Certainly the world’s greatest healer.
I admired the perfectly gone burn marks.
“Johann… was it really necessary to fight so dangerously?”
“You’re right, you’re right!”
“Sometimes you have to risk your life to be safe.”
“But if you act so recklessly, I can’t help but worry…”
“I’m sorry.”
I had never once thought I would die fighting the twin-headed ogre. It was merely a trial illusion, and the worst outcome would be just fainting.
Still, it wasn’t good to worry Karina, so I apologized to her. Karina sighed and said after hearing my apology.
“Next time, please don’t do that. If you do, I won’t heal you next time.”
“I’ll remember that.”
With Karina’s warning, I tucked my tail between my legs. There’s no guarantee I’ll keep that promise 100%, but I know my body is precious too. I only charged in this time because I had the solid insurance of Karina with me.
If I didn’t have Karina, I would have handled things in a safer manner.
For instance, pouring water on its head or driving the shovel in.
…Actually, isn’t that even more dangerous?
I stood up and did some simple stretches to loosen my body. Laying on the bare floor for a long time made me feel stiff. My companions looked at me with tired expressions as I stretched and tilted their heads in confusion.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m loosening up. You have to stretch like this when your body gets stiff to reduce strain on your muscles when moving.”
I didn’t know the precise benefits, but I vaguely remembered it to be like that. Lewis, who had been resting on the floor, seemed impressed by my words and suddenly stood up to follow my movements.
“Is this how you do it?”
“Yes.”
“I definitely feel my body loosening up!”
“I want to do it too!”
While it’s good that it works, it felt strange when the girls started following along with subtle glances.
The sight of colorful-haired humans doing military exercises was bizarre to the point of being grotesque.
—————–
“Are we on the 2nd floor now—”
“Viola, is there any reagent left?”
“About half? Hmm. We need to prepare some non-consumable offensive method. There’s a limit to how much reagent we can carry.”
“Still, the firepower is on a level of top-tier 4th-grade magic, so I think it’s strong!”
“Shuri, it’s still not at that level of magic. Maybe we should tweak the mixtures to raise the firepower, or switch towards potions…”
“Viola, how about enhancing the explosive power and changing to smaller bottles? Even 4th-grade magic would be decent for explorers.”
“Y-Yeah…”
“Is that so?”
As I overheard my companions chatting, I opened the door to the entrance leading to the 2nd floor. The door opened without any resistance, exposing its pitch-black depths to us.
“Let’s stop the chatter and head down now.”
The group hurriedly prepared and began to make their way down to the 2nd floor. However, this time there was something slightly different.
“Karina. Sorry, but I think I’ll need to carry you for a bit.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can go down those stairs on a wheelchair. Millia. Fold the wheelchair and carry it.”
“It could be folded?”
“Of course.”
In this day and age, it would be absurd if it didn’t have a folding function. I carefully picked Karina up.
“Uh, Johann. This is a bit embarrassing…”
“Sorry, but there’s no other way.”
I can’t ask the other girls to carry her down. Lewis was already the exception.
“W-Well then, please do.”
I didn’t know what Karina’s face looked like under her veil, but at least her body felt a bit warm in my arms.
As Karina shifted a bit and adjusted her posture, I felt a soft, plush touch against my chest. It felt like sweet flower scents blended with the burnt smell in the room began to waft up my nose.
I desperately tried not to look down and told the staring companions.
“Go ahead first.”
“Oh, okay.”
We started descending the stairs to the 2nd floor.
Fortunately, the path to the 2nd floor wasn’t very long, and we soon arrived in a large hall filled with bright lighting.
“It looks like a place where a ball could be held.”
“I wonder what hellish monsters are waiting for us here…”
“Viola, it’s best not to use vulgar language.”
“Oh, sorry.”
“Something feels ominous…”
As Elisa said, the wide, clean hall felt like it harbored an ominous atmosphere. It was so overly tidy that it felt like something might pop out.
“Johann, could you put me down now…?”
“Oh, sorry.”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to be sorry. It’s unavoidable…”
“Millia. Please unfold the wheelchair.”
“I… want to, but… okay!”
I thought I heard something murmured just now, but whatever.
I placed Karina in the unfolded wheelchair and secured the safety belt. Karina placed her hands on her chest and took a deep breath.
