Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Over ten years ago, a series of gates linking the world to an alternate dimension appeared. The other side of each gate teemed with bizarre creatures called ‘magic beasts’, immune to conventional weaponry. Those who have awakened the abilities necessary to fight these beasts are called hunters. Based on the amount of magical power contained within their bodies, they are ranked in descending order as S, A, B, C, D or E-Rank. However, once these powers have awakened, no amount of individual effort can ever result in greater strength.

In this forsaken world, there are some extremely rare people who work like Hunters, but aren't Hunters themselves. Their job? Protect the people at their own expense. Someone who shows up to save the day. 

"Heroes"

[Present Day]

At a construction site, many hunters were present, chatting with each other. A blue jacket man was standing near the tea vendor, watching them as the vendor gave him his tea.

“Good luck with today’s raid.” said the vendor

The man smiled and took the cup. “Thank you.” said he.

He sipped his tea from it when he heard a familiar male voice, calling out to him.

“Hey, Kim!”

A man with weird hairstyle and green jacket with a bag and a sword walked up to him, smiling.

“Been a while!” said the man

The man, now named as Kim, smiled brightly. “Hey, if isn’t Park! What’re you doing here? I thought you said you’d had enough hunting.” said he.

The man, now named as Park, chuckled. “That was before my wife got pregnant with our second kid.”

“Makes sense. If the raid goes well, you’ll be raking it in.” said Kim

“I’m pretty nervous, though.” Park said while nodding “It’s been so long that I dunno if I’m still in good enough shape. Not like I was that strong to begin with.”

“Hey, it’s Midoriya!”

One of the men called out. A young man with boyish face, four freckles on each cheek spaced out to shape like a diamond and green messy hair walked in through the gate. He was wearing a sky-blue tracksuit and trackpants with white stripes. He was wearing a dirty yellow backpack. On his arms were white gauntlets and white gloves. Both of his cheeks were bandaged.

“Hey guys.” said Midoriya, smiling awkwardly at the men “Pleasure to work with you guys again.”

“Hey, Midoriya!” Kim called out to the boy “You eat before coming in?”

“Yeah. I got a proper meal. Thanks for asking, Kim-san.” Midoriya walked away.

Park leaned onto his friend while watching the young man walk away. He was curious about him.

“What’s with this Japanese guy? Is he a big deal? Everyone’s saying hello.” asked Park

Kim chuckled, watching Midoriya get greeted by the other members of the team. “Quite the opposite, actually. He joined up after you quit, being a former teacher. His nickname is ‘The Weakest Hunter of All Mankind’ alongside ‘The Softest Heart to Ever Exist’.”

“Weakest? Not strongest?” asked Park, surprised

“Nope. Like, a trip through an E-Rank gets landed him in the hospital.” said Kim “He might be the weakest hunter there is.”

“Out of everyone? He’s that bad?” asked Park, surprised

“So as a rule, you can assume any raid he gets called in for will be pretty easy-going.” said Kim

“I see.” said Park, nodding while smiling “What about his other nickname?”

“He tends to get emotional sometimes when situations are bad, or when someone gets injured.” answered Kim “You can say he’s kind of like a school kid.”

“He does look like one though.” said Park “How old is he?”

“Believe it or not, he’s 24 years old.” chuckled Kim “Kid’s got that longevity look on him. Anyway, I’d hate for him to overhear us, so let’s leave it at that.”

Midoriya walked around the place, sighing to himself, having overheard them. ‘Thought about that too soon huh? Well, who am I to stop them from speaking the truth?’

“Ah, Izuku! You’re hurt again?!”

Midoriya flinched, looking up to see a brown-haired lady walk up to him. She had blue eyes, and she was wearing a red coat along with a bag hanging down to her side. And she had an annoyed look on his face.

“A-Ah, Joohee-san….Looks like we’ll be working together again.” Midoriya gave an awkward smile

“Never mind that. What happened to your face?” The girl, now named Joohee, asked with an annoyed face

“The usual…” Midoriya chuckled awkwardly

“You reckless idiot….” Joohee muttered, annoyed “You really need to be more careful!”

The duo sat down on a nearby bench inside the construction site, right underneath the new building in making. Deku and Joohee were good friends from the day they met, but the latter was always exasperated at how much of an idiot the former is.

“I heard you even ended up in the hospital.” said Joohee

Midoriya sighed. “Trust me, the hospital bed and me are great friends. Anyway, it was an E-Rank dungeon, so I was the only hurt.”

“Wasn’t there a healer?” asked Joohee

“Everyone else was higher ranked, so…they didn’t think to bring a healer along.” Midoriya answered

Joohee looked angry. “Are you serious?! They were only thinking of themselves! That’s awful!” said she. Being a really nice girl, she hates it when people do not care for the weaker people. And as a healer herself, she gets offended too.

Midoriya smiled bitterly while continuing “It’s fine. It’s my fault I can’t do anything besides running around the place. You know how I am, Joohee-san. I am used to it by now.”

Joohee sighed, looking concerned. She knew exactly what kind of a person Izuku was. And how bad his luck was.

Midoriya looked up to see everyone gathering around the gate, signaling it was a time. “Looks like we’re heading in already. Come on.”

A man with brown hair and blue dress with big collars stood near the gate. “I’ll be your humble leader for this raid outing. The name’s Song Chiyul.” said the man, now named Song Chiyul “It’s a pleasure.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

“Mr. Song’s got the most skills out of anyone here.”

“It’s a relief to have him in charge.”

Midoriya smiled at Song and bowed while speaking up “It’s a pleasure to be working with you, Song-san.”

Song Chiyul nodded as he looked at the others and said, “Alright. Is everyone ready? Let’s head in.”

The construction gate protecting the portal gate was opened by Song as everyone started walking into the portal. Midoriya and Joohee looked at the portal, when Kim patted the former’s shoulder.

“Hey, Midoriya.” said Kim, going inside “Try to hang in there behind us and don’t get injured this time.”

Joohee smiled at Midoriya. “Let’s give our best.”

The girl went inside the portal as Izuku stared at it, before looking at his arm gauntlets. The white gauntlets were worn down a lot and there were several cracks in them.

‘Gauntlets with almost no magic power behind them….’ Izuku sighed ‘And they were all I could afford here in Korea. Japan’s Yen is a lot behind Korea’s currency. Welp, it’s at least better than nothing at all.’

Midoriya shook his head, readied himself and walked into the portal. He was ready to see through this raid, not letting his E-Rank status hinder him at all.

[Timeskip]

Izuku was panting hard while holding a diamond shaped stone in his bloodied hand. He smiled at it while panting. A dead goblin was behind him, lying on the ground.

“I finally got one.” said he, putting it in his bag

“Izuku!” Joohee called out as Midoriya quickly jumped away, narrowly dodging a goblin’s attack with a sword of its size. The goblin continued to try and hit him as the young man continued to dodge to the sides. Getting an opening finally, he clenched his fist and smashed hard onto the goblin’s face, breaking at least the nose. The goblin in his pain, released his sword on the ground.

Midoriya looked at it for a second. It’s better than his strong human yet feeble punches to monsters. He took it up quickly and pierced it onto the goblin’s face, killing it instantly.

“Huh? So these guys aren’t immune to their own weapons.” said Midoriya as he pulled out the sword “Guess I got my second on-“

Suddenly, another goblin came and slashed him from behind, causing him to crash onto the wall in front in pain. The monster’s sword got stuck on his back, making him grunt in pain.

“Izuku!” yelled out Joohee in worry

“Don’t worry. Move aside, Joohee!” Park ran towards the goblin and hit it on the torso with his heavy sword, knocking it away onto the wall.

Midoriya grunted as he pull out the sword from behind and collapsed on the ground, grunting in pain. Very few droplets of blood were coming out.

“I’m heading to the next magic beast.” said Park “Joohee, look after Midoriya.”

Park went away as Joohee nodded and knelt down beside Midoriya. “You’re going to be okay! I promise I’ll heal you!” said Joohee as she put both of her hands on his back. A yellow glow occurred as the injury started to heal slowly. Midoriya sighed in relief as he opened his eyes to see the others fighting easily with the monsters.

Minutes later, the group managed to beat the final monster, a giant wolf beast, the finishing blow being dealt by Song Chiyul himself with a flame magic of his. The others celebrated their triumph.

“All right!”

“Yes! We beat the dungeon boss!”

“That’s Mr. Song for you!”

“We did it!”

Midoriya continued to stare at them from the sidelines while getting healed by Joohee. He sighed. 'Just my luck.'

“Izuku, you’re not staying on as a hunter just because you’re stubborn, right?” asked Joohee, her eyes hidden by her hair “If you keep this up, it’s only a matter of time until something much worse happens. You hurt your backside and your legs. Even though you’re wearing these protective vests and compression sleeves beneath your tracksuit, you’re still injured!”

Midoriya sighed. “I try to keep on taking precautions and wear things which can protect my body even a little bit better. I know it’s not enough, but….it’s still better than nothing at all. Still, I am sorry though….”

“I don’t want an apology! I’m worried about you!” exclaimed Joohee, frustrated and worried.

“….Gomen.” Midoriya apologized again as he looked at the other team members collecting their loot.

“You keep on forgetting you don’t have many friends here in Korea after shifting from Japan. You have to be careful a lot.” said Joohee, continuing to heal him

“…..Hai.” said Midoriya

“Have you all collected your loot yet?” asked Song as the members collected their loots Kim looked disappointed.

“As much as we could, at least.” said he.

“There’s not much in the way of mana crystals here, either.” joined in Park “We’re not gonna earn much at this rate.”

Midoriya sighed. ‘It’s over.’ he thought to himself as he clutched onto his essence stone ‘And all I have to show for it is this E-Rank essence stone and the other one I haven’t collected yet from that other goblin. Hardly worth dying for, but I guess that’s my life now.’

Joohee looked at him, concerned about his mental and physical state before one of the members called out to the team.

“Hey! Take a look at this!”

The team members got towards where the member pointed at. It was a dark cave which stretched into nothingness. No light that was shone into the entrance could go beyond and light up the path ahead.

“A cave?”

“Some kind of tunnel?”

“It seems to go pretty far.”

“A double dungeon, huh?” said Song Chiyul “I’d heard rumors before, but…”

“We beat the dungeon boss, but there’s no sign of it shutting down.” said one of the female members

“Yeah, I thought that was strange.” said another female member

“Which means….” Park smiled

“Yeah, there’s more loot to be found down here.” said Kim, completing his friend’s sentence

Song Chiyul turned towards the group. “Listen up, everyone.” said he “When encountering unexpected cases like this, standard procedure is to wait for orders from the Hunter’s Association.”

“Hang on a sec, Mr. Song…” called out Kim “Doesn’t that mean that the new guys are gonna hog all the good stuff?”

“It’s still part of a D-Rank dungeon. It should be fine, right?” said Park

Kim pointed at his friend and said, “He’s got another kid on the way. And we didn’t find many mana crystals. It’d be okay to bend the rules a bit, wouldn’t it? Or no?”

“I understand how you feel.” said Song “But the fact remains that it’d be a risk. Let’s take a vote.”

“I dunno….”

“I’m in!”

“I say no.”

“No.”

“Let’s check it out.”

“Same.”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t think so.”

“I say we go.” said Park

“Likewise.” said Kim

“Sorry, but….I don’t want to.” said Joohee, slightly scared

“That makes six in favor, six against.” said Song as he looked at Midoriya “You’re the only left, Izuku. What do you think?”

“Me?” Midoriya looked surprised as he thought for the moment ‘Ever since I took up the job as a caretaker and hunter while shifting from Japan, I have been barely able to provide either for myself or for the Sung family. The only person who paid my wages and was the income of the house, Mrs. Sung, is in bad shape and it has heavily affected the financial situation of both the family and me. I need the money for myself, for Mrs. Sung’s treatment and to continue sending young Jinah to college. I really need it.’

Midoriya gripped his essence stone as he looked at the team. “I vote yes. But…on one condition.” said he

Song Chiyul looked surprised. “Condition? What is it?” asked he

“We take a 15-minute break first. All of us need to get back some of our energy to get ready for the next one.” said Midoriya

Kim chuckled. “Kid, just because you’re tired doesn't mean we are too.” said he.

“It’s not that. We need to be in peak condition for better performance.” said Midoriya

“Now now Midoriya, don’t you want the rewards too?” asked Park, trying to coax him "Who knows? Maybe you'll be able to get some more for yourself to-"

“I won’t vote then.” said Midoriya, interrupting him “Either we stay for 15 minutes and ready ourselves or we don’t go inside. Simple as that.”

Park grumbled as he looked at Song. “Why are we even having opinion of this weak E-Rank guy?”

“Do you even want your second child to see who the father is?” asked Midoriya. He wasn’t joking at all. If there was one thing he took seriously, it was death. After all, he has faced many situations similar to it countless times. “If something bad happens, I am not going to go home with guilt weighing my conscience.”

Park blinked, looking surprised at the sudden bring up as Song Chiyul spoke “He’s right. He’s not opposed to going, but we need rest too. It’s a good thing; we will be able to form strategies in the meantime too.”

Park sighed. “Fine. But not more than 15 minutes.” said he.

Midoriya sighed as the members sat down on the ground and rested a bit. He went to one of the dead goblins and picked up its sword. Joohee followed him, hands crossed behind her back.

“What are you going to do about it, Izuku?” asked Joohee

Midoriya chuckled as he twirled the sword around his hand. “I will be using this sword. It may not be the best, but it’s good enough to cut through goblin-level enemies, better than my 'human' punches at least. I am decent with my hands, but weapons are better. I might as well take a few of the swords.”

With that, Midoriya started picking up the goblins’ swords and put them in his bag while the girl watched him from behind. Despite being weak, his brain was on par with many S-Rank hunters. He had great experience using his surroundings for advantage. 

“You want one, Joohee-san? It’d be great for self-defense.” said Midoriya

Joohee shook her head and smiled. “It’s fine. I am a healer, after all.” said she.

Midoriya shrugged as he collected the swords. “Statuses don’t really matter at all when it comes to these kinds of stuff.” said he, collecting the essence stone from the other dead goblin he killed.

[Meanwhile out in the city]

2 robbers snatched a bag from a woman and sped through the streets on their scooty. They turned around the corner, when the driver noticed a tall lady standing in the middle of the road. She had blonde hair and a pink cap on.

“Move! Or do you wanna get run over?!” yelled the driving robber

In an instant, the lady disappeared and flipped into the air over them, showing her gracefulness as she snatched the bag back from them, her cap falling on the ground as a result. She landed calmly as the robbers fell down on the ground, having lost their balance on the scooty.

She went and picked up her pink cap back from the ground. The woman the robbers had stolen from before came there, relieved.

“E-Excuse me…” said the woman

“Here.” said the tall lady, giving her bag back to her “

Thank you! Thank you so much!” said the woman

“That’s Cha Hae-in!”

“Cha Hae-in!”

“The S-Rank hunter!”

The tall lady soon got surrounded by a large crowd of people who were great fans of her, all having excited smiles on their faces.

“Oh, damn!”

“It’s really her!”

“This is awesome!”

“I am a huge fan!”

“Can I shake your hand?”

The tall lady, now identified as Cha Hae-in, got a bit nervous. “E-Excuse me…..” She pulled her cap down towards her eyes, covering them as she jumped in the air, landing on top of a nearby light pole and then on the rooftop of the nearby building.

“Look at her go!”

“That’s an S-Rank hunter for you.”

Cha Hae-in flipped over to the building beside the one she was on and sped away, disappearing from the sight and escaping her fans.

[Back at the cave]

“How long’s it been since we entered the cave?”

“About 40 minutes.”

“The gate shouldn’t close until an hour after the boss is beaten, so we’ll have 20 minutes to spare.”

Midoriya and Joohee walked behind the group. The greenette put his swords in his bag. He had picked up 4 of them, so he can use 2 at once and the other 2 are spares. He looked at Joohee and bowed slightly while walking.

“U-Uh….Joohee-san, gomenasai.” apologized Midoriya

“About what?” asked Joohee. She was now used to Midoriya’s Japanese insert into his speech. He had obviously learnt English and Korean, but he tends to slip back into his mother tongue. She could somewhat make out whatever he says to her in Japanese. Mostly a few words.

“It’s because I voted yes that we’re searching for the boss now.” said Midoriya “I know how much scared you are."

Joohee sighed while continuing to walk. “You don’t need to worry about me, so stop it.” said she.

Midoriya looked at her in silence and looked down on the ground while continuing to walk. “…You aren’t okay.”

“Damn right I am not!” exclaimed Joohee, looking at him, frustrated “Have you already forgotten?! Your vests and compression sleeves can’t protect you much anymore! You’re just lucky your back was all that was injured! You are too much reckless! This is insane!”

“Gomen….” Midoriya apologized again, thinking to himself ‘It’s true that Joohee, someone who is a B-Rank healer has saved me more than once. This was the only time she didn’t had to overexert herself on me.’

“Do you really understand the problem here?” asked Joohee

“….Yeah.” said Midoriya “I understand it quite well. However, I can’t just simply leave it too. The rewards, no matter how much meager, are still rewards.”

Joohee sighed. "Fine, who am I to reject you? she grumbled, before turning to her other side, a small blush on her cheeks. “Well, in that case, maybe you should treat me to show your gratitude.”

Midoriya was surprised, his cheeks tinting pink. “W-What?” asked he. Not everyday someone asks him to treat them, especially a female.

“Or what?” asked Joohee, annoyed a bit “You don’t like the thought of taking me out to eat?”

“A-Ah no no! S-Sure, why not? W-We are friends, after all!” Midoriya smiled awkwardly, not used to talking with girls like this one. And he definitely couldn’t say no after seeing Joohee’s pout. That's a one-in-a-million sight. He might have to put off saving for himself for the time being.

“We’re here.”

“It’s the boss chamber.”

The group stopped in front of a giant, white colored door. It was decorated with a gold design on it. It was far taller than anyone could expect, as high as a multiple story building.

“Rare to see an actual door on one of these.”

“It’s kind of intimidating.”

“Well, I’m going in.” said Kim, walking towards it “No way am I going back empty-handed now.”

“Same here. Let’s go in.”

“Team moves forward. That was the call, right, Leader Song?” asked Park

Song nodded, holding a fire to light up the place by his flame magic. “Yeah. That’s right.” He walked towards the door, intending to open it.

Midoriya, however, looked more worried than determined. Something’s wrong. This isn’t how a D-Rank dungeon is supposed to look like, if they assumed it was connected to the other D-Rank dungeon. He has been in many E-Rank and D-Rank raids and none of them were close to this one. Joohee noticed his worried look.

“Izuku? What’s wrong?” she asked.

Midoriya didn’t answered her and instead, called out to Song. “Mr. Song. Something’s not right.”

Song turned back at him and looked surprised. “What do you mean, Midoriya?” asked he.

“…..Don’t you think….this door is a bit too much royal and elegant looking and too big to be a part of a D-Rank dungeon?” asked Midoriya “Like, you yourself must’ve participated several C and D-Rank raids. Surely you can see the difference?”

Song Chiyul blinked and looked back at the giant door. “….You’re right. This looks way too much different for it to be a part of a D-Rank double dungeon.” said he.

He had visited many C-Rank raids in his life, so the extreme difference was more obvious now that the Japanese Hunter pointed it out. It was the same with Joohee as well, who had also visited many D-Rank and E-Rank raids. She is usually scared, but even she is aware of her surroundings. Now that her friend pointed it out, the place definitely was nowhere close to what she is familiar with.

Park groaned. “Jeez, kid. Leader Song, you’re now listening to whatever useless thing he is saying. We really need to earn money. Midoriya, how about you drop your paranoia and let us go forward? I can’t provide for my upcoming child if this continues.” said he.

Midoriya wanted to say something but decided to let it be, clenching his fists. His gut was still telling him something’s not right.

“It’s fine, kid. We’ll be fine.” said Kim “And besides, running away is always an option.”

“It’s okay, Midoriya. I’ll take responsibility for anything that happens inside, okay?” said Song Chiyul, going towards the door.

Song Chiyul then opened the giant door, which was surprisingly easy to open even though it looked heavy to even budge for the size of a human. Inside, the torches lit up with blue flames on the walls. There were many giant statues standing around the circular room. All of them were knights of old ages. The group walked inside.

“Hey, the place lit up.”

“Dig the atmosphere!”

“I’ve never seen a dungeon like this before.”

They looked around the place. The statues were quite big in size. And the details on them as medieval knights were quite prominent, with their armors, weapons and instruments.

“What’s with these statues?”

“They look quite old.”

“And some have instruments.”

Midoriya meanwhile, was staring at the one positioned right in the center wall of the room. He looked surprised. It was much bigger than all the other knights. It had a crown on its head and had the look of some sort of pharaoh.

“This one’s way bigger than the rest.” said Midoriya to himself “A sort of ruler, maybe?”

“Damn, that’s huge.”

“What is it supposed to be?”

“There’s something creepy about it.”

One of the members looked around the place. “Gotta say, I’m not seeing any beasts.” said he.

“Good point.”

“Not a single one….”

Song Chiyul noticed the design on the ground. He walked closer to it and knelt down, touching it. “What is this? A magic circle?” he muttered.

“Mr. Song! Something’s written over here!” The members showed him a statue holding up what seemed to be a sort of clay tablet like the ones used by old Babylonia.

“In the ancient script? Let’s take a look….” Song went and leaned onto it “ ‘The Commandments of the Cartenon Temple.’ ‘First, revere God.’ ‘Second, praise God.’"

While Song Chiyul continued to read the script, Joohee, who had her back turned towards them, griped Midoriya’s sleeve and tugged it, trying to get his attention.

“Izuku?” called out Joohee as the greenette turned to her. She looked scared while staring at the king statue Midoriya was watching earlier.

“ ‘Third, prove your faith to God.’ "

Joohee pointed at the king statue, making Midoriya look at it. “That big statue….I saw its eyes move. It’s been watching us!”

“ ’Those who do not follow these laws….’ ”

“Are you sure? Looks the same to me.” said Midoriya

“ ‘….will not leave alive’ ?”

A big, crashing sound was heard, surprising the group as they looked at the source. It was the giant doors closing in with a crash, shutting off any way of exit or entrance and trapping the group inside. Song and Midoriya widened their eyes, alarmed now.

“Hey! The door just shut!”

“But why?!”

“Are we trapped in here now?”

One of the members pushed away the other members and moved towards the door, angry and frustrated.

“This is what I was worried about!” said the man “You guys didn’t take this seriously and now look! Why is that Japanese guy always taken so lightly?! Fucker had almost died for god’s sake! We never should’ve come this way! I’m leaving! You can have the treasure, or whatever else you find in here.”

He touched the door, intending to leave, not noticing the statue right beside him moving. Song noticed it and got alarmed.

“Get away from there!” Song yelled, but to no avail

The man looked to his side too late, when the blade swung through him hard, slashing his shoulders to his face and detaching his body from it, getting killed brutally. The blood splattered all over the door. A few drops stained the blade of the statue as the body fell down, staining the door even more with the blood.

Park and Kim looked distressed, while Midoriya and Joohee looked shocked and horrified. The Japanese Hunter was beyond horrified, if there's a rank for it.

“No!” one of the female members yelled and fell down on the ground

“Are you kidding me?!”

“They moved!”

“Are we supposed to fight those things?!”

Midoriya continued to stare in shock at the corpse near the door, the statue which killed it standing back up to its original position as Joohee grabbed onto Midoriya’s shoulder and buried her face into it, shivering, too scared to even look around. ‘The man who just died…H-He was a D-Rank.’ Midoriya thought to himself, still shocked ‘And he was….in just….an instant….T-Then was I right all along? T-This wasn’t a D-Rank dungeon?!’

Song Chiyul looked shocked as he stared at the statues. “If these statues are moving…..then that means….” his eyes widened.

Remembering Joohee’s call out earlier, Midoriya turned behind shakily to see the king statue. He panted hard, realizing what was going to happen. And for the first time in his life, he didn’t wanted to be right in his assumptions, when suddenly, the king statue’s eyes moved downward, causing the greenette to widen his eyes.

‘I’ve been on the doors of Death many times. The abyss has always stared at me. In my first raid ever, I was separated from the others, getting stranded. I have been hospitalized by E-Rank beasts many times. There were times I starved to death too…or ran out of water in raids. It has always been my life; fighting for my life even when everything was low ranked. This wasn't something I was used to when I was a teacher back home.’

‘Hunters buy gear with the cash they make from selling the essence stones. This helps them take down even stronger monsters and reap bigger rewards. The only thing I managed to buy at the cheapest price were the gauntlets. They were great at protection for a low ranker like me. There was a knife available too, but it’s low power and no defense could’ve hindered me a lot. However, my gauntlets aren’t invulnerable, since they came cheap. If they break, I’ll have to fight bare-handed with no defense.’

‘This is the reason my eyes always keep on looking for opportunities which can benefit me even a little. That’s why I killed the goblin with its own sword. I know the risk outweighs the rewards, but even so…Maybe this was the reason why I could tell….’

“GET DOWN NOW!” Midoriya yelled out to everyone

The king statue blasted out a huge beam of fiery light, shooting towards the group. One of the members got caught in the crossfire and instantly vaporized. The other members quickly dodged away, escaping the fire barely by the skin of their teeth. Midoriya pushed Joohee onto the side, both of them falling down and escaping the beam.

Some of the members regained their consciousness and screamed out in fear, seeing the burnt path and the burnt-up hand of the member who got killed.

“What the hell?!”

“Nobody mentioned this!”

“What is going on here?!”

“How should I know?!”

“You alright?” asked Kim to his friend

“Yeah. How about you, Kim?” asked Park

“I’m fine.” answered Kim

Midoriya meanwhile slowly got up from Joohee and looked at his friend, who was clutching her ears in fear.

“No more…..No more!” cried out Joohee

“J-Joohee-san, d-don’t worry. Nothing will happen to you.” said Midoriya, himself unsure, trying to comfort her and patting her shoulders as he looked around the place ‘What is happening here? How is this possible? Are we trapped? Is there really no way out?!’

He looked at the king statue with big eyes in fear, watching the glowing eyes of the statue. It was as if Death was again staring at him, but this time with an actual declaration that no, he wasn’t going to escape its gates again. It was going to make sure the Japanese Hunter knows even his brilliant survival instincts can be challenged.

‘Do we die here?!’

Chapter Text

Midoriya continued to look at the king statue in horror. ‘What even is that thing?!’

“Let’s get out of here!”

“Wait! You might get killed, too!”

“Then what are we supposed to do?!”

“Is there no other way out?!”

“How the hell am I supposed to know?!”

“Two of us already died!”

Song Chiyul called out to his team “Nobody move! If you do, it’ll attack again!”

All the members, hearing that, instantly stayed wherever they were, not moving much. Midoriya looked at the scared Joohee and shook her a bit.

“Joohee-san! Please, stay with me!” He tried to comfort her.

“That was a close one.” said Song as he moved towards them “If you hadn’t noticed what was happening, we’d all be dead.”

Midoriya blinked in confusion. “Uh….what?”

“Didn’t you yell because you’d figured it out?” asked Song

“No sir. It’s just…..my brain told me it seemed dangerous enough.” replied Midoriya, when he widened his eyes “Mr. Song, your arm!”

The said man had his left arm missing. Blood stained the sleeve where the arm was previously present.

“If I grit my teeth, it’s not too bad.” said Song, clutching it tight. “Can you stop the bleeding, though?”

Midoriya nodded. He fished into his pocket and pulled out a roll of bandage. He then tied it around the torn off stump tightly to stop the blood from bleeding out anymore.

“I was hoping to ask Joohee, but….” Song looked at the poor girl who was still lying down, scared “…..she doesn’t handle pressure well. That’s why she takes up the easy raids, despite being a B-Rank healer.”

“It’s fine. Not everyone is born equal.” said Midoriya “It’s completely okay to be scared.”

“You’re too mature even for a 24 year old man.” said Song as he looked up at the statue “I’ve been through 2 or 3 B-Rank dungeons myself….And that might be an A-Rank foe…..or even S.”

Midoriya finished tying up the stump as he nodded. He also has a feeling this might be a S-Rank dungeon they have stumbled upon. Sure all of his low ranked raids feel quite tough, but, even his bodily instincts can tell that this is an actual fatal threat. Something not even his amazing survival instincts can fight against. Death was now finally going to show him its true power.

“The commandments of the Cartenon Temple written on that tablet….” said Song “First, revere God. Second, praise God. Third, prove your faith to God. Those who do not follow these laws will not leave alive.”

Midoriya looked back at the king statue and frowned. “So the God….it’s that emperor statue, isn’t it?” asked he.

“Unfortunately.” said Song “That thing is too strong to fight. Let’s collect ourselves and search for a way out of here. It won’t be-“

“I’m not just gonna die in here!”

One of the members spoke up, getting ready to power as the members looked at him.

“I finally managed to land a contract with a major guild!” the man glowed red for a second before he got surrounded by a windy aura “I can’t afford to bite it like this!”

“What are you doing?! You mustn’t move!” another member called out

“I can pull this off! I’m pretty confident in my speed.” replied the man, eyes sharp

With an explosion, the man shot forward towards the door with blitzing speed. However, that speed wasn’t enough, as within a microsecond, the eyes of the God statue glowed up again and shot a fiery beam at him, instantly vaporizing him, leaving behind only his dismembered legs behind. The group members cried out in horror.

“Damn it!”

Midoriya just grimaced as he looked back at the God statue. He couldn’t save any life here. He’s literally powerless.

“…That thing can end us in a second if it felt like.” said Midoriya

“Too easily. Almost as if it was squashing bugs.” said Song

“But why isn’t it trying to kill us now?” asked Midoriya

Song thought about it. “There’s something weird about this one as compared to other beasts, which attack on sight. It’s as if…it is following a sort of pattern or something.” said he.

Midoriya wondered what was happening, when he remembered something. It was earlier from the time Joohee had first pointed out the statue’s eyes moved.

“Mr. Song, what were the commandments you read out that time?” asked Midoriya           

“Hm? Oh, the first one was to revere God.” replied Song

“….Revere God…to worship God…” Midoriya muttered as he looked at the God statue “I am going to do something. Everyone, don’t move unless I say.”

Song got alarmed as he watched the boy stand up slowly. “What the hell are you doing?!”

“I am not sure, but if I’m correct, then….” Midoriya very slowly stood up

“Kid, you’re gonna die! Sit back dow-“ Song became silent as he watched Midoriya’s eyes stare back at the abomination, not flinching or blinking anymore ‘…So in the end, that’s the real you huh? Still not giving up even in the most horrible situations.’

Midoriya slowly stood back up. He continued to eye the statue back, not blinking at all. After waiting for something to happen, he narrowed his eyes. The God statue’s glowed again, almost ready to vaporize the boy down, when Midoriya knelt down again while not breaking eye contact with the statue. The glow died down instantly.

“….So that’s it.” said Midoriya “Everyone, bow down towards the statue like one does for a God.”

“Bow our heads?” asked Park confusedly

“What the hell are you talking about?” asked Kim, annoyed

“Did you figure something out?” asked Song

“Yes. It has a threshold for at what height a person can lift their heads before getting targeted.” said Midoriya “The Commandments. It wants us to follow the commandments. And we start by bowing down, our heads low. It shouldn’t attack us.”

“Are you sure about this?” asked Song as Izuku knelt down and touched the ground with his forehead

“For now….” replied Midoriya

“In that case….” all the others followed suit and bowed beside Midoriya towards the statue of the ‘God’, following the Japanese man's request. They waited for anything to happen.

 ‘This is gonna save us? This is all it takes?’ Kim was frustrated

They waited and waited, till the glow of the statue’s eyes died down. Suddenly, the corners of it’s mouth curled up and it gave the most creepiest grin in existence, scaring the group again.

‘Damn, that’s freaky as hell!’ thought Park, looking at it

‘It’s expression changed! Does that mean the first one is complete?’ thought Midoriya

For some time, there was pin-drop silence in the chamber. Nothing moved. Nothing happened. Park blinked as he slightly sat up.

“It’s not doing anything.” said Park as he slowly stood up

“Hey! Don’t just get up!” exclaimed Kim

Park didn’t listen to him and stood up fully while all the others were still bowing. Nothing happened. There was no beam attack.

“Look! It’s not attacking anymore!” exclaimed Park

Park sighed as he sat up. “Is it really over?” he asked.

“Are we safe now?” asked one of the 2 female members

“All right!” celebrated another member “We’re saved!”

“We can go home!” said the woman

Midoriya, Joohee and Song stood up too. The greenette however didn’t looked pleased at all. In fact, he looked more uneasy than happy.

“There’s still 2 more left to go….” he muttered to himself

Suddenly, the statue started standing up from its throne. Its enormous weight shook the entire chamber with just mere movements.

And it had the same, creepy grin on.

The members of the group were shocked, though Midoriya, Song and unluckily, Joohee weren’t. Midoriya looked more uneasy, while Joohee looked more scared.

“I thought it was over!” exclaimed Kim

Song Chiyul looked at Midoriya in uneasiness. “Midoriya, what now!? You surely have some kind of plan, right?” asked he.

“Not that I know of!” replied Midoriya, sweating “One thing is confirmed. We have to follow EVERY single commandments! Praise God! We have to do that!”

“Praise this giant?!” asked Kim, shocked

“How are we supposed to do that?!” asked Park

“Do I look like I know?!” asked Midoriya “We have to figure it out sooner! There’s no later here!”

“Let me give this a try.” One of the members with long hair spoke up as he walked towards the statue “As a dedicated student in ethnology, I have a few extolments in the back of my mind.”

The man knelt down in front of the giant God statue, which was still walking closer to them with the creepy grin and sinister look in its eyes. The man joined his hands together and closed his eyes as he started his chant.

“O God, our great ruler who brings order to the world….”

“Is it working?” asked Kim as the God statue moved towards the praying man

“Looks like it’s slowing down?” said Park, unsure

The man continued praying to the God statue, which stood right in front of him.

“Show us the path of truth.”

Midoriya continued watching the God statue. He then noticed it’s legs slightly moving as he widened his eyes and realized something.

‘Wait a second….this prayer….’ He really hoped he was wrong, but it looks like not.

“Thy will be done….” the man continued to pray, not noticing the lifted stoned feet of the God statue

Midoriya yelled out “Move away!! That prayer is not for this God!!!”

The man who was chanting stopped instantly and looked up to see the foot raised up right above him. He froze in fear as the God’s sinister grin widened. The foot instantly crushed him underneath, not letting him utter a single word anymore and silencing him forever.

The members cried out in fear again, realizing that they were practically defenseless against such an adversity. All of them started running away. One of them was too scared to move.

“Miss! Please run away!!” Midoriya yelled as the woman looked at him too late. The God statue crushed her beneath its feet, staining the ground with more blood.

“Everyone, spread out!” yelled out Song as everyone ran in different directions

Joohee didn’t knew what to do, when Midoriya grabbed her hand and dragged her with him.

“Come with me! We can’t stop here at all!” Midoriya exclaimed as Joohee let him pull her with him

All of them did their best to spread out as much as they can. Kim and Park alongside the last female member ran towards the other statues. Park was trying his best to run away faster.

‘I can’t die like this!’ yelled Park in his mind ‘I’ve got a family waiting for me!’

Park went and stopped in front of one of the knight statues and turned around. “I should be safe over here, right?” he asked to the others, not noticing the statue moving behind him and raising its weapon in the air

“No Park! Behind you!” yelled back Kim

It was too late. The knight swung its sword down, slicing the man into 2 halves. His blood stained the knight’s sword as the pieces fell down, sending him into the afterlife.

“Park!!” exclaimed Kim, horrified at his friend getting cut down

Meanwhile, Midoriya was running with Joohee getting dragged by him as he looked around the place, his eyes moving rapidly in his sockets.

‘Praise God….Praise God….’ he rapidly thought the same thing over and over again ‘There’s literally nothing this abomination can be praised with! It’s more of a devil!’

He looked behind to see Joohee crying as she ran with his pace while he continued to drag her away with to escape.

‘Whatever happens, I can’t let her get hurt at all!’ he said to himself as he looked back to the front ‘I need to find the answer. There has to be something we are missing!’

His eyes rapidly went all over the entire chamber. All he could see were the torches lit by the blue flames and the gigantic statues of the medieval knights. Until he noticed something that was slightly different from the others. A very small change which normally any human won't notice in their panic.

‘Hold on a second….’ He narrowed his eyes as he looked at the statues ‘Why are there some statues with musical instruments? Are they not knights?’

True to that, there were several statues right between the knight statues where it was holding onto a musical instrument. One was holding a trumpet, another was holding a drum etc. They were wearing a sort of cloak worn by medieval musicians.

“Everyone! Run to the statues with the musical instruments!” he yelled out to his fellow team members as he changed his direction towards one statue with drums.

“The musical instrument?” muttered Song as he went and stood in front of one of the statues, which was holding a trumpet. As he did, the eyes of the statue glowed blue and it started playing the trumpet.

“Is it….playing?” asked Song to himself, watching the trumpet being played as he turned to the remaining members “Hey! The statues with the instruments won’t attack!”

Midoriya started increasing his speed. He guessed it right. He saw Park killed by the knight statue, but it did only when Park stood close to it. So that means if they stood near some of the statues with the instruments, the statues will play music instead of attacking. After all, that's what a normal musical instrument is used for.

Kim went and stopped in front of one of the statues with a violin. The eyes glowed again, and the violin started to play. The man panted hard and fell on the ground, clutching his head as he cried.

“Damn it all……” he said to himself

Midoriya meanwhile managed to reach one of the statues with drums while still grabbing Joohee, who was crying out.

“Come on! Please play your music!” he yelled to the statue

For some reason, the statue stood still, not playing the drum. Midoriya and Joohee looked at it in horror.

‘Does it not play if there are two people at the same spot?!’ the greenette thought to himself “Joohee, you stay here! Don’t move!”

With that, he left the crying girl in the spot and started running towards the last statue with the required instrument. Joohee looked at him in shock.

“Izuku!” Joohee then noticed the eyes of the statue glowing up as it started playing the drum 

The God statue meanwhile noticed the boy running and closed onto him faster, its legs stomping the ground and destroying it. Midoriya continued to run away.

‘I guess it’s a good thing that even though I am not strong enough, I did trained myself to at least reach high levels of normal human body!’ said Midoriya to himself as he continued running only slightly faster, his stamina going strong ‘Guess running helps more for a weak hunter like me!’

At one stomp, Midoriya leaped to the side and managed to land near the feet of the statue he needed to go. He panted hard, when suddenly, Song yelled out.

“Not that one!” he yelled out

Midoriya widened his eyes as he looked behind him to see a knight with a shield. It’s eyes glowed. The statue he needed to go was beside this one. He quickly stumbled forward as the knight statue smashed its shield’s edge down onto him.

“No! Izuku!!” yelled out Joohee in horror, tears continuing to flow out “Please don’t die!”

Back at the spot, Midoriya was still alive. He crawled forward towards the using both of his hands while gritting his teeth and grunting. Blood flowed down his face as the God statue loomed over him.

“Not now…..not now…..” he muttered to himself, eyes not blinking at all as he continued to move forward “NOT NOW!!”

Gripping the ground, he pushed himself slightly up and lunged forward at the statue as the God statue stomped on the ground one last time. A few seconds later, the statue starts singing with an elegant voice, signaling it was the singer. The God statue removed its leg away as Midoriya sighed and looked up at the statue singing.

‘Couldn’t you guys have replaced singing with normal prayers in the name of praise?’ he asked to them in his mind, as if expecting answers.

Despite that, the song sure felt soothing as well as a desperation one to his ears, perfectly fitting the current situation. He continued to stick close to the statue, glaring at the God statue.

The God statue went back to its throne and sat down again. The chamber finally stopped shaking from its pressure as everyone released a big sigh of relief at once. Midoriya released a bigger sigh out and sat down, leaning his back against the singing statue. The 2^nd phase of the Commandments has finally ended.

“Izuku!” Joohee called out as she ran to him and knelt down beside him “Are you okay?!”

“Yeah….almost.” Midoriya sighed “Phew…..I think we have passed one of the toughest rules.”

Joohee then noticed at his leg and gasped, covering his mouth with her hands. “Oh my gosh…..Izuku….”

“Yeah? What’s wrong?” the greenette followed her gaze and looked at his leg.

Or at least, where his leg used to be.

“…Oh.” was all Midoriya’s answer as he followed his blood trail and saw his dismembered leg far away to where that shield statue was.

“Your leg….” Joohee was horrified

“…..Tch.” Midoriya just sighed. "What an annoying situation..."

A yellow sphere appeared around Midoriya’s stump as Joohee started healing him at an even higher rate.

“Joohee, it’s fine.” said Midoriya

“What are you saying?! I’m going to heal you!” replied Joohee

“You need to save the last remaining energy for emergenci-“ As if answering his question, Joohee coughed up blood and a few droplets came down from her eyes “…..There goes our emergency.”

The others gathered around them. Song Chiyul looked around the place, where multiple corpses and dismembered bodies remained. “What a nightmare. It really is a bloodbath.”

He grunted and clutched his stump, still feeling the pain of his arm blown off from the earlier beam blast at the start by the statue God, even if it was bandaged by Midoriya.

“I count your arm as a casualty too.” said Kim as he looked at the corpses “But you made a careless call as our leader. I guess it’s just karma.”

“That’s awful!” said the remaining female member

“Kim, you were the one who-“ the other male member was interrupted by Kim

“Hey, we all decided together!” said Kim “And I remember how you voted.”

“……He’s right. I was the one who made the call.” said Song Chiyul, accepting his fault “I’m responsible for everything that’s happ-“

“Now’s not the time for these things.” said Midoriya while still sitting down “We can save all of this for later. Stop your quarrels for now. There’s still one last Commandment left.”

The room shook again as the left hand of the God statue was raised up with its palm opened up, as if it expected something to be given. The room continued to shake, small pieces of rubble falling down from the ceiling.

“What’s happening now?!”

“An earthquake?!”

Soon, multiple platforms stack on top of the other appeared right on top of the magic circle Song Chiyul had observed earlier at the start.

“What’s that?” asked Park

Midoriya squinted at the platform that appeared. “Wait a sec, that’s an….altar.” said he.

“Huh?” all the other members of the group turned towards him, awaiting an explanation.

“It’s a platform used for sacrifices to the deities in ancient times.” said Midoriya “We have several old temples with these altars back in Japan too, even in the current age.”

He looked at the altar and then up at the God statue and back at the altar, nodding to himself. “It’s probably the third Commandment. ‘Prove your faith to God.’ We have to probably make a sacrifice to show our faith in that thing, unfortunately.”

Song Chiyul furrowed his eyebrows. “Even an idiot like me knows that move is probably the answer.” he said, agreeing to Midoriya’s statement

“So we really have to offer up a sacrifice, isn’t it, Midoriya?” said Kim

He pulled out his sword and held it near Song’s throat, causing the said leader to freeze in his place. The other members gasped in shock and surprise.

“Kim-san?!” called out Midoriya

“I saw a man who was bragging about his wife before we came in her split down the middle.” said Kim, not removing the blade “He and six others died! You said it yourself, didn’t you? Well, time to take responsibility, Leader.”

“Kim-san, that’s unf-“ Midoriya was interrupted by the other member

“You stay out of this, kid!” retorted Kim. The Japanese Hunter growled at him in response.

Song Chiyul sighed and finally accepted. “Fine. Let me go myself.”

With that, the leader started walking silently towards the altar set in the middle of the magic circle. Midoriya frowned as he watched the man walk towards the altar.

‘……This was never his fault to begin with. The others pushed him to start the poll.’ The greenette thought to himself ‘We all voted to come here. It was our greed. The greed of the others had made him to suffer.’

Song Chiyul went and stood near the altar inside the magic circle. Suddenly, a flame lit up on the white border of the magic circle. It was a normal colored flame.

“What’s happening now?” asked Kim

Song Chiyul stared at the flame and then turned towards Midoriya. “Midoriya! Is there anything else I need to do?”

Midoriya had a confused and analytical look on his face as he frowned. “That’s weird….altars require a sacrifice, the blood of the being….”

He continued to mutter to himself for a few seconds as the other stared at him, waiting for him to come up with some sort of explanation for the current condition or some plan as an alternative.

Midoriya looked up at the duo in front of him. “I’m sorry, but do you mind helping me over there? I’d like to examine it.” said he.

The duo looked at each other for a second before picking him up and started taking him towards the altar in the magic circle. He squinted at it, observing it all over.

“Just get me right next to it, please.” said Midoriya

“B-But then, won’t we….” the man was interrupted by Midoriya

“I don’t think anything will happen.” said Midoriya

The duo gulped and reluctantly took him towards the altar. They stepped into the magic concentric circle and stood right next to the altar. Soon, 3 more flames lit up. Midoriya looked around for a few seconds.

“Did you figured something out?” asked Song Chiyul

“Not really….” said Midoriya, his eyes looking at the orange flames “But I think this altar has a sort of activation process requiring all people to stand near. Mr. Song, if we wait here, will rescue ever arrive?”

“The gate will have been open for a week as of today.” replied Song Chiyul “The statues might start moving again before anyone comes for us.”

Midoriya mulled over the fact. It normally takes seven days for a gate to open fully all the way. When that happens, it is called a dungeon break. Beasts of the dimension are then able to cross over to the other side, to the human side.

‘That’s why the other objective of a dungeon raid is to defeat the dungeon boss and shut the gate down completely before that time is up.’ Midoriya thought over the fact as he slowly looked at the God statue and frowned even more, sweating ‘Which means, if us 6 fail here…that thing will be able to enter our world.’

Midoriya shook his head. All of them had to succeed. They had to. He HAD to! There was a reason he wanted to be a hero as a hunter! How can he even hope to become one, if he can’t stop this?!

“Could you two come over here, please?” asked Midoriya as he looked back at Joohee and Kim “We need to start this up soon. We have to stop this dungeon from breaking ourselves. There’s no other choice left.”

Joohee and Kim heard his determined plea. They knew what kind of a person he was, even while being a weak hunter. They nodded and stepped inside the circle, causing it to light up 2 more orange flames to match the numbers. Suddenly, electricity crackled in the altar and flew out towards the outermost border of the magic circle, creating blue flames now.

The group were now surrounded by orange flames, which was now surrounded by blue flames. The door of the chamber finally opened, surprising the group.

“The door’s open.” said Kim

“So, can we leave now?” asked the remaining female member

“Unless this is a trap.” said Song

One of the blue flames died out as the outlines of the giant statues glowed. They then started moving towards the group in the centre of the room beside the altar, shaking the ground and the entire chamber with their entire weight.

“It doesn’t sound good at all.” said Song

“Th-The statues are coming this way!” exclaimed the other male member “What do we do now?!”

“Why are they coming after us?!” asked Kim

Midoriya blinked, noticing something weird. He looked at one statue, which stopped instantly. He then turned his head to another statue, which stopped too. The realization clicked in his mind.

“Please no!” yelled Joohee, scared

“Joohee-san! Don’t close your eyes!” exclaimed Midoriya, understanding what they needed to do “These guys stop on line of sight! They will move if you remove your eyes from them!”

Hearing that, all the members instantly opened their eyes wide and stared at the statues, watching some of them stop in their tracks.

“Everyone, keep your eyes on the statues!” said Midoriya, staring at a knight statue

The other female member of the group started to panic while staring at the knight statue. The glowing eyes and the menacing aura of the statue, even though it was stopped, was more than enough to finally snap her last thread of her sanity.

“Aaahh!!” the woman left Midoriya’s left arm, making him tilt towards that side. She ran away from the place towards the door.

“No! Please don’t!” yelled Midoriya, but in vain

The instant the woman left the circle, one of the orange flames went out. She ran towards the door, which was now opened and left the chamber. The group were now left inside with just 5 members, watching the statues.

“What’s going on here, Midoriya!?” asked Song frantically

“The door closed a bit, but I think she made it out!” said the other male member

Midoriya meanwhile had no idea what was happening anymore. The blue flames have been dying over time, meaning they must be some sort of countdown. One of the orange ones died out when that woman escaped, meaning it showed how many were present. He gritted his teeth. What is even happening now? Revere God, Praise God and prove faith to him…

Midoriya looked at the door again. Is it a trap? Is it causing a sort of false hope for escape? Purposely manipulating people into getting scared? That has to be it. Then, does that mean…it’s testing our faith in this abomination of a God?

“I can’t…I can’t do this!” said the other male member holding up Midoriya. He pushed him away and ran towards the door, shocking Midoriya as he fell to the ground.

“Jeongho!” called out Kim, but to no avail

Midoriya was shocked. He quickly adjusted himself and looked at the statues again to stop them from moving. Another of the orange flames died out. Watching Jeongho run away tempted Kim to do the same as he took one step forward.

“Please, don’t you dare move Kim-san!!” called out Midoriya, making the man freeze “If you leave, we’ll have blind spots!”

“What is happening here, Midoriya?!” asked Song frantically “Give us an explanation dammit!”

“Look sir, all I know is that, as long as the statues are in our sight of vision, we’ll be safe.” exclaimed Midoriya, struggling to sit up with only his left leg “The blue flames are a timer. When all dies out, we’ll all make it out!”

“…..Isn’t there a chance we’ll be trapped in here once they go out, too?” asked Song, skeptical of the situation.

Midoriya gulped and said, “….All I can say is, we need to have a last-minute positive mind.”

Kim suddenly spoke up. “I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect you, our weakest member, to pull off as much as you’ve managed. The only reason we’re alive at all is thanks to you.”

