Chapter 27 -
Standing up from the ground and brushing himself off, he entered the gym. Almost immediately he had to pass another check and watched as Hado blasted a training dummy. The thing's head flew off and smacked into the cement wall of the gym. Flying over to the head and picking it up with a sigh, she bemoaned. "Not another one!"
"Midoriya!", he looked over to Togata. The older student was standing next to a machine with a foam pad on it.
He waved and was taken off his feet by the now excited Hado. "What are you doing here? Don't you have your training class?"
He gave her a quick hug and she dropped him. "It's been called off by the teachers. After the work studies finish, it starts up again. What are you three doing?" He noticed Amajiki was on the floor panting, badly.
"I'm trying to figure out if I can make a blank spot in my attack."
"For allies?"
She nodded with a smile. "When I'm fighting on the streets with Ms. Ryukyu, no one is ever in the way, besides the bad guys."
Made sense, most bystanders ran away. "What about Ryukyu?"
Hado made a pouty face, "She doesn't like standing in front of me when I fight."
He smiled. "I can see why. Any luck so far?"
She shook her head. "The most I can do is a slight curve." She held up her hand and blasted the defunk training dummy nearly square on. It only curved very slightly.
"I'm sure you'll figure it out soon. What about Amajiki?"
Her regular smile split her face again. "He's trying to learn a better fighting style."
He could see the logic in it. He was the protege of Fat Gum, a hero who was known for taking massive amounts of damage easily and dishing it back out. More than likely he probably felt he should be able to live up to the hero. "And Togata?" He could see the top student disappear underground and come back up to punch the foam pad. Strength testing?
"He says fighting All Might was like punching steel."
"He's trying to hit harder?"
She shrugged, "I think?"
He nodded, he wasn't sure what Togata could do honestly. He'd try and think of something later.
Hado got really close to him as she asked. "Do you wanna fight?" Her smile turned into a frown as she added. "No punching though."
Misaki snorted as he just smiled. "Sure, was there something you wanted to work on?"
She shook her head, "Not really. Just really wanted to let off some steam."
'Why don't we take them to the Shadowscape? It'd be better than sitting around in this boring gym. It would also make them stronger.' That idea gave him a bit of pause, it wasn't bad. His only worry though was Togata, he wasn't sure if his quirk would cause him to go down floors. 'We can check that by taking his quirk for a minute.' Another good idea, she was actually making herself worth the point today. 'Heyyyy…'
'I'm kidding. You're amazing Misaki, I'm glad I chose your perk.' She didn't respond so he addressed Hado. "I got an idea." He ran over to Togata, with Hado hot on his trail. "Togata!"
Said guy turned to him with a smile. "What's up Midoriya?"
"I got an idea. I need to borrow your quirk real quick."
He raised an eyebrow but held out his hand. "Sure."
'Transfer complete. Portal calculated.'
Snapping his fingers, he opened a portal a bit away and jumped through. Since there was a chance of coming back, he decided to leave it open. As soon as he exited the portal, he deposited himself right in front of the entrance that led to his first dungeon. Activating Togata's quirk gave him a really weird feeling across his whole body. Back at USJ, he didn't need to worry about this, but he quickly striped nude and put the items in the girls' pocket universe. He heard a sharp 'epp' when he took off his undergarments, he turned to see Hado covering her eyes.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gone through, I'll leave now." Floating backward she disappeared from sight.
Misaki was rolling. He sighed and activated the quirk immediately falling through the floor. He waited for a few seconds and when the timer on the quirk reached a minute he deactivated it. Falling in reverse was a weird feeling. Coming back up, he flew straight into the air. He cleared a solid 50 meters before he started floating back down. "That answers that." Once he reached the ground, he reached into the inventory portal and put his clothes back on.
The portal back to the school was also reaching it's timer. He could only tell because of the flickering color. With his low level the portals only lasted about 3 minutes. Walking through, he found Togata sitting crossed leg on the ground talking to the other two, who joined him. Sitting down with them, he explained his idea.
It had taken a bit of work but they agreed to at least give it shot as long as they could leave at any moment. He also promised himself the instant they complain about being hungry or tired, they would leave. He wasn't going to let them be nothing but 100%.
When they made it through the portal, Hado's natural curiosity overtook her and she immediately started looking around. "I forgot to say this, but there are no monsters on this floor, they only exist in dungeons like this one." He gestured to the stone square that acted as the entrance. His natural instincts flared to life as he raised his arms and caught the girl who fell from the sky.
