We finished some preparations and had a camp ready while planning the base. While the others hunted, Hilda and I spent our time digging and structuring the cave. I made quick work of the wood—or so I thought…

Damn, these magic-resistant trees…

Anyhow… I managed somehow with high-frequency hydroplanes. While I’m not an expert in architecture, I know that support is a must! Then again, I guess building a cope ass hut isn’t comparable to what we’re currently doing…

If we had more lech, then I suppose we could’ve hired some people to design or build the place. But even that would be difficult since we’re located on floor 16. There were some dangers, but we’ve also received a repellent magi-tech core from Saint Amethely.

While I feel grateful, how am I supposed to pay all of this back? I know for a fact that Magi-tech is expensive, like, sure, not all of it, but… A monster repellent?

I inwardly sighed. I guess I was lucky as well, having these connections… I’ll be sure to pay them back once we get to Ilifel!

Other than that, we received some stuff other stuff from Noel! Sure, most of it was for his sister, but I received a crafts tool kit! I’d say I’m decently good with my hands, so I should be able to make some furniture for us. A couch, beds and… I want a shower… should that be the priority after the support?

It might be strange for others, but I don’t want to lie down feeling dirty… I know there’s the river, but… y’know? Besides that, none of us have learned cleansing magic. We even have tents and sleeping bags inside a spatial storage device, so… a bath/shower area! Let’s go with that!

“—No… Aska, we should focus on the more essential stuff first…”

Hilda stopped me in my tracks when I told her about it.

“Buuuut…” I groaned.

She chuckled and flashed a gentle smile. “You can be childish at times, too, huh?” Hilda remarked. “Then again, when we met, you leapt into my arms, crying…it was cute.” Giggling, she continued to do her work.

As she dug out the area. We were now left with a huge pile of dirt and stone. Of course, I’d say I’m resourceful, and the stones will be used for the shower/bath area…

“You’re not thinking anything strange, are you?” Hilda suddenly inquired, not even looking my way.

“…of course not,” I hesitantly replied. “By the way, how should we decorate the insides?”

Hilda tilted her head and stopped in her tracks. “What do you mean?”

“I mean… I want it to at least feel homey, you know? Like… Does it have to be run down and stuff?”

“No…” Hilda replied. “You’re putting an odd amount of effort into this, aren’t you?”

She smiled, yet it expressed loneliness.

“…I did pretty much everything around the house, and I suppose that’s why I feel inclined to put in some extra effort…”  

“Ah, I see… I lived alone and did everything…but the place was messy…”

“Huh? Even though you’re so wifey and cook so well?”

“Wifey!?”

I couldn’t help but smile. Her flustered reaction was just too cute. I might be indecisive, but what the hell? So be it.

 “I mean it,” I straightforwardly said. Even though it felt somewhat embarrassing, I was able to hold on. Was it because of [Cool Beauty]?

I guess even that skill has some use…

“G-Geez… Aska,” Hilda pouted. She seemed to think about something but was just quiet and didn’t continue. Then, suddenly, she said, “…I’ll let you handle the design and decoration; I don’t think the others mind.”

Changing the subject, are we? Not that I mind, of course. Wait! I’m the one who changed the subject first!

“In that case…how about wooden walls and stone floors?”

“Oh? That would feel homey, but… Stone floor?” And then, as if realising something, her eyes sparked. “Ooh! You’re going to polish and refine these stones?”

I nodded. “Yeah, pretty much. I’ll have Isak melt them. I’ll then polish it, making it glossy. Don’t you think it would look pretty? I think it would make a reasonably decent pattern. Wave-like preferably.”

“Hmm, sounds good, but how long will it take?” Hilda asked.

I pondered a little before saying, “Not sure.”

Our conversation ended there. Hilda went back to work on digging while I made the support. I put them in as soon as Hilda dug a reasonable space. We wouldn’t want it to collapse now, do we? But I somewhat doubt it would collapse so easily because it was mostly rock.

The support wasn’t that heavy since [Water Strings] was quite the potent and flexible spell, and getting the pillars in place wasn’t a hassle, though I must admit I was getting slightly light-headed. The strain of mana started to kick in.

I was somewhat used to this already since [Eye of Concept] had a similar drawback…wait am I dumb? It literally drains mana; of course, the drawback is the same…

Besides that, Brother Al also left me his spell book. I appreciate it, but there were plenty of lightning spells I couldn’t learn—Julia could, however. And while I could simulate them, the efficiency and output wouldn’t be the same.

