"Huh…?" Izuku was laying on his back, still in the Instant Dungeon, when the walls began to fade, or rather, they began to restore themselves. Turning back into the pristine white halls of Japan's subway system, it seemed that the Instant Dungeon had collapsed, merging Izuku back into his original reality.

Despite that, there was nobody around him. It was late at night, that much Izuku was sure of, but Japan's subway system, especially Tatooin Station, was almost always running, and was never completely empty. Regardless of the hour the place should've been bustling.

"Hmm… this first I guess," Izuku said, shrugging off the weirdness to crush the Rune Stone in his hand.

[Skill: Speedstrike]

Toggled Skill

Mana Cost: 20 per second

Description: When this Skill is active, the Player will move 50% faster and will be immune to any environmental or debuff slows.

"20 Mana a second? A bit expensive. With my Mana at 305 I'd only be able to manage it for 15 seconds. Echo Attack is probably a better use of Mana." Izuku looked then to the 'Elemental Enhancement Gem (Earth)' as he began working his way out of Tatooin Station.

[Item: Elemental Enhancement Gem]

Item Class: E-Rank

Item Type: Earth Enhancement Gem

Description: Can be infused into weapons or skills to augment them with additional abilities. This change is permanent unless the Gem is removed, in which case the Gem will be destroyed, but can be replaced by another one.

"It works with Skills too?! Hmm… it's E-Rank… and the System says I can remove it to replace it with another, which means I'll get new stronger ones later right? So I shouldn't save it for something. The only question is what to use it on…" Izuku pondered as he walked out into the cool air of the starry night. Taking a deep breath, he welcomed the feeling of safety that came from being back in the real world. It was still all very surreal for him.

"Sir?! What the hell are you still doing here?!" A soldier rushed up to Izuku, making him jump from surprise. He hadn't even noticed the man approaching.

"I beat an E-Rank Dungeon, and what I assume is a low C-Rank Boss all by myself, yet I still jumped when a normal human approached me…" Izuku grinned sheepishly. "Uh… I was…"

"Oh… I see. My apologies. I didn't realize you were a Hero. Were there monsters down there?" The soldier asked, gesturing to Izuku's gauntlets, which he had forgotten to put away.

"Oh um… no, that area is clear."

"Good, then please come with me, some other Heroes are struggling not that far away with a Villain!"

"A Gate broke? This didn't have anything to do with the Instant Dungeon did it? I doubt it, but I'd be a little upset if I caused this."

When the soldier wasn't looking, Izuku pressed the Elemental Gem into Echo Attack.

[Skill: Echo Attack (Earth)]

Active Skill

Mana Cost: 35

Gem: E-Rank Earth

Description: Upon striking an enemy with this Skill Activated, stone spikes will attempt to piece them in the same spot. The spikes may come from the ground, ceiling, and walls, but if the ground is too far away, the Skill will not activate. The spikes will scale with the size of the enemy that was hit.

"The mana cost lowered… but I can't tell how good this is. If the stone spikes are strong, it may be an upgrade, but it could also be a downgrade now that it's a more specific Skill. And it relies on the enemy not being fast enough to dodge."

"Hmm…" Izuku grumbled to himself, not sure if he should be happy or disappointed. "Oh well… if it's that bad I can just remove the Gem."

"Sir?"

"Oh uh… sorry," Izuku waved the soldier off as they turned a corner, revealing a crowd forming around a draconic shape.

"A drake?" Izuku asked, beginning to run alongside the soldier.

"It's from a C-Rank Gate. It was the weakest Villain inside, regarded as a low D-Rank so we had the E and D-Ranks handle it while the other Heroes caught the bigger fish. But they're starting to struggle."

"Draconic-Type Villains are some of the most potent," Izuku informed the man. "Their physical abilities and intelligence give them a scale closer to one Rank higher! Regardless of the magic measurement tool's readout."

"And what Rank are you?"

Izuku wasn't sure what to say. Clearly he was far stronger than an E-Rank by now, but he was registered in the Hero Safety Commission as an E-Rank. If he told the truth, revealing he had a video game-esque Leveling System, he'd undoubtedly get hunted by someone looking for the same power. If he said he got a Reawakening, that would confuse the situation as he would continue to grow, yet get placed in lesser Dungeons.

