It’s been thirty minutes since I woke up from my Petrification, and as predicted, I can move my body again. I feel numb and languid, but Ayane quickly takes care of that too. I hug each one in turn, as a way to confirm we’re all okay. Everyone looks tired, but Ayane is particularly shaky.
And there’s someone else who doesn’t look good, in a different way.
‘Gogo…’
“What is it Enki? Not feeling good?”
‘Go…’
“Ah, is it lack of Magic Energy?”
Enki reluctantly nods.
I see, the battle was fierce enough to scrape its body a lot. It did its best to protect a dear comrade. Mine is probably not going up once it goes down because of the competition between Magic Energy Recovery and what I spend maintaining the golems, so I won’t recover unless I level up or sleep for a while. But since we’re going home, Enki can have it.
“You did well, don’t be so reserved.”
‘Goh!’
I touch Enki’s core, and send Magic Energy, about as much as when I made it. It looks like that fight really took it to the limit.
Apparently Ayane filmed it, so I’m going to have to watch Enki fight later.
“Ah, by the way, did everyone level up?”
Everyone nods except Aira. Aki and Maki are relatively low level, so they shot up, Ayane’s level went up by one, and Aira didn’t level up because she’s high level.
“Why do you ask?”
“Well, I didn’t level up. I was attacked, but I didn’t attack, and considering how it ended, I guess it makes sense.”
“Then the fundamental issue with Magic Energy will have to be solved later.”
“I guess so.”
We don’t feel like fighting golems on the way back, so we’ll just head straight home.
“Ah, but let’s pick up those treasure chests along the way.”
“If that’s all..”
“No problem.”
‘Gogo?’
Enki tilts its neck, as if asking how we’re going back.
Well, Enki is now about three meters tall, and it’s pretty tattered. Apparently Automatic Recovery is now working thanks to the infusion of Magic Energy, but it’s limited in various ways. It only recovers the golem to its minimum form.
The name of the skill made it seem useful, but it’s not perfect. It would be if it was used by something with no defined form like slimes. In that sense, it probably goes best with water golems.
“We might as well walk back. But I’ll carry you, Ayane, because it looks like you’re struggling.”
“Yes… Please do.”
Normally Ayane would be reserved about doing that, but it looks like she’s really tired. When I pick her up, she falls asleep immediately. Aki and Maki walk in front, and Enki behind, to protect her. And Aira is walking next to me.
“It seems the lady is tired from spending so much of her energy healing.”
“Healing… Wait, wasn’t her level supposed to be too low to cure Petrification?”
“Yes. But even if it cannot heal on a fundamental level, Healing Magic also has the effect to boost natural healing abilities. But the effect is quite small when used just once, so it has to be used again and again to show results.”
“…Meaning, she kept casting magic to shorten the effective time of that status condition, since she didn’t have the means to really treat it.”
“Healing Magic is more versatile than other spells. Even if the skill level is not sufficient, by continuing to cast it, it is possible to achieve a pseudo high rank healing. That means that even if level two is not sufficient to treat something, casting it over and over can heal it completely.”
But doesn’t that mean that if there’s even a moment of interruption between continuous casting, it stops? It must be tough on the nerves. Aki said that this Petrification healed with time, but that’s the conclusion she came to after I started healing. Ayane kept casting magic, believing I would recover…
And had she not done that, it would’ve taken me longer to wake up.
“Ayane really is too good for me.”
“Indeed. We are the same in that regard.”
Aira whispers quietly enough to not reach my ears.
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
We collect two treasure chests along the way, and decide to open them later. And when we reach the second floor, the girls propose something.
“Now Shouta, let’s cheer up.”
“We returned safely, so let’s feel down when we get home.”
“Master, remember to smile.”
So basically, if an A rank adventurer returns with a clearly depressed expression, it will fan anxiety on his juniors. I did fail massively today, but everyone made it back.
And so, I clear my head, and return with it held high.
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Thanks for the treat.