Five minutes or so later, Hana and I bumped into a small, yellow, demon-like creature with a large club—a goblin. Appraisal showed it was level 400. For a battle novice like Hana, it was a high-level opponent; but from a stats standpoint, she was in the clear. Worst-case scenario, I was prepared to sweep in with an emergency big brother maneuver to rescue her.
Hana paled with nervousness as the goblin approached.
“You got this?” I asked gently.
“Yeah.” She nodded and swallowed. “I can do it.”
She evaluated the goblin from a distance with two skills she’d borrowed from me, stocked up and ready to go: Battle Barrier LV 1 and Mana Recovery LV 2. Battle Barrier was a battle skill, but since it was a defensive skill, she had to use a different method to attack. Instead of magic, she wielded a short sword I brought for her. It suited her current level, so she shouldn’t struggle to damage the goblin.
“Here I go!” she said.
“Grr!”
The not-so-epic fight began. The level difference, boosted skill parameters, and Hana’s athletic abilities all fed into her immediate advantage. The goblin swung its club, but it was clumsy and missed. She took advantage of the opportunity to strike it several times with the short sword. Gradually, her uncertain hits sapped the goblin’s health, sending it closer to zero.
She’s on the path to victory, I thought to myself. I relaxed, until the goblin snarled and surprised both of us. Instead of swinging the club like I’d expect, it flung it at her. Hana—shocked that it would abandon its only weapon—rushed to block with the short sword, but the momentum of the club knocked the sword out of her hand.
The goblin lurched forward, seizing on its lucky opening. It closed the distance faster than Hana could respond, picked up its club, and swung at her.
If this keeps up, she could get hurt. Even with Battle Barrier, there was still risk involved. I stepped forward.
“Huh?”
Hana’s response stopped me in my tracks.
“You’re a real pain!” she shouted.
Faster than the crude beast could swing, she punched it in the face with the full weight of her body, and heck, her form was crisp too! The punch sent the squealing goblin tumbling like a tied-off sock full of coins.
“Uh… well, then.”
I didn’t know how to react. Here I thought she’d resort to magic to take it down. Who would have predicted sweet Hana using her fists instead? The difference in stats and the flow of new strength moving through her must’ve inspired her. She handled it like a pro.
The goblin landed flat on its back, defenseless. She darted over to her short sword, tightened her grip, and brought it down for a merciless finishing blow. Then she whirled to face me.
“I won, oniichan!”
“C-congrats.”
I’d worried that the trauma from Yanagi would hold her back, but she swept right past my fears. She won like a champ—that wasn’t easy for a novice to pull off!
Could my little sister really have nerves this steely? When I thought about it, she was only level 2 when she defeated that level 10,000 treant. She acted because her life was in danger, but it still took a lot of bravery.
Once she got her celebrating out of her system, I checked in with her.
“Did you get hurt punching the goblin with your bare fist?” Even just a scratch could turn into a problem later.
“Nope, I’m good,” Hana said. “I used Battle Barrier to cut the damage to zero.”
“Huh. I never thought of using it that way.”
It made sense; if the barrier protected her from taking a hit, it could protect Hana from injury when walloping a goblin. I’d only ever used it as a form of defense, but Hana immediately thought to use it as a brace for her fist. Maybe she had a natural talent for quick thinking too. Like brother, like sister, I guess?
If she could use Stock to copy powerful skills and use them in creative ways, just how amazing an adventurer would she become?
Hmm. Unlike me, Hana could only perform her best if she joined a party. She needed allies with solid skills to make the most of Stock’s potential. It wasn’t a stretch to say that her strength and fighting methods would depend entirely on the circumstances around her. Joining one specific party might hold her back. A guild was her best bet. If possible, I wanted her to join the same guild as me—in my heart, it was a must.
Since I was testing out Yoizuki, that was the clear candidate. They were a top guild and very selective, but if we revealed her talent, I was sure they’d recruit her without hesitation. Unfortunately, whether we could trust them with her secret was another matter entirely.
“Why’d you go quiet, oniichan?” Hana asked.
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
I dipped my chin and placed a hand gently on Hana’s head to relax her. I did a lot of hypothesizing, but ultimately, which guild she joined was her decision. In the meantime, I would do what I could to help her.
“Sorry for spacing out. If you think you’re ready, want to find your next monster?”
“Yeah!”
✦ ✦ ✦
We spent the next hour hiking around the dungeon. Hana gained confidence with every monster she fought, but she started to wear out too. Once she began to waver from fatigue, I decided we should call it quits for the day.
On second thought, stopping altogether wasn’t the most effective way for her to level up. She was a high school student, and since she still had to attend class, she only dived once or twice a week. That wasn’t much different than the effects of the Span.
As Hana walked by my side, I continued to mull things over. If the Span wasn’t a concern, she should at least beat the dungeon before we went home…but Dungeon Teleportation only worked on me. With our current pace, it would take us nearly half the day to reach the boss level. I doubted she had the stamina for that.
After much silent deliberation, I concluded there was only one way to handle this.
“Let’s keep going!” I exclaimed.
“What?!”
I grabbed her in a princess carry and dashed at full clip toward the last floor. Thirty minutes later, she knocked out the boss with one solid punch and grew by twelve levels.
✦ ✦ ✦
I paid the price for that stunt.
Outside the dungeon, Hana glared at me. I knew she was mad, but the way her cheeks puffed up was downright precious.
“Oniichan?” she said.
“Yes?” I braced myself.
“You could’ve just said, ‘Hey Hana, we should complete the dive. I have a great idea how to get there. Mind if I try?’ or something like that!” she shouted. “You didn’t have to hoist me like a sack of potatoes and take off at high-speed! I mean, it was kinda fun, but still!”
She had fun? Well, if she admitted that, she couldn’t be too angry.
“You did it for me, so I’ll forgive you.” She let out a prolonged sigh and offered her hand. “As repayment, you have to hold my hand as we go home.”
“Sure.”
I didn’t mind once bit: I held her hand all the way home.
✦ ✦ ✦
It was barely past noon and too soon for me to quit, so after we grabbed a quick lunch, I left Hana to rest at home. I set out for a dungeon on my own again—a new one, this time.
I noticed tons of geared-up adventurers around me as I reached it. Based on their equipment, they were seasoned fighters. They had to be to challenge this particular dungeon. It was called Suzuka: a B-rank dungeon with a recommended level of 10,000. With the way takedown rewards worked, the higher the person’s level, the more effective they were at leveling up, but that didn’t make it easy. For most people, it took a minimum of five or six years to reach level 10,000.
These adventurers invested so much time into dives. Their aura was light-years apart compared to C-rank-or-lower adventurers.
“It finally feels like I’m one of them,” I whispered. “Yes!”
I centered myself and headed toward Suzuka’s entrance. Now that Dungeon Teleportation was LV 21, I could enter even though I’d never stepped foot inside this dungeon. With my new power, the Span couldn’t influence my actions at all.
“Dungeon Teleportation.”
This was it. My first B-rank dungeon.