Chapter Text
Izuku blearily rubbed at his eyes, desperately trying to focus on the paper before him.
“You really should get some sleep,” Kei sternly told him, trying to snatch away the papers on the table. She had been helping create a study plan for him, for his UA Entrance Exams.
Whilst the written portion was far less important than the practical portion, UA was still one of the best Hero Schools out there. And there were plenty of people who would claim it was the best in the entire world. It required a certain degree of knowledge to get in and stay as a student.
Because Hero Agencies had all sorts of paperwork, and responsibilities, students, who would one day become apart of these agencies, or even found one themselves, needed a good deal of intellect.
Mathematics, language skills, history, as well as studying battle plans and formations, were all important parts of the written exams. How to calculate earnings, communications with the squad and possibly even foreign Heroes, the history of Villains and their biology, and knowing how to work in a group.
Even with Kei’s help, Izuku was struggling. He knew that Yaoyorozu would pass both portions without any sort of strain given her intelligence and newfound confidence. Izuku himself had no reservations about conquering the practical exam, but it had been quite some time since he’d studied this hard and for this long.
“The exam is tomorrow. I gotta get whatever study time I can manage. You should go get some rest, though. You don’t need to oversee me.”
Kei rolled her eyes. “I’m up till like 2 in the morning most days, Izu. Don’t worry about my sleep schedule. But you need to sleep. You’ll lose more than you’ll gain if you stay up all night trying to cram. Your brain needs to reset and properly arrange all the new information its been given.” She wasn’t fast enough or strong enough to grab the papers from her brother, so all she could do was stand up and sternly glare at him. “Go! To! Bed!”
Izuku sighed, knowing that she was right. “I’m scared I might not pass.”
“You’ll get a decent enough score to pass the written test,” She assured him.
“But decent isn’t enough to beat the other applicants…”
“Then you’ll just have to show off during the practical exam… without exposing the System, of course.” She smugly crossed her arms. “While you were trying to study, I researched all of UA’s criteria and some of their alumni. A lot of them had subpar written scores, but excellent practical exam portions. You’ve spent a lot more time than most others doing Raids, so the examiner will see that you’re more experienced and give you a higher score! You’ll get in, Izu. You just gotta get some rest for tomorrow.”
As Izuku’s will to remain awake faded, he let a yawn slip through his lips, followed by a tired chuckle. “Fine… I guess I’ll… get some…” His head fell back against the couch, his eyelids closing over the emerald-green irises.
Kei stared in disbelief that he could fall asleep so fast and whilst still upright. She turned around to fetch a blanket, but by the time she spun back, a dark shadowy figure was looming over her brother. She nearly shrieked, until she realized that it was just Igris.
Her brother had already shown off the stoic knight to his sister, who was interested in seeing his new powers. However, it still took a bit of getting used to.
Igris nimbly worked his hand between Izuku and the couch, scooping him up before tucking him away beneath the sheets of his bed.
It was quite the sight for Kei. Watching an S-Rank, one that could likely tear down a whole city and was once a Villain, tuck her brother into bed like it was a doting parent. And something about the Shadow made her feel strange.
Kei, for a moment, stumbled, caught by Igris moving faster than the eye could perceive. This time, she was unable to hold back the squeal of surprise.
The knight looked into her eyes, and she into his. Kei could’ve sworn that she’d seen those eyes before.
*******
“It’s a strange day when you’re nervous and I’m not,” Yaoyorozu remarked at Izuku’s trembling hands.
“I feel like I haven’t studied for an exam in years!” Izuku intensely whispered back.
The two were sitting in the matriculation hall with about two-hundred other aspiring applicants for the school. There were, in fact, other halls where even more applicants were being tested. And in one of them, sat Bakugo.
Izuku knew this because, after years of getting bullied by the A-Rank, he had come to recognize his aura. Before he had to be pretty close to his once-friend to sense it, but with the System boosting his abilities, he could tell Bakugo was nowhere in this room. Of course, that didn’t mean they wouldn’t meet during the practical exam. With a “Quirk,” a B-Rank, and a battlemage role, he was essentially where Bakugo was in terms of strength. It wasn’t unreasonable to consider he’d be placed in a Raiding party with him.
