Chapter 119, Skill Training

Translator: Barnnn

 

“Morning, everyone,” Marlera called out as the group made their way into the dining hall. “I’ve left a few days’ worth of meals on the next table. Be sure to grab yours before you head out.”

“Good morning, Miss Marlera. And thank you,” Hal replied with a grateful bow.

“Ah, and that small paper bag has some Lyrelias inside.”

“Lyrelia?” Hal parroted, puzzled. “What’s that?”

“The same kind of flower I put in Ize’s tea yesterday. A little bonus, on the house,” Marlera said with a wink.

“Oh! Thank you so much!”

 

On the adjacent table were several neatly labeled paper bags, each listing its contents in careful handwriting. Only one small bag contained Lyrelia blossoms — just like the one Ize had enjoyed the day before.

 

“I’m really happy. I’ll drink it as tea before bed,” Ize said, cradling the bag with care.

“In that stench? You think you can enjoy tea surrounded by Dungeon stink?” Marlera asked, skeptically raising an eyebrow.

“It’s all right. Hal’s magic keeps the smell away.”

“Huh. If you say so.”

 

Marlera gave Hal a doubtful look — the same kind she might give a snake-oil peddler promising miracle cures. Hal, visibly uncomfortable under her gaze, shifted awkwardly in place.

 

“We’ll have results in three days,” Fieda said as he joined the others. “Look forward to it.”

“If it means Donatham can go back to being a proper Padre, then fine. I won’t hold my breath, though,” Marlera replied, but the small smile on her lips hinted at genuine hope.

 

◆

 

“All right, today’s goal is the eleventh floor — maybe the twelfth if we’re quick,” Fieda declared. “Tomorrow, we reach the fifteenth and turn back.”

“If there’s not too much respawn, the return trip should be a breeze,” Hal said.

“Right. And from what we saw yesterday, your air purifying spell should hold for a day,” Fieda nodded.

“When do we switch to light magic?” Ize asked.

“When Hal’s spells stop dropping them in one hit,” Fieda replied. “Which would be a bit after the tenth floor, according to what Donatham’s told us.”

“Got it. So, today’s the ‘Hal-on-Stage’ show, huh?” Ize said, grinning.

“If you feel like it, you can make it all sparkly with light magic while you’re at it,” Hal replied with a chuckle.

“Huh. That might actually look nice…”

 

Hal gave her a sidelong glance, a flicker of alarm crossing his face.

 

[Oh no. She’s actually thinking about it.]

 

He pictured a glowing orb spinning over his head like some kind of festival act from an end-of-year variety show, and quickly shook his head to clear the image.

 

“Hey. Snap out of it — we’re moving,” Fieda said.

“R-right!”

 

Hal stumbled forward, hastening to catch up.

 

[And thus, the legend of Saint Hal was born–]

“Ize, quit fooling around and let’s go!” Fieda called.

“Coming!” Ize replied cheerfully.

 

◆

 

The twelfth floor of the Undead Dungeon was a vast stone chamber, empty except for a few square boxes scattered across the floor. Dimly glowing orbs floated gently in the air around them, casting an eerie light that somehow felt… almost dreamlike.

 

“Nothing here,” Fieda muttered.

“Totally empty,” Ize agreed. “Feels like if I shouted, it’d echo right back at me.”

“Don’t you dare,” Hal warned.

“Ah, the classic gag. Which means… I should–” Ize started, only to get flicked on the forehead. “Oww!”

“Kyooo!” chirped Sato from her arms.

“Hey — quiet down, Sato,” Ize scolded lightly. “Honestly, who do you get this from?”

 

As they prepped for rest after another day’s exploration, the trio surveyed the cavernous space, their eyes drifting away from the gaping void beyond.

 

“I don’t like it when it’s overrun with Zombies,” Ize said. “But this… this empty silence is just as creepy.”

“Don’t say that,” Hal replied with a shiver. “I was thinking the same thing.”

“Should we have left one of them alive?” Fieda asked, half-serious.

“Nope. Still terrifying. Still stinks,” Hal shot back.

“Exactly.”

 

Hal firmly vetoed Fieda’s rare attempt at a joke. Thanks to his magic, the Dungeon was now scrubbed clean of the Undead — so clean, in fact, that the lack of any other presence made the silence feel oddly oppressive.

 

“Hal, how much energy you got left?” Fieda asked.

“About twenty percent. I’m feeling a bit drained.”

