms. He quickly spotted the trouble. The cloaked man he'd let in earlier was sitting at a blackjack table surrounded by a small mountain of black chips. They surrounded him on either side, framing his face like twin peaks.
"How much is he up?" Reaver asked, intrigued.
"Ten million Eris," Jonathan replied. "No signs of cheating via magic have been detected. As far as we can tell, he's just that lucky."
Reaver whistled. "I see," He made his way down the stairs towards the game everyone else had crowded around. He tapped the sweating dealer on the shoulder. "Johan, go take five you look like a mess man."
"B-Boss! I-I'm real s-sorry I dunno how he does it!" The weasel-faced dealer replied.
Reaver just patted the man on the shoulder. "Some people are just born lucky. I should know, I'm one of them."
Reaver turned and faced the boy who looked relaxed. "Hello, gambler whose name I still don't know."
"It's Glaer," The young dark elf replied easily, finally showing his face to Reaver, "I hope you don't mind, but I made myself comfortable."
Reaver laughed. "Mi casa es su casa," Reaver said, widening his arms and gesturing around. "You've made yourself quite a haul," Reaver noted. "Could we perhaps comp you a room with free room service?" Reaver made a note of Yunyun standing not far away from Izuku and smirked. "I see you brought your own entertainment, two is always better than the one you know? After all, I know how much your kind likes to indulge."
"Reaver," Izuku said, with an edge of force in his tone. "I didn't come here to play cards or break your bank."
That caught the scoundrel's attention wondering what his motives were. "Ah, then what are you here for? Here to come get more money to fund your other habits? My, I have a few ladies who would just fit your taste. They are quite the screamers."
"Originally, I came here to collect the bounty put on your head by the Wet Dream shop. Now I think I might just enjoy myself with some entertainment," Izuku admitted, shocking Reaver at his blunt honesty. Also Izuku was quite confused at what other habits or tastes Reaver suggested he may have.
Reaver laughed while everyone else tensed and his men put their hands on their weapons. "Well, you're a bold one aren't you?! What changed, dare I ask? Wanted to dip into some of the money yourself? Or did you feel I was worthy of your full attention."
He motioned to the succubi servers all of whom were wearing nice red velvet but revealing attire. "They don't look like they're being forced to work here. No chains, no slave brands on them anywhere. So what's really going on here?"
Reaver nodded. "Perceptive, I like that in a man, of course for your kind cunning and perceptiveness keep you alive and your dick still attached," Reaver said. "To answer your question they aren't being held against their will, they work here, for me," Reaver snapped his fingers and pointed to the bar motioning for a couple of drinks which were quickly served. Two glasses of brandy were placed before the two. Swirling his in his glass for a moment before taking a sip, Reaver explained. "You see Glaer, the Succubi who come to me, simply don't get enough energy from draining what little energy they get from giving lustful adventurers dreams. Some, simply need more energy then what that job provides, while others are what you would call 'purists' who believe in the old ways, that is to say, fucking a man for his semen."
Izuku nodded. "I see, so they came to you because they had no other option," He sipped his drink. It wasn't bad, but he preferred the beer at the Braying Ass.
"Correct!" Reaver said toasting the young man. "So you see, the bounty being placed on me is quite baseless. Just something concocted by vengeful succubi who keep losing their workers to me is all. Honestly if I had a more alluring benefactor behind me like you or even Vanir. I would be quite pleased."
"What's the deal with them disappearing around the graveyard?" Izuku asked filing the name Vanir away for later research.
Reaver scoffed. "Of course, who's going to go into a graveyard at night since it's supposed to be 'haunted'? It's a meeting place for any new recruits since I don't want them being tailed back here. Honestly the only person who I see there is some lonely shopkeeper. Comes every few nights to talk to the dead."
Izuku nodded. It all made sense but… He just didn't know. Something just felt off. Like it, all fit together too well to be believed. 'BB can you tell me anything about this Reaver guy?'
"My sweet innocent child. The man before you is quite the deceiver. I would warn you but you have already caught on. Do not buy anything this man is selling. He will poison or shoot you before you benefit from him," spoke the mysterious benefactor from earlier.