“Well you basically haven’t.” Yaoyorozu countered. “You said you were working crazy hard during your last years of high school so I’d wager you didn’t get a proper study session all that time.”
Izuku held his head in his hands and groaned. “Don’t go on without me please…” He begged, half-jokingly. There were significant doubts within his own mind about securing a passing grade, but he would’ve bet all the money he had that Yaoyorozu made it into the school no problem.
Yaoyorozu lightly patted him on the back, rubbing her hand in circles, as if comforting someone suffering from nausea.
“Is he okay?” A voice from the row in front of them asked. “If he is not, he should leave as to save other testers from distraction.” The boy, with a dark-blue mane of well-kept hair, and glasses that fit his face well, was not glaring or indicating aggression in any way, but Yaoyorozu could feel annoyance coming off of his body.
“That’s a rather callous stance to take,” She remarked as Izuku raised his head.
“I’m fine, just a little nervous,” Izuku quickly interjected, sensing a bit of animosity forming.
“It’s callous to care that others are not distracted during such an important moment?”
Yaoyorozu crossed her arms. “It’s callous to address the issue in such a way. You could’ve asked what the problem was and offer solutions before demanding he leaves the room.”
“Yaoyorozu it’s… really not that big of a-”
“I did check to see if he was okay. If a student of UA cannot handle simple nerves, then they should not be here to begin with.”
Yaoyorozu scoffed. “I’d wager he has more nerve than you.”
By now Izuku had become as white as a ghost. “Really you two, I’m fine, it’s not that big of a-”
“Quiet!” They both snapped, glaring the other down.
The boy squinted for a moment. “Do I recognize you?”
It was apparently Yaoyorozu’s turn to become nervous, because she quickly answered no with a shake of her head and sat down.
“No… I’m sure I recognize you… Though you’ve obviously grown, I remember seeing an article regarding the Yaoyorozu's heir. A girl with hair like yours… even your ponytail looks familiar.”
Izuku’s nerves of the test vanished, and were replaced by nerves of this boy. Igris could sense it. All of the Shadows could. Lurking within his darkness, they were ready to jump out and snap the boy’s neck.
Izuku himself was ready to throw down. The recognition seemed natural, but the boy’s confrontationalism was out of place. Very few people ever managed to actually make Yaoyorozu upset.
It wasn’t likely that this boy was working for Yaoyorozu’s parents, but it was strange that he recognized her so easily, especially considering that he was apparently using an older picture of her as the basis for it.
Suddenly, the boy’s eyes relaxed. He took a deep breath, held it for a few moments, and let it out. “If my brother were here to see me, I’m sure he’d be very disappointed. I didn’t realize I was making you both so uncomfortable,” He said, referring to their pale faces. “May we start anew? I am Tenya Iida.”
“Iida?!” Izuku practically shouted, his nerves vanishing as he recognized the family name. “Ingenium is your brother?”
Iida nodded solemnly. “He was…”
Izuku felt like he’d been hit by a shockwave. “Was…”
“A Hero Killer… is on the loose.”
“I’m… so sorry…”
Iida shrugged. “He will never be a Hero again, but he will live.”
Izuku let out a pent up breath. “Oh… I thought he had died.”
“No,” Iida shook his head. “My apologies, I meant that he was once Ingenium. He is no longer that. His spine…” The boy seemingly caught up with his thoughts and gave a light rub of his temples. “Sorry. I do not mean to bestow my hardships upon you. This has been a rather… odd introduction…” He held out his hand to shake, which Izuku took, introducing himself. But when he offered the same hand to Yaoyorozu, she merely gave her name.
“I will work to correct this awkward atmosphere I have created. Perhaps we will have time to become acquainted if we get put into the same class.”
