It's been a week since he's returned to the Lands Between, and all Izuku could say was Limgrave definitely did change after he had wiped Godrick off the face of the earth.
After they had camped for the night the day Izuku had finished his ritual, the two set off back into the main continent via the tunnel they had passed through the day before, still cleared of any living being, most specifically, demi-humans.
From there, they made their way back to Liurnia – Izuku wanting to enter the academy and take the second Great Rune – and this time, instead of rushing like they did when they were on their way to the Church of Dragon Communion, they took their sweet time, enjoying the sights, watching the scenery.
And of course, they couldn't forget looting and plundering all who dared fight them, ranging from bandits that dressed as Godrick's soldiers, to literal Godrick's soldiers that were somehow still roaming the plains. Not that it made it any easier for them, seeing as most of the denizens that resided in Limgrave had a hate boner for them.
They couldn't cross borders either, with Raya Lucaria soldiers ensuring that they couldn't pass through the only remaining path into the lake, and soldiers from Caelid, that Izuku still didn't know the name of. Effectively, they were trapped in an endless loop of reviving, taking their gear back from the bandits that managed to kill them, and then dying to the bandits they had killed. Only this time, they would be left gearless because of Izuku and Katsuki taking them for themselves.
Actually, scratch that. Izuku would just sell the gear for extra runes to some nomadic merchants, and no doubt, they would gladly sell them back to the soldiers in need of equipment. As for why they wouldn't rob them instead, the Nomadic Merchants connections are a scary thing to have as an enemy.
Day after day, Katsuki got used to the attacking bandits/soldiers. Oh, for sure he was still uncomfortable with killing, but the knowledge that those he killed would come back anyway made him a bit relieved. Dozens had already fallen to his explosions, causing Izuku to be somewhat peeved because the gear he got from those he downed were most likely dented or crumbling from the impacts.
The haggling with the Nomadic Merchants they encountered was a sight to behold.
There was also the issue of how they were going back to Liurnia. They didn't want to take the same route, and Izuku, in his infinite wisdom, decided to cut a path through one of the most dangerous areas he had ever come across during his travels.
Stormveil Castle.
At first, Katsuki didn't want to go through the "big-ass castle". But after a bit of persuading from Izuku about how most of the dangers had already passed, the ash blond was more acceptable with the thought.
Plus, a big-ass castle is a big-ass castle. What kind of male teen wouldn't want to go through one of them in his lifetime?
The moment they stepped into the castle, Katsuki was about to head through the front gate, before Izuku managed to yank him by the scruff and pull him away from a skewery death. Giant bolts lodged itself into the concrete, all of which looked terribly abused from the constant barrage from above whenever an intruder came along.
A bit of a shock that they were still operational, seeing as how bandits roamed about wearing the armor of their brethren.
Taking the path that Gostoc had told him would be a better alternative than the front gate, both Izuku and Katsuki sneaked in. Which failed the moment eagles tried to bite their heads off. The noise alerted those inside, and then the melee started.
It was fun sending some of the soldiers hurtling towards their deaths by tossing them off the cliff, but that meant less loot. Izuku may be strong, but gravity will forever be his mortal enemy. At least, until he was strong enough to fall at terminal velocity and land with nary a scratch.
It took them about three days to explore the entire castle, all of which Izuku had already been through. He just thought it would be funny to guide Katsuki and show him all the spots where he'd died horribly. At first he was confused, then realization dawned upon him that Izuku was the same as the others, always reviving, never dying.
It looked like the ash blond had an epiphany as to why Izuku acted like he did. And now, he mostly… well, respected wasn't the right word… More like acknowledged, that Izuku was a type of person he wouldn't want to mess with. When he kicked his ass during their student-teacher moments, it was a sign. What he showed him just cemented it.
Anyway, after going through the entire castle, as well as showing the corpse of one Godrick the Grafted, they exited through the passageway behind the throne room, leading them directly into Liurnia.
Passing by the church and saying hi to Thops before continuing, they fought their way through the camp that was populated by more soldiers loyal to Raya Lucaria. Of course, Izuku didn't forget to loot them afterwards,making sure to sell them to the Nomadic Merchant that was just by the lakeshore.
They camped with the merchant for the night, Katsuki sharing a recipe or two with him at the helm of cooking. Said merchant was quite grateful for the tasteful dinner, and gave… sold them a few items with a discount as his gratitude. Katsuki, and Izuku himself for that matter, were thrilled to have comfortable sleeping rolls to use, as opposed to those they had bought before that was killer on the back.
