The creation of the gym, naturally, led to Uraraka going through a rather intense workout, all while Toga was lying on the floor, her head resting on her hands just as the girl was busy watching said workout.

  With longing eyes, occasional sigh and maybe one or two well suppressed moans. Someone was really enjoying the sight.

  Uraraka didn’t seem to mind. In fact, when asked about it by Izuku, she stated openly that she considers this to be a great motivation to go Plus Ultra on the training.

  Hearing this, Izuku had no other option than to join Himiko (just in a more immaterial way) and get his own share of the eye candy.

  Even if he’s way too ashamed of himself to announce what he was doing openly. Then again, he didn’t have to - Uraraka knew. And it motivated her even more.

  ***

  Around two days later, they are ready to depart. They gathered up an attack force composed of all of their combat servants, twenty Rose Guard soldiers, three Alchemists and five Ghouls.They sent a message to the beastkin concerning their passage and asked them to keep an eye on the Dungeon’s surroundings while at it.

  The beastkin, still busy laying siege to the mines, didn’t mind. By Anaya’s words that Compress relayed to them, they’ve managed to secure the uppermost three layers, but the casualties sustained by the enemy were minimal.

  They were mostly smoking their enemies out and using some primitive poison gasses to force the Ecstasy remnants to pull back. But it was a slow process, with the Ecstasy being steadily pushed back but not suffering any notable casualties and trying to counterattack regularly.

  They followed Purifier’s instructions, marched through the Valley, climbed the mountain and then marched down its slope on the opposite side. They ended up having to set up a camp for the night, just to discover that however offended the Rose Guard was by being denied their favorite entertainment, they were surprisingly disciplined and managed to set up the camp in record time.

  Less than a day later they reached their destination. However, they ended up setting the camp again and waiting for most of the day, so that they could approach the location under the cover of the dark.

  Once they got close enough, finding the location itself wasn’t hard. They just had to march in the direction in which the webbings scattered around were getting denser. Alongside the stench of spiders.

  They made sure not to touch any of the webs, and send the sneakiest of their members ahead. The element of surprise was among their most important strengths right now. And they plan to use it as much as possible.

  Two hooded cultists guarded the entrance to the cave in the wall of one more cliff dotting the area.

  Himiko and Mr. Compress take their time climbing said cliff some distance away from them, before approaching those two and climbing down. The second they are ready for it, they attack.

  Their new martial arts made them incredibly dangerous as assassins. Frankly, if they were this good back on Earth, the Training Camp would have played out completely differently. Which, seeing as they only had their martial arts up to third tier out of ten, implied some pretty scary things about them in the future.

  They climbed face first, keeping knives in their mouths to keep their hands free and using their new [Footworks] to avoid falling down, and to move extremely fast despite such a crazy position.

  [Feline Grace] improved their body balance in literally every set of circumstances, well enough that they could probably run on a tightrope there and back, without slowing down at all.

  [Hunter’s Steps] improved their footing, allowing them to stand up steadily regardless of the surface they were on. You could make them stand on top of a tall pole as thick as Izuku’s thumb, even jump from one to another, and with Hunter’s Steps on they would manage to do that easily.

  In fact, Izuku was fairly sure that it did some funny things with their weight too, allowing them to stand on things that normally shouldn’t support them (although moving on them would still be rather dangerous, at least for their current level of it).

  [Fall Immunity] expanded upon natural cat’s ability to survive fall from great heights. If they fell from under five feet, they’d usually survive. If they fell from five to nine, they usually died. However, if they fell from above nine feet, they’d usually survive.

  In fact, there were cases of cats surviving falls surpassing two hundred feet with either minimal injuries or requiring veterinarian attention but still making full recovery. This was mostly because in case of a fall from at least nine feet they had the time to position themselves properly and use their natural body’s capabilities to prepare themselves for the impact (for example, spreading their legs just to use their somewhat ‘flappy’ flesh to create something akin to an improvised parachute between said legs).