“Yeah!” Izuku agreed, worried about Yaoyorozu’s shaking hands. Once more, the roles had reversed.
*******
Izuku felt like his soul had left his body. Meanwhile, Yaoyorozu looked refreshed by the mental challenge. Apparently, exams did wonders for her mental health. The pair just couldn’t seem to sync up.
“I… I did it, Kei… go on without me…” He muttered to his brilliant sister, prepared to let his soul slip into the afterlife.
“HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOO EVERYBOOOOOODY!”
Izuku sat bolt upright in his chair, his soul scared back into its fleshy encasing by the raucous blonde man who had dramatically entered the exam hall.
“WELCOME TO THE PRACTICAL PORTION OF YOUR ENTRANCE EXAM!”
Anyone who was already exhausted by the exam, like Izuku, immediately snapped to awareness.
The UA faculty member, who had hair taller than some toddlers, adjusted his volume now that he had the room’s attention. With their bleeding ears directed at him, praying for a softer voice the next time his mouth opened, they waited with bated breath.
“Let’s not waste any time!” He shouted, albeit at a slightly lower decibel. “I’m Present Mic, one of the faculty! You’ll be put into groups of ten based on your Rankings assigned by the Hero Safety Commission! Each group will be assigned a faculty member to observe! You will then be tasked with defeating a Gate that is one Rank lower than your group’s assigned Ranking for safety reasons!” The massive screen behind him lit up with a list of bullet points.
“Efficiency, tactics, cooperation, and individual power sets will be deterministic in setting your scores. Remember, being a Hero is more than just your own strength! Don’t think you can win a place at UA by charging head-first into the Gate to claim more points! This is not a game! It’s life or death, and the citizens of Japan depend on you to realize it as such and work together!” The man deftly glanced at a notecard that was hidden in the sleeve of his leather jacket. Unfortunately for him, he fumbled, accidentally dropping the car, which he was forced to pick up to skim over. “Looks like that’s all folks! As you leave, your ID will be scanned and you’ll receive a group number! Good luck and good hunting to you all!”
“Now this is something I can do,” Izuku said, standing along with the rest of the room.
“It’d be nice if we got placed together,” Yaoyorozu said hopefully. However, by this point in time, she was essentially a high A-Rank, if not an S-Rank. With her evolved Quirk, and baseline Awakened power, she was stronger than Izuku without his Shadows.
Izuku didn’t mention this to her, instead nodding in agreement.
When they reached the exit to the hall, there were several men and women ready with scanners and clip-on tags so that each group could identify each other.
“It looks like you’ll be in group… B-5,” The lady told Izuku, handing him back his ID.
“A-7.” Yaoyorozu regrettably reported to him as they marched outside. They could see several faculty members holding up signs with their group numbers on them.
Izuku clicked his tongue in annoyance. It wasn’t that he needed Yaoyorozu for a Raid, it was simply the fact that they had worked together already. They knew what the other was capable of, and they knew each other's secrets. It was just convenient.
“Well then, I guess we’ll just have to do our best here, so that we get to work together at UA,” Izuku said, putting on a smile for his partner.
She returned it. “Meet up at that cafe by your place when we’re done?”
Izuku nodded. “See ya there!”
The two separated, and Izuku walked over to the faculty member holding up B-5.
She was a rather curvaceous woman with long dark hair, and bright sky-blue eyes. Izuku recognized her immediately. She was one of the most recognizable Heroes in Japan. Not because she was high on the Hero Rankings, but because she was frequently shown on TV in her… promiscuous outfit.
“The R-Rated Hero: Midnight!” Izuku’s love of heroes saw past the dominatrix-styled body armor she wore and instead was focusing on her unique Quirk.
Most Quirks tended to be one of two things. Either they outright hurt or killed Villains, or they assisted their party members. Very few Quirks were actually non-lethal, like the sleep-inducing gas that Midnight could exude from her bare skin.