Midoriya perked up as he continued to look at the statues. “W-What do you mean, K-Kim-san…?”

“With that being said…..” Kim had tears out of his eyes “I’ve got a family waiting for me! I can’t die just yet! I wanna make it home alive! I can’t take any more of this! I’m sorry!”

He dropped his sword down as Midoriya was shocked. The man ran away, leaving the last 3 members to fend for themselves as the statues continued to close onto them.

“…..Why….” Midoriya gritted his teeth, his eyes watering up as clenched his fist tightly. He shook his head, wiping his tears off quickly and staring back at the statues, switching his vision between each of the statues rapidly to keep them away ‘Not yet! Not yet! The other two are still in trouble! They don’t need to die yet at all! They have better lives ahead of the-’

“The two of you should go.”

Song Chiyul’s voice snapped Midoriya out of his thoughts. “Huh? Mr. Song?” he asked to the man.

“I think the doors will stay open as long as one of us remains here.” said Song “You two still have long lives ahead of you. You should go.”

“What?! Have you gone insane from this situation?!” asked Midoriya, horrified. If there was one thing he couldn’t forgive himself to, it was failing to save a person right in front of him.

“You may try to be a hero, kid. But you need to be alive for that too.” said Song “Joohee, look after Midoriya for me.”

“R-Right.” As soon as Joohee moved her body, she instantly fell to her knees. “No….Oh no…No…S-Sir, my legs….they have out on me…”

“You must’ve over-exerted yourself healing Midoriya.” said Song

Midoriya stayed silent. It was his fault too. He wasn’t forceful enough to stop Joohee from healing him and now they were paying the consequences.

“Song-san, you take Joohee-san and leave this forsaken place.” said Midoriya. This might be the only way.

“What the hell are you saying?” asked Song, shocked “I just said I’m going to stay-“

“I might’ve considered that, if I didn’t had one of my legs torn off!” retorted Midoriya, watching the statues close in “Hurry! They’re almost near!”

“You can’t, Midoriya! That makes me the useless one!” said Joohee. She just couldn’t believe what he was saying. Sure she knew how much of a reckless boy he was and how much of a hero he wants to be, but this time, it was at the extreme side. “In that case, I’ll sta-“

“I promised to treat you out for helping me back there, didn’t I, Joohee-san?” said Midoriya as he smiled and gave her the only two essence stones he got “Please have them to buy yourself dinner tonight. And when I get out of here, I’ll come back for my change.”

“How can you even say th-“ Before Joohee could say anything, she got hit by Song on her neck, knocking her out instantly.

“I’m sorry. But it looks like we really are out of time.” said Song

Midoriya turned towards him and gave him a last smile. “Don’t worry, Song-san. Everything will be fine. After all, I am here.”

Song Chiyul gave a sad nod to the boy as he picked up the girl on his shoulders and walked out of the circle. He left the chamber as 2 of the orange flames died out, leaving only one lit up, which was only Izuku Midoriya inside the forsaken place. He sighed and picked up the sword left by Kim before he ran away.

“It’s a good thing only I will have to die.” said Midoriya to himself “I haven’t managed to do anything which may have made Mom proud of me. Maybe this will be the one she can be proud to show off to others. Besides, heroes do make life sacrifices anyway, don’t they?”

He readied the sword and looked at the statues closing onto him. “…Well, I can at least try to take down one of you with me…”

One of the giant knight statues holding the sword swung it hard towards the boy, just barely missing him as Midoriya held on to his own sword. Another knight with a mace hit him, causing him to dodge it and roll away, not able to do much with his injured body and missing leg.

‘I’ve always wanted to be a hero.’ Midoriya struggled to stand up as another knight with the axe got ready to slash him ‘I’ve been mocked for thinking so while being weak, over and over again.’

The knight swung its axe down at him as he gritted his teeth and turned around, ready to counter it with the sword. However, it was all in vain as his entire right arm flew up in the air, getting separated from his body brutally. His right side of his face got slashed down, though he still managed to dodge most of the damage.

‘I tried to be stronger…’ Izuku continuously got hit by the mace knight statue as the timer blue flames continued to die out ‘but I couldn't.’

He fell against the altar, his right arm and right leg dismembered and his right side of his face slightly slashed. Blood was all that filled the magic circle and around the young man.

’I want to be strong enough….so no one else has to worry about me…’ The man panted in pain.

He was surrounded by all the giant glowing knight statues. He tried to get up, only for the sword knight statue to pierced him directly through his torso, causing him to yell out in pain. Kim’s crying face and his words came back to his mind.

‘You couldn’t take anymore? You thought we were loving it!? All that you did was justifying your own selfishness!’ Midoriya threw up a huge amount of blood as the knight had pierced his armpit ‘You didn’t even thought about the others! About how much in danger Mr. Song and Joohee-san would be in! You just wanted to be selfish to benefit!’

An image of his own mother back in Japan, Inko Midoriya, smiling at him and then the Sung family, the family he has taken a job in caretaking the only child as his job but had grown close to and lastly, the everyday tragedies of the civilians and hunters, flashed appeared in front of his eyes. The fact that Mrs. Sung was in the Eternal Sleep Disease and only the child remained, just hurt his heart even more.

“Come on….body…MOVE!” Midoriya yelled out in pain as he got lifted by the sword knight statue, who then threw him directly on top of the altar. ‘….It’s a good thing….Only I will die. At least that’s the only heroic thing I could achieve….nobody else deserves to die….’

He fell on top of the altar. His blood stained the entire platform, making his body lose almost 70-80% of the total blood volume. He continued to cough out blood. The sword knight statue got ready to slash the boy on top of the altar with its giant sword. While all of this was happening, only a single blue flame remained.

‘….Nobody else….should die….’ Izuku’s bloodied eyes looked at the knight, who got ready to kill him with just one swing of his sword as he gave a last smile. ‘It’s fine….Heroes make….sacrifices…after all…..I win...’

The knight then swung down its giant at the young man on the altar, who just watched it come to him as he accepted his fate and awaited death to enshroud him. Meanwhile, the last, single blue flame disappeared.

Chapter Text

 “Gyah!!”

Midoriya exclaimed as he sat up, panting hard. He sweated a lot as he took a deep breath and looked around. He was in a hospital room, wearing the hospital gown and lying on a bed.

“A hospital…? Did I…..got rescued?” he asked himself

He then quickly looked at his right arm to see it there. Except that it was covered with some scars. A bigger scar ran up on his arm up to his shoulder. And his fingers were slightly crooked.

“….How is it back?” Midoriya blinked, watching at his scars “It’s completely intact, albeit with some changes.”

He then looked at the bulge under the sheets right beside his left leg, remembering his leg back at the dungeon being torn off horribly by that God statue which nearly crushed him. He sweated and quickly pulled away the sheet, to see that his leg was fine too. There was no trace of scars on both of his legs.

“….It is intact too.” Izuku then looked at his right side of his chest, where that knight statue with the sword had stabbed beside his armpit “There’s no sign of it either….”

Midoriya looked up at the ceiling. “As much as I would like to call it a dream, these scars are proof that it did happened.”

The door slid open and in walked two men. One of them had blonde hair neatly combed with a single lock hanging on his forehead. The other had purple hair which was spiked up. Both of them were wearing black formal suits with golden button near their collars. The purple haired man was carrying a white case as the blonde man looked at the young man with his left hand in his left pocket.

“Oh, I see you’re awake.” said the blonde haired man as the purple haired man closed the door behind

“Uh….hello?” Midoriya blinked at the duo

The blonde-haired neatly combed man walked towards him and pulled out a card, giving it to the young man on the patient bed.

“I’m Woo Jinchul, manager of the Hunter’s Association Surveillance Team.” said the blonde haired man, now known as Jinchul

“I’m Kang Taeshik.” said the purple haired man, now known as Taeshik

Midoriya took the card and looked at it while noting the names of the 2 men who were standing beside his bed.

WOO JINCHUL

Surveillance – TeamManager

tel. 10-765-4321-0987-654-32

mobile 10-109-8765-4321-098-76

[email protected]

                                                                           Hunter’s Association

“Uh….nice to meet you two, sir.” said Midoriya “What does someone from the Surveillance want with me?”

“For now, let’s get your doctor in here.” said Jinchul as Taeshik nodded

[Timeskip]

“I was out for 3 days?!” Midoriya was shocked. Like, sure he has spent a lot of time in hospital beds, but always regained consciousness within 1-2 days. This one seemed a bit too much. “What about Joohee-san and Mr. Song? Are they okay?”

“Yes.” answered Jinchul, face turning solemn “Although…Song Chiyul lost an arm and as a result, he may have to retire as a hunter. And Lee Joohee’s been traumatized. She’s undergoing psychiatric care. Given her condition, I’m not sure she’ll continue as a hunter, either.”

Midoriya widened his eyes before looking worried. He looked at his right hand, adorned with the scars. “I somewhat expected that. She needs a lot of care. I won’t blame her for becoming so much scared. I used to be like that too.”

Midoriya remembered all the things that happened at the double dungeon. The way how Park was cut into halves, how the woman and the long-haired man were crushed by the God statue. And last of all, it’s creepy grin.

Jinchul nodded and continued “There were only six survivors of the double dungeon discovered on your expedition. A hunter’s job is always a dangerous one, but it’s rare to see such a tragic outcome.”

He then looked at the green haired young man looking at his scarred hands with an analytical eye, narrowing them. “And yet, somehow, when the White Tiger Guild arrived on the scene after being alerted by the survivors, all they found was you, Izuku Midoriya, collapsed on the ground. There were no traces of the temple or the statues the survivors described.”

“Wait what?” Midoriya was surprised “How?”

“Unbelievable, isn’t it?” said Jinchul, looking at the surprised young man “If there had been the slightest inconsistency between their reports, or if some of the deceased’s remains hadn’t been found on the scene, it would’ve cast a suspicion onto your group instead.”

He stood up and walked to the side, looking out of the window at the daylight. “The presence of those scars on your arms and on your face are obvious proofs that maybe there was indeed the double dungeon connected.”

Izuku nodded when he realized something. “Hold on a second, scar on my face?” asked he.

Taeshik replied nonchalantly “You got a scar there too. Didn’t noticed?”

Midoriya blinked and used his right hand to feel his own face. He then moved it over his right cheek, where there, he could feel a rugged scar down to his chin. Jinchul turned towards him.

“Here. Look for yourself.” Jinchul turned on the selfie mode of the camera of his mobile phone and gave it to him, who took it and looked at himself. There was indeed a rugged scar on his right cheek, which ran down to his chin. It removed the 4 freckles from his cheek. He also noticed that his right side of his head was shaven off into an undercut, his bald scalp almost visible.

“…This is…the first time I have seen myself get so much scarred….” Midoriya continued to look at himself as Taeshik just stared at him, bored.

“To be honest….” resumed Jinchul as he turned towards Midoriya “This is just speculation on our part, but…Izuku Midoriya…Have you experienced a second awakening?”

Midoriya widened his eyes. A hunter’s power is determined upon awakening, which stays fixed from that point on. But…there are rare occasions, where a hunter will go through what is known as a second awakening. It lets them exceed their previous limits and rise to A or even S-Rank. But he? Did he…reawakened too? That’d be so cool!

Taeshik went and put down on a wooden tray a gold-colored pyramid shaped artifact, which had cyan designs on it. It was surrounded partially by a gold-colored band. On top of the pyramid was a purple-colored diamond shaped stone fitted on.

“This is a mana meter.” said Taeshik “Please place your hand over it.”

Midoriya nodded and placed his right scarred hand over it, though not without noticing that Taeshik’s voice sounded familiar. Too familiar, but he has no idea where he heard that. Same with Jinchul too.

Jinchul stared at the young man putting his hand on the mana meter as he thought ‘If they really ran into instakill-level magic beasts, like the survivors said, then there’s no way a low-level hunter could have survived with just minor scars. And for not even a trace to remain of said beasts would imply the presence of an A-Rank or maybe even S-Rank hunter. The most likely explanation is that Izuku Midoriya underwent a second awakening.’

He then looked at the remote display connected to the mana meter which Taeshik was holding up and looking at. It showed off a score of 9 on screen. Both the men looked at it in silence.

“What does it say, Mr. Jinchul?” asked Midoriya “Did I reawakened?”

Jinchul sighed and replied, “My apologies. I’m afraid we may have been mistaken.”

Midoriya nodded, realizing that maybe he indeed didn’t get reawakened at all. Taeshik turned off the mana meter and put it back into the case. Jinchul and Taeshik then walked out of the room. They then walked down the corridor in silence.

“Even E-Ranks usually manage higher than 70…” said Taeshik “He’s basically just a civilian.”

‘The dungeon has vanished and can’t be explored again.’ thought Jinchul ‘So how did he survive?’

Taeshik walked alongside Jinchul. He couldn’t help but feel irritated at the voice of Midoriya for some reason. As if that sound was made to be hated by him and he cannot explained why.

Back at the room, Midoriya sighed. “I should stop getting my hopes high.” said he to himself. He then lied back on the bed and looked up at the ceiling “I wonder why they didn’t ask about that.”

In his vision, near the ceiling was what seemed to be a Notification panel. It had a turquoise border and a sort of fancy designs combined with black as the background.

(!)   [NOTIFICATION]

You have unread messages.

“Maybe I’m the only one who can see it….” Midoriya sat up on his bed as the panel floated down to his level. He then went to touch it, only to find it glitching when his finger passed through. “Ah, so it’s not a touch panel. So cool…”

He then remembered the time the knight statue with the sword swung it down onto him. During the time when both his own family and the family he had bonded to flashed before his eyes, there was a similar Notification panel too that had appeared. He still remembers what was written on it.

(!)   [NOTIFICATION]

[The Secret Quest:

“Hero’s Will.”]

[ ✓]

The text on the notification panel had changed after the box was checked with the completion of the ‘Hero’s Will’ quest.

You have acquired the qualifications

to be the Ninth Player. Will you accept?

You heart will stop in 0.02 seconds

if you choose not to accept.

Will you accept?

[Yes]                                 [No]

Midoriya thought about it for a second and started rambling to himself. “I remember this panel appearing that time too. It’s exactly like a sort of inbox message thingy. I wonder why that happened. Am I hallucinating? Is it something I should be scared of? Or maybe…this is the reawakening?”

The door opened and in entered a cute, purple-haired girl. She was wearing a blue school uniform with a red bow and white bag alongside a deep blue skirt down to her knees. She looked concerned before looking at the young man.

“Young Jinah?” Midoriya blinked.

Jinah sighed as she walked closer and put her hands on her hips before leaning towards him, an annoyed and worried expression on her face. “You need to take better care of yourself! Do you need how worried I was?!”

“G-Gomenasai….” Midoriya apologized

“You always end up a mess, even when everyone else is fine!” Jinah continued “I get worried, okay?! You were out for three whole days this time!”

Midoriya sighed and smiled faintly “You really care about a Japanese man who just happens to be your caretaker?”

“The hell you mean?!” Jinah was annoyed “You ARE family too now! It doesn’t matter if you have a mother back in Japan already. You have 2 families now. Deal with it, baka Deku.”

Izuku blinked and said, “Are you trying to use Japanese words from anime shows?”

Jinah huffed and said, “Of course I am! I want to learn that language too. But let’s not get sidetracked. The next time something like this happens, I’m gonna quit school and get a job so you don’t have to be a hunter anymore!”

The young man chuckled. “Sure sure. I’ll make sure this better not repeat ever after this.”

Jinah sighed before smiling. “Well, you seem fine, at least. I oughta go.”

“Yeah. Goodbye.” said Midoriya, waving at her

Jinah went and closed the door behind her, though not before turning around and pouting. “Also, stop calling me young Jinah over and over! I told you, just Jinah is fine!”

Midoriya sweatdropped and nodded. “Fine. As you wish, young J-sorry, Jinah-san.”

Jinah’s pout increased even more. “Not that formality! I have read many subtitles in anime. Call me Jinah-chan or only Jinah!”

Deku sighed and replied, “Fine fine, Jinah-chan.”

Jinah smiled before giving a peace sign and closing the door. Outside, a girl wearing the same blue uniform, except with a pink hoodie inside and with yellowish green eyes, was waiting, leaning her back against the wall right beside the door.

“Sorry about the wait, Song-yi.” said Jinah as the said girl looked at her

Back inside the room, Izuku was looking at the Notification panel, trying to wonder how he should read the unread messages, before saying aloud. “Read.”

In an instant, multiple same, turquoise panels opened, surrounding him with different notifications. He looked at each of them, reading the different messages each offered.

“This system is designed to assist the development of the Player.” Izuku read to himself “Failure to comply with the system may result in a penalty…The rewards have been delivered? It’s as if, it is a sort of mobile system or a gaming system.”

His eyes then wandered over to another notification panel, noticing what was written on it.

(!)   [NOTIFICATION]

[Daily Quest: ‘Dream Plan’ Strength Training has arrived.]

Izuku blinked at the words and said, “Confirm.”

The notification changed with the panel elongating in size vertically. It then showed different exercises he needed to do daily.

(!)   [QUEST INFO]

[Daily Quest: ‘Dream Plan’ Strength Training has arrived.]

GOAL

Push-ups                                                         [0/100]     [ ]

Sit-ups                                                             [0/100]     [ ]

Squats                                                              [0/100]     [ ]

   Running                                                       [0/10km]      [ ]

WARNING: Failure to complete

the daily quest will result in

an appropriate penalty.

“Push-ups, sit-ups, squats, running…These are the basic exercises for increasing physical strength of the human body.” Midoriya muttered to himself, swiping his finger in the air  “A penalty will be dished out if the daily quest is not completed.”

A buffering loading symbol was at the bottom of the panel with multiple empty slots and only a few slots were filled on the right side.

“This is quite a lot for me right now.” Midoriya continued to ramble on “I can do it tomorrow, after regaining enough strength, but what if the penalty is dished out? Will it be as terrifying as that acceptance of the system that time I saw, where my heart may stop? Does it have a time limit? Do I have enough stamina for them?”

He continued to ramble on and on about the pros and cons of doing the Daily Quest given by the System right now, filling the entire room with his words.

“If I don’t complete it, the penalty will be dished out. Will it not spare a beginner or just go as usual? Should I do it?” Midoriya continued to mutter, tapping his finger on his chin “Actually, now that I think about it, I won’t be able to complete it anyway. I don’t have enough stamina and strength to do it. I might start it, but it will be incomplete. I am pretty sure I will be able to complete only one of these exercises and pass out. Which means….”

The young man plopped himself back down on his bed, looking up at the ceiling with his arms beneath his head.

“I will be receiving the penalty anyway.” he sighed “Basically, I have no choice but to accept my fate for today. I am assuming the penalty will be severe too, since that time back at Player selection as the Ninth had warned my heart would stop. So, this will be probably severe too, not fatal….probably.”

His eyes then wandered over to the buffering loading symbol, which was still at the bottom of the panel. One of the slots emptied out again.

“….Oh. Maybe it’s a countdown to when the penalty will start.” Izuku sighed and closed his eyes “Fine. I’ll accept it for today.”

[Meanwhile]

“Regarding that Japanese hunter, Izuku Midoriya…..”

Jinchul was talking to the Chairman in his phone inside a car as Taeshik looked at the front with a bored expression, waiting for the traffic signal to go green.

“It doesn’t appear he’s had a second awakening, Chairman Go.” Jinchul continued

The voice of the Chairman spoke up from the other side of the call. “I see. We’re lucky this incident didn’t result in a dungeon break, but something about it…It leaves too many unanswered questions.”

“Right. It’s nothing like any previous case.” said Jinchul

“Even allowing for how dungeons tend to be full of mysteries….I think this’ll need to be marked as a special case and entered into the databank for further evaluation.” replied Chairman Go

“Yes, I understood.” Jinchul cut off the call and sighed while pinching nose “It’s gonna be a long day.”

The traffic signal turned blue, allowing Taeshik to drive the car forward through the streets as Jinchul continued to think about the situation.

[Inside the city]

A gate had opened up in the middle of a busy road. It was surrounded by a barricade put on by the police. A traffic inspector continued to guide the civilians and vehicles around it on the streets. Many people stopped by and started clicking pictures of the opened gate on the road. Whispers and murmurings spread through the crowd.

“Another gate?”

“Of course it opened in the middle of the damn road, too.”

“When are the hunters going to show up?”

“I wish they’d take care of it already.”

[Hospital]

Midoriya was sleeping on the hospital bed. It was nighttime and the entire room was quiet save for his own soft breathing. The Notification panel opened up in front of him while he slept. The clock on the wall struck midnight as the following notification appeared.

(!)   [NOTIFICATION]

[Daily Quest: Strength Training has arrived.]

[X]

As soon as that appeared, the entire room started shaking up violently. Izuku instantly opened his eyes and sat up. He was sleeping lightly, since the penalty warning was disturbing his mind.

“An earthquake?!” He then fell down from his bed “Owie….”

He opened his eyes, only to see himself in a sort of desert. The sand wasn’t too much hot though, which he was grateful for, since he was still wearing his hospital gown. He looked around the endless desert.

“Is this…..the penalty?” he mused to himself.

Soon, a giant caterpillar-shaped shadow loomed over him. Izuku noticed it and gulped his saliva down before turning his head around. There stood a giant caterpillar-like monster, it’s eyes glowing red and its long tongue dripping with saliva as it stared down at the young man as if he was its prey, which technically, in this situation, he was.

A panel opened right above the monster as Midoriya gulped down even more saliva, his eyes widened. It showed the name of the monster in red color.

<< POISON-TOOTHED GIANT DESERT CENTIPEDE >>

Midoriya was just frozen in shock. He did expect the penalty to be severe, but NOT THIS MUCH! This is too much even for a beginner! The notification panel opened to show its contents.

(!)   [NOTIFICATION]

[Penalty Quest: Survival]  []

GOAL

Survive

03:59:56/4h

The exact time symbol was at the bottom of the panel, starting the time duration as Midoriya sweated.

“Are you serious? 4 hours?!” he exclaimed to himself, shocked at how much time he has to beat

[Hospital]

One of the nurses went around for checking the patients with a flashlight, when she passed by Midoriya’s room and noticed the bed being empty.

“Huh?” the nurse blinked, who had neatly combed hair

“Is something wrong?” Another nurse appeared beside her, having bangs

“The patient from this room…” the neatly combed hair nurse spoke up

[Penalty Zone]

Midoriya was running barefoot in the desert with the caterpillar monster in hot pursuit of him. It was surprisingly easier to run on this desert, which didn’t exactly sunk his feet down deep into the sand. But that didn’t meant it was easier to outrun a creature who can traverse far better than camels. He slid down a mountain as 2 more caterpillar monsters chased him, roaring in the sky.

“How many of these guys are even there?!” He exclaimed to himself as he looked up at his system panel

(!)   [NOTIFICATION]

[Penalty Quest: Survival]  []

GOAL

Survive

02:01:04/4h

Midoriya gasped in shock and continued to run forward, trying to dodge the giant Centipedes. “2 more hours?! I didn’t knew it was this severe!”

[Hospital]

“Any sign of him?”

“No. Not where I looked.”

“I think I’ll check the room again.”

The two nurses were frantically trying to find Midoriya all around the hospital. It was now late at night and he still couldn’t be found anywhere.

“Good idea.” said the nurse with the bangs

“I doubt he left the hospital.” said the neatly combed nurse

[Penalty Zone]

*Huff*

*Huff*

Deku was running with all his might forward. His muscles were screaming at him and his entire body was heavily sweating through his hospital gown.

“Come on…..come on……come on…..” He said to himself as he continued to run, watching his timer on Quest Info panel

GOAL

Survive

00:00:09/4h

“Almost….*huff*….there….” He continued to run, feeling as if….someone was telling him he was doing great till now and only a bit more was needed, which motivated him to continue. He then felt the ground shake right behind him as the giant centipede monster appeared, rising in the air. The young man widened his eyes at the sudden increase in speed.

GOAL

Survive

00:00:02/4h

As the monster loomed closer, with a last push and a yell, Midoriya lunged forward as soon as the timer hit 0. This caused the desert to disappear and directly teleport Izuku back to the hospital room.

He fell down on the ground on his back and panted hard. His entire body hurt. It was even more intense than what he has done to improve his speed for his low rank of E. Especially knowing with the fact that his life was threatened the entire time. He looked up to see the Notification panel opening.

(!)   [NOTIFICATION]

[Penalty Quest: Survival]

[✓]

Midoriya panted and gave a small smile, wiping his sweat off his face. “Heh….So this is how this system works huh?”

The Notification changed its contents to a different one, causing Midoriya to raise his eyebrow while panting.

(!)   [NOTIFICATION]

You have received a reward.

-[Penalty Quest: Survival]

Check your reward?

[Yes]                                    [No]

The door opened and the nurses were standing there, their flashlights onto his fallen, panting figure.

“Mr. Midoriya?!”

The duo quickly entered the room towards him, worried. “Mr. Midoriya, are you all right?”

“Yeah….*huff*….I had a bit of bad dream…sorry for scaring you two for so long…” Midoriya lied while smiling faintly as the nurses tended to him.

[Timeskip]

“Yup! I’m almost healed!” Midoriya exclaimed as he wore his blue jacket. He had changed into a more comfortable outfit, which consisted of black shorts with white stripes on the sides, black inner shirt and his blue half sleeved jacket. Of course, along with them was his signature red shoes.

“That’s a relief.”

Jinha was talking through the mobile, having called her caretaker to ask for his health in the morning right after he woke up.

“After all the worry you caused me, I’m expecting to be treated at Chagall.” Jinah said, sounding….pouty?

“Sure sure, Ms. Sung Jinah. I’ll make sure.” Izuku chuckled as he picked up his phone and cut the call. He then left the room, intending to exercise to complete the Daily Quest.

[Meanwhile]

“You want me…for a raid?”

Joohee talked on her mobile, having someone from the Hunter Association called her for assistance.

“Yes. A D-Rank gate appeared in Hapjeong the other day, and all the guilds have prior engagements.” said the person from the other end “I understand if you can’t, of course. We understand what you’ve been through, Hunter Lee.”

Joohee replied, slightly sad and guilty “I’m sorry.”

“No apologies necessary.” said the voice “Oh, that reminds me, I heard that the Japanese hunter Izuku Midoriya has woken up.”

Joohee became surprised. “He has?!” asked she, pleasantly surprised.

The recovery was quite fast for someone like Midoriya, especially after that incident. However, that was enough for Joohee to have a small smile on her face, finally hearing good news after such an experience. And that also when she was nearing the end of her therapy.

[Timeskip]

‘Izuku….he’s okay. That’s so wonderful!’

Joohee walked through the hospital halls, carrying a small bouquet in her hands. She was still smiling. She remembered how he acted that time when the trio were at their last legs and gripped the handle of the flower basket tightly.

“Look. He’s running again.”

Joohee snapped out of her trance and looked at the nurse duo, who were standing in front of her near the windows.

“Honestly…He’s been at it every day since regaining consciousness.”

Joohee followed their gaze to the outside. Down on the exercising field, Midoriya was seen running laps of the field. He was smiling while continuing his lap.

“Izuku….he’s up…” Joohee continued to look through the window as the nurses talked among themselves, noting his new, scarred look.

“I know hunters are supposed to heal faster than normal people, but….”

“He says his body feels a lot stiff and needs to be flexible and fit.”

“It’s a good thing he at least knows how long he can perform. So we don’t have to tell him anything.”

“Still, it’s weird that a hunter like him is exercising even though he was badly injured just a few days ago.”

“He’s a real handful.”

Joohee Lee left the place, going back with the bouquet in her hand, gripping the handle tightly. Nobody could say what she was feeling as she went away.

Outside, Izuku sighed as he sat down on the bench, panting, but not too much now. ‘It’s been only four days since I regained consciousness. I figured out a few things regarding my System.’

The Daily Quest Info window opened up right in front of him in the air above as he looked at it.

(!)   [QUEST INFO]

[Daily Quest: ‘Dream Plan’ Strength Training has arrived.]

GOAL

Push-ups                                                         [100/100]     [✓ ]

Sit-ups                                                             [100/100]     [ ✓]

Squats                                                              [100/100]     [✓ ]

   Running                                                         [10/10km]      [✓ ]

WARNING: Failure to complete

the daily quest will result in

an appropriate penalty.

[✓]

‘First of all, System acts like game mechanics.’ he thought to himself ‘Completing Daily Quests gives me 3 different rewards, exactly like how they work in games.’

The Daily Quest window changed to a different window, elongating its size to fit the contents.

[QUEST REWARDS]

You got rewards.

1. Full Recovery

2. Ability Points +3

3. Random Loot BOX

Accept these rewards?

[Yes]                                   [No]

‘Full Recovery, as the name suggests, fully regenerates my body for back to its peak. Including exhaustion and tiredness.’ Izuku wiped off his sweat from his forehead ‘However, I tend to not use it much and let my body heal normally. Since I have started this new Dream Plan regime, I have no plans to cheat my way. I’ll at least train my body to become fitter than before. Besides, who knows, the Full Recovery might come in handy in some other ways. Now, on to the 3 ability points…’

Another window opened up. This time, it was a sort of status window, which was showing the different status of the young man.

[STATUS]

1                            Job: None

Level                    Title: None

+ ---------------------------                MP ----------------------
HP                        100/100                                           10/10

Fatigue: 0

STR: 18                                             VIT: 10

AGI: 12                                              INT: 30

             PER: 10                                          Available

                                                                             Ability

                                                                                 Points: 3

Izuku stared at his stats. ‘The only stat at the highest is my intelligence. I didn’t even know I am that smart. It probably is accounting for the Hunter Analysis for the Future analyzation I do occasionally. So, I’ll take up the strength. I need it so that, I can at least survive situations. I can compensate agility for it.’

The Strength (STR) stat increased by 3, upping to 21 as Izuku used up all of his ability points on his strength stat. His body glowed yellow for a bit before the light died down.

‘It’s just like games. The more I upgrade, the stronger I get.’ Midoriya thought as he looked up to see another window opened up ‘Oh. Maybe I should close my inventory window. It’s empty anyway.’

The Inventory window closed as he looked at the skill window. There was something that had caught his mind from day one, when he started tinkering and moving around his System.

[SKILLS]

???                       Level ???

Quest: ??? Unknown ???

Izuku frowned. There was this one skill that had been completely unknown from day one. The System didn’t recognize it at all, or maybe, he wasn’t skilled or upgraded enough to see it. Which was another reason he was completing his Daily Quests hard. He really wanted to see what it would be.

“…..I’ll get you.” Midoriya smiled to himself

[Timeskip]

He was back on the hospital bed in his room, eating apples provided by the nurses. He was checking his Random Loot BOX. He took another juicy bite of the apple as the box spawned on his hand.

‘Let’s see what I get today.’ The box, which was light crimson colored and wrapped around with an orange ribbon, opened up by itself. The lid vanished and a glowing ball, which was releasing a smokey aura, floated up in the air as Izuku looked at it. It then transformed into silver key with a geometric shape.

“A key?” Midoriya blinked. This is the first time he has seen this artifact from the random loot box provided by his System. It then fell down as the young man caught it in his hand. “Huh? This is quite different. All I was getting were bandages and pens. This is a first.”

A different window opened up. The item window that shows the info regarding whatever item Izuku holds in his hand.

[ITEM: Dungeon Key]

ACQUISITION DIFFICULTY:                                       CATEGORY:

E-rank                                                                                            Key

A key for teleporting to an instance

 dungeon. It can be used at exit 3 of

the Hapjeong subway station.

“Hmm…..so it’s like a sort of side quest huh….” Midoriya muttered “Well, side quests do tend to help the players level up their stats while doing the normal campaigns….”

He remembered the face of the God statue, smiling cruelly at them back when they were on its mercy. He then remembers the unknown skill in his System, his curiosity rising every second. He gripped his apple tightly.

“I will be a hero and save people, no matter the cost.”  

[2 years ago]

“Mrs. Sung! Come on wake up!”

Izuku was kneeling over to the mother of the family, who had collapsed onto the ground. The door behind him slid open and Jinah hurried inside, wearing her school uniform.

“What happened?!” asked Jinah

“Your mother….I was helping her with the dishes and she suddenly collapsed!” replied Midoriya, holding the woman in his arms

[Timeskip]

“Eternal….Sleep Disease?”

At the hospital, Midoriya and Jinah had admitted the poor, unconscious woman into one of the rooms. She was put on life support by the doctor by using the help of a bright stone put inside a liquid and kept in a container right beside the bed. The doctor and the nurse stood beside the babysitter and the girl.

“It’s also known as Final Rest.” said the doctor “It’s a disease that came into existence with the appearance of the gates. It affects roughly one in every several ten thousand people. It’s not proven, but theories say that it’s caused by continual exposure to mana. In any case, the best that modern medicine can provide is life support.”

[Timeskip]

“Congratulations. You qualify to become a hunter.”

Midoriya was standing before the spherical contraption that was designed to measure the qualifications of a civilian who may be able to turn into hunters. The woman who was monitoring smiled at him.

“We’re looking forward to seeing what you can do.” said the woman

[Timeskip]

“Don’t worry Jinah-san! I will do my best and let Mrs. Sung get the best treatment modern technology can give!” said Midoriya. The duo were back home, talking about the situation.

“Isn’t it dangerous, though?” asked Jinah, worried “Don’t you think your own mother would be worried too much?”

“It’ll be okay. Just leave it to me!” exclaimed Midoriya “Have no fear, because I am here!”

[Timeskip]

“Are you serious, Izuku?!”

A panicked Inko Midoriya’s voice was heard coming from Izuku’s mobile, who had called to let her know of the current situation.

“Yes, Mom.” replied Izuku “This will allow me to be a hero too. I want to save innocent people.”

“….Look, I know I won’t be able to convince you out…” Inko sighed “But….please take care of yourself too. Remember, I allowed you to go to Korea so you can become a hero as a hunter. This full-time caretaking isn’t the best way to earn money for the time being, but now that you’re adding hunter work to it, I know you will try to overwork. So please, be safe. So that I can see my baby boy in one piece when he comes back.”

Izuku sighed and smiled, replying in an affectionate tone “I will, Mom. Take care of your health too.”

[Timeskip]

“Get out of the way, E-Rank!”

Izuku stumbled back, wearing his old, near broken gauntlets. Two D-Rank hunters came forward and killed the goblin that he was having trouble.

“Stay out of this, if you don’t want to get hurt!”

“Damned E-Rank, slowing us down.”

Izuku walked away, dejected as the two hunters continued forward.

“Remember, if you don’t contribute, you don’t get the cut!”

He sighed and said with a small smile “I am sorry, sir.”

[Current time]

Izuku stared out of the window, remembering all of those moments he had experienced ever since he moved to Japan. He finished his apples and scribbled in his notebook ‘Hunter Analysis for The Future’ under a section called the ‘System’.

Short Term Aim: Reach the strength comparable to D-Rank

Long Term Aim: Be a hero

Extra Objective: Find out the unknown skill the System is keeping hidden

With that, he closed his notebook and climbed down his bed, putting on his hunter outfit. He neatly fixed his bedsheet and strapped his bag back on his shoulder, looking at his scarred arm for one last time before leaving the room.

“I’ll put my points to strength and agility.” Izuku said to himself, his strength going to 28 and his agility going to 13.

[Timeskip]

Midoriya was standing in front of the entrance to the underground station of Hapjeong. He constantly counted whether he forgot anything.

’Protein bars, water bottle, my notebook, my utility belt inside my bag with the bandages and rolls of gauze….’ he thought to himself, looking at the entrance ‘I think I am ready now.’

Since his previous gauntlets were torn off back at the double dungeon, he was saving up money to buy new ones. And so, he was going to fight solely relying on the System’s strength provided to him. He pulled out the silver key from his pocket, which had a blue electricity crackle around for a second, before a bronze-colored lock glitched in the reality in front of him, causing him to look at it in awe.

“Alright Izuku. Let’s do this.” Midoriya said to himself as he put the key into the lock and turned it clockwise

The signboard above the subway entrance started crackling with blue electricity. In a few seconds, the reality right in front of him glitched and expanded block by block to open up a sort gate, bordered by concrete. In front of him was a blue light-like entrance overlapping the subway entrance.

“….Woah….so this is how a gate is supposed to look according to this System? So cool…” Midoriya muttered to himself as he entered the gate “So…..it uses real-world places as its base and overlaps them with a sort of different dimension, joining them together. Does it have some sort of time limit? Can anyone else see this? Wait, won’t people be suspicious of a teleporting gate in the place of a subway entrance?....”

Another Notification panel opened up, causing Izuku to snap out of his muttering spree as he looked at it to notice the contents.

(!)   [NOTIFICATION]

You have entered the instance dungeon.

Izuku stared at it before hearing a squishing sound from behind him. He turned around to see the dungeon entrance getting closed up with a thicker color. He quickly ran up to it as it completely closed. They gave the dungeon entrance crack-like designs. He touched it to feel it.

“……So this dungeon is blocking me out from the outside world.” said Midoriya

Suddenly, a woman came beside him, looking at her phone and went out of the gate easily, which confused the young man as he touched the barricade again and finally realized what was happening. It was the answer to his muttering earlier.

“So this dungeon won’t allow me but others to pass through.” said Izuku as he sighed “Which means, this dungeon to the outside world is completely invisible. That’s a good thing to hear. This means, this really IS a different dimension. Instance dungeons aren’t like the regular gates, huh...”

Another notification window opened up, causing him to turn his head and look at the new contents this time.

(!)   [NOTIFICATION]

You cannot exit the dungeon.

You must either defeat the boss or

use a teleportation stone.

“So I can’t leave the dungeon unless and until I clear it myself.” Izuku muttered to himself “Either that or this ‘teleportation stone’. It’s like one of those games which have forced tutorials for the players to reach the minimum level to actually start the playing.”

He looked at his scarred hands and clenched them into fists. The feeling of being weak before once again coursed through his body as he pushed them down forcibly.

“I know I couldn’t even beat E-Rank beasts before, let alone save people.” he said to himself as he looked at the dark staircase “That doesn’t mean I am going to stand back, especially after receiving this new power! I will use it if it wants me to!”

He started walking down the stairs, taking deep breaths. He will have to clear this dungeon all alone without any healers. He started walking through the dark subway-turned-dungeon, looking around the lonely grounds. It’s not like he wasn’t scared, he was, but not as much as he used to be back then.

The ceiling broke and down jumped a goblin with black hair, surprising the young man. Two more joined it. All of them were wearing armors as Midoriya got into a stance, his system showing the names of the enemies in orange.

<<Goblin>>

“Thanks for the obvious.” said Midoriya, frowning

The goblins rushed towards him, intending to slice him up. He started dodging their attacks, parrying with them with his own hands. It was tough, considering he had no protection on himself. One of the goblins slashed his scarred his hand, but he didn’t flinched. Instead, he grabbed the blade tightly, yanking it off and grabbed the face of the goblin, smashed him onto the ground.

The shockwave blew away slightly the other goblins as the one in Deku’s hands instantly died. He smiled, feeling more confident now that he can beat these weak monsters with just his bare hands. He picked up the goblin’s sword and started parrying with the other two goblins, who had composed themselves back.

He kicked away one of them, who had slashed off the straps of his bag and threw it away and slashed the other one’s head, causing the dagger to get stuck to it. Before the other goblin could get up, Deku picked up the goblin’s sword he just killed with the first one’s sword and threw it hard at the remaining one, causing its head to get separated from the body.

Deku sighed and smiled, proud of himself. “I knew it! I can definitely become stronger! Just great!”

He went and picked up his bag, when suddenly, a big crimson colored wolf came out from beside the wall, causing him to react quickly in shock and hold out his bag, letting it tear it off and threw it away. Izuku looked at the wolf, who had what seemed to be metal lower jaws and sweated, feeling a small fear creep up again. Its eyes were glowing red.

The name of the monster was shown by the System right in front of him.

<<STEEL-FANGED LYCAN>>

‘I can sense it….’ he thought to himself ‘This one is far stronger than those goblins.’

The Lycan then suddenly lunged at him, causing him to react one microsecond late, which earned him a slight slash on his cheek right over his scar. He gritted his teeth as the beast turned around and once again lunged at him, fangs ready to tear apart the human who dared to step into this place.

Chapter Text

Midoriya sweated as the Steel Fanged Lycan roared and lunged towards him. He quickly flipped backward and then using the nearby closed shutter as a foothold, launched himself towards the other side of the beast, putting some distance between him and the Lycan, showcasing great agility of his body.

“Guess I was right. Only strength will be useless if I can’t even dodge in a fight at all.” Deku muttered to himself as he gave a small, proud smirk “I am really getting stronger.”

The Lycan turned around and shot towards the young man, it’s steel fanged jaws ready to rip his body into multiple pieces, its saliva dripping down from it’s mouth. Deku then swung his right foot hard at it, delivering a powerful roundhouse kick which led to the beast crashing onto a nearby closed shutter.

“No….actually, it’s much better than I expected.” said Deku as he turned to face the Lycan again, taking a stance “This will help me practice the new Shoot Style kicking technique I have been teaching myself to see how better I can fare now.”

The beast shook its head and got ready to once again lunge at the young green haired prey, who stood firm in his place, sweating but not flinching. It then shot itself forward at him. Deku readied his fists this time and started punching its face to keep it away from him each time it came closer to tearing the flesh of the human.

‘It’s not much. I need to continue my assault on it if I want a chance at beating it!’ Deku said to himself in his mind as he continued to punch its face. All it did was make it angrier and slightly stagger backwards.

The wolf then dodged one of his punches and lunged at his face, prompting the young man to quickly react and dodge to the side, leading to the beast crashing onto the closed shutter behind. However, this time, the beast was completely fine. In fact, it had chomped onto the shutter itself and spitted out the broken metal piece from its steel jaws. Its eyes continued to glow crimson red brightly in the shadows, the evil and ferociousness evident in the look.

Deku gulped, continuing to sweat as he finally realized why the System had called it ‘Steel Fanged’ Lycan.

‘A single capture of its jaws would be stronger than even a crocodile’s.’ Deku thought to himself as he turned to his side and started running, prompting the beast to follow him while growling ‘I need to do something quick! All I need to do is to break the steel jaws and he would be reduced to just a wolf. But how?’

The Lycan swiped at him, causing him to backflip and land far behind the Steel Fanged Lycan, though not without getting another slash, this time at his leg.

‘I need anything strong with magic energy to hurt it!’ Deku exclaimed in his mind, when he suddenly realized something “Hold on a second! That’s it! Inventory, open up!”

The Inventory window opened up in front of him in the air. He held out his hand towards it, causing turquoise electricity to crackle as a small portal opened. He slid his hand in and grabbed onto a handle, pulling it out.

The Lycan jumped at him at high speeds. The scarred young man pulled out the handle fully to reveal a sword. With a yell, he swung it down at the beast, causing it to be slashed into two pieces horizontally. It fell down on the ground behind Deku, while it’s blood spewed out, staining the blade wielded by the young man.

“I had forgotten about it completely.” said Izuku, remembering how he had discovered it while checking the Inventory for the first time 4 days ago “I remember Kim-san saying he paid three million for it. Heh. that’s something I can’t ever afford.”

Two notification windows opened up in front of him, which made him curious as he leaned on to see the contents.

(!)   [NOTIFICATION]

You have defeated a

[Steel-Fanged Lycan]

(!)   [NOTIFICATION]

Leveled up!

Deku blinked in pleasant surprise. “Oh! I leveled up finally! Awesome!”

While he continued to be in surprise, the cut on his cheek and on his leg started to smoke. Two seconds later, the wounds had completely healed up. This just added more surprise to the young man, who wondered how in the world did he healed without requiring any healer. Neither the System mentioned of anything like that nor had he seen anything related to it.

He then heard growls and footsteps. He then looked up to see two more Lycans coming closer to him, saliva dripping down. He pulled his sword out of the ground and got ready for round 2.

The Lycans ran towards him, leading to him swinging his sword at them. One of them dodged and got far behind Deku. The other one caught the sword in its steel jaws, causing Deku to try and push it back with his strength. He kneed the wolf directly at its chin.

“This sword is all I have!” yelled Deku. as he finally pushed the sword through the wolf and sliced off its head  “Chew on bones that aren't mine!”

The corpse of the beast fell down on the ground with his sliced off head falling right beside it and staining the ground with its blood. The other Lycan stood still, flinching back a bit. Deku stood up and looked at it.

“Come on. I am not scared.” said Deku as if trying to taunt it

The beast in response, took a step backward and turned around, running away into the darkness, leaving the young man behind. Deku sighed as he went and sat down on the ground, leaning his back against one of the closed shutters and rested his sword beside him. The Status window opened up in front of him, confirming that he did indeed leveled up, sitting at Level 2.

“Knew it. This means that I can finally keep up with the beasts I just fought more easily.” Deku muttered, noticing the status window.

[STATUS]

2                            Job: None

Level                    Title: None

+ ---------------------------                MP ----------------------
HP                        220/220                                           20/20

Fatigue: 3

STR: 29                                             VIT: 11

AGI: 14                                              INT: 31

     PER: 11                                                Available

                                                                     Ability

                                                                         Points: 0

“So, I am guessing that this changes when I am in real combat. The experience probably is more from it.” Deku continued to mutter “Because I remember it not changing when I did my daily quests. And the healing from before….I am guessing it has something to do with leveling up. And all of my stats go by one during each leveling.”

He looked at his stats again and started some calculations to gauge his system’s point mechanics. “A total of 5 points are given to me, equally distributed. Daily quests give me 3 points, which means, combat is far more efficient. Got this from just 2 Lycans. So, if I do this everyday, getting 5 from combat and 3 from daily, I can stack up to 56 in one week, enough for me to finally rival a D-Rank.”

He continued to stare at his stats and clenched his scarred right hand. “It’s a good thing I spread out each of the points to different skills instead of staying only at strength. Agility and Perception are really needed too.”

He then remembered something and looked at the corpses of the beasts he had killed. He went and knelt down right beside the decapitated half head of the Lycan.

“I wonder if they have any essence stones.” muttered Deku as he went to touch its body

As soon as he did, the Item window opened beside him, prompting him to look at it, diverting his attention from the headless body of the Lycan.

ITEM: Lycan Fang

Acquisition Difficulty:                                                                         Category

       None                                                                                                 Miscellaneous

A lycan’s large, sharp fang.

It can be sold in the shop.

“Oh….so I get items like loots instead of essence stones. Cool.” said Deku as he opened his Inventory and pulled out the Lycan’s fang from it “If this system really follows a game, then that means that the ones here are different from the normal dungeon ones. But it’s fine. I’ll get the hang of it soon.”

Another window opened up, the Store. This intrigued Deku pleasantly as he looked at it.

“Oh! There’s a store too?! So cool!” Deku exclaimed “Buy!”

[SHOP]

[BUY]                                                                                                       [SELL]

You cannot buy anything at your level.

Deku pouted. “Oh wow. So beginners get thrown into horrible situations but not get to buy stuff? Sounds mean to me. Fine, I’ll play by your rules. Sell.”

The Sell option blinked on screen as the Lycan’s Fang from Deku’s hand disappeared. On screen at the bottom right was written 10, presumably the amount of credits. Or in this case, gold. The number increased to 20.

“Twenty gold huh? I wonder if gold here is worth the same as the real life one’s.” Deku muttered “Then again, this resembles an E-Rank dungeon, so twenty gold can’t be worth that much. Besides, I doubt I can use it outside the System.”

He wrapped some bandages around his hands, covering the fingers to create makeshift gloves, not having any gloves at the current moment. He stood up and dusting his clothes, picked up the sword.

“Alright, let’s see. A teleportation stone will get me out, but I have no idea where to find them.” Deku muttered to himself “I have to level up first before going against the boss. I need to find more of these Lycans and Goblins to beat.”

He heard a growl and turned his head to the other end of the corridor, where the previous Lycan which had ran away was now standing, growling with its red eyes glowing bright. And behind it, multiple red eyes appeared in the darkness as the System detected multiple ‘Steel-Fanged LYCAN’. All of them were now growling, saliva dripping down.

“Should’ve known you act like the real ones too.” Deku readied his sword “Bringing your entire pack with you. Heh. Makes it easier for me to level up. Come on, you steel mutts!”

With that, the Lycans started rushing towards the young man, their steps shaking the corridor as Deku ran towards them, yelling equally loud. As soon as both sides came closer, Deku started with a kick, smashing away one of them before slashing another Lycan’s face. One bit on his jacket, causing him to elbow it, but it dodged and joined its remaining allies, surrounding him while growling.

“I don’t know much about swordsmanship.” said Deku, tightening his hold on his sword “But I guarantee whatever less I know, alongside my fists, they will be enough for matching all of you.”

He readied his stance, remembering all of the previous events that happened with him.

“You qualify to become a hunter.”

“Don’t worry, I will take care of you and Mrs. Sung!”

“I will become a hero, so that no one worries about me anymore.”

With that, Midoriya swung his sword hard, slashing off the Lycans’ faces. He then stuck the sword into the ground and using it as a pole, revolved around it, kicking some of them away. He then pulled it out and threw at another beast, piercing two simultaneously instead as the other one had mistakenly got behind it.

‘I wasn’t joking back then!’

(!)   [NOTIFICATION]

You have leveled up!

Now with only his fists and kicks, he started smashing away the remaining beasts, not caring to use the sword anymore. Rotating his body to land precise but powerful kicks, he constantly clashed with the metallic jaws of the beasts, not caring if the pain hurts him.

