….
[Back To Jin-Ho]
Jin-Ho's hands were shaking, his entire body drenched in sweat from the heat and the exertion.
"That… that was too close." he gasped, coughing violently. "Way too close. He kept screaming even after, how long was that? Too long. Way too long."
But there was no time to recover.
The boy was barely breathing, his condition critical.
His skin was charred and damaged, his body in shock.
The flames had stopped, but Jin-Ho had no way of knowing if they would restart when the kid woke up.
"Gotta move…" He picked himself, forcing his shaking legs to obey.
He scooped the boy onto his shoulder and pushed upward, flying away from the still-smoldering landscape.
Trees continued to burn below them, grass turned to ash, but he was creating distance.
He descended a quarter-mile away in an open field, away from any structures that might catch fire.
As soon as his feet touched the ground, Jin-Ho laid the boy down gently and reached for his system inventory.
He pulled out the basic-level talismans he had made beforehand.
"Hope this works for now."
The Healing Talisman first, pressed against the boy's chest. It glowed softly, beginning its work on the external injuries.
His [Talisman Arts] aren't that great yet, but he hoped it will help.
◤-----------------------◥
「Skills:」
[Talisman Arts] Lv. 1 → 2 (Proficiency 11 %)
◣-----------------------◢
One by one, he slapped them across Toya's arms and chest:
[Healing Talisman] - glowed green, sealing the burns with a faint shimmer.
[Cooling Talisman] - blue light spreads, lowering the boy's body temperature.
[Strength Enhancement] - faint crimson flicker, stabilizing his pulse.
And finally, [Purification Talisman] - golden-white, faintly humming, cleansing the residue of uncontrolled quirk energy.
The talismans activated in sequence, glowing with soft light.
Jin-Ho knelt beside the unconscious boy, watching his breathing slowly stabilize, become less shallow.
The boy's body gradually stopped smoking, the charring on his skin slowly beginning to heal at the edges where the talismans worked their magic.
"That will do now…." He cursed. "But what's next?"
He looked at the boy's face, at the burn scars already forming, at the way his body was slowly stabilizing thanks to the talismans.
Then he looked back at the still-burning landscape behind them.
The destruction was massive, entire sections of forest reduced to ash, the ground itself scorched black.
Jin-Ho's breathing started to become normal as he stared at the boy's faintly rising chest. The talismans' light had dimmed, fading to thin wisps of color across Toya's burnt skin.
At least his pulse had steadied, that much Jin-Ho could confirm by touch.
"Okay, he is stable." He muttered to himself, forcing the words out as if speaking them made them true. "Good job, me."
He exhaled sharply, glancing around at the empty, smoke-stained clearing. This wasn't safe. He needed cover - someplace quiet, isolated, and easy to defend.
He turned his gaze toward the faint red shimmer rippling beneath him.
"Blacky." He called quietly.
"I need you to find us a place, something safe where we can stay that isn't here."
The creature blinked once - then dove into the ground, vanishing into the soil like smoke slipping into cracks.
Jin-Ho sank down beside Toya, his back resting against a scorched tree trunk. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, listening to the faint crackle of distant fire and the boy's faint, uneven breathing.
Minutes later, the shadow returned - bursting up from the ground and materializing beside him with an almost proud posture, as if presenting Jin-Ho with a gift.
"Got it?" He asked, pushing himself up.
Blacky's red eyes blinked twice, then it began gliding away, its form stretching forward like a streak of ink.
"Lead the way."
Jin-Ho lifted Toya carefully and followed.
They moved through the city's back alleys, through neighborhoods that grew progressively more rundown, until Blacky stopped in front of an abandoned warehouse.
It was the kind of place that screamed 'don't go in here' - broken windows, faded paint, the general air of a structure that had been forgotten by the world.
Jin-Ho pushed past the partially collapsed door and surveyed the interior.
It was filthy, debris scattered across the concrete floor, rust staining the walls, the stench of abandonment thick in the air.
But it was structurally sound, the roof didn't have obvious holes, and more importantly, it was isolated enough that no one would think to look for anything here.
He got to work immediately.
With his [Telikiness] Jin-Ho cleared the worst of the debris from one corner of the warehouse - creating a roughly clean space about fifteen feet by fifteen feet.
