“Fununununununu!!”
The head popping out of the ground is exerting so much strength, it feels like it might pop a blood vessel.
The head, Number Two, is using magic energy to strengthen his body, but it’s by no means precise.
I told him to focus on strengthening one part, but it’s not going well.
His handling of his weapon isn’t showing as big of an improvement as I thought, and he’s really frustrated, so I think he knows it.
Still, he doesn’t give up. Is his heart strong? How much does he want to accomplish that goal of his?
“Kyu!”
“Kuoh!!!”
Hinata, who escaped already, cheers him on, and he exerts even more strength, but I want to tell him to focus on magic energy instead.
Still, I don’t know if it’s idiot strength or what, but he escapes with not much magic energy remaining.
“Ahh, ahh, ahh, ah, let me, rest, for a, bit.”
No. You’re staggering, and one arm looks like it will fall off, but stopping is dying. Show some grit.
I say to make him stand up, and give him his club. He’s breathing heavily, but holds it up. There’s fight in his eyes.
But it’s not like he suddenly got way stronger.
“Dammit…”
He runs out of magic energy, reaches his limit after being hit all over, and falls to the ground.
Complaining won’t make him move, it just increases the taste of dirt.
I cast Healing Magic on him, and remove his pain. But he’s still out of magic energy, and still on the ground. He looks like he’s brooding over something, and conflicted.
“Kyu~?”
As I watch him silently, Hinata tilts its head and spreads its wings. After going up, it lands on my head for some reason and looks at Number Two’s face. So I do as well.
What are you trying to do?
“Brr.”
“Gafu?”
As we both look at him, Fuuma gets curious and approaches, and Totaro stretches its neck.
“…Hum, is there something on my face?”
Number Two’s expression turns to confusion, and he can’t escape with his unmovable body. So let’s give him some words of encouragement.
Don’t worry. We’re all just looking because your face is funny.
“Shut up!”
Hinata laughs, most likely because the way his expression changed was funny. That seems to catch Number Two off guard, as he looks on blankly. Then he sighs and turns serious.
“John Doe, will you listen to my story?”
Number Two was in his twenties.
He was born in the countryside during a turbulent time, and he went to Tokyo to start working for a company there after graduating. However, it wasn’t a place that followed the times, and the company he worked for soon went bankrupt.
Left without a job, and without a place to live, he was at a loss, but he met a man from where he was born, like it was help from above.
“Oh? It’s been a while. What are you doing here?”
“It’s been a while, ——. Hahaha, the company went bust.”
“Ouou, that’s terrible. Are you going back home?”
“Well… I was thinking about it, if I can’t find anything.”
“What’s the matter, don’t you want to go? Isn’t your mother waiting there?”
“My big brother’s family is there. There’s no place for me… And I’d feel awkward coming back empty-handed…”
“I see… I have a proposal. Do you want to come with me? There’s a good job.”
“Eh? You have a job?”
Number Two clung to the offer of the man from his town.
According to him, he had been going to a dungeon, and the government provided for his daily needs. Also, he was paid in accordance with results, and got a nice sum.
He did not need to invite Number Two, but he saw he was at a dead end, and he was looking for partners.
“Can I do it?”
“It’s all right. You’ll get strong soon, like I did.”
His words were full of confidence, and perhaps because he was older, he seemed reliable.
I’ll follow him, Number Two decided as he bowed. He had no idea that was the start of his regret, he just trusted him.
The man had a family. A beautiful and kind partner, with a good disposition.
He asked how he met her, and said it all started when he saved her from trouble in the dungeon.
He went to Tokyo, met someone like in a story, got married, and had a child.
He was very happy, and it seemed it was all going perfectly.
That harmonious family made Number Two jealous.
Number Two would be living in their guest house until his situation was sorted out.
The next day, he challenged the dungeon for the first time, and the man was happy when he got the rare Healing Magic skill.
“Great! Now we don’t need a doctor!”
“Is it really that great?”
“Yes, you can heal any wound.”
Number Two was surprised to hear that, but reality wasn’t that amazing.
He was a beginner with little experience and a low level, so he ran out of magic energy after healing a scratch.
“Don’t worry, everyone’s like that at the start.”
He encouraged him, but Number Two was frustrated about holding him back.
Number Two fought and tried hard to catch up to him, and get better at Healing Magic. The gap between them was still too wide, but he was steadily getting stronger.
Half a year had passed since he first went to the dungeon, and they welcomed new partners.
They had met several times in the dungeon and talked to this party composed of two women.
“Thank you for having us.”
“Likewise.”
Both were like amazons. They were different people, but both were fearless and intelligent.
One used a longsword. Her power was clear, and she sparred several times with the man from his hometown. She had a scar on her face from her early days, but it did little to diminish her beauty. If anything, it enhanced her charm.
The other was a mage that controlled water and lightning.
She was blessed with skills, and her weapon also enhanced magic. She dressed like a western witch, but maybe it was good that she was hidden, as her face and body could fascinate any man.
The four of them explored, including those two, but Number Two felt the other man’s power once again.
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