“All right. We’re done for today, so it’s fine. But from now on, keep thirty percent in reserve.”

“Huh? It was fine to go down to twenty in Jasted, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, my bad. Should’ve been clearer. Ize, this applies to you too.”

 

Ize glanced up from playing with Sato, giving Fieda her attention. He nodded briefly and continued.

 

“If we’re relying on spellcasters in battle — like today — then you need to monitor your reserves carefully. When I can’t fight up close, your magic becomes our lifeline.”

“Why thirty percent specifically?” Hal asked.

“Okay, say a horde of Undead suddenly appears–”

“Ugh!”

“Hya!” Ize yelped, scooting back slightly.

 

Both Hal and Ize instinctively scanned their surroundings before realizing it was just a hypothetical.

 

“Just an example,” Fieda said calmly. “If you’ve only got twenty percent left, and you take out the horde, you’ll drop to ten percent — or less. That leads to two major problems.”

 

He raised two fingers for emphasis — thankfully without wiggling them, which Ize appreciated.

 

“First, dipping below ten percent causes physical symptoms. Doesn’t matter for now, but if you end up on watch duty overnight, it’ll drag the whole party down. I mean, if we’re relying on spellcasters, you probably won’t be put on watch — but still, nobody wants to go through magical energy depletion symptoms.”

 

Both Hal and Ize nodded without protest.

 

“Second, while you two recover energy faster than average, dropping below ten means you probably won’t be back to full after just one night. If the next day’s another spell-heavy battle, you’ll be a liability.”

“So… we might have to stay in place and wait until we’re fully recharged?” Hal asked.

“Exactly.”

“Man, it feels kind of bad when everything starts with ‘it’s fine for us, but…'” Ize said, scratching her head.

“Yeah…” Hal agreed.

 

Fieda heaved a sigh.

 

“Anyway, just remember the first point. If we’re headed to Sooryab, there’s a good chance we’ll be doing raids.”

“Raids? Like, with other parties?” Hal asked.

“Most likely.”

“Ugh, that’s gonna be a headache.”

“Would it be with Mister Wardon’s group?”

“Doubt it. They’re A-rank — too far ahead. More likely a few B-ranks.”

“Ughh…”

“Man, I don’t like the sound of that,” Hal muttered.

 

Fieda shrugged.

 

“It’s a national operation. They’re not just going to throw us in without a plan. We’ll be coordinating with others, like it or not. So stay sharp.”

“Aye, sir,” Hal groaned.

“Ehh…” Ize echoed.

“That didn’t sound very inspired.”

“I’ll be inspired when we get there.”

“Don’t worry. We’re capable when we need to be,” Ize said brightly.

“That’s… not very reassuring,” Fieda replied with a smirk.

 

With a short laugh through his nose, he raised his teacup and took a sip. The warmth of the tea helped cut through the Dungeon’s chill, soothing nerves after the day’s tension.

 

“All right. Tomorrow we hit the final floor and start the return. Let’s get some sleep.”

“”Yes, sir,”” Ize and Hal answered in unison.

“Kekyo!” added Sato.

 

◆

 

In the now-silent chamber, the group crouched among the scattered remnants, picking up glimmering shards of Magicite from the floor.

 

“Ugh. My back’s killing me,” Fieda groaned.

“Want me to heal it?” Ize offered.

“Nah. That’d be a never-ending cycle.”

“Kyoff,” Sato chirped from nearby, the leaves on its head bouncing slightly.

 

Fieda straightened from a half-crouch and gave his lower spine a few sharp taps with his knuckles.

 

“…Haven’t we seen this scene before?” Ize chuckled.

“Let’s not dig up ancient memories,” Hal said quickly.

“Kyokyokyo!”

 

Ize had started to mention their previous cleanup after that one Giant Turtle skirmish — an event Hal would rather not revisit. To shut it down, he quickly cut her off, scooping up a Magicite shard resting on Sato’s leaf before the little creature could start laughing again.

The fight against the horde of Undead on the thirteenth floor had ended within minutes. But the cleanup — the shimmering debris littering the floor — was another matter entirely. Even with three people and a supporting mascot in tandem, it felt like they were making no progress.

 

“Back then, Hal just blew everything away with water magic, didn’t he?” Ize mused. “Think wind magic would work here?”

Fieda shook his head. “We’re focusing on getting Hal to upgrade to holy magic now. Why don’t YOU try something else, Ize?”

“Me? You mean… dark magic?”

