Authors note:
Speaking: "….."
Thinking: '…..'
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„Let's go Kaachan the dungeon is waiting for
us" Izuku said grabbing Katsukis arm dragging him along.
Hey, let go of my hand, Izuku. I can run on my own, I don't need your help for it," the silver-haired boy said, freeing his hand from his best friend's grip and running alongside him with excitement on his face.
"Now that we have our new gear, mapping should be a breeze. Those damned monsters can't do shit now," Katsuki said, unsheathing his sword and cutting the air with it to illustrate his point.
"You're right, now we'll surely be able to find the boss room today," the green-haired swordsman concluded, opening his map to locate the nearest teleport point, then leading the way toward it.
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A couple of hours later
Dungeon {Floor 1}
"So, if I'm reading the map right, we should have most of the dungeon mapped out. The only place we haven't been yet is the passage straight ahead. C'mon, Kacchan, I know how much you like fighting monsters, but we still have quite a way to go," Izuku said to his silver-haired friend, who was in the middle of fighting a goblin monster. Well, "fighting" is an overstatement—he was just blocking all of its strikes with his greatsword without breaking a sweat.
"Alright, I guess I'll finish things on my end as well. Die, you damn monster!" he exclaimed, knocking the goblin's short sword away, then pulling his sword back, making it glow red before yelling, "Stone Crusher!" and splitting the monster in half vertically.
"You know, you could have just slashed it normally; there was no need to use a sword skill like that," Izuku said with a sigh, arms crossed.
"I don't want to hear that from you after you basically turned all the goblins in the last corridor into sushi," the crimson-eyed boy said, sheathing his blade while looking at his best friend, awaiting a response.
"Touche," Izuku said, holding his hands up in defeat. "Now, let's go. We still have some monsters to beat, and I'd like to find the boss room today if possible," the green-eyed swordsman added, placing his hands on his hips.
Both boys began walking toward the corridor they hadn't explored yet, their hands resting on the hilts of their swords, ready to fight monsters at any moment. Luckily, the dungeon had torches on the walls, so they could easily detect any monsters coming their way.
Just as they were about to turn a corner in the seemingly castle-like structure of the dungeon, they saw a new monster they hadn't encountered before—a heavily armed hobgoblin wielding a spear. Until now, the only monsters they had fought were normal goblins and, on occasion, hobgoblins.
"Ruin Kobold Sentinel Lancer, huh? And five of them at once. Be careful, Kacchan—we don't know how strong they are yet. You go in and try to knock them off balance, then I'll decapitate them, okay?" Izuku said, gripping the hilt of his sword tightly.
"Don't think you can order me around like that, but I was about to suggest the same thing, so let's go beat 'em," the silver-haired boy said, pouting at first but getting excited afterward.
"Well, if you say so. Let's go beat 'em," Izuku replied with an anticipatory smile on his face.
Taking advantage of the element of surprise, Katsuki jumped onto the wall, propelling himself toward the enemies, his sword glowing a bright blue at his side, ready to strike. Before the monsters even had a chance to get into their stances, the silver-haired boy was already in the middle of their circle formation, yelling, "Whirlpool Slash!" as he made a 360-degree spin with his sword, knocking the spears out of four of their hands. "Izuku, you're up!"
We then see Izuku in a slightly crouched position, one hand gripping his sword in reverse while the other is held out in front. "On it, Kacchan! Dust Whirlwind Cutter, fivefold!" he yelled, dashing forward at great speed, his sword held backward and glowing bright green. With four well-placed slashes, he decapitated four of the five Ruin Kobold Sentinels, instantly killing them, and then clashed with the spear of the fifth.
"This one is quite persistent," Izuku said, exchanging a couple of blows with the monster before swiping its feet out from under it, leaving it open. "Kacchan, finish it!"
"Alright, now! Vertical Stone Splitter!" Katsuki yelled, making a powerful slash at the monster, cutting through its armor and severely wounding it. He then walked up to the half-dead creature and stabbed it in the heart, killing it.
"Tough bastards, gotta say. Not dying after a direct hit like that is crazy," Katsuki remarked, watching the corpse dissipate into small blue triangles as he swung the blood off his blade and then sheathed it.
"Yeah, one even blocked our combo attack. We can't take these things lightly," Izuku concluded, wiping the blood from his sword before sheathing it on his lower back.
"They did drop some impressive gear, though. Bummer it's locked until level 10, so we can't use it yet," Katsuki noted, looking at the holographic screen in front of him, showing the loot and XP he had gained.
After they finished going over the items they received, they continued their journey through the dungeon's lonely corridors, stopping at a small wooden door at the end of the tunnel.
"What, you scared? Just open the damn door," Katsuki said, moving toward it and intending to kick it open.
"Wait, Kacchan, it could be a trap!" Izuku yelled, but his friend had already opened the door and entered the large room. Nothing happened.