"Damn it! You never let me do that anymore!", Aki pouted in his arms.
He smiled at her and set her down. She turned and looked at the other three. Her hair today was a baby blue and she was wearing her school uniform. Hado's face split into a smile as she zoomed in and took Aki into her arms, squeezing her. "She's so cute!"
With a snap of her fingers, Aki teleported out of the grab, her cheeks slightly pink. "My name is Hale Akito. I assume he's bringing you here to train?" She got two head nods from the boys, but Hado dived for her, taking the teleport as a challenge. Aki teleported again, this time behind him.
Togata, who was used to Hado's antics, looked at Aki with a confused stare. She must have noticed as she teleported away from Hado and in front of him. "What?"
He didn't jump at all from the sudden appearance. "Why do I remember you?"
Aki became confused before she remembered. "You were at USJ weren't you?"
He nodded and then it was like a piece of his mind was unlocked. "Wait you were that little girl weren't you? Your hair was a different color last time though."
She shrugged, "I decide that wasn't my color." Teleporting again to float in front of him, she addressed all of them. "You ready?" When she got three nods, she tapped something in the air and the three's HP gauges appeared in his top left interface. That also did remind him to do something he forgot last time.
He used Observe on all three of them. He had to resist the urge to whistle, but Misaki did it for him. Their stats weren't that abnormal, but their warning messages made them sound like supernatural beings.
[Name: Togata Mirio
Title: None
Age: 17
Level: 35
Quirks: Permeation (C)
HP: 2,210
Mana: 2,195
Stamina: 3,795
Str: 301
Con: 212
Dex: 234
Agi: 287
Int: 167
Wis: 136
Cha: 412
Res: 547
Blood of Heroes, Strength of Hope, Nerves of Determination. A beacon in your darkest hour.]
[Name: Hado Nejire
Title: None
Age: 17
Level: 34
Quirks: Wave Motion (B)
HP: 4,120
Mana: 2,420
Stamina: 4,375
Str: 96
Con: 412
Dex: 208
Agi: 242
Int: 198
Wis: 143
Cha: 482
Res: 463
Fear the fury of life. Happiness and strength intertwined.]
[Name: Amajiki Tamaki
Title: None
Age: 17
Level: 37
Quirks: Manifest (C)
HP: 3,460
Mana: 3,080
Stamina: 4,210
Str: 297
Con: 346
Dex: 184
Agi: 179
Int: 232
Wis: 192
Cha: 86
Res: 496
The devourer, the ravager, the annihilator.]
His [Observe] leveled up after using it on Hado, which allowed him to see titles. The problem was that none of the three had titles. He used it on Aki to double check.
[Name: Hale Akito
Title: Unrestrained Mage
Age: 7
Level: 26
Quirks: Gamer Lite (S), Transference (S), Dimensional Traveler (S) (Temporary)
HP: 2,790
Mana: 7,375
Stamina: 2,455
Str: 68
Con: 279
Dex: 82
Agi: 115
Int: 479
Wis: 498
Cha: 312
Res: 212
A blood bonded friend, a companion on the road to hell. Protected by a godling.]
'When did she get that title?' The message was new to him too.
Misaki shrugged, 'Sounds awesome though. I'll ask.'
'Mind asking her how titles are earned for normal people?'
She sent the message to Aki as the girl stepped on the square, teleporting them in.
Ping.
Bringing up the messaging window, she allowed Izuku to take the lead and show them the ropes. How did people earn titles? Didn't she explain this to him when he first asked? Thinking back, she was ashamed to admit, they weren't too helpful back then. She typed out the explanation of titles to him and yelled at him for not using [Observe] on her since she almost died in their first boss battle together. As for the message, she ignored that bit. No need to add more onto his plate.
She got the title right after she started falling toward the ground and before he saved her. Apparently destroying an HP shield that reduced magic damage by 95% was an achievement that deserved recognition. That was also how nongamers gained titles. So far the only ones she had seen with a title were veterans of war and the occasional combat pro who was low enough for her to observe.
She looked up at the small party, this dungeon should be ridiculously easy for them. The only potential problem should be the boss.
"There's so many!", exclaimed Hado.
Amajiki groaned.
"What's the plan of attack?" Togata instantly started analyzing the scenario.
Aki spoke before him. "We normally just deal with it all in one fell swoop. Do you just want us to deal with it?"
