The path after the graveyard was… almost relaxing.
No ambushes. No trick floors. No undead refusing to stay dead. Orion even began to think—dangerously—that the dungeon might be cutting him some slack.
As stated, a dangerous thing to even think, but he really didn't have any hard time after that. Perhaps those annoying Purple Moths and Blue Papilios were trouble for him, but he handled them anyway.
One was basically throwing poison on him while the other was healing the other monsters. As obvious as it is, the biggest problem with them was that they had to be attacked from a distance.
The poisonous Purple Moth was unapproachable, while the healing-type monster, Blue Papilio, stayed behind like a good little healer.
Earlier, Orion might have suffered by their hands… wings?… stings?… whatever!
He might have suffered earlier, but good for him, he had a long-distance attack now. The Rings of Discus made short work of those flying menaces.
And as long as he surpassed them, the dungeon floor had nothing that could stop him.
Naturally, that was when the boss fog appeared.
"…Of course," he sighed.
He stepped through.
The chamber beyond was wide and clean, almost arena-like. And standing at its center was a boy in a blue-and-white suit, posture straight, glasses gleaming ominously.
"HALT, VILLAIN!" the boy shouted immediately, pointing at Orion with righteous fury. "You are engaging in unlawful activity within this dungeon!"
"…What the?" Orion was speechless.
He knew the character… once again this annoying dungeon dragged a character from the vast cosmos to fight with him.
"I am Tenya Iida!" the boy declared. "And I will not allow evil to—"
He vanished.
Orion barely had time to dodge-step before something slammed past him like a missile, the wind alone knocking him off balance.
"—GO UNPUNISHED!" Iida's voice echoed, already looping back.
Orion rolled, barely avoiding another charge. The stone floor cracked where Iida's foot struck.
"Okay—he's fast—WAY too fast!" Orion shouted, scrambling to his feet before another attack came.
Which it did, and Orion had to initiate another dodge roll.
The humm of the engine running spread through out the boss room. As Iida speed increase and vapour seems to emit from his leg.
Iida didn't slow down. He didn't pause. And he didn't shut up.
"CONFESS YOUR CRIMES!""FACE JUSTICE!""STOP RESISTING HEROIC APPREHENSION!"
Orion dodge-stepped. Rolled. Dodge-stepped again.
"Fuck you, man, do you listen to yourself? Which hero talks so much? Villains do that. And where the hell did you get the idea that I'm the villain anyway!" Orion yelled, narrowly avoiding a kick that would've removed his head from his shoulders.
This was worse than the skeletons.
At least they were predictable. And slow.
He knew this character. This was from another anime—My Hero Academia—where everyone had superpowers and kids like him wished to become superheroes.
Tenya Iida was not only the class rep of Class 1-A where the main character went.
He wasn't one of the strongest characters, but still strong enough.
Orion had no idea why he was suddenly fighting a character like him this early. Where was the incremental increase in difficulty, man?
Not to mention this wasn't some strong, mindless monster either. Iida was intelligent. Tactical. And apparently fueled by an unlimited supply of righteous yelling. Orion couldn't even line up an attack—every time he tried, Iida was already gone, circling like a caffeinated cheetah with a moral code.
'Ah, I hate speedsters,' Orion cursed. Unfortunately, soulslike games have no particular method to fight this kind of character.
At this point, Orion could only try to hold out for longer. Tenya was faster than anyone he had fought so far. None of his attacks would connect. Not to mention, even Discus of Light took time to use and needed an incantation, during which Tenya would catch up to him.
He was only glad that the boy only had basic attacks—nothing sharp to pierce him this time.
He shuddered, recalling those skeletons impaling him from 360 degrees.
Minutes passed. Orion was breathing hard.
"Stand still!" he snapped.
"EVIL NEVER STANDS STILL!" Iida replied, charging again.
"Ah ha… so you admit you're the evil one here."
"Gah—what do you know, you damn villain! Sometimes, to beat a villain, even a righteous hero has to do unsavoury things!" Tenya countered.
"Just say you're shameless, dude. Nothing else is gonna explain your actions anymore," Orion deadpanned.
That was when Orion noticed it.
The pattern.
Iida had to charge. And after each burst, there was a fraction of a second—just a heartbeat—where he stopped to reset.
His quirk, or superpower, was Engine. There were literal engines attached to his legs.
Don't ask. I have no idea how.
Orion could only think that Iida stopped in between to keep his engines cooler.
"Fine," he muttered. "Hero."
"Come at me!" he shouted.
He had finally found a loophole, and he'd be damned if he didn't exploit it. This Tenya looked pretty early-show anyway. He shouldn't have enough experience yet.