The morning came and they bid their goodbyes, Izuku giving him a bit of runes on the side because the merchant looked like he could use them more than he could. It was the least he could do for selling him the sleeping rolls that felt like heaven. Said that he got them from another merchant that managed to get them from Raya Lucaria.
The lake was the same as ever, and they also had the displeasure of fighting giant lobsters. At least they got to eat some tasty seafood that were expensive back in Japan. Plus, they were the size of a small truck, so the proportions were huge.
They also managed to see that one guy who had given(sold) Rya's Necklace to Izuku before returning it to its rightful owner, after going through a dense forest full of those shrieking horrors that Izuku still failed to wrap his head around. Asshole was a damned thief, but at least his food was good. Prawn was on the menu that day, and the two of them hadn't regretted it a single bit. Sure, it might have cost a lump sum of runes, but truthfully, Izuku could just make it back whenever some asshole decided to use him as shooting practice.
The following day, they came across the flooded town that was situated around the academy, and Torrent had to be careful not to sink them into its depths. The whole region was already flooded, but at least there were some areas where the water was just knee deep.
On their way to the academy by hopping over roofs, Izuku managed to spot a familiar man with a heavily decorated piece of armor. Said man was standing over a corpse of a young looking woman, obviously grieving her death.
Curiosity getting the better of him, Izuku tried to ask Diallos what had happened, and all he got from him was that it was all the recusants' faults, not that he was familiar with them. He'd have to ask Melina about that for later. With nothing to add, he just left Diallos to grieve, and as they left, Katsuki asked why they weren't helping them.
"Because I have no idea how to help him."
That was Izuku's simple answer. He didn't know what recusants were, nor did he know where to start to find them. Leaving it at that, they saw the steps leading up the unflooded section of the town, guarded by soldiers garbed with Raya Lucaria symbols.
As per usual, the moment they saw them approached, they attacked, and Izuku and Katsuki defended themselves. More looting soon followed, and once they were done, they continued upwards to find more of them guarding the place, as well as someone riding what looked like a giant head with a metal tube extending from its mouth. It breathed fire, and also had the penchant for charging while spewing flames.
Not that it was a challenge. When the only direction it could go is forward, predicting its movements were incredibly easy.
Once they were done, they followed the path upward and finally stood in front of the sealed gate of the academy.
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"I've already seen this before, and it still looks as grandiose as it did." The seal covering the gate was grand to behold, blue runes stretching from end to end as they created a complex canvas that surely meant to ward off trespassers. "And now, I have the key."
Grabbing the Academy Glintstone Key from his bottomless box, Izuku held it tight in his hands, before he tilted his head while staring at the giant seal.
"Now… How am I supposed to unlock you?" Izuku hummed, his hand on his chin.
"Why not push it against it?" Katsuki supplied from the side, his shoulders shrugging as he harrumphed. "Not like there's any other fucking option."
"... True." Izuku nodded. Facing the seal again, he held the key forward and slowly pushed it against the seal, the sophisticated looking key smoothly sinking itself amidst the glowing runes. "Okay, I think it's working."
His hand then followed, then his entire body. His eyes closed and he felt his body stretch beyond its limits, before going back to normal as he let out a huff, his legs standing on solid ground.
"Oookaaay… That was an experience…" Izuku patted himself down, nothing out of order. His armor still looked the same, raggedy but clean, while his blade rested silently against his shoulder. "Next order of business, getting Katsuki into the academy…"
Before they said goodbye to Thops when they were on their way back to the very academy Izuku was just standing outside of, the bald man said something along the lines of only one may enter if they had a key. Any other tag-along wouldn't be able to follow and get a shock for trying to do so.
That meant leaving the ash blond behind, and frankly, as much as Izuku wanted to leave him behind to fend for himself, he was still responsible for making sure he gets back to Japan alive. And he couldn't do that if Katsuki dies.
Going back the way he came from, although there was a bit of a mishap as instead of teleporting like earlier, he literally went through the seal like it was just a hologram. Confused, he tried it again only for the same result to happen.
He hummed for a bit, and decided not to mess with the portal for now. Since he could see that the bridge connected to the gate where Katsuki was waiting, he might as well traverse the thing and see if there was anything of note to find.
Summoning Torrent, he gave his spectral steed some rowa raisins and carefully scrambled atop him. Torrent gave off a huff and wiggled his head against his palm.