  The catkin weren’t that good at it. However, the [Fall Immunity] and the stark progression between its tiers implied that masters of the [Tiger Claw’s School] could fall from a pretty ridiculous height and still live.

  It seemed to work mostly by positioning yourself correctly mid-flight and using the technique to reinforce their entire body while dispersing the impact. Per their tests, both Compress and Himiko could easily hit the rocky floor after falling from about fifteen meters, practically without feeling the impact.

  And so, they did. Landing themselves right behind the two sentries. Who didn’t have the time to realize what was happening and try to turn around or call for help before getting their throats slit.

  All while using [Silent Claws I] technique, which allowed them to suppress sounds in a small area centered around their hands.

  The swift movement of their hands and the blade through the air made no sound. The blades slitting the witches’ throats made no sound. The gurgling as they both attempted to breathe only to start drowning in their own blood as their brain began to run out of oxygen was completely soundless.

  One of them tried to respond with a sideways swing of their arm while casting some spell, but failed, Himiko deftly dodging the blow and letting the woman bleed out to death. Before dragging her limp body away, just as Compress did to the one he killed.

  “Well.” Uraraka says dryly as she stares at the scene from a distance, leaning from behind a tree at the edge of the forest. “Guess I should be happy that they’re on our side. That was one crazy swift attack.”

  “Think you could survive it?” Tokage asks from behind her own tree.

  “Hmmm? No way.” Uraraka shakes her head. Hey, she should be honest about it, no need to bullshit her friend and pretend to be someone she isn’t. “I’d say that this is why you should give your sentries armor with a neckguard. And then probably have them use some variant of [Reinforce Armor] the second they hear anything behind them.”

  “Well, wish I had that technique.” Tokage sighs. “Stupid level restrictions. Anyway, we’re moving out. Everyone remembers the plan?”

  They did. Even the Rose soldiers, although it was clear that they were still being rather passive aggressive over the restrictions.

  ***

  The plan was, to be honest, rather simple.

  A handful of the ghouls they had were left on the outside and expected to make sure that nothing attacks them from behind (and if it did, then that at least one of them would run inside to warn them).

  The rest of them were going to head inside the cave, with the servants coming in first alongside the Alchemists, and the formation of the Rose Guard soldiers marching right behind them, ready to aid them if need be.

  The corridor was uneven, and only about five people wide. Not exactly a lot of room to maneuver.

  Their plan was derailed quickly when they came upon a split in the tunnel.

  “I go right, you go left.” Uraraka tells Tokage without a second of hesitation. “Any problems with you taking Dabi?”

  “Nah, Todoroki-kun’s yours if you want him.” Tokage replies. Those two really were operating on the same wavelength, huh. “Hey, Ay’zira, want to go with her?”

  “I’m fine both ways!” The amazoness announces from behind. Her voice was almost vibrating in excitement.

  “I’ll take the alchemist, you’ll take Komori-san, alright?” Uraraka then quickly asks, Tokage just nodding back. “Alright, everyone, you heard it. Rose Guard, you split evenly between us. See you on the other side.”

  “Sure, same.” Tokage replies. “Good hunting!”

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  ***

  Tokage’s group ran into a problem almost immediately. Mr. Compress was acting as the vanguard, and he looked around the corner of the tunnel up ahead just to immediately sign that a person was coming.

  Tokage quickly ordered Spinner to run forward and join up with him. Spinner did so and solved the problem with a single arrow to the witch’s face, the woman falling backward and landing on the ground with a quiet thump.

  Lizardkin in this land were terrifying archers.

  [Empower Self II] was an all-around physical strengthening technique that reinforced your body, thus allowing you to use bows with greater strength. Contrary to what most of the videogames claim, damage and accuracy of bows scaled off strength rather than dexterity.

  [Hold Steady II] didn’t empower a person in any way, but it did allow them to hold their bow drawn for a prolonged time, without one suffering from any form of physical exertion. In a way, it ‘froze’ the current output level of your muscles, allowing it to last longer.