"I might not like this lady but I agree with her kouhai. Also let me check," BB replied as she adapted her powers a little and started to connect across the world through the snippets she could find. The bits of divinity left in her connected out into the world and searched for relevant information to help her poor junior. She sifted through all the info until she found what little information she could find., "Hmm, he owns a boat called the Reaver. It makes bimonthly trips down south to the Demon Lords Territory where it is docked for a week then returns. The cargo is blacklisted but it always comes back with less cargo than it started with."
'What could his cargo be? The succubi?' Izuku asked.
"Could be," BB affirmed. "The Demon King would likely view the Succubi of this town as traitors. Hell, one of his generals is deployed nearby in a castle."
Izuku closed his eyes. Thinking over all the pertinent information given to him. Then opened them glaring at Reaver as he came to a dark conclusion. "Tell me, Reaver, how long have all of these girls been working here?"
"Suzie has been here a month and a half," Reaver replied motioning to a pretty blonde who waved at Izuku "Why did you want someone experienced?"
Izuku shook his head. "No, I'm just trying to figure out when your next trip up north is. Should be in about two weeks now right?"
Reaver suddenly stopped smiling. A scowl etched itself on his face, and his eyes burned with malice at that tidbit of information revealed. "How do you know about that? Wait, I should have figured you would have ears and eyes crawling around this place. I will have to spray later I guess."
"I've got people," Izuku replied calmly, ignoring part of Reaver's own questioning, leaning forwards. "So Reaver, as I see it you've got two options here."
"Which are?" Reaver asked as he downed his brandy like a shot and motioned for more. The tension in the room was palpable. Suzie, who was serving drinks, did so with trembling hands. The other men in the room started to reach for their weapons as the girls were shooed into another room.
Izuku ticked off on his fingers. "Firstly, you can not take that trip up north like you're planning to do and just keep the ladies here. I'm sure they make you quite the profit while also seeing to it their own needs are fulfilled."
"And the second option?" Reaver asked, throwing back another shot of brandy while reaching for his own pistol.
"I bankrupt this place, then report it to the adventures guild who will see to it that it gets shut down and the succubi get either returned to the Wet Dream Cafe or at worst deported. Everyone loses, except for me because I'd be leaving with all this," Izuku motioned to the mountain of money in front of him.
"What about the option where I kill you and put the girl on my next boat trip up north?" Reaver opined. Thumbing the handle of his pistol as he did so. The other patrons of the den started to gather around Izuku and Yunyun
Izuku shook his head in nonchalance at the tense atmosphere, "I wouldn't do that if I were you, see I told the whole guild I'd be down by the docks before I left and if I didn't come back by dawn tomorrow, they're to raid the place."
Reaver's knuckles popped with how hard he was clenching them. Eyes narrowed. He ground out through clenched teeth at being under someone else's thumb for once, "So what do you propose oh mighty drow?"
"Take option one," Izuku said, slightly astonished that Reaver knew his race's actual name. He pushed half of his winnings back towards Reaver. "I'll even pay you to do it."
Reaver sighed out a laugh at the bad joke. "With my own money?"
"It's either that or I break your bank and leave you with nothing," Izuku replied, his own eyes as hard as Reavers. "Also, I'll be checking in on the girls from time to time, you understand right?" He said with a fake smile that was all teeth.
Reaver sighed in annoyance. "Of course you will, I suppose I should count myself lucky. No one comes out unscathed when dealing with your kind. I swear they are just harbingers of chaos wherever they go!" He then motioned Izuku away. "Now get your money and get out of here before I change my mind and decide to tempt your goddess to smite me."
"Sure," Izuku replied, slightly confused about how he knew about BB, collecting all of his chips. "You won't see me for at least another week."
Reaver chuckled mirthlessly while drinking another shot of brandy. "Don't trust me, do you?"
Izuku gave him a look that consisted of a quirked eyebrow, "Why would I trust a poisonous snake? Or a better comparison is a venomous spider."
