It was true that one had better chances of being accepted into a team if they at least looked the part. There were a lot of people out there who got scouted by Diver teams that put a lot of effort into finding promising rookies. Those teams pretty much never talk to me though.
“Asking this may sound rude, but what level are you?” I asked.
“I’m level 7,” he replied.
“The Forest sounds about right for you then. If you put in some effort there, you should be able to get some decent gear. But you’re gonna have a hard time on this floor.”
It was quite common for novice Divers who could handle the Forest to overestimate their abilities and step into the Misty Hills. It was the same mistake that Ashley and Instructor Seeker had warned me time and time again not to make.
Although he might be able to get some equipment with hard work, I still thought he should find some allies to dive with. Dillon couldn’t use magic like I could, nor did he have a stock of potions in case of emergencies. There was a possibility—no, a very good chance that one slipup could mean the end for him. Still, I knew making friends in an unfamiliar land was difficult.
I looked at him and noticed he was starting to withdraw into himself. Maybe he was starting to think coming to Freida was a mistake.
Maybe I should be the one to help him.
“Y-You know, I wouldn’t mind diving with you every once in a while,” I said.
“Are you sure?”
“They do say even chance meetings are the result of karma,” I said.
There couldn’t be any harm in offering a little help. I mean, God had told me to, so I’d put in a formal complaint if there was harm in it.
I continued, “But I can only dive in the afternoons if you’re fine with that,” I said.
“Yes, of course! Thank you!” he said, bowing his head enthusiastically.
“Anyway, I think it’s about time we get out of here,” I said.
“Are you offering to walk me out of here? But you’ve already helped so much...”
“I’m already involved, so I can’t just leave you stranded. I’ll see this through to the end. I was about to head home for the day anyway.”
The last part was a lie, but he wasn’t getting home by himself, so I had to walk him out.
And so, we’d returned to the Great Forest Ruins, aka the Forest, and farmed there for a while. We were gathering loot for Dillon—not for me—since I wanted him to have some financial buffer. He’d be in a much better spot once he earned enough to get some equipment and feed himself for two or three days. I’d gotten a lot of help when I’d first started out, so I was just paying it forward.
We’d gone around weeding herbs for a while, then arrived at a route in the Great Forest Ruins where monsters appeared often. We were now facing a Monoceros Deer, the cash-cow monster of the Great Forest Ruins. It looked like a large dark doe with a single large spiral antler growing from its forehead. It was a relatively weak monster out of the ones that could be found in the low-level floors like the Great Forest Ruins, the Misty Hills, and the Infinite Gray Castle; its horn was worth a pretty penny, hence its status as a cash cow. The horn’s value arose from the fact that it could be refined to make a wide variety of things from weapons to armor ornaments.
The deer only attacked by charging forward with their horns, and they’d become completely vulnerable to attacks if they charged into a tree or bush and got stuck. Not to mention, they were incredibly aggressive by nature and would attack anything that came into sight. What a poor, dumb animal.
I’d seen one charge at a Walker Rabbit, which was generally harmless unless provoked, and the deer had ended up getting a thorough butt whooping. A Walker Rabbit had practically no attack power, yet it’d beaten up the Monoceros Deer with one hand while munching on a leaf. Even a dog would bite someone who messed with it while it was eating, so that was well deserved for the Monoceros Deer. Anyway, although Monoceros Deer could be beaten up by even the rabbits, which were known for being weak, I couldn’t exactly call them harmless because there’d been people who’d gotten injured trying to fight them.
Dillon’s experience dealing with harmful animals in his village seemed to be paying off, and he was defeating the deer without too much trouble. He stood in front of a thick tree and waited for the Monoceros Deer to charge at him, then dodged out of the way. Once its antler was stuck in the tree, he repeatedly struck its neck with his hatchet. It was as simple as that.
“Looks like you can handle Monoceros Deer without problems,” I said.
“Only because I’m fighting them one-on-one. Plus, you’ve been helping me,” replied Dillon.
“That’s true,” I said.
I’d been keeping other Monoceros Deer at bay with my magic so Dillon could fight them one at a time. They might have been weak, but he could be in trouble if they surrounded him. It wouldn’t be good for him or me if I took care of everything for him though.