“Maybe you can tweak how you manipulate it — like the way you use it to grab or move Mystic Beasts. Just… see if you can apply that to smaller targets like these Magicite shards.”

 

Fieda made his suggestion with a grunt, hands on his hips as he arched his back. The frustration in his voice was clear — he’d had enough of this tedious chore.

 

“I could use light magic to create a shadow under each one… then lift them with the shadow. Maybe gather them into one spot?”

 

A small globe of light magic formed above the Magicite, casting a faint shadow beneath.

 

“The shadows are small,” she muttered. “Might take a moment to register clearly.”

 

Focusing on the subtle silhouettes, she summoned her dark magic.

 

“Anddd… up!”

 

With a short shout, one shard leaped off the ground.

 

“Whoa!” Hal exclaimed as it shot toward him. He caught it deftly with one hand. “That startled me!”

“I was aiming it at myself, actually,” Ize said, blinking.

“Your control needs work.”

“I USED to be good at this, you know,” she mumbled, pouting as she moved to the next shard.

 

Hal and Fieda trudged along behind her, clearly too tired to keep picking them up by hand. Even Sato hopped along after them, its leaves bobbing like flags of surrender.

 

“There’s another one just ahead, Ize,” Hal pointed out.

“Think I can get two at once?”

 

She focused on the second Magicite a few steps beyond the first, intensifying the glow of her light spell to cast sharper shadows. Her voice lowered as she muttered to herself.

 

“Magicites aren’t perfectly round, so I need to be precise about where to target them with the shadows…”

 

She took a breath and focused on the irregular contours of the shards.

 

“Here goes. Be ready — one of them might bounce in a weird direction.”

“Got it,” Hal said.

“Understood,” Fieda added.

“Anddd… up!”

 

At Ize’s command, the two shards shot up — one arced toward Fieda, the other shot straight into the air. Hal dashed forward to catch it before it clattered to the ground.

 

“Still tricky,” Ize muttered. “I thought I had the aim down.”

“Instead of sending them to different people, what if you gathered them all in one spot?” Hal suggested. “It’d make pickup a lot easier.”

“You think it’s okay if they clatter into each other?”

“They’re sturdier than they look. Won’t break that easy.”

“Got it.”

 

The three of them began to scan the floor for the next cluster. Ize continued experimenting, adjusting her technique with each attempt.

 

“Think this’ll ever come in handy?” she asked.

“Only if Hal screws up again,” Fieda teased.

“Hey!” Hal scowled. “C’mon, it’ll probably be useful at Sooryab, right?”

“Sure, but is using a rare light magic caster to gather Magicite really the best use of resources?”

“Point made,” Hal said with a grin.

“There we go..”

Ize huffed. “You two are killing my motivation here.”

“C’mon, you’ve come this far,” Hal said. “Might as well master it. I’m sure it’ll be useful somewhere.”

“Besides just picking up Magicite?”

“Even in battle, precision control is critical. This is great training.”

“Well… I guess that’s true.”

 

She had improved — faster at identifying even faint or irregular shadows, and better at calculating where to apply force for a clean lift. This definitely felt like something she could apply in combat.

 

“For some reason, this reminds me of that one children’s game,” Ize said. “Picking up beans with chopsticks…”

“Oh yeah, that,” Hal said, chuckling. “Wait, is that a nationwide thing?”

“Some places actually have competitions. And there are even educational toys based on it.”

“Man, generational gap much?”

 

As they chatted, Ize raised her hand, launching a ball of light magic high overhead. The glow fanned out, casting wide, clear shadows across the chamber. She took a moment to identify the shapes and angles of each Magicite shard, determining exactly where to apply pressure.

 

“Anddd… up!”

 

With a rapid series of clicks and clinks, a dozen Magicite shards sprang into the air and landed in a neat little pile about three meters ahead.

 

“There. That should do it.”

“You’ve mastered it,” Fieda said with a nod.

“That was clean,” Hal agreed. “How’s your magical energy holding up?”

“Barely used any,” Ize replied. “About the same as a single healing spell. If I invoked the Bangle’s multiplier, I could boost the efficiency even more, too.”

“Good idea,” Hal nodded. “Try that if you end up using it in a real fight.”

“Understood.”

 

The Dungeon was theirs alone — empty, chilled, and silent even in the peak of summer.

With no one around to interfere, Hal and Ize threw themselves into refining their magical skills — for the power to protect their families, and themselves. Just like they had once promised.