"Get the hell out of my casino spider spawn, and take your partner with you," Reaver called over his shoulder.
"We're going Reaver, and remember I'll be back," Izuku called as he left.
"I'm counting on it," Reaver said as he sipped his brandy. "What an interesting young man. It seems this business transaction is a dead end. Oh well I have plenty of other opportunities to profit. Besides, anyone associated with her is bound to bring me some enjoyment in my boring life."
~A Hero's Journey~
"That… That was amazing, Glaer!" Yunyun praised, practically skipping as they walked along the pier making their way outside of the northern district of Axel. "You stood up to Reaver, and actually got us out of there alive!"
Izuku sighed in relief, glad he was out of there. He was confused at all the things Reaver said about him though, "It was dangerous and stupid, but it worked so I guess it wasn't stupid." He looked to Yunyun apologetically. "Sorry again for kissing you on the cheek like that."
Yunyun blushed and waved her hands at him frantically. "N-No no! D-Don't worry about it! It was a good plan and got us in the door."
Izuku nodded. "Good so I'll see you at the guild tomorrow then?"
"T-tomorrow?" the Demon Clan member asked half hopefully.
The warlock in training nodded. "Well yeah, we're partners. I thought we made a pretty good team… I mean unless you're busy…"
"NO!" Yunyun denied. "I mean no I don't have any plans. I'd be more than happy to partner up with you for as long as you like."
That caused Izuku to grin. "Great. So I'll see you tomorrow then. Where are you staying anyway? I can at least see you back to your place."
Yunyun blushed and looked at the ground, "Umm, in a tent."
Izuku thought he had misheard, "Did you say a tent?"
The girl nodded sadly embarrassed. She worried Izuku may be ashamed of her and leave her behind like oh so many other teams did. "Yes."
The messy-haired elf nodded and surprised her with her next statement again that day. "Right then follow me."
~A Hero's Journey~
He led the way back to the guildhall and quickly found Miss Luna. "Luna-san, I'm going to need to rent another room for Yunyun please."
The blonde woman smiled. "Of course, I'll get a room set up for her right across from yours alright?"
Izuku bowed respectfully. "Thank you, Luna-san," He then turned to his partner. "Did you leave anything important at your campsite?"
Yunyun, with tears collecting in her eyes, shook her head as she smiled. "No, and thank you for doing this. I'll pay you back, I promise."
The new bounty hunter on the block shook his head, "Don't worry about it, let's just focus on forming a good party, yeah?"
Yunyun's eyes glowed crimson in excitement. "Right!"
He turned to the Guild mistress. "What's for dinner Luna-san?"
The blonde smiled cheerfully. "We've got all manner of beef products. A group of adventurers took on a group of minotaurs and that got us several pounds of quality beef."
"Any steak?" Beef was a rare commodity on an island nation, but even Izuku and his mother afforded it from time to time.
Luna sent him a wink. "We sure do! I'll send a server over to take your order hon."
Izuku motioned to a short bench tucked in the corner near one of the giant windows. "Would you like to go sit down?"
"Sure," Yunyun chirped, practically skipping over to the table. Izuku found her cheer to be infectious and found himself smiling a bit himself as he made his way over. For a brief moment, he stopped worrying about how his mother was doing in his absence and about any potential backlash from Reaver. He let himself relax for the first time since he arrived in this new world.
Angling himself so his back was facing the wall and he was facing the rest of the open floor while his own form was obscured by both shadow and the open wooden door, Izuku turned to his new friend first real friend he's had since he was four if he didn't count Wiz which he sort of did. "So Yunyun, forgive me if this comes off as rude, but what did Reaver mean earlier when he said you were expensive goods?"
The girl looked surprised but not offended. "Oh! Have you never met or heard of the Crimson Demon Clan before?" When the young elf shook his head, she elaborated. "Well, that's what I am." She said with pride, "We're known for being powerful spell casters, and our eyes glow red when we get excited."
Izuku's own eyes lit up in recognition. "Oh! I thought I was just seeing things."
Yunyun shook her head and giggled. "Nope. My eyes were really glowing."
