Izuku had stumbled onto an old military truck laying on its side, ancient, decrepit and rusting. A relic from a bygone era, when military vehicles used canvas to cover the back, not reinforced metal. It was designed for its time, and the greenette estimated that it was from the era of the second World War, at least from the design alone. Further research would confirm his hypothesis. A massive metal crate lay next to a rocky outcropping, with a path leading further up. Old files kept the papers inside from decaying too badly, but the ones that had been scattered to the wind were unable to be deciphered anymore. There was a box of old audio tapes as well, labeled V. King. Of the few files he could read, he found out a few important details: The US government had a program back here in the late 1940s, and that the crate contained one of them. Curious, he approached the massive metal container. It's lid was ajar, but he couldn't see what was inside. So, he analyzed the crate itself. A large emblem, with the code name of Pendulum, was painted on the outside. However, much of it had worn away, exposing the steel it was made from. He did find a mechanical latch, and attempted to push on it, with little success... but when he tried to pull it, it gave way and... success! The clack of old mechanics and the strain of metal greeted his ears, and after a moment, the lids popped clean open. The ancient mechanisms whirred as the platform the project item was resting ascended upwards for ease of access. Izuku was surprised that it appeared to be a suit. It consisted of mechanical legs with wiring going up to a battery backpack. The gauntlets also had functions, and the left handed one had a tape player integrated into the side. Checking the power, he found that it was in perfect working order. The suit, unlike the container, was fine. There were also pristine fresh clothes. They were a little big for him, but they were meant to fit an adult, not a high school dropout. The outfit was comfy. Long pants, fresh socks (he kept his shoes, as they actually fit compared to the other pair), an army green t shirt and a very well made leather jacket. On the right shoulder was a patch embroidered "E. Hall" with a single gold chevron below it, denoting military rank, and on the chest was a different patch designating them as a "Pathfinder". To Izuku, it was a subtle irony that these units were called pathfinders, as that was what he could be considered at the current moment. That's kinda what I am right now! Forging a path to find our history! There were a large collection of vintage cassette tapes, of which he could collect and store them within a small leather bag that came with the jacket, and of course, inside the watertight bag the greenette decided to store within. The first one, or the one marked first chonologically was the one he pulled out, thinking would help him the most; either by giving context for the military gear, or by being a direct audio manual for the suit itself. He slotted it within the wrist mounted gauntlet, where it was designed to go, and then fumbled for the controls... only to find that a flick of his hand was all that was nessessary to start the recording. The speaker on the gauntlet worked as if it had been made yesterday, booming a male scientist's voice. "Welcome to the Pathfinder Program! The suit you have access to is the Leap Effortlessly through the Air Functionality, or LEAF suit! It allows you to run faster than a cheetah, leap over distances one can only dream of, and even have power over life and death itself! All of these are part of the LEAF suit's functionality, and you were selected to test this new weapon to help end the war in Europe! Thank you for your service..." The tape ended, drifting off just as Izuku's mind was going into overdrive. The war in Europe... there hasn't been a war in Europe since... WW2! That was well over 1000 years ago, when the first quirk war happened! Amazed, he found himself admiring the pre-quirk tech. That war was one of the few cases in pre-quirk society where one side was heroic, and the other was villainous... Bringing his thoughts back to the present, he wanted to test the suit's capabilities. Tensing his muscles, he jumped straight up into the air... and found that he had jumped 7 feet high. He just jumped his height in a single jump! Amazing! That means I can reach that path up there... After he leapt up to the path, he activated another tape. This time, a woman: calm, collected, and just as fascinated by the valley as he was started to speak. "This is the journal of Virginia King, August, 1944. I have been brought to this valley to study the local history of the place. This is also the believed location of the legendary Lifeseed." He was estatic with it all, including his current progress: Great, A lead! When Izuku reached the end of the short path, he found that there were cutouts of pathfinders guiding him down the path. Only one way to go... He started to run with it, picking up speed. The wind ruffled his green hair as he accelerated up the ramp, and flew through the air at high speed. Laughing, he couldn't help but feel ecstatic as he ran around the perimeter of the lake. There is nothing like this! He leapt over a small river connecting to the lake, reaching a small clearing of dead trees. There was a dead deer in the middle. The tape played automatically, as