"See? Nothing to be concerned about. I'm fine, and look—it's the room before the boss. There's the large door, and there's the teleportation point," Katsuki said, pointing to the floor in the middle of the room before moving to activate it.
"Huh, guess I was worried about nothing," Izuku said, following Katsuki into the room. Suddenly, they heard the string of a bow being drawn, and Izuku looked up to see a Ruin Kobold Sentinel Archer aiming at the teleport point, hidden on the roof of the room, and releasing the arrow.
"Kacchan, watch out! It's a trap!" Izuku yelled, running toward his friend and pushing him out of the way. His left arm was hit by the arrow, but he kept his composure, pulling his sword back and throwing it straight at the kobold, piercing through its head and killing it.
With his health now in the yellow zone, Izuku fell onto his back, holding the arrow, then ripping it out of his arm and tossing it aside.
"Izuku, you alright? Just a moment, I'll get a healing potion," Katsuki said, quietly opening his inventory to grab one. "Here, drink up. It'll get your HP back up," the crimson-eyed swordsman said, helping Izuku drink the fluid.
"Thanks, Kacchan, I appreciate it," Izuku said after the potion took effect, restoring his health and closing the wound.
"You should have let the arrow hit me. I have more HP, so it would have been fine," Katsuki said, crossing his arms.
"Well, I didn't die, so it's fine. Besides, what kind of hero would let his best friend get hit by an arrow?" Izuku stated, walking over to the disappearing kobold corpse and retrieving his sword.
"You're a lost cause. Just try not to die the next time you pull something suicidal," Katsuki sighed, finally activating the teleportation point and looking at the door to the boss room.
"Alright, I'll be careful. But, who was the one who walked into the trap?" Izuku teased, grinning as he stepped onto the teleport point, where Katsuki was waiting with a scowl on his face. "Teleport, Wildemaw," Izuku said, teleporting both of them to the village where they were currently staying.
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Katsuki POV
Wildemaw {Floor 1}
"It's gotten pretty late already, it's dark outside. I think we still have some pre-made spaghetti in the fridge. Is that good for you, Kaachan?" Izuku said, opening the front door to the two-story house they're renting and walking in.
"Yeah, it's fine by me," Katsuki answered, following his green-haired friend inside before unequipping his armor and putting his sword in his inventory. "Just yell once you're done with it. I'll be upstairs," the crimson-eyed teen stated, heading up the stairs to his room and closing the door behind him.
Laying on his bed, he thought ‚ Dammit, why the hell am I so weak? Izuku could have died just now, even if it would've only banned him for 6 months. I need to get stronger. I can't rely on him forever. After we defeat that boss tomorrow, I'll up my training. I can't let him leave me in the dust' he thought, throwing his pillow against the wall.
He stood up from his bed and went to pick up the pillow he had just thrown, only to hear Izuku call for him that dinner was ready. He picked up the pillow, tossed it back on the bed, and headed downstairs, saying in a slightly annoyed tone, "Coming."
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Dungeon {Floor 1}
"So, you ready to take on our first boss, Kaachan?" Izuku asked with a confident smile, looking at his best friend for an answer.
"Hell yeah, I am! We're gonna pulverize the boss and advance to the second floor," Katsuki said, brimming with confidence as he unsheathed his sword.
"Well then, let's go. We've got enough potions and are fully equipped and ready," the green-haired teen stated, pushing the giant double doors open. They revealed a large, dark, castle-like room with a throne at the back, where a large red-skinned creature was sitting.
As soon as both boys stepped into the room, the boss's eyes started glowing bright red, and the entire room lit up in a flurry of colors, as if a prism had scattered across the castle hall. The boss then stood up, revealing its name to its challengers.
"Ilfang the Kobold Lord. He looks tough to beat, but he's pretty big, so he'll have many openings," Izuku deduced, scanning the room for any traps that might be in play. But what caught him off guard was when the boss picked up his axe and shield, then jumped into the middle of the room where three Ruin Kobold Sentinel guards spawned.
"So we have to fight the boss and his minions at the same time? Well, that'll be a first, but we're still gonna win," Katsuki said confidently, intending to charge the boss before being stopped by Izuku.
"Wait, Kaachan. Look, he's got four health bars. We can't charge in recklessly, or we'll just die here," the green-haired teen said seriously, looking at his best friend.
"You're right. We can't take him lightly. So let's do this. I think I've got a good idea about how to beat him," Katsuki said, now stoic, holding his sword in a defensive position in front of him.
"Let's hear it, Kaachan," Izuku said, leaning in closer.
"So first, we'll do... then... and in the end, we'll..." the silver-haired teen said, outlining his plan.
"All right, it's worth a shot. Let's do it," Izuku said before charging into battle with his best friend right by his side.