Despite it being so common, the boy looked impressed. "Wow, that's so cool. So you're a spellcaster and I'm a warlock which is also a spellcaster. Speaking of, I might need to get myself a patron."
"Might? I thought all warlocks needed patrons to cast their spells," Yunyun replied.
'BB, is that true?' Izuku asked.
"To a point, it depends on what kind of warlock you want to be, little kouhai," BB replied. "Warlocks can be everything from summoners to blaster mages. You lean more towards the hexer, a type of magic user that utilizes curses and debuffs andalso knows instant death spells."
'Thanks, sempai, what type of patrons can I get?' Izuku replied gently, leaving BB squeeing in happiness in his mind before he informed his companion. "Actually Yunyun, I'm a Hexer which is one who debuffs, curses our enemies."
"Oh wow! That sounds so cool. And you're also a bounty hunter?" She asked.
Before Izuku could answer, a serving girl approached with a pen and pad in hand, smiling nervously, "Can I take your order?"
"I'd like a medium steak, and… beer I guess?" Izuku said he didn't know what counted as a side dish in this place.
"Same, oh Glaer, get the myconid mushrooms to go with your steak!" Yuyun urged.
Having no reason to distrust a local, much less Yunyun, he nodded. "Okay two orders of Myconid mushrooms on the side please."
"Can I get this order right in for you," The waitress said before she scurried away.
"Kouhai can form pacts with The Archfey, Fathomless, Great Old One, Kraken, Noble Genie, The Raven Queen, Undead, Undying.
Izuku turned back to Yunyun, "Did she seem tense to you?"
Yuyun nodded nervously, "Yes, it probably has to do with your chosen profession."
Izuku rolled his eyes. "Me being a warlock again?"
The dark-haired girl nodded. "Yes, warlocks are notorious for enthralling women or monsters with their magic, keeping them as slaves, having their way with them, and then leaving them pregnant with a child or killing them if it looks like they might lose to a strong party of adventures. The weirdest part is I don't know where that rumor came from. Warlock's don't have access to enchantment magic."
Izuku shook his head in disgust and disbelief. "Well, I'm not like that."
Yunyun nodded. "I know you're not. Glaer is a good person. Unless you pick a patron of lust, what are the odds of that."
"Thanks and I agree," Izuku appreciated her faith in him. "At least you and Luna-san accept me."
Yunyun looked around before she leaned in and whispered like a gossiping schoolgirl. "Actually, I don't think Miss Luna would mind overly much if you tried to seduce her, considering how old she is."
The bounty hunter blinked in confusion. "Old? She can't be more than twenty."
"You really aren't from around here are you?" Yunyun stated more than questioned. "The marriage age in Belzerg is fourteen since people die so often to monsters, the Demon King's army, or just tragic accidents. Seriously, there are a lot of deaths around here."
"F-Fourteen?! Really?!" Seeing Yunyun nod Izuku ran a hand down his face. "Wow, I'm already old enough to be married here."
Yunyun filed that little tidbit away for later. "So if you're not native to Belzerg, where do you come from?"
Izuku opened his mouth, then closed it. He was silent for a moment before he said, "That's… a long story, one I don't think you'll believe if I tell you."
"That's not true!" Yunyun said, leaning forward, "Glaer is the first person to ever want to partner up with Yunyun, or even… be her friend," Izuku felt a sense of kinship with this girl. He knew what loneliness was like. "So if he says something is true, she'll believe him. Can't be any more ridiculous than my school mate Arue."
She was giving him such an earnest look as she leaned across the table. Izuku couldn't help but smile. "Alright then, but you're going to have to suspend your disbelief for me alright because this is my origin story, and it's kinda unbelievably sucky. It all starts in a world where eighty percent of the population are born with something called quirks..."
He kept Yunyun entertained for over an hour as he explained what his life was like growing up quirkless in a society where having a quirk was everything, and how he died, trying to be the one thing he was told by the Number One Hero he couldn't be, a hero. "I guess in the end, All Might was right. I really couldn't save anyone, much less Kaachan."