Two of the three shook their heads, while the third nodded. "I think we should be good, Nejire?"
"On it!" She flew over the edge of the balcony and began her assault.
"Come on Tamaki lets go help!" Togata laughed as he jumped off after her. Amajiki sighed as swallowed the last of his quick meal.
He looked at Izuku and gave him a very brief stink eye. He then jumped over the edge and started changing his fists into tentacles. "Chimera Kraken." As soon as he landed, all hell broke loose among the shadows ranks. Nejire with her quirk was wiping out waves of the things while Amajiki was keeping the vicinity under her clear. Togata was taking out anything that came close to either of them.
"They're strong."
He laughed as he sat down next to Aki on the top step. "Kind of an understatement."
She nodded. "Who are they anyway?"
"They're the top students of UA."
She seemed impressed. "Are you thinking of taking them down a floor?"
"Maybe, depends on whether or not they can handle the boss well enough."
"Who do you think it will be?"
He hummed. There were- woosh!
Aki, having found one of the mages in the shadows army, took it out with an icicle spear. The magic it had in its hands died out with a putter.
There were now four bosses in this dungeon. The Crusader, The Willow (by far the easiest for him), Milk Man and Princess. He was hoping for either Crusader or Milk Man today. Princess was a swordswoman who could cleanly cut stone in half. While he could easily kill the demon tree, he had a feeling it wouldn't be easy for these three, even if they were strong. Milk Man was a Minotaur that had underlings, the addons weren't too bad and if you could keep out of the way of boss' gore attack you were good.
He looked at Amajiki and Togata's gauges and noticed that neither had taken much of a hit so far. The worst one off was Amajiki as he was draining his Stamina fighting hordes. Hado was doing fine, and with her being in the air, none of the shadows could get her.
"Are you going to help with the boss fight?"
He nodded, "I'm not taking the risk, I'll heal them after this and we'll head straight for the second Mini-boss."
She let out a yawn and stretched. "The base is coming together."
"Really? How close are the runes?"
She gave him a so-so gesture. "Maybe halfway? I'm having to develop new runes and algorithms for it."
He smiled. "Better you than me."
"Yeah because you'd blow the place to smithereens." Whoosh. Another mage taken down. "Wait I just remember something!"
"What?"
"Titles!"
"What about them? Misaki read your message to me and I'm sorry by the way."
She shrugged, "It's k, but I forgot to tell you something. Titles tend to give you bonuses depending on how you got it."
"Really? What does yours give?"
"20% boost to all magic damage and a 15% reduction to mana cost on all offensive spells."
He whistled, "That's pretty good."
"It is, but it comes with a drawback. If I'm stuck in any way, I not only lose the buffs, but my mana costs go up every second I'm caught."
"That makes sense actually." After a quick peek at their gauges, he asked. "Why haven't I got a title yet?"
She shrugged, "Maybe USJ wasn't a big enough achievement." He supposed that was possible.
Standing, he decided to end this room as their stamina gauges hit 50%. "Solar crust." Fire and light rolled off his arms, on to the floor below. Any shadow that came into contact with it instantly bursts in ashes along with half his health bar. Making a circle around the big three, he sent the fire out in all directions. "Dark Side." To keep them from burning alive, he absorbed the heat from the middle of the circle and pulled it into himself. He felt his skin sweat instantly and then the sweat evaporated.
Jumping into the circle, he waited for the battle to end to start healing them back up. Nejire floated onto the ground and sat in a chair Aki made for her. "Is there always that many?"
The young girl nodded, "Yeah, it hasn't really changed since the first time I was here, but the enemies are different."
"Is that what you were taking out?", asked Togata.
Again she nodded, "There were some enemies that can do one or two things we can, mixed into that mess."
Amajiki let out a breath and slumped into the other chair. "Not my most favorite version of training."
He smiled, "The first time I was here, Hale and her sister did all the work for me. The most I did was pretty much throw a dart into the mob. Her sister did most of the work." Handing each of them a bottle of water, he told them. "There's a single enemy before the final boss. Aki and I will help with them, I'll act as the decoy and take as much of the attacks as possible. If you get hurt, go to her and she'll heal you."
He got three nods and after calling back the fire, they went on to finish the dungeon.
—
After what felt like five hours they finally arrived at the final boss room.
Hado was floating next to him, watching him play around with a multicolored mana dagger. "Are you any good with it?"
He nodded, "I can use blades of any shape or size, and I can use spears. Any other weapon isn't my forte. If I need to though I can use an axe." Desummoning the knife, he created an ice axe.
