As Fina closed her eyes, I felt a gush of wind brush past me. Though it may be a strange way to form imagery, Fina resembled a vacuum sucking in the air around her.
"Alert: An influx of mana has been detected." [Spirit Guide]
Moments later, the veins within Fina's hand and Nash's back suddenly became visible through a shining light.
"Urgh…!" [Nash]
He made a pained expression on the floor, and began to have strange spasms throughout his body.
"Jai! Hold him down!" [Fina]
"On it!" [Jai]
Jai rushed over to Nash's side, locking down his limbs with his own hands.
("Bear with me Nash!") [Jai]
The light within Fina's hands slowly moved into Nash's back, spreading further into his body as time passed.
"Agh!!" [Nash]
The spasms got worse. The color from his face was draining rapidly, and he started foaming at the mouth. It was at this point I thought Nash was about to die.
"Just... a second more…!" [Fina]
Beads of sweat ran down her face. Fina was clearly straining her body, but she still continued.
"And… It's done!" [Fina]
The lights within Nash's body died down, and the color returned to his face. Though the foam was still in his mouth, I could somehow feel that he was safe.
"Phew…" [Jai]
The two fell to the floor, exhausted. Jai and Fina panted heavily from the efforts of saving Nash.
"Fina, are you fine?" [Jai]
"I… am." [Fina]
She pulled herself up to a nearby wall, allowing herself to sit upright.
"Fina, you mind if I say something on behalf of everyone here?" [Jai]
"That's fine." [Fina]
I heard shuffling in the dark. Glancing towards Jai, I could see him posturing himself against the wall.
"...Thank you. I mean it." [Jai]
Fina went quiet. I wasn't sure why, but I could see a conflicted expression on her face in the dark.
("Ah… I see.") [Solace]
Thinking back a bit, I assumed it must've been the feeling of guilt from watching as they got surrounded.
"Yeah, thanks. I would have preferred if you got here faster." [Medley]
Breaking the silence, Medley spoke up.
("Oh, she's still here. I forgot about that.") [Solace]
Medley spoke in an arrogant tone. I wasn't even sure how she made a simple "Thank you" sound like an insult.
"Medley! Now's not the time to be prideful!" [Jai]
"What?! How is this my fault?!" [Medley]
"You ran off without us! You would already be dead if we didn't come after you!" [Jai]
The two got worked up enough to stand, which proved to be a good show for me.
("Yeah, you tell her!") [Solace]
"W-well if you guys had just agreed with me, I wouldn't have run off!" [Medley]
"That's not how it works! We're a team! We need everyone's cooperation!" [Jai]
("Damn, he's spitting straight facts.") [Solace]
The argument became heated. Jai and Medley exchanged words like they were throwing insults, which came to an end when Fina raised a hand.
"Stop. That should be enough." [Fina]
The two stopped arguing and turned their attention to Fina. Just as Medley began to open her mouth, Fina spoke up first.
"Let's say it's both our faults." [Fina]
"...What?" [Medley]
"It's partly your fault for running off, and it's partly my fault for coming late." [Fina]
To think that she would make up such an excuse was astounding to me. I thought by now she would have realized that Medley can't be reasoned with.
"...I'm fine with that." [Medley]
("It worked?!") [Solace]
Never had I thought that words would get through such a thick skull. Fortunately for everyone else in the party, Fina was smart enough to deal with Medley.
"Fina… are you sure about this?" [Jai]
"It's fine. If you're all rested, we should leave before the kobolds come back." [Fina]
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
The three moved in the darkness, finding their way back to the dungeon's entrance. It was difficult to retrace their steps, not with Nash unconscious on Jai's shoulder.
"Be real nice if I could use |Kindle| about now..." [Jai]
"Same. Maybe we would have someone using |Kindle| about now if "someone" came earlier." [Medley]
Medley took a glance at Fina when saying that, clearly insinuating it was Fina's fault.
"I'll apologize when we leave. For now, please focus on finding the correct path." [Fina]
"Hmph." [Medley]
As we traveled through the dungeon, I began to notice something.
("Wait, I've seen this before.") [Solace]
Corpses of kobolds littered the floor. Some were covered in slashes and some seemed to be killed by a projectile. After a little bit of observation, it hit me.
("We were just here! We've been going in circles this whole time!") [Solace]
I thought of popping out to notify Fina, but I wasn't sure how it would work.
("Maybe I would use |Kindle| and light the way? No, that would reveal my skills.") [Solace]
I contemplated on how to solve the problem at hand, but was interrupted by a low growl.
"Crap. They're back!" [Jai]
Kobolds appeared from the darkness, saliva dripping from their mouths.
("Did they not learn from the first time?") [Solace]
The group prepared for combat, except for Medley that is. Unlike before, she didn't freeze in fear. Medley simply trembled while trying to raise her hands enough for a spell.
("How did she even become a dungeon explorer?") [Solace]
Though she was quite useless, I thought it was a boon for me. Having one less fighter in the group was equivalent to me getting more |Experience|.
("It's round two I guess.") [Solace]