"You're wrong!" Yunyun said vehemently as she stabbed the remnants of her steak, crammed it into her mouth, and chewed it furiously before swallowing before she continued, "You tried to save someone who was nothing but an absolute jerk to you, that was nothing less than heroic. On top of that, you did something while actually trained heroes were doing nothing!"
Izuku smiled, a bit sadly. "True, but in the end, I died so All Might was kinda right."
Izuku felt a phantom smack across his head, "Stupid kouhai. Calling you a failure means that you don't deserve anything good. Does that mean you don't deserve or want me? Does a failure not deserve their happiness and dreams?" BB almost screamed in his head at his own idiocy.
Yunyun shook her head. "My papa once said, All it takes for the wicked villains to triumph is for good men and women, each capable of being heroes, every one of them to do nothing." It was one of her father's less childish moments. She continued, "You said you died?"
Izuku nodded. "I did, I ended up meeting a goddess calling herself Aqua. She was so impressed that I died the way I did. She gave… someone to help me become a hero. I don't really feel comfortable calling her a quirk, but her name's BB."
"Fufufu, love you too my precious little kouhai," BB cooed.
Yunyun looked around, upon seeing no one she asked, "Has she been following us?"
Izuku was quick to reply."She's noncorporeal. It's why I knew about Reaver's boat trips," Izuku replied, "She's a font of information among other things."
"Hey, hey, kouhai, I wanna try something gimme a minute okay?" BB requested.
"Alright, BB said she wanted to try something," Izuku explained, upon seeing Yunyun's questioning look.
[Party invite sent to Yunyun, Lv.10 Wizard/Lv.1 Archwizard]
"Eep!" Yunyun said, jumping in her seat when she saw a screen pop up in front of her. "Is this the thing BB was working on?"
"I think so?" Izuku replied, just as confused as Yunyun herself.
Yunyun reached out with a finger and pressed accept.
[One moment please while the admin calibrates stats to the current system.]
A stat page popped up just a minute later in front of both herself and Izuku.
Name: Yunyun
Str: 10 0 bonus
Dex: 12 +1 bonus
Con: 12 +1 bonus
Int: 18 +4 bonus
Wis: 8 -1 bonus
Cha: 8 -1 bonus
Luk: 2 -4 bonus
Izuku looked at it and questioned, "Yunyun… how do you have a minus four luck bonus with a stat of two?"
"I don't know?" Yunyun replied confused. "To be honest, I don't know what any of this means."
"I can answer any questions you might have Yun-chan," BB said with slight sadistic glee.
The dark-haired crimson eyed girl blinked at the melodious voice she heard in her head. "BB, I presume?"
"Fufufu, yes. I'm the artificial goddess BB-chan! Here to answer all your questions."
'Oh no, 'not another' eccentric person!' Yunyun thought with dread.
"BB-chan isn't a chunni, she can actually back up her talk," The AI Goddess defended instantly, understanding how infamous her clan was for their behavior.
Yunyun nodded in slight awe that she was in the presence of a Goddess, "Okay, so what does all this mean?"
"These are your abilities as a person. You get thirty points to spend however you like… I can make recommendations. BB recommends you do something about your truly horrendous luck. She's never seen a stat so low in her artificial life ever. And she knew an archer with quite terrible luck. Also a spearman who had a propensity for dying."
Yunyun didn't need to be told twice. In fact, if she was reading that thing right, the only things she had going for her was her intellect, her dexterity which was gained from running away from others and being healthy. In a rare display of determination, she decided to fix most of that right now.
Name: Yunyun
Str: 12 +1 bonus
Dex: 18 +4 bonus
Con: 16 +3 bonus
Int: 20 +5 bonus
Wis: 12 +1 bonus
Cha: 14 +2 bonus
Luk: 10 0 bonus
"There, that takes care of that 'horrendous luck' of mine," Yunyun said happily as she felt a sudden surge of power rush through her body. She felt heady like she'd drunk too much, but she knew that wasn't the case. She was quite literally drunk with newfound power at the moment. She hiccuped a bit. "I hic, feel a little hic dizzy hic Glaer."