"What are you? What even is your quirk?" She was giving him a curious stare.
He smiled at her. "Secret."
She pouted at him but didn't push it. Looking at the boss door, he paused and looked back at his friend. "Aki?"
"On it!"
[Buff gained: Matriarchal Protection]
He looked at each of them. "Stay behind me, if we're in danger, I'm going critical. I'll stop the fight before it can begin."
Togata frowned like he wanted to say something, but held his tongue and nodded. "We'll follow your lead."
He nodded and turned back to the door. Touching it, he received the prompt.
[Do you wish to enter the Boss Chamber?
Doing so will prevent you from leaving until the boss is dead. There is no escape from this dungeon until it is done.
Do you wish to proceed?]
Misaki hit yes and after a swirl of darkness they appeared in the familiar cavern of darkness and crystal. Sitting on a crystal throne was the lithe female figure of Princess. Misaki groaned as they saw her, she wasn't a fan of getting covered in thousands of cuts. It also meant they had to end the fight quickly.
"[Momentum Bomb]."
As soon as Aki's spell hit him, he flew forward and clapped. Just like with Denki's supermove, he stole this from Kendo. "Stellar Wind!" Channeling One for All into his Heliokinesis and hands, he sent a full burst of energy at the boss. It sent her flying into the back of her throne, leaving the normally agile enemy open to attack. Twisting a bit, he channeled One for All into his right foot and flew forward with even more speed he had before.
"Nejire Jet!" A swirl of life force hit him and sent him into a dizzying spin. He heard Misaki gag.
"Spiral Phoenix Smash!" Fire and light started spiraling off his body until he smashed his foot into the boss and throne. A boom resonated across the cavern and the crystal throne's top half smacked into the wall.
With his only good foot, he jumped a bit back and fell onto his butt. He used [Observe] on the body and started laughing alongside Misaki.
[Lady Gytha, Princess of War
HP: 54 / 1,620]
As the boss jumped back onto her feet, she disappeared into her normal blur. As he wasn't able to dodge, effectively, he was about to kick off but stopped. A clam shell appeared in front of him and tanked the hundreds of cuts meant for his face. "I thought you would end this. Nejire even helped you." Amajiki didn't sound annoyed more tired than anything.
He smiled, "I can't be the only one to have fun."
Suneater sighed and he saw Togata appear from the ground going for a strike on the boss. He ended up missing as she disappeared again. "Midoriya!" He looked at Hado. "How do we hit it?"
"Lemillion trip her, Hado hit her and Amajiki tank."
She nodded and flew into the sky, with Amajiki standing below her. Clam shells began to form all over his body as he prepared to take more hits. He didn't see Togata, but that wasn't surprising. Aki walked over as he started healing himself and began to watch the big 3 try to punch a ghost.
"HP?"
"54. She's going to be even faster now, but they should be fine." As soon as he said that, they heard Nejire shout out an attack. He turned to see Nejire blast the boss of its feet, into Togata, who appeared out of the wall and wollaped the boss on the side of her head. The both of them received a notification of the bosses defeat, and watched as the boss disintegrated.
'Dang it!', shouted Misaki.
'What?'
'We were only 27% away from leveling One for All. I thought we'd level with that fight!'
"Anyone besides Midoriya hurt?", asked Aki with a smile. She got three head shakes.
"Are we done?" Amajiki was slowly starting to slump over.
"Yeah, Izuku can send you back where you came once he gets better." She waved and opened a portal for herself. "I got to get back before dad notices! Bye bye!" Hado smiled and waved as she was caught creeping closer toward Aki.
He waved alongside the three and watched as she disappeared.
"So who is she?" Togata sat on the ground next to him, with Amajiki not far behind.
"She's a friend I made last year. I met her mom who introduced us before she died. Her and her sister are some of my best friends."
"And her quirk?"
"Her mom originally found me because of my quirk. Along with her daughters, all three of us share similar quirks."
"Wait so she can punch stuff to oblivion too?", Togata sounded amazed.
He laughed as he shook his head. "No. She mainly focuses on what we call spells. If you see her punch something that hard though, I'd really like to know."
"What about her sister and mom?"
"How do I catch her?" Hado scooted closer to him with a huge smile.
He smirked. 'Do I betray the trust of my friend?'
'Yes.'