"I'm a registered E-Rank!" Izuku answered, technically telling the truth.

The soldier's face slumped, but continued on all the same.

The Heroes were doing their best. With designated Tanks holding shields; Damage Dealers holding swords, daggers, or crossbows; Mages flinging magic from afar; and Supports giving buffs or healing.

If the group was to take on an E or D-Rank Gate, they'd almost certainly breeze through it. But this Villain was bordering on high D-Rank and was capable of intelligent strategy. The Supports and Mages were spending all their time dodging rather than healing or attacking because the drake knew that they were the big problem.

To make matters worse, there was an entire crowd gathered around the fight, taking photos like it was an attraction at Tokyo Disneyland. This meant Izuku couldn't just ask the other Heroes or soldiers to keep a secret because there would be video proof of him fighting on a level way above an E-Ranker.

"But… These people are in danger, they can't see it, but their Heroes are failing fast. I have to act."

"Please step aside," Izuku asked the soldier, crouching low, like a sprinter ready to take on the olympic track. "I didn't tell you my name did I?"

The soldier did as he was asked and squinted. "Uh… no…"

"Good."

[Skill: Speedstrike has activated.]

Like a bullet, Izuku took off from the ground. He wasn't going faster than a B-Rank or higher, but he was going fast enough to the point where the E and D-Ranks couldn't get a proper look at him, nor would any of the cameras catch him in the act.

Flying by the drake, which seemed to be the only thing able to lay eyes on him at such a speed, Izuku landed a strong, but relatively ineffective punch against such a large target. If he had put more effort into it, the drake might've flinched, but Izuku wasn't aiming to exert himself.

[Skill: Echo Attack (Earth) has activated.]

Izuku's Mana had barely regenerated enough to use those two Skills in quick succession, but as soon as he took cover behind a nearby building, hiding from both the drake and the onlookers, it dropped to zero once more.

But more importantly…

"What the fu-"

The Heroes cries of shock were cut short as massive spikes, sized perfectly for the drake, emerged from the asphalt, piercing it in multiple places and pinning it to the floor, bleeding profusely.

Izuku watched from the shadows as the Heroes took the chance to leap into the fray and hack away at the Villain stuck to the rocky formations. It took a few minutes longer for the thing to die, but die it did.

[You have Leveled-Up!]

"I got a level for that? Interesting. I would've liked to see what drops it had but… oh well." Worst case scenario, the soldier would remember his face and try to track him down, but Izuku didn't see that happening.

He sighed. It had been an extremely busy and tiring day, and he'd need to get up the next morning to get his Daily Quest done and repeat the cycle. So, remembering to hide away his gauntlets this time, he began his trek back to the hospital.

At the same time, he looked down, surprised to see that his Spiked Boots did not appear on his body. He still had the Stat Bonuses from it, but there was no sign of them. Even feeling around that area, it only felt like he was wearing normal shoes. So armor and accessories were basically just energy hovering around his body, impossible to be touched, but still present enough to utilize their powers.

The hospital was quiet by the time he returned in the wee hours of the morning, with only a handful of doctors and nurses still bustling about. They gave Izuku some strange looks, clearly concerned about the state of him and his clothing. His wound was healing, but it was still a pretty nasty looking injury. One that Izuku had almost forgotten about.

Izuku expected to immediately collapse into bed and fall into unconsciousness, but as he walked back into his room, he noticed a figure sitting in a chair near his bed. For a sparse moment, he panicked, thinking the dark shape was an attacker, but then he heard snoring.

As his vision adjusted to the shadows, he smiled. Yaoyorozu, with an IV connected to her arm, was resting in the chair, clearly waiting for him to return. He didn't want to make her wait any longer, but he was also hesitant to wake her. Not to mention, his mind was already fading into a fog of sleepiness.

"Tomorrow…" He promised the empty air, before falling into bed.

I've got finals and trips out of town coming up soon so I probably won't have another chapter for some time.