Chapter 4: To a New Town – 11
The next morning, a bit of a dilemma arose.
In the town of Maneji, there was one F-Class Dungeon and one E-Class Dungeon, and naturally, I wanted to conquer the E-Class Dungeon as well.
Of course, I couldn’t take Freinir, who had only been an adventurer for less than a week, into the E-Class Dungeon. I couldn’t, but…
“Please… Soushi-sama, don’t leave me behind!”
Freinir, with her delicate beauty reminiscent of a forsaken puppy, clasped her hands in front of her chest, pleading earnestly.
“I promise I’ll be back, so wait for me at the inn. The E-Class Dungeon is far too dangerous for you.”
“Even so, I’m anxious about being apart from you, Soushi-sama.”
Seeing Freinir’s expression, which resembled that of an abandoned puppy, made me wonder if she had become dependent on me over the past few days.
If that were the case, I honestly had no idea how to handle it. In my previous life, I never had children, after all.
“…Alright, how about we go in together for a bit and see how it goes? But if it seems too dangerous, we’ll reconsider.”
In the end, I made the foolish choice of just observing the situation, but honestly, the weak monsters in an E-Class Dungeon shouldn’t pose much of a problem. There might be monsters that are resistant to physical attacks, but still…
“Yes! I will follow you, Soushi-sama, no matter where you go!”
While I was glad to see her face light up, I felt a weight in Freinir’s words. I had planned to train her until she could manage on her own and then have her join a party of young adventurers… but would that be alright?
The E-Class Dungeon in Maneji was located by the lakeside.
A hole in the ground led downwards, with a staircase-like passage continuing deeper beneath the lake.
I spotted a few other parties here and there, and some of them frowned slightly upon seeing the two of us. A party consisting of an old man and a young girl entering an E-Class Dungeon must have seemed quite odd, even more so than if I had entered solo.
The first monsters to appear on the first underground floor were two Fishmen. I could easily dispatch them in an instant, but I needed to test Freinir’s magic in a real battle.
“I’ll hold them off in the front line, so Freinir, prepare your magic. When I give you the signal, I’ll shove the monsters aside, and you attack with your magic. Can you do that?”
“Yes! I will do my best!”
As Freinir began to concentrate, the Fishmen charged at us. I stood in their way, grabbing both of their spears as they thrust at me. The Fishmen tried to pull their weapons back in a panic, but with my Strength equivalent to C-Rank, they couldn’t budge me an inch.
After about ten seconds of this tug-of-war, I heard Freinir shout, “I can use my magic!”
I yanked the Fishmen’s spears, causing them to stumble forward, and at that moment, Freinir unleashed her “Ray of Holy Light.” A beam of laser-like energy shot forth from her fingertips, slicing through the two Fishmen and severing them in half.
“Soushi-sama, I did it! I defeated the monsters with my magic!”
“Y-yeah, that’s some powerful magic. To take down E-Rank monsters in one blow is impressive.”
It felt a bit odd for me to say that, considering I had just obliterated the monsters myself, but Freinir’s calm demeanor after splitting them in two surprised me. She even seemed somewhat pleased.
“Now I can follow you, Soushi-sama, right?”
“Well… I suppose so. You should be fine.”
Feeling an inexplicable pressure in Freinir’s gaze, I nodded.
The first and second floors were filled with only Fishmen, so we progressed without any issues. I encouraged Freinir to actively use her magic, and by the time we reached the third floor, it seemed her magic skill level had increased.
“Freinir, you’ve used quite a bit of magic. Do you still have enough left?”
“Yes? I can use it without any problems. Is there something you’re worried about?”
What I wanted to confirm was whether she still had something akin to magic points left, but Freinir tilted her head, looking puzzled.
“Oh, that’s not it. I meant to ask if using magic tires you out at all.”
“Ah, yes, I do feel a bit of fatigue when I use it. But it recovers quickly, so I’m fine.”
“So you can keep casting magic as long as you have stamina?”
“Yes, it does take time to concentrate, but as long as I don’t get tired, I can keep using it.”
Hmm, it seems there are no restrictions like magic points or mana. Instead, it might be that concentration is required. Since it does consume stamina, it’s likely that powerful spells can’t be cast in rapid succession when her stamina runs low.
“Understood. Just let me know if you start feeling any limits while using magic.”
“Yes, thank you for your concern.”
“Alright, let’s head to the third floor.”
On the third floor, a Stone Tortoise appeared, as expected.
While I drew its attention, Freinir used her magic to sever its head, and it seemed that this was indeed the proper way to defeat it.
When I focused Freinir’s magic on the tortoise, I managed to pierce its shell, but that alone didn’t deal a fatal blow, and instead, the Stone Tortoise began to thrash about.
Reluctantly, I crushed it along with its shell, and Freinir’s eyes widened in amazement.
“Soushi-sama, you possess incredible strength!”
“I seem to have strength around C-Rank, at least.”
“With such power, my magic might not even be necessary…”
Freinir suddenly looked at me with those forsaken puppy eyes again.
“No, there will definitely be monsters that can’t be defeated with sheer strength alone. That’s when we’ll need your magic.”
“Yes! I will do my best to level up my magic skills so I can help then!”
I found myself offering her encouragement, but seeing Freinir’s delighted expression made me feel like things were heading in an unsettling direction. However, for a girl of her age, feeling needed is an important matter, so I suppose it couldn’t be helped.
With that, we made our way down to the fourth underground floor. I discovered that piercing the core of a slime with “Ray of Holy Light” made it easy to defeat, reaffirming the usefulness of magic.
Thinking that we might be able to handle the boss, the Large Slime, with ease, I decided to call it a day for now.