"I'll teach you how tomorrow. As for her mom and sister, I honestly have no idea how her mom fights, I've never seen it. Her sister is a summoner of sorts. She can open portals like us, but can bring creatures out of them."
Amajiki sounded quiet when he asked. "How did her mom die?"
"She died fighting a villain. Her mom was Absorbent Girl, who died last year."
Togata nodded. "I remember her. The Nighteye agency was in charge of the investigation when it was still fresh. When all trails went cold, we handed it over to the police who considered it a cold case. Do you know anything?"
Wait, so he was going to be an investigator now? He shook his head. "None. The only thing I know is that she never told her kids or husband." Togata sighed, while Hado looked depressed now. With his body finally healed, he opened a portal for them. "Don't feel too bad for what happened. They both know and believe their mom died trying to save people. They'd hate it if you felt pity for them."
"[Tempest]!" The lightning aura sprung to life and began to fry the smaller monsters that stood in his way. When the second wave started attacking from his flank, a massive burst of life force blew them back and sent them flying into the abyss. "Thanks Nejire-chan!"
She smiled and flew over to help Amajiki who also started to get swarmed.
It was their third day in the Shadowscape. The three of them had taken to the place with ease. After clearing a second and third dungeon the other day, he decided to take them to the second floor and challenge them a bit with something that was on the easy side of floor two. The dungeon they were in was called, The Ravine. A massive single room floor with the not so simple objective of getting from point A to B while defeating a certain amount of monsters.
The stretch of path he was walking down currently was nicknamed, The Drop. On either side of the path, two deep gouges were carved into the stone and didn't end. Both holes were considered kills for the counter, so it was where they farmed kills before making a rush for the boss room. "Solar Crust." To give Togata, who was tossing the mobs one by one off the edge, a bit of a breather, he covered the whole pass in the fire.
'HP at 35%.'
'I really hope we can make that cheaper.'
'Yeah, because it would be totally awesome to end all fights instantly.'
He shrugged at her sarcasm and waved at Togata. "You okay?"
The older student nodded and wiped a bit of sweat off his brow. "Good. It's a nice workout." He looked over at Amajiki and Hado fighting on the other side. "How far is the boss? What is it anyway?"
"It's a worm the size of this tunnel. The final room is a gigantic hole with tunnels coming in and out everywhere. You have to attack it while it is outside of the tunnels and dodge its acidic spit."
"Sounds fun."
'He just had to say the f word.'
'Not now.' "[Frost Giant's Weapon]!" Picking the spear up with his gravity, he threw it and cast Momentum Bomb on it. It pierced the hide of the now upgraded worm and shattered with a boom. "Amajiki!"
The older student jumped up to the open wound and with razor sharp clam shells, started sawing. When he was deep enough to draw blood, Hado tossed Togata who was holding a crude bomb. As soon as he made it to wound, he phased out and dropped the bomb into the already closing wound. Using a bit of gravity, he pulled Amajiki toward him, giving Togata the all clear. "Bird Food!"
The worm stopped for a second, then the now closed wound erupted into fire. A loud shriek came from the creature and it went for a tunnel. Good news was, it's wound didn't heal the scarred tissue.
Grouping together, Togata gave him a high five. "Good job. Give me a second to create another one. Maybe two more times and we're done."
"Finally." Amajiki took one of the snack packs he pulled out of a portal along with a satchel of gunpowder.
He smiled as he pulled out his knife. "We'll head home after this. You have patrol right?"
While taking a bite, he nodded, "Fat Gum got a tip on a drug ring, we're heading there tonight."
Togata watched him as he began to work. "Next week, Sir says we're going to be investigating something about the hero killer."
He looked up and frowned. "Are we to take him out?"
Togata shrugged, "We'll talk to the police then decide."
From up in the air Hado, who was keeping watch, called out. "I saw it slither pass!"
"Get ready." Putting the final touches on the bomb, he handed it to Togata. "Remember, don't risk getting hit by acid, it's not pleasant." The guy nodded and ran behind a boulder below Hado.
He looked at Amajiki. "You good?" The guy sighed and mumbled something, but nodded. "I'll grab its attention then." Jumping into the air, he started summoning spears and casting [Thundered Weapon] on them. "Come on out!" He threw a spear at the hole Hado pointed out.
After a few more spears, a shriek resonated across the hollow walls followed by a glob of acid aimed for him. '[Mana Shield].' Misaki saved their skin, as the first shot was just a distraction for the faster second shot.
'Thank you.' She just gave a thumbs up.