Izuku was by her side in moments fretting over her. "Okay, let's get you in bed for the night Yunyun," He tossed some silver on the table as a tip for the waitress before hefting the unsteady Yunyun to her feet. "C'mon just lean on my shoulder, that's it just one step at a time," He said, leading her up the steps giving no one else any mind as he led his partner away. If he had given the room a once over he would've seen others in the guildhall giving him distrustful looks as he led Yunyun up the stairs towards the rooms. How all the waitresses muttered how Izuku may have been that kind of warlock in reality. He got her cloak off and tucked her into bed with her clothes on. "Feel better Yunyun."
Izuku retreated to his own room just across the hall, happy this day was over and fell into his bed.
"Now that we are alone kouhai, we should really pick your patron," BB pointed out.
"Who or what do you suggest BB. I am quite tired for the day so I might just pick them and then go to bed," stated Izuku
"That isn't an easy question. Patrons can vary across many different spectrums. I could suggest safe ones but if you want the biggest bang for your buck. I would suggest the Great Old One, The Hexblade, The Great Djinn, or The Fathomless. Each comes with their own benefits. One offers eldritch knowledge, one offers curses, one gives you the benefit of wisdom and resources while the last taps into the unlimited potential of the sea."
"Hmm I mean I want to be able to defend Yunyun as she is a spellcaster. I don't really want to risk tapping into eldritch knowledge right now. I know horror stories about them in my world. Besides the river I have no idea how close we are to the sea. Also I am fine for resources right now. So I think Hexblade would be the safest option."
"Good choice kouhai. I will work on something for later if you want other patrons."
"Thanks BB and good night," Izuku finished as he went to sleep.
A blue screen appeared over Izuku as he dreamed of a mysterious new and unknown world.
[Hexblade patron chosen. Linking into the MoonCell database for appropriate patron.] [Patron Found. Connecting to Servant Foreigner!]
The shadows of the room grew long, the candles darkened, and a sultrily cackle was heard, "Oh my! Oh my! My first cultist! How amusing."
(...)
Words: 16,820 Number of Pages: 35 Date Completed: 12/3/2022
(...)
AN: Hello Snowy here. This chapter is a rewrite and edit of a Bard's tale. Bubba has received a lot of help recently with writing and his ability to concentrate. We decided to edit this story and make it darker. Now unlike our other stories we are posting this story free of charge on fanfiction. We have another story on that is for a new RWBY story if anyone is interested. We are looking for patrons to help support bubba's endeavor in writing. Please be considerate of all the hard work Bubba does. Thank you kindly for your time. The is located at www . Bubbajack
Again thank you and now to turn the mike over to the Author himself Bubbajack.
Hello everyone! Yes I bet you never expected Bard's Tale would get a rewrite… well no one expected the Inquisition either so there! But seriously with the help I've recently gotten my mind is clearer than ever and I kinda realized Izuku as a Bard didn't make the greatest amount of sense… that and I could have so much more fun tortur- I mean playing with him if I made him a drow and a warlock… the best combination for an evil person given to an intrinsically good character like Izuku. Misunderstandings abound in the future ladies and gents and all for the lolz. For those of you wondering why I would do this… well it worked for Jim Butcher who has gone on record stating his career was made off of torturing his character Harry Dresden and making his life as miserable as possible. Same answer applies here. Come along with us as Izuku deals with a drow's innate instincts, and has to try not to fall into vice and debauchery, despite the urging of several entities to the contrary, all the while trying to become a hero while making some friends along the way. Now here's First Hassan to wrap things up.
Thank you Bubba(And about time). I have been waiting anxiously for this story to come up finally. Like what Snowy and Bubba said, this is a free story available to all of you lovely readers who have given not only Bubba the motivation but also me and Snowy as well. This is our gift to you. That will be all for now, good luck(Turning around while blue flames surround Hassan before disappearing).
That just about does it for us folks, till next time this has been an Icysnowsage, First Hassan, and Bubbajack production! Peace!
. This is our gift to you