Even though the woman wore armor like most Pro-Heroes, there were several parts of it that could be torn away to expose her skin. And really, the armor was thinner than most. It was clear the woman wanted to show off her sexual nature.
“Izuku Midoriya,” Midnight slurred out through honey-coated words. “I’ve heard quite a bit about you from Nejire-Chan. She seems quite interested in you.”
Izuku couldn’t help the furious red blush that crossed his face. The woman was basically right up against him, whispering into his ear. Thankfully, there was someone to come to his rescue by redirecting Midnight.
“Hey! How about giving the rest of us some love!”
The boy, around Izuku’s age and height, had shock-blonde hair, with a streak of black running through it in the shape of a lightning bolt.
“Oh? Such vigor! Youth is such a turn on!”
As she stepped away, Izuku was finally allowed to let out a breath.
“She’s weird.”
Izuku yipped, jumping away from the voice that appeared beside him. He had been so distracted by Midnight that he hadn’t noticed the girl approaching.
Just a little shorter than him, with black hair, black eyes, and a face that betrayed no emotion. She was the epitome of cold beauty.
“Uhhh… yeah, she is…” Izuku agreed.
“I’m Yui Kodai.” She said, bowing, still completely blank faced.
Izuku returned the bow, introducing himself as well.
“Quite the rowdy bunch we got here!” Another girl, Setsuna Tokage, shouted, joining the fray.
“It’s quite the chaotic day isn’t it?” Iida said, appearing in front of Izuku. “I suppose we’ll be working together.”
In the end, Izuku’s team, made up of nine others, included, Yui Kodai, Setsuna Tokage, Tenya Iida, Itsuka Kendo, Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, Kyoka Jiro, Ejiro Kirishima, Ochaco Uraraka, and Denki Kaminari, the boy with blonde hair who had saved him from Midnight.
Izuku sighed in relief that Bakugo wasn’t in his raiding group. The two of them definitely would’ve bashed heads during the Entrance Exam and screwed something up along the way.
“Since our sexy party is rated at a low A-Rank in total, we’ll be handling a low B-Rank Gate Raid,” Midnight announced, leading the group onto a nearby bus. “I will not be interfering unless your life is in danger. You cannot ask me for tips on clearing the dungeon, or fighting its Villains. In other words, pretend I’m not there!” She opened a compartment at the back of the bus, revealing armor and weapons, stored before the exams had begun.
“In that case,” Iida began, “We should get a head start while we still have a chance. I am a front row DPS with a speed-enhancing Quirk.” Iida rolled up his pants to attach some greaves to his legs. They had holes cut out in the back to allow for strange muffler-looking objects to peek through. Apparently Iida’s Quirk basically put engines in his legs.
““Tank!”” Both Kirishima and Tetsutetsu shouted out in unison, activating their Quirks at the same time. Kirishima’s skin became like rock, and Tetsutetsu’s like steel.
Jiro and Setsuna were both scouts, and Uraraka was a support type. Which left Izuku, Kaminari, Kendo, and Iida as the DPSs.
Yui herself said that she was a special case who could play DPS or support, so they decided that they would play it by ear with her role.
As soon as they began their discussion, Izuku noticed Midnight scribbling something down on a clipboard. It was their scoring sheet.
“Thank god for Iida. Apparently we got some early points.”
“No armor?” Iida asked Izuku before squinting, “Do you even have a weapon?”
Thankfully, the crystalline armor that Izuku was wearing was invisible to the naked eye, whilst still protecting him and giving him its benefits.
Izuku pulled back his sleeves, revealing the razor sharp claws of his Crystal Crusher gauntlets. “No armor, but I do have my weapons.”
Iida was taken aback. “Where did those come from?”
Izuku feigned ignorance. “From the storage unit on the bus.”
“Oh… I see… Any special abilities we should know about?”
“Some basic elemental control. It’s my Quirk.”