The worm died after two more rotations and to the absolute agony of Misaki. One for All hit 99.45%.
—
Looking around the room, he saw Iida and Momo talking at her desk. "Hey you two, what's up?"
Both smiled, and Momo gave a small wave. "We were discussing what we should do this weekend for the class."
He raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"
Iida pushed up his glasses. "We wanted to do something nice for the class and we came up with baked goods."
"Like cookies and cake?"
Momo shrugged. "We don't know. Cookies would be fine, but cake might be a bit much."
Iida nodded, "We also don't want to spoil their dinner or give everyone too much sugar."
He saw Momo's eye twitch. "We." The word was stressed quite a bit. "Are trying to find a happy medium."
He smiled, "Ask Sato. He said something about baking one day."
Momo's eye twitch calmed but was replaced by a hunger. "I'll talk to him as soon as I see him."
The door slammed open, which meant one of two things. Either Bakugo decided showing up early to school with the nerds was a good thing, or Aizawa was mad about something. He was betting on the second. "Midoriya, follow me!"
He smiled at the two of them. "See you soon." Spinning on his heel, he followed his homeroom teacher to his office.
"There was an attack."
All his confusion was instantly replaced by a simmering fury, courtesy of Misaki. "Who?"
"Student from another school. A national emergency is being called." They reached the office and sat down on the seats next to his desk. "The principal wants a buddy chart figured out by the end of the day. You'll be working with Shishida to work out who lives close together."
He let out a sigh along with the rage. "Is the student okay?"
He nodded. "He's being treated at the hospital currently. Luckily for us, he was the top student of Shiketsu's first years."
"I'll organize it with Iida and Momo. Was that it?"
"Your training with 1-B will begin the week after the next and tomorrow I'll have a lesson plan for you. That's it."
He stood and bowed. "Yes sir. See you in class."
'The fuck is wrong with people?'
He shrugged as he slid the door closed. 'If it's a mage, it's our problem so we get to ask.'
—
"How was patrol last night?"
Amajiki slid into the chair and hung off the edge. "Fat Gum and I were called to the attack last night. By the time we got there, the kid was covered in blood and unconscious. We cared for him until the ambulance showed up. Spent all of last night at the police station."
He reached over. "[Medic's Respite, Emergency Aid]. That should help a little, I can't get rid of your need for sleep, but I can take the edge off."
Togata, noticing his friend's state, said. "I don't think we should go tonight. Not only is he tired but all of us have patrol tonight, the attack lit a fire under the heroes."
Hado whined as she slumped forward on the table. "I don't wanna be tired."
'That'd looked cute.'
'Please no.'
Togata laughed. "You'll be fine. Haya will keep you awake." She let another whine.
"Wanna go on a walk?" The three of them raised an eyebrow at him. "We can take a break in the world I use for portals. The natural fauna shouldn't be an issue and there's some wicked landscapes we can check out."
Hado's eyes lit up. "Can I take pictures?"
He smiled and nodded. "Sure."
—
"What is this world anyway?", asked Togata.
"No clue. Apparently the Hale's tried finding out, but there hasn't been any intelligent species on this planet. Not a single building exists or unexplained ruin."
"So it's like a nature preserve?"
He shrugged, "I guess."
"Hey Amajiki! Do you want to try that?" Hado pointed at an armored lizard that was letting off steam.
"It doesn't look like it would appreciate that." The guy took a step back.
After Using [Observe] on it, he explained what it was. "It's called a Lava Skink. Apparently it's not natural for it to be near the surface."
"How do you know that?", asked Togata.
'Shit.'
'No point in lying, they think you're ridiculous already.'
"I can bring information up on people and things. My brain translates it into information I can understand like stats in a video game. I have to be close to use it, but it's handy." Summoning a dagger he charged One for All into a finger and threw the dagger at the things tail, slicing a bit off.
The skink screeched and dived into the hole it crawled out of, a plume of smoke rising out of it. "Why'd you do that?"
He smiled at Amajiki who looked nervous at his friend's question. "There's a chance he'll be able to breath fire by ingesting it. Part of physiology is a fire sac near its stomach."
Hado grabbed her friend in excitement. "Tamaki that'd be so cool!" He made a face, but nodded, like it was killing him.
"Don't worry, I'll treat it and make it edible, I won't let you get sick."