(!)   [NOTIFICATION]

You have leveled up!

‘If this system wants me to grow stronger, I will use it on my path to being a hero!’

(!)   [NOTIFICATION]

You have leveled up!

‘No matter what, I will help everyone with a smile on my face!

(!)   [NOTIFICATION]

You have leveled up!

With each smash, Deku’s motivation continued to grow stronger. Each punch, each kick that was sent to the Lycans’ ways, they were all filled with determination and the willingness to sacrifice to be the wall that people can rely on. He didn’t even notice how much easier it was starting to get to beat them up, solely because he was focused to analyzing the Lycans’ movements and clashing against them, that he ignored all of the leveling up notifications.

With a final punch to last beast to the ground, he sent out a giant shockwave, killing it instantly as the battle finally ended after a long hour. He panted hard; his body now fully healed due to the constant leveling up. He dropped to the ground on his butt, breathing hard as another notification appeared in his vision.

(!)   [NOTIFICATION]

You have acquired

[Title: Wolf Assassin].

“….Uh…not something I would like to add to my name, but I guess it’s fine.” Izuku muttered as he continued to rest. His entire body was stained with the blood of the dead Lycans alongside his sword, which was now covered in scratches “Sword’s not gonna last much longer. It’s a good thing I used my fists and kicks though.”

He then stood back up and dusted his clothes. He picked up his sword and looked back at the corpses of the Lycans, which lay on the ground, the blood splattered around.

‘I guess that no matter how much expensive they are, weapons are still disposable.’ thought Midoriya ‘I guess I need physical strength and speed to last more than weapons.’

A new window opened, causing the green young hero to look at it curiously. This was a new one, with contents different from the previous. And it seemed related to the title he got earlier.

[Title: Wolf Assassin]

A title given to those skilled at hunting wolves.

Animal-Type Monsters:    ALL ABILITIES +40%

“….I am not sure I know what that is.” Midoriya blinked “Did I got some sort of boost against only Animal-type monster? Maybe?”

He then opened up the Inventory window to see the loot drops he had gotten from killing so many Lycans. He definitely got a whole lot.

“Let’s see….34 wolf fangs, 2 worn daggers, a traveler’s cloak….and Hm? Yes! The Teleportation Stone!” Izuku exclaimed after counting all of his loot “That’s a relief. Alright, 34 wolf fangs…that fang earlier gave me 10 more gold to the already minimum 10, so I’ll get 340 gold more. Means a total of 360. If the gold works in the Shop inside the system, then what will I be able to buy? I wonder…..”

He continued to ramble, doing the calculations and thinking of the possibilities the System’s Shop would give him. All while he juggled the green colored teleportation stone in his left hand.

“Could it have weapons? Oh! What if it has healing stuff?! That’d be so cool!” Izuku exclaimed as he looked at the teleportation stone “I wonder what will happen to this dungeon once I use this. Will it disappear without a trace? I am tempted to find it, but I don’t think I am going to use this bad boy right now.”

He smiled and put the stone into his Inventory, letting the System gulp it down into its pit.

“I have no intention of escaping right now. If there are more of the Lycans, I might level up more.” Izuku said as he walked down the corridor “Besides, what kind of a hero will I be if I can’t even take on dangers or risks?”

[Meanwhile]

Joohee was walking down the streets in her red coat, when she received a phone call. She opened her red bag on her waist and pulled her phone out. She accepted the call and placed it on her ear.

“Hello, this is Lee Joohee….” Joohee spoke into the call “From the Hunter’s Association? I apologize about the other day.”

She then stopped at the footpath after hearing from the other end of the call. “There was a dungeon break at the gate?! That’s nearby.”

Small guilt filled her conscience as she remembered the offer the other day and mentally berated herself. ‘If I hadn’t turned down that offer…’

The person in charge on the other end of the call spoke up “We’ve been assembling free hunters to deal with it, but…there’s such a shortage of healers…”

Joohee stayed silent, her eyes hidden by her hair. She wanted to reject so badly, but then she remembered watching Izuku exercising the other day outside the hospital on the field down below. He still had that determined look, if not he looked more determined that day.

Her lips shook as she finally answered back, “I understand.”

If her friend can do it, then so can she to also. Where's the harm in trying?

[Back at the dungeon]

Izuku smashed away at a monstrous monkey, which was named as a [Razor-Clawed Briga] in his system. He threw his sword at another monster, a dog looking creature which was named as [Black-Shadow Razan] in his system.

‘The higher I level up, the more easier it is becoming to defeat these beasts.’ Izuku thought as he kicked away another Black-Shadow Razan into a nearby wall, killing it.

He stopped to catch his breath as he looked at his surroundings. The sword he threw was still stuck to the earlier Razan, which he pulled out. He then inspected the damage to it.

“It is still scratched only and no cracks, so I guess I have still better chance at defeating the boss.” Izuku muttered as he looked at the dead monsters and then at the names his system showed “The color of the text describing them has changed. If my guess is correct, white is weak. Orange means equal to me. And red means out of my league. Well, I think I have grown more stronger, since the Lycans at first had red, but are now white.”

He continued to walk more down the corridor, clutching his sword tight as he surveyed the surroundings. Following his perception ability, he walked towards a staircase leading down into the subway and gulped.

“Something’s down there….And it’s definitely not weak.” Izuku muttered “Maybe it’s the boss.”

He opened up his Status window and looked at it, observing the new changes given to him.

[STATUS]

15                         Job: None

Level                    Title: None

+ ---------------------------                MP ----------------------
HP                        1110/1163                                      200/200

Fatigue: 30

STR: 41                                             VIT: 29

AGI: 30                                              INT: 49

        PER: 20                                                   Available

                                                                           Ability

                                                                               Points: 0

“Well, this seems the end of me gaining anymore EXP.” Izuku sighed “Meaning I have no other choice than to finally confront the boss. I still have no idea why my Intelligence is so high from the start. Was I really that much smart?”

He then put his sword down beside and sat down on the stairs, sighing and looking at the darkness looming at the end of the staircase.

“Let me lower my Fatigue to at least 20 and then I’ll go down. If I go right now, I’ll risk myself passing out faster.” Izuku thought as he looked at his Inventory “Meanwhile, I think I should check on my drops one more time so that I can find anything that’s worth for the upcoming battle.”

He checked his entire inventory, finding only the ones he got earlier. Traveler’s cloak, worn out daggers, wolf fangs, teleportation stone and nothing else. The number of wolf fangs were now increased to 39. He continued to look at them, drinking water from his bottle from his bag.

For 10 minutes, he sat still, not moving much and just calculating all the possibilities for the upcoming battle. Strategizing about how to properly utilize the sword this time. He has been swinging it blindly and throwing it at the enemies this entire time. The boss isn’t someone he can mess around. He will have to rely a lot, and by that, he meant, a LOT, on his strength and agility to pull off any miracle.

All this while, his fatigue reduced to 19. He continued to plan when he noticed it finally and blinked.

“Oh! It reduced one step more.” Izuku stood back up and picked up his sword

With that, he started walking down the stairway of the subway, steeling his nerves for what he describes in his mind as his first, actual dangerous fight ever since he got the System by unknown means. Each step he took just continued to fill him up with anxiety and nervousness. The staircase, which normally was long enough for only a 3-minute walk down, felt like half an hour to him.

After finally what seemed like eternity, Midoriya reached down the subway and looked around. It was dark and invaded with moss and tree branches. The train tracks were filled with water. It looked something out of a horror slasher movie or something from the found footage movies like the Blair Witch Project.

“….I did enter the right place, right?” Izuku asked himself nervously as he looked around the horrific place “It looks a lot like Silent Hill. One minute I am in my own dimension and the next moment, I am in the Otherworld.”

Suddenly, a fast ripple zoomed through the waters on the tracks, causing Izuku to barely miss the huge blue tail which smacked him towards the wall behind him, snapping his sword instantly and knocking the wind out of him.

‘Too fast!’ Izuku thought as he coughed and looked in front of him, where the water rose up and soon cleared out to reveal a gigantic snake-like monster. ‘Are you serious?! Even after all that leveling up, its name is still…orange?!’

True to his fears, the monster, which was a gigantic snake-looking creature, was recognized by the System with an orange name instead of white.

<<KING OF THE SWAMP BLUE VENOM-FANGED KASAKA>>

‘So, this means, this dungeon was specifically formed to let me level up and be equal with the boss. Does this mean this System is testing me?’ he thought as he stood up and looked at the scales of the Kasaka ‘No way is this handicapped sword going to do anything to those armored scales. Does this mean….only my smashes are the way? There’s no way I can even dent this guy!’

He stood up and readied himself with a stance, the broken sword in his left hand. The Kasaka, seeing this as an invitation to finally begin the fight, launched itself towards him, who quickly used his right foot and kicked it, changing its direction slightly and using the sword to do even a small bit of damage.

‘The way it’s attacking by throwing its weight at this speed….it is really acting like a snake!’ Izuku tried to do even a small dent, but nothing happened.

The Kasaka turned around and revolving its head around the air to gain momentum, once again lunged at the young man. Izuku quickly dodged it and started running towards the other end of the subway, only for the monster to use its tail and attack him from the front, catching him off guard and launching him towards itself. It then smacked him away into the water with its tail skillfully.

Midoriya tried to swim out of the waters, only for the beast to drag him out and smack him away again at blitzing speeds. He fell down on the ground, rolling away with the broken sword out of his hand. In a second, the Kasaka launched the train on tracks at the young man, who widened his eyes and jumped away quickly in desperation. The impact caused him to crash into the nearby wall.

‘Is this….what the high ranked Hunters deal every day?’ He thought as he quickly got up and took his broken sword back before the Kasaka launched itself at him, causing him to try his best to block and use his own strength

However, all it did was just make the beast throw the poor young man away. He tried to stop himself to take a glance, but even that wasn’t granted, as the beast smacked him away onto the nearby pillar. Izuku fell away, sprawling onto the ground. He panted hard; his nose was broken.

“…….No….I can’t lose now…I have come so far…..” He stood up, panting, “All my life, all I wanted was to help others. But all I realized was that unless you have strength, unimaginable strength, skills won’t help much.”

His clenched his fist as he looked at the Kasaka, which was looming over him. He didn’t noticed the red energy lines which started gathering at his legs.

“I don’t care what happens to me! I will become a hero!" Deku declared, determined "I WILL SAVE PEOPLE!!"

(!)   [NOTIFICATION]

[Skill Quest:

Nine Generations]

[✓]

Reward Received:

One For All

Deku crouched down on the ground as the red energy veins laced the legs. He then jumped with what he could describe as the most fastest speed he has ever achieved even with the System enhancements. He zoomed towards the Kasaka’s face, causing it to widen its eyes in shock at the sudden speed and clenched his right fist, causing the same red energy veins to cover it and cause his skin to glow bright yellow. The entire sleeve tore off from the intense energy.

A voice called out from his mind as Deku closed onto the beast. “Clench your buttocks kid. And yell it from the depths of your heart!”

“SMASH!!!!” With a mighty yell, Deku punched the monster away, blowing away the head

The impact was enough to damage the entire the body of the beast, breaking away all of the armored scales. The entire subway shook with the impact as the Kasaka’s decapitated head flew through the multiple walls, having been flattened by the attack. Deku looked at it in shock as he fell down on the separated body of the Kasaka on the ground.

“H-Huh?” Deku was speechless. Never in his entire life had he seen such power. Even the Hunters he knows, the S-Rank ones, had never showed this level of strength. “W-What the…”

He looked at his right arm, which was now mangled up. The bones were completely shattered. And his legs were no good too. They were now completely noodles. Not a single bone or joint remained intact. The injuries were something akin to surviving a fall from a high story building.

“…..This…never happened before…” said Deku, still in shock as the adrenaline finally wore off, but he was in too much shock to even register the pain.

He fell down on the headless corpse of the Kasaka, just stunned and shocked to his core. Multiple notifications appeared, making him finally snap out of his trance as he looked at them. All of them were leveled up notifications. This helped him heal back up.

He winced as all the bones went back to their respective places and joints. He could just feel them all. The smash really turned all his bones in the arm to become powder. His legs were now fine and intact.

“What happened?” Deku asked himself as he looked at a notification window

(!)   [NOTIFICATION]

You have defeated a

[King of the Swamp,

Blue Venom-Fanged Kasaka].

Deku sighed as he looked at his feet, where now there lay a fiery looking small sword. It had design fitting for snake theme. He picked it up and inspected it.

“Got something nice too.” said Deku as he looked at the Item Window

[ITEM: Kasaka’s Venom Fang]

ACQUISITION DIFFICULTY:                                                               CATEGORY:

                           C-rank                                                                                                       Dagger

ATK +25

-Paralysis: Opponent cannot move for a set time.

-Drain: HP -1%/1sec.

A dagger made from a kasaka’s venom fang. It contains kasaka venom.

“Paralysis and drain effects….that would be quite helpful.” said Deku as he turned to the other window “This one however….is a different story.”

[ITEM: Kasaka’s Venom Gland]

ACQUISITION DIFFICULTY:                                                               CATEGORY:

A-rank                                                                                                     Poison

-Kasaka’s Armor Scales: Physical Damage -20%

-Damaged Muscle: STR -35% 

This pouch contains refined kasaka poison. On rare occasions, you can harvest this from a kasaka. Once you drink it, you skin will harden, but your muscles will be permanently damaged from the poison.

“No thank you very much.” said Midoriya, sweatdropping “I’d rather have my normal skin.”

Another Notification window appeared, causing him to turn his head at it. It was the very same notification he had ignored previously when blowing away the beast’s head.

(!)   [NOTIFICATION]

[Skill Quest:

Nine Generations]

[✓]

Reward Received:

One For All

“Skill Quest?” Izuku realized what it was “Wait a second, is this that mystery skill?! I already got it!”

He checked his skill window to confirm and indeed, the mystery skill was now revealed to be this new one, One For All.

“Alright! I got it!” Deku gleefully exclaimed “Let’s see what it is!”

[Skill: One For All]

ACQUISITION DIFFICULTY:                                                               CATEGORY:

S-rank                                                                                                     Meta Ability

ATK +??

DEF +??

-One For All: Increases user’s strength and physical prowess

-All abilities increase by +??%

-Damaged body: ATK and DEF -98%

One For All is a special ability. It can give the user incredible superhuman strength in any part of their body, but if the body isn’t properly strong enough to handle it, the limbs will blow off. The user’s body needs to be strong through natural training. The System’s enhancements to the user will not help mitigating the criteria.

Since it’s technically not a skill, user can activate it separately at any time and any place at will.

“…Should I be worried?”  Izuku asked to himself nervously, sweating heavily as watched the contents “There’s no way my body still isn’t strong enough! I have been training for 2-3 weeks and fulfilling the Daily Quests every day! How is it possible?”

He sat up and pondered over it. There’s absolutely no way his body isn’t strong enough to handle this new ‘Meta Ability’. He has trained hard the entire month, completing his Daily Quests regularly. He even started growing abs on his body! Albeit he had figured out the more he completed Daily Quests and leveled, the faster his body grew. Unless….

“Hold on a sec….user’s body needs to be strong through….natural training….” Izuku realized it and slapped his forehead “Of course….All this time, my body was being trained by the System….so it’s technically stronger than before, but this One For All requires ME to train it MYSELF….Oh, great. This means that I will have to actually do more workout than the normal ones I do.”

He groaned. He does some extra workouts too, like hand-gripping, air chair exercise, air kicks etc. But since they were small to affect his body completely, he will have to do extra, heavy workouts for many days or even months to buff himself. The ones a human, a completely normal human does.

“….Fine. I accept your challenge.” Midoriya sighed, taking up this criteria as a challenge “I will use it sooner or later. You’ll see.”

He was glad for one thing though. He can use this One For All at will without resorting to the System, so it’s kind of like two separate powers. He’ll definitely analyze it better from now on, having seen it’s effect at full power. It’s definitely a power that has unimaginable potential, given the fact his buffs had unknown percentage increase.

Another window opened up, causing the young man to look at it. It was a notification window.

(!)    [NOTIFICATION]

As the boss has been defeated.

the dungeon will now revert

to its original state.

Before the young man could say anything, the headless corpse of the Kasaka started glowing and soon, the entire place vanished in a bright glow and soon, he was standing on the platform of the normal, original subway station. He looked around, seeing that everything was back and that, the dungeon did disappeared.

“….Welp. Let’s get going then.” Izuku put his Kasaka dagger into his Inventory and picking up his broken sword, started to walk back up, leaving the platform where he had just fought for his life, behind.

All while he forgot about the voice from earlier.

Minutes later, he reached the exit of the Hapjeong Metro Station. It was nighttime and raining. The streets were all empty and quiet with no sign of life. No people, not even street dogs or stray cats who usually occupy the alleys. This surprised the young green haired man as he continued to blink and look around the surroundings. It looked like a

“No one’s around? Is it midnight already?” Izuku muttered to himself “I wish the dungeon dimensions didn’t followed real-life timings….”

“Excuse me! You can’t go in there.”

A police officer holding an AR-15 assault with a stock similar to an LMG’s walked up to him. He was wearing a body armor and helmet for protection.

“Didn’t you hear the broadcast?” asked the officer

“Broadcast?” Midoriya blinked “What happened?”

“Come on, don’t play around…” the officer started, when his eyes fell onto Izuku’s hand, which was the clutching the broken sword and the torn sleeve of his jacket “Wait, are you a hunter?”

“Uh…yeah. I am.” answered Midoriya

The soldier quickly stood still and said, “My apologies, then! Let me show you to the battle. This way, please.”

“Oh, sure thing.” Midoriya replied

The soldier walked down the streets slowly as Midoriya followed him. He looked around city as he saw multiple broken cars and what seemed to be corpses of dead magical beasts. The sight instantly gave him the answer to the current ghoulish sight of the city.

“I see. A dungeon break.” Izuku said “No wonder this place was so quiet like something out of Silent Hill. When did this begun?”

“Just a few hours ago.” replied the officer “It’s mostly taken care of, but there’s one big one left.”

Izuku nodded. He could feel the danger of the big one from the other side of the nearby building due to his high perception at 20. A beast quite big and probably not too much weak.

The soldier managed to take Midoriya to the said place, where he looked at the monster in awe. There were many hunters on sight, all of them trying their best to finish it off but in vain. A large crowd were standing there, looking at the monster with some clicking pictures. More officers were present there, doing their best to keep the civilians in safe zone.

“A kaiju!” Izuku exclaimed, surprised “Well, maybe a golem-kaiju?”

It was a golem with bright blue essence glowing onto it. It was as big as a big building. The hunters weren’t able to do much, still trying their best. The green haired young man observed the situation properly.

‘A haphazard combination of a team…’ Izuku observed the hunters ‘I don’t blame them for having problems. 8 E-Ranks and 2 D-Ranks. One D-Rank is tank. No wonder the fight is being a stalemate the entire time. There aren’t proper infantries for offense. Among the healers, 2 D-Ranks and a B-Rank. Wait a sec, B-Rank?’

Midoriya blinked. He wasn’t imagining. It was indeed Joohee Lee on scene, though it seemed, she was more frozen in fear than joining the fight. One of the fighters, a woman with a crossbow, turned back at her, frustrated.

“You need to help someone! Aren’t you a B-Rank healer?!” asked the woman “Don’t just stand there!”

“R-Right!” replied Joohee as she faced her both of her palms to the front in the air, a golden glyph forming with a triangle

“Seriously, stay focused!” said the woman

Joohee did. She did her best. She REALLY did. She focused hard. She closed her eyes to focus hard, only for the image of that God statue back with its creepy evil, sinister smile to flash once again in her mind and make her widened her eyes in fear. This was enough to cause the healing glyph to glitch and disappear.

Deku watched it and felt bad for the poor girl. He could easily see how much shaken up she is. Even though so much time has passed ever since the incident, it still terrified her to the core. He won’t deny he didn’t get small flashbacks, even after growing out of it. He then looked at the hunters fighting in vain and clenched his fists.

Deku then started walking backwards and ready his right hand, which was still clutching the broken sword tightly.

‘It’s a D-Rank boss. It’ll be fine.’ He told himself mentally ‘If I break just the defenses for them, then even an E-Rank with an expensive weapon can kill it!’

He readied his weapon, but then remembered something. One For All amplifies all of his physical power significantly. It can give him a confirmed kill shot. So, he activated it, causing his right hand to glow with the same red energy veins.

‘But…if I do this….’ he looked at his arm, remembering what happened back ‘My entire arm will blow off again. And neither I have Full Recovery available nor will I level up after hitting this kaiju to heal up.’

He wondered what to do and decided to check onto the skill once again, opening the Skill section again.

[Skill: One For All]

ACQUISITION DIFFICULTY:                                                               CATEGORY:

S-rank                                                                                                     Meta Ability/Quirk

ATK +??

DEF +??

-One For All: Increases user’s strength and physical prowess

-All abilities increase by +??%

-Damage Recoil: ATK and DEF -98%

One For All is a special ability. It can give the user incredible superhuman strength in any part of their body, but if the body isn’t properly strong enough to handle it, the limbs will blow off. The user’s body needs to be strong through natural training. The System’s enhancements to the user will not help mitigating the criteria.

Since it’s technically not a skill, the user can activate it separately at any time and any place at will.

“Separate activation…amplification….recoil….” Deku muttered, his eyes moving rapidly, when he noticed something “Any part of the body? So that would mean that currently the power is active only on my right arm. So that means…!”

He looked at his fingers on his right hand, which were gripping the sword tight.

“I can power up only my fingers and get away with just small fractures!” With that, Midoriya gripped the sword at the extreme of the handle, using only four of his fingers alongside his thumb. He brought his arm behind.

‘Energy….electricity….Back there…..’ Remembering the smash he did back there in the dungeon, he surmised quickly ‘An egg in a microwave, not exploding! Just gotta increase the heat but only enough to make the egg to its limit, but not make it burst out.’

Repeating it and imagining the metaphor visually in his mind, Izuku took a stance with his arm behind, gripping the sword tightly.

‘Remember…the egg will not explode!’ Izuku yelled in his mind as he brought his arm forward, his fingers glowing up at the last second

“SMASH!!”

With a powerful throw, powering his fingers at the last moment of impact, he threw the broken sword straight at the giant. A huge shockwave launched it at blinding speeds, the handle crashing onto the golem and not only breaking the defenses but BREAKING a giant part of its head.

The hunters down immediately noticed it, finally getting the required edge for their victory.

“Good! Its defenses are down!”

“Take it down now!”

With that, all of hunters started attacking it with their weapons. And true to it, the defenses were completely down, so it was so weak now, a single slash created a chain of explosions in its body. After just 10 seconds, the entire golem kaiju fell down on the ground, finally defeated by the low ranked hunters.

“We did it…We actually did it!”

One of the hunters, the D-Rank tank, looked at the now fallen down golem. ‘None of our attacks were working. What suddenly shattered its defense and blew off a part of its face? It wasn’t us. We weren’t doing any damage at all. What was that thing that came flying?’

The man looked at the object which was the broken sword fallen on the ground. Except the blade was now completely broken into pieces and the handle was completely crushed and compacted into a small structure. The tank looked at it nervously.

‘A boss-level golem that over ten people couldn’t scratch got taken down by that?!’ thought the man

The man looked at the officer who came there a few seconds earlier as the other hunters got tended to by the other officers, The crowd had dispersed by now, only a few remaining behind.

“Excuse me.” the man called out to the officer, who looked at him. He pointed at the shattered and compacted sword on the ground “Who threw that broken sword?”

“Oh, it was the hunter who…” the officer turned around, only to see no one “Huh? He was just…”

The tank man sweated with wide eyes hearing this. ‘What incredible power. Was it some high-ranked hunter?’

Meanwhile, Izuku walked down the alleyway, his right sleeve torn and his fingers of his right hand bruised and broken, excluding the pinky finger. He stopped and turned around, looking at the site one last time.

“I went a bit overkill.” he said to himself “They already weakened it a lot. My attack just went beyond. Maybe only my normal System enhancement was enough….”

With that, Izuku walked away, having finished his day with not only his Daily Quests, the dungeon and 2 powerful bosses, but also getting a new ability and managing to join the team in saving the civilians from the golem attack.

All while, Joohee Lee looked at the empty spot of the now almost dispersed crowd. She may be only a healer, but even she has good eyes when it comes to things like this.

“Izuku….?” she said to herself, having trouble to conclude whether this is just a joke or an imagination or just side effects from her trauma as the rain continued to pour down on this silent town.

Chapter Text

“Oh my gosh, did you see him?”

“I sure did! You mean the E-Rank, right? The Japanese Hunter?”

The nurses were gossiping regarding Midoriya’s growth and good looks, all while he was currently doing push-ups in his room, training like he usually does. He has been hard at it since early morning.

“His face is kind of plain, maybe leaning toward average.”

“He’s not that much huge, when you see under his clothes, it’s like ‘Whoa!’. Along with the bodily scars too!”

“When did we get a patient like that?!”

“I didn’t see him before.”

The nurses continued gossiping in the changing room, doing their best not to raise their volume too much but in vain. Good thing Midoriya’s room wasn’t anywhere near.

“He didn’t stand out at first, but he’s apparently been exercising even more. He isn’t too muscular but somehow looks good with what he has. Like an athlete! And the scars on his face suit his face so good!”

“Seriously? He’s lucky he already had a healthy body. Maybe amping up his exercises shaped him up better.”

Minutes later, there was a knock on the door to Izuku’s room as one of the nurses had arrived with the reports.

“Excuse me. Mr. Izuku Midoriya…” the nurse opened the door and slightly gasped, covering her mouth.

Midoriya was there, standing and cleaning his sweat off. His body indeed wasn’t too muscular, but he definitely looked like an athlete. And the bodily scars, especially on his arms, just made him look cooler. And this is just excluding his face scars.

“Hm? Kyah!” Midoriya instantly got flustered as he went to look for his shirt to put on “S-Sorry!”

“No! Pardon me, actually!” said the nurse, turning her head away with pink tints on her cheeks as she slowly turned back to watch him fumble with his shirt, not able to take her eyes off the abs and scars as she lightly bit her lip ‘That body….Was it always such an eyesight? Maybe those exercises really paid off....’

Midoriya finally managed to put his ‘Flannel Shirt’ t-shirt back on. He then looked at her and smiled sheepishly, “I apologize. I was feeling stiff and thought exercise could fix it. So, do you need anything from me, miss?”

“Oh right!” the nurse nodded “You’re going to be discharged today. How are you feeling?”

“Absolute fine.” He smiled and bowed “All of you did an amazing job. I am really grateful to all you nurses especially, for all the hard work you do, with staying up late at night and checking constantly on me and all. Thanks a lot.”

“It’s fine. It’s our job anyway.” the nurse smiled “Well, come by reception when you’re ready, and we’ll handle the paperwork.”

“Ah, sure thing. Give me just 15 minutes.” Midoriya nodded, smiling as he went over to his yellow backpack to check on his stuff

The nurse looked at his back. She couldn’t believe she was going to do this, but if she didn’t, she might lose a shot. “E-Excuse me!”

“Hm? Yeah?” the green haired man looked around, only to find her phone shoved near his face in her hands

“Could I get your contact info?!” said the nurse, blushing faintly

“Uh…sure thing?” Midoriya replied as he took the phone and entered his number, before saving it under his name ‘Izuku Midoriya’, and giving it back to her, before giving his own phone to her to save hers.

“Thank you.” the nurse took her phone back and quickly saved her number into his phone before shakily giving it back to him

“You’re welcome. Thanks again, miss.” Midoriya smiled as he took the phone

“Y-Yes…Please excuse me!” the nurse then finally left the room

Midoriya sighed. “She was a really pleasant woman to talk to.” he said to himself, smiling

He went back to check on his bag, before stopping suddenly. He took out his phone back out quickly and scrolled through his contact to see a new name, which instantly made him widen his eyes and blush hard, steam coming out of his ears.

“I-I can’t another girl’s number! Woah!” Despite being a 24-year-old man, small things like these didn’t took much time to revert him back to a 16-year-old. After all, he didn’t meet many girls his age when he was a teenager, so he was obviously having anxiety about it. Jinah didn’t count as she was younger than him, a sister to him. Joohee obviously counted, so in total, he has managed to get two girls’ numbers, even if one of them is his nurse.

He shook his head and quickly put his phone back inside his pocket before checking on his backpack to pack his other stuff. All while the name of the nurse and the number beneath it just continued to embarrass him more and more in his head.

“Choi Yoora”

[Timeskip]

“Good morning, everyone!”

Jinah was eating a rice cracker while watching the news on the television right before school. It was the New ULTRA MORNING channel. An interview was starting and the interviewer, a woman, was interviewing a red-haired man beside her.

“I’m here with our special guest…” the woman gestured at the said man

The man smiled at the camera. “Nice to meet you. I’m Baek Yoonho.” said he.

“Hunter Baek, you must keep busy as one of the only seven S-Rank hunters in the country.” started the woman “What’s a hunter’s life when they’re not exploring dungeons?”

“That’s a good question. There’s a lot of training.” said Baek “Hunters are gifted, but far more perfect. You need to hone your skills, each and every day. If you were to lose touch with the feel of real combat, it could dull your instincts. Take our late hero, All Might for example. He was someone who trained every day and that’s how, he was the strongest.”

“Everyday, then? That must be tough.” said the interviewer "Still, All Might never told his secrets to anyone! I thought that since he used to be your friend before his death, he must've told you."

"That is not true." Baek laughed, remembering him fondly "That bastard always hid his strength. Making up excuses and jokes and acting like a child when caught...it was his charisma that somehow swayed everyone from asking him at all."

"I see. No wonder..." the interviewer nodded "What about you?"

“In my case, I made a habit of training back when I was a firefighter.” answered Baek “If  I make even the slightest, mistake, my comrades could get injured. That thought alone keeps me on my toes.”

“Oh crap! Look at the time!” Jinah exclaimed as she turned off the tv and put her backpack on

Izuku had just woken up, feeling groggy after his release yesterday. He walked out of his room just as Jinha walked up the stairs.

“Izuku?” she called out

“Ohaiyo Guzaimasu, Jinah-chan.” Izuku replied in Japanese, yawning

“Oh you’re up?” she asked

“I didn’t get a good sleep after yesterday.” he replied, scratching his cheek scar “Be careful on your way to school, kid.”

“There’s some leftovers from last night in the fridge…so…” Jinah stopped herself midway. Izuku was scratching his belly, where his former abs, which were slightly flat, were now more prominent, along with scars “Okay, so have you been working out, Izuku?”

“Hm? Oh yeah. I can’t stay at bed all day. It’ll stiffen me up.” Midoriya replied

“That scar really looks goofy on you, you know.” said Jinah, pointing at his head, where the hair was completely shaven “But then again, it’s you we’re talking about. Of course it’ll look goofy. And cool too.”

Izuku sighed, smiling as she walked towards the front door. “I’m heading out.” said she, wearing her shoes.

“Hey, Don’t forget an umbrella.” said Midoriya as he went and gave her one

“It’s nice out today. Plus, it’d be heavy.” protested Jinah as she tried to go away, only to be pulled back by the caretaker.

“The word heavy has lost all it’s meaning in today’s world.” said he, putting the umbrella inside her bag.

“Aw, come on. Quit it.” said Jinah

“Nope. There you go.” said Izuku, zipping her bag close

“Yeah, okay. I’m going now.” said Jinah

“Be careful out there.” said Izuku

He smiled, waving at her as she walked out of the door. However, before leaving, she gave him one last look, smiling over her shoulder.

“Take care, Mr. Caretaker~”

With that, she left the house as Izuku blinked and shook his head. Maybe he was imagining things a bit too much. Best not to overdo and let his brain rest a bit. Looks like getting the nurse’s number has affected him a lot.

He went back inside the living room and opened his system to check on his Daily Goals.

GOAL

Push-ups                             [100/100] [✓]

 Sit-ups                               [100/100] [✓]

Squats                                [100/100] [✓]

Running                             [100/100] [✓]

“Should I go for running right now?” he muttered to himself “You know what? I’ll do it later. Besides, the goals have a duration of the entire day, so I won’t have much problem.”

He flexed his own muscles, frowning. “It’s weird. I am far more physically strong than before, yet that weird skill One For All is still way too powerful for my hand to handle. Maybe I have to keep on doing this.”

[STATUS]

18                         Job: None

Level                    Title: None

+ ------------------------------           MP ----------------------
HP                        2220/2220                                      350/350

Fatigue: 0

STR: 50                                             VIT: 30

AGI: 32                                              INT: 49

       PER: 29                                                  Available

                                                                  Ability

                                                                         Points: 12

“Oh yeah, I still haven’t used my points from before.” he went into deep thought and started muttering “Now where should I assign these…? Strength is already backed up with One For All, even if it’s a bit too much. 50 should be fine enough. Intellect is at 49, already at a higher level. Perception? It’s enough to feel any target’s presence nearby…Hm….Vitality…..agility….You know what? I think I know what to take.”

He used up all of his points on the said skills he thinks is more important for him at the current level he is in.

[STATUS]

18                         Job: None

Level                    Title: None

+ ------------------------------           MP ----------------------
HP                        2220/2220                                      350/350

Fatigue: 0

STR: 50                                             VIT: 33

 AGI: 38                                              INT: 49

 PER: 32                                           Available

                                                            Ability

                                                                Points: 0

“That looks good now.” he smiled, when he received a phone call. He looked at the caller ID and instantly panicked, picking it up. “Moshi Moshi! Midoriya Izuku des-it’s Izuku Midoriya!”

“You finally picked up.” it was the landlord

“Ah, gomen gomen! I’ve been in the hospital actually!” Midoriya replied “It’s about the rent, right?”

“Right. You hadn’t paid for this month yet…” said the landlord “But if you need, we can put it off for a bit.”

“It’s fine sir. I’ll get it to you right away. I’d rather not have debts with me or the Sung family.” replied Midoriya

“I see. Well, I’ll be waiting. You be careful now.” said the landlord before cutting the call

Midoriya sighed and put the phone away, before looking up at the ceiling. “I don’t know if this System really counts as a re-awakening or not, but now that I can compete against goblins or slightly stronger monsters, I should be able to make rent money decently.”

He then sat down on the couch and started scrolling down the Hunter invitations, in case anything caught his eye. “That said…. it’s not exactly easy, either. To make good money, I need to go through higher-ranked gates. Obviously no one’s gonna let an E-Rank hunter into those.”

His eyes fell on the recent magazine. INSIGHTFUL TIMES. It had the image of Baek Yoonho, a crimson haired man and a blonde woman. This hit him with an idea.

“Should I get re-appraised?” he muttered, tapping his chin “Now that I am stronger than before, I should be able to get into C or even B. A higher rank could get me into better gates, but then the attention…no, that would be both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, I’ll earn more, but on the other hand, I’ll become notorious and stand out the most. Re-Awakenings are so rare, after all. And I doubt there ever existed anyone who had the power to level up and keep growing strong. The press will chomp me down…Nope. I better not. I’d rather take up multiple low ranked ones to earn the same money than take up a high ranked one, at least, not until I know what even IS this power.”

*BEEP*

His attention immediately went to the beeping sound of his phone. He looked at the screen and widened his eyes.

“Huh?” was all he could say

[Timeskip]

It was a medium-sized construction site in the middle of the city. Midoriya was running down the streets towards it in his blue half jacket and black shirt and shorts along with his red shoes. He didn’t take any cab or taxi. One because to save money and two, exercising by running is good for health. Then there was his daily goal he had left earlier.

He stopped in front of the site and noticed the running goal in his system finally complete. “Confirm.” said he, as the screen showed three rewards.

1. Full Recovery

2. Ability Points+3

3. Random Loot BOX

Accept this rewards?

[Yes]                    [No]

“Hey there!”

Before he could contemplate on what to select, a male voice called out to him right in front. He looked up to see a group of men walking over to him. 4 of them were wearing normal knight armour plates. One of the them was wearing a green cape around him and lastly, the front guy was muscular and had scars on his arms. He was wearing just an arm protector and one shoulder pad. And only a single dagger was on his waist utility belt. He could be easily guessed to be the leader.

“I’m Hwang Dongsuk.” said the man, now named as Dongsuk as he shook hands with Midoriya

“Izuku Midoriya.” said Izuku, shaking hands

“You’re E-Rank, right?” asked Dongsuk

“Yes sir.” replied Izuku

One of the men with a partial afro peeked behind the leader. “Oh I know this guys! He’s actually famous! He’s known for being a horrible Japanese Hunter. I think his nickname is “The Weakest and Emotional Hunter of All Mankind.” said he.

“Whoa, are you serious?” the green caped one chuckled a bit

“Okay, knock it off!” said Dongsuk “Sorry about my people back there.”

“It’s fine. I am actually E-Rank, so will that be an issue?” Izuku asked

The man raised up a writing pad. “Not at all. We need you to meet the quota more than anything else.” said he “I told you over the phone, but just to confirm…This is going to be a C-Rank dungeon, and we need a minimum of eight people to enter. Among which at least half of the members need to be C-Rank.”

Midoriya held the writing pad and checked the contract written on it as Dongsuk continued. “You won’t be a combatant, so we won’t be sharing the spoils with you….But we’re prepared to pay you 2,000,000 for participating.”

‘Four C-Ranks and two sub-D-Ranks.' Izuku looked up at the team as his perception flared up, letting him appraise them. He nodded and said, “Understood. What do you need me to do?”

The man pointed nearby, where two bags with water and supplies alongside two pickaxes were kept against the wall. “If you could help with our baggage. It’s food to eat on the inside, along with spare clothing and gear and a first aid kit.”

Something hit him suddenly. “Wait a second, are you doing this without a healer?” asked Izuku.

“I’m sure you know it’s hard for independent parties to retain those.” Dongsuk smiled and patted on Midoriya’s shoulder “It’s fine. We do our raids without a healer.”

Midoriya said nothing. It was strange to see a squad full of only tanks and damage dealers. Even the S-Rankers didn’t had any squad like that. These guys were either crazy or suicidal. The fact there was no healer continued to ick him as Dongsuk handed him a pen.

“If you could just sign the contract.” said he

Midoriya took it and signed it, reading it before. ‘No liability for anything that happens inside of the dungeon, huh? Sounds dangerous to me.’

He gave it back to the leader. The man then tore the page off the pad and gave it to him, who looked at it once again. He was contemplating on the conditions again, when…

“Well, hello there, fellow temporary recruit! It looks like we’re here for the same reason.”

Midoriya blinked as he looked up at Dongsuk, who was also blinking. “That wasn’t me.” said he.

Footsteps were heard as the green haired man turned to look at a brown hair man with a military style haircut walking over to them. He was wearing a white armour with golden borders on it. The man was shorter in height than Midoriya.

“I’m Yoo Jinho. Twenty-one years old, D-Rank.” said the man, now named as Jinho “I’m here to meet the quota, too.”

Midoriya just had his eyes widened and face twitching. He wasn’t hallucinating, neither the arrival of the System in his life had made him mad. No, this man’s voice was really similar to his own! The tone and even the way he talks! And what’s more, this man looks like a kid to him, like how he looks like one to the older people.

But then he noticed the gear again. The armor and the weapons, which consisted of a red shield with golden design and a sword which had a golden hilt with a red diamond shaped jewel in the medal. The sword was sheathed in a white colored scabbard which also had the gold designs.

‘A D-Rank with gear like that? This means the kid’s family is rich.’ Midoriya mused, as the gear literally glistened from the sun rays.

“Is this your first time in a C-Rank dungeon?” asked Jinho as he gave a bright smile “Don’t worry! I’ll keep you safe.”

Midoriya sighed before chuckling. This boy literally has the same energy as him. Maybe all that needs to be changed is just the looks and soon he will have a twin.

Few minutes later, the team readied their weapons and equipments. Midoriya and Jinho were at the last of the group, with the former picking up both the bags by taking one behind and another in front of him, while setting the pickaxes in the bag behind him to prevent his face from getting hit by it.

“Let’s go on our way.” said Dongsuk

The group then started walking through the construction site. Jinho looked at Midoriya carrying both the bags. “Those bags look heavy. Are you gonna be okay?” asked he.

“Don’t worry. It’s the farthest from anything heavy I have ever lifted.” Midoriya replied, smiling back

Jinho instantly gasped in surprise as sparkles appeared in his eyes. “Woah! You have the same voice as me! That’s so cool! We could easily confuse anyone with them!” said he.

“Haha….probably.” Midoriya chuckled, not minding that the boy took more time to figure out about their voices being same.

“Also, I’m younger, so don’t worry about being polite or anything.” said Jinho

“Not too much though.” Midoriya replied. “Just two years. I’m 24.”

“Still, you’re older than me.” said Jinho “By the way, did you hear about the president who was handling this site? He fled overseas two months ago with 900 billion he embezzled. The workers and investors were aghast.”

“That sounds horrible.” Midoriya replied, eyes widened “I tend to keep up with the news regarding the Hunters more often, so I end up missing out the other major ones. Was he ever found then?”

“They’re still searching for him, but it’ll take many years.” replied Jinho “And even then, they won’t be successful. Identity changing is quite easy with the amount he took with him.”

“That’s true. The guy could easily opt for a high tier plastic surgery and name change constantly.” said Midoriya, nodding

The duo continued to ramble on as the group made their way to the dungeon gate. Jinho was glad this Midoriya was actually able to keep up with his rambling, as he was bad at social cues. Though obviously he didn’t did anything provoked Midoriya’s muttering which he won’t be able to handle. All while Midoriya found another reason Jinho and he are literally similar.

“This is it.” the group finally stood in front of the blue, swirling dungeon gate which was at a different part of the site. It was even bigger than the ones Midoriya has visited, proving the high rank of it.

“Damn! Get a load of the size of that thing!”

“Gates thig big are pretty rare.”

“Mr. Dongsuk, is this really a C-Rank dungeon? Seems kinda…big.”

“The Association folks checked twice, and they say it’s C-Rank. No doubt about it.” Dongsuk answered back

“That really is a huge gate.” said Jinho, sweat pouring down his face “Are we going to be okay?”

“Let’s see what’s going to happen. Then we’ll decide on the answer of that question.” said Midoriya “Besides, the size of the gate doesn’t matter that much. What matters is the level of magic power coming from within. That’s what the Association measures to assign a rank. Bigger, dangerous ones like B-Rank or higher is handled by larger guilds. Because any lower ranked will literally freeze in fear at feeling the high magic power.”

“You really know about it a lot, Midoriya.” said Jinho

The said green man smiled. “I’ve been a hunter for a while now.” said he, before muttering to himself “Though now that I think about it, itspossibleitcouldbemorepowerfulifweweretoassumethebossisasbigasthegateandthenagainnoteverything’simpossibletheassociationcould’veeasilyoverlookedanythingdangerousbecauseitwaslyingdormantorwaitingfortherightmoment….”

Midoriya went into a muttering spree as the words flew around him, making Jinho sweatdrop. He was a rambler too, but it seemed he got out beaten by this Japanese Hunter. He tapped Izuku’s shoulder.

“Hey, Midoriya? Snap out of it dude.” said Jinho

“Hm? Oh sorry, I kind to tend to mutter if anything interests me.” said Midoriya sheepishly as he looked at the gate again ‘That said…I’ve never been to a C-Rank dungeon before. The double dungeon being a probably S-Rank isn't something to show off either.’

“Everyone, follow me!” said Dongsuk, standing near the gate

“Yes sir!” said Jinho as he pulled out his sword from its scabbard “Let’s go, Midoriya.”

“Yeah. Let’s do this.” Midoriya gave a determined smile too ‘It’s fine. I have been to that double dungeon one with the Devil Statue. This is nothing.’

The group then started entering the dungeon. It was a dark cave entrance with darkness that stretched far beyond into nothingness.

“Kyuhwan, we need some light.” said Dongsuk

“Got it.” the green caped man, now named as Kyuhwan, replied as he held up his hand and released a light sphere, which floated in the air, lighting up the entire place.

“What is this place? There’s no magic beasts…” said Dongsuk confusedly

“No light, either.” said Kyuhwan

“Most dungeons are covered in glow stones. Where are they?” asked another member of the group as they advanced forward through the cave

‘A pitch-black dungeon…’ thought Midoriya, frowning ‘It reminds me of the Cartenon Temple. Is it possible it has once again spawned here? Hmm….maybe not. We did finished all the rituals as the tablet had instructed and as I was the last one, I did managed to complete it before the flame blew off and I lost my consciousness. So….is it another unique one like it? Maybe I am starting to overthink now…’

Jinho snapped him back from the reality again. “Midoriya, what are glow stones?” asked he.

“Hm? Oh, they’re rocks you tend to see in cave-like dungeons that give off a faint light.” replied Midoriya “They cover the walls and the floor, lighting everything up.”

“So there are essence stones that you recover from magic beasts…” Jinho started counting with his fingers “….mana stones that you can mine from dungeons, and glow stones that light up caves? Seems easy to mix them up.”

Midoriya smiled. “You’ll get used to it.” he couldn’t put his finger as to why he was feeling like a teacher once again like he used to be back in Japan.

Soon, the group stopped near 3 entrances which went further into the cave. The section was divided with the light sphere lighting in the middle of everything. The entrances didn’t looked interesting. And once again, there were no glow stones around.

“There really doesn’t seem to be anything.” said Jinho as he turned to the green haired hero “Midoriya, are there dungeons without magic beasts? Did anything like that existed in Japan?”

“No, they didn’t. Also, shh….” Midoriya shushed him quiet as he closed his eyes to hear for anything wrong

*CHK*

*CHK*

*CHK*

*CHK*

*CHK*

‘I hear them…’ thought Midoriya, eyes still closed ‘They’re here. They just haven’t shown themselves yet.’

The group, finally sensing something’s wrong, quickly readied their weapons, pointing at the entrances with Dongsuk in the lead.

“Everyone, get ready!” said he

Midoriya sweated as he opened his eyes. ‘What creature lurks in large numbers in the darkness and is attracted to light?’ thought he, his mind quickly racing through multiple answers ‘Comparing them with real life animals, let’s see…Wolves? No, they do move in packs but aren’t always attracted by light…Bees? Nope. They get more attracted by flowers. Spiders…they don’t even move in group….Bats? They use echolocation…unless….wait a second…’

He widened his eyes as an incident flashed across his mind. An incident that had occurred many months ago, when he was teaching Jinah mathematics late at night. Only the study lamp was on the room to save electricity on the tubelight.

‘So as you can see, vector has two types of multiple. Cross and Dot Products. Both have different ways to do and use.’ said Midoriya, holding the maths book as he wrote on a rough notebook of his while sitting on the table

‘Okay? So that would mean they have different answers too, right?’ asked Jinah, swatting her hand beside her head

‘Yeah. Dot Product lets you multiple only the coefficients, Cross Product lets you multiply the vectors in a determinant form.’ replied Midoriya

‘Determinant form? Oh great. Don’t tell me it’s also connected with vectors too!’ groaned Jinah, before swatting her hand behind her head again ‘Goddamn it! I’ll wipe your family off this planet, you damn flies!’

‘What’s wrong?’ asked Midoriya

‘What do you think?! These damn flies are annoying the hell outta me!’ exclaimed Jinah, swatting another one ‘Seriously, I am not that much good looking to attract even insects!’

Midoriya laughed. ‘They aren’t attracted to you, kiddo. They’re attracted to the lamp.’ said he, pointing at the study lamp ‘You’re just present here, so they’re also trying against you too.’

‘Of course it has to be the damn lamp.’ groaned Jinah ‘Why didn’t they come when the tube was on earlier?’

‘Because that time, there were more lights turned on.’ said Midoriya as he closed the book ‘We’ve done enough for today. We’ll continue with vectors from tomorrow. Go to sleep. It’s getting late anyway.’

‘Yeah yeah, I know.’ sighed Jinah as Midoriya turned off the lamp

Back in the real world, Midoriya had the realization faster than the others. “We’re dealing with insect-types!” he called out to the team.

“Insects?!” exclaimed Kyuhwan

“Damn it, no wonder it’s dark!” said Dongsuk as the light sphere glowed more to reveal that there more holes in the cave walls, all around the place

“Mr. Dongsuk, do you see anything?” asked one of the members

“No! Nothing!” replied Dongsuk

*CHK*

*CHK*

*CHK*

*CHK*

*CHK*

The sounds of supposed insect type beasts continued to echo throughout the cave and the tunnels, confusing the entire team as Midoriya gritted his teeth and tried to pinpoint the exact location with his high perception.

“Damn it, is this an ant nest?!”

“That’d be really bad!”

“The noise is getting closer!”

“Where the hell are they?!”

“There’re too many tunnels!”

Midoriya opened his eyes wide, as one sound of an insect moving finally entered his ear more clearly than the others. “Above us!” he called out to the others, looking up at the hole right above them.

And like he expected, there were many glowing orangish eyes peering down at the group from the darkness of the tunnels. And then, in an instant, the creatures, which were indeed ants, started dropping from the tunnel right onto them.

“Kyuhwan!” yelled Dongsuk

The said man in response, shot a beam of light right into the hole towards the ants, causing the hole to explode.

“I’ll draw their attention!” said Dongsuk as more ants fell down on him

“Right!” the entire team exclaimed

“Stay close to me, Midoriya!” said Jinho, readying his shield and sword “I’ll keep you safe from these things!”

The team then started firing against the ant beasts which were almost closing in to surround them. Green blood from them continued to spray around the place.

“Come and get me, vermin!” yelled Dongsuk, releasing a burst of a pink aura which caused the ants to instantly turn their attention to him. Even the ones near Jinho started moving towards him.