“That should come in handy…”
Whilst everyone else was decked out in expensive armor and holding powerful magical weapons, Izuku had nothing more than his hoodie and gauntlets. He looked extensively out of place. Out of place aside from Uraraka, who had little more than a few artifacts to enhance her magic recovery and effectiveness. Even then, they looked extremely low-grade. For once, Izuku wasn’t the least equipped in a party.
For someone like Iida, or Izuku, armor was less of a concern, not only did they have tanks on the front lines, but they were incredibly quick. Izuku had armor of course, but it was part of the System. It was as durable as any other armor, but it was even lighter than most armors.
Even Yui and Jiro had armor on, as well as Kaminari, who was a ranged DPS. And Setsuna, had interlocking scale armor, which was lacking defense, but according to her, her Quirk allowed her to dodge attacks easily or even regenerate.
Uraraka seemingly had nothing close to that. Her Quirk could make things weightless, and she had some basic healing magic, but that was it. In the event of a surprise attack, or a Villain getting through the frontlines, she was toast.
So Izuku, whilst the others were distracted, opened his store page. They couldn’t see it obviously, but he wanted to make sure they didn’t see him scrolling through, muttering to the open air.
“Although, I suppose I mutter to myself regardless of the System… Whatever.”
Izuku’s balance stood at: 1,233,984 gold pieces. It sounded like a lot, but it was barely enough to afford a B-Rank item. He debated on getting a lower Ranked item, but realized that it would be a horrible thing to give Uraraka something weaker and regret it.
So spending nearly all of his gold, he retrieved a B-Rank item from the shop, Aeic’s Cloak.
The cloak was a silvery-white, made up of metal strands that could harden at the point of an attack, offering excellent protection despite being no heavier than a standard leather cloak. It also gave a boost to Mana Recovery.
Izuku had spent a lot of his life being poor. He knew the signs. An older phone, clothing that didn’t fit perfectly, and of course, her lacking defenses. And these days, he had a little extra to spare.
“Here, a support role needs something to protect them,” Izuku said, standing to hand the cloak to the girl. Her wide eyes and bob-cut hair gave her a very innocent appearance, which only grew when she recognized what Izuku was offering her.
“N-No I can’t take that… that’s way too expensive I can’t-”
Iida rested a hand on her shoulder. “He clearly brought something of this sort along in case someone else needed it. It does not fit the fighting style he has described to us. You should take it.”
Izuku gave Iida a nod of thanks. “There’s more to this guy than I thought…”
“W-Well if you’re sure.”
Izuku nodded. “Totally sure! I’ve heard too many stories of supports getting attacked in the back row.”
“Ambushes like that are not necessarily common, but not rare either,” Iida chimed in. “It is important that the frontline knows that their supports can take care of themselves, or buy time. Healers are incredibly important.”
With the two boys giving their opinions, Uraraka was finally convinced to take the cloak from Izuku. “Wow, it's so light.”
Izuku explained its abilities, and he could tell Uraraka wanted to hand it back, fearing it was too valuable. “Its purpose is to be damaged.”
“Huh?” She looked up in confusion at his sudden statement.
“Don’t try to keep it from getting damaged. Prioritize yourself over it. It's meant to be slashed at and torn up. I know you wanna preserve it because you think it’s expensive, but if you do so, you’ll be forgoing its only meaning in life.” Izuku was worried that if she saw an arrow flying for her, she might try to keep the cloak safe before she herself was concerned with her own safety.
Uraraka clutched the light armor tightly in her hands, realizing that if she didn’t truly use it, as Izuku said, then she’d be shunning the meaning of his generosity. And with that, she pulled it over herself.
In some ways, it was better than other armors. Not only did it alone cover most of her body, but it allowed for a lot more flexibility and movement.
“I’ll make sure it won’t go to waste.”
Izuku cringed inwardly at that, an image of her charging into a monster to make use of the cloak. “Don’t… Don’t try to get hurt, okay?”
“Of course!”
“We’re here!” Midnight announced, pulling up to the alleyway that separated two office buildings. In that gap, floated a swirling blue Gate of energy, surrounded by Safety Commission Agents.