“Are you okay?”
“Uh, yes. Yes, I’m fine. Let’s go quickly.”
If that’s the case.
We moved straight into the hall. The spacious hall, adorned with a large chandelier, felt peaceful in its own right, but if you looked closely, a faint mist was rising from somewhere.
“What is this place?”
“Since a twin-headed ogre appeared on the 1st floor, it wouldn’t be strange if something stronger popped out…”
“Can we win?”
[Contractor, the kids are completely scared, huh?]
They have every right to be scared. A twin-headed ogre is part of a very powerful and rare monster that you’d be hard-pressed to find even after a lifetime of exploration. And suddenly, it pops out as a guard on the first floor of a secret archive?
Did the first principal lose it towards the end?
Even uttering those complaints would be justified. No matter how much the first principal was a great wizard, he shouldn’t be able to conjure something like that.
If I weren’t here, this party would have been doomed without a doubt.
Maybe seniors could handle them, but dragging along first-year chicks like this would make it tough even against an ogre.
If we’re just judging their abilities, a 2nd-year should manage to beat it…
“Karina and Millia, step back toward the entrance of the 2nd floor. This time, we’ll go in alone.”
“Okay! But we can’t afford to take any risks! I’ll get angry if we do!”
Leaving behind Millia’s angry voice, we moved toward the center of the hall. There were no changes until we reached the middle of the hall.
So far, this is just like the original story.
I turned my body and looked around at the anxious faces of the first years.
[Contractor, there’s a gathering of magical power-]
“…As expected.”
In the direction where the exit could be seen far away, the flow of magical energy was thickening gradually. It was an intimidating flow that even someone like me, with limited magical skill, could sense.
I observed the silhouette of the 2nd-floor guardian slowly taking shape at the exit and took out my shovel.
“Everyone, prepare for battle.”
At my words, everyone promptly gripped their weapons in unison.
“When the guardian appears, we’ll intercept immediately.”
“The fact that the 2nd-floor guardian pops out right away is concerning… what could come out…?”
“Viola, don’t worry too much. No matter what, it won’t be stronger than a twin-headed ogre.”
No matter how great the first principal was as a grand wizard, he shouldn’t have enough magic to just pluck something like that out of thin air. I gripped my shovel seeing the creature now about halfway formed.
“Huh.”
If physical attacks don’t work, then it’s magic.
I was facing a golem made up of numerous books.
Among the possible bosses that could come out on the 2nd floor, this was the one that would annoy us the most.
I instinctively sensed that it would be more troublesome than an ogre with its clearly mage-like form.
“A golem made of books…?”
“It looks weaker than an ogre…”
With a body size about half of an ogre and an exterior made of books, it seemed to give off a weak impression. But that thing was undoubtedly part of Andras’s tricks, or rather, one of his arrangements, so it was definitely not to be underestimated.
It likely had abilities to mess with students who entered this place.
“Don’t let your guard down. Lewis, be ready to intercept at any moment.”
“Understood.”
“Wizard class, prepare to cast defense magic.”
“Ready!”
If my memory serves me right, its first pattern would be a wide-area magic barrage.
Once we withstand the first attack, Lewis, I, and Viola will rush in to distract it. In the meantime, we’ll stack up damage with magic to deplete the barrier, and once the barrier breaks, we strike it with high-power spells to crush it.
That was the standard tactic.
In the game, while the tank absorbs all the damage, the physical dealer chips away at the barrier and the mage obliterates the golem once the barrier is down, but since we lack a tank in reality, we had no choice.
Just then, we were about to enter the battle.
[Contractor, something’s off. I can sense another flow of magic-]
“What?”
The moment I heard that, my instincts went into overdrive.
Something more dangerous was about to appear.
“J-Johann! The golem is collapsing!”
“Everyone, prepare to run if necessary. We don’t know what will pop out-”
…Huh?
“Meow.”
Who are you?
You’re supposed to pop out on the 3rd floor!
“…It’s a cat.”
A sigh mixed with disbelief echoed from behind.
We were left speechless, staring at a cat wearing a cone hat as it sat atop the collapsed golem.
“Meow.”
Andras’s familiar, Kiki, was staring at us as if bored.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.