  [Breathe Less I] seemed to optimize the flow of oxygen in one’s body, allowing one to stop breathing while using [Hold Steady] to ensure that the minuscule movements of your body caused by breathing wouldn’t throw your aim off balance in the slightest.

  Add their extremely great eyesight and you had someone quite terrifying.

  “Man, I remember barely being able to annoy them back when they attacked us.” Spinner says to Compress as he steps back behind the corner. “Give us a few years and we’re going to be absolutely terrifying, won’t we?”

  “Looking forward to it.” Compress replies. “It’s going to be great. I’m going to steal so many things that Oji Harima will be looking at me from the afterlife with pure amazement.”

  Right after the dead witch they run straight into another split in the corridor. Goddamnit.

  “I’ll go left.” Komori-san says before they have the time to speak. “If I encounter an enemy that’s too strong, I’ll focus on stalling for time.“

  “Do you need anything?” Tokage asks her back.

  “Two, no, three of the Rose Guards.” Komori replies. “Just so that there is someone to keep a shieldline in front of me.”

  ***

  Toga acts as a scout for Uraraka’s group just as Compress does for Tokage’s. And rather quickly they run into a problem as well. If it can be even called that way.

  How many?

  “A lot.” Himiko replies quietly. She was standing right beside the turn in a corridor while listening intently to the chatter on the other side. “Large hall, long and wide, and a lot of activity. Ten to twenty people, probably. Some spiders too.”

  Izuku quickly relays the message to Ochako.

  “Alright.” She turns around to face her group. “We’re attacking them. We go all out and charge them before they realize what is happening. Yaoyorozu, do your magic.”

  “On it.” She nods before she starts casting her spells upon the other dungeon servants in front of her.

  [Protection from Physical, Others II], [Protection from Elements, Others II], [Protection from Magic, Others II] and [Harden Material, Others II] on the physical weapons of the few of them that were carrying those.

  They’ve tested those spells thoroughly in the past days. They weren’t omnipotent. [Protection from Physical, Others] wasn’t going to save you from Ochako’s blade if you put no other effort into self defense.

  However, whatever field of subtly altered physics it spreads around the target makes incoming physical objects lose a bit of their speed. Which, due to how speed had a major influence on the results of an impact, resulted in the damage being weaker. Or at least, easier to defend against.

  Also, they’ve tested it thoroughly. [Self] spells worked only on the caster, but were definitely the strongest ones and a mage could hold a number of them, with Yaoyorozu proving that in one of the tests by keeping seven [Self] spells on herself.

  [Others] could be casted on any number of people in exchange of paying for every one of them in mana, and seemed to be somewhat self-perpetuating. After reading through the magic books that Compress stole, Yaoyorozu declared that it only worked like that for other magic users.

  In short, once a mage casted it upon someone, the spell could to some degree get anchored in one’s own magic. Keeping it up was then left to said others, and only when they stopped ‘thinking about it’ for long enough did the spell fade away.

  Oddly enough, it was much easier than it sounded. In a way, the trio of [Protection from X] spells seemed particularly well-aligned with each other. You didn’t have to consciously keep every spell going separately, just focus on the general concept of ‘Protection Spell’ and it worked for them all.

  Useful.

  [Field] in the meantime was usually much more cost-efficient and had to be casted exactly once, in exchange for influencing an area and having their costs scale off the size of said area.

  Yaoyorozu had enough mana to put those four spells on the other servants in her group. She still had enough mana left for the most basic self-defense spells, but was definitely not going to operate at her top capacity.

  Wish we had a mana potion or something that she could just drink real quick for the boost

  I know, unfortunately while the magic books mention those, we've yet to learn how to make them.

  “Alright, people!” Uraraka grins towards everyone. “It’s time to do the cool thing… and charge!”