“Wow…All of the bugs are headed toward Mr. Hwang!” exclaimed Jinho in surprise

 ‘No wonder he’s a C-Rank.’ Midoriya thought in surprise ‘That’s a taunt skill. Few tanks have it. Like in turn-based games, where one-character taunts the entire targets of the group of enemies while having his or her own defence raised up or gets granted with Invincibility.’

“Jinsuk! Eleven o’clock!” exclaimed Dongsuk, cutting down another beast

“Copy that!” The member with the crossbow replied as Dongsuk killed another beast

“I should help-“ Jinho started, only to get interrupted by Kyuhwan

“No! Stay back for now!” said he as he focused his light magic in his hands, which started to produce a blue nucleus in the middle like an electron “Mind the countdown! Five…Four…Three…Two…One…Zero! Here comes a big one! Chew on this!”

All the members moved out of the way as Kyuhwan released the bigger light sphere at the entire colony of ants. They instantly got exploded with triple impacts, flames surrounding them.

“Good! Now, let’s wrap this up!” said Dongsuk, grinning                                           

“Hell yeah!” all of the team then started rushing at the ant beasts

Midoriya meanwhile was watching everything from behind. ‘They’re well-coordinated. Even their communications are excellent. It’s easy to see that they’ve been working together for a long time. Still, they’re a bit rough and brash around the edges, but maybe it could be because of a lack of a healer.’ he thought as he looked at Jinho, who was fighting against a single ant beast which had come up to him ‘As for Jinho…Looks like his gear is compensating for his lack of skill.’

Jinho slashed the ant and gave a grin at Midoriya, who sweatdropped. The latter then turned continued to look at the ongoing fight. ‘They’re doing fine, but…’ one of the ant beasts creeped up on him ‘Something…’ it sped up and went to bite the green haired man as he frowned, only for it to be kicked into two halves with a simple kick ’…feels off. Is my Perception warning me of something? Or am I getting paranoid?’

Dongsuk drove his sword into another last ant beast. “Was that the last one? Well?” asked he as he turned towards the others.

“Yes, sir. No survivors. We’re all done.” said Jinsuk

Dongsuk grinned and sheathed his sword behind him with the shield. “Good! All clear! We grab the essence stones and split them seven ways!” said he, clapping his hand.

“Yeah!” all the members replied loudly as the dead corpses of the ant beasts with green monster blood surrounding them littered all across the place.

“Whoo! This is my favorite part of the job!” said another of the members, crouching near a dead beast

“Me, too.” said Kyuhwan

Dongsuk walked over to Midoriya, not noticing the look of alert on his face. “You really helped out earlier.” said he, making the man turn to him “If we had noticed them even a moment later…”

“It’s alright.” said Midoriya

“How’d you know they were coming from above?” asked Dongsuk

“Well, insects aren’t the quietest of the bunch.” replied Midoriya “That and instinct.”

“Well, you definitely got sharp instincts. They saved us.” said Dongsuk, still not noticing the green haired hero looking with narrowed eyes

“Hey! Mr. Dongsuk! Look at this!” Kyuhwan called out as Dongsuk walked over to him, pointing at one of the corpses

“That’s not from a sword strike.” said Dongsuk

“That’s what I thought, too. And they’re not burns from magic, either.” said Kyuhwan, nodding. “There’s more than a few that look like they were torn to pieces.”

“Maybe there was a turf battle with some other magic beasts?” Dongsuk suggested

“Which implies, there’s something stronger than these things around here, right?” said Kyuhwan, connecting the dots

Dongsuk had a look of seriousness on his face as he observed the torn corpses of the ant beasts. ’Huh….Something big enough to prey on these bugs…’ thought he.

Meanwhile, Jinho walked over to Midoriya, excited. “Did you see me get that beast?!” asked he excitedly.

“Yeah, I did.” said Midoriya, back turned towards the rich boy “Say, Jinho. That sword and shield along with the armor is probably expensive, right?”

“Oh, right. Since this is my first raid, my father got me something nice.” said Jinho, smiling

Midoriya nodded. “I see. Well, I’m not exactly sure why…” He was now looking at Dongsuk with narrowed eyes, now fully suspicious “…but we should be careful.”

The group then continued to walk down the dungeon. No one tried to enter the holes on the walls, lest they should find more beasts waiting to prey on them. Sometimes they did got lost, so they checked on the paths while one of them wrote the reports on the writing pads. They did stopped many times to have food and refreshments. All the while, Midoriya was now fully vigilante and alert. Excluding Jinho, he didn’t trusted this team now.

“This is a long path…” said Jinho “The size of a dungeon has nothing to do with its rank, right? You mentioned its magic power rating before. Does that mean this dungeon is huge but mostly empty?”

“It looks like one to me.” said Midoriya “But I’d like to think there’s some sort of dormant monster or boss waiting. If anything in life looks too good to be true, it isn’t.”

The group continued walking down the dungeon. “It must be hard lugging all that around such a big dungeon.” said Jinho, concerned “You sure you’re okay, Midoriya?”

Midoriya continued to eye the group while walking behind with Jinho “I told you, it’s not that much. And besides, getting paid just for participation and without having to fight is a pretty good deal.” he called back to his words regarding the boss earlier and his suspicions just continued to grow. ‘Too good…..too good to be true. A well-coordinated battle party without a healer. Just to fill quota….’

The group continued to move forward, occasionally coming across multiple half dead ant monsters, most of them wriggling, making a few of the members slash their heads off to put them out of their misery as Kyuhwan’s light continued to fill the area.

“That’s weird.” said Jinsuk “We’ve covered a ton of distance, and we haven’t seen a single healthy beast. “Just ones that are injured or already dead.”

“The boss has gotta be around here somewhere.” said Kyuhwan, walking forward

“Well obviously, or else a gate wouldn’t have opened up.” said another member

Dongsuk was standing at the dark tunnel at the front of them. “Hang on.” said he, preventing Kyuhwan from going forward “Kyuhwan, give us some light up ahead.”

“Sure.” Kyuhwan once again generated another light sphere and let it fly in front of them

The sphere floated, illuminating its surroundings until it finally showed what was ahead of them. Webs. Multiple thick strings of webs. All sticking to the walls of the dungeon and blocking the path forward.

“That’s gotta be the boss chamber down there.” said Dongsuk “Let’s go.”

The group cut down the thick web strands which were blocking the path and walked forward in silence, before finally meeting a glowing light from another part of the dungeon.

“What the…”

“Damn!”

“Mana crystals!”

The group members were stunned. The entire chamber, which seemed to probably be the main part of the dungeon, was covered from wall to wall, ground to ground and ceiling to ceiling with only brightly glowing, blue colored, mana crystals. A few crystals had strands of web on them. There wasn’t a single place in the chamber where there wasn’t any mana crystal.

“Damn, just look at them all!”

“They might not be worth as much as essence stones, but a haul like this? Even at a glance, there’s probably a billion’s worth.”

“Y’know, Mr. Dongsuk, even your brother would be jealous of a score like this.” said Jinsuk

“Hey! Don’t bring up his brother!” scolded Kyuhwan

Dongsuk looked up at the crystal chamber. ‘Dongsoo…it’s like I told you.’ thought he, hands on his hips as he smiled at the crystals ’You don’t always get to be right. And you’d better not think I’m always gonna show deference to you, little brother. I’m gonna use this haul to grow my strike team!’

The members started talking among themselves as Midoriya continued to eye the team, not noticing Jinho in deep thought right beside him.

“If we split these seven ways, it’s gonna be over 100 million each.”

“How are we gonna carry it all?”

 Jinho finally walked up to his ‘twin’. “Midoriya, can I see the contract you signed?” asked he “There’s something I wanna double check.”

“Uh…sure thing?” Midoriya shrugged, before pulling out the contract and handing it over to him

Jinho took it and walked over to Dongusk. “Excuse me, can I ask something?” asked he as the said Hunter turned to him “This is Midoriya’s contract. It only specifies that he doesn’t get a share of the battle drops. Since mana crystals are excavated and not dropped by beasts, shouldn’t this be split eight ways instead of seven?”

Dongsuk smiled. “Of course!” he chirped “Let’s split it evenly. I understand. Still, we’ll need to deal with that first.”

He said, looking up at the ceiling of the dungeon. Jinho’s eyesight followed and widened. An extensively dark colored giant spider was lying dormant with its silky webs surrounding it from all sides, right on top of all the mana crystals.

“Whoa! The dungeon boss!” Jinho gasped in surprise

“I’m sure you realize this, but once the boss is defeated, the gate will close.” said Dongsuk “We’ll need to mine and haul the mana crystals out before fighting that spider. Luckily, it seems to be asleep, which gives us the perfect chance to start excavating.”

He turned to one of his team members and asked, “Chul-jin, where’s the gear?”

The man, now named as Chul-jin, tensed up, looking sheepish. “I mean….I didn’t expect there to be this many mana crystals. I left the transport stuff back with my ride.”

“Damn it, don’t I tell you to always bring it?” Dongsuk scolded him as they started walking back of their path

“I’m really sorry.” said Chul-jin

Dongsuk looked over at Midoriya and Jinho. “I’m sorry, but could you two keep an eye on things here?” asked he, before turning back to the path they all had just travelled “We need to collect some equipment.”

“But this is the boss chamber! And it’ll be just me and Midoriya!” Jinho protested as Midoriya narrowed his eyes at the team’s suspicious behavior

“Don’t worry. It seems to be asleep, probably on a full stomach.” Dongsuk reassured as his team started to walk back out “I doubt it’ll wake up unless something bothers it.”

“And if something were to? What will you do then?” Midoriya countered back

Dongsuk blinked and chuckled. “Well, I do hope it does not come down to that. Or else drastic measures will be required.” said he.

“But…” Jinho was cut off by him

“Besides, this is that kid’s first raid, isn’t it? And Midoriya’s first C-Rank dungeon.” Dongsuk grinned “Have a faith, will ya?”

‘Yeah. Have ‘faith’ in someone who hasn’t done anything the entire time to feel those vibes from.’ Midoriya scoffed at the man’s smile and words. He hates those kinds of smiles.

“O….kay?” Jinho was still unsure, but decided to relent

“Also, I need to discuss some stuff with my team, too, so we’ll take a break while we’re at it.” Dongsuk walked away, leaving the duo and the Japanese Hunter with nothing more than red flags

‘Regulations say you need eight members for a C-Rank dungeon.’ Midoriya continued to at their backs ‘Leaving out us, there are 6 people. They do all their raids without a healer. Meaning they have experience with C-Rank dungeons before. It’s so obvious, that they would need regulars for filling the quota and yet haven’t. It has been obvious the entire time. They’re just bad at lying.’

His suspicions proved to be quite true, because as soon as the team got out of a certain range, Dongsuk turned to Kyuhwan, grinning evilly with red eyes.

“Kyuhwan, seal off the boss chamber.” he ordered

The said man also grinned sadistically with red eyes as he held up his hand, creating an explosive light.

KABOOM!

The duo back looked up to see big smoke covering the place as the entrance of the cave was now blocked off with the blown off rubble pieces of the dungeon.

“No…No! The entrance….Considering the timing…” said Jinho, horrified "...I think we got betrayed"

Midoriya frowned. ‘I knew it. Those bastards…This implies they have done this to many other people in the past.’ he thought.

“You run into some real crooks in this line of work.” Mr. Song words rang in his mind “Since it’s dangerous, accidents happen regularly enough, right? But since those accidents are totally isolated, you could also commit a crime, and it’d never come to light. There are no security cameras in dungeons, and if there are no living witnesses, there’ll never be any evidence, either. Sometimes they use weak people as bait for enemies, or abandon them…like a lizard leaving its tail behind.”

Jinho punched one of the crystals out of frustration. “They’d try to kill us just for some mana crystals?!” he said, before starting to regret what he did before. “If….If I hadn’t mentioned the contract, maybe…”

Midoriya dug his fingers into his palms out of frustration too. “No chance, Jinho. I doubt they’d have let us go.” said he, remembering the looks the other members were giving Jinho behind his back earlier ‘All of them were ready to kill us after one wrong move. More importantly…’

He looked up at the ceiling, where the boss spider was started to finally wake up with its jaws twitching. ‘Our day has gone worse.’ thought he, taking a stance.

“P-Please get back, Midoriya!” Jinho surprised the man again, walking in front of him with his sword and shield ready “I’ll protect you. Somehow, I’ll manage.”

Midoriya wanted to say something, but then his eyes fell on the big gaping holes at the top of the dungeon walls. ‘…Oh. This could mean Hwang’s men did had a thought of escaping using them.’ he thought.

The boss spider started to crawl towards them, each step shaking the ground with its massive weight, its jaws ready with its eyes glowing bright red now.

‘A C-Rank boss…and an E-Rank hunter.’ Midoriya thought as he looked up at it’s huge size, sweating ’Is it at another level than that Kasaka I fought?’

It roared at them, causing wind to move around as Midoriya widened his eyes and shook his head. ‘A whole another level? Not a chance. That applies only to that God statue. This should be as strong or slightly stronger than Kasaka. At least I hope so.’

He dropped the bags down on the ground. “Jinho. Don’t move.” said he to his counterpart, walking past him at the boss who was readying its jaws and tongue “I’ll take care of it.”

“Wait, wh-what?!” he asked in shock

“It’s fine.” Midoriya replied back, smiling confidently

He stood in front of the boss spider, hands and legs ready as the monster also seemed ready with its jaws wide open and tongue out in a stand off against each other.

“I’ll handle it.”

Chapter Text

The team got out of the portal, back into the overworld, leaving behind the duo back inside the dangerous dungeon.

“Did we really need to bother with all this, Mr. Dongsuk?” asked one of the team members “We could’ve just killed them.”

Dongsuk turned around with a darkened expression on his face. “What are you, dense?” said he “We fight in there, and the spider wakes up? No more mana crystals. I don’t care if he’s the weakest or the bleakest, there’s no way that wimpy piece of crap and a D-Rank with no raid experience can take a boss down. The spider eats them, it goes back to sleep, and then we haul out the mana crystals.”

“Should I light the place up with magic again?” asked Kyuhwan

“That would also wake the spider up!” retorted Dongsuk, remembering the dungeon room clearly “There were side tuneels near the ceiling. That’s where we’ll drop back down.”

“I get it. Nice plan, Mr. Dongsuk.” said another team member “You think it’ll be asleep, though?”

“If not, we’ll have to take the boss down ourselves. Though, that Yoo Jinho kid…You say his gear, right?” said Dongsuk, scrolling through his phone “The sword and shield alone must be worth hundreds of millions. If we can’t grab enough mana crystals, his stuff will have to do. Better find out whose trust fund kid he is. It’d look bad if I didn’t show at the funeral.”

“Gotta say, that was a hell of a noise when the entrance caved in.” said Kyuhwan “The boss has gotta be pissed.”

“Kyuhwan, do you think you could take that nasty bastard down yourself?” asked Dongsuk

“Not at all!” Kyuhwan replied, stating the obvious

“I’m right there with you. It was a pretty impressive boss.” said Dongsuk as he grinned evilly and looked at his team member “Which means those two little twerps have absolutely no chance of surviving.”

[Boss Chamber]

Midoriya and the boss were having a staredown as the former teacher was trying to gauge the weakness of the creature or at least what his eye can catch.

“Hang on! You’d need to be at least B-Rank to take down a C-Rank boss by yourself.” said Jinho, trying to stop his new friend “Or an upper C-Rank, at the very minimum! The odds are like zero…Let’s focus our energy to try and find a way out instead!”

Izuku didn’t want to admit, but Jinho was right. He reawakened and leveled up, but that was very recent, so he’s still extremely weak. The Blue Venom-Fanged Kasaka he ran into in the instance dungeon was probably D-Rank and he nearly died to it. The golem boss wasn’t that of a threat coupled with the other hunters, so it’d be less than D-Rank or lower. This one, however, is stronger than either of them, by a significant margin.

Red energy veins flowed into his hands as Deku readied himself against the boss. ’It’s not like I can give up or anything, but…we can’t have it run behind us while we try to escape. And besides, I want to test out One For All against these opponents, even if my body isn’t strong enough to handle the immense strength. I should be able to do fine with just my hands.’ thought he ’8 fingers, leaving out the thumbs. 2 fists. Meaning a total of 12 chances of immense power before I fall.’

Deku bent down before dashing at inhuman speed towards the monster. Within a blink of an eye, he jumped in the air behind the creature, before closing his thumb and middle finger of his right hand and pointing at it’s back.

“DELAWARE SMASH!!”

With a giant blast of pressurized air, the creature instantly got knocked away, losing its footing temporarily as the recoil let Deku land safely onto the ground. He grinned at it confidently.

“Got you huh? That must’ve been a shocker.” Deku replied, only to wince in pain as he looked down at his finger. Both the middle and thumb were bruised up from the blast, but the middle finger was nearly broken. “Ouch. That’s gotta hurt.”

The creature then stood back up before rushing at the hunter hero. Deku blinked and instantly started dodging the sharp legs of the spider before summoning the Kasaka Fang sword and slashing at one of the legs, which just simply bounced off.

“Are you serious?!” he exclaimed before jumping away ‘It’s exoskeleton is so hard! Does every high ranked creature have hard exoskeletons?!’

He managed to barely dodge another sharp leg attack of the spider, which left a deep crater on the floor. ‘And it strikes with tremendous power!’ Deku sweated ‘This is even worse than Kasaka! A single wrong move and I’m dead!’

Deku dodged another attack before launching another Delaware Smash at the creature. However, this time, it dodged it, causing him to widen his eyes and ready another one while dodging the leg attacks. He launched another one, again dodged. Another one, again dodged.

‘There’s no way it can dodge so easily after just one attack!’ Deku continued to wince in pain while he dodged and dodged. The Kasaka Fang sword wasn’t helping much against the hard exterior. ‘How does it even stand its own weight for God’s sake?!’

While Deku and the spider boss fought against each other, Jinho stood far behind them, stupefied. Despite being behind the creature, he could see Deku holding his own against it.

“The way he’s moving…He can’t possibly be an E-Rank! Wh-What in the world is he?!” Jinho exclaimed, completely shocked as he realized something while Deku managed to land another shot at the boss “Wait….did he faked his ranking?!” he was now scared as he took some steps back ‘I’ve heard the rumors. Rare individuals can control their magic power to register with a lower ranking-the hunters known as false rankers!’

Deku landed on the ground, grunting as he jumped away again, having lost the use of his entire right hand. ‘And most of them are said to be lunatics who kill for the fun of it!’ Jinho thought, before seeing the look of the greenette’s face. It didn’t even take a single second to get scared at the look as he took another step back before continuing to watch them fight against each other. ‘What am I doing here? D-Dad…’ he fell down to his knees, feeling incredibly left out.

Meanwhile, Deku managed to land another shot, but it just barely hit the creature as he landed on the ground, sweating heavily with an injured hand. ‘Dammit….its exterior is too tough for me to do any real damage! And unlike that previous strategy where I crushed Kasaka’s exoskeleton with bare hands, I can’t even reach this guy!’

He quickly opened up a window of his System, wanting to see one of his most vital stat currently.

FATIGUE: 76

‘Oh no….One For All is adding to a large amount of fatigue…if it gets any higher, I’ll start to slow down.’ Deku panted as he looked at his left hand. 3 more chances left.

He looked up to observe the place between the boss’ eyes and quickly dashed towards it, readying his Kasaka’s Venom Fang. If he can pierce through the weak point and then launch out a triple Delaware Smash combo, he should be able to blow its head off and then it will be vic-!

“HUH?!” He widened his eyes as the creature’s mouth opened to spit out a big blob of green venom at him. He quickly dodged to the side, landing beside Jinho as the duo watched the venom dissolve the ground with its viscous and concentrated strength.

’Acid?! Are you kidding me?!’ Deku looked up at it, frustrated ‘Rock-solid armor and acidic spit…this guy is even worse than I thought. I need to get close again, just enough to avoid the spit.’

He crouched down as he activated new Skill, Dash, from his System.

SKILLS

[Active Skill]

Dash                                                  Lv. 1

   MP: Uses 1/min                                       

-Buff: SPEED +30%

He then shot forward like a rocket, instantly dodging all of the attacks before reaching the ceiling and using it as a foothold, launched himself down at it, before using the Kasaka’s Venom Fang at it.

*THUNK*

However, much to his shock and dismay, the place was also hard as well. Not like the other places but was still hard.

FATIGUE: 79

‘Crap! I really need to do a direct hit now!’ Deku grunted in frustration as he landed on the ground before rushing at the creature again

All while Jinho continued to watch from behind. ‘S-So fast….’ thought he ‘But will he have enough stamina to hang in there? What’s his strategy?’

Deku’s movements certainly had become slower and sloppier, as he was now taking a little over a second to dodge a single leg attack. He was panting even louder now, as he jumped high in the air by using another Delaware Smash to push himself up.

“That leaves….just 2 chances…” he muttered

Before he could get away, however, because of his sloppy speed, the boss sent out a big wave of web at him, entrapping his leg, causing him to widen his eyes. The webs started to cover up to his torso, before he gritted his teeth. He angrily closed his left hand into a fist and swung at the webs.

It instantly launched an even more giant shockwave, this time knocking the creature across the dungeon room. The entire place shook under its strength as Jinho had his jaws dropped.

“W-What strength…” he exclaimed

The shockwave shook the entire place to its core, before the dust started to settle to reveal Deku with his left arm fully mangled up and his right hand bruised. He was drenched in sweat from head to toe and blood dripped down his skin of his left hand.

“…Did I…huff….got…it…” he muttered, looking at the place where the creature was supposedly knocked too

Unfortunately for him, the creature wasn’t knocked down at it. It had just merely crashed onto the dungeon walls and was now enraged by the attack. Deku widened his eyes and tried to run to the side, only for him to fall to his knees as his System’s window opened up in front of him.

FATIGUE: 96

Before he could register just how fatigued he was now, the creature threw him across the room towards a bunch of mana crystals. He crashed onto the ground as he panted, feeling extremely weak.

Jinho was horrified. “Oh no…Midoriya!!” he yelled.

The creature crawled over the greenette. Deku tried his best to use his right hand again, but before he could do that, he lost consciousness as the creature swung its leg onto him.

Deku couldn’t move his body, he was frozen. The dark was certainly peaceful though. It was completely different from the usual, chaotic ones he normally gets. Is this how death actually is? He never tried it though. He has always escaped its clutches, but now having felt it finally, it wasn’t too bad. Though he regrets not being able to say goodbye to his mo-

“Hey hey, young lad! Don’t die so soon now!”

He opened his eyes in shock at hearing that voice, only to see a lanky, skeletal man standing in his vision. He had blonde hair with two big locks draped over his head. His cheeks were hollow, and eyes were sunken, yet he seemed in a merry mood. He was wearing a formal suit.

“Ah! So it seems you finally managed to reach the level required to get here! Good good!” the man continued to grin.

“H-Hu-?!” Deku tried to speak up, only to just grunt out. He looked down to see no mouth of his there, and neither was his body. Just his right hand and half face.

“Oh, you can’t speak now? I guess that’s annoying for sure.” said the man, before pointing at himself “My name is Toshinori Yagi! You’re my successor now, young Midoriya!”

Deku widened his eyes. Wait a second, successor?! He has no idea what he’s even a part of and already he’s being chosen for something?! Why is the world messing with him so much?! And is this supposed to be something complicated or secretive?!

“Calm down, calm down, young Midoriya. You think too much.” the man, now named Toshinori Yagi, sweatdropped before recomposing “Listen, I don’t have much time to say. We can have a long chat after. Right now, I need you to get yourself out of this mess. How do you imagine using One For All?”

The greenette young man blinked before scratching his non-existent chin. How he imagines using One For All? It was something analogous to not letting an egg explode inside a microwave. Other than that, he couldn’t do anything else.

“HAHAHA! That’s a creative thinking of you!” said Toshinori  “Now, try to imagine a different situation. You’re putting taiyaki this time on a plate and putting it inside the rotating microwave. If you don’t let it have the space it needs, the plate instead gets hot, but not the food itself. Are you getting me?”

Deku nodded, continuing to scratch his non-existent chin. Taiyaki on a plate, put inside a rotating microwave. If there’s no room for the taiyaki to heat up, then the plate gets hot instead. Wait a second….the plate instead gets hot….

The lanky man grinned, liking the look of realization on his face. “You got it! You’re so quick! That’s great!” he exclaimed, before his body started to dissipate, scaring the shit out of the poor 24-year-old man “Ah, the time is up. Like I said, use that image you just created and control One For All, if you want to be a hero.”

With that, the man disappeared as Deku’s body started to dissipate too before he lost his vision.

1. Full Recovery

Vision got back into his eyes, wounds instantly healing up as the ex-teacher opened his eyes to the oncoming leg of the monster.

“Where are you looking at?” He growled at it.

*KABOOM!*

“Hey, Midoriya! Don’t you dare die on m-“ before Jinho could even complete, the creature got blown away by its leg “Huh?”

It fell down on its back as Deku, now fully recovered, landed on the ground. His face was contorted, but this time, he was grinning as green lightning crackled around his body.

“It’s difficult….but I can hold on to it for some time, I think.” he grunted to himself while smiling

The creature then got back on its feet and tried to look for the young man, who had already disappeared by that time. It walked over to the place, looking around to get a small hint of his presence.

Unbeknownst to it, however, Deku had already jumped onto the ceiling and launched himself down onto it, his fist ready. The creature managed to look up and find him, but it was too late by then. The man had already closed in the distance considerably, fist aimed right between it’s eyes.

“5%....Detroit SMASH!”

With a yell that echoed the entire boss chamber of the dungeon, he instantly made a giant dent on the place as it fell, almost losing its footing. He quickly re-summoned his Kasaka’s Venom Fang before driving it into the same region again, this time finally managing to pierce the skin. He then constantly started to drive the weapon on and on into the creature’s face as the Paralysis and Drain debuffs continued to bug his vision.

With a final piercing, the creature finally stopped moving as Deku smashed its face down, making it fall on the ground before he jumped away, landing safely. A window opened as he looked at it.

(!)  [NOTIFICATION]

You have defeated the

[Master of the Dungeon]

Leveled up!

Leveled up!

Midoriya sighed, shaking his head. “Can’t believe my laziness for just one day saved me on those daily quest rewards….” he muttered “I was lucky enough to continue saving Full Recovery for each day…”

He walked back to the fallen corpse of the spider boss as Jinho stood at the side, completely stupefied. ‘I can’t believe it…He really did beat a boss by himself!’ he thought, before gulping ‘And there can be no other explanation! He’s a false ranker!’

Deku meanwhile was harvesting an essence stone from the corpse with his Venom Fang. The one he pulled out was heavily different from the ones he was used to and so he smiled, finally getting to see something different.

“Wow….so this is what a monster core of a high ranked monster looks like…Cool.” he muttered to himself, observing it “I wonder how much this’ll go for…Or maybe I can make a shelf full of different stones as a showpiece….”

“U-Um….B-Boss?” Jinho called out to him shakily

Deku turned around, smiling, before turning confused. His new friend was carrying the bags instead with the equipment of the traitor team. For some reason, he was….sweating? Weird.

“Would you like me to carry the essence stone for you?” asked Jinho, giving a forced smile “I’ll handle the gear, too.”

Deku blinked and shook his head before smiling. “Hm? No thanks. I’d like to have it as a showpiece probably. This is my first time getting an essence stone of higher value than the usual ones I get.”

Jinho nodded, ‘smiling’ before holding out a water bottle. “Here’s some water. Please help yourself, Boss.” said he

“Oh, thanks a lot!” Midoriya chirped before taking the bottle and drinking the cool liquid, not noticing his new friend’s sudden calling with a title

“You rest up, boss! I’ll excavate the mana crystals!” said Jinho nervously, mining the said crystals with the pickaxe

“Sure thing! Can’t hog everything to myself now, can I?” Midoriya smiled innocently, letting his friend do at least something ever since they arrived

He drank some more water before letting out a burp and wiping his mouth. But then, familiar voices rang out which instantly ruined his mood.

“Huh….They’re alive.”

Midoriya looked up and frowned. That traitor team was now standing at one of the many cave wall holes he had noticed earlier, looking down at him and Jinho condescendingly while smirking. Even though the duo had managed to escape a huge and fatal situation, they had completely forgotten that extreme situations are quite common, and teams can find themselves in regularly in dungeons.

Especially when human nature rears its ugly heads. Escaping one means a 50/50 chance of getting into another.

The traitor team got down from the hole by means of rope. They all walked up and stood in front of the duo, looking at the dead monster.

“Is the freaking boss dead?” one of them asked

“I guess it was just an overgrown spider. What a joke.” said Kyuhwan

He looked at the duo, smirking while Deku was glaring back. “Maybe that gear was enough to beat a C-Rank boss with.” said he “But in the hands of a D-Rank…Just how weak was this thing?”

“What’s the call, Mr. Dongsuk?” asked one of the members

“Isn’t it obvious?” Dongsuk then looked at Jinho and smiled. “Yoo Jinho!” said he, making the said young man perk up “That fancy gear of yours got me curious, and I’m impressed! Your old man’s Yoo Myunghan, the head of Yoojin Construction, right?”

Jinho stiffened up. “S-So what if he is?” asked he warily

“I’m giving you a chane.” said Dongsuk “Kill Izuku Midoriya and you live.”

Jinho instantly widened his eyes in shock as Dongsuk continued, “You’ve figured it out by now, right? We pick up wastes of space to round out our numbers, let them die, and keep all the loot. And now, Jinho, you’re gonna be an accomplice. That’s the only way you’re walking out alive.”

“It….can’t be….” Jinho was in complete shock. He had just made a new friend, that also with a foreigner and he was being tasked with killing him?!

Dongsuk continued to stare back at the duo. ‘That trust fund kid’s gear was enough to take down a C-Rank…’ thought he ‘If it has special effects, it could be a real pain.’ He spoke up “Or if you’d prefer, you can both die here.”

The other team members drew out their swords and weapons, readying them at the saying of their team leader as both sides looked at each other.

“What’s up? Why hesitate? It’s not like it’s hard.” Dongsuk continued “Nothing that happens here is ever going to get out, anyway. Don’t tell me a D-Rank like you is afraid of an E-Rank like him…”

Jinho’s lips quivered as he walked towards Midoriya, who was staring back with any words. And then, to his and Dongsuk’s surprise, Jinho turned towards the latter. He then took a stance, his drawn sword ready as he sweated.

“So you’re siding with him?” Dongsuk sighed while Deku continued to look in surprise at his new Korean friend

“What now, Mr. Dongsuk?” asked Kyuhwan

“Deal with the weak one first.” Dongsuk replied

Deku frowned as he clenched his fist and Jinho readied his sword. The team then started walking towards them, eyes now red with evil with their faces shadowed as they now reeked of evil vibes.

“Have you…” asked Dongsuk, sword drawn “…ever killed a human before?”

Jinho sweated in fear as Deku got ready to confront them, only to be surprised by the sudden arrival of a new quest from his System.

(!)  [NOTIFICATION]

An urgent quest has arrived.

(!)  [QUEST INFO]

[Urgent Quest: Defeat the Enemies]

GOAL

There are people present who want to kill the Player.

Defeat them all and ensure your safety.

WARNING: If you do not complete this quest, you will

receive an appropriate penalty.

Number of enemies defeated

[0/6]                                   [ ]

‘Are you serious?! Why do I get punished for something they are doing?!’ Midoriya widened his eyes in panic ’I can’t kill a human being! That’s completely going against my mor-!’

“You’re gonna wanna pay attention!” Kyuhwan said sadistically

He readied a big blast of light and sent it out at the young man, who reacted late after watching his System screens and got hit by it, getting knocked far away by the beam. He got launched far away down the chamber and crashed among the crystals along with rocks on his body.

Jinho gasped, looking behind. “Boss!” he called out, shocked. The Japanese Hunter wasn’t moving at all, his body limp and buried among the rocks and crystal.

“Yoo Jinho! He’s dead.” called out Dongsuk

Jinho turned towards him, tears in his eyes while being angry. “How could you?!” he asked.

Meanwhile, Deku was lying there among the debris, his eyes barely open. Blood flowed down his forehead as he could feel his body getting weak.

‘….I had forgotten….this world will always be unfair.’ he thought to himself ‘Filled with violence, deception and betrayal. Following the concept of survival of the fittest…..How…could I….my naivete…..The system…is telling me to…kill..no…defeat…them….Trying to keep me alive….All Might….’

Something sparked in him as he thought about that man he had seen in his vision. A man full of charisma, extremely familiar to him. Everything about him just spoke heroic. Exactly what he envisions an ideal hero can be. And that man…he had chosen him to be his successor. A probable hero’s successor.

*KRCK*

He moved his body through the debris, doing his best to stand up. ‘No…I can’t disappoint him….’ he spoke to himself in his mind ‘He chose me to be a hero, like I wanted to….This world is messed up….But if no one even tries to change it, then nothing will go away….That’s why…’

Dongsuk noticed Deku standing up to his feet, eyes shadowed by his hair. ‘I….can’t die…Not now…’ Deku thought, remembering all the times the System was punishing him.

“Boss! Thank goodness…” Jinho was glad his friend was back to his feet and not dead by that beam blast, sighing out in relief.

“Dude, he’s alive.” said one of the members

Deku stretched his arms a bit before walking over to them, hands clenching and unclenching. “I will be the hero the system wants me to be.” he muttered to himself, dragging his feet towards them.

“Damn it, Kyuhwan. Don’t hold back so much.” said Dongsuk as said man chuckled sadistically

“If I can’t be the first one to take up the mantle and change it, no one else…” Deku continued to himself, walking past Jinho and towards the team

“What the hell are you talking about, Weakest Hunter of All Mankind?” said one of the members mockingly

“I know what I have to do to achieve it. Carve out my own path.” Deku muttered; his hands clenched as the energy veins travelled up them

“Huh? What achieve? You think you can achieve something?” mocked the same guy

Deku stood in front of them, fists ready. “I mean…killing and defeating ARE different things, after all.” said he, one green eye glowing through the shadows of his hair

The team was a bit surprised at the sudden change in demeanor of the same E-Rank Hunter who had been with them along with the D-Rank a few minutes earlier. Though, one of the members wasn’t affected much and walked over to him, still in his mocking voice.

“Let me handle this, Mr. Dongsuk.” said he, walking over and putting his arm around the Japanese Hunter “Look, buddy. You clearly don’t understand what’s going on here. I guess that’s expected from someone who’s from Japan and not from Korea. Killing and defeating are different things? Is an E-Rank like you so stupid that you can’t see it’s the same thing when it comes to dungeons? Mr. Weakest of All Man-”

Before he could continue, Deku pushed his fist up to his chin, delivering a good uppercut. It sent the man right to the ceiling. Dongsuk widened his eyes and Jinho was in shock at the action.

Number of enemies defeated

[1/6]                                   [ ]

“There. One down.” said Deku, activating One For All as green lightning crackled around him “Full Cowl. 5%.”

“J-Juntae!”

“What the hell?!”

“How did his punch had so much strength?!”

“He wasn’t like this before though!”

‘Overconfidence aside, Juntae was D-Rank!’ thought Dongsuk, still in shock ‘How could an E-Rank manage to beat him?!’

Deku looked up at the ceiling, where the unconscious body of Juntae was stuck on. ‘No killing…I was right in my guess that this System wants me to defeat them, not kill them. It did mention that, after all.’ he thought ‘Heroes fight villains. Monsters of the dungeons aren’t the only ones. Humanity can have its monstrous side too. If I don’t stop them, someone else will get preyed later!’

With that, the lightning increased as the team members spread out to defeat him. One of them shot towards him as he dodged it fast, before zooming past the other two who came to slash him. With a quick smash down their necks from behind, he sent them down on the ground, face flat.

“How’s an E-Rank got moves like that?!” one of them yelled

With the two knocked down and his screen showing now 3 defeated, he readied himself for the remaining three, glaring back at them hard.

“Kyuhwan!” Dongsuk yelled out to said man

“R-right!” Kyuhwan yelled back in fear

Deku dodged the shots of the man shooting him before he got right beside him and smashed him into the side walls, knocking him out. Another one down.

“Take this!” Kyuhwan yelled, sending out a blast of light at the hunter

Deku moved out of the way faster, before readying his fist. “You’re annoying you know?!” he said angrily, pushing the fist forward. A blast of shockwave, far larger than anything Kyuhwan had produced, knocked him off his feet and sent him flying away to the other side of the chamber.

Number of enemies defeated

[5/6]                                   [ ]

“He’s…so strong….” said Jinho in shock, noticing how Deku was now much more agile and stronger than at the start of the fight against the dungeon boss.

Dongsuk was in complete shock and horrified. “H-He took my entire team apart in seconds….” said he “Was he hiding his true strength?”

He held out the sword accusingly at the Japanese hero, who glared back from the shadow of his hair. “You beat the boss, didn’t you?!” he growled, before readying himself “Well, I might be a C-Rank too, but you’ll find I’m nothing like them! Reinforcement!”

He yelled as red aura glowed around his body, enveloping it. Deku spat out a small bit of blood he had received earlier during the crash. ‘A body enhancement magic…’ he thought to himself.

Dongsuk felt his body getting stronger as he sighed and glared at young man. His muscles bulged and his veins became more prominent on his skin. ‘This guy may be a monster, but after fighting a full boss and five hunters, he can’t be at full strength.’ thought he ’The trick is in how fast he is, and how hard he punches. But when I use the Reinforcement skill, my body becomes as strong as steel! That puny fist of his won’t hurt me!’

With that, Hwang Dongsuk went on the offensive and roared, nearing to hit him with his sword. However, much to his surprise and shock, Deku sidestepped and grabbed onto the hand of Dongsuk.

“You’re strong, Hwang-san.” was all Deku said, before his fingers tightened on the flesh

Before the hunter could even react, Deku, with a burst of strength, threw the man across the room right at the dungeon walls, smashing him into it. The enhancement of his strength with and without this One For All skill was staggering.

The throw knocked the wind right out of Dongsuk, making him gasp in pain. ‘W-What just happened?’ thought he, panting while drool dripped down his mouth ‘He….He threw me across and smashed me onto the wall? There’s no way in hell he’s E-Rank!’

Deku walked over, eyes still glowing with that same energy as Dongsuk panicked. “H-Hang on! Don’t kill me! You’ve gotta show mercy! I-I can pay you! The mana crystals and essence stones…You can have the lot!” said he, noticing Deku wasn’t budging at all “I-Is that not enough for you? I-In that case…I’ll pay double! Double what I was-“

“Three times.” Deku interrupted the man’s blabbering “You tried to kill Jinho and me thrice…What’s there stopping you from doing this to someone else? Someone innocent? Someone with a family?”

“D-Don’t do it! Y-You won’t get away with this!” Dongsuk retorted

“I am not going to kill you. I didn’t kill your teammates either.” Deku replied, glaring back, “But that doesn’t mean I can’t beat you guys enough so no other innocent gets the treatment we got today. Besides, didn’t you said nothing that happens in a dungeon, ever gets out?”

Dongsuk widened his eyes before getting angrier. “You little shit!” he yelled angrily “Do you have any idea who my brother-“

*POW*

Deku smashed the man down into the ground, creating a big crater. “Not interested.” said he, finally knocking out the man.

Number of enemies defeated

[6/6]                                   [✓]

(!)  [NOTIFICATION]

[Urgent Quest: Defeat the Enemies.]

[✓]

Jinho was in shock. Even though Midoriya nearly died, he managed to beat them all by himself. But despite him not killing them, the way he smashed them up….Jinho went to the side to puke up as Deku turned to look at him from his screen.

“You okay there, Jinho-san?” he asked

Said man didn’t replied, just giving a thumbs up as he continued to retch up his stomach. Deku sighed, deactivating One For All. The dungeon then started trembling, as if an earthquake occurred. This instantly attracted both their attention.

“The boss is dead, so the dungeon’s closing.” said Midoriya “Let’s get out of here, Jinho-san.”

Jinho nodded, having finished retching. The duo started running back down the path they came from. Though, Midoriya gave one last look at the unconscious team. He didn’t want to leave them there, but he had no choice either. They would have done it again and then some. And he didn’t wanted blood to shed from his hands either. So, leaving them there was the only choice he had.

“I hope you don’t take this too hard on yourself, young Midoriya.” Toshinori Yagi, that man’s voice echoed in his mind “Remember, a simple action can have various consequences. Your secret would have also been out as well.”

Midoriya sighed. ‘I know…All Might. I just…killing is something I cannot even fathom to do at all.’ he replied in his mind.

Toshinori sighed, chuckling. “I understand, young Midoriya. I was like you as well. Bloodshed wasn’t something I ever followed either.” he said in a fatherly tone “You don’t need to follow the path of violence. We’ll help you become a great hero.”

This brought a small smile to his face as he continued to escape the dungeon with his Korean friend. Maybe he doesn’t always have to go on warpath....hopefully.

[Timeskip]

“Hmm….”

One of the checkers from the Hunters Association arrived and was currently checking on the contract the duo had signed earlier with the team.

“You mean to tell me that all the C-Rank hunters died in action, and the only survivors were…a D-Rank and an E-Rank?” she said skeptically, looking up at a blood-stained tracksuit worn Midoriya and Jinho.

“Yes. That’s true.” said Jinho “Well…”

The woman’s glasses shone as she observed Jinho’s gear. “You!” she called out to him.

“Y-Yes?” Jinho perked up, sweating

“Your gear…That’s the Maya Company’s Kalion Longsword! The one that just came out!” said the woman “And that’s Gredos’s Royal Series!”

“O-Oh….yeah…” was Jinho could say

The woman continued to nerd over the gear and equipment of Jinho, while Midoriya was looking at his screen, watching the rewards he had received from beating the team.

[QUEST REWARDS]

You got rewards.

[ 1. Full Recovery ]

[ 2. Ability Points+10 ]

[ 3. Skill: Heroic Charisma ]

‘I got rewarded for something like that, huh?’ he thought to himself, narrowing his eyes at the third reward. ‘Heroic Charisma?’ he thought confusedly, opening a new screen to observe the said skill and its functions.

SKILLS

[Active Skill]

Heroic Charisma                                                       Lv. 1

MP:100                                                                                         

-Willpower (Buff):                        ALL ABILITIES +60%

-Panic (Debuff):                            ALL ABILITIES -50%

A powerful aura that buffs all allies and their abilities for one and

a half minute. Targets can be specified.

Also puts the enemy in a state of ‘panic’ for one minute. Multiple

targets can be specified.

‘Woah….that’s an extremely useful support skill!’ Midoriya blinked, dumbfounded. ‘Cuts the enemy abilities by 50% and increases of allies by 60%?! So cool!’

“I see! Well, your equipment explains your survival.” said the woman, nodding, pointing her pen at them “You must’ve handled everything yourself, while this E-Rank probably hid to stay safe.”

“That’s a bit rude to make assumptions, miss.” Midoriya retorted “I did help a bit from time to time.”

“Oh? Is that true?” the woman looked at Jinho, who chuckled awkwardly “Oh, then I apologize. Still, I appreciate your cooperation after such an ordeal. That should be everything.”

The woman then left the place, chirping along her way as Midoriya sighed and turned away to go.

“E-Excuse me….”

Jinho’s terrified voice made him turn to him. “B-Boss….Good work back there!” he bowed.

Midoriya blinked in confusion and smiled. “You did well too. You were like an actual hero there, Jinho-san.” he turned away “I’m really glad you didn’t listen to them and stood up.”

Jinho perked up, smiling awkwardly. “I was terrified…” he admitted “I might have peed my pants…”

“Heh…You should change soon then.” Midoriya chuckled.

The sky turned cloudy as rain started pouring down on the earth. The Japanese Hunter held out his hand to touch the pouring droplets as he looked up, smiling. The fresh smell of the earth spread around them as the sun started to set down on the horizon.

“I knew it was good not to listen to her.” he said to himself

With that, the duo parted their ways, one traumatized, the other feeling glad. Though, one thing bugged his mind. Something he had heard earlier, far earlier in the dungeon a few minutes ago, but decided to shrug it off anyway.

‘We?’

Chapter Text

“I’m home!”

After a good few hours of his usual daily exercise, Midoriya finally returned home. He was currently opening his shoes at the front porch, while beside him lay a few items he had bought from the market while on his way.

“Welcome home.” Jinah walked over, before perking up and quickening her pace “Whoa, you brought gifts?! Fried chicken! Did you have a good day or something?”

“Kinda.” said Izuku, chuckling as he gave her the packet “I’ll be able to cover Mrs. Sung’s hospital bills and our expenses for a while.”

Jinah blinked as he walked past her before smirking. “Oh~? My dear, handsome and strong caretaker will be able to take care of the bills? And here I thought you were such a cheapskate~” said she jokingly.

He just shook his head, walking into the house to freshen up. Minutes later, the duo was busy chowing down at the fried chicken box along with the bones, Midoriya having his usual glass of heavily diluted beer and ice cubes and Jinha having tea as drinks to wash it down their gullet.

“Come to think, how did that thing the other day go?” asked Jinah, making Izuku look at her “The raid, I mean. You got a big payday, right? But you weren’t hurt too badly, so I was wondering if your party was really strong.”

Midoriya stayed silent for a few seconds. All the memories resurfaced into his mind of that day. How he and that other kid, Jinho were left to die, how he had to clutch victory to survive…then their last tussle with the group.

“Well, yeah.” said Izuku, picking up the beer glass

“Must’ve been easy to beat the bad guys, then.” said Jinah

Midoriya put the glass to his lips, but not taking any sips. ‘It really was….Putting aside the strength gap….I couldn’t do anything to bring them back. They would’ve gone after someone else, or expose my secret…I left them to die in the dungeon….Doesn’t it mean I….killed them?!’

Obviously the thing had been weighing on his mind. His entire moral code consisted of saving people with a smile, similar to Japan's later former number one Hunter. 

“You did no such thing, young Midoriya.” Toshinori Yagi’s voice echoed through his head “You protected an innocent as well as more innocents from harmful people. While I myself don’t condone killing at all, sometimes, you have to make the hardest choice.”

Izuku sighed, continuing to be in the same position. ‘I know….but it’s still so surreal. They weren’t monsters or beasts, they were human beings.’ said he in his mind.

“Human beings who were monsters inside.” The man retorted “Don’t forget. Human beings can become far worse monsters than monsters themselves. There’s a reason all of us are flawed.”

Izuku stayed silent, slowly bringing the glass, still filled to the brim with beer, down onto his lap. He had no argument for that. Each time he tried to justify that what he did was wrong, all he got was cold hard reality constantly being slapped onto his face.

“Hm? Caretaker?” Jinah called out, making the man jerk up and looked at her “Everything okay? You feeling all right?”

“Oh….yeah. I’m fine. I was wondering if I had forgotten the change or not at the shop.” Izuku sighed. Maybe he should stop thinking too much about it.

“And you scared me for that?” said Jinaa, exasperating as she bit down on her food “You better think about me, mister!”

Midoriya looked down at his glass, swirling the liquid inside. ‘I don’t know about it, but if it were to happen in the future, I have to find a way to stop the situation, any way or somehow.’ thought he.

With that in mind, he sighed before gulping down his glass. Only then his attention came over to the new window his System had opened for him.

(!)  [NOTIFICATION]

A harmful substance has been detected.

         [Debuff]

               Health and Longevity                   Lv.—

A countdown occurred beneath the window before Izuku felt the alcohol leaving his body. He blinked and looked down at his glass.

‘Harmful substance?’ thought he ’Wait, did it detoxify my body?’

He took another sip and once again, the same window and countdown appeared. He nodded to himself before taking up the rest of the beer can box.

“Jinah, I’m done.” said he to her “You can eat the rest.”

“What, already?” asked Jinha before chomping onto her food “Fine then. Don’t expect any leftovers.”

“Sure sure, kiddo. Don’t complain if you put on weight again.” Midoriya chuckled as Jinah pouted

He left the room and went upstairs to his own room while the teenager just continued to pout and eat all the food, not even trying to leave a single bone piece for the caretaker and eating them all up with big crunching sounds.

Izuku sat down at his desk and started downing the beer down his throat. He has always been a responsible drinker. It had been ever since he had first been a teacher back in Japan before he had to come here. He would never drink alcohol raw. To him, 60% water and 40% alcohol is his setting for a drink, along with ice cubes.

But today, to test the System’s capabilities, he had to try it out. So, he started to drink all the beer cans directly and instantly wrinkled his nose on the first one. It was so bad without the water and slightly burned his throat. And each time, the System was flushing out the alcohol, so he was not getting drunk at all. He put his chin in his hand, looking at the window.

‘So, it is a poison or harmful substance removing ability the system must have had in.’ he thought ‘And since alcohol is a poison as well, its probably breaking it down. Wonder if it some kind of status eff-hm?’

Another window opened, showing him the entire rewards of his very first quest. A quest he never remembered, because he had supposedly ‘died’ after that. It was the one from the double dungeon. He never knew he had gotten rewards from that, so he never bothered to look.

[QUEST REWARDS]

You got rewards.

[Secret Quest: “Courage of the Weak”]

The Great Spell Caster Kandiaru’s Blessing:

1. [Temporary Buff] Spirit of Rehabilitation

-All injuries will be healed.

2. [Long-Lasting Buff] Health and Longevity

                                       -Immunity: Disables toxic and abnormal conditions

          -Improved regenerative capacity

The Great Spell Caster Kandiaru has gifted you with a special blessing. With Kandiaru’s Blessing, you may enjoy a strong and healthy life.