That did little to change the guy's worried look, causing Misaki to giggle. A loud thump echoed off the valley walls, causing all of them to stop and stare. A few seconds later, a massive creature the size of a skyscraper came around the bend. It had the massive body of an elephant, with the fur and massive horns of a goat.
He heard the click of a camera and looked over at Hado. "What is it?", she asked.
He shrugged and jumped closer to it and used [Observe].
[? (Translation: Horned Mammoth)
This colossal creature is a world dweller. It scours the land for enough nutrients to sustain its massive size. Gestation periods can last up to 10 years if the mother is unable to find enough nutrients.
Lifespan: Up to 300 earth years]
Kicking off a solid air, he jumped back toward the group. "Called a Horned Mammoth. They can apparently be pregnant for 10 years."
"Hey Amaji-"
"No."
"But."
"No."
"Ple-"
"No."
Togata and him smiled at the exchange. Continuing their trek, they went until nightfall, where they made camp.
—
They spent two days exploring the world as tourists. Amajiki succumbed to Hado and he was tasked with collecting and preparing samples for him. So far out of their weirder finds, they had some type of eel that could freeze itself and the water around it for protection. They got another really lucky find with a bird that could use magic to disappear. He had no idea if it would work, so he prepared a leg for the guy.
"Here." He held out the now fire roasted leg.
Amajiki made a face, but took it. He could see the curiosity in the guy's eyes, but also the hesitation of eating such a weird animal. Taking a small whiff, he took a bite and made a face. "Tastes like a mix between a turkey and clam."
"Well, come on. Give it a go!" Hado was vibrating in her seat.
Finishing off the tiny morsel, he concentrated on his quirk. Hado, who was creeping closer and closer to him, was thrown back off her feet as Amajiki sprouted feathers all over his body. He might have purposely aimed to do that, but who knows?
"Think you can turn invisible?", asked Togata.
With a shrug, Tamaki shimmied the feathers. The telltale signs of magic took effect and he disappeared from sight. The only sign he existed was the ruffle of clothing, even his scent was erased by the bird's natural magic.
"I suppose I'll have to find more for you later. Pretty cool though. Want to try the eel?"
The older student reappeared shaking his head. "We know I can use the food here, no reason to waste it."
Hado floated up to him, "How much longer do we have?"
'By my guess, it's been 3 hours roughly since we came here.'
"We should probably head back soon. It's almost 6:30, roughly."
—
Exiting the portal, and saying goodbye to his friends, he walked out of the gym.
"So how was your vacation?"
He smiled as he turned to Nezu. "Mind answering how first?"
The principal hopped up onto his shoulder and answered as he walked back to the main building. "Their homeroom teacher informed me that you disappeared 3 hours ago."
He raised an eyebrow, "Does he always watch them?"
Nezu nodded. "Mr. Hikari takes great care of his students."
Hikari? He swore that name rang a bell. 'Kyoto incident, 7 years ago, he saved the city after 2 years of underground work.' That's right, he followed a terrorist organization the entire time and was able to arrest every single person without a single injury. What was his hero name though? 'The faded hero:'
"Shade?"
Nezu smiled. "That's correct."
Huh. Cool. "I took them on a camping trip. We found a couple of wild animals that will give Suneater even more fighting potential."
"Sounds nice, but how has your training been going?"
He smiled. "After quite a bit of prodding from Misaki, I went training after training yesterday and hit level 15. I can use Full Cowl, but any movement I use during it breaks my body. It ended worse for me than the game did."
Nezu smiled and patted his head. "You'll work it out. How about Transference?"
"Hit 21, Heliokinesis hit 15."
"Oh? Did you get anything for level 15?"
He nodded. "It's called Cosmic Halo."
His principal laughed. "Sounds Pretentious."
'See! I told you!"
He rolled his eyes. "Misaki agrees. It's a power up like Full Cowl, but burns me alive if I use it too long or too much."
Nezu hummed. "So OfA breaks your body while Helio burns you to ash. Sounds like you need to work on control now."
He sighed as he walked through the first door of the school. "I plan on some training this weekend, Aki is going to keep me from dying."
Nezu laughed as he hoped off. "Be sure you treat her to lunch. Headed up to Aizawa?"
"Yeah. He said something about preparing for my internship."
"Sign this." Aizawa pushed a paper over to him. "This." Another. "This." One more. "And this." He slid the final paper over.
Quickly signing the paperwork, he asked. "What is it all?"
"It's so you can't release any confidential information about what you're doing."
He nodded. "Togata told me that we'll be tracking the hero killer."