Not only was he kind enough to include theoretical aspects of the spells but also a magic circle so that my mana could trace the spell and learn it…

Of course, the lack of understanding of a spell’s property makes it less efficient, even if you’re able to perform it. That’s why he said that a spell could be cast if one knew it just worked. Hmm…should I call him Master Al the next time we meet? But Brother Al has a nice ring to it…

 

— :::: —

 

When Isak and the others came back from hunting, Hilda and I began to cook. We still had a lot of work, so I feel bad they couldn’t rest when they returned.

Freja wanted to help us cook as well, but for safety reasons, we couldn’t let her touch the ingredients. While she was alive... She was equally dead. She was a lich, after all…

Isak melted the stones in the square-shaped temples I made. He didn’t complain and puffed his chest as if saying, “Leave it to me!” excitedly.

I had Freja study the spell book I received. Sure, she was kind of our tank, but as a lich, she had an affinity for magic, hence the headache she’ll receive from the lack of understanding and the heavy theory…

Just like me…

She has good mana control. I doubt it wouldn’t be too difficult for her to learn support magic. The magic we definitely should learn is cleansing magic. It’s flexible as it can clean and cleanse the target from poison and other effects.

It’s one of the better water spells in the book. At least for now, since I doubt either she or I would be able to learn the simpler yet complicated original spells, at least for now.

Wait…she’s gonna be a lich paladin?

As for Julia, she was on watch. I used [Eye of Concept] to see how she was doing. She stood on a branch. Her eyes were sharp and attentive. When her beautiful ocean-like eyes met mine, she smiled briefly and waved.

She’s been less sassy towards me recently. Julia sure has grown… No, I’m sure we all have, considering the situation we’re going through.

 

— :::: —

 

It’s almost been a week since we came to floor 16. And I was entrusted with Freja. I mean… I was beaten to a pulp by Noel quite severely a dozen times.

God, I wanted to cry, but Freja was watching…

And despite his gentle and cheerful demeanour, Noel was sort of a demon. I remember it clearly.

{ Two weeks ago }

“Are you done?” Noel asked while looking down at me.

His usual gentle demeanour was somewhat cold, and his grey eyes bore no warmth. I gulped and stood back up. Freja was also on the ground, groaning in pain.

This guy…much like Alum… Are they all monsters?

His jade-like blade emitted a high ear-bleeding screech each time he swung it. And each swing blasted us with strong gales. Freja and I were teaming up, but even so, I assumed Hilos to be the monster in their group. Aside from The Hero herself, of course.

Aska’s gaze met mine. He sighed and joined in along with Hilda and Julia.

“You don’t mind if we join in, right?” Aska asked. “We’re a team after all.”

Noel looked at him and shifted his gaze toward Alum. They nodded, and with a bright smile, Noel said, “Sure, but Al and I are a team as well!” excitedly.

…Is he a bully? Aska, I’m not sure you made things better…

But unexpectedly, Alum stood in front of Noel. “Noel, I’m on their side this time,” he indifferently said.

With a sour expression, Noel glared at his friend. “What?” he uttered.

“Certainly, you said you’d let her go with them, but considering your overprotective nature, traumatising—hoping they’d come to Ilifel with us isn’t the way to go.”

“…..”

“That’s why I’m joining you. Better prepare them after all.”

This guy is making less sense to me…

Before any of us could react, Alum cast a spell that trapped us in a huge, somewhat painted world.

Noel chuckled, “I see…” he uttered, facing us again.

I felt light, and my wounds healed. I panicked for a moment, and to my surprise, Freja was fine, even though she was exposed to healing magic.

Alum then bluntly said, “I’ve crippled Noel and myself to your average mana range. This world heals you even with the slightest hint of injury and recovers mana—don’t worry, you won’t be mana poisoned from my mana—unless I want that, of course. Do your best and put up a good fight in the 10-minute time limit. Otherwise, we’re taking Freja with us.”

Everyone, even Noel, looked displeased at the Alum’s statement. No one said a word and attacked the duo. I activated all my skills and used [Inferno] to coat my blade in violet flames, hot enough for the head to start melting my mana armour. I strengthened myself, and in a blast, I launched myself at him.

The heat was somewhat bearable due to the healing and the mana armour. And with Aska’s strings around me, he could assist me in whatever shenanigans I was up to. Then, an extremely intense lightning bolt flashed past me.