  ***

  The tunnel that Komori picked up turned out to be a rather short one. Less than thirty meters later there was a turn, and behind it, a small hall that was clearly converted into a storage area by the cultists.

  A lot of crates filled with their future loot, a few of the cultists busy with their own stuff. No, wait.

  Now she figured it out. It wasn’t a storage area. It was a craftsman’s workshop, with one of the cultists (their mask and hood off) clearly in the middle of assembling wooden crates while two others were sawing a log in half. So, carpenters.

  Well, it made sense. Someone had to produce all the crates and chests and whatnot placed in the cult’s headquarters that the adventurers could then pillage. Those didn’t just appear out of nowhere when you decided to become a bad guy.

  The cultists freeze their work, looking at the new arrivals in shock. They looked… rather ugly, to be honest. Sunken faces, eyes that seemed wide open a bit too much, skin that appeared to be somewhat… gray.

  Being a cultist of Occasa definitely wasn’t a healthy lifestyle. What a shock.

  “Feel free to surrender.” Komori says as she puts the focus on her staff to her mouth, the three soldiers behind her raising their shields and pointing their spears at the cultists. “But I’d prefer it if you didn’t.”

  She is a daemon lord right now. She should act the part, right?

  ***

  Tokage realized that it wasn’t going to go nicely the moment she saw what she was up against.

  She had Spinner snipe another random cultist that they encountered walking down the tunnel, briefly pondering how alright she was now with people dying (for as long as they were definitely the bad guys, like, there were zero moral qualms with Occasa’s servants), before reaching a larger hall.

  Those were barracks. Almost military looking ones. Filled by enemies that definitely weren’t just your normal brand of cultists.

  Worst of all, they seemed to be in the middle of some training bout, which led to all twelve people in front of her wearing their equipment and being armed to the teeth, all of them turning to face the newcomers the moment they entered the barracks.

  They were carrying the robes of the cult, yes. But on top of that, they wore armors. Armors made of cleaned up insectoid (or arachnid) carapaces tied together with strings and leather stripes, armed in spears and swords that seemed to be made with sharpened spider chelicerae.

  One of them was particularly tall, easily equalling the height of their ogres, holding a two-handed sword made from what looked like chelicerae of several giant spiders fused together and sharpened on both ends.

  Tokage gave them no time to strategize and charged at them, followed by the rest of her group.

  ***

  Uraraka runs into the room, leading the charge. It’s just in her nature. To get in the fight as the second one would mean missing even the split second of fun that the first one would get into.

  It’s large.

  There is a narrow hole in the ceiling, which seems to be leading to the surface. It definitely bends a few times, meaning that there is no real light getting to the hall, but it works as a vent, allowing the people inhabiting it to set up fires.

  It’s where most of the cultists gathered up. A number of beds by the walls, some little more than a pile of straw on the floor.

  In the center, a large fireplace, most of the cultists clearly busy having their evening meal.

  Uraraka counted fifteen cultists. So, Himiko was more or less correct in her assessment. But… There were also spiders.

  The entire ceiling of the room was mostly covered in webbings, with a bunch of spiders skittering around freely. Including some of the [Spider Maidens].

  There were definitely more of them than the cultists. On the other hand, some of the cultists carried the same markings as the leader of the attack at their Dungeon. So, tougher than usual.

  Well, alright.

  If Uraraka was to summarize the set-up in front of her, it would be with a single word.

  Fun.

  “WE’RE UNDER ATTA…” A nearby cultist screams. It’s a rabbitkin, with a sunken face and grayish skin. It seems to be a common feature among the few of the cultists that weren’t fully clothed.

  Uraraka doesn’t let her finish. She closes up to her, grabbing her longsword with both hands and swinging it with all the strength she can put into [Lesser Slash].

  The blade dives into the cultist’s left shoulder and emerges from her right waist, the witch instantly severed in half, her scream cut short as the upper part of her body falls to the ground, Uraraka immediately charging past her at the next cultist.

  Well, off to a great start.