Aizawa sighed as he leaned into his seat. "I know."
As he finished signing the last paper, he handed them all to his teacher. "Has Stain had any more attacks since Iida?"
He took the papers. "Three, and they've all been reported in Hosu City. In an effort to keep your classmates out of harm's way, we're not allowing any first years to get close to the city. The only exception will be you and that's only if Nighteye plans to take you there." He saw the man age a few years. "Please keep yourself out of trouble, you've been extremely lucky since school started. Don't let it run out."
He laughed a bit, "I'll try, sir."
—
"Is it ready?"
Aki nodded, a massive grin on her face. "Give it a shot." As he shrugged off his school jacket, she ran into an etched glass box.
"Solar Flare." His body instantly heated to the point of evaporating his sweat and started to turn his skin into a crisp. As his body quickly started burning away, he looked toward Aki through the bright light coming off him. He could barely make out her form, but she was safe. He cut the heat short and collapsed onto his knee. The giant glass box that he unleashed his inner sun in was glowing a bright blue.
"Flood the fields and bring new life." Water rushed all around him and started drowning him. Before [Gamer's Mind] could activate due to panic, the water began to evaporate into steam. "So? Can I get my prize?" He couldn't look at her, but he could hear the sound of her bouncing.
'Tell her yes, heal me and then we can go.' She let out a cheer and started healing his now nude body.
When he was finally able to move, he looked up at her and her large smile. His throat felt like sandpaper, "Any problems?"
She shook her head, "Nope!" She popped the word in English. "You need clothes!"
He raised an eyebrow as her cheeks started to heat up. "Uh-huh, why don't you leave and give me a bit of time?"
She hummed. "N-"
'Open it.' Misaki with a bit of giggle, opened a portal below the girl and a second below him. One sent Aki to a random planet he had been to before and the second sent him home.
Dropping onto his bed, he cast another round of [Emergency Aid] on himself and got dressed. 'So where are we looking first?'
'I guess we start in Boston and look in the records they have.'
'Hurray for trespassing!'
He rolled his eyes. "We wouldn't have to if her dad agreed to help."
'Maybe he knows something.'
He shrugged, "Maybe."
A portal opened in front of his door and Aki walked through with a small scowl. "Not nice."
He smirked. "You ready?"
She nodded and snapped her fingers. "Too America!"
Chapter End!
Investigation time!
Rune List:
R - Color Shift, Color Projection, Weak Illusion, Weak Slow
R+ - Connection, Container, Weak Down Rune (Strength, Constitution, Dexterity, Agility)
Q - Weak Fire, Summon Poison Cloud, Create Ice, Create Bone, Create Ash Cloud
Q+ - Parameter (Command), Size, Create Stone
P - Weak Rune of (Strength, Constitution, Dexterity, Agility)
P+ - Delay, Rapid, Amplify
O - Create Shadow, Emit Light, Summon Electricity
O+ - Parameter (Enter, Exit), Dimming Rune of (Intelligent, Wisdom, Charisma, Resistance)
N - Rune of Enduring (Strength, Constitution, Dexterity, Agility)
N+ - Condition, Linking, Shaping
M - Dull Rune of (Intelligent, Wisdom, Charisma, Resistance)
M+ - Parameter (Spell), Curse Down Rune (Strength, Constitution, Dexterity, Agility)
L - Rune of the Forgiving Reaper, Create Metal, Weak Expulsion
L+ - Amplify, Repeat, Collection
K - Moderate Fire, Create Dead Fog, Create Condensed Ice
Quirks:
Gamer 2.0 -
Currently Unlocked -
Observe
Party
Next Unlock -
Class (Lvl: 30)
One for All (Lvl: 15) -
Currently Unlocked -
All or Nothing (Lvl: 15)
Full Cowl (Lvl: 1)
Next Unlock -
? (Lvl: 30)
Transference (Lvl: 21) -
Currently Unlocked -
Quirk Transfer (Lvl: 21)
Memory Transfer (Lvl: 2)
Next Unlock -
? (Lvl: 30)
Current Powers -
Extended Duration I
Heliokinesis (Lvl: 15) -
Currently Unlocked -
Fire Resistance (Lvl: 5)
Cosmic Halo (Lvl: 1)
Next Unlock -
? (?)
Current Powers -
GyroKinesis
-Force of the Void
PyroKinesis
Solar Aura
Photon Molding
Current Hints -
Ra
Cancer
Blackout
Apollo
Death