“How could I have been so careless? Of course, there had to be system rewards!” Izuku sighed before looking at the window again “This explains how my limbs came back. But…it doesn’t apply to injuries inflicted by One For All…Also, who is this Kandiaru? Whoever he may be, I’ll thank him one day.”

[Timeskip]

It was nighttime. Midoriya was sleeping soundly, when his ears caught the creaking of the door, making him sit up. Jinah was at the entrance.

“Izuku, you’ve got a call from someone named Yoo Jinho.” said Jinah

“Jinho?” Midoriya blinked before nodding “Good thing he called me. I didn’t had his number anyway.”

Jinah noticed the empty beer cans on the table. “You’re drinking too much all of a sudden! That stuff’s poison, you know.” said she.

Izuku chuckled before patting her head and walking past her. “Thanks for the advice, Dr. Jinah. I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.” said he.

Jinah blushed before pouting and smiling at him. “Don’t expect me to take care of you when I’m really a doctor!” said she.

[Timeskip – Café Pene]

“Sorry to call you out of the blue like this.”

Jinho and Midoriya were sitting at the corner table of the cafeteria. It was almost empty today, with just another table filled at the other end.

“It’s fine. I had forgotten to exchange contacts anyway.” Midoriya laughed

“I’m glad, though! I owe you my life, boss!” said Jinho, smiling

Midoriya laughed again, flustered. “Oh please. I just did what you did for me. Save a life. It’s obvious I repay you back.” said he “Besides, giving me your share of the essence stones helped me out, too. Plus, with the fact….you haven’t told anyone about what happened.”

Jinho nodded, sweating. “W-Well, you only did that because they tried to kill us, right?” asked he.

“Well obviously.” said Midoriya, before sighing “I still feel wrong to leave them to die in the dungeon…It feels weird and wrong….I hope this is the last time it occurs, and I may find better ways…”

“It’s fine, boss.” said Jinho “It still counts as self-defense.”

Midoriya shook his head before smiling. “So, what did you called me for?” asked he.

Jinho gulped before clenching his fist. “Boss, I’m thinking of putting together a strike team-“

“Can’t.” Midoriya instantly answered “As much as I would love to have someone like you, I can’t.”

“H-Huh? Won’t you at least hear me out?” asked Jinho

Midoriya shook his head, standing up. “I can’t. I’ll be putting you at a greater risk. It’ll be worse than just joining those traitors the other day.” said he, walking away.

“Just twenty-“ Jinho called out to the man “No, just nineteen raids!”

Midoriya blinked and looked at him. “Nineteen raids? Are you trying to become a guild master?” asked he.

“Just hear me out! Please!” Jinho pleaded, bowing down

Midoriya sighed. He really felt bad for rejecting his new friend’s request right from the start. Maybe hearing the full context won’t hurt too much. So, he sat back down.

“Fine, go on.” said he.

Jinho smiled in relief, before sitting down. “As you’ve guessed, I’m trying to become licensed as a guild master.” said he “In order to do that, I need at least twenty raids’ worth of experience. The other day was my first. I’ve done all the studying I need to inherit my family’s company, so I’m confident the written test won’t pose a problem. But…in terms of practical experience…”

“Hmm…I read about you the other day after coming home. You’re the second son of the Yoojin Construction owner, right?” asked Midoriya

Jinho nodded, before continuing, “I want to be a guild master for the sake of our company. My father’s actually trying to put together a guild, you see.”

Midoriya blinked. “Yoojin Construction wants a guild? That’s a first for me.” said he.

“Right.” said Jinho

The green haired man narrowed his eyes. ‘As dangerous as dungeons are, the treasures within them justify the risk.’ thought he ‘Essence stones and mana crystals are only the tip of the iceberg. The carcasses of higher ranked magic beasts have a variety of uses, so basically everything that breathes in dungeons has monetary value in the real world.’

He nodded to himself, finally getting the gist of Jinho’s idea. “If the plan is to have hunters in your employ clear dungeons so that the company benefits, then that’d be a pretty effective business model.” said he.

Jinho nodded. “You hit the nail on the head.” said he “My father wants an S-Rank hunter to be the guild master, and my brother as second-in-command. He intends to run the guild like a business.”

“An S-Rank? That’s harder to even think of.” Midoriya had his eyes widened. That father of this guy was a crazy maniac, that’s for sure. “There are only seven of them in the country.”

“Right.” said Jinho “Plus, the only one not already affiliated with a guild, Min Byung-gyu, has retired.”

“….Does that mean he wants to poach one from another guild?” Midoriya asked suspiciously, eyes narrowed.

Jinho flinched before looking down, a small hint of guilt on his face. Midoriya shook his head in disappointment. The father had let the riches get into his head fully and turned into an stupid, idiotic person.

“That’s a really, REALLY bad idea.” said he “You’re basically asking to have an enemy of whoever you end up taking from.”

“My brother hasn’t awakened, so he can’t be guild master…” said Jinho

Midoriya nodded, sipping his tea. “Which is why you want to get enough experience to get the job and show up your brother.” said he, finally getting everything.

Jinho stood up. “Boss, you’re going to need help if you want to keep doing raids while hiding your power, right?! And my father would be more convinced if I succeeded alongside an E-Rank hunter instead of with someone highly ranked, too!”

Midoriya stared at his friend. His expression was readable and unreadable at the same time. Jinho gulped his saliva down, sweating. 

‘Boss is as strong as a B-Rank-no, even stronger.’ thought he ‘Picking the wrong person for this would be dangerous, but if it’s him-‘

Jinho pulled out a black covered file and slid it across the table towards Midoriya, who took it up and opened it, reading the contents of the file, eyes running up and down and sideways.

Jinho looked up at him. “Here. It’s the building we’d planned to use as the guild’s headquarters. The current market value is thirty billion.” he turned more serious “That’s what I’m offering you in exchange for nineteen successful raids.”

Midoriya nodded before looking at the file’s contents again. ‘Nineteen C-Rank raids in exchange for thirty billion…I would’ve jumped on an offer like that…But with only me leveling up, everything’s changing. If I continue to grow, I may go beyond even S-Rank as well. Against that, 30 billion is a fraction. But…’

He politely slid the file back towards Jinho. “Give me some time to think, okay, Jinho-san? It’s not an easy task to do.” said he, standing up “I have to weigh the pros and cons of this. I could see the cons outweighing the pros, but I’ll still try to come to an acceptable conclusion.”

He walked away as Jinho’s lips quivered. Despite the reassurance of a possible acceptance, he didn’t wanted a possibility which was less than 50%. So, he did one last, desperate move.

“W-Wait a sec.” said he, making Midoriya stop “If you accept this…I’ll take your secret to my grave.”

Midoriya stayed silent for a few seconds, before looking over his shoulder at him. The eyes of both the young men meet and Jinho gulped. He could feel the Japanese hunter critically appraising him. After what seemed to be an eternity, Midoriya left the cafeteria, making the Korean D-Ranker become upset with himself. He now just hopes his friend will accept the invitation.

Else all hope is lost for him and his goals.

[Timeskip – Next Morning]

Midoriya and Jinah were in the park. Both were wearing their own tracksuits. The purple head was wearing a pink colored jacket and white shorts with black leggings beneath, while Midoriya was in his usual deep blue tracksuit. The park was surprisingly empty; they were the only ones there. The duo was currently stretching their limbs.

“Never seen you exercise outside before.” said Midoriya “Though I don’t mind. Exercise is good for health, after all.”

“Exactly. Just studying can’t be healthy, you know.”  said Jinah

“Good to know you do know the benefits of exercise.” said Midoriya

Jinah then turned mischievous. “By the way, dear caretaker~” she cooed, making him look at her with a shiver down his spine “How about we do a bet? If I win in this jog, you take me out to a nice eatery. If you win, I do whatever you say~”

This sent shivers down his spine as he bonked her horny head, making her hold it in pain. For some reason, she has been acting weird and it’s scaring and worrying him at the same time.

The duo then started jogging down the park, the teenager doing her best to keep up with her small steps while the adult continued to slow down for her to keep up with his big steps. The park was totally empty today, so there was no fear for dogs chasing them.

“Say, kiddo.” Midoriya called out to her “What would you wanna do if we had thirty billion?”

“Where’s this coming from?” Jinah asked while jogging beside him

“Hypothetically speaking.” said Midoriya

Jinah nodded. “Well, I’d put some aside for Mom’s hospital bills, and for college tuition.” said she

“Then what?” asked Midoriya.

Jinah frowned, thinking hard. “Save it, I guess? I dunno! It doesn’t seem realistic.” said she “And why are you asking me? You’re the adult here!”

“Just because I am an adult doesn’t mean my financial choices will be good and reasonable.” Midoriya replied “But I do agree with your statement.”

“At least you aren’t going to go to Skate or Pickbet and flushing the money down maniacally like LeaderguyJack.” said Jinah

Midoriya nodded, before speeding up slightly. “Don’t try and keep up, okay? Gotta start my everyday exercise.” said he.

“Huh? Hey, Izuku!” Jinah whined as her caretaker sped up ahead of her, forcing her to stop and sigh. “E-Rank or not, I guess he’s still a hunte-wait, does that mean he wins?!”

Minutes later, Midoriya was panting while sitting on a bench inside the park, looking at his window.

“I still find it weird how these 3 particular exercises don’t affect One For All’s adaptation to my body. Extra workouts are a compulsory.” said he as the rewards section opened “Nope. Saving you guys this tim-huh?”

(!)   [QUEST INFO]

[Daily Quest: ‘Dream Plan’ Strength Training has arrived.]

GOAL

Push-ups                                                         [100/100]     [ ✓]

Sit-ups                                                             [100/100]     [✓ ]

Squats                                                              [100/100]     [✓ ]

   Running                                                       [11/10km]      [ ✓]

WARNING: Failure to complete

the daily quest will result in

an appropriate penalty.

[✓]

“Eleven kilometers?” Midoriya blinked. “Did this System got glitched or something?” asked he to himself “Why is it still counting?”

He opened his entire System and checked all the windows for some glitches. Seeing nothing wrong, he then decided to test for something and squatted up and down thrice before checking the daily quest window again.

(!)   [QUEST INFO]

[Daily Quest: ‘Dream Plan’ Strength Training has arrived.]

GOAL

Push-ups                                                         [100/100]     [ ✓]

Sit-ups                                                             [100/100]     [✓ ]

Squats                                                              [103/100]     [✓ ]

   Running                                                            [11/10km]      [ ✓]

WARNING: Failure to complete

the daily quest will result in

an appropriate penalty.

[✓]

“Huh….That’s weird.” Midoriya blinked “So it does count even over 100. So that’s the threshold. Maybe I should test how high it can go?”

“Huff…huff….”

Jinah finally managed to catch up to him, panting hard. “Izuku….huff….I finally….caught up to you…huff…” she huffed

“I’m gonna go for my daily exercise, Jinah.” said Midoriya, running off again “You do some exercises as well, kid!”

“Huh?!” Jinah was dumbfounded as her caretaker took off again, before sighing. There’s no way she can keep up that much. Maybe she has to find another way to get bets with him later on.

Izuku continued to run at a medium pace, looking at his window screen, before stopping in one place, panting lightly.

(!)   [QUEST INFO]

[Daily Quest: ‘Dream Plan’ Strength Training has arrived.]

GOAL

Push-ups                                                         [100/100]     [ ✓]

Sit-ups                                                             [100/100]     [✓ ]

Squats                                                              [103/100]     [✓ ]

  Running                                                           [20/10km]      [ ✓]

WARNING: Failure to complete

the daily quest will result in

an appropriate penalty.

[✓]

“Huh…stops at double the goal. Even the font and color changes.” Midoriya noted “Let’s check for the others then.”

Minutes later, the green-haired Hunter was sitting on another bench, looking at his window again.

(!)   [QUEST INFO]

[Daily Quest: ‘Dream Plan’ Strength Training has arrived.]

GOAL

Push-ups                                                         [200/100]     [ ✓]

Sit-ups                                                             [200/100]     [✓ ]

Squats                                                              [200/100]     [✓ ]

   Running                                                       [20/10km]      [ ✓]

WARNING: Failure to complete

the daily quest will result in

an appropriate penalty.

[✓]

The screen suddenly started glitching, before the words under the Quest Info heading changed, making the man widen his eyes in surprise.

(!)   [QUEST INFO]

[Secret Quest: Strength Training has arrived.]

GOAL

Push-ups                                                         [200/100]     [ ✓]

Sit-ups                                                             [200/100]     [✓ ]

Squats                                                              [200/100]     [✓ ]

   Running                                                       [20/10km]      [ ✓]

WARNING: Failure to complete

the daily quest will result in

an appropriate penalty.

[✓]

“Huh? The daily quest became a secret quest?” he blinked, before scratching his chin “Oh…maybe it’s like those secret missions from games which are put in by default and are not from the missions or events.”

The window closed and the reward window opened. Midoriya smiled, rubbing his hands. He accepted the checker, wondering what rewards he would get here. Each day, he was finding new things in his System more and more. Another entry for his ‘System analysis’ notebook.

[QUEST REWARDS]

You got rewards.

1. Full Recovery

2. Ability Points +3

3. Blessed Random Loot BOX
4. Cursed Random Loot BOX

Accept these rewards?

[Yes]                                   [No]

“Hm? A choice of random loot boxes?” Midoriya blinked, before squinting and shaking his head “Oh, both are my rewards, not either of them. Silly me. I guess I’ll go for the blessed box first and then the cursed.”

A small pink box with red ribbons appeared on his. The top opened up and a glowing sphere floated in the air from inside, before it turned into a red colored, stylish, draconic looking key with sharp teeth and dropped into his hands.

“Woah….a key!” Midoriya gasped in awe, feeling the key. It was so stylish, he really wanted to keep it forever as a showpiece. “So cool. So this is the secret quest reward…hm?”

A window opened up to show him the entire info of the key, making him widen his eyes.

[ITEM: The Demon Castle’s Key]

ACQUISITION DIFFICULTY:                                                               CATEGORY:

S-rank                                                                                                     Key

A key to enter Dungeon:

The Demon’s Castle.

It can be used at Daesung

Tower at Songpa-gu.

“Holy woah! An S-rank difficulty acquisition?!” Midoriya gasped, stars in his eyes as he pulled his notebook out of nowhere and started scribbling in it “This is just incredible! I must note down the item and drawing! Oh, this is the best secret reward I have ever seen!”

His eyes then ran down at the bottom of the window, and it gave him the best info about the dungeon he had ever seen.

In the Demon King’s Castle,

you can obtain the ingredients

for the “Elixir of Life”,

which cures all illnesses with

powerful magic.

Midoriya almost burned a hole through his notebook with how excitedly he was scribbling in it. “The Elixir of Life! Just the thing that I needed!” exclaimed he.

[Timeskip - Hospital]

It was nighttime. Midoriya was currently back at the hospital he had been treated at. But not for himself. No, he was here for the person he has been trying to save ever since he got a job as a caretaker here. Mrs. Sung.

The woman currently laid on the hospital bed, being in a pitiful state. Her cheeks had sunken, turning hollow; the skin started to wrinkle a bit. But the most obvious of all, her skin had the pale color of a corpse.

It stung Izuku’s heart; he could see his own mother in her. He sighed before kissing her forehead and coming out of the room.

“Mr. Midoriya…”

The green haired man jumped at the voice, only to see it was the same nurse, Choi Yoora, who had treated him after the double dungeon.

“O-Oh, Y-Yoora-san…” he sighed in relief

“Checking up on Mrs. Sung again?” she asked, looking at the woman

“Yeah…” Izuku nodded “I am still trying my best to find the solution to her illness.”

“That’s like saying you’re moving a rock over a mountain like Sisyphus.” Choi chuckled, before sighing “Then again, you were a real stubborn patient. It’s expected.”

Midoriya smiled. “That’s my middle name. Also…” he stepped closer to her, holding her hands “Please continue to take care of her, Yoora-san. I promise to return one day with a cure for her.”

Choi blinked, before exploding in red blush. “U-Uh…s-s-sure!” she squeaked.

Midoriya smiled, grateful for such a kind nurse. He’s grateful to be on good terms with her. “Thanks a lot!” said ber, before releasing her and walking away “Goodbye!”

“B-Bye! I’ll call you later when I-I am free!” Choi replied as the man left the corridor before she looked at her hands as if she was holding a Holy Grail ‘….He touched me…’

[Timeskip – Songpa Gu]

Midoriya was currently standing in front of the Daesung Tower at the said location. Taking a deep breath, he pulled out the key, letting dungeon dimensional lock show itself. With a red electric crackle, followed by a giant golden colored blast as the portal opened up in front of the Japanese Hunter, the lock of the Demon Castle dungeon.

‘If the acquisition difficulty matches with dungeon difficulty…’ thought he, looking at the portal ‘And if it’s really something that’s on the level of Jeju Island, where even S-Rank hunters failed, then it’s waiting for me.’

He then plugged the key into the golden ‘lock’, letting it turn. The portal lock quickly spread apart, before transforming into a gigantic, majestic door. It had a Castlevania theme to it as dark energy continued to overflow around it, with its dark borders and silverish steel designs.

Midoriya gulped down his saliva. He was currently wearing his second tracksuit again, but this time, he didn’t bring his bag. This is a high-risk zone and bringing the bag will just distract him here.

“Alright, let’s do this.” he said to himself, before stepping afoot inside the door, knowing that there were going to be enemies way above his caliber.

His vision got blinded for a few seconds as the dungeon completely formed, with the door closing behind. The light died down as he opened his eyes to let them adjust to the new environment, only to widen them.

Fire and rubble were what spread around him. This was a sort of a burning town, where no place was present where the eye can go and there is no fire. And in the middle of this were some huge figures, burning while chained to the city itself. The sky was as dark as it could.

Midoriya walked through the city on the broken road, looking around. “I won’t be using my teleportation stone here.” he said to himself “At least, not until the situation gets too rough for even me, to the point that even One For All can’t handle it.”

Huge stomps were heard as a 3-headed Cerberus-looking monster appeared at the bridge overhead. It then jumped down and roared loudly at the man, who frowned and activated One For All, the green lightning crackling around him.

‘I’ll have to keep trying my best. That’s what heroes do.’ he thought to himself as the System showed the name of the dungeon beast he was about to fight in red color.

[HELL’S GATEKEEPER CERBERUS]

“You WILL let me pass through!” he announced to monster as he started running at it with his Wolf Assassin Title active, giving him its bonus effects.

Going at 5% of One For All, he used the Dash skill, lunging at it at breakneck speed, before smashing his fist at its feet, only to find nothing happened. He gritted his teeth before jumping right over it, punching at its shank. He then used it as footing and jumped near its tail, hitting hard again at it. He even summoned his Kasaka’s Poison Fang and tried to slash at it, only to just small cuts.

He jumped in the air, grunting. “No damage at all! And that’s taking the Title bonus effects and One For All at 5% into account!” said he

He then activated his Heroic Charisma skill at the monster, eyes glowing. The Cerberus however, roared at Midoriya, activating its own magical effects, making him frown.

(!)  NOTIFICATION

The debuff has been cancelled out.

No ally is nearby for buff effects.

“Just great!” Midoriya exclaimed “Can’t even buff myself, just my allies! Should’ve expected from an S-Rank dungeon monster!”

He quickly dodged an attack of the Cerberus, jumping on top of its snout and driving his Kasaka’s Fang into it to give it the Paralysis and Drain debuffs. The eyes of the monster widened before turning red. It then threw him away from itself.

(!)  NOTIFICATION

The debuff has been cancelled out.

No ally is nearby for buff effects.

“Oh, so that’s the problem!” Midoriya said as he landed on the ground “This guy can’t be given debuff effects at all! So that means, he’s a natural counter!”

The monster flung itself on top of the man, forcing him to flip to the other side through the air. The gatekeeper of hell, however, lunged through the smoke, making him widen his eyes and ready his left arm at full output of 100%.

“SMASH!”

The monster got thrown back by the sudden punch, launching it far down the burning city through the rubble. The shockwave blew away whatever fire was nearby; whatever building was present was blown away.

However, it unfortunately backfired on him as well, as without any foothold, Deku was sent straight crashing right onto the ground, creating a crater.

The smash also came with another cost, as Deku’s entire left arm was bruised up, turning fully purple. Blood oozed out of small holes through the skin. He struggled to get back as his System showed him his health status, instantly warning him of his life.

+             -------------------------
HP                          1825/3602

“Huh?!” Deku widened his eyes ‘A system warning?! I lost a third of my life in an instant! Just how powerful is this power?! It’s literally destroying me!’

He struggled to sit back up, only for the ground to shake as the Cerberus appeared, one part of its face now heavily bruised. It then sent down a powerful strike towards him, forcing him to quickly jump away. A notification window opened.

(!)   [NOTIFICATION]

Hell’s Gatekeeper Cerberus
has used [Skill: Rage].

ALL ABILITIES +100%  00:03:00

“Are you serious?!” Deku had his jaw dropped “All abilities are doubled?!”

Dark lightning crackled around the giant monster as it swung its clawed paw at him. It was way too fast, causing him to react seconds later, but then it was too late. He got thrown all across the city like he had done to it a few seconds ago, crashing onto an inclined rundown building.

Deku grunted in pain, tears out of his eyes as he clutched his left arm. Already the Cerberus was too powerful for his caliber and now, his injured arm was holding down even more. The System warned him again of his health situation.

+             -------------------------
HP                          1538/3602

‘Below half already….’ He gritted his teeth. From all the enemies he has fought until now, none of them were this dangerous. Was this what the S-Rank Hunters dealt with on a daily basis? Did they also fight back with so severe injuries to their lives?

The Cerberus charged at him again, fire glowing on two of the flanks of the monster as the Japanese Hunter got no more choice.

“Full Recovery!”

Instantly his arm healed back, all the bones, ligaments, muscles and nerves back to their places, the arm turning back to its original skin color. The green hero jumped up at the monster, before charging his right fist to 5% and smashed right onto the gigantic monster’s eye. It did flinch, before throwing him away again with its enraged strength.

He crashed onto the ground, coughing a huge amount of blood as more injuries appeared on his body. The System warned him again of his current health status.

+             -------------------------
HP                          1349/3602

Despite using Total Recovery and literally healing himself back to max health, one enraged status swing from the creature was all it took for Midoriya to lose almost all of them back again. He tried to look up, only for the monster to bash him continuously into the ground. He couldn’t even get the time to scream, blood coming out of his mouth. His insides continued to get wrecked by the Hell’s Gatekeeper.

+             -------------------------
HP                            874/3602

The low health of the Japanese Hunter forced the System to take action upon its hands to prevent the death of the user.

SKILLS

[Active Skills]

Willpower                                                        Lv. 1

HP: 30% or less

-Buff: Damage -50%

Deku got thrown away by the creature, before he gritted his teeth and stood up. Readying his right fist, he aimed at the ground and sent a smash down, shaking up the ground. It broke up into hundreds of pieces, making the Cerberus fall on its feet. It grunted before roaring and looked up, only to see that the man has run escaped.

Deku meanwhile panted and huffed, hiding behind a big wall standing up in the open, hiding from the gatekeeper.

+             -------------------------
HP                            591/3602

‘Barely any health left….’ he thought, huffing ‘Can I outlast its Rage status duration? No…I don’t have the energy for that anymore…’

He pulled out the Teleportation Stone, getting ready to use it. However, luck wasn’t in his favor today, as the monster quickly sensed him out, swinging at him through the wall, sending him away and the Teleportation Stone, his only hope of survival, got lost among the rubble. He couldn’t even gasp in shock as he crashed into another broken building. He quickly jumped away, escaping another wipe of the monster and, like a rabbit, jumped away.

Finding another wall like the previous one, he quickly hid behind it, panting. His body was heavily injured now, and the System was constantly reminding him of his approaching death.

+             -------------------------
HP                            302/3602

“I am going to die at this rate…” He panted “And for some reason, the connection between Toshinori Yagi and me is fluctuating…A few more hits and I’m done for…”

Deku slowed down his breathing, forcing it to become normal as he then carefully thought about it. “Let’s see….One For All has a destructive strength and regardless of the monster’s rank, it still damages it tremendously….But the recoil is harder on my body….At max, one blow was all it took to lose a lot of my health…I used up my Full Recovery, but one hit from the Cerberus was all it took to lose it back again….This means that right now, it is as strong as I am at 100%, but for a few more minutes…Oh, right! The store!”

He quickly opened the store inside his System. Selecting the potion section from the top, multiple potions of choices appeared, making him smile in relief.

STORE

[BUY]                                                 [SELL]

Divine Healing Potion

                                                     -10, 000G

       Legendary Healing Potion

                                                        -5,000G

 Heroic Healing Potion

                                                       -3,000G

     Exclusive Healing Potion

                                                          -300G

Divine Mana Potion

                                                    -10, 000G

“Arigato, kami-sama….” Deku muttered in relief as he selected the cheapest healing potion. With what meagre amount he has in the System; this is the best one.

Would you like to purchase?

[Exclusive Healing Potion]

HP is slightly restored

[x1]                       300•

[CANCEL]           [BUY]

                                             [1,120•]

“I guess it’s better than nothing.” Deku nodded to himself, buying 3 of them.

The Cerberus was still looking for him around the city, its rage status still active, signaled by the dark aura around its body and the fiery glow on the flank.

+             -------------------------
HP                            402/3602

“This cheapest potion heals for a hundred…” Deku muttered to himself, watching his health status “That’s not even close even if I take the other two as well…Hmm….let me check if I have any other item that can help me…”

He opened up his inventory, browsing rapidly through the multiple item icons, before one of them caught his attention as he opened it.

[ITEM: Kasaka’s Venom Gland]

ACQUISITION DIFFICULTY:                                                               CATEGORY:

A-rank                                                                                                     Poison

                          -Kasaka’s Armor Scales: Physical Damage -20%

   -Damaged Muscle: STR -35%     

This pouch contains refined kasaka poison. On rare occasions, you can harvest this from a kasaka. Once you drink it, your skin will harden, but your muscles will be permanently damaged from the poison.

“Oh yeah…the poison from the Kasaka, I had forgotten completely about it…” He said to himself, going to change for another item, when one word caught his eyes, “Poison?”

Instantly the memories of the events that happened several hours ago flashed through his mind, when he drank the beer he had brought for himself with the fried chicken for his kiddo. He remembers her worrying, when he reassured her, he will be fine.

“….Poison…didn’t my System flushed out the alcohol from the beer?” He widened his eyes, muttering to himself “I remember it…The System actively prevents my death from almost anything harmful. It flushed out the harmful effects of the beer after I drank it…So that means…!”

And as usual, with his mind running in overdrive when in critical situations, he selected the Kasaka’s Venom Gland from his System. It spawned in his hand, a purple-colored liquid inside a glass container with a cork on it, tied to the bottle itself. He took a deep breath, bracing himself for the eventual outcome before opening the container and gulping it all down his throat. He grimaced as he threw the empty bottle.

“Bitter…” said he to himself, tongue out

The monster down was still looking around for the hunter, growing more and more impatient as its rage status continued to linger, nearing its end of duration. Saliva was running down its tongue as it growled quietly.

(!)  [NOTIFICATION]

A harmful substance has been detected.

         [Debuff]

               Health and Longevity                   Lv.—

Detoxification Complete.

[Buff]

Physical Damage                         -20%

“Yes!” Deku exclaimed, a relieved smile on his face as the buff got applied to his body without experiencing the poisonous debuff “Now, I think I can handle bett-“

Before he could continue, the Cerberus jumped up towards him from behind, having finally sensed it. Deku, however, was more than ready, as he dodged the attack, before landing on the ground. Green lightning crackled around him as he activated Full Cowl 5%. Before he could say anything, another window opened in front of him.

(!)   NOTIFICATION

[Skill: Rage]   00:00:00/00:03:00

Effect lost

The crimson eyes of the monster tore open, blood flowing out as it howled, all of the raged status now gone away.

A determined grin appeared on Deku’s face as he looked at the monster. “I guess we’re equal now, huh?”

The Cerberus roared as all 3 heads went to chomp his body off. Since it was back to its original status, Deku had no problem flipping over them with his One For All 5% enhanced speed. This time, he wasted not a single second in smashing against each of the creature’s legs, forcing it to fall down and get up over and over.

“Sit down! You bad dog!” he yelled at the creature, dodging and smashing back at it

Cerberus was just getting angrier, swinging its snouts at him. Deku quickly jumped in the air to find a safe landing spot, only for the monster to quickly follow him, its jaws opened. Deku widened his eyes, before being forced to use his hands to grab the jaw wide open to prevent it from eating him as they landed  on the ground, pushing him backwards. Deku almost slipped, resulting in his hands getting pierced by the sharp teeth of the monster, blood dripping down.

The Cerberus did its best to push against him, while he did his best to hold his ground, his One For All meta ability going at its current best level to keep the creature at bay. Deku gritted his teeth; his health was now down to 247 from 602. If he didn’t went on the offensive, then he will die just by blood loss.

With that in mind, Deku tried to force the monster’s jaws to open far wider than it, hoping to tear it or at least cause a sort of lockjaw to it. The Cerberus, sensing the pain, quickly retaliated by throwing him away, howling in slight pain to its jaws. It didn’t got a lockjaw, but the bones were now hurting like hell.

Deku quickly got back up after crashing onto a wall, summoning his Kasaka’s Venom Fang in his hands. He panted before getting into a running position. Activating the Dash skill, combined with the effects of Wolf Assassin title and his One For All, he jumped high in the air, far higher than what the monster achieved throughout the fight. Despite the entire burning town now in his view, he focused on the creature, readying his dagger.

“SMASH!”

With a loud yell, he came down onto the creature like a meteorite, driving the dagger deep into its eye, causing it to howl in pain. It struggled to get him off , running around and crashing itself onto the nearby buildings. Deku however, was more stubborn than it expected, continuing to drive the dagger into its eyes. Crashing onto one building, however, caused it to get stuck into its eye, from which he could not pull out.

Completely forgetting the fact he can just re-summon it back, Deku readied his right fist as the creature’s injured eye widened at the Japanese Hunter’s glowing green eyes and the green lightning around his fist. This time, it was obvious who was the hunter and who was being hunted upon.

“DETROIT SMASH!!!!!”

With one final war cry, Deku jumped in the air before bringing his fist right towards the already stuck dagger onto its injured eye, forcing the dagger to drive itself all to the other side, through the monster’s brains and ears. The impact was more than enough to decapitate it, as its head flew away, with blood raining across the skies, extinguishing the nearby fire.

The monster’s corpse lay unconscious and unmoving on the ground, its head far away from the body. Deku fell on the ground, struggling to stand up, breathing heavily. His body felt so sore; his arm was hurting like hell. Blood dripped from almost everywhere from his body. He looked to his side with half-lidded, tired eyes as a window opened.

(!)   NOTIFICATION

You have defeated the

[HELL’S GATEKEEPER CERBERUS]

Leveled up!

“Thank god….” Deku sighed in relief, as leveling up instantly healed up his entire body, closing all of his wounds and restoring his injured arm. “I am really, REALLY helpful the leveling reward system is full healing of the body…”

He sat down on the ground, taking in big breaths of fresh air after such an ordeal. He then looked at the reward he got for beating the Cerberus.

[ITEM: Castle Door Key]

ACQUISITION DIFFICULTY:                                                               CATEGORY:

A-rank                                                                                                     Key

This key unlocks the door to the

Demon’s Castle. You can acquire this

only when you kill the gatekeeper.

[ITEM: Gatekeeper’s Collar]

ACQUISITION DIFFICULTY:                                                               CATEGORY:

A-rank                                                                                                     Collar

AGI +20

            PER +20            

[ITEM: Gatekeeper’s Fang]

ACQUISITION DIFFICULTY:                                                               CATEGORY:

No                                                                                                             Item

You can acquire this fang when

you defeat Cerberus.

“Finally got you…” He smiled tiredly at the key and the other rewards, before blinking as something else was shown.

[ITEM: ??]

ACQUISITION DIFFICULTY:                                                               CATEGORY:

??                                                                                                              ??

??

“Huh?” He tilted his head. An item that his system didn’t recognized? It reminded him of the time before he unlocked One For All. He held out his hand as a small parchment paper spawned on it. It had small tree branch on it along with a green border. A window opened up, finally recognizing the item.

[FORMULA: Elixir of Life]

ACQUISITION DIFFICULTY:

?

Learn how to craft

[Item: Elixir of Life]

“Oh! A formula for the Elixir of Life!” He blinked, pleasantly surprised, when another window opened, showing him 3 items in a cycle with an item in the center.

CRAFT                 [ITEM: Elixir of Life]

-Three items are needed to craft [Elixir of Life].          (0/3)

They can be found in the Demon’s Castle.                                  

A mystical potion that cures all diseases using powerful magic.

“Aha! So I do indeed have to find all the formulas for the Elixir of Life!” Midoriya nodded to himself “Hmm...So it’s kind of like that tonic that was used in Forgotten: The Dark Descent. Find all the elements and put them together. Hmm….If I go into the Castle right now, I’ll die. I can’t level up anymore without getting extremely injured. More experience points are needed, which means more powerful enemies. And I used up my System currency to buy those health potions. I also wasted my Full Recovery against just one high ranked enemy, there could be more…Hmm…”

He concluded to himself that going right now means saying goodbye to his second life. With that, he shook his head before giving the burning building beside him one last look, vowing to come back stronger and left the burning town.

Chapter Text

“You’re accepting, then?!”

Jinho exclaimed. He and Midoriya were back at the same cafeteria. After a long thought process, along with multiple theories and weighing the pros and cons, Izuku had finally decided to accept Jinho’s offer.

“Yup. I think it’ll be great.” Izuku nodded “I’ll join you on the nineteen C-Rank raids you mentioned. It’ll be a great experience for me as well.”

“Yes!” Jinho pumped his fist in the air, excited

“Oh, only under one condition though.” Izuku looked up at him while drinking his tea “We’ll be going alone.”

Jinho blinked, thinking he heard it wrong. “As in…You and I would be the only ones clearing the C-Rank dungeon, Boss?” he asked.

“Yup. Exactly.” Midoriya nodded “Also, stop calling me Boss.”

“But the C-Rank gates require a minimum of eight team members to enter.” said Jinho

“That’s pretty easy to do, especially when it happened with us.” Izuku held up eight of his fingers “We hire people to just meet the quota, the way Dongsuk did.”

Jinho widened his eyes, flashing back to that time. “I-Isn’t that….kind of risky?” asked he.

“Not really.” Midoriya shook his head “Not if we took all of them with us. By going in alone, we can easily take on the raids with zero casualties. Also, a strike team capable of clearing all nineteen raids with absolutely no casualties, something your father will be impressed with. You see the connection?”

Jinho looked down for a moment, contemplating. “I get you.” said he.

Izuku nodded. “Good. We kill two monsters with one sword.” said he.

Jinho smiled. “Then let’s do this, Boss!” he exclaimed. “I’ll arrange the extra members and gates.”

Midoriya sighed, chuckling at his friend. “Good. Also, please stop calling me Boss.”

[Timeskip]

“Well….I should’ve expected this.”

Izuku sighed as he threw away the gift he had received from the random loot box, a bingo card. He had been upset at the fact he wouldn’t be able to get the cursed loot box from the previous day, since his system wasn’t counting anymore extra steps.

He was currently walking down the streets of the city, muttering to himself and lost in his thoughts. “Currently with my level at 26, the stats are so high right now, 3 points are no longer making any much of a difference. It’s like requiring more experience points in video games. But for me to get any more, I need to level up more. Maybe I should start saving my daily points as well and not just blindly use them up. I did wanted to try out the penalty zone’s centipede, but it’s hard to know whether it will even give me any points, since it’s a ‘penalty’ of the system. Hmm…?”

He blinked as his phone vibrated. He opened it to find a dungeon raid request being sent on the Hunters’ network.

[]’  Notice

New message: 1

From: Hunter’s Association

Urgent: Request to Participate in D-rank gate

[Clear]                               [View]

“Hunters for a D-Rank raid? Hmm…I am assuming it’s a strike team, so I can’t fight on my own.” He scratched his chin before nodding to himself. “Welp, time to see this raid! Better than nothing at least.”

[Timeskip]

“I’m heading out, kid.”

Midoriya called out to Jinah as he put on his high red boots. He was wearing a new dress this time, a green jumpsuit with black stripes, with a green cowl, a metal respirator along with elbow pads, a red utility belt and thigh pads. It was a gift his mother had recently sent over, after hearing how good his life was getting recently.

[Flashback – One Week Ago]

“Izuku! How have you been my baby?! Have you eaten properly?!” Inko asked frantically on the phone

“I’m doing fine, mom.” Izuku replied, opening a box he was delivered to “Jinah’s been a real good girl and not giving me too much trouble, Mrs. Sung is still at the hospital.”

“Oh, thank god…I don’t want my baby boy to be a mess when I come to see him…” Inko sighed

“Mom…” Izuku sighed, flustered, before he shook his head “Anyway, what is this you sent me?”

“…Izuku, you have been heroic from childhood.” Inko said fondly “You always came back home after helping some weak boy getting bullied, despite being so weak. There was never a day you did not have an injury, no matter how many times I tried to stop you. Reading comics, you had a high, an ideal standard for what a hero is. Very few Hunters fitted your criteria.”

The 24-year-old man widened his eyes as he slowly pulled out a green fabric from his box. “Mom….t-this is….”

Inko chuckled on the phone. “You see, I had seen those hero costume designs of yours in your notebook, especially after you left Japan. So, I went and created a similar outfit while getting it modified from the shop to make it a sort of Hunter outfit. I know it’s not much, but I hope this can be my gift to you. I do want to see you in this when I visit.”

[Flashback End]

Izuku sighed, shaking his head fondly. He looked like a cosplayer, especially because he’s a grown up, though since he wasn’t too tall, it fitted him perfectly. “I swear Mom….”

“Hey, Caretaker! It’s a holiday, but you’ve got work again?” Jinah peeked from the door “Huh, you look childish. But in a cutesy way!”

Midoriya coughed, flustered as he stood up. “Y-Yeah. Just some extra work I am picking.” said he.

Jinah grinned, amused. “Hard to believe you’re the same guy who had to take time off to recover from his injuries after every gate.” said she “Training’s probably paying off. I might want to see that some time~”

“I-In any case, I’m able to make a steady living now again.” Midoriya coughed again, cutting her off. He has no idea why she has been behaving like this for quite some time now. “I-I’ll be off now…”

“Hm? What about your stuff?” Jinah asked

“Uh…well I have taken a few items with me. That’s enough.” said Izuku, heading out

“Ah, w-wait, Izuku!” Jinah called out, but he was gone already “….It’s not like you’re heading for the grocery store, caretaker….idiot sensei…”

[Timeskip]

Song was walking down the streets in an orchid yellow jacket, his left sleeve flapping in the place where his left arm used to be. He had a brown bag slung over his bag, with his hair tied to a ponytail.

’I didn’t awaken to a physical power, which means my sword is useless against magic beasts.’ he thought to himself as he continued to walk down the footpath ‘The martial arts I’ve spent decades on are useless inside of a dungeon. A swordsman like myself gaining magic-focused powers is quite the twist of fate. But I’m sure there’s a reason for it.’

He was walking on, when he saw Midoriya walking from the side, entering the footpath after crossing the road in his weird clothing. “Are you…?”

Izuku perked up as he heard the voice and turned his head towards him, before a big smile entered on his face. “Mr. Song!”

“I wasn’t sure it was you, but it is! Midoriya!” Song walked up to him

“It’s been a while, sir!” Midoriya was happy to see him again.

“I never thought I’d run into you in a place like this.” Song ran his eyes up and down the Japanese Hunter, noting his face scars and his outfit along with his fit body. “I must say, you’re looking much more like a grown up now. Even though you still have that gentle look despite those scars. How much you changed in just a few months?”

Midoriya chuckled awkwardly. “Well, I have been working out a lot more than previously, so yeah.” said he.

“Plus…” Song looked down at his right leg. “Didn’t you lose a leg?”

“O-Oh, when I woke up in the hospital, it was back.” said Midoriya awkwardly

“I see!” Song nodded, before happily patting his shoulder “There must’ve been a high-ranked healer among the hunters who came to collect you! Whatever the case, it’s a relief seeing a young man like yourself has fully healed.”

“Thanks, I am really happy to see you again.” Midoriya’s smile then dropped as he looked at the place where Song’s left arm used to be “But…”

“Too much time had passed since my injury, I’m afraid.” said Song, gripping his stump through his sleeve “I don’t mind, though.”

The duo walked together down the footpath. “You know, someone from the Association had told me you were alive.” said he “It’s so good to see you.”

“Likewise, Mr. Song.” Midoriya replied.

“So….what’s up with that?” Song pointed at his outfit

“Hm? O-Oh, well, this is my new Hunter outfit. My mom had sent this to me.” Midoriya replied sheepishly

“Ah, motherly love! It’s really a great fit on you.” Song laughed “You really look like a hero like you said you wanted to be.”

“T-Thanks…” Midoriya replied “So, Mr. Song, what are you doing here, anyway?”

“Answering a summons from the Association.” Song replied, “It’s supposed to be urgent.”

“Oh, you too? Same here.” said Midoriya

The duo then soon reached the designated place, which was a dungeon gate sealed off from public with big tapes. Midoriya lifted the tape to let his senior pass through, before he entered the place. Song looked up to see 3 familiar faces and smiled.

“What a coincidence! This is quite the reunion.” Song replied

Midoriya joined his vision and widened his eyes. There stood Joohee, Kim and Kang. The same ones who left the double dungeon alive months ago. The three looked the same, except with Joohee trying out a new style by having her orange hair tied into a long ponytail.

“…Izuku?” Joohee asked, surprised

“…Huh, it really is quite the reunion it is.” Midoriya said, blinking dumbly. In his mind, he did think Joohee looked prettier than when he last saw her. The other two meanwhile turned their heads away, not wanting to meet his eyes. Neither his nor Song’s.

‘It’s only natural.’ thought Song ‘Midoriya sacrificed himself to let us escape that day. And I can’t blame Kim for being too ashamed to face me, after what he did. That said…five survivors from that tragedy have been reunited. In that case…’

Meanwhile Joohee was happy to see the Japanese Hunter again. “It really is you, isn’t it, Izuku?” she asked him, her eyes showing the happiness and relief.

“Well, it looks like Death is annoyed with me constantly dodging its scythe and has decided I am too much of a pest to enter its gate.” Izuku joked.

The woman chuckled at his bad joke. “You look both same and a whole lot different at the same time.” said she, “You’re so much taller, and your leg is healed…”

She gently touched his cheek scar, her eyes concerned. “…It’s from that day, isn’t it?” asked she, noticing how it disturbed the perfectly symmetrical freckle placement he used to have on both of his cheeks, now having it only on his left side. There was another one she noticed, on top of the right side of his head, but it was barely noticeable unless one came close to him. His hair parting because of it, though, did looked good in her eyes.

Midoriya sighed, smiling. “It’s fine, Joohee-san. I am completely fine. And to be honest, I am actually glad I got a few scars, when there was a time, I was getting almost none.”

Joohee shook her head, sighed before pinching his cheek. “It’s not supposed to be something you should be proud of, dummy.” she said, realizing he literally did not change at all.

“Owie owie! Ok fine fine!” Midoriya yelped as she released his cheek "Still, I am more scared of the wind blowing in the wrong direction and exposing my trash hairstyle, now that it's shaved off."

“Also, you look good in this outfit.” said she, looking away while blushing “L-Like an actual hero…”

“Thanks! It’s my mom’s good. You look pretty in your dress too! Especially with your hair tied like that.” Midoriya smiled, his cheeks slightly pink as he complimented her back, not noticing her blush darken.

The group then heard a tire-screeching sound as they turned to see a family car stopping in front of the place. From inside came out multiple men with handcuffs on them, in orange clothes.

“Nice! We got a fine little lady in this group.” said the man who came out first. He had shaggy hair, followed by a man with short, trimmed white hair and another man with big blonde hair.

Izuku frowned as he pulled Joohee behind him and stood in front of her, staring down at the trio. Something in his head said that these prisoner looking guys weren’t going to be a good thing if they are near Joohee.

“What’s up, baby? You and this idiot an item?” asked the shaggy haired man, smiling creepily “You should play with u-“

“Shut your mouths.”

A familiar voice called out to them as a familiar purple, spiky haired, suited man stood beside them. “This outing isn’t for recreation.” said Taeshik as the prisoner continued to grin.

“I’ll now brief our regular hunters, if you’d comet his way.” the woman from Hunters’ Association called out as Taeshik had the prisoners near himself while the other group was with the woman. Song had a worried look on his face.

“What is up with these men?” asked Song

“These men are the prisoner substitute hunters who will be joining you today.” said the woman

“Substitute hunters?! We’re supposed to fight alongside criminals?!” asked Song, stupefied

“They are hunter convicts, but they’re here to reduce their sentences and are unlikely to cause trouble.” replied the woman

“You are kidding, right?!” Midoriya was completely shocked. Never in his life had he thought of fighting alongside villains. “These guys literally were ogling at Joohee before barely even coming out of the van! I can literally make out what crime was committed by each of them!”

The woman turned to him and bowed apologetically. “I am sorry. We’re short-staffed due to an exodus of local hunters. I hope you’ll understand.” said she.

“What a mess…” Song facepalmed

“…I am telling you; I won’t be apologizing if they try to come near Joohee and my hands happen to be near their faces.” Midoriya grumbled as Joohee tried to calm him down. This just gave him even more trouble: hide awakened strength but also protect Joohee and the others. Just great.

And it didn’t help with the fact that there was something gnawing at his mind that the prisoners, no matter how much they are said to be wanting to have their sentences reduced, their behavior literally says the threat that is still lingering around them.

“It’s fine, Mr. Midoriya.” replied the woman “You’ll be accompanied by an overseer from the Hunter’s Association, Kang Taeshik, too. He’s B-Rank, so even in the worst-case scenario, he should be able to handle three C-Rank criminals with ease. Please, rest assured.”

“Easy to say, hard to do…” Midoriya muttered

The handcuffs were taken off from the hands of the prisoners by Taeshik, who then stretched the sore muscles of their limbs after being imprisoned for so long. Grins weren't leaving their faces at all.

“Damn, it’s good to be free.” said the shaved head one

“We’re not slaves here, man.” said the blonde haired one “Is this kinda thing allowed?”

“Shut up. You’re convicts.” said Taeshik, his eyes completely calm and uncaring “You know what happens if you act up, right?”

The trio just grinned ss Taeshik walked away, approaching Midoriya and Song, who were planning up the best way to approach the current situation at hand. “I’m Kang Taeshik, an inspector with the Hunters Association Surveillance Team. I’ll be responsible for them, so you can relax.”

Midoriya bowed at him. “We thank you for that, sir. I really hope we don’t have to resort to violence in case something goes wrong.” said he, recognizing the man who was there that day he woke up in the hospital, alongside that other representative of Hunter’s Association.

Taeshik nodded. “Who’s going to take point on the raid today?” asked he

Song looked at the Japanese Hunter. “Midoriya…Do you mind if I lead?” he asked.

“Absolutely not. I don’t think anyone present here has the leadership capabilities you possess.” Izuku smiled at him

Song was surprised, but not too much. After all, he knew the kind of person the former Japanese teacher. He bowed down to him. “Thank you for giving me this chance.”

“M-Mr. Song?!” Izuku was shocked as he tried to make sense of this gesture. Mr. Song was an extremely nice guy, a senior who should be respected a lot. But here, it was the opposite.

“On that day, seven people died because of me.” said Song, reminiscing that day “The magnitude of my failure to protect everyone cannot be understated. But…six of us did survive, because of you. You were our hero that day, going as far as to let yourself die while we see the sun for another day. So, let me say this, as a representative of the others: I am grateful of you.”

Midoriya was speechless. He had just done what, according to him, a hero should do. So, when he was acknowledged by Song, for a time when he was weak, his words got stuck in his throat. So, all he did was grab the man’s shoulder and force him back up.

“You don’t have to bow, Mr. Song.” he said, smiling  “It was just our human instincts adapting to the situation. This will continue to happen, so it’s fine. Also, this time, I won’t hesitate to deny something that seems dangerous, like I didn’t do last time.”

Song nodded, seeing that young man had grown more in terms of behavior, as well as still having the same caring side he had for everyone. The man then turned to the group.

“Is it all right with you as well, Kim?” he asked the said man

Kim just looked aside, guilt still all over his face. “Go ahead.” said he.

While this was happening, Taeshik was staring at Midoriya’s back, tilting his head while his face was still stoic. He has this weird feeling about him he can’t put his finger on. He decided to ignore it for now as Song turned to him.

“Well, with that being the case, I will take point in the dungeon.” said Song

“Understood. Let’s get underway, then.” said Taeshik

The two groups then stood in front of the dungeon gate: the prisoners grinning with Taeshik looking from behind while the survivor team with their determined and guilty (Kim and Kang) expressions on. Midoriya readied his gloves on his hands as Joohee took a deep breath, readying herself while standing beside him.

Song stared into the gate, before readying himself. “Off we go now…” said he, as the groups entered the dungeon to see what dangers lie ahead of them.

Chapter Text

The group inside were at work, dispatching the dungeon monsters by themselves. The prisoners were grinning, enjoying crushing the monsters with just their weapons and strength.