Orion was going to take advantage of that.
So, he waited.
Iida charged again, faster than before.
Just as Iida was about to hit him, Orion rolled forward, right at Iida. This would have caused a collision; however, Orion matched the i-frames just right, completely phasing through Iida.
Tenya Iida was very confused and surprised, but he had seen many types of quirks. It was only natural that one might have an ability that let him dodge by rolling away.
At the exact moment Iida halted—feet braced, engines cooling—Orion didn't reach for his sword.
He reached into his inventory.
The pistol came out smoothly.
Iida's eyes widened. "Wha—"
Bang.
The shot echoed through the chamber.
Iida dropped instantly, momentum stolen mid-hero speech.
Silence followed.
Orion lowered the gun, staring.
"…If you were expecting a fair fight from me, especially after calling me a villain, then you're a bigger idiot than my boss back home."
Orion saw the boss fog lifting and immediately sat down, breathing heavily. He was panting hard. Today, he experienced for the first time just how difficult it was to fight a speedster.
[Hm… that weapon is truly formidable. To fell such an enemy so effortlessly—how very… decisive.]
Marika emerged, eyes lingering on the smoking gun at his side, curiosity very apparent in them.
"Yeah, modern hot weaponry is awesome. As long as you're the only one who has it, that is…" He trailed off as he suddenly felt something.
He quickly tossed the weapon back into his inventory and stood up, sword ready in hand.
It was Tenya Iida's body, now completely dissolved into motes of light. The boss room fell unnaturally silent.
Then the air warped.
A second gate bloomed into existence where the hero had fallen—taller, older, its stone frame etched with symbols that did not belong to this dungeon at all. The surface of the gate shimmered like heat over glass, layered with faint gold and ash-grey light.
Orion blinked. Once.
Marika blinked as well, slower, brows knitting together.
"A hidden section in the dungeon? A double dungeon like Jin-Woo…" Orion muttered, thoughts piling sky-high.
They approached it cautiously. Orion reached out—
And the world froze.
A translucent pane snapped into existence before his eyes.
-x-
Legacy Dungeon Detected.
Optional Content Available.
Legacy Dungeon: [Unrecorded]Status: Unchallenged
Conditions:
• Entrant must be Level 1.
• Dungeon must be cleared in a single continuous run.
• Death within the dungeon will result in immediate expulsion.
• Failure will permanently revoke access.
Rewards: Unknown.
-x-
Orion stared at the conditions. Then stared some more.
"…holy shit," he said slowly.
Marika, hearing this, just sighed. Seemed like changing her Tarnished bad habits would be harder than she anticipated. He cursed divinity like he had a personal beef against heaven.
[First, refrain from invoking divinity in your curses. Second—yes, this is indeed substantial.]
"And I can't level up before entering."
[Correct.]
"And this thing is optional."
[Also correct.]
He turned to Marika. "This feels like a trap."
Marika smiled faintly. The kind of smile that had once doomed entire civilisations.
[Nay.]
She said.
[This feels like a trial.]
Orion looked at her, then back at the gate. The door should stay here until he upgraded to Level 2, which was still pretty far away right now.
'Wait, I haven't updated my status yet…'
"Let's come to this gate later. We have some time before I reach Level 2. For now, Goddess, will you please update my status? Let's see how much time we really have…" Orion pointed at his back.
[Hmm… as you will it, my foolish Tarnished.]
-x-
Name - Orion Star Storm
Familia - Marika Familia
Level - 1
[Stats]
Strength - E 404 > D 590
Endurance - E 451 > D 549
Dexterity - F 398 > D 504
Agility - E 437 > C 601
Magic - H 113 > F 333
[Magic]
[Incantation]
Light of Discus
[Skills]
Soulslike…
Elden Lord…
Animus Ignus…
-x-
"Awesome… it's a big update. Seems like fighting bosses really helps improve one's status. At this rate, I should be able to level up by the end of this month, right…" Orion was giddy.
"Anyways… we need to prepare before entering this legacy dungeon anyway. Better stats, some healing and mind potions outside my limited flasks, and more training. Gods know what's expecting me on the other side…"
[That seems wise…]
Marika nodded. She too didn't wish for him to enter immediately. That would be reckless and dangerous.
"So, let's call it a day here. I'm beat, and we also have to find an apartment for ourselves as well. Right!"
xXx
A/N : Any idea what this dungeon about and do tell do you guys thing I should have given a bit more to MC and Iida's fight. I think it was a pretty straightforward fight, It would have lasted longer if Mc didn't had a gun but he had one so yeah...
Lastly, please tell me where you think I need to improve my writing, I'm wish to improve. Thank you...
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