“Oh, I know! Do you mind if I try out a generic spell I made recently?” I asked.
“A spell?”
“Yeah, check it out. Double Strike!” I called out, casting my very own original spell.
Double Strike was, simply put, a spell that allowed the target to attack twice at once. A standard attack, whether it be a sword swing, a punch, or a kick, would each count as one strike. I’d wondered if adding an extra attack to single strikes, like in RPGs, would be possible, so I’d come up with this spell.
Soon, Dillon was enveloped in a mysterious soft light. The generic spell wasn’t a strengthening one, so he probably wasn’t able to physically feel the difference. Sure enough, he looked at me with a confused expression.
“Uh...” he said.
“Now, you’ll be able to perform double attacks for a while! That is all!” I announced.
“Huh? Double attacks?” he asked.
“Just try attacking that one with your sword without jamming it into a tree this time,” I suggested.
“Sure...”
Dillon hesitantly approached a Monoceros Deer. Doing so was probably unfamiliar for him because the standard fighting method was to wait for it to come charging. On the other hand, some people could grab its horn to hold it in place, but that was probably too difficult for him with his current level and strength. Either way, I was sure he’d figure it out.
The deer he’d targeted scowled at him and started thrashing its head and antler around threateningly. Evading a surprise attack might have been hard for him if he was below level 3, but as a level 7 Diver, he should be able to react to any sudden movements. Avoiding its attacks was relatively simple: all he had to do was to quickly move around it in circles. Seeming to know this already, he began circling the monster. The Monoceros Deer was a quadruped that couldn’t turn very quickly, so it was having trouble keeping up with Dillon’s movement.
As soon as he found an opening, Dillon attacked. He swung his weapon at its neck, but that wasn’t enough to take it down. Blood flowing from its wound, the deer repositioned itself and was about to kick Dillon with its rear legs—but something strange happened. Suddenly, Dillon accelerated, moving far faster than he ever had, as if he alone was moving on fast-forward. He continued to deliver a second hit, and the Monoceros Deer went down.
Dillon stood there, and he looked back and forth between his hatchet and the fallen monster in confusion. “Huh? Huh...?”
He didn’t comprehend what had just happened.
“That was a double attack!” I said. “This generic spell lets you do a follow-up attack on your enemies. Even if they blocked your first attack, they couldn’t possibly defend or evade the second one! Unless they also have the same ability, that is.”
“Wow! You’re incredible!” said Dillon. He seemed excited to have benefited from a generic spell for the first time.
“Ha ha, keep the compliments coming,” I said.
I was used to Sensei talking crap about me, so I wanted to have my moment for a bit. I had to tend to my mental health somehow.
And so, we hunted Monoceros Deer for a while longer, then went back to the main hall quite satisfied.
This story isn’t done quite yet.
§
“And we’re back!”
Dillon and I safely returned from our farming run at the Forest and arrived at the main hall. Though, we weren’t really in any danger since we’d just been coming back from the Misty Hills.
Normally, Divers went straight to the washing area to rinse themselves after a dive. We had to clean off any blood or dirt, or the hall would be an unsanitary mess. Not to mention, not doing so would upset the receptionists, and nobody wanted that. I was fine because I hadn’t gotten dirty at all, but Dillon had been running for his life, so he was moderately messy.
As I was thinking of taking us to the washing area, I heard a dull thud as if someone had fallen on their butt. I turned around to find Dillon slumped over, his expression a mixture of relief and joy.
“I’m... I’m alive...!” he muttered.
Now that he could relax, all the tension he’d built up was released all at once. It wasn’t even winter, but his hands were trembling. This sort of thing was pretty common; people would return from the dungeon for the first time, then truly appreciate that they were alive. This didn’t just happen to new Divers but also to veterans coming back from deeper floors. The Divers around us were watching him warmly and empathetically.
Dillon eventually recollected himself and said, “Thank you so much! I thought I was done for.”
“You got lucky this time. Let’s be more careful from now on, yeah?” I said.
“Yes, of course...”
I’d gained practically no profit from today’s dive, but that didn’t bother me at all.