“These stupid things are coming right at us, begging to be killed.” said the shaved haired one with a nunchaku, killing a goblin

“Well, I love it! Let’s wipe ‘em all out!” said the blonde haired one, killing 2 goblins with a spear

The shaggy haired creep punched a hole through one goblin, grinning and enjoying the thrill of killing. All while Song looked in shock at how much evil the trio looked while doing it.

“I’m not sure which ones are the real beasts.” said he, as he turned around and swiped his right hand, using his new fire magic, burning three goblins who went to attack him

“Old Man Song’s a beast himself!” said Kim, surprised

Deku meanwhile smashed away the remaining goblins with his hands, taking care of them quickly before sighing.

“That takes care of this group. You really have gotten stronger, Midoriya!” said Song, smiling “And that also without any actual weapons! Just your fists!”

Deku turned sheepish, rubbing the back of his head. Joohee smiled at him. “Now that I think about it, you haven’t hurt at all today, Izuku.” said she.

“W-Well I did train myself to at least survive these weak monsters.” Deku replied awkwardly

“Here’s hoping no one ends up needing my help.” said Joohee

“That’s a lie and you know it. I’ll be needing it anytime soon.” replied Deku

While the duo talked, Song continued to smile at him, while observing his aura. ‘Everything about him has changed.’ thought he ‘Not just his appearance, but even his aura…He’s showing an extreme amount of restraint.’

Taeshik just sighed as he walked away. “Let’s get going.” said he.

The group continued to walk forward, dispatching every small enemy that was constantly plaguing their way. Soon, they came across a division of paths in the dungeon.

“The path splits here.” said Song

“The dungeon’s been easier than forecast, so it should be fine to split into three groups.” said Taeshik, walking up to Song “There’d be additional risk, but we’d be able to finish sooner, too.”

“I think that’s a good idea.” said Song

“I’ll take the prisoners down the path on the right.” said Taeshik “If you find the boss chamber, send someone to let us know.”

Deku meanwhile observed the paths, narrowing his eyes. Something was nagging at his head, constantly. That the boss was down the left path. He guessed it’s his enhanced perception of his System.

“Mr. Song.” said Deku “Let’s head down the path to the left. If anyone else finds the boss chamber, I’m sure we can quickly rush out to help.”

“Understood.” said Song, not at all questioning his weak excuse

“That leaves the middle for us.” said Kim with Kang standing beside him

With that, the 3 groups started going down their respective assigned paths. Before he left, however, Deku noticed Taeshik staring at him with his hands in his pockets.

“…..Uh….good….luck?” said he, confused

Taeshik just continued to stare, before a faint, almost imperceptible smirk appeared on his face as he walked down his path. “Good luck to you too, Midoriya Izuku.”

Even though he spoke like he normally does, Deku’s spine shivered at the way he said his name. It was as if the very voice was worrying him. He shook his head before going down his own assigned path.

“What a weirdo.” said Deku, scratching his head

[Center Path]

“If these goblins are all there is, we’ll be fine.” said Kim, killing another goblin with his sword

“I just hope we can finish this job safely.” said Kang, killing another with his giant hammer

“I’m sure we will.” said Kim, side-eyeing Kang “The Weakest Hunter only gets called in for low-rank dungeons, right?”

“Except we made that same assumption once already and look what happened.” said Kang

Kim looked down at the ground, guilt written all over his face as he sighed. “I’ve made up my mind. When this raid’s over, I’m gonna apologize to Midoriya.” said he, surprising Kang “It’s been bugging you, too, right? How we ran away. We’re grown men, professional hunters…Even if it was because of our families, that doesn’t change the fact we left one of our own behind. Especially one who is not even from this country and whose mother probably doesn’t even know about it. If we wanna keep being hunters…we need to face up to what happened.”

Kang looked guilty as well, looking down shamefully. “You think he’ll forgive us?” asked he.

“There’s no chance. Even a good and nice guy like him has limits.” said Kim, walking forward “But I’m still gonna apologize. Come on, let’s get going.”

[Right Path]

Taeshik was overwatching the prisoners, still enjoying killing the goblins with nothing but pure, twisted happiness.

“What a joke! These goblins are way too easy!”

 “Is that all of them?”

“You expected it to take longer?”

“I wanna rack up some more kills!”

One of the goblins’ decapitated head was kicked towards Taeshik’s leg, as he watched it before looking at the trio. “What if you were facing humans?” asked he “Could you kill them just as easily?”

“I don’t really see the difference.” said the shaved haired one

“Yeah. It’s all the same shit.” said the blonde haired one

Taeshik just continued to stare at the trio, remembering as to why he was even indulging in this in the first place. How a father lost his daughter because these three assaulted her and she committed the unthinkable, how his wife got hospitalized for psychological shock, how the father ranted the unfairness of prisoners who are hunters and can get their sentences reduced easily. And how, he wanted the B-Rank Hunter to kill them as a form of revenge.

“Here’s what I’ll the inspectors when I get out of here.” said Taeshik as the trio looked at his face, confused. His eyes were shadowed under his hair. “The three of you were set upon by a pack of a hundred goblins.”

[Meanwhile]

 Deku was in his thoughts about how weird Taeshik was. ‘It is going to be a hassle, now that he remembers me. Hope he doesn’t ask too many questions about my grow-‘ before he could even complete, his instincts instantly spiked up, hurting his head. And at the same time, a yell was heard far down, causing him to stop.

“Mr. Song!” Deku called out, looking back at the path

“Right!” Song and he rushed down back the path with Joohee following them. The yell was unmistakable, which was why Deku was rushing more quickly.

The trio quickly got out of their own path and rushed down the far right one, quickening their steps before they finally came to a stop. Before them there was a horrific sight, shocking all three of them, right to their cores.

“W-What is this?!” Song yelled, shocked

The trio of prisoners were dead there. The shaggy haired one had blood coming out of his eyes, the blonde-haired one had a giant slash on his torso, leaned against the wall. The third one, the shaved-haired one, was lying on the ground with his head detached from his body. Blood stained all over the place.

Joohee screamed in panic and fell to her knees, covering her mouth with both of her hands. Song looked to the side and rushed on to see the fallen body of Kang, all slashed and bloodied up.

“Jeongho!” Song cried out, as he went to him and knelt, before realizing that the man was already dead.

“…Mr. Kang?” Deku asked, eyes widened, before he heard a panting, a very weak breathing sound. He turned his head to the side, before his pupils shrank in pure shock.

There was Kim, sitting down on the ground, his back leaning against the wall. There were multiple slashes and cuts all over his body and blood dripped from every single one of them.

“…M-Mr. Kim?” Deku called out, his breathing started to quicken

Joohee was right beside him, hands still covering her mouth. Tears started to fall down her eyes as Deku’s voice called out to her. “Joohee-san, heal him. Hurry up and heal him!”

Joohee snapped out of it as she rushed to Kim’s side, using her healing magic to heal him. The familiar warm, golden glow appeared around her hands as she sat close to him. Kim opened his eyes, coughing out blood.

“Mr. Kim! Please hang on!” Joohee cried

Song was stunned and shocked by the situation. ‘This wasn’t the work of a magic beast.’ he thought, observing his wounds ‘The weapon’s too sharp. And whoever used it avoided finishing him off…multiple times.’

“Don’t…bother. I’m not gonna make it.” said Kim, shocking them

“D-Don’t talk like that! You need to survive!” Deku exclaimed. His breathing was fast now as panic attack was taking over him. “You have a family, don’t you?!”

“You…” Kim could see how much this was starting to affect Deku. He had forgotten that despite Joohee being the one who can get scared easily because of a weak heart, the Japanese young man was the one who was quite the soft one and emotional one.

“You need to survive! You dying is not a choice for you!” Deku exclaimed, walking over and kneeling beside him, tears in his eyes. “How else…can I save people…if I can’t save even the single one in front of me…?”

“I’m sorry. I really am sorry.” Kim apologized “I didn’t see it playing out like this. I wanted to give you…a proper apology. I’m real sorry, kid. I…mean…it…”

Kim slowly closed his eyes, until Deku shouted angrily. “I said you’re NOT DYING TODAY!” he yelled. Out of nowhere, he summoned two potion bottles in his hands.

Deku pushed his fingers into Kim’s mouth, making the man temporarily open his eyes, before opening the corks of the bottles and forcing the liquid down the man’s throat. He made sure to shake his throat to make him gulp it all down, with Kim’s eyes widened.

“Drink it up. All of it.” Deku threatened, wiping his tears off his eyes “Don’t waste a single drop.”

Kim gulped down whatever was leftover in his mouth. And before soon, his body started to glow a familiar golden, slowly healing up a little bit of his injuries. Bringing his chances of survival from 0 to near 0.

“W-What…Kim…” Song had his eyes widened

“What’s happening?” Joohee was surprised too, before having her shoulder patted by Deku

“Continue to heal him.” he ordered “I healed him, but it was very little. You should be able to jump his chances of survival from near 0 to more percentage.”

Joohee didn’t even question what was happening, as she went back to healing Kim, reinforcing her healing magic. The wounded man meanwhile continued to look at Midoriya with wide, shocked eyes.

“Nobody’s gonna die. At least not if I am around.” Deku announced as he rushed over to Jeongho’s side, before quickly spawning one more bottle and forcing the liquid down his throat. ‘There. Good thing I had already gotten 3 bottles of extensive healing potion beforehand. Sure it’s not much, but at least the survival chances should be not zero.’

And just as he expected, he could feel the extremely faint pulse of Kang. He was right in his guess; he was close to death, not exactly dead. They managed to come at the right time or even a second later would've killed him.

“Good thing I was quick. He was close, but not quite.” he muttered, throwing aside the empty bottle and leaning Kang towards the wall. He was glad he had wasted all of his System gold currency he had collected the day before. “Joohee-san, when you’re finished with Kim, come ove-“

He widened his eyes as his instincts spiked up in his head and rushed back to Joohee, quickly grabbed tightly onto the hand that suddenly came out of nowhere to kill her with a sharp dagger. The arm quickly released itself from his hold as Taeshik jumped down in front of them.

“Wow, you’re fast.” said he, smiling sadistically as Joohee breathed hard while trying to continue to heal Kim “I had intended on taking out the healer first…but it looks like you are another problem just like her.”

“Mr. Kang?! Did you do this?!” yelled Song, shocked

“What if I did?” asked Taeshik

“Aren’t you from the Hunter’s Association?” asked Song “You think you can get away with-“

“I’ve got the perfect little story.” said Taeshik, juggling his dagger while still smiling sadistically “I was gonna say that It was a swarm of goblins, but here’s my new angle: The prisoners were plotting an escape, so they killed the rest of you and then tried to ambush me while I was occupied fighting the boss…But they didn’t have what it takes. And that’s why I was the sole survivor. What do you think? Perfect, huh?”

“Absolute garbage.” Deku retorted, clenching his fists “Ambushed you while you’re fighting the boss…the very same boss who you don’t even know. You can’t even tell what it could be. And besides, anyone who is familiar with your style of fighting will automatically question how come a B-Rank Hunter got ambushed by 3 low ranked prisoners.”

Taeshik’s smile dropped before he grinned. “You talk too much, Midoriya Izuku.” said he.

“B-Bastard….” Kim coughed out as he continued to get healed by Joohee

Song touched Deku’s shoulder. “You can’t stand against him. I’ll go.” said he as the green haired man nodded.

Song knelt and picked up Kim’s sword. “I’m borrowing this, Kim.” said he, readying it against Taeshik ‘I haven’t raised a sword against another person in a long time.’

Joohee continued to heal Kim, when Song called out to her. “Ms. Joohee, could you cast a physical strength buff on me?” asked he.

The girl nodded, quickly deploying said buff. This, unfortunately, took a bit more mana than her usual healing one, which Deku noticed. He stopped her from healing Kim anymore, which turned out to be the correct decision, as despite not being at peak strength, Kim can stand up now. Deku quickly dragged Jeongho’s unconscious body towards them.

“Here, Joohee-san.” said Deku “Heal him up. He’s barely hanging by a thread.”

“R-Right.” The healer nodded before casting her healing magic onto the Hunter.

With now one man revived, Song readied himself as his body glowed with an orange glow, signaling the effect of Joohee’s offense buff. ‘Assassin types tend to have weak defenses.’ thought he as his muscles twitched, his nerves now pulsing hard. ‘I’ll aim for that.’

“A washed-up mage like you trying to rely on strength instead is gonna backfire.” said Kang

“Careful, Mr. Song.” called out Kim, coughing a bit as he stood beside Song “He’s extremely fast, compensating for his strength and defense.”

“It’s fine, Kim.” said Song “Right now, I’m a swordsman.”

Kang dashed towards Song, who reacted fast, clashing his sword with the B-Ranker’s dagger. “But your skills are magic-focused.” said Kang, the sadistic look still on his face “Taking up that sword won’t help you!”

Song grunted as he swung his sword fast down onto Kang, making him widen his eyes as he cleanly slashed Kang’s afterimage. “You’d be surprised.”

“Okay, you’ve got some moves.” said Kang, landing down on the ground, a bit farther from him. “Even putting aside the buff, you really do know your stuff.”

Song gritted his teeth as he started to clash with Kang, the sound of metal echoing throughout the dungeon, the sparks of the weapons lighting up the place even more. The swordsman did his best to desperately keep up with the assassin.

‘He’s not fast…it was just a moment thing.’ thought Deku, watching the fight while wrapping bandages around the wounds that weren’t fully healed of Kim’s. “Mr. Kim, how fast was he when he slashed you and Mr. Jeongho?”

Kim looked at him. “Too fast. Though it may be since I am weaker than Old Man Song.” said he as Deku finished bandaging the last wound.

“Is that so…” The Japanese Hunter muttered as he looked at Song desperately trying his hardest to keep up with Kang ‘If only Mr. Song were a bit faster…no, that’s still not possible. Taeshik’s slashes are too clean and precise…’

“Fast and accurate! I can see why you ditched magic for the sword!” Kang exclaimed excitedly, parrying each attack of the one-handed swordsman, before the duo slashed into each other and stood, facing opposite sides “But that’s about all you can manage.”

A cut appeared on Song’s shoulder, shaking him up, only for the blood to re-enter back into his body and the wound healed up as Joohee divided her attention between fixing Jeongho and Song.

Taeshik growled. “That pain in the ass healer.” he said. “Guess I had better deal with her after all.”

Taeshik rushed towards Joohee and Deku, only for Song to attack from behind, forcing him to block his sword with his dagger. “Turning your back on an armed opponent?!” Song asked.

“I guess you’re no average old fart.” said Taeshik, realizing the old man had lots of skills with the sword which were too good even for him.

“I’ve trained S-Rank hunters before!” Song declared, both pushing their weapons towards each other. “In terms of blade technique, I won’t be beat!”

“Maybe, but the powers you have been given before have their limits!” Taeshik replied, jumping back. As if to prove his point, Joohee coughed out blood, causing her to stop healing Jeongho anymore. “Look. See for yourself.”

Jeongho managed to regain consciousness, but he struggled to stand up. “W-What’s happening…” he asked in a squeaky voice. His body felt so, so weak.

“Jeongho!” Kim knelt beside him, sitting him up “Don’t speak too much.”

Deku knelt beside Joohee, holding her shoulders. “You did good, Joohee-san.” said he, rubbing her shoulders to comfort her “You saved two lives today.”

“I guess…I can now be proud of myself…” Joohee said weakly

“Tch. You guys are more annoying than I thought.” said Taeshik as he started to quickly dash all around Song, slashing him multiple times from his blind spots. “Did you think a mage type like you could keep up with an assassin hunter?!”

Slashes after slashes continued to engulf the swordsman’s body. Blood stained all over his torso and legs as he finally dropped to his knees, dropping his sword. The tiredness was starting to kick in.

“Song!” Kim yelled out, watching his friend finally get defeated despite doing his best

“Mr. Song!” Joohee cried out, trying her hardest to heal him, but just coughed out blood. “Oh no…”

“Good job. Your healer’s useless, now that she revived the sorry asses of those two.” said Taeshik, walking up to Song. He smiled sadistically, before raising his hand in the arm. “Game over.”

Song clutched the ground with his hand, instantly spawning a fiery circle as Taeshik widened his eyes before getting enveloped by a huge tornado of fire, burning him up. ‘Did that work?!’  Song asked himself mentally.

For a second, nothing happened. Until his voice signaled how much alive he was. “You took up that sword to make me lower my guard against magic…” said he, making Song widen his eyes as the Assassin Hunter was now standing beside him, having dodged it. “…so that when I went for the kill, you could blast me. Pretty slick plan, for a senile old bastard.”

“Now die.” said Taeshik, raising his armed hand again to go for the kill. Both Song and Joohee closed their eyes as the assassin brought down his hand, only to hear something rustling as he looked forward.

‘SMASH!’

Deku punched his face, blowing him away as he stood protectively in front of Song, making the swordsman and Joohee open and widen their eyes. Taeshik grunted as he got knocked back, standing up and touching his cheek, which was now bruised.

“You again…” he growled, looking at Deku “Who are you?”

“Izuku Midoriya, E-Rank.” Deku replied, readying his fists.

“E-Rank? That’s a load of crap.” said Taeshik

“Midoriya, what was that just now?” asked Song from behind the green haired man

“I could see a power type, even at E-Rank, being able to counter like that.” said Taeshik “But the reaction time you’d need to pull it off twice would require an assassin build.”

“That is if, you aren’t accounting for natural instincts.” Deku retorted, though obviously he knew Taeshik was right “Bad luck for you, I have been dealing with death ever since I was a teacher back home in Japan. My instincts are more than capable of compensating for faster reaction time.”

“Bullshit. It doesn’t help you that much, to the point you’d be capable of reacting to an assassin, unless it’s on autistic levels.” said Taeshik “Not that it really matters, anyway. Ex-teacher or not, you’ve been hiding your skills, haven’t you?”

Deku didn't reacted much, sweating while still in his own fighting stance. He should’ve guessed that a crafty assassin like him obviously has a shrewd mind as well. Being with not too high ranked hunters all his life and observing higher ones from afar made him careless of the clever ones.

“Your little group seems to know each other.” said Taeshik, knowing he guessed right “So you can’t be a false ranker. They don’t let any witnesses live. Which leaves only one possibility…You had a second awakening.”

Song widened his eyes. “You did, Midoriya?!” he asked, shocked.

“A second awakening?!” Joohee was shocked too.

“Wait really?!” Kim was shocked too.

“Then it must’ve happened after the double dungeon!” Song surmised, realizing why Deku felt so different

‘A double dungeon?’ Taeshik thought, looking at Deku ‘Wait…So he IS that weakling E-Rank from before…He looks the same, but acts like a different person. And the mana meter only read 10 when we checked back then. If he had a second awakening, it must have been after. So, how’d he survive the double dungeon…?’

Taeshik readied his dagger. “Well, whatever happened to you, I can tell you don’t have a ton of hunting experience.” said he “So, it falls to me to teach you the ropes.”

“…Why…did you do this?” asked Deku

“You mean killing the prisoners?” said Taeshik “I was asked to by the father of their victim. They drove someone to suicide and didn’t regret it at all. It’s a bit of social justice, that’s all.”

“…I don’t care for them.” Deku replied reluctantly “I was asking about Mr. Kim and Mr. Kang. Why did you tried to kill them? Was it to silence them? Because you could’ve done that without torturing them. But you didn’t do that. You toyed with them. I doubt you did this for the victim’s sake at all. That leaves to just one thing…”

Taeshik slowly grinned as the Japanese Hunter caught on to his little scheme easily. The former lived the fact that the sole reason he is still in Hunter Association, despite getting many offers from major guilds for his ranking and skills. Finding more joy and fun in killing people rather than beasts.

“You’re a psycho…” Deku said, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists “A villain…”

“And what are you going to do about it?” asked Taeshik, grinning sadistically “I doubt even reawakening will help you in saving your friends, hero.”

“…It’s okay.” Deku smiled awkwardly, readying his fists as green electricity crackled around him “Meddling when you don’t need to, is the essence of being a real hero, after all.”

Taeshik grinned even more sadistically. “For sure.”

Deku then rushed forward towards the assassin with his own speed. Despite being faster than before, he wasn’t too fast for Taeshik, who swung his dagger towards him, understanding his idea of attack.

‘Closing in so I can’t fully swing my daggers…nice strategy…’ thought Taeshik, grinning “But there’s a limit to what even a reawakened E-Rank can pull off!”

He pulled out his second dagger as Song went to warn Deku, only for the green haired man to dash past the attack and land right behind Taeshik. The B-Ranker slashed fast at the designated spot, only for it to hit nothing but air.

‘He dodged?’ thought Taeshik ‘No…’

“A 5%...”

Deku reappeared right above Taeshik, fist ready. “Detroit SMASH!” his voice echoed as he smashed the Hunter’s back hard, throwing him down onto the ground. Song widened his eyes, as he watched that despite being slightly slower than Taeshik, Deku was far faster than Song himself.

“You little…!” Taeshik grunted, hitting the ground. He pushed himself up before dashing all over the place to slash him quickly and from all sides, only for Deku to join him in his fastness as both clashed their daggers and fists while being a blur to the eyes of anyone else. The green blurry glow was the only thing that was helping determine who was chasing who.

“He’s so agile!” Song exclaimed, watching them with wide eyes “Nothing at all like the Midoriya I remember!”

Taeshik clashed his dagger with Deku’s fist, forcing the duo to push each other away. ‘We’re almost matched in speed…’ thought Taeshik ’His instincts are compensating for the remaining speed. We’ve got the same build and similar skill levels…’

Deku continued to dodge and parry his slashes, grunting. It was hard to do without a proper gauntlet or weapon. He was bad with the Kasaka’s Venom Fang; he could just swing it occasionally and he does it mostly to set the debuff effect of the weapon onto monsters. He was good with his fists, but the problem was that his new outfit, given by his mother, didn’t had any gauntlets to help him protect his arms. Which is why he was constantly slashed on his arms.

And that was exactly what Taeshik was exploiting fully. ‘But I have far more experience battling high-ranked opponents than you!’  He said in his mind, throwing dust at Deku’s face with his legs to distract him. ‘That inexperience will be your downfall!’

Deku widened his eyes, before quickly halting his approach and smashing the ground to shake up the ground, forcing Taeshik to jump away. The Japanese Hunter panted, staring at the assassin while having multiple cuts on his arms and cheek.

“You’ve got grit, I’ll give you that.” said Taeshik as a dark aura surrounded him

“Could you try to be less bloodthirsty?” Deku asked, making the man blink in confusion. This was because his system notified him of Taeshik’s presence finally.

(!)   NOTIFICATION

There are people present who

want to kill the Player.

Defeat them all and ensure

your safety.

WARNING: If you do not

complete this quest, you will

receive an appropriate penalty.

Number of enemies defeated

[0/1]                            [ ]

“Just great…Can’t avoid it anymore.” Deku muttered, confusing Taeshik even more “Though this gives me another reason to make sure you don’t take anymore innocent lives with those accursed hands of yours.”

’What the hell is he talking about?’ Taeshik thought, a sweat bead dropping down his cheek ‘I should have the advantage here…’

Deku reactivated One For All, adding up his Dash skill at the same time before lunging at breakneck speeds towards Taeshik, surprising him with a stronger punch that he barely dodged, as Deku landed behind him far down the dungeon. Taeshik would have mocked him for missing him so badly, had it not been for the fact his cheek got cut by his hand.

‘He’s even faster?!’ thought Taeshik, touching the cut that appeared 2 seconds later

Deku rushed back at him, both clashing against each other. “I’ve something to show too, you know?!” Taeshik exclaimed sadistically as he disappeared after getting punched by Deku, making the man widen his eyes. He looked around in alarm, as invisible slashes started to overwhelm him from all sides. A look of realization came onto his face; he was familiar with famous Hunter skills after all.

“Oh no! The Stealth skill!” Deku grunted, getting hit by the slashes “I should’ve known someone like you will definitely possess this!”

“You’re a sharp bastard, all right.” said Taeshik, his voice echoing all around the dungeon “You’re right though. This IS the Stealth skill. It conceals my sight, my sound and even my smell. Only a tiny fraction of assassin hunters ever obtains this skill.”

Deku reacted fast, blocking a slash, his eyes going all over the place rapidly. “Of course, no one knows I can use it, either.” said Taeshik, jumping down from the ceiling and slashing his leg, making Deku fall “And the reason is that no one who’s seen me use it has ever lived to tell the tale.”

“Izuk-!” Joohee tried to use her magic, only for Taeshik to interrupt her

“Keep your hands to yourself.” warned he “You two are next.”

‘At this rate, Midoriya’s going to die!’ thought Song, panicking

Taeshik then looked back at Deku, who was kneeling, gripping his injured leg. “Now, think you can dodge my next  strike with an injured leg?” asked he.

“…Where are you looking at?” asked Deku, looking over his shoulder, his eyes glowing green, surprising Taeshik. “Full Recovery.”

Instantly, the slash on his leg as well as all the slash wounds on his entire body healed up as he used up the ever-helpful in-built System skill.

Taeshik widened his eyes in shock. ‘He healed in an instant?!’ thought he ‘I’ve never heard of a combat hunter who could use healing magic, too. What else does he have?! He’s impossible to predict! This guy is dangerous!’

“Villains like you never hesitate to take innocent lives.” said Deku, standing up and looking at him “People who have a great tomorrow. Mr. Kim and Mr. Kang have families who wait for them at home. A wife waiting for her husband, a child for her father…The fact you tried to take those precious ones away, that proves the kind of a person you were born as. A vile villain, nothing more, nothing less.”

Taeshik widened his eyes and grinned. “You’re saying this from experience, aren’t you, hero? You did kill before, even if they were evil people.” said he, making Joohee and Song widen their eyes in shock. “Man! I didn’t know we were in the same business, just in different categories!”

Song gulped. ’I see. He must’ve been forced through several grave decisions in a short time.’ thought he ‘However…his heart is still at saving people. He still wants to be a hero, despite these shortcomings…’

“When hunters awakened, their supernatural abilities turned the world on its head.” said Taeshik “Where we are is a place that only hunters can enter. Laws aren’t worth shit here. Whoever’s strongest comes out on top.”

Taeshik disappeared again, as he reactivated his Stealth skill and started attacking Deku. However, this time, the E-Ranker was able to track his location and dodge his attacks, as his instincts started to spike in his head at each attack of the Assassin Hunter.

‘Is he tracking me from my bloodlust?’ thought Taeshik, trying to land one attack ‘But that won’t let him know exactly where I’m coming from!’

Deku looked at the location where he guessed Taeshik landed on right now, before activating his skill.

[Active Skill]

Heroic Charisma                                                                                             Lv. 1

Instantly, the entire area around Taeshik, who got forcibly reappeared, darkened as a dark world formed all around him. “What the...?!” he said in surprise, before looking up at Deku and widening his eyes. “Wait…Are you kidding me?”

There was Deku standing, still in that same place. His eyes were glowing full green. But this time, a giant, yellow colored apparition appeared above him, staring down at the Assassin Hunter. And from behind the Japanese Hunter, there were multiple bright glowing eyes, all staring holes into Taeshik. All of them looked at him with nothing but pure disgust and indignation, as if judging even his mere existence into this world.

“What…the…hell…” said Taeshik, widening his eyes as he fell on his back. His body was now fully paralyzed with nothing but pure shock. No matter what he did, he couldn’t move. He sighed before letting his dagger drop onto the ground, knowing he had lost.

Deku walked over to him as he looked up at him. “You want to know why I tried to kill them?” he said “It’s pointless to expect hunters, who thrive in mortal combat, to stick to normal morals. You’re the same way. You and me, we’re killing machines at this point, even if you do it only for ‘evil’ lives. Which is why I’ll die. Because I lost. It’s just natural selection.”

“That’s the most rubbish thing only a kid who is trying to be a delinquent or punkish in high school will say.” Deku retorted, shaking his head as if showing his disappointment “And you’re wrong also in the way we’re same. We aren’t. You take lives, I try to save them. For your kind information, I never killed anyone before. You just misunderstood me the entire time.”

Taeshik widened his eyes before chuckling. “So that’s it. In the end, you really were trying your darndest to be a hero. And I was your villain huh…What a perspective you have on life instead of the usual one.” he looked up at him “But what the hell are you? You’ve got assassin skills, healing and debuffs…I’ve never heard of anything like it.”

“Should’ve guessed it must’ve been my reawakening.” said Deku

Taeshik coughed out blood as the shock from the effect finally registered fully in his body, making his muscles spasm. He could still see the giant apparition standing above Deku, staring at him. “Well, you just killed me, so your little E-Rank act is over.” said he.

“Not really. I didn’t stab or pierced you. You’re dying out of who-knows-what.” said Deku. He didn't knew it was the shock of the skill's effect. “And besides, I’ll continue to be a hero, if anything, a reawakened hero. At least this will help me better save people than what I used to be.”

“Then your shadow’s gonna be stretching to some real nasty places, hero.” said Taeshik, smirking while in his dying breath “You’ll probably have as many lives at risk as those places get darker. You’d better watch yourself, though. If you try to play the hero, you will be getting your villains sooner or later.”

(!)   NOTIFICATION

[Urgent Quest: Defeat the Enemies]

[✓]

QUEST REWARDS

You got rewards.

1. Ability Points+5

Accept this reward?

[Yes]         [No]

(!)   NOTIFICATION

You have discovered

[Rune Stone: Stealth].

Deku dropped down to his knees in front of the now-dead Taeshik, sighing. Despite using Full Recovery, he still felt mentally exhausted. He clenched his fists. ‘Unless I have to…absolutely…I won’t be taking lives…’ he thought, wondering about Taeshik’s words ‘I am not going to be a killing machine…’

His thoughts were interrupted by Joohee’s voice, as he turned to see her and Song alongside Kim and a conscious Kang. “Izuku!” she had her hands joined, as if praying “Thank you so much.”

“You really did it.” said Song “We only survived because of you.”

“We…did. We really did, kid.” said Kim

Midoriya smiled at them, before sighing. “Do you guys think you could wait outside? Let me finish and wrap up everything quickly so we can go home.” said he.

“Wait what? By yourself?!” Kim exclaimed, before sighing “Oh wait, yeah you can.”

The group shared a collective chuckle together as Kim, Song and Joohee gently supported Jeongho on their shoulders and led him out, while Deku, taking another big sigh, stood up and walked over to the next chamber of the dungeon, tired of everything and just wanting to get over with everything.

[Timeskip]

‘I can’t believe Kang was killing in secret all this time.’

Was what going through Woo Jin-chul’s mind as he followed the woman from the Hunter’s Association towards the survivors of this raid. Guilt was obviously painted over his face, but he hid it good behind his business and stoic face.

‘He had always been a little sketchy, but as his supervisor, I was too careless.’ thought he.

The duo reached the surviving group as the woman pointed at them. “This is the five of them.” said she.

He looked up to see the status of the raid team. An injured Jeongho being supported by Kim on his shoulders. The injuries were obviously bad for them, but they seemed to be alive and able to at least talk. Old Man Song was alive too, with slashes on his torso. In short, the group was indeed attacked by Taeshik, except Joohee, who got protected. The slashes and cuts told the story quite easily.

Jin-chul then widened his eyes as he watched Lee Joohee talk with the Izuku Midoriya, who was still in that costume of his, except it was slightly more stained with blood and minor gashes. ‘Isn’t he…the E-Rank hunter from before?’ thought he ‘He looks the same, minus the scars…but something’s completely different about him.’

Deku finally noticed him, widening his eyes. “Oh! Inspector Woo Jin-chul!” he smiled and bowed.

“It’s good to see you again.” said Jin-chul “I want to apologize for what one of my men put you through. But first…I’d like to address the main issue. Which one of you defeated Kang?”

Deku knew this question was going to come, so he stood up. He cannot hide his status any longer, after all. And this also means cancelling his deal with Jinho to protect him from the public, as well as separating himself from Jinho.

“It was all of us.” said Song, making Deku widen his eyes “We all killed Mr. Kang together.”

“Pardon me, but I believe your rank was…?” Jin-chul was surprised.

“C-Rank.” said Song

“How were you able to beat a B-Rank like him them?” Jin-chul was surely surprised, but it was obvious how Taeshik could have been defeated, at least in his eyes.

 “Since a single one wasn’t enough, Kim, Jeongho, Midoriya and Joohee all worked together with me to defeat Kang.” said Song, pointing at his team “All of them did wonders. Kim and Jeongho supported me while fighting Mr. Kang. Joohee healed us three from behind, while Midoriya protected Joohee in case Mr. Kang slipped through us.”

“I see. So, you say you all managed to concoct a plan together to defeat him.” said Jin-chul, watching the group members while thinking ‘Kang was the cream of the crop among B-Ranks. By all rights, a single C-Rank mage shouldn’t have stood a chance. But I see how two D-Ranks can combine to fight alongside a C-Ranker through an elaborate plan and with the healer’s help.’

Jin-chul nodded, accepting the explanation as his mind formed it as the most plausible one, especially with the fact Joohee was there to heal them. “Very well.” said he “I’ll need to write this incident up, so if you could please come with me.”

He walked away as Deku let out the breath he was holding, sweating. Despite the fact he had immense respect for the A-Ranked Hunter and was a great fan of his skills, especially with the fact he was a nice guy, his perception obviously just showed how much stronger Jin-chul was compared to him. He wasn’t trying to do it purposely, but he was just shocked at the huge difference, despite the fact he just defeated Taeshik, who was a B-Ranker and Jin-chul was an A-Ranker, just one rank above.

‘I had forgotten he is A-Rank.’ thought Deku, trying to hold himself back from immense excitement ‘So cool…I’d be helpless against him, even with One For All at my current level!’

Song chuckled. “Sorry if I overstepped my bounds there.” said he, making the green head man look at him “But I imagine you’ve got a good reason for keeping your strength hidden. Especially with your heart at the right place. I think it’s appropriate for an aspiring to hero to keep growing up in secret, before finally facing the world and its challenges. Just think of it as my way of paying you back.”

With that, Song followed Jin-chul to help in writing the statements, while Midoriya smiled in gratefulness at him.

[Timeskip]

Kim and Jeongho apologized to Midoriya, not asking for forgiveness, but just letting him know they will never, ever think of doing it again, no matter how much they may miss their families. Though of course, him being the nice man, forgave them anyway and chided Kim for continuing this dangerous path despite his wife and child waiting for him back home. Both were given a long earful by him for trying to continue as Hunters and were sent back to their homes.

Three hours later, the man who hired Kang Taeshik to kill the prisoners turned himself in, which just confirmed the excuse that what they did was in pure self-defense. This saved them a lot of hassle at the hands of Woo Jin-chul and from being put under suspicion radars.

Midoriya and Joohee were at the park, resting from today’s events. It was nighttime, close to dinner time for everyone in the world. Joohee had her crimson shirt now in her hands, so she was in her white frilly top.

“Man, what a day it was!” Midoriya exclaimed, stretching his arms above his head. He sighed, plopping his head back against the back rest of the bench.

“…Izuku.” Joohee called out, making the Japanese Hunter turn to her. She held out a familiar, crystal shaped essence stone “Do you remember this?”

Midoriya widened his eyes before slapping his hand over his forehead. “Oh no! I had completely forgotten to take you out for dinner!” he said.

Joohee chuckled, before she walked down to the other side of the park with him following her. “It’s funny how you look similar and different at the same time, Izuku.” said she “When I haven’t changed at all.”

“It’s fine, Joohee-san.” Midoriya smiled at her “A lot has happened. Everyone’s not the same. It’s okay to not change after experiencing something.”

“You’re right.” said Joohee, her head down “I think I might be too timid to be a hunter. I tried to get over it, but it never works out.”

Midoriya stopped in his tracks, surprised. “Joohee-san, what are you saying?” asked he.

Joohee stopped in her tracks too. “I should really be participating in A and B-Rank raids…or at least C-Rank. But I chose D and E-Rank ones on purpose.” said she, turning to him with a smile “That’s how I met you, and found myself healing you time and time again.”

Izuku sighed. “Oh come on…don’t remind me that anymore…” he pouted.

The girl just chuckled. “At first, it was a little annoying how often you got injured…But you always managed to survive. And you tried to keep everyone safe. I’ll never forget the way that your eyes always seemed to radiate determination.” said she “We did promised to go out to eat somewhere, right?”

“Ah, yes yes!” Izuku panicked, remembering the promise “C-Come on, we may have at least one restaurant or café ope-“

"Izuku." Joohee interrupted him by holding out his essence stone. “You can have this back.” said she.”

“Huh?” Midoriya was confused, before a guess clicked into him as he widened his eyes “Wait…you don’t say…”

“I’m going to retire.” said she, giving a sad smile “I’m moving back in with my parents. If you ever find yourself in the area, let me know, okay? I can show you around.”

“Joohee-san…” Izuku was heartbroken. No way is this happening…and also after barely being in the line of hunting for a year.

Joohee gave a smile, before putting the essence stone in his hands. “Invite me again if we meet, okay?”

Not giving him a chance to even react, she then walked away from him, towards the outside of the park, finally letting her smile drop. Sadness was etched all over her face. It was honestly pathetic of her to think that she could have changed since that incident. Everyone changed. Song was still strong with his fire magic and swordsmanship. Izuku became stronger and probably will continue to do so, getting closer to achieving his dream.

And she? Nothing. She still hasn’t changed at all. She is still the scaredy cat she was from the day she joined this line of career. Sure, she saved Kim and Jeongho, but that was because Midoriya was there to coerce her. If he wasn’t present, she would have just stayed in one place, frozen in fear and get herself killed by Taeshik. Her legs couldn’t even move, unless he was there.

She now understood that unless Izuku Midoriya, her Japanese friend was there, she will never be able to even take a single confident step or use her magic. He is her switch, her trigger. And with him now getting stronger, she won’t be of any use to him, nor will she be able to grow stronger like him. And if he fights against stronger enemies and gets defeated, she obviously won’t be able to do anything, just being a helpless lady.

She sighed, reaching the gate of the park. Maybe her mother was right all this time. Joohee wasn’t cut out for a dangerous career like this. She had been a coward; there’s no way a coward like her would ever have a place in a world full of wonderful and strong Hunt-

“Joohee-san!”

Midoriya’s yell broke her out of her thoughts as she turned to see him running at her. He held her right arm, surprising her. His face showed determination. And…longing?

“Joohee-san, please don’t go.” said he, shocking her “I am not myself without someone like you.”

“What…are you saying, Izuku?” asked she, shocked. Was he really trying to persuade her to continue? Was he really trying to get her killed?!

Midoriya sighed, taking a deep breath. “Look, do you remember how I was, when I first came to Hunting in Korea?” he asked her.

Joohee blinked before nodding. “Yes, I do. Why?” she asked. She does remember that day she met him first. A completely reckless young man, a former teacher trying his hardest to fit into this world.

“I was a naïve guy.” said he “I was reckless. I barely thought about myself at all. Just about the person I took care of. I always declared I’ll be a hero through being a hunter, so people will have someone to look up to. Everyone laughed and took it as a joke, but you didn’t.”

Joohee widened her eyes. Of course, he was quite determined to become a hero. The fact he called Taeshik a villain just enhanced that fact even more. He was totally set on saving people.

“I like to see people smile.” he admitted, his grip still on her arm “I like to see them see the rising sun of tomorrow with their loved ones over and over. That’s the kind of hero I want to be. Someone who saves people with a smile. You were my first, real friend in Korea, with Mr. Song following. You were my hero that day.”

Joohee was shocked at what he was saying, before she dropped her shoulders, giving the same sad smile. “That’s…I just found myself sharing interests with you, Izuku.” said she.

“Still, the fact remains you stayed by my side meant a lot to me.” said he “I have no friends like you. No one else will check up on me during each raid. No one will heal me up each time I get pushed back. No one who will continue to believe in me, even if everyone is against me.”

Joohee widened her eyes as she watched him pull her close to himself, intertwining his fingers with both of her hands. “So…can’t I, as a friend, ask for you to continue staying by my side?” he asked, eyes full of pure honesty and innocence. Someone who had no other intentions and was just being fully his own self.

She gasped, her cheeks turning pink. “Izuku! I…” she tried to turn her head away but couldn’t. Those eyes demanded her attention and nothing else right now, drawing her entire attention to him, like moths to a bright light. She looked down at the ground. “But…I am not strong like you…nor will I get stronger…”

“It’s fine!” said Izuku “I don’t care. You’re already strong enough by yourself. With how you revived Mr. Kim and Mr. Kang AND strengthened Mr. Song, that also without any training in all these months, you surpassed even my expectations. That was almost comparable to what I am capable of right now and I train everyday! You…are the strongest healer I have ever seen.”

Joohee continued to blush, her cheeks turning pinker. “B-But I won’t be able to surviv-“ she got cut off by him.

“I’ll protect you.” he declared, not wanting to let the doubts go into her mind “I’ll do whatever it takes to have you safe and sound by the end of the day. Just like you did to me, I’ll be there for you to rely on whenever you need.”

Joohee blushed even harder before sighing. She had forgotten he's not only kind, but also extremely stubborn. And manipulative (not in the bad way) with his way of words. Of course, his innate, natural charisma also added more to the equation, which surprisingly worked on many people.

“You dummy…I can’t believe this would actually work on me…” she said, facepalming “You’re the most…stubborn hero I have ever seen. But I guess that’s what makes you…you.”

Midoriya blinked, before a smile crept on his face. “So, is that a yes?!” he asked, voice full of anticipation.

“What do you expect then, idiot?” she asked sarcastically, pulling herself away from him finally while her blush started to dim a bit “Gosh…I have to continue healing you…And here I thought I’ll be free from it.”

“I’m sorry, but no matter how much stronger I get, I will still be needing a healer.” said Midoriya, chuckling “Also, sorry for pulling you like that. I thought you will get better emphasis that way.”

Joohee huffed, hands on her hips. “Well, you sure are bold.” said she “That was quite perverted of you. And rude.”

“W-Wait what?!” he panicked “I am sorry! I was just trying to get you to stay.”

“Sorry isn’t going to cut it out, mister hero.” said she, poking his chest, playfully pouting.

“T-Then what will?” he asked

She smiled before chuckling, as she took the essence stone from him. “You are fulfilling that promise.” said she.

Midoriya blinked before sighing. “Fine, fine. I’ll take you out for a nice dinner.” said he.

Joohee smiled as the duo now walked down the streets. She wasn’t sure about herself, but if he was going to be stubborn, who was she to say no? And she won’t deny it; she liked the feeling of getting to hear that her help will still be needed even if he gets stronger. Who knows, maybe she can get her healing powers to a better level with his help? He was a smart guy too, after all.

She also finally got him to call her “Joohee-chan” and gosh, did it sound so sweet and cute coming out of his mouth.

The duo chatted together, wondering where to go and where to eat. And while Joohee would’ve been worried about him spending his money, since his condition wasn’t the best before, Midoriya reassured her he was more than capable of getting her multiple luxury food items and desserts.

All while the talk with Jin-chul continued to linger in his mind from earlier that day…

[Earlier]

“I don’t believe an E-Rank like yourself could defeat a B-Rank like Kang Taeshik.” said Jin-chul. He had brought Midoriya to a corner, away from the others. “You’ve already been examined for a potential reawakening, after all. But I feel I should warn you anyway…If you want to live a long life, be careful out there.”

Midoriya blinked. “What do you mean, Mr. Jin-chul?” asked he.

“After the incident where Hwang Dongsuk’s strike team was wiped out, with you and the D-Rank hunter as the only survivors…” replied Jin-chul “Hwang Dongsuk’s younger brother, Hwang Dongsoo, may be targeting you both.”

Izuku widened his eyes. “No way! Why he?!” he asked. He knew all about famous hunters, and that included dangerous ones too. And it’s even worse that Dongsoo’s an S-Rank. “He can’t possibly think of doing that! Both of us are innocent! We just barely it out with Jinho’s help!”

“I don’t think he will believe that.” said Jin-chul “It doesn’t matter what actually happened in there. All he cares about is that Hwang Dongsuk died, while you managed to survive.”

“That’s…so unfair…” Midoriya muttered, clenching his gloved hands “That’s basically blaming others for one’s mistake.”

“Unfortunately, things are like that.” Jin-chul sighed, patting his shoulder “The law is powerless to deal with S-Ranks. They have the potential to bring forth either miracle or calamity. In other words, one of the monsters that even monsters fear is out for your blood.”

“Then what makes him so much different from Taeshik?” Izuku asked “What makes him so much different from villains? Is it because he must listen to orders during times of raids?”

“That’s for everyone to find out themselves.” Jin-chul then put on his sunglasses and opened the door to his car. “If possible, I’d recommend taking your family and leaving the country.”

Midoriya watched him enter his car, before sighing. “I’ll see tha-“ as if remembering something suddenly, he quickly pulled out his notebook from his utility belt with a pen and flipped the page to a particular one. “P-Pardon me, Mr. Jin-chul, but could you possibly give me your autograph!?” he asked him excitedly, holding them out to him.

Jin-chul blinked, watching the 24-year-old man behave like a child. “Uh…sure?” he said, taking the pen and notebook. He noted that the page was opened to a rough yet decent sketch of him, with a multitude of writings in Japanese on the other page. He just sweatdropped, signing the page and giving it back to him.

“Thanks a lot, sir!” Midoriya grinned, taking the notebook back

“You’re…wel…come?” said Jin-chul, still awkward about how to feel that a man in his 20s was a big fan of someone like him, who is just from the Hunter’s Association and not from any big major guild.

Back at the current time, Midoriya sighed as he and Joohee went inside a big and cozy restaurant for dinner tonight. He now has another reason to be a hero: to protect himself and his dear ones along with the innocent ones from these villains. Because if he doesn’t, everyone will continue to stay in fear.

Chapter Text

Midoriya was sitting at his table, writing in his notebook. Jinah was lazing on her bed in her bedroom. It was a Sunday and with no school, she wanted to just sleep the entire day. It was same for her caretaker too, who, after the incident with Taeshik, was slightly shaken up and decided to take an entire day off from hunting. And what better way was there to spend time than to write his thoughts and observations in his notebooks?

Up until now, he has managed to keep a total of 28 volumes of his personal, analytical notebooks, titled “Hunter Analysis for the Future”. Starting them during the time he was a high-school student right up to his teaching hood before he traveled to Korea to become a hunter and caretaker, they contained all of his analysis he made on different hunters, no matter the rank.

If anyone was to question about them to him, he was more than capable of creeping them out himself by rambling about their powers, solely out of interest. And sometimes, he knew more than what they themselves did.

“Finding a career as a teacher in Korea sure is tough.” he said to himself “If only Japan’s evaluation system was as top tier as Korea’s…well, then again, I couldn’t be more grateful for meeting Joohee and Mr. Song. And of course, Mrs. Sung and Jinah.”

He was currently filling an entry for the Heroic Charism skill. Ever since his first fight in a dungeon, he has been making profiles on the different enemies he has seen and fought. Steel fanged lycans, goblins, the insect monsters and spider boss…everything. He even added the new profiles of Kasaka and the giant golem boss he helped the hunter in killing with too during his first system quest.

He had made a personal notebook, titled “Hero Analysis for the Future”. This one contained purely personal observations. Ever since he first got the System back in the double dungeon, he had been tinkering with it a lot. The inventory, skill sections, equipment tree…his curiosity would always make him do it. Whenever he discovered something new, he would always act like a mouse and poke around the system, sometimes experimenting with it.

“Oh well, this is enough I guess.” said he. He doesn’t exactly know what that skill does, but from how Taeshik reacted, he guessed that the effect on enemies is shock and there must have been sort of delayed debuff effect, similar to Kasaka’s Venom Fang. He couldn’t see how Joohee, Mr. Kang, Mr. Kim and Mr. Song reacted when getting buffed up simultaneously, so he’ll have to find other opportunities for it.

Still, it was nothing but pure coincidence that he had bought 3 exclusive healing potions beforehand. He just thought that he’d need them in case he faced another emergency with some dungeon. Barely able to revive Mr. Kang and Mr. Kim wasn’t on his list at all. Though he should thank Joohee’s healing magic, which further boosted their revival.

It hadn’t crossed his mind at all that he doesn’t have to use his system just to become a stronger hero, he can use it to contain different potions and use them on other people too. Midoriya hasn’t been able to find much system gold, since he needs another dungeon quest given by the system itself, but if he did got it, he’ll surely use it to buy a bunch of different healing potions again and stuff his inventory with them.

A message appeared on his phone, making him blink as he looked through it and smiled. It was from his nurse, Choi Yoora. The last few months have been so busy for everyone. She had become good friends with him, who checked up on Mrs. Sung and continued to give him any updates while talking about his days as a hunter in the dungeons.

From the looks of it, she does seem like she wants to have a look at how dungeon raids work and she does say it’ll be nice if he could do it for her. Now, Midoriya is the nicest man to ever exist. He never denies anyone’s request to him, especially if it’s within his limits. This one, however, was a bit problematic. Because it wasn’t a hunter friend asking for that, it was a civilian. She becomes even more of a troubling presence in the field than Joohee, so, he did promised to take her to one someday in the future.

Right now, he’s nowhere close to protecting her or Joohee or any of his allies easily. Taeshik had him on the ropes, he could barely beat him without having the thought of possibility that he’ll kill the others flashing in his mind. With the current way he is now, Midoriya wasn’t confident, but theorized that he is now strong and fast enough to beat Taeshik for a rematch, should someone of a similar caliber fight him in the future.