“This is an exam, but remember, it is life or death,” She said, echoing Present Mic’s words. “We haven’t had a student death during the exam in over 15 years, but that doesn’t mean I’ll be able to save you from anything. Take this seriously.”
They all nodded, some, like Izuku, who recognized the gravity of her words, with solemn faces. Others, like Kaminari, nodded with cocky grins.
“Then let’s begin.”
She marched out of the bus, gathering a… few glances from the pedestrians on the sidewalk and the Hero Safety Agents. Both of the agents were female, but that clearly didn’t matter, because they were trying as hard as anyone else not to stare at her body.
Midnight quickly flashed her ID badge, and thankfully nothing else, at the agents and the students did the same. Without another word, they were let through and were allowed to gather around the portal.
““I’ll go first!”” Kirishima and Tetsutetsu said, overlapping their voices.
Kendo, a redhead wearing some sort of martial-artist armor, crossed her arms. “Do we really need to be careful about who goes in first.”
“I saw an entire Raid party get cut up by a single trap. I only survived because I was the last person inside,” Izuku explained. It wasn’t a fair comparison, as that Gate was rather… special. Regardless, it was important to take every last action seriously when it came to Raiding.
Iida nodded. “Activate your Quirks and go in. We’ll wait a few seconds and if you’re not back, we’ll follow.”
The two tanks did exactly that, marching through with all the confidence of All Might himself.
Iida silently counted for a few seconds before following. Izuku was right behind him.
“Aw man, I hate the snow!” Tetsutetsu shouted just as Izuku came through.
The surroundings, unlike most Gates, were actually quite beautiful.
The Gate placed them in a large snowy clearing, surrounded by gigantic, majestic trees covered in a layer of white. If it hadn’t been snowing so hard, it would’ve been the most inviting Dungeon layout Izuku had ever seen.
“Oh I love the cold,” Midnight remarked. “It does wonders for my complexion.” She shivered as the harsh weather pierced her rather thin coverings. But that only seemed to invigorate her.
Izuku was worried about her getting frostbite, but Awakened humans had an easier time in difficult environments, so she’d probably be okay.
“This is really open for a Dungeon isn’t it?” Uraraka asked.
“Yeah, it’s not often you get a Gate that doesn’t have clear paths,” Izuku responded. “They’re usually a maze of sorts though, so it’s not all that different from an open space. No clear direction.”
“So then which way should we-“
A crystalline cracking sound, like water freezing, stopped Kirishima in his tracks. But it didn’t come from the forest, it came from behind them.
Just as Jiro, the last person through the Gate, came through into the forest, the rift in reality froze in air. The energy froze into a crystal shape, the exit becoming a solid form.
“What-“
Izuku rushed past his team, slamming his gauntlets against the Gate with all his might. The shockwave echoed out, buffeting against Jiro. But the wall didn’t budge.
“The hell?!” She shouted.
“I’d rather fail than not try it at all,” He said, scowling at the Gate.
“What?! What’s going on?!” Kendo asked, her ponytail whipping around as she looked for an answer, freezing when she caught sight of Midnight’s pale face.
“It’s a Recursive Gate,” Iida answered. “Not only will it keep us from leaving, but it means that this isn’t the true Dungeon.”
“W-What?”
“After we defeat the boss in this Dungeon, another Gate will appear. Only after we clear that Gate as well can we leave.” Izuku silently directed his thoughts at Igris, hiding in his shadow, asking if he could break through the Gate. He could feel the knight shake his head.
“C-Can’t we just wait it out? Like a Red Gate?” Uraraka asked, wrapping her new cloak tighter around herself.
Midnight shook her head. “The Gate will only open if we defeat both Bosses.”
“Or if we all die,” Yui acknowledged, still apathetic, even in the face of such odds.”
“Well we can clear two low B-Rank Gates right? With enough time-“
“We’re not dealing with B-Ranks anymore.” Izuku said. “This Gate is an A-Rank at least. I can feel it. But the second Gate… it could be even stronger.”