However, it hit something that seemed to be a wall made out of thin layers of water—a barrier. Still, it wasn’t enough, as it broke through with relative ease. Noel cut right through it with a pained expression when it arrived at its designation, however.

I see…he really was crippled to our level.

I briefly glanced at the spell caster who created this painted world.

10-minutes, huh?

Suddenly, the ground became all gooey, but that wasn’t a problem since I could make obsidian to step on. I could feel my body get lighter, probably because Freja buffed me with light magic.

In a split second, I reached Noel, but a blue light emitted from him, and the screeching blast from our blades connected and tore the ground while ejecting me further back than where I started.

I could feel Aska’s threads being torn and prepared myself for a rough landing—or so I thought. Freja had caught me, and the strong winds blew away all the dust. Hilda and Julia were behind a wall of stone that looked torn and tattered. But Aska was nowhere to be seen…

—until the sound of metal echoed in my ears.

He’d reached Alum and was having a one-on-one. He skilfully dodged Alum’s attacks and tried to bind the mage. But it proved to be difficult since Noel joined in, having recovered faster than us. Freja and I dashed to aid him as he was trying to escape from Alum and Noel.

Damn…Aska, were you ever this agile?

Before Noel’s blade reached Aska, Freja had gotten between them and shielded Aska. Unlike previous attempts, Freja stood firm despite the overwhelming current. But due to the nature of the attack, Noel’s sword bounced strongly off the shield, which staggered him momentarily.

It was an opening I couldn’t miss.

Massive fireballs and a barrage of arrows rained down from the sky, and with my blade seeping against the air, it connected with a barrier, drastically slowing down my momentum. Noel managed to dodge my attack with a spin. I then felt a strong impact on my stomach.

“Argh…!”

A mana bullet? Since when?

As if jumping on air, which, in fact, was the thin water barrier. Using the momentum from his previous spin, Noel kicked Freja’s shield to the side while his blade made its way toward me. Luckily, or skilfully? Aska pulled me away while moving behind Noel, going for the back.

But Alum already had Noel’s back and blocked Aska’s attack. Aska tried to kick Alum, and it resulted in him kicking a barrier. He then received a knee in the abdomen.

A massive explosion then occurred, illuminating the sky. Aska quickly backed away while panting and groaning. Freja made her way in front of me, who was recovering from the mana bullet.

This monster duo…

In the brief exchange, not only did they manage to defend one another, but they also managed to strike back twofold. The fireballs and arrows were also nowhere to be seen, as they probably got eliminated by the mana bullets.

As we prepared for their incoming attack—nothing.

Noel crossed his arms with a satisfied look. He smiled. “Let’s end it here,” he suddenly said. “You guys have a good synergy. I don’t have a real complaint about leaving Freja to you guys. But…” he glanced at Julia and Hilda.

Huh? Did they not get his approval?

“Your archer and caster are a bit far back, don’t you think? Of course, that’s how it usually goes. Nevertheless, in a world where everything tries to get in your face… Can they handle close combat? Usually, I’d jump on the chance to take out your unprotected backline, but Al crippled me beyond what I expected. And he was busy supporting me from being taken down…do you guys usually fight like this?”

Freja, Aska and I didn’t say a word… When Freja wasn’t with us, Aska would join me in the frontline, leaving Hilda and Julia to fend for themselves… Aska is a good judge of the situation; we trust that he’ll have a good reason.

So…

“They’re both competent even in melee,” Alum remarked before any of us could open our mouths.

“Is that so? When I watched their duel, they always had quite the distance,” Noel said.

“No worries, I’ve seen more than that one duel,” Alum shrugged.

“I see… I’m glad,” Noel replied with a gentle expression. “Then… again? After all, it’s only been two minutes.”

What a demonic smile…

{ Present time }

And with that, we got his approval…even though he later said, “The outcome wouldn’t have mattered since I was planning on letting Freja decide anyways,” with a somewhat carefree smile.

I can’t tell if Noel is super lax or strict…

Suddenly, Freja hugged me from behind. “Isaaaak! My head hurts! This spell book is killiiing meeee!”

I saw Hilda chuckle at the sight while Aska had a troubled smile. He, too, learned spells from this book—we all did. Mostly the trio, though…and now Freja has to suffer the same fate…

Is it luck or misfortune that I don’t share an attribute with that guy?

A/N 

Happy new year!