He found an old tarp and draped it over the most comfortable-looking corner, fashioning something vaguely resembling a shelter within the shelter.
Within minutes, it looked barely livable.
"Home sweet home, for now."
He murmured, glancing at the unconscious kid–
"I need to get some bandages, to clean wounds… and some food maybe…"
The Shadow Khan tilted its head - hesitant. It was smart enough to understand.
"…You want to help? Not a chance. You will be on watch duty." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I will go myself."
He turned toward the door. "You stay here. If anything moves - you know what to do."
Blacky nodded once and melted into the floor, spreading itself beneath Toya like a living shadow blanket.
….
Jin-Ho stepped out into the night.
The nearby town wasn't large - just rows of dimly lit shops and small markets.
He stopped himself, he needed to generate cash.
Jin-Ho reached into his pocket and pulled out an expensive watch - a Rolex, actually, that he had brought with him through the portal. It was worth tens of thousands of dollars.
He had been saving it for emergencies, knowing he might need liquid capital at some point.
This qualified as an emergency.
He kept his head down, coat collar high, until he spotted a pawn shop.
The owner - a grizzled man in his sixties with suspicious eyes, barely looked at the watch before offering him a price that was roughly thirty percent of its actual value.
"I will give you twenty thousand yen."
Jin-Ho wanted to argue.
But he didn't have time to worry about fairness. He took the cash without comment.
"Not haggling?" the pawnshop owner asked, surprised.
"I know it's worth ten times that, but not today." He replied, pocketing the money and leaving.
By the time he returned to the warehouse, Blacky was still on standby….
"Good work."
Toya was still unconscious - his body twitching slightly from time to time, as if his dreams burned too.
Jin-Ho unpacked the backpack filled with bandages, antiseptic wipes, pain medication, even IV fluid bags and basic medical equipment that must have come from a hospital supply storage area rather than a pharmacy.
He worked methodically, cleaning the wounds with antiseptic, applying fresh bandages with care.
It wasn't professional, but it was competent.
The last thing he did was hold a juice box to the kid's lips, whispering. "Come on, kid. Just a sip."
To his surprise, Toya's throat moved faintly - swallowing.
Jin-Ho let out a slow breath, relief washing through him.
….
The next morning, after sorting out a few things with Toya, Jin-Ho stepped outside.
He needed some air. The city stretched before him like a living circuit board - bright, noisy, and pulsing with life.
The street stretched wide, crowded with neon signs and bustling pedestrians.
Cars slid past, horns blaring, while the smell of grilled food and exhaust tangled in the air. A giant screen on the opposite building played a hero news report.
For the first time since he had arrived, Jin-Ho stopped moving.
He turned his head.
A billboard towered above the skyline, impossible to ignore.
A man, broad-shouldered, impossibly tall, blond hair like a comic come to life, stood mid-pose in a red and blue suit. His grin radiated confidence that felt both genuine and absurd.
Next to him, bold golden letters glowed against the night:
[I AM HERE! — ALL MIGHT]
Jin-Ho stared at it for a long moment, a slow, humorless laugh escaping him.
"…So this is who the world of heroes looks like?"
He looked around again, seeing it clearly now, hero posters plastered across bus stops, drones broadcasting live villain chases, shops lined with costume replicas and figurines.
A little boy nearby pointed excitedly at a passing man with fins for arms, his voice shrill with joy. "Mom! Look! It's Hydroblade!"
His shadow rippled faintly at his feet, and the faint red eyes of Blacky blinked up from the darkness, curious.
"Don't look at me like that." Jin-Ho muttered. "I am not planning to fight All Might."
Blacky tilted its head in quiet skepticism.
"…Hmm. Maybe I am." he amended. "Depends how the day goes."
He stuffed his hands into his pockets and started walking toward the crowded street, scanning every face, every hero costume, every glint of quirk energy in the air.
"Okay…" he murmured. "Let's see what kind of mess this world throws first."
And with that, Yoo Jin-Ho - the dimensional drifter who had survived dungeons, monsters, and exploding arrivals - disappeared into the chaos of the Hero Society.
….
.
[To be continued…]
★─────⇌•★•⇋─────★
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