“What rotten luck…” Izuku thought to himself, “I’ll probably have to expose the Shadows to keep everyone alive. For now, they’ll be an emergency backup. If the Villains in this Gate are intelligent I don’t want them knowing my strength so early on.” He ordered the Shadows to stand ready. If they needed to expose themselves to save someone’s life, then they had permission to act on their own volition.
“Dammit…” Midnight clenched her jaw. “Okay… this is no longer an exam. I’ll take the lead, don’t-“ She froze up, her instincts reacting to something coming from the depths of the foliage.
Izuku and Iida blurred through the air, their arms and legs, respectively, lunging to sweep the arrows of ice away from their allies.
Izuku came to a stop right in front of Midnight, his gauntlet crushing an arrow just moments away from piercing her skull.
Iida meanwhile, fell to the ground, one of his legs run through by the projectile. He had just narrowly kept Kaminari’s heart safe at his own expense.
Kirishima rushed to his defense, prepared for a second volley, whilst others gathered behind Tetsutetsu. But the second volley didn’t hit home, because Izuku swept his hand in front of the group, creating a thin sheet of ice with his Omni-Element Gem. It wasn’t much cover, in fact, the arrows could’ve pierced it entirely. Then Yui stepped in.
Pressing her hands against the thin sheet, she activated her Quirk, enlarging it until it was several feet thick. Just in time for arrows to THUNK into it and lodge in place.
“Nice!” Kaminari commented, crouching over Iida, his hands crackling with electricity, ready to defend him if needed.
Iida himself was gripping the shaft of the arrow, snapping it in half and pulling out the arrowtip that was peeking out the other end of his flesh. As soon as he did so, muffling pained groans, Uraraka got to work healing it with her Awakened powers.
“Alright let's…” Setsuna looked around in confusion. “Hey where’d Midoriya go?”
[Skill: Stealth has been activated.]
Izuku blurred across the snowy terrain, charging headfirst into the trees where the arrows had come from, where his Sense Stat told him the enemies were waiting.
Once there, he could see pale-blue figures leaping from branch to branch, moving to get a better angle on the rest of Izuku’s party.
“Not a chance,” He muttered, predicting the lead figure’s next jump.
Tensing his legs, he leapt straight up, disabling Stealth as he did so. He didn’t want to unnecessarily spend Mana after all. At the apex of his jump, he came face-to-face with their attackers, a group of Ice Elves.
Izuku’s hand snapped out, the rigid crystalline gauntlets wrapping around the lead archer’s throat. Suddenly weighed down, the elf came crashing to the snow floor alongside Izuku. Or at least, he would’ve if Izuku hadn’t been holding him up still.
The elf dropped his bow, scrabbling at his throat, trying to pry away Izuku’s grasp.
“What’s your name? Why are you attacking us?
“Not… worth… the breath… you… breathe!” He strained out, pure malice in his eyes.
“Fine,” Izuku said, snapping the elf’s neck with a sickening CRACK!
[You have Leveled-Up!]
“I can’t afford to be too nice here,” He sighed, scooping up the ice arrows from the dead elf’s quiver. “It’s not just my own life on the line anymore.” This was a seriously dangerous Gate. If they died, it would break open instantly, spilling into the streets and killing an untold number of innocents. Even if there were Heroes ready on the other side, they might not be ready. Izuku wasn’t just protecting his team, but those beyond the boundaries of this pocket dimension.
He flicked his wrists, sending the dozen or so arrows scattering through the branches, instantly killing 5 of the remaining 12 archers, and wounding a further 3.
[You have Leveled-Up!]
[You have Leveled-Up!]
[You have Leveled-Up!]
With only 4 of the archers remaining at full strength, with the other 3 barely able to even draw their bows, they attempted to flee. And Izuku, for a moment, considered letting them. Their fear was something he’d seen many times before, reflected on his own face, or that of Yaoyorozu’s.
“Sorry…” He muttered, raising his right hand and snapping his fingers.