He still couldn’t believe he managed to convince Joohee to stay back with him. It sure was tough, but he is glad it worked. He only knows that her mother doesn’t really believe in Joohee becoming a capable hunter, but he wants to change that. For that to happen, he needs to start from scratch and understand where her fear even lies to begin with. It’s not too hard to do it, since he had been with her for the past few months and managed to learn a lot about her.

“Young Midoriya.”

Midoriya perked up as he turned his head behind him to see the visible yellow glowing apparition of Toshinori Yagi, the same skeletal lanky man in a formal suit, standing behind him. It was still hard to believe he’s talking to a spirit, but he’ll be used to it soon.

“Mr. Toshi!” he smiled at the man “It’s been a while, sir. I was wondering where you were. We haven’t talked since the incident with Hwang Dongsuk.”

“I have no idea how the connection even works, to begin with.” the man laughed “It’s completely random, kid. It was never something I did when I was entrusted with it. But somehow, you’re doing it fine.”

“I still find it weird.” said Midoriya, closing his notebook and putting it aside

“Same here, kiddo.” said Toshinori “Oh, right. I forgot. You beat that assassin hunter recently, right?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah.” Midoriya sighed “I won’t deny it. It sure was scary, knowing that even a small mistake would’ve killed.”

“I understand that feeling.” said Toshinori, nodding “That thought always stayed in my mind when I was out there, fighting evil.”

Midoriya nodded before tilting his head. “Say, Mr. Toshinori. You didn’t exactly told me about yourself.” said he “Or what is this system and One For All to even begin with.”

The spirit blinked before sighing. “It’s going to be a long talk then.” said he, plopping his spiritual body on his bed. “It’s…more complicated than what you’re used to, young Midoriya.”

“It’s fine. I think I’ll take it just fine.” said Midoriya, putting his notebook aside

“I guess I should start from the beginning.” said All Might, looking straight into the eyes of Midoriya “It all began far long ago, longer than even these gates have been here. A man was born into this world with a weak body. He was so weak, even the technology and medical advancements of that time weren’t enough to heal him. As such, he continued to live with that frail body.”

“The time he lived was a harsh one. Many evil people lived during that time. It isn’t taught much over the world, but shady and evil people always lived among others. Using others for their use, throwing away those who couldn’t offer anything, killing those who betrayed or tried to resist them…It wasn’t that much uncommon during his time. The world was in chaos.”

“However, that frail man from birth, possessed a feeble power of his own. A very faint power, which obviously didn’t amounted to anything, especially with his weak body. Rumors about that soon started to spread around, a man born with ‘magical’ power, something that is anomaly in this world. And it was soon discovered that the man was capable of passing that same power to someone else.”

“So, the evil people were very interested in this. They wanted to see it for themselves and if possible, rip it from the frail man. After all, who wouldn’t be intrigued by an anomaly that could be trained or developed with enough science experiments and potentially make them superhuman and stronger than even the world’s strongest human of that time.”

“That man, however, was born with a strong sense of justice. He wanted to fight against the evil that plagued the earth’s surface and haunted innocent people’s lives. But he had no way of doing so, even with that power. So, he wandered off aimlessly, isolating himself so he can escape the people who wanted that anomaly.”

“In doing so, however, one day, he met someone who bestowed the system power onto him. It wasn’t done out of kindness; it was done against his will and that also, when he was already in his dying years. “Your existence is disturbing the world.” were his words, before he disappeared. That system combined with that anomaly, locking it away deep inside, keeping only the passing trait alive.”

“Living for a few more months, that man’s luck finally ran out as evil people finally managed to locate him. So, he ran away and away, until he found a vigilante organization who worked in the shadows to try and protect people, while resorting to violence. There, he entrusted it to their leader, before finally dying.”

“At this point, the evil people had resorted to using all their wealth to gain lots of armory and weaponry. The leader was actively targeted, causing their organization to get discovered by everyone soon. Swiftly, each of them were killed, but not before the leader passed the power to his friend before dying.”

“That friend, following the same pattern, passed it onto another person before dying in his homeland. Thus started the cycle of a power that was passed over generation to generation, entrusting with the fact that one day, it will not only grow to be strong enough to defeat all evil, but also lead to the birth of the world’s greatest hero, one who can be a shining light to everyone. And thus, formed One For All, stored inside the System as a Special Skill.”

Toshinori sighed, touching his chest as if remembering the fond memories. “My master, Nana Shimura, was seventh user. She was one of the few people who not only overwhelmed the people from the past but saved many innocent people. I met her when I was middle school, and she then took me as her apprentice, training me to become her successor.”

He sighed. “But in the end, she was killed too. This time, some evil people had access to powers of their own as well. Powers that were exactly similar to the anomaly, but still weaker compared to how it grew over time. Before her death, she entrusted me to one of her friends, who was killed too, before I was left to fend off for myself.”

Midoriya widened his eyes. “Then that meant…you were alone…” he muttered, horrified. This man seemed so nice, it’s almost unfair for life to mess him so much.

The lanky spirit then laughed. “It’s fine! When I finally rose to power, especially during my debut during the first Jeju raid, no one would be able to match me! I was the strongest hunter around, so much so, even the S-Rank Hunters were scared of me! I was given a prestigious position at the Hunter’s Association of Japan! HAHA-BLAGH!” he coughed out spiritual blood while laughing too much.

“That must have so nice then.” Midoriya smiled at the spirit. It’s so admirable of him to continue on while still losing everything. “Being the untouchable on-wait a second, what? You were the strongest?”

The spirit nodded, wiping his blood. “I was. Taking on S-Rank raids had become a piece of cake for me. That’s why I was spending more time taking care of the small raids with the weak strike teams so I can let them experience what situations inside dungeons are like and take lead in case things got awr-“

“Wait wait wait, I am confused.” said Midoriya, stopping the spirit. Confusion was all over his face. “The strongest known hunter in the entire world was All Might! He was not only Japan’s number one Hunter, but the only one who was unmatched in strength and speed. He was everyone’s favorite one, a hero in their eyes! Even Hwang Dongsoo, Christopher Reed and Thomas Andre, both renowned for their strengths, were nowhere close to what he could do and were always jealous of him!”

The 24-year-old man continued to ramble on about All Might, the late Japan’s S-Rank Hunter and hero, as Toshinori Yagi continued to look at him with an amused smile. “You sure know your stuff, kid.” said he.

“How could I not?!” Izuku smiled brightly. “All Might was the greatest hero, no, the greatest human to ever step afoot on this world. He was the only person who was capable of shifting the balance of the world’s power just by his presence alone. Not only that, but he was also the kindest one too! He saved thousands of lives in under mere ten minutes! That’s more than what any Hunter, even the S-Rank ones, had beaten monsters throughout their life, adding the ones on the Jeju Island too!”

Toshinori sweatdropped as the young man continued on and on, listing the achievements All Might had gotten. “Um…h-hey kid…” he got crushed under his ramblings as he tried to stop it in vain.

“All Might was and IS still now the standard for S-Rankers!” Midoriya continued “His strength is so great, Baek Yoonho always say in interviews that he hopes to achieve or come close to All Might’s level! To him, he was an absolute authority on the field. His presence demanded attention from everyone, allies and foes alike! He was always found doing even the most mundane things, like saving a person from drowning or saving a cat.”

Toshinori was overwhelmed by the barrage of words as he fell on the bed, completely crushed. “Kid…” he weakly called out, not expecting the Japanese hunter to be so much knowledgeable.

Midoriya still continued. “All Might was so strong, he could even put fires with nothing but his breath! He even once solved multiple incidents during his prime in under seconds and did it again during his golden age, 3 accidents under an hour, all of which were happening in different cities! Under him, Japan was not only the safest country in the world, but also the strongest on-“

“KID!” Toshinori called out, finally making him stop and blink at him. “Jeez, finally got you to stop.”

Midoriya blushed in embarrassment. “U-Uh…sorry, Mr. Toshinori.” said he, looking at his scarred and crooked hands “It’s just…I have been a fan of All Might ever since my childhood. He was so cool, saving people with a smile, no matter how bad the situation was. He did things that no other hunter would do, things that would be just ignored because they aren’t suited for the hunters. It was exactly why I aim to be a hero too, just like him. A symbol of peace that can assure the world that everything will be fine. I know I couldn’t be one by being the weakest hunter known to mankind, but now, with the System, I’ll aim for it again.”

Toshinori blinked as he saw the look of fondness in the face of the man. For a moment, he saw how the scarred young man in his early 20s turned into an innocent child, someone who admired heroes. He then smiled and said, “You really admired me that much, huh? I think the System was right in choosing you.”

“I can’t say it was right. It was more of a coincidental one.” Midoriya smiled back, before blinking “Wait what? Admiring you?”

The lanky spirit laughed out loudly. “What? Wasn’t it obvious? I guess it wasn’t.” he smirked, before suddenly bulking up into the huge, muscular form of said hero.

The lanky body was now replaced with big, rippling muscles that barely fitted the formal suit he was wearing, a build that was bigger than Baek Yoonho, Thomas Andre and Hwang Dongsoo, so much so that the muscles and each abs were shadowing the skin beneath it. The muscles literally had shadows beneath them. The long hair locks were now V-shaped, and the familiar grin was on his face. “Why I think so? Because I am here!” he exclaimed in his loud, boisterous voice, flexing his big guns on the man.

“What the?!” Midoriya fell down on his butt, yelling, before quickly clamping his hand on his mouth. He heard some shuffling in the next room, where Jinah was lazing and now sleeping, before sighing. “Thank god she’s a heavy sleeper.”

“Yeah, it’s better to keep your voice down, young Midoriya.” said the muscular man in a quiet yet boisterous voice “I keep forgetting she won’t hear me as I am a spirit.”

“How can I?!” Midoriya said back, losing his absolute mind as stars appeared in his eyes. “I didn’t knew it was you all this time! No way! I-I got to get an autograph!”

“There’s no need for it. I am connected with the System.” said he, before he poofed down back to his lanky form “So I am kind of living in your head.”

“All Might is here…All Might is here…” Midoriya was in disbelief. “Do you know how much your death affected the world 4 years ago? Not only the entire power balance shifted, but everyone missed that powerful and humble hero who would make their lives happy.”

“Was it that bad?” All Might asked, surprised. To him, he thought Andre would replace him.

“Bad? It was absolutely the worst!” Midoriya exclaimed “For two years, the world was in depression, before everyone slowly accepted it.”

“Jesus…what in the world…” muttered All Might

“I still can’t believe it…” said Midoriya “You being here…b-but what happened to you? You’re looking so frail. So much, I would’ve said the frail man in the story you told was you.”

The lanky man laughed. “I am weak now, but that man was still weaker.” his laugh quietened down as he looked solemnly at his hands, clenching them “It was during my last fight during the second raid to Jeju Island. I was fighting the monsters on my own, while making civilians safe. But…I got caught off guard.”

He slowly lifted up his shirt, making Midoriya gasp and gross out in horror. Over the thin stomach area now laid a big and terrifying scar, on the left side, shaped like vortex. “This…was from my first raid. It wasn’t too much worse, healers had healed it up, but my health had started to deteriorate from the poison effects, scarring my body. With that way, I lost half of my respiratory organs.” said he. “The second time in the raid, a few of the monsters managed to sniff it out and attacked me there again.”

“…Then the story that you died while fighting the Ant Queen…” Midoriya widened his eyes, connecting the dots. All Might had died in the second raid to Jeju Island and according to reports, it was when he fought with the Ant Queen. But that should have been impossible for a hero, especially one who was far stronger than even Christopher Reed or Thomas Andre. Unless….

All Might nodded, letting the shirt flip back down to cover his stomach. “They left it out in the news that I was already badly injured beforehand. The side-effects of the scar heavily backed me, so I couldn’t kill her.” he sighed, before shaking his head, smirking “But I made sure to scar her heavily before my death. With that, I have confidence that with a third raid, it’s possible to take her out easily.”

Midoriya nodded, quickly opening his phone to some articles online. “That’s the case that was reported by the Hunter’s Association to the public.” said he “There are rumors that a third raid will be held soon, permitted by Mr. Go-Gunhee and led by Mr. Choi Jong-In. If it goes well, Jeju Island can finally be freed.”

“Ah, so Gunhee will be the one approving it. Hmm…” All Might scratched his chin, thinking about his friend “If that’s the case, I have a feeling the raid will start sooner. I know him quite well, after all.”

“Hope it goes well.” Midoriya muttered “But I want to know, why did the system chose me? If you died, then how did it wandered around and why it chose me? There were many others in the double dungeon who could’ve gotten it.”

“That, I don’t know myself.” All Might shook his head, answering the second one. Since becoming part of the system, he did dug a bit into Midoriya’s memories. And the double dungeon was the first one. “But it chose you in that double dungeon since you not only showed bravery, but you were ready to sacrifice yourself and save others.”

“But that was also proposed by Mr. Song.” Izuku protested “He said it first that he will let the others escape while he gets himself targeted by th-“

“That was the truth, but you went beyond that.” said All Might, poking his forehead “Song-kun did that because he believed that was right way and he was too old to live anymore. You did that because you solved two problems. One, you managed to get him to take young Joohee to safety, after only his legs were fine. Two, you sacrificed yourself because you wanted them to live.”

“But-“ Midoriya got interrupted by him again

“And also, you have a nice heart, kiddo.” All Might did not let him doubt himself. He wasn’t going to let him do that, especially after all this. “While others were thinking of getting back to safety, you were thinking of how to achieve that, prioritizing them first. That…is what made you a hero. And also, with the fact you were the last one in the double dungeon to barely survive and got chosen as the ninth.”

Izuku wanted to retort but found no argument he could. “Ugh…fine. I guess you win this time.” he sighed, before shaking his head “Anyway, All Might! Tell me more about yourself, things that aren’t known in the public and how good you were with One For All.”

“Well, for starters, I was capable of using the System and One For All at 100% right from the start!” All Might boasted.

Midoriya’s eyes shone with stars at his idol. “Really?! No wonder you were the strongest! Tell me more!” he exclaimed.

All Might laughed. “Then you better be ready, young Midoriya! Because I have got lots of stories to tell!”

With that, the spirit of the world’s former strongest Hunter Hero started retelling his stories to the 24-year-old Japanese successor of his all night. The latter was happy to not only have someone else talk to him, but it was none other than his idol. All Might did had many secrets to hide too, but now’s not the time for that.

Both chatted all night, still having no idea how the connection is working.

As they say, if it works, it works!

Chapter Text

“Hup! Three thousand and seventy-nine!”

Midoriya exclaimed, swinging his leg for the said number in the air. It had been some time since he had fought with his arms. He was shocked to find out that his arms were actually getting more and more scarred by One For All, despite him healing them back up. Where his arms only had slash and gash scars previously, they were now covered with a huge number of skin tears and big scars.

Even his right hand, which he had healed multiple times in the fight against Cerberus, turned crooked. And from what he understood while talking with All Might one night, these injuries, the ones particularly given by One For All, will be taxing on him and heal slower than what his system can do.

Which is why, he recently adopted a better way of fighting. It consisted of using his legs for attacking instead. This provided him with a better and stronger way of defeating enemies and villains, especially since leg muscles were much stronger than arm muscles. However, his fighting style, Shoot Style, was a bit different from other kickboxing or leg techniques. It was focused mostly using precise movements to inflict devastating damage on impact.

Currently, he was reading his notebook on some of Japanese and Korean Hunters that he knows, specializing in kicks and imitating them to create his own version of them.

“Boss!”

A familiar voice was heard as Midoriya stopped his training and turned his head to notice Jinho waiting at the entrance of the park, waving his hand. He smiled and nodded, before walking over to him. It was finally time to start this long journey of 19 raids.

[Timeskip]

“Uh….should I be asking as to what I am looking at right now, Jinho-san?”

Midoriya sweatdropped. Jinho had apparently gathered the required ‘team’ that was needed to complete the quota. Everyone was at the first C-Rank gate, which was situated in a clearing inside a forest far away from the cities. So, Midoriya, having explained the situation to Joohee and taking her along with him, reached the designated place, thinking it was a good idea to have Joohee take part too so she can gather experience as well as help with the quota.

So, with Midoriya wearing his blue tracksuit and Joohee wearing the same outfit from the night before, they arrived at the place. What the duo weren’t expecting were multiple normal-looking civilian-like people roaming around the place, busy with their own world. Some were busy with their phones, some were eating, some were chatting among themselves, some looked handicapped, and some were literally drinking.

“What do you mean? It’s obvious!” said Jinho “This is our strike team! I prioritized people who are qualified to be hunters have reasons they can’t work and people who are having trouble getting by when making my selections.”

“Well…this is something…” Joohee sweatdropped at the ‘strike’ team

“Sure is!” said Jinho, before blinking at her “Uh…who are you again?”

“Lee Joohee. B-Rank.” said she “I’m Izuku’s friend.”

“Oh! That great healer!” Jinho exclaimed, before becoming confused and looking at Midoriya. He leaned to his ear and said, “Uh…didn’t you said you wanted just us two to do this?”

“I know about his situation. And yours too.” said Joohee, overhearing him “I’ll help you out with that.”

“So that means…” said Jinho, surprised

“Yup. Us three will be going.” said Joohee proudly, arms crossed

Midoriya meanwhile assessed the ‘team’. “Well, I guess this can work for our situation.” said he “We’ve got injured people, drunks…I think it’s fine.”

“Right? It’s perfect! And with Ms. Joohee here, it’s even better!” said Jinho, hands on his hips “We need a minimum of eight people to raid C-Rank gates, after all. We got nine now!”

“Sure is.” said Midoriya, looking at the ‘team’, before his eyes fell on a certain figure. “Hm? Why is a child here?”

The said figure was a girl, looking in her teens. She had a white hoodie over her with a big pink stripe going horizontally around her chest to arms. She had a deep blue skirt on and crimson leggings. She was standing against a tree, hands in her hoodie pockets and hood over her head.

“As long as they’ve awakened, there’s no legal issue with recruiting minors.” said Jinho

“That’s…not a reason to recruit children.” said Joohee, frowning.

Midoriya deadpanned at his friend. “Do you know how weird it sounds to have a minor in a team?” he said. He took this personally since he was a former teacher. “She should be at school right now. Or at home, playing games with her frien-“

“Hey.”

Joohee, Midoriya and Jinho turned their heads, to see that the girl had now walked up to them. Close inspection revealed she had light green eyes, lighter than Midoriya’s and a mole under her left one. And she looked annoyed, especially at the Japanese Hunter.

“That’s kind of rude.” said she, frowning “I am a qualified hunter, y’know.”

“Still, that’s not right, kid.” said Midoriya “You should be at home or at school right now. I can already tell you’re in high school. And absolutely zero raiding experience.”

“…N-No…” The girl stuttered.

“What rank?” he asked. He was so close to just taking his phone out and getting her parents’ number to tell them about this. “E?”

The girl immediately became defensive. “So what if I am?” she asked, as if wanting to dare try to challenge her.

Midoriya knew that behavior. He used to do that a lot before finally becoming used to his rank status. “Nothing. Just curious.” said he “You’ll be waiting out here anyway, so it’s a good thing. Don’t want a parent to come barging into my house one day asking for an explanation about any injury they find on you.”

The girl didn’t say much as Midoriya looked at the entire team. “Jinho-san, Joohee-chan and I will be the only ones going into the dungeon.” said he, turning to go to the fate “Don’t wander off aimlessly, everyone.”

“Hey…is it seriously going to be just the three of you?” asked one man “And does this job really pay three million just for waiting outside?”

“Right. Three million per raid.” said Jinho “Pretty sweet deal, considering you don’t have to fight, right?”

Everyone once again talked among themselves, still in disbelief as to how good the deal was, while the teenage girl frowned, annoyed at not being able to participate with them. “The only stipulation is that you can’t talk about it.” said Jinho “If you publicize our deal, the contract specifies you’ll have to pay back ten times that amount.”

While Jinho was talking with members, Midoriya was standing close to a tree, a bit far away from them, with Joohee beside him. Both were staring at the thing in the former’s hand. An oval shaped stone, with an aqua colored brightly glowing rune shaped onto it.

“You got this from beating Taeshik?” she asked. She did get a gist of how his system worked based on what he told her.

“Yup. Apparently, it’s a rune stone.” said Midoriya, giving it to her, who felt it in her hand, while he looked at the system window “It’s supposed to contain the Stealth skill that Taeshik had.”

RUNE STONE: Stealth

ACQUISITION DIFFICULTY                      CATEGORY

--                                                     Rune Stone

You may obtain the skill by crushing the stone.

“Oh? So does it mean you can get any hunter’s special skill by kill-sorry, defeating them?” Joohee asked, twirling it in her hand.

“I don’t think that’s how that works.” said Midoriya “Maybe it’s something to do with specific targets. Or maybe it is only with those enemies that I consider harmful? Or is it human-based?”

Midoriya went into a small mutter rant, storming up all the possibilities about a rune stone’s rewarding to him, while Joohee sighed, tapping on his shoulder hard to get him out. “It’s fine, no need to worry too much, Izuku.” said she.

“R-Right.” Midoriya said, embarrassed. “Oh, by the way, to get skill, crush it.”

“Hm? Oh.” she dropped it into his hands, only for him to give it back to her “What?”

“I asked YOU to take it.” said Midoriya “You can have the Stealth skill. I don’t need it.”

“Wait what?!” Joohee was surprised. He was willing to part the reward he got from his fight with her! “I don’t think I can take it. It’s yours. It’ll make you stronger anyway.” said she, watching him not deter from his opinion “Are you…sure?”

“Absolutely.” said Midoriya, nodding his head “Imagine. Who’s more effective? A fighter who can go invisible to enemy’s eyes mid-fight, or a healer who can heal allies while being invisible? It’s much more amazing, when you can heal me or any ally when they’re injured while the villain or monster is monologuing.”

Joohee blinked and scratched his chin, before nodding. It did sound plausible and situational to her. She really can do it while being invisible. And besides, if she needed to go out of range if a battle becomes too heated, she can use this too. In the end, she decided to go through it.

She crushed the stone in her hand into pieces. Instantly, a golden aura surrounded her and Midoriya, much to the surprise of the latter. The glow appeared for a few seconds, surrounding them before it disappeared.

(!)    NOTIFICATION

You and your ally have learned

[Skill: Stealth].

“Woah! You crushed the stone, and the skill got shared between us!” said Midoriya, blinking in surprise, before understanding that the system wanted HIM to learn the skills from rune stones, even if his allies take it.

“Wait really?” she asked, blinking “Are you sure it’s not that only you got the skill, and I didn’t, so that would mean any reward of yours is unusable for others?”

“Not really. It’s shared among us.” said Midoriya “So that would mean, if we have rune stones, the only to share it among us is by having anyone else other than me crush it.”

“Seems like it.” said Joohee

“Alright, I am ready to go!”

Jinho’s voice called out from behind, making the duo turn to him and sweatdrop. The Korean counterpart of Midoriya’s voice was wearing black colored, shiny heavy armor from head to toe. It had deep red highlights on its design and on its borders and edges. On Jinho’s head was a helmet, with red feathers shaped like a V.

“Jinho-san…what in the whole world of hunting are you wearing?” Midoriya asked.

“A full set of buff-boosting armor made by an Italian manufacturer!” said Jinho proudly “If we’re gonna hit the dungeon together, boss, I need to be at least this ready!”

“…You can just ask Joohee to give you a physical strength buff in case you need it.” said Midoriya, facepalming “And it does not look Italian made to me. Looks like a yoroi armor.”

“It’s fine, boss!” said Jinho, not knowing what to answer about Midoriya’s last statement “With this, you can have her save her energy on heal-WOAH!”

Joohee literally poked his chest, making him fall on his back with a big thud. He tried to move but couldn’t. He even could not move his legs or fingers or even his head. “…Looks heavy to me.” was all the B-Ranker said, deadpanning at him.

“Look, I’m not trying to be mean here, but take that off, Jinho-san.” said Midoriya “We need you alive as well. You running in this will give the same result as a morbidly obese person racing against middle schoolers.”

“Yes…” said Jinho, before struggling to get up “…Um, Boss? Can you help me up?”

Midoriya and Joohee facepalmed, before going to help the idiot back on his feet. They left him to adjust his arsenal again, while they went to stand in front of the dungeon gate. They planned to keep a simple strategy for all their raids: Midoriya will fight, Joohee will support howsoever she can and Jinho will observe from them while mining.

It’s plain, simple, understandable and should be more than enough to complete all 19 raids while having Joohee experience how C-Rank gates are like and how different are they from the E and D-Rank ones she has visited all her life.

Minutes later, Jinho appeared, standing beside him, ready. He was now wearing just the yoroi-looking helmet of the armor. He had his giant backpack on his back with the mining tools.

“This is kind of nerve-racking.” said he.

“…I know the light’s too bright and blinding, but I see something on your head.” said Midoriya

“At least let me keep the helmet!” Jinho protested

Midoriya sighed as the trio slowly started to enter the dungeon gate. “Could’ve worn the gauntlets at least.” said he, entering.

The team members watched them enter the dungeon gate. “They’re seriously going in alone. Is this gonna be all right?” asked one man to another.

“We did warn them. And the contract’s been paid out already, so what’s it matters?” said the other

The man who was drinking, finished his bottle before looking at the gate. “A D, an E and a B-Rank taking on a C-Rank raid by themselves?” he scoffed at the thought “Those three greenhorns don’t have a damn clue what they’re getting into.”

[Timeskip]

All the team members were still waiting for the trio to come out. It has been almost an hour now. No sign of anyone coming out of the dungeon gate. The members chatted among themselves, some growing a bit restless.

“How long’s it been?”

“About an hour. Even a normal strike team would take at least two hours, so we’ve got a while-“

They were interrupted by Jinho running out of the dungeon gate, grinning goofily while carrying his backpack. The drunkard sighed. “So, they ran away.” said he “They’re lucky to be alive.”

“N-No! They didn’t run away!” one of the members exclaimed in surprise “The gate’s starting to close!”

True to his words, the spiral portal slowly started to collapse as Midoriya and Joohee walked out, smiling and talking. The former had small tears on his torso, the latter had just small blood stains which didn’t seem to be even hers.

“That was a nice run!” exclaimed Joohee “So this is what a C-Rank gate is like…It’s surprisingly a nice one. With a proper attacker, the gate’s as easy as a D and E-Ranked!”

“I know, right?” Midoriya grinned “Don’t you worry, I’ll be taking away that fear of yours about gates and raids soon!”

“Well, that’s going to be tough, Mr. Hero.” Joohee laughed “But I’d like to see you try.”

“Are you kidding me? They beat the boss?!” the members exclaimed in pure shock.

“Hey, Jinho-san. Where’s the next one?” asked Midoriya, walking towards the van

“About an hour from here.” said Jinho, following him “Come on everyone! Let’s get going! The goal is to hit three locations today. That means you could potentially earn nine million in one day. Are you coming or not?”

“These guys…”

“Who the hell are they?!”

The members were in pure shock, still in disbelief that not only were they receiving extremely large sums of money just for being outside dungeon gates, but that the payer’s friends and the supposed ‘leader’ of the group is strong enough alongside just a high ranked healer to take on the boss all alone!

The teenage girl had her eyes widened in shock as well as she watched the young man in his 20s enter the van. She just thought this was going to be all a joke, but absolutely didn’t expected the leader, who was just concerned about her presence here in raids, to be strong enough to finish off the boss himself with the healer’s help.

[Timeskip]

And this began the raiding of the dungeon gates for the coming days. Midoriya, Joohee and Jinho entered the dungeon themselves while all the team members stayed outside. It was going as a pleasant experience, both for Joohee and Jinho, while getting to see Midoriya’s reawakened strength.

“Boss! I’m done mining!” Jinho yelled, casually dodging a goblin head

“Got it!” Midoriya yelled back, punching away another goblin

“Izuku, just three remaining!” Joohee exclaimed from the top of a rubble piece, watching the fight

“Then let’s wrap up!” said Midoriya, before dashing at high speed towards the remaining goblins alongside their leader and smashing their heads

(!)   NOTIFICATION

Leveled up!

The next day, Jinah was cooking breakfast in her school uniform, when she noticed something. “Huh? More work today?” Jinah blinked, watching her caretaker dress back up. This time, it was an upgraded form of his gift from his mother, having better looking white arm bracers.

“Yup. Got some pretty good deal to complete.” said Midoriya, leaving the house “Don’t forget to lock up.”

Minutes later inside the dungeon, Jinho was running down a path, getting chased by a gigantic python-like monster while being strengthened physically by Joohee so as to not get injured. Midoriya quickly smashed its head with a punch, knocking its brains out onto the ground. All three gave each other a thumbs-up; another successful run.

(!)   NOTIFICATION

Leveled up!

Leveled up!

Later, they were at another dungeon, Midoriya killing a group of scorpion-like enemies, with Jinho casually getting strengthened by Joohee again to save him from the remaining enemies. She was slowly starting to get the hang of these C-Ranked gates.

In the next dungeon, the enemies were werewolf monsters. This time, Midoriya tested out his Stealth skill to take three of them out with a smash. Despite not fitting with his fighting style, it sure helped him land surprise attacks. Jinho was surprised by him using the Stealth skill and just wondered how many other skills he is hiding, while guessing he had gotten stronger again.

During this time, Joohee was given the Kasaka’s Venom Fang by him to defend herself with, which she did by accidentally killing a big werewolf monster, which was close by her, while using her Stealth skill to hide from it. The paralyzing debuff helped in killing it, at which both Midoriya and Jinho clapped at her doing something outside of her usual healing and support of allies, much to her embarrassment.

SKILLS

[Active Skill]

Stealth                                          Lv. 1

-Buff: Temporarily erases appearance, traces, etc.

MP: 200 + Uses 1/s

(!)   NOTIFICATION

Leveled up!

Leveled up!

SKILLS

Skill level increased.

Dash                                             Lv.1

to

Dash                                              Lv. 2

Despite the fact Midoriya gained new skills, Advanced Dagger Wielding and Fatal Strike, Midoriya still preferred using his fists. He was at this point, collecting skills as a side thing so he could use them only in cases of critical strikes.

Midoriya sat down on a rock, sighing while Jinho was busy cutting the corpses of the monsters to get the essence stones. Joohee sat down beside him, giving him back his poisoned dagger carefully.

“Another great job, Boss and Ms. Joohee!” said Jinho “Once I’m finished grabbing this stuff, we’ll be done, so you two can take it easy.”

Midoriya nodded. He quickly spawned 2 bottles of mana potion, giving one to Joohee and taking one himself. He had tinkered and messed around with his Stealth skills back home in his room and found that he couldn’t use it for too long without wasting mana. This gave him also another reason to not use the dagger skills unless absolutely needed.

Joohee drank down the mana potion, restoring her mana. She then noticed him pulling out his notebook and scribbling in it. “Hm? What are you doing, Izuku?” asked she.

“I got this extremely tough mission I may have to do sooner or later.” he replied, scribbling “Right now, if I had to guess, with my current level, I am somewhere between B and A-Rank. Stronger than Kang Taeshik without additional skills, but weaker than Mr. Woo Jin-chul even with the addition of skills. I’m guessing I am still not strong enough to go there alone.”

“Well, why do you have to go alone, when you can have me with you?” Joohee asked, confused.

“Well, unfortunately, the place in my opinion is exceeding both of our ranks.” said Midoriya, closing his notebook “I’d say it’s close to the double dungeon, requiring actual S-Ranks. So…I think I’ll not be visiting it soon.”

Joohee was surprised to hear that but nodded. She did understand that despite him growing up to be a stronger hero, there were still enemies that were still far out of his league. “At least I won’t have to yell at you for being reckless again.” she sighed.

“You can say that.” Midoriya chuckled “Getting stabilized financially does solves almost 70% of my pro-“

His attention was pulled towards the new System window that he just received, causing him to blink and stare at it.

(!)  NOTIFICATION

The Player has reached

the required level.

“For what?” he asked himself, making Joohee tilt her head

“What is it?” asked she

“It says I reached the required level.” Midoriya answered “But for what? Oh, never mind. Got the answer.”

(!)  NOTIFICATION

A job-change quest can now be ordered.

“Job change?” Midoriya blinked, confusing Joohee as well

[Timeskip]

Jinho exited the dungeon gate, having finished another raid with his friends inside, who walked out calmly while chatting.

“Sorry, we’re late.” said Jinho

“Nah, it’s fine.” said one of the members

“You’re ahead of schedule, even!” said another

“Collecting the mana crystals took longer than I thought.” said Jinho sheepishly “Let’s get going to the next one.”

“You’ve gotta be exhausted. You want me to drive?” one of the members offered. Even though the people Jinho gathered were just random and handicapped or lazy, they still wanted to help in a little way they could, not for the money, but out of genuine kindness and sometimes a bit out of boredom.

“I’ve had nothing to do all day, so I’m honestly kind bored. Would that be okay?” the man asked Jinho

“Oh, I see.” said Jinho “But the contract says you don’t need to worry about doing anything, so it’s fine.”

Midoriya and Joohee were walking down towards the van, when the latter noticed the teenage girl of their group looking at them. “What is it?” Joohee asked her.

The teenage girl just looked away. “Nothing.” she answered.

The crimson-clothed girl just blinked and shrugged in confusion as she walked back to the van with Midoriya. Obviously, the trio raided the dungeons alone and by themselves, since for one, they didn’t want anyone else to know about Midoriya’s reawakening and two, Joohee and Jinho needed experiences of a C-Rank dungeon alongside Midoriya, who just wanted to level up.

There was one thing the duo noticed, that despite having an entire group of people who either aren’t interested, lazy or handicapped…

This specific girl looked like she WANTED to join them in hunting.

[Timeskip]

“What is this, a picnic?”

A neatly haired man in white shirt and tie stood in front of one of the dungeon gates with another man beside him in a grey coat. Having heard and read a lot of accounts of multiple C-Rank gates being bought for raiding, they soon pinpointed the reason behind some of the previous incidents that were occurring, the one who was surviving each time and who was leading the team.

So, with that in mind, decided to pay them a visit, only to see the scrambled-up team of the group right beside the gate.

“Mister.” the teenage girl walked up to, causing them to look at her “This area’s off-limits, y’know?”

“Ah, you’ll have to forgive us!” said the white shirted man sheepishly “We saw a bunch of hunters and got curious.”

“That’s a gate, right?” the grey coat man looked at the said gate, which was right next to the group “Is it safe for you to be so close?”

“Don’t treat me like a child. I’m a hunter.” said the teenage girl, annoyed again

“Then, are you part of this strike team?” asked the white shirted man

The teenage girl blinked and looked away. “Yes.” said she reluctantly.

The grey coat man looked at the scrambled team members. “But…” said he, confusion all over his face.

However, his boss did manage to figure it out all by himself by connecting the dots, widening his eyes in surprise. ‘Japanese Hunter Izuku Midoriya! He must’ve left his group behind to tackle the dungeon himself!’ thought he ‘If my gut’s right about this, he could be a huge find! Even bigger than that!’

He looked at the teenage girl. “I see. Well, sorry for disturbing you.” said he, going away with his assistant “You be careful, now.”

“Wait, are we leaving already Manager?!” the grey coat man asked, following his boss

At the same time, Midoriya, Joohee and Jinho came out of the dungeon gate. “The captain’s back!” one of the members exclaimed “Everybody get ready to head out!”

Midoriya looked at Jinho. “What’s the schedule tomorrow?” he asked “I have something to do tomorrow. Can I get the day off?”

“For tomorrow?” said Jinho, looking into his phone “I had reserved some gates…You want me to cancel them?”

“I am not saying that.” said Midoriya, shaking his head “Just postpone them. Let’s not waste that huge amount of money.”

“I can hold onto them for another two days.” said Jinho

“Hmm…just delay them for now. I’ll be soon back.” said Midoriya

“You got it!” said Jinho, going to the van “Sorry about the wait, everyone! Off to the next one we go!”

Joohee looked at Midoriya, confused. “What’s so important tomorrow?” asked she.

“Just some work related to you-know-what.” replied Midoriya, walking towards the van

“I hope it’s not THAT one.” said Joohee sternly, following him

“Oh no no! It’s not that one!” Midoriya quickly reassured, arms in surrender “It’s the other one!”

“It better be that one and not the first one, Mister.” said Joohee

Both walked back to the van, chatting about tomorrow’s event among themselves, not noticing the two men from before hiding behind the giant container right beside off-limit grounds, overhearing them.

[Timeskip - City]

“Good work today!”

The group, having managed to finish the daily quota of 3 dungeons per day, finally parted their ways. Joohee went back home as well after wishing Midoriya good night, being too tired to continue anymore anyway. With that, the Japanese Hunter was finally on his own, standing on the footpath. It was evening; maybe he should go now and take a bath and some rest for tomorrow’s event.

He then heard footsteps and turned around to see two men walking towards him. They were the very same ones who had visited his team in the morning. He tilted his head in confusion.

“May I…help with you with something, good sirs?” asked he.

“I apologize if this is sudden. Hunter Deku.” said the white shirted man “I’m Ahn Sangmin, manager of the White Tiger Guild’s Second Administration Team. Could I trouble you for a moment of your time?”

Midoriya widened his eyes. No way! The manager of one of the White Tiger Guild’s teams is speaking with him! “Oh sure sure! I have got a bit of time before I go home!” he exclaimed, wondering what they wanted from him.

[Timeskip – Café Pene]

The assistant was sitting outside on an empty single table by himself, waiting while his boss was talking with Midoriya inside the café at one of the tables.

“I’m sure you already know this, but the White Tiger Guild is one of the country’s best.” said Ahn as Midoriya sipped some tea “However, we’re always on the lookout for promising new talent. And to get directly to the point, if you’ll join us, I’m willing to pay you double what Yoojin Construction is offering. If you have any additional conditions, I’d be happy to arrange those, as well.”

The manager had a smile on his face, while thinking ‘How about that?! This is too good an offer for someone who was E-Rank just a while ago! He’s bound to say yes!’

If this was Midoriya before meeting Jinho, he might have agreed. After all, there were many famous Korean S-Rank Hunters he could have a chance to meet with. That and the fact he could more than have enough money to support not only Jinah and get support for Mrs. Sung but also send money back home to his mother. But, as he thought about it, the cons outweighed the pros heavily.

Joohee and Jinho know almost everything about his reawakening. Jinho is close to completing his goal of 19 raids and becoming a Guild Master, Joohee would rather stay with him and follow him anywhere he goes, and he needs to gain whatever experience he can get from the C-Rank dungeons.

And then there’s another reason. The very reason why he is a Hunter in the first place ever since he came here in Korea.

“How much is the White Tiger Guild’s HQ worth at?” he asked

The manager blinked. “Uh…I’d say around fifty billion…” said he, confused.

“And that’s what you’re offering me?” Midoriya asked.

Manager Ahn became even more confused. “I don’t…follow.” said he.

Midoriya sighed before telling him the real value of the offer Jinho had offered him. Despite the fact he doesn’t care about the money, having it just as an excuse to continue being friends with JInho, the offer was so good, he can use it anytime to just shoo away other offers. Manager Ahn, hearing the actual amount he was offered, widened his eyes.

“Th-Thirty billion?!” he exclaimed in stupefied surprise. He quickly calmed down and sat back to his seat.

“Yes. That’s the market value of the building that Yoojin Construction has offered me.” said Midoriya “You offered to double that, so I was thinking a building worth fifty billion would do. I’ve got the documentation here, if you don’t believe it.”

The manager was now at a bit of a loss. The former teacher and current Hunter’s needs were way too much than what he had expected. “I…er…I must admit, an offer like that isn’t something I’d be qualified to make on my own….” said he “I’d need to talk to my superiors-“

“Then that does it.” said Midoriya, standing up and walking away “I think we’re done here, then.”

The manager looked at him, walking away and sighed, becoming upset with himself. ‘I was too desperate.’ he thought, “I should’ve dug into his deal with Yoojin Construction first!’

“Oh, that reminded me.” said Midoriya, turning back at him “Who told you about me?”

This immediately shut up the manager as he looked at him. “U-Um…” guilt was on his face “W-Well, I did hear about you from time to tim-”

“The White Tiger Guild deals with specialized higher ranked gates.” Midoriya cut him off, walking back to him and standing right beside his chair “For rookie hunting, they see potential in Hunters having ranks ranging from C to A and if it is a way too much conspicuous to ignore, sometimes a D-Ranker. But never an E-Rank, since they don’t have anything much to offer to a high ranked Guild. And ESPECIALLY not me, since I am the weakest E-Rank Hunter. So how come you came upon me out of nowhere and beforehand?”

The manager was sweating as the hunter looked at him with judgmental eyes. And he could’ve sworn he saw multiple eyes behind Midoriya, all staring at him, demanding answer or else. “W-Well…I-I…do apologize for looking you up without any word.” said he “But I meant no harm-“

“I am not interested in that.” Midoriya cut him off again. “I want to know and please answer it honestly, sir. Where did you hear about me or how you even came upon me? As far as I know, I am out of most hunter’s radars, excluding Hwang Dongsook’s.”

The manager gulped, before nodding. “The tight dungeon market has led to a delay in rookie training, without which they can’t be sent on raids as per Guild policy.” said he “I was investigating who was buying up so many gates when I came across your name, Hunter Deku.”

“Who else knows about me?” inquired Midoriya

“Just me and one of my subordinates.” said the manager

“That’s a relief. I’d rather keep a low profile.” said Midoriya, sighing “I hope I can trust you two with not telling people about me, Mr. Ahn.”

“I’m obligated to make a formal report to the head of my guild…” said Ahn “…but I don’t want to die. I’ll make sure my subordinate keeps his mouth shut, too.”

Midoriya blinked. “Uh…I don’t have any intention to do that, Mr. Ahn. I am not a killer or anything.” he said, shaking his head “I guess monopolizing the C-Rank gates did cause some trouble. But I hope you can deal with it for a bit longer. I just want to experience the differences between them and the ones I used to deal with.”

“That is a shame. It puts a real bottleneck on our developing hunters.” said Ahn

Midoriya sat back down on the seat before scratching his chin. “I understand how it’s affecting the market and the growth of developing hunters. It would have been fine if it was just in single digits, but it’s not…” he muttered, before looking at him “How about a deal?”

Ahn blinked. “A deal?” asked he, curious.

“I’ll sell you the rights to three of our C-Rank gates.” said Midoriya “If you reject, I apologize but you may have to consider your guild locked out of C-Ranks for quite some time in the future.”

‘He’s giving me the hard sell. But…’ thought Ahn, nodding his head. “Understood. For how much?” asked he.

“Three hundred million apiece.” said Midoriya, making him widen his eyes.

“Three…Three hundred million?!” the manager exclaimed, lowering his voice “The mana crystals and essence stones are only worth 200 million on a good day! Could you consider lowering it to tw-”

“Sure thing.” Midoriya nodded, smiling “Consider it a deal, sir.”

The manager was surprised at how easygoing and polite he was and how much he was accepting of the value. “T-Then we’ll be taking three off your hands…” said he.

“Right. 3 C-Rank gates, for a total of 600 million.” said Midoriya, holding out his hand

The manager nodded before shaking hands with him. “Alright then.” said he.

Midoriya pulled out the account number. “Here, Mr. Ahn. You can transfer the amount here at the end of the day.” said he, giving him the number on a piece of paper.

The manager took the paper, looking at the account number. Midoriya stood up and walked away, only to stop and touch his shoulder. “Hm? What is it?” asked Ahn.

“Forgot to tell you, sir.” Midoriya gave a polite and sheepish smile “I’m trying to be a hero, so that’s another reason I can’t accept your proposal of joining your guild. Our ideals will just clash. It’s exactly why the one I am in is a good choice for me, since I have ways to explore out.”

Ahn widened his eyes. “A hero? You can’t be serious…” said he “I mean, sure it’s not impossible to be one, but don’t you think that’s practically hard to achieve in this world of Hunters?”

“It’s exactly why I am aiming for one.” Midoriya chuckled, patting his shoulder before walking away “I’ll be the first one. Someone who can save people with a smile.”

With that, the Japanese green-haired Hunter walked away and out of the café, leaving the manager behind in his own thoughts. The assistant, noticing Midoriya coming out of the café, quickly entered to find his boss.

“M-Manager!” he called out “How’d it go? The scouting.”

“Well, Kichul…” started the manager, making him look at his face. Ahn was experiencing multiple emotions at once. “I think he might be a bigger deal than I had even imagined. I didn’t imagine him to be so nice, polite and reasonable.”

[Timeskip - Morning]

“Boss, I confirmed the transfer. The six hundred mill is really there.”

Midoriya was busy readying himself up. He wore his hero suit, checking his arm bracers while talking with Jinho on the phone. This time, he had gone out of his way to get better armor for his shoes. Powerful alloy of flexible iron, made in such a way that they possessed a powerful kickback with each shot he takes with his toes. These would be extremely helpful, especially with his Shoot Style.

“We were about to cancel these gates…How’d you sell them at such a crazy price?” asked Jinho from the other side “And to whom?”

“Someone who could pay back the same amount you paid for them.” said Midoriya, getting up and smiling. “We’ll continue the others later.”

“Roger that, boss.” said Jinho

With that, he ended the call and drove over to the selected destination he was supposed to go to in the family car. Because it was where he was going to attempt the job-change quest.

“A job-change quest, huh…” he smiled, driving calmly down the road “Should be interesting.”

Chapter Text

“This seems a nice place that should be undetected under anyone’s radar.”

Midoriya stood inside the clearing of a forest. It was a place of his own choice, since he didn’t want anyone to question his purpose there, or about the job-change quest he was about to do. The window of his System appeared.

(!)   NOTIFICATION

Would you like to accept the

job-change quest?

[Yes]                    [No]

“I don’t exactly have any idea what it could be.” said Midoriya to himself, scratching his chin “It just gave me after I passed level 40 from the last raid. But if it’s something the System is giving, it’s definitely going to be extremely hard. After all, the other two dungeon quests I did almost killed me, minus the penalty quest.”

He sighed before shaking his head. “Well, whatever. I am just going to go with this assumption that whatever the system throws at me are difficult, no matter what level I am at.” he then clenched his fist and smiled with a look of determination. “Let’s do this then. Yes. Oh wait! I forgot the Daily Quest today!”

(!)   NOTIFICATION

Start the job-change quest.

Enter the dungeon through the gate.

With that, the system accepted his response, ignoring the last statement purposely and immediately, the area started to crackle with purple lightning. A bright glow blinded him as a dark sphere, shaped like an eye, appeared right in front of him with the purple lightning around it. Midoriya had his jaws dropped, forgetting he forgot to do his Daily Quests.

“Woah! This means that this quest is going to extremely tough!” he exclaimed to himself, before taking a deep breath and stepping foot into the sphere “Let’s go, Izuku.”

He entered the sphere as it enveloped around him. His eyes took some time to adjust to the extreme darkness he was suddenly jumpscared with it. He blinked a few times, before his eyes finally adjusted to the darkness and he observed his surroundings.

It looked like a sort of castle interior. There was flare holders placed on the walls and decorative designs surrounding the area. The moment Deku stepped his foot, the flares lit up with bright fire, lighting up the area. The ground was covered with different lengths of rectangular and square, purple-colored tiles, the walls had royal blue covered halfway and the rest was done with gold. The flare holders were golden colored as well.

Midoriya walked down the giant halls, surprised and amazed with the place. It looked something out of a fantasy story. It looked like a sort of royal palace, hosting a powerful king.

“It’s an extremely amazing looking place.” he said to himself “If this is really like what I think, then that means that I’ll be fighting a ruler or someone of same or closer status and it will be extremely tough.”

He then stopped, blinking as two windows appeared in his vision from his system. And they really surprised him.

(!)   NOTIFICATION

In this area, potions and access to the

store are forbidden, and you will not

recover your stats when leveling up.

(!)   NOTIFICATION

You can’t leave this dungeon

until this job-change quest is finished.

“…Now that means this is definitely tough.” said Midoriya, sweatdropping. He can’t use anything, so that means only his skills and One For All are his hope. He shook his head. “It’s fine. After all, this should give me experience of being a hero without relying on cheating options. Maybe this will show how strong have I become as a hunter and maybe be just like any other hunter.”

“Young Midoriya!”

“AAAHH!!!”

All Might’s sudden voice in his head quickly scared the life out of him, making him jump in the air as he landed and looked behind to see the man in his true form, a translucent golden aura surrounding him. “All Might!” he exclaimed, surprised.

“Ah, apologies, young man.” the lanky man chuckled apologetically “I didn’t mean to scare you. I see you’re now attempting the job-change quest.”

“Yeah, I am.” said Deku, nodding “What exactly is it?”

“It’s a quest that you have to go through, and you will then be judged as to what you can be.” said All Might “I am surprised you reached level 40 quite quickly. I thought it would have taken you longer.”

“I just farmed dungeons with some friends of mine.” said Deku, shrugging “By the way, why wasn’t I able to contact you for the past couple of days? You were fine the first few times, before the connection broke.”

The lanky man in spirit form scratched his chin. “To be honest, I don’t know it myself.” said he “I mean, I haven’t been able to talk with the past users of the system and One For All either. I don’t know what exactly triggers it. Though with me being able to talk freely now, I think it’s possible only when you’re doing quests given by the system itself.”

Deku nodded, though obviously not satisfied. “Hmm…I guess I can take that as an answer for now.” he said.

He then perked up as he started hearing metallic footsteps, similar to his own. He looked in front of him and narrowed his eyes. A knight walked down his way, carrying a sword. It was covered with armor from head to toe. The name of the enemy was written in orange over it.