"Yeah, yeah. We'll find some more tasty raisins for you." Stroking the top of Torrent's head, Izuku gave his steed the order to move and off they went. Their pace wasn't anything fast, but it wasn't slow either, just enough for Izuku to sightsee and look for things that piqued his interest.
Along the way, they passed through foliage that grew over the concrete bricks and trees that covered the path, blocking the light shining from above. They also saw some wolves napping along the path and Izuku knew what he was going to eat later that night.
Not long after, they came across a Nomadic Merchant who was chilling by a fire. His head turned up as he heard Torrent's hooves clop against the stone, and Izuku could imagine a smile crossing his lips.
"Well.. it's been an age since I've seen a customer. How can I help, here at the end of the earth?" His tone had a little bit of a rasp, but there was no hiding the threatening undertone lurking underneath.
"Gotta admit, didn't expect to see a merchant like you here." Izuku hopped off Torrent, the spectral vanishing into motes of light as he left behind an echoing neigh. "You trapped here or something?"
"I'm afraid that is a business only I may know." The merchant chuckled, his head turning back to the flame as he roasted a piece of meat over it. "At any rate, are you willing to trade?"
"Depends, you have anything that could get someone through the barrier around the academy?" Izuku asked. "I have a companion with me, and we only managed to find a single key. He's over by the gate if you're curious."
"Well, as a matter of fact, I do." The merchant stood up, the roasted piece of meat settled atop a wooden plate. "You're lucky, I only have one of them left. Managed to make a deal with one of the sorcerers up in the academy."
He headed for his packhorse and rummaged through the giant pack strapped on its back. The horse didn't move an inch as it laid still, its chest heaving up and down as it remained utterly calm.
"Really? I thought they didn't give one of those keys to outsiders." Izuku mentioned and the merchant chuckled lightly as a response.
"They don't, but every now and then, their research requires them to head out to search for the things they need." The merchant withdrew a key, one eerily similar to the key he had pilfered from the sorcerer corpse that nestled behind the dragon he had killed… The man would probably be pissed when he resurrected some time in the future.
Eh, his fault he died.
"So, they have you as a proxy." Izuku concluded and the merchant slowly approached him with a steady gait.
"Precisely." The merchant dangled the key in front of Izuku. "So, how much are you willing to pay?"
"... Really? Are you letting the customer name the price?" Izuku huffed, amused. His arms crossed as he made a humming sound, then snapped his fingers when he decided on what to say. "5000 runes."
"Are you trying to rob me?" The merchant laughed, and Izuku could tell that the merchant already had a price in his head. "30,000."
"Isn't that a bit too high?" Izuku frowned. 30,000 runes were a lot, and he needed them to strengthen himself. The stronger he got, the more he needed to use just to get even a marginal increase in power. "How about 20,000?"
"This is the last key, and I doubt the sorcerers up in that prestigious academy would part with one because you asked nicely." The merchant still dangled the key in front of him, and Izuku had half a mind to just take it from him by force. But he wasn't that kind of person. He hadn't done anything wrong towards him, so he wouldn't do it to him as well. Plus, it would leave a bad taste in his mouth.
"Fine. Take it." Izuku transferred 30,000 runes from his person to the merchant, and the red clad man happily parted with the key while whistling.
"Pleasure doing business with you. Anything else with you?" The merchant smiled underneath that hooded mask, but Izuku shook his head. Seeing that their business was concluded, he went back to sitting by the fire, carefully preparing his roasted meat with nimble gestures. "Have a safe journey. Ah,and also, beware the front gate."
"Why?"
"You'll see." The merchant waved him off and went back to doing his own thing. Shrugging his shoulders, Izuku decided to check the front gate, and since Katsuki was waiting just right outside, he might as well give him a heads up.
And also let him know that he hadn't been atomized by the transfer.
Walking past the merchant, Izuku readied his weapon in case the warning from the merchant held true. Not long after, he noticed the wind above him whizzing and he immediately dodged to the right.
Debris burst upward as a blade sunk itself into the concrete. Izuku narrowed his eyes as he beheld the figure.
He wore the same armor as Darriwil, the traitor that Blaidd had chased after and Izuku helped with defeating in that Gaol. He dodged another quick slash sent at him by pushing himself to the side, his boots skidding across the rough stone.
The knight fought like him too, and Izuku knew all of his tricks. This shouldn't take too long.
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A/N: Team is looking good. Gonna scrim against other teams. Can't wait for March.
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