if sensing the barren area around him. "The suit runs on natural, Amrita energy. By aiming the device on your right hand, known colloquially as the "god hand", you can give and take Amrita energy, sapping and giving life." Aiming it at the deer, he fired a burst of energy. There was little recoil, but it still had some kick. It was absorbed into the deer with a blue flash, and then the deer got up timidly. Seeing Izuku, it bolted away, back into the trees. Incredible... What can't this suit do? He leapt up the two boulders to the further path ahead. He checked his left arm, which had a power meter. There were 20 rounded squares divided into 4. Only one was lit up, displaying 3 out of the 4 bars as full. There were more Amrita orbs up ahead, so Izuku raised the god-hand and brought it to him. It filled the fourth bar. He tried to see if the others would fill up, but it wouldn't go beyond that fourth bar. As if registering his intent, the suit played an automatic warning. "You currently do not have the upgrades necessary to power up the suit any further. Please request battery enhancement." Right, I'm sure there are some in the Pendulum crates... There was a branching path ahead. One went up into the mountain, while the other followed the lakeside. He decided to take the upper path, maybe see the area around him. The Amrita energy also seemed to energize him as well as the suit, giving him boundless energy. Unfortunately, the path ended in a dead end enclosed by sharp, upward jutting mountains, but it wasn't a complete loss, there were two pendulum crates and an old tent still up here. These crates were made of wood and had to be manually opened. When he opened the first one, there was a beautiful medallion and some golden acorns next to it. The other crate held a glowing blue component and a note. The note explained that that was an energy upgrade to the LEAF suit. For a moment, he took off the battery pack and looked to see where it might go. When he opened it up, he was surprised that it was mostly hollow. He secured it in as well as he could before closing it up and reactivating it. When he looked on the display, he noticed a new bar in a different square. He now has access to 8 charges. Alright! This'll be great! Backtracking, he went up to the top of the hill, where he could see the whole path ahead of him. Starting a run, he felt the glorious sensation of wind through his hair as he picked up speed. Launching into the air with another hill as a ramp, he jumped over another river. Continuing to run, he made it to another set of trees, weaving between them and up the path which went into the mountains. He stopped when he saw another drop, and found ruins waiting for him. This time, there were more structures than he'd seen before. They were hints compared to this. Dropping down, he found that they held the same construction techniques, and this time there was a massive stone door. It had a depiction of an antlered monster, similar to modern interpretations of a Wendigo. How could they open such a door? It must be thousands of pounds of stone... He noticed a tree with lots of fireflies lingering about. The tree itself was dead, which confused him. So, he decided to see what would happen if he fired some Amrita at the tree. It came back to life, covered in leaves, but the fireflies left the tree for the small circular incision above the door. It powered up and lowered into the ground, he found himself amazed by the creation of this door. These ruins are powered by Amrita?! Incredible! They're just as advanced as prequirk society was, at least when it came to building techniques with stone! Another door lay ahead on the opposite side of the ruined square. Multiple dead trees with fireflies littered the area, and plenty of Amrita orbs floated nearby. Reviving the trees, a new audio clip from Virginia played. "These orbs of natural energy seem to power the structures built by the native people here. Doors make use of fireflies, amrita infused acorns, and there is even a rumored temple that makes use of medallions. It's remarkable. I've come to call the people of this valley Susurrians, as their culture seems to whisper through time. They appear to have influenced many different cultures throughout history... and it just has a ring to it, you know? I suppose that would make this Susurrus Valley." Susurrians, huh? With their influence, it makes sense to call them that! From what he'd observed, their architecture was reminiscent of Mayan or Incan architecture, thousands of miles away. And the Wendigo concept was common throughout upper Algonquin peoples. As Izuku walked through the new structure, he found a couple more crates. He found some more acorns, which he now knew could open some structures. The building ended in an open space with a massive hole in the middle. The route that would've been to the right was blocked off, collapsed, while the route to the left was a dead end, with some research equipment and two more crates, mostly containing files, ruined by rain. The only way forward was down through the hole. He noticed the floor at the bottom was shabby, on the verge of breaking. He knew that he wouldn't get hurt, as he would've when jumping earlier. Breathing deep to relax, Izuku jumped off the edge and broke through the floor below. He continued to fall down, deeper until it became too dark to see...