The 7 fleeing archers burst into flames. Not nearly enough to kill them. In fact, flames so weak probably didn’t even hurt them, but as creatures of such a domain, fire was their greatest fear. It sent them tumbling from the tree branches in a panic, batting at their clothes and skin in a panic as the surrounding snow melted.
Izuku could’ve incinerated them instantly, however, he was fearful of putting too much power into any one attack. With his new armor bonuses, he was capable of a lot more, for sure. But this was a Dungeon inside of a Dungeon, it was important to conserve resources wherever possible. This was a battle of endurance.
[You have Leveled-Up!]
[You have Leveled-Up!]
[You have acquired item: Everfrost Bow.]
The remaining 7 elves were too busy putting out their flames to put up a fight, and Izuku easily skewered them with the claws at the end of his gauntlets. He now had their souls, and judging by the Shadow Save counter, he could raise more undead servants. It seemed to be tied to his Level, possibly his Intelligence, since that was his magical Stat.
He now had 50 slots open, with only 30 of them being taken. He could fill a good portion of those with the 13 Ice Elf Archers he had taken, but he wasn’t sure if commanding them to Arise could be done in any manner that wasn’t dramatic. He didn’t want masses of darkness swirling about like in the Job Change Dungeon, it was just too risky.
Izuku let out a heavy breath. He hadn’t exerted all that much energy, but going from relaxed to battle-ready got his blood pumping like nothing else. However, his Sense Stat told him that nothing else was nearby. He stashed the new weapon in his Inventory, promising to look at it later as he walked back into the clearing, where his party was just beginning to recover.
It wasn’t that they were slow, it was just that Izuku was fast. Before Iida, the only one to rival Izuku’s speed, had been healed, the battle was over.
“Hey! You can’t just run off like that without giving us a heads-up!” Kendo shouted at him as he strolled back into the cover of the ice wall.
Izuku winced, realizing that he hadn’t said a single thing before vanishing. He was still getting used to working with others. In the past he’d either been a worthless weakling to be ignored or left behind, or he’d been strong enough to handle everything himself. Yaoyorozu was the first time he’d really, truly, worked with someone.
“S-Sorry. Iida was hurt and I didn’t want to give the archers the time to reposition themselves.”
Kendo’s eyebrow shot up. “You… killed them already?”
“All 13 of them. I didn’t sense anything else.”
“Aw man! We didn’t even get to do anything!” Kaminari bemoaned.
“I’m sure we’ll all get our chance,” Iida remarked, standing once more on his healed leg.
“There’s a few groups of enemies a couple of kilometers out,” Jiro said, her palm against the snowy terrain. Her Quirk allowed her more subtle control of sonic based magics, making her an excellent source of information. “Otherwise, he’s right, there’s nothing else in the woods.”
“You work quick,” Midnight remarked with a light smile. The arrow had gotten remarkably close to her forehead, but she seemed back to normal now that the revelation of a Recursive Gate had worn off. “None of you children signed up for this, so I understand if-”
“No offense Miss Midnight,” Kirishima interrupted.
“But we actually did sign up for this,” Tetsutetsu finished.
“Whether it was now or in the future, we knew we were putting our lives on the line,” Kendo added.
“Besides, now more than ever, everyone needs to be working in unison,” Their unofficial team leader, Iida, said.
Midnight gave a light moan of excitement. “Ah, such tenacity makes me feel warm even in all of this cold!”
“You’re still weird though,” Yui remarked.
Izuku grinned in spite of the situation. After all of those years of Raiding with parties, this was his first time feeling like he was actually part of one. “You said there were several groups of enemies?” He asked Jiro, to which she nodded. “Then let’s go hunting.”
*******
Izuku Midoriya:
Level: 56
Strength: 130 (+5)
Vitality: 120 (+25)
Agility: 195 (+45)
Intelligence: 117 (+5)
Sense: 102 (+25)
Available Points: 0
[Mana: 2402/2902]
[HP: 5712/5712]