[KNIGHT]

“A knight huh…” he muttered to himself, taking a stance. ‘Like I thought, this will be difficult. The name’s orange colored, despite me being at level 40.’

The knight took a stance as well, before rushing at him at its pace. Deku, activating One For All, lunged at it and kicked right onto its torso, knocking it aside. However, it stood back like nothing happened.

“Didn’t work. Shouldn’t be surprised.” said Deku

The knight then swung its sword at him, making him dodge it and punch into its armored torso. It flinched a bit, before it started to attack him. Deku dodged each of its swings, thanking his stars for it being slow, before swinging his leg right into its face. Or precisely, his toe hit the knight.

“SMASH!”

The impact was more than he expected, the Iron Soles kicking back. The helmet of the armored knight exploded and got blown away from its body, before falling down along with the headless corpse of it. A sort of black liquid floated from both the helmet and the joints of the armored body.

(!)   NOTIFICATION

You have defeated a

[Knight]

“Is that supposed to be substitute for blood or their unique blood?” Deku asked himself, looking to the side to see more knights approaching him from the other end of the halls. “I have a feeling whoever the leader of the knights is, or the ruler itself, they will have a red colored name.”

The knights then rushed at him, causing him to kick the headless corpse of their comrade towards them. It temporarily halted them, which gave an opening to Deku, who rushed quickly before smashing two knights away. He quickly flipped back into the air, dodging two strikes of the knights and kicked the ground between them, causing them to lose their footing. With a final smash from his fist, he tore a hole through the heads of the two knights.

Changing his target to the fallen knights, who were rushing at him again, he once again threw the two corpses at them, before kicking them away, knocking them right into the walls with a big splat. The black liquid spewed from their bodies all over the walls, blacking a large part.

“Phew! Guess physical strength is useful against armored enemies.” said Midoriya, dropping to the ground. He widened his eyes before ducking and punching the air, where suddenly, a different figure, wearing rags, appeared with a hole in the stomach as it fell down on the ground. “Stealth skill? Is it a sort of assassin enemy?”

As if to confirm his question, a window appeared, which recognized the new enemy he had just tore a hole through.

(!)   NOTIFICATION

You have defeated an

[Assassin].

“Guessed it. A weak enemy, but with having surprise attacks as its specialty.” he muttered to himself, before jumping away, dodging a glowing blast attack. He turned to see another ragged figure, this time having a sort of small amulet on its neck with a dark face like the other two types of enemies he fought. “A wizard too? And from the looks of it, that seemed like light magic.”

He narrowed his eyes as he noticed another knight appearing from the other side. This time, there was an armored archer with it, as well as another Assassin, which was armored this time. “Well, this is going to be tough. Good thing I have experience fighting armored enemies, as well as fighting light magic and an Assassin.” he said to himself, planting one foot against the wall behind “Feels like I am revisiting my old battles.”

With that, the enemies all rushed at him at once, the knight swinging its sword, the archers launching multiple arrows, the assassin turning invisible and the wizard launching light magic at him. He narrowed his eyes, rapidly creating a rough precedence of enemies he needs to defeat in sequence in his mind.

“Caster, Assassin, Archer, Saber…” he muttered.

He quickly lunged at the wizard, quickly changing directions to dodge the arrows from the Archer: from ground to the walls. He then quickly dashed at the wizard and readying his feet, stomped the wizard from the side right onto the side wall.

“One down.” he said, before looking around. His instincts quickly spiked up as he grabbed the invisible face of the assassin, before smashing it into the wall behind him. “Another gone.” he muttered.

He dodged another swing and arrow of the knight and archer respectively. With a quick thinking, he grabbed the knight by its hand, making it drop its sword at the sudden forceful gesture. He then threw the knight at the archer, making both collide and along with, multiple invisible assassins Deku hadn’t noticed before. He then grabbed the sword and threw it at the group in a flipping way, making it hit two of them, before he killed the last two with stomps of his head.

“Finally finished this.” said Midoriya, spawning a window to see his fatigue, which was only at 12. “I guess if I go slow and not hurry, I can let my fatigue decrease and fight the ruler with less fatigue. That’ll give me better chances of winning.”

“That’s a nice idea.” said All Might, spawning again beside Deku “Also, you should drink up water.”

“Hm?” Deku blinked at him, noticing him pointing towards the motionless corpses of the assassins. Among them was a canteen water bottle. “Oh! I’m glad they drop stuff like that too!”

He walked over and picked it up, before sipping down some of the water. “Do you think I should carry this?” he asked.

“Probably not. It will get either in your way or slashed in fight.” said All Might, making the young man nod and drink it all down. “Hm? Oh, look. You got some rewards too.”

Deku looked at the system windows while drinking the water. “Huh…these are nice.” said he.

ITEM: High-Rank Knight’s Chestplate

ACQUISITION DIFFICULTY                      CATEGORY

B-rank                                                     Protective Gear

Physical Damage -7%

-Debuff: AGI -1%(STR: less than 80)

ITEM: Leather Pouch

ACQUISITION DIFFICULTY                      CATEGORY

None                                                 Miscellaneous

Gold: 10,000

A pouch for carrying money. If you open it, you will get gold.

“UH….It’s not really my style, to be honest.” said Deku, scratching his chin “I mean, my fighting style involves being mobile and agile. I am not much of a tank.”

“It’s okay, young Midoriya.” All Might chuckled, patting his shoulder “This wouldn’t have helped me, although the reason is that during my time, anything I wore just broke under One For All, since I was always at 100%.”

“That’s so amazing.” said Deku “All Might, were you a tank hunter in your time, Mr. Baek Yoonho?”

“Kind of.” said All Might, laughing “Though I was far more powerful than most S-Rank, including him.”

“Woah! Really?! You got to tell me all about it one day!” Deku exclaimed. He then equipped the chestplate just to check on it, only for it to appear and disappear. “Oh! It can turn invisible?!”

“That’s a nice find.” said All Might, surprised “Does it mean you’ll wear it?”

“Yes. If it doesn’t hinder my agility and mobility too much, then yes.” Deku nodded at him. He moved his limbs around, glad that the armor wasn’t hindering his movements. “The gold pouch is helpful too. I have more than enough system currency to buy potions later.”

“I think you should now move on to the next stage, young Midoriya.” All Might pointed at the other end. “Your fatigue’s recovered enough.”

The young man nodded before walking down the halls while talking with All Might. It was like watching a 24-year-old ‘child’ talk with his idol.

“By the way, All Might.” Deku blinked at him “Why did you asked me to call you by your real name?”

“Well, to be honest, that was what my friends and enemies called me with.” All Might grinned “I wanted to make it my name as a hero too. It’s exactly why I like to be called All Might. Now that I am dead, it no longer holds the meaning it once held. You can still call me by my name though, young Midoriya.”

“Hmm…maybe I’ll stick to it.” said he “You’re my idol, All Might. You’re the reason I wanted to become a hero. I want to be a pillar too, for this world to rely on.”

All Might smiled fondly, patting his head, before they finally reached the large, decorated door of the castle. “Looks like it’s finally time.” said he seriously.

Deku nodded, adjusting his arm bracers before he pushed against the giant door. It started to creak open, letting him finally enter it with the spirit disappearing. He walked into the room and looked around the place, taking a deep breath.

It indeed looked like a king’s chamber. There were multiple flares lighting up the place. A giant chandelier hung in the middle of the ceiling of the giant room. At the end of the room was a tall red wall and a throne was standing right on the floor with red stairs going down.

“The room of the king or the leader…I am assuming…” Deku muttered, looking around. He then heard metallic footsteps and widened his eyes, his body freezing up. ‘This is…!’

Down right near the red stairs walked a red figure, carrying a big sword. It had a red cape with torn ends draped behind its back. It had red armor from top to bottom, which surprisingly looked slicker as compared to the Knight armor. The sword it carried had golden ends on both sides. It had long crimson hair from the back of its helm. On the helmet, the left side was missing the horns the right side had.

It stopped its march right at the bottom of the stairs, in the center and looked at the Japanese hero with bright glowing eyes coming from its helm. It didn’t do much, just stared holes into the soul of 24-year-old man. Sweat dripped down from Deku’s forehead as he took a shaky stance.

‘It’s…the same as the double dungeon…And this time, it’s just one boss.’ thought he, sweating ‘He doesn’t look like a king or anything…possibly some sort of commander or lieutenant or leader of the knights…’

He should’ve expected this. After all, it’s a quest given by the system itself. And anything that was given by it was extremely powerful, no matter what level Deku was at. It purposely did that to show how many stronger enemies exist out and how weak he is compared to them.

Instantly, the name of the leader appeared, and it shocked him even more, even though he did felt like this was going to happen. Because despite doing everything in his power to become stronger, having beaten a B-Rank assassin Hunter, even having One For All at 5% which gives him a significant massive boost over all of his stats as long as its active…

The name was in Red color.

[KNIGHT COMMANDER IGRIS THE BLOODRED]

‘I had forgotten this is an S-Rank dungeon…’ thought Deku ‘Of course the name will be red too…I am only comparable to just a C or B-Rank currently, maybe A-Rank if I push myself to my fullest...Is it even possible to survive against this knight defending the empty throne?’

Igris stood there in front of the empty throne, staring down at the hunter. The dangerous and threatening aura continued to surround the commander. It then raised its sword and pointed it at him, acknowledging him as his enemy in this chamber.

Deku gulped before bowing at it respectfully, also acknowledging as his enemy. He then readied his stance as instincts spiked up in his head. ‘Here he comes!’

With a bare blink of the eye, Igris dashed forward towards him, its sword ready. Deku widened his eyes before he slipped and landed on his butt on the ground, barely dodging it. A bright red glow followed the slash, before the pillars behind him instantly got cut in half.

‘That was too quick!’ Deku yelled in his mind; jaws dropped ‘The pillars didn’t even cracked! It just got cleaved cleanly!’

Igris quickly swung its sword at him, causing him to use his foot to block the attack. However, the force behind the slash was more than Deku had expected, knocking far away towards the other end of the room. Deku quickly stood back up and ducked another slash from the commander, which not only cleaved the wall behind him, but did it multiple times in a single slash.

‘That’s beyond strong! It’s nothing compared to what I have seen until now!’ thought Deku, eyes wide

He blocked another attack of Igris, but once again, the sheer strength behind it, knocked him far away towards the red stairs. The commander shot multiple slashes in the air, forcing him to punch the air above him and land on the ground fast. Igris teleported in front of him again, right in one blink of the eye. It launched another violent slash at him, destroying the ground on his left side, forcing him to jump away, landing far away from it.

‘It’s like fighting an actual S-Rank Hunter!’ Deku thought, green lightning crackling

Deku launched himself at him, doing a roundhouse kick directly to the commander’s head. It simply stepped aside, grabbing the leg and throwing him away. He quickly launched back at it, attempting to disarm it with his Iron Soles. Despite his kicks possessing better and stronger power as compared to his hands, they were barely doing a crack to its armor.

He quickly stomped on the ground, shaking it up to make it loosen its foothold before kicking it away. However, the commander was more than capable of dodging every attack the hunter was dishing out at it, and the ones that actually reached it, didn’t even hurt him. It swung its sword at him, making him lift his leg to dodge, before suddenly punching him hard, making him throw up as he crashed onto the nearby wall.

Deku stood back up on his feet, panting. His Fatigue was 27 now, and it has been only a few minutes since the start of the fight. Each hit that connected him took down a significant amount of his health.

“Ugh…He’s…more…stronger than I thought…” Deku stood back up, his breathing a bit erratic now. His legs were shaking now in pain, the strain of One For All starting to finally envelop his body. No matter what he did, the commander seemed to always have an answer to it. If he dodges, the leader of the knights makes sure he doesn’t focuses on anything but dodging. If he attacks, the boss simply dodges.

Igris stared down at the young man, who was struggling to stand. Despite it showing a fraction of its strength, it was obviously impressed by how much he was trying to stand up to it, despite the immense difference in strength. As such, the commander readied its sword again. It was time to put an end to his struggling life and show him the true power that lies inside the commander and that is beyond the Japanese Hunter’s reach.

So, once again it teleported in front of him in the blink of an eye, readying its sword. It was now finally ready to show the hunter why its name is red and why nothing he can do will help him to compensate for the commander’s strength.

Only for a hard kick right to the helm to halt its approach, knocking it backwards. It touched its chin, looking at the human in surprise. Deku had his back turned to him after the kick, his Iron Soled foot smoking.

“No…it’s good this way.” said he to himself “This way, I can see how effective my Shoot Style is against monsters and knights.”

He turned to Igris, surprising the commander as he took a stance, the lightning still crackling around him. “I am not going to be your sandbag, Igris! I am going to be a hero!” he declared “And if you’re going to be in my way, then I won’t be hesitating to use violence either!!”

Igris tilted its head, recognizing that the fight was beginning now. So, it planted its sword deep into the ground beside it, pulled out two daggers from the inside of its cape and threw them on the ground along with the cape. It nodded at him, impressed by how the hunter was fighting all this time with no weapons; it had considered him using the iron shoes as the weapons, but now that it saw he was fighting fully barehanded and the shoes were just like armor being weaponized, it decided to make the fight equal and fair.

“I guess that despite being an enemy, you’re still a knight first and foremost.” said Deku “I admire the code of honor knights follow, but unfortunately, a hero can’t follow that. Because they can’t be heroes if they’re a one-trick pony.”

The commander nodded. It obviously didn’t wanted him to stop holding back or stop using any cheap tricks to win. Heroes need to win to save, they aren’t knights. So, it accepted the fact it was going to fight fair and square, while the hunter might have to resort to cheap tricks.

Deku quickly side-stepped, barely dodging the hand grab Igris went for while teleporting towards him with its immense speed. He kicked it away, before following up with a punch, only for the commander to grab his hand and threw him far away, who crashed onto the walls. Deku quickly grabbed the rubble and flipped back up, dodging the fist that almost grazed his cheek. Igris quickly went for a punch, forcing him to counter punch it.

A shockwave pushed both of them back as Deku stood back up. ‘Good thing the armor absorbed some of the damage’ he thought, rubbing his bruised fist against the palm of his other hand ‘Each of his attacks pack a punch like a tank. This is without his sword. If he can keep up with One For All’s strength at my current level, I’ll use speed to gain momentum to compensate for it!’

Activating his Dash skill, he started to run around the commander at blinding speeds, gaining a good deal of momentum, before landing a hard smash with legs right onto its torso, forcing it backwards. He then started to exchange blows with it, who just casually dodged each attack. And surprisingly, this time, even Deku was managing to dodge each punch of it. He then grabbed its hand which had gone to push him onto the ground and judo-flipped him over his shoulder hard on the ground.

Igris quickly bashed its head with him, making him stumble back, bruising his forehead. It then grabbed him by his cowl and threw him away into the ceiling, following up with a rubble piece at high speed towards him. Deku kicked away the rubble as the commander rushed towards him and jumped towards him.

Deku gritted his teeth. No matter what he did, the commander was one step ahead of him. He can’t afford to lose. He was entrusted with this power, chosen to keep on chasing his dream as a hero like All Might. If he can’t even win against the very same system that is doing this to him, then what hope he has against actual villains or monsters who are out there in the world, preying on the innocents?

‘I hadn’t realized…’

“You are not getting in my way!” Deku yelled back, bringing his leg up in the air

‘The entire limit in my body…’

Igris widened its glowing eyes as Deku’s speed took an abrupt, massive jump. It barely had time to block the kick to its helm, its armored arms trying to push back against the foot. “I am not letting you get the win!!” Deku yelled at Igris, knocking it down onto the ground.

‘Has been raised to 8%!’

The commander hit the ground with a loud thud as Deku landed onto the ground. Igris slowly got back up, before its eyes turned from white to red, making Deku be on his guard. It rushed at him with the same speed, but now with increased strength as Deku rushed towards him with the same strength, but with an increased speed.

’However…’

Deku flipped in the air, dodging the punch of the commander before doing an axe kick to its head, hitting it hard. ‘The speed’s too much for me!’

The commander finally growled as it threw him away towards the walls. It lunged at him, forcing him to move away. ’A change from 5% to 8% isn’t much…the problem is that it’s now difficult to react with the new speed, combined with the system speed stat!’

Igris threw a flurry of blows at him, who dodged all of them this time at ease. He tried his best to use the ground as foothold to stop his new speed, however it was getting more and more difficult to do that, especially since the commander was breaking the floor to catch him off guard.

The Bloodred then grabbed his shoulders, hoping to bash his head with its helm. Deku reacted faster, gripping its hands to pry them off. Igris then kicked him up from down, knocking him away with its enraged strength. Only for Deku to react faster again and kick and knock Igris away with his increased speed, acting like a feline.

‘I shouldn’t use Dash anymore then.’ he thought ’8% is more than enough to cover it up. Better save it for later.’

Igris fell down on the ground, becoming enraged again. It was honestly beyond furious now. This game of cat and mouse turned into a lion vs tiger situation. Deciding to go all out, as much as it can without its weapon, it rushed at him with its max speed, turning into a crimson red lightning. Deku also rushed back at it, turning into a green lightning blur.

Igris quickly ducked, dodging the immensely fast kick as both turned towards each other, roaring with their might. Deku, being significantly faster now, hit him first, before doing a tour combined with a pirouette at extremely high speeds, before following it up with a fan kick right onto the commander, who barely dodged it.

Though dodging it was a mistake; the toe of the Iron Soles touched the ground instead, still carrying the momentum and strength behind it. The metal shoes kicked back, instantly demolishing the ground, throwing both of them away. Igris quickly got back to its feet. This time, he managed to get a good hold of the Japanese hunter before punching his stomach hard, making him cough up blood. With that, he finally threw him at the ceiling, from where he fell down onto the throne, spewing blood.

With the battle finally ending, Igris walked over to the unmoving body of Izuku Midoriya and stood before him, staring down in respect at the knocked out, bloodied human. It won’t deny, it has been so long since Igris had to go all out against an enemy. Despite knowing it will win, the commander respected the efforts the Japanese Hunter went through to keep up.

Igris raised its right hand in the air, a blue glow surrounding it. The sword, which was planted in the ground, glowed blue, before telepathically getting attracted towards the commander’s hand, who raised it up in the air. With one final strike, Igris the Bloodred ended the fight by beheading Izuku Midoriya.

Or that would’ve been, had it not been for the commander to consider just how stubborn the hero was, as Deku gripped onto the sword tightly with his right hand, before looking up at it. “I am not done yet!” He exclaimed, blood dripping down his mouth.

Readying his left fist, he smashed as hard as he can to Igris’s helm, making the commander stumble back. His smash now actually hurt and banged up its head.

This time, not wasting any time, he ripped the sword out of its hand, before summoning the Kasaka’s Venom Fang and piercing it right into Igris’s eyes. The boss actually roared in pain loudly, before Deku started punching its helm constantly. The 8% smashes, despite not having the same increased effect as his speed did from 5%, now actually started to shake up the boss’s head and ears.

Igris quickly ripped it out of its eye, only for it to disappear, as it got resummoned back into Deku’s inventory. Deku did an uppercut, knocking him away. “Absolutely not! You’re not using any blade now!!” he yelled.

This time, Deku spun in the air, before forming a huge amount of wind pressure on his right fist, before he aimed it right at the head of the Bloodred, who saw nothing but a big storm rushing at him from above.

“CALIFORNIA SMASSH!!!”

With that yell, he released the entire power of the attack onto Igris, smashing and twisting the helmet and face simultaneously, before pushing it onto the ground, his arm bracer tearing up at the strength. This time, the entire ground shook and broke, shaking like an earthquake that managed to earn its place on the Richter scale.

Dark blood spewed from the commander’s head as it lay motionless, the glowing eyes finally disappeared. Its helmet was completely crushed by that smash. The sword lay far down the room, motionless as well.

“Huff…huff…” Deku panted, fist still onto Igris’s crushed helm “…You’re not suddenly going to get up or pull your sword back, right?”

(!)    NOTIFICATION

You have defeated

[KNIGHT COMMANDER IGRIS THE BLOODRED]

“Thank god…” Deku sighed, before finally pulling away his hand and dropping on the ground on his butt. He stared at the lifeless body of the commander. “…That was so close. He was on a different level than me on everything.” he muttered “I think I needed that increase in power in One For All to continue.”

As he sat there, muttering about how close the fight was and that he was fighting just an S-Rank Hunter, but with codes of honor and chivalry of a knight, four windows appeared, showing him the rewards he obtained for beating the boss.

ITEM: Leather Pouch

ACQUISITION DIFFICULTY                      CATEGORY

None                                                 Miscellaneous

Gold: 1,500,000

A pouch for carrying money. If you open it, you will get gold.

“Woah! That’s a whole lot!” Deku exclaimed, pleasantly surprised “I could buy even the most expensive items in the store! I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, considering the fact Igris is a commander.”

ITEM: Full Gauntlet

ACQUISITION DIFFICULTY                      CATEGORY

S-rank                                                     Protective Gear

Physical Damage -99%

AGI+50               STR +100

Using this gear will lessen damage the recoil effects of One For All. Can withstand smashes at 100% full strength thrice.

“An S-Rank item!” Deku gawked at the stats, completely shocked. The item was literally providing a max 100, alongside a massive decrease in physical damage. But what shocked him the most was that it can withstand One For All at full strength 3 times! This is the first gear that can actually affect One For All’s output on Deku’s limbs!

He summoned it in his hand, wanting to see it for himself. Only for the gear to appear in the form of a small, thin wristband, making him blink in confusion. It had just a single, blue button on the center. This was a first, since most gauntlets he had seen were big and covered the entire arm, not just the wrist. There weren’t even signs of an invisible gauntlet being equipped.

Obviously he pressed that button and was surprised when it automatically expanded and surrounded his entire arm bracer equipped arm, up to his elbow. His bruised fingers were poking out, meaning it was a fingerless gauntlet.

“Woah…So this is the only protective gear that spawns as corporeal…” he muttered, amazed. He tilted his arm, observing it. It had a sort of bandage looking design to it. A simple, yet extremely strong. But what’s weird, it didn’t resembled the gauntlets Igris was wearing. “Weird. Maybe it’s a different reward given by system.”

He quickly opened up his gear window to observe the entire protective gear set he was wearing.

EQUIPMENT

[Full Gauntlet]

Physical Damage -99%

AGI +50

STR +100

- Can withstand smashes at 100% full strength thrice.

[High-Rank Knight’s Chestplate]

Physical Damage -7%

-Debuff

AGI -1% (STR: less than 80)

[High-Rank Knight’s Gauntlets]

Physical Damage -3%

[Gatekeeper’s Collar]

AGI +20

PER +20

[Low-Rank Archer’s Gauntlets]

Physical Damage -1%

[High-Rank Mage’s Ring]

Magic Damage -1%

[Mid-Rank Assassin’s Boots]

AGI +10

“It’s like I found a treasure in this world…” Deku muttered, still in awe at it. He de-summoned it back into his inventory. “Or maybe it IS a treasure…a one of its kind…Thanks a lot, Commander Igris.”

RUNE STONE: Ruler’s Hand

ACQUISITION DIFFICULTY                      CATEGORY

       --                                                                 Rune Stone

You may obtain the skill by crushing the stone.

“Ruler’s Hand huh…” Deku scratched his chin “I guess I’ll keep that in the inventory and give it to Joohee. Whatever that skill is, should be helpful to her.”

RUNE STONE: Instant Teleportation Stone

ACQUISITION DIFFICULTY                      CATEGORY

  --                                                                Supplies

This item can be obtained only from a job-change quest.

Crush the stone to be instantly teleported outside the dungeon.

If unused, it will be automatically destroyed once the

job-change quest ends

Cannot be stored in the inventory.

And the last reward was an instant teleportation stone, which he held in his hand while deadpanning at it. “Just great. The only thing that is supposed to be safely stored and used only at times of emergency can’t be stored in my inventory. And it will be destroyed if I don’t use it and go out of the dungeon. ” he said in a disappointed tone. Then something clicked in his mind as he looked at Igris, confused. “But why this now? Isn’t the job-change quest over commander Igris’s defeat?”

Before he can continue pondering over the weirdness of the situation, a dark purple lightning formed at the other side of the chamber, attracting his attention. He widened his eyes in surprise and shock as multiple dark portals opened, signaling the arrival of more enemies.

A window opened right above his head, making him look at it. “What is going on now?!” he asked himself.

(!)   NOTIFICATION

The job-change quest begins now.

Survive as long as possible to earn enhancement points

that are required to be assigned a higher class.

“What?! The quest begins now?!” he yelled, shocked. “Then what did I do all this time?!”

(!)   NOTIFICATION

Good luck.

“What?!” He was shocked as a timer appeared on top of his head, but there was no limit to it. “Are you serious?! I am facing infinite waves of enemies?!”

Multiple knights appeared from the portals, carrying their weapons. “I guess I can handle them for some time.” Deku said to himself “Thank goodness they aren’t on Igris’s level.”

With that, the knights rushed at him as he readied his fist and swung at them, releasing a big blast of wind and knocking them away. More and more appeared as he started kicking them away, trying his hardest to use bigger smashes to take out herds of them. Despite doing so, he finally got surrounded by more than a hundred knights.

‘I am doing everything I can and still there’s no end to this!’ Deku thought. ’I am stronger strength-wise, but they can force me to keep on fighting and use up all my stamina.’

He continued to keep them off himself as the portals continue to spew out more and more knights through. Each time he finished a herd, the portals spawned in double the amount he beat. ’How do I even shut those portals off? There has to be a way, right?! There’s no way this quest wants me to keep on fighting until I reach those said points!’

With this mind, Deku quickly activated Stealth skill, turning invisible to the knights. He quietly ran and hid behind the last pillar that was near the door. He opened his stat window to check on his current condition. He assumes he is probably in a rough condition, especially after the beatdown Igris gave him.

HP ----------------------
3759/10278

MP----------------------
680/850

“Huh…Could’ve been worse…” He nodded to himself. “I think I can survive for some time.”

While he was talking, the portal summoned the wizard mage enemies from before. One of them deployed its magic, its hands glowing with the same dark energy as the portals. At that, a dark eye opened in the air near the ceiling. The pupils moved to the side, as if knowing where the hero was. And to Deku’s shock, his Stealth skill instantly broke like glass.

Deku quickly dodged a strike by a knight, landing back onto the center of the room. More knights tried to overwhelm him, making use a smash at 8% and blow them away at once. “Someone’s nullifying stealth...is it the Casters?” he asked himself as he noticed that it has been only 5 minutes since the start. “Uh…that felt like more than 15 minutes.”

He jumped away, dodging a hammer strike of one knight. However, the teleportation stone from his pocket fell out. “No!” He exclaimed in horror as he landed on the ground, watching it tumbling away and among the knights.

He was now in actual trouble, more than what Igris could’ve given him. With his health in the three thousandths, his mana in the 600s but useless since the Casters are nullifying his skills and now, his only source of escape, the instant teleportation stone, was now gone and lost. He can try to smash the knights away and find it, but he will not be able to find it again, especially with how fast the enemies are arriving.

Meaning, this wasn’t a choice of fight or flight situation. This was a fight situation, and he HAS to follow it.

Chapter Text

“SMASH!”

Another blast of shockwave smashed away another cluster of knights as Deku jumped on top of one of the pillars, panting while staring down at the hordes. There were more than he can now count, even after blowing away lots of them.

“Just great…lost my teleportation stone.” he grumbled to himself, looking at the portals which were spewing out more and more knights “What’s even powering them up?”

There were no signs of a source that he assumes are powering them. So, he just landed on the empty spaces between the knight hordes, quickly rushing over to the portals. He tried his best to understand their nature, touching them and whatnot. He quickly jumped away, once again on top of another pillar.

“It’s so weird…” he said to himself “Then what do I even do against?”

The knights started striking the pillar’s foundation, forcing him to jump back down. He knocked away more and more knights as fatigue started to catch up to him. He smashed away more and more knights, tiring out slowly and slowly. The new level of One For All was straining his body faster than he had expected. And not only that, but since the change is way much more faster than his 5%, he was having trouble reacting to his own speed, often crashing into the walls or the pillars constantly.

“His nickname is “The Weakest and Most Emotional Hunter of All Mankind.”

Deku perked up, sweat dripping down his face as he turned to see what his mind caught as an apparition of Mr. Kim among the knights. He quickly parried a knight’s slash with his Iron Soles, though with less energy, the strength was very less behind the parry.

“Weakest? Not strongest?”

Another apparition, this time of the man who died at the double, that friend of Mr. Kim, appeared among the knights. Deku widened his eyes. It wasn’t the statement that caught his eyes, it was that it was the same man Deku couldn’t save at the double dungeon.

His eyes showed guilt and remorse. “Mr. Par-“

Before he could complete, one of the knights managed to strike their hammer into his legs, forcing him down on his knees. He couldn’t understand what was happening here and why he couldn’t focus.

“Nope. Like, a trip through an E-Rank gate landed him in the hospital. He might be the weakest hunter there is.”

The apparitions continued to arise between the knights, continuing the conversations Deku had overheard months ago right before the double dungeon raid. The Japanese Hunter panted, kneeling down. He struggled to get back up, but his mind was all over the place.

“Midoriya, that’s enough. You don’t need to keep forcing yourself.”

He widened his eyes as he felt a hand patting his back and looked to his side to see an apparition of Song, kneeling down beside him with both of his arms. “M-Mr. Song…” Midoriya spoke out, eyes wide. He won’t deny it; this was starting to affect him heavily.

“He’s right, Izuku. You can’t save everyone. You’d be better off if you stopped.”

Joohee’s apparition was sitting right in front of him. It was making the situation even worse. Deku’s ears were starting to ring, as he couldn’t focus on anything else but just the words of the apparitions. They didn’t wanted him to save anymore. Or at least even try it. He tried to fight it off, gritting his teeth and trying to shut his ears off by covering them with his hands, but the next apparition finally broke him.

“You’re getting what you deserve.”

Deku widened his eyes as he looked over his shoulder. There stood himself, in his middle school uniform, carrying a beaten-up notebook. Tears were coming down his eyes, but he was smiling mockingly at the Japanese Hunter.

“You try to save lives, yet you can’t even achieve that.”

The apparition walked beside him. “You were an E-Rank but look how far you’ve come.” said it in a mocking tone “That should be more than enough. After all, heroes are human too. Aren’t they, Izuku Midoriya?”

Deku stared in shock at the apparition of himself, unable to say anything. It was as if watching a mirror of some different world of himself.

“I gotta ask, is this really future me? I can hardly recognize myself.” it said in its mocking tone “Bearing scars all over and in much better shape. And looking pretty strong. But the differences are only skin deep. On the inside, I’m still weak.”

The sweat on Deku’s forehead continue to increase. He tried his hardest to form some words of retort but found none. The apparition knelt down beside him.

“I am still scared of losing lives despite being there. I have always been like that, after all. A hero.”

The apparition vanished as Deku widened his eyes, barely blocking a sword strike from one of the knights. He got knocked back on his back on the ground, struggling to get back up.

“Izuku Midoriya, E-Rank Hunter. That’s all you’ll ever be.”

The middle school Deku dropped his beaten-up notebook on the ground, before kneeling in front of him. “A child who never learned his place in the world. Someone who doesn’t understand that heroes can’t exist in this forsaken realm.” said it mockingly.

“That’s enough.”

The apparition stopped in its tracks as it turned to the side to see All Might in his true form standing there, watching. There was no smile on his face. “Move away from young Midoriya.” said he.

“Oh? It’s just future me, All Might.” said it “I must say, I still have no idea why you chose me. There are better candi-“

“That’s up to me.” said All Might, interrupting it as he patted the injured Deku’s shoulder “That day, young Midoriya’s body on its own as he saved young Joohee. He went to think about the others’ safety instead of himself. Stories of true heroes always have this in common.”

Deku widened his eyes as the apparition gritted its teeth, before looking condescendingly at the duo. “You two sicken me.” said it “It’s as if both of you are doppelgangers. I shouldn’t be surprised, given how much I used to admire you, All Might.”

“You don’t admire me.” said the hero “Young Midoriya does. You are not him. You’re just a shadow, trying his hardest to play with his feelings. Let me tell you this: you got the wrong person to mess with. Young Midoriya’s stronger than anything you’ve met.”

The apparition just got more annoyed at the words of the hero. “Tch. Fine then.” said it “Die then.”

All Might widened his eyes. “Young Midoriya, dodge!” he yelled.

The green-haired hunter quickly nodded, before jumping away to dodge a sword strike. However, he got caught off guard as two giant knights grabbed his head from behind and bashed it hard on the ground. Blood spilled around his head as he grunted and tried to get back up to see All Might’s spirit trying to call out to him, while the middle-schooler Midoriya stood there.

“This is what you get for thinking you can save people. You just don’t get it, Izuku Midoriya. Heroes are all the same, dumb people who think that people’s lives matter to them, not caring that will get them killed.”

‘That’s…what heroes do…’ Deku’s thoughts were a jumbled mess as one of the knights came up, carrying an axe. His brain automatically overlapped with the images of the double dungeon, the visions of the giants coming to kill him. ‘That’s…who I am…’

(!)   [QUEST INFO]

[Daily Quest: ‘Dream Plan’ Strength Training has arrived.]

GOAL

Push-ups                                                         [0/100]     [ ]

Sit-ups                                                             [0/100]     [ ]

Squats                                                              [0/100]     [ ]

   Running                                                           [0/10km]      [ ]

WARNING: Failure to complete

the daily quest will result in

an appropriate penalty.

“Huh?” Deku blinked before sighing. “Oh…the penalty quest. I had completely forgotten about it. I guess that despite my bad luck, the System’s trying its hardest to counter it too.”

The apparition of the middle-school Izuku changed to a different one. This time, it was him, but after becoming a hunter, before the double dungeon. This one, however, had a determined look on his face. And a smile that rivaled All Might’s.

“Do your best, Izuku Midoriya! You’ll get to live! It’s your turn to be a hero now!”

This was a sudden change from the other apparitions. But that was exactly the reason why it put a smile on Deku’s tired face as he nodded. Despite everything, he was still giving his all. It was as if it was just his own brain cheering him on, telling him to ignore everything else around.

(!)   [NOTIFICATION]

[Daily Quest: Strength Training has arrived.]

[X]

You will be transferred to the penalty zone.

The moment the knight swung its sword at him, the entire world around changed. Instantly the chamber of Igris the Bloodred changed. Now, it was a familiar desert world, with the powerful and hot sun sending its extremely hot rays down on the sandy world, making sure nothing that is cold, will be able to avoid getting itself burnt up.

Deku, who was lying down on a flat ground, face down, sat up. He looked around, remembering his first time here and chuckled to himself. “I guess I have taken a liking to this place.” said he.

“Young Midoriya!”

All Might’s spirit manifested in a fully physical form, rushing over to him. “Are you okay, kid?” asked he.

“Yes, I am.” Deku smiled at him “I must say, it was a nice change from chaos to peace.”

“Well I am glad to hear that.” All Might patted his head “Now, quickly heal yourself up.”

“Right.” said Deku, nodding. It was good thing he was here, because that meant that he can use his store and potions again since he ‘escaped’ the dungeon, albeit temporarily.

He quickly opened the store and bought 4 bottles of potions to revive his fatigue. “I have never seen my fatigue reach 100. It's like One For All sucked some generations of life out of me.” said he, drinking down 3 of them and halving the fourth one. “All Might, did you ever fought Igris?”

“Oh I did. It wasn’t too difficult.” said he. It was expected; he could use One For All at 100% at all times. “Talk less now, heal up.”

Deku nodded, buying another potion to heal his health. He started drinking it down, when he noticed a window opening, having a warning.

(!)   NOTIFICATION

Because the hit points of the target are too low,

the potion will not work.

“Huh?” Deku blinked, confused he stopped drinking. “So if I am seriously injured, potions can’t restore my HP anymore?”

“Seems like it.” said All Might, nodding and watching the screen. Despite having it during his time, he never experienced low health, not until it was his time of death. 

“But didn’t I healed up Mr. Kang back there?” Deku asked. “I can understand how I healed Mr. Kim, since he was bleeding out, so his health was still not at zero. But what about Mr. Kang? And what about me? Didn’t I healed my health during my fight with Cerberus, the Hell’s Gatekeeper back at that Demon Castle quest, but it was still low, somewhere around 300-600?”

“Maybe it depends on what potion you are taking?” suggested All Might

“Hmm…this is one of the more expensive potions.” said Deku, looking at the small test tube with the cork attached to its neck and the red liquid inside “The one I used on them and myself back there was the cheapest one, which gives just 100 HP. Maybe you’re right?”

The Japanese hunter was scratching his chin as he watched his status window, with All Might looking over.

[STATUS]

47                         Job: None

Level               Title: Wolf Assassin

+ ------------------------------           MP ----------------------
HP                        4200/10278                                    427/680

                                                                                                                              Fatigue: 0

 STR: 50                                             VIT: 87

AGI: 38  (+30)                                  INT: 79

   PER: 32                                             Available

                                                                Ability

                                                                    Points: 0

“Oh! So it did healed me!” Deku blinked, chugging the rest of the potion and healing himself to 4950. “I was wondering why it wouldn’t. My health was at 3k back there.”

“So that was just a warning for using this expensive potion.” said All Might “Guess you should buy some of the cheap potions and have them stored, so they can be used on civilians who are dying. This is practically useless on them.”

The ground before them shook and out came multiple caterpillar monsters instead of just the single one he was chased by back during his first time here. All of their names were orange this time.

[POISONED TOOTHED GIANT DESERT CENTIPEDE]

“Huh…that’s a lot.” said Deku “I remember there being just one or two during my first time.”

“Good thing they’re in orange.” said All Might as the 4-hour time limit started “Oh well, here goes nothing.”

With that, Deku rushed at the monsters, before jumping in the air. He spun and readied his legs, coming down towards them with a bright, green lightning kick, ready to smash all of them away.

[Meanwhile]

Jinah just finished her studies and yawned. She came out of the room and started walking towards her bedroom.

“That was a weird dream.” said she, referring to the fact she had mistakenly fell asleep mid-way through. She passed through the dining room and noticed that the food she had made and covered under a packet for Midoriya was still in the same place. “Izuku-san still isn’t home yet?”

She asked herself, surprised as she walked into her bedroom. “He can’t be working this late, can he?” She went and laid down on her bed, wondering. “Could he have gotten a girlfriend…?” she asked herself as she pulled the blanket over her. Her eyes started to droop. “Nah, no way. I am here already…I also told there’s a guardian-teacher meeting today…Will he be able to make it?”

[Back at the Penalty Zone]

(!)   NOTIFICATION

Leveled up!

Leveled up!

Deku sat on top of the fallen corpse of the monster centipede, sighing. “This is still cheating.” said he. Leveling up had fully healed him to max, so in his perspective, he failed what he was supposed to do in this job-change quest.

“Hey, heroes make the most of their abilities.” said All Might, chuckling “You should do it too.”

“Still…If this had happened in real dungeon and I had no options left, I would've died.” Deku grumbled, before shaking his head “I’ve got ten minutes left. Maybe I should sorting out my gear now.”

He opened his shop window, before buying 5 exclusive healing potions and 3 divine healing potions. He then opened the gear window and scratched his chin, watching the equipment he was having equipped with.

“Hmmm…Maybe I should get the Full Gauntlet?” he said to himself “I mean, obviously I am not going full 100%, but I do want the physical damage reduction to near negligible.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to save it?” asked All Might “I mean, it’s not only an S-Rank item, but can stabilize your power output significantly. It’ll be more helpful against even stronger enemies, like those of Igris’s or higher ranks.”

Deku thought about it and nodded. “You’re right. It sure will help me better later on.” said he, checking his Iron Soles “Then I think I can trust on them. They’re super helpful for my Shoot Style.”

He pulled out some bandages from his utility belt and wrapped his right arm in it, which the bracer had torn in his fight against Igris. “Alright, I think I am ready.” said he.

All Might cautioned him. “Remember, your new 8% will strain your body harder.” said he “Stick to 5% at all times and when you’re overwhelmed, switch out to it.”

Deku nodded, clenching his fists as the timer slowly started to reach the limit. The moment it hit 0, the world shifted, and he instantly teleported back to the chamber of Igris. By this time, even more enemies had spawned there, almost covering every inch and square of the ground. They all turned their attention to him again.

“Alright, let’s do this.” said he.

With that, he started to knock away the knights around him with his kicks. It was finally easier now, especially now that not only was his fatigue non-existent, but also he was fully healed. This time, he properly focused all over the place, observing the area better. His eyes fell on the Caster mages, which were chanting spells far away among the horde of knights. Dark aura surrounded them, signs of their spells at work.

‘What are they doing?’ he thought ‘What spells are they even casting? It seems dark magic, but nothing’s happening. There aren’t any enhancements that have been given to the knights either. I don’t think they’re casting that spell from before, where my Stealth was broken. I am not even using it, so what are they doing?’

The Caster enemies answered him by having the same dark magic portals open up behind them. Deku blinked and facepalmed mentally. ‘Of course, I should’ve expected it. It’s not dark magic, it’s summoning magic! It’s so rare in the real world, I completely forgot about it.’

Now with him finally acquiring the new targets in the form of the Casters, he decided to notch it up. Kicking his gear into 8%, he jumped high in the air, before spinning. With enough momentum and power ready on his legs, he axe kicked the mage from high above with great power, shattering the ground and taking out not only the mage, but also a huge number of the knights.

Defeating the mage automatically stopped and killed the knights that were summoned by it. They fell down, dark misting escaping the crooks and crannies. With four more, he started bouncing around the room, easily dodging the knight attacks and locating the mages. He kicked one of the pillars directly towards it, instantly killing it and its team.

Deku then noticed the last trio of mages coming together. They opened a summoning glyph on the ground simultaneously. Dark magic surrounded them as the dark aura rushed towards the fallen and the remaining knights. It surrounded them, before it glowed bright and all of the knights soon converged together to form a gigantic, armored golem.

“This is enough! You aren’t going to stop me anymore!” Deku yelled.

He jumped at the giant golem before swinging his right leg hard at it.

“St. Louis SMASSHH!!”

The toe of his foot connected, the Iron Soles instantly kicking back. In a second, a massive shockwave shot through the golem, blowing away its head and decapitating it. The detached head fell on the ground, followed by the headless corpse, which soon turned back to a multitude of the knights.

Deku then rushed towards the remaining casters, bulldozing through the remaining knights, before sending out a massive air pressure towards them, smashing them onto the walls and killing them. This finally cleared out the remaining enemies as he dropped down on the ground, panting. He rubbed his sweat off his face as the timer appeared.

{04:14:13}

(!)   NOTIFICATION

Ninth have defeated all the monsters.

Finish the job-change quest.

[✓]

“Phew! It finally ended.” said he, looking at the screen changing “So, now, with the points I earned, I can switch to a more advanced clas-Hm? It’s giving me a class based on my performance throughout this time? I should’ve expected it. I mean, it did said it’s a job-change quest, it’s supposed to assign me to one, not let me choose one.”

(!)   NOTIFICATION

Analysis completed.

(!)   NOTIFICATION

Wherever the Ninth goes, the

cries for help are answered.

Whatever path the Ninth takes,

it is thorny with hardships and sacrifices.

Wherever he goes, all that will stain him

are scars, blood and filth.

“…What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked himself in surprise, watching the screen “Is it…describing me?”

In addition, the Ninth inspires

others when they’re hopeless. He is

the amalgam of the light that shines

in the dark, and the darkness that

hides in the light.

He understands the nature of others

and that, the entire world is painted with

grey and is not a palette of black and white.

His strength comes from saving others

and his presence brings hope to

everyone around.

His allies will follow only him and

grow stronger alongside him.

With that, the screen finally changed to show him his new job class and that put a huge smile on his face. Because it was exactly what he wanted and earned it with his own strength. His dream. His achievement.

(!)   NOTIFICATION

Your job is [hero].

“Yes! I am so happy!” Deku pumped his fist in the air “I have officially been recognized as a hero!”

“Good for you, kid.” All Might appeared, smiling

“I am so happy, All Might.” said he “This means, I can become a hero like you!”

All Might laughed, patting his head. “You have already become one officially, young Midoriya.” said he “You earned it fair and square.”

Deku smiled at him fondly, as he watched the screen change for him.

(!)   NOTIFICATION

Will you accept this job?

[Yes]                    [No]

“Is that supposed to even be a question? Of course yes!” Deku exclaimed, selecting said option.

(!)   NOTIFICATION

Your job has been finalized.

(!)   NOTIFICATION

Depending on the advancement

points acquired, you may progress

to a higher class.

Instantly, a rainbow glow surrounded Deku, enveloping him into a colorful vortex. His eyes widened as he watched the vortex around him, as his body froze, the colorful orbs orbiting around him.

(!)   NOTIFICATION

You have exceeded the expected survival time.

(!)   NOTIFICATION

Bonus points will be awarded.

(!)   NOTIFICATION

You have not used the instant Teleportation Stone.

(!)   NOTIFICATION

Bonus points will be awarded.

(!)   NOTIFICATION

Leftover HP is over 50%.

(!)   NOTIFICATION

Bonus points will be awarded.

(!)   NOTIFICATION

You have defeated all the enemies.

(!)   NOTIFICATION

Your total advancement points have

exceeded the class threshold.

The colorful glowing orbs orbited at a faster rate, before spreading all over the room and finally converging onto him. All of them then entered into his body, the crimson energy veins appearing all over his body with green, blue, yellow and red lightning dancing around. All of it finally disappeared, bringing him back into reality as he shook his head.

"Golly..." he shook his head, brain spinning a bit from the abrupt influx he just witnessed and felt simultaneously. He looked up as another window of his System opened.

(!)   NOTIFICATION

Your job has changed

[hero]

to

[dark hero]

“….Huh?” was all both All Might and Deku said, blinking stupidly at the change of the job. Sure they expected his class to change because of high points, but…this?

“W-What’s happening?” Deku asked, stupefied and absolutely gobsmacked at it. “A-All Might, why did I got something like that?!”

“I don’t know!” All Might was shocked too. “I remember having mine change from hero to savior! I thought that’s what you’ll get too!”

The screen changed to show them the quest rewards for this entire job-change quest. Unique class skills, 10 ability points and a new title. Both of them were horrified at the new title.

“Why is ‘The Dark Hero’ my title?!” Deku asked, genuinely beyond shocked “I am not going to become a sort of anti-hero or anything!”

All Might had no explanation for this. He was sure savior or at least beacon of hope would be his successor’s title like him, but this? Is this supposed to be some sort of joke? He was training him to be a hero for God's sake! Is something messing with the System?

“All Might, does the title change in the future?” asked Deku

“I don’t remember it like that during my time.” said All Might, scratching his chin ‘Neither do I remember it being like this either. Does this mean something’s different between young Midoriya and me?’

Deku sighed, giving up. “I swear, I feel like it’s messing with me now…” said he, before shaking his head “So…what is going to happen now?”

As if to answer him, the screen automatically changed to show him his new, exclusive and unique skills that is befitting for him. The duo stared at them.

SKILLS

[Job-Exclusive Skill]

Heroes Rising                 Lv.1

MP: 0

Active Ally Empowerment: 0/30

Amplifies an ally physically and mentally significantly

when they’re with the Ninth.

Healing progress and mana will also gain a massive boost,

especially if said ally is at their last.

SKILLS

[Job-Exclusive Skill]

Go Beyond, Plus Ultra               Lv.1

MP: 0

All allies will gain an exceedingly massive boost

to their entire being.

All will be able to output at an absurd level, exceeding

their current level of strength unless and until

their objective is finished.

“A skill that lets you amplify the powers of your allies…” said Deku

“And a skill that that forces them to go beyond their limits.” completed All Might

Deku scratched his chin, before nodding and smiling. “These are going to be a lot more helpful.” said he.

“All of them are ally-based.” said All Might, a grin on his face “Well, this means you won’t be fighting alone. Isn’t that great?”

“Absolutely!” said Deku, pulling out his notebook from his utility belt “I can only imagine Joohee-chan and Jinho-kun getting stronger. This is really not what I was expecting as a ‘dark hero’, but I’ll take it. Oh! Does this mean that they can now keep up with higher ranked hunters? Do their skills and magic increase in potency too? Will Joohee-chan be able to heal multiple people without reaching her limit quicker? Will she be able to heal people faster? How much strength will her physical enhancement buff skill give to the allies? Does that mean that Mr. Song will be able to contend with someone of Taeshik’s level now? Oh! Doesn’t it mean Mr. Song’s newly awakened fire magic will be boosted?! He’s my ally too. Sure we don’t go to every raid nowadays, but he’s on friendly terms with me, like Joohee-chan!”

While the 24-year-old was racking his brain, bringing out possibilities of his new job-class and filling pages in his notebook, the lanky former world’s strongest hunter hero watched with a fond expression on his face, but inside, multiple thoughts bubbled up, though he hid them on his face beyond his fond expression.

All Might finally realized that the System worked differently for every user of the System. During his time as the Symbol of Peace, it was a different thing. All of those skills were focused fully on him, while his protégé’s are based around his allies. It made him realize the kind of hero Deku had the potential to be in his life and how much different that was from himself.

If the world has not one Symbol of Peace, but multiple pillars of hope that people can rely on for help, to whom people can turn to when faced with danger, multiple heroes who can reassure that the day will be saved by them, can bring hope in the most hopeless situation, bring smiles to everyone’s face and say with smiles on their faces that they are here…

….then that world is safer with multiple heroes than a world with just one hero and multiple hunters.