H-He’s way too chill about this. Each of the Troll’s strikes sent shock waves through the floor, and yet none of them could get past Eugene’s shield. The wall of pale light between them deflected all of its attempts to harm him. So this is his Barrier Magic? Isn’t it, like, super strong?
Huff...huff...huff... The Troll was panting, its shoulders rising and falling heavily. Having exhausted all its strength, it ceased its onslaught. It backed away, glaring at Eugene with unbridled hatred all the while, before plopping down on the steps that led to the 11th Level.
Eugene heaved a sigh before dusting himself off. “It’s over.”
He approached me, smiling. My entire body heated up from excitement, and before I knew it, I’d run over and grabbed him in a tight hug. He’s so amazing and strong and awesome!
♢ Eugene’s POV ♢
“Eugene, you were incredible!”
“Whoa!”
Sumire embraced me. I could feel how soft and warm her body was.
“You were so cool!” she continued.
“R-Really?”
I felt quite pleased as she looked up at me with sparkling eyes. At the academy, the students often spread rumors about me, like the story that I’d gotten in through a backdoor admission, and it felt like I didn’t belong. Sumire’s straightforward and sincere praise made me happy. I’m glad I did my best in that fight, then.
“Urgh...”
“Ow...”
“Hey, get a hold of yourself! Does anyone have medicine?!”
“No, we’re completely out.”
“Unbelievable...”
At those words, I turned away from Sumire and saw the Blue Sea Union explorers talking. I heard, too, the defeat in their voices. They hadn’t used the time to heal up their wounded.
At least bring enough supplies for everyone, I thought. Though I was a little exasperated at their lack of preparation, I couldn’t ignore them and so approached one of the injured explorers.
“Oh, you!” an explorer helping his hurt companion said when he noticed me. “Thanks for earlier. If you have any extra medicine on hand, we’d like to buy it from—”
“High Heal,” I said, interrupting him and curing him in an instant with my spell.
“You fixed such a serious injury just like that?!” the explorer exclaimed.
“You’re even capable of healing magic?!” another cried. “Not only that, but you’re an expert at it!”
Uh, you just had a broken bone, and the spell I used was a standard intermediate-tier spell. Wait, don’t tell me this team doesn’t even have mages who can cast intermediate spells? I’m surprised they attempted the Last Dungeon with such a team.
“P-Please, help the others!” the explorer begged.
“Yeah, I will. I have to heal everybody one by one.” After that, I walked around and cast healing magic on the other members of the Blue Sea Union team. By a stroke of luck, no one had suffered anything more serious than broken bones, and so I finished the job in a matter of minutes. I returned to Sumire and said, “Sorry to have kept you waiting. I’ve finished helping everyone, I think.”
“Thank you for all your hard work, Eugene!”
Though I hadn’t expected to have to bail out another group of explorers, Sumire’s expression told me she’d gotten something out of this experience. After all, she’d witnessed a fight against a Boss, and she’d learned what a Barrier Master and Healer could offer a party. As far as first explorations went, this was a pretty good one. Now it was time to head back. But right as the thought crossed my mind, someone ran up and blocked our way.
“Wait a second!”
“Hmm?”
I recognized him as the captain of the team. He kowtowed before us, his attitude a complete one-eighty from the haughtiness he’d displayed on the 1st Level. “P-Please, lend my country your strength!”
You’re really putting me on the spot here. I didn’t know how to react and was giving him an awkward look when another explorer from the team spoke up.
“Captain, we can’t do that. He saved us from the Boss, so we have to give him the reward for that first. The dungeon staff are watching us through the Satellite System, remember?”
“Oh, uh, right. How much should I give?”
“I’m a student at Lykeion Magic Academy, so you can contact the academy about that. There’s a specific portal for dealing with assistance rewards. By the way, it’s against the rules to avoid payment. Doing so too many times can result in explorers from your country being barred from entering the Last Dungeon. I’m sure I didn’t need to explain all that to you, though.”
The captain’s surprised reaction told me another story. He really is a newbie.
“Understood,” said the other explorer who’d spoken earlier. “We’ll pay whatever price your academy asks for the help you offered us. But I’d like you to help us with something else. Please help us kill the Boss. Ah, it’s a little late for introductions now, but my name is Daniel. I am the vice captain of this exploration team. We hail from the Tormore Kingdom, which is part of the Blue Sea Union.”
Vice Captain Daniel had his head in the game. This was my first time hearing about the Tormore Kingdom, though. Over a hundred different countries made up the Republic of the Blue Sea Union; the Tormore Kingdom must have been one of the smaller ones.
“I am Eugene Santafield, a student of Lykeion Magic Academy. This is Sumire Sashiougi, a fellow student of Lykeion.”
“I-It’s nice to meet you! My name is Sumire Sashiougi.” She dipped her head in a bow.
“So, why do you want our help in defeating the Boss?” I asked. “Is there a reason you’re in such a hurry?”
“Well...”
According to their explanation, the Tormore Kingdom was on the brink of bankruptcy. To resolve this crisis, it had used all its remaining funds to form a team of explorers to send into the Last Dungeon.
“I dare not show my face to His Majesty if we return home empty-handed. Our kingdom owes another country in the Blue Sea Union an unfathomable amount of money, and if we don’t repay that debt, we’ll lose land as our collateral.”
Upon hearing Daniel’s story, Sumire and I furrowed our brows. Okay, I get it. So they’re here to save their country. It makes sense that they’re taking so many risks to press forward.
“Eugene, how does getting past the 10th Level equate to paying back the money they owe?” Sumire whispered to me.
“After a Boss is defeated, treasure sometimes appears. Even if nothing happens, you can still break down a Boss’s corpse for its parts and materials. I’m guessing that’s what they’re after.”
“That’s not all. The area around the 11th Level contains valuable magical berries and such. If we harvest and sell them, we can repay the interest, at the very least.” Daniel’s face was twisted in deep despair.
They’re really going through it.
“Please! I’m begging you!” the captain wailed again. Now that I thought about it, the only thing this captain had done was kowtow and ask us for help. He was trying to appeal to my emotions, and it just so happened that sob stories easily swayed me.
“Eugene, what should we do?”
“I’m not sure how I can help you. I can only use barrier and healing magic.”
“How can that be? You displayed such fine technique when you parried all the Troll’s attacks without receiving an injury. If you work with us...”
The vice captain hadn’t given up on convincing me to help them, but I doubted I could live up to his expectations. Thanks to the Satellite System, I’d watched numerous explorers defeat the 10th Level Boss, and so I knew how powerful a team of explorers needed to be to get past this floor. No one here was strong enough to defeat that Troll. Even if I supported them with my healing magic and barriers, it would be difficult for them to get to the 11th Level.
Sumire was still looking at me, a mix of expectation and nervousness in her eyes. If I turned down the Blue Sea Union explorers’ request, would I disappoint her? I looked up at the dungeon’s ceiling as I pondered this. Under normal circumstances, I would have turned the explorers down. My mana only let me protect and heal others; I couldn’t use it to attack. After seeing Sumire’s mana, though, I wanted to try something.
“Sumire, will you lend me your strength?” I asked.
“Huh? You’re asking me?”
The vice captain looked surprised at my question. “Will that girl fight for us too?”
“W-Wait, you want me to fight against that Troll? E-Eugene, I can’t!”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be the only one fighting it.” I took Sumire’s hand in mine.
“E-Eugene?!”
“I just need to borrow some of your mana.”
“Huh? S-Sure...”
I strengthened my hold on Sumire’s hand. Mana Link. Hot mana poured into me from that point of connection.