A group of monsters that had taken the manifestation of the crystal stone emerged from the dark cavern and were approaching their position.
She glanced over behind and stood still for a moment as she was deliberately reading their movements. Lumiella is somewhat capable of doing that now.
With a quick rush, the crystal-like creatures launched projectiles and used melee combat to attack. Without delay, Lumiella called forth a massive vine in front of her that shot up from the earth to deflect every one of the crystal monsters' blows.
As one of the crystal monsters moved to flank Lumiella, a vine appeared from above, slicing the creature in half with a single blow and sending it flying into tiny fragments.
Everything seemed to stop for a brief period of time. Lumiella then uses her pink eyes to pinpoint the crystal monsters by extending her right hand towards them. However, she was still processing the strange sensation she was experiencing at the time, so she didn't think she had time for these monsters.
Closing her eyes, she summoned a multitude of vines from the surroundings, releasing them precisely onto the crystal monsters, chopping and sweeping them all to pieces.
Though the fight continued, it was soon apparent that Lumiella had the upper hand thanks to her strange and powerful summoning magic. The floor was transformed and left scarred in its wake by the echoes of breaking and slashing.
***
4 hours later...
Everything was engulfed in a deep, black void, the silence of which was like the peaceful stillness of a peaceful mind at rest.
Abruptly, he awoke, his eyes slowly fluttering open to reveal his surroundings. He found himself lying on the ground, and as he glanced up, he was met with the gaze of a pale blue girl with cerulean eyes.
It seemed that Yuichi had been resting his head in her lap, but how had he ended up there?
"..."
It took Yuichi a moment to recognize her, and then he blinked once in disbelief.
"Lumiella...?" he whispered, his voice barely audible.
He slowly got up from where he was lying on Lumiella's lap, his hand reaching out to hold his head. He was still dizzy, a constant reminder of the agony he had felt four hours before. His wound had stopped bleeding, though there was still a slight stain of his blood on her forehead, proving his dependable passive ability.
'I'm still feeling dizzy... My body feels so heavy... Ugh...'
As he pondered his current state, Lumiella rose to her feet and enveloped Yuichi from behind, her arms wrapping around him while her head found its place on his left shoulder.
Yuichi found himself taken aback, yet strangely accustomed to the situation. After two months of traversing the dungeon together, interacting with Lumiella in such a casual manner had become second nature.
Despite her childlike curiosity, Lumiella had formed a deep attachment to Yuichi, making these interactions feel almost routine.
Lumiella whispered softly into Yuichi's ear, her words like a cat's soft purring. Her voice was hardly audible. At seeing her again, Yuichi felt a wave of relief sweep over him, melting his initial surprise. Reaching out, he gently placed his hand on her head and gave her a gentle pat, a sign of familiarity and comfort.
It's as if he completely blanked on the fact that she gave him a thorough beating just a couple of hours ago.
Seriously, the guy's memory must have taken a vacation to Bermuda.
"I missed you too, Lumiella." Yuichi mumble.
Suddenly, a translucent screen materialized before Yuichi, casting a soft glow as the system unveiled a series of messages, revealing to him the moments he had missed.
｢Notify: You still have 52 Skill Points to use. Upgrade your skills or learn more skills respectively to your attribute.｣
"52 skill points? That's a ton of points to spend on a single skill..." Yuichi said while looking at the screen.
"Now that I think about it, I do have an opportunity to learn new skills from my wind attribute. I also had this Sword Mastery that I haven't touched since I lost my sword."
Yuichi has been honing his Wind Gale skill during his difficult time trapped in the dungeon, and he now uses its gusty abilities as his main weapon. But this unwavering reliance has exposed a critical weakness in his arsenal, leaving him open to attack from airborne adversaries and such.
Yuichi, realizing that diversification is necessary, considers learning a new skill—a calculated move motivated by both necessity and foresight.
'I wonder where I can learn new skills...'
Just as he thought about it, a screen immediately appeared and caught his attention.
｢Please select what class of ｢Wind｣ skills do you want to learn.｣
｢1. Warrior
2. Mage
3. Ranger
4. Assassin
5. Cleric
6. Paladin
7. Druid
8. Bard
9. Sorcerer
10. Barbarian｣
Yuichi looked around at the variety of classes that beckoned with promise, and his surprise was evident. Even though there were no classes assigned at first to him, his interest was sparked and a glimmer of excitement appeared in him.
Anticipating great things, he leaned toward the Warrior Class, lured by the desire to become a skilled swordsman. He was particularly interested in playing a swordsman because he grew up in his native Japan, where he watched a lot of samurai movies that captivated him.
｢Selection: ｢Warrior｣. Here is the list of skills you can learn:
1. Wind Slash - 15 Skill Points: A basic technique that sends a sharp, slicing gust of wind towards the opponent.
2. Cyclone Strike - 20 Skill Points: A more advanced move that creates a swirling vortex of wind around the sword, enhancing its cutting power.
3. Gale Fury - 25 Skill Points: Unleashes a rapid flurry of strikes infused with bursts of wind energy, overwhelming opponents with speed and force.
4. Zephyr Dance - 40 Skill Points: A defensive technique that allows the swordmaster to move swiftly and gracefully, evading attacks with the aid of wind currents.
5. Tempest Blade - 20 Skill Points: Channels wind energy into the sword, causing it to emit powerful shockwaves with each strike.
6. Aerial Assault - 30 Skill Points: Leverages wind manipulation to execute aerial acrobatics and surprise attacks from above.
7. Sonic Slicer - 40 Skill Points: Creates blades of compressed air that can be launched at opponents from a distance.
8. Whirlwind Whirl - 35 Skill Points: Spins rapidly while wielding the sword, generating a localized whirlwind to deflect incoming projectiles or disrupt enemy formations.
9. Breeze Step - 50 Skill Points: Enhances mobility by using controlled gusts of wind to propel the swordmaster forward or to evade attacks.
10. Storm Surge - 30 Skill Points: Channels wind energy into a devastating single strike, capable of knocking back or disorienting even heavily armored foes.｣
'It looks like I can learn a bunch of skills with these 52 skill points I have. But... Can I even learn them without a class?'
Yuichi had been thinking about this problem for a long time. He had no class from the first instant he set foot in this strange new world, and his standing was clearly lower than that of his classmates at the time. Even Mitsuki, or maybe Kenji, boasted of having a better class and status than he did, which cast doubt on his own position in the hierarchy.
Immediately, a screen appeared before him.
｢We have detected that you don't have a Class yet. To get a Class, you need to level up to 10 or have a privilege upon arrival.｣
'Well, I'll be damned.'
｢...｣
｢It seems you already had reached the requirements you need to get Class! Initiating a selection screen momentarily...｣
｢Please select your Class:
1. Warrior
2. Mage
3. Ranger
4. Assassin
5. Cleric
6. Paladin
7. Druid
8. Bard
9. Sorcerer
10. Barbarian｣
'Seriously, this system is super slow at calculating my status. It needs an update or something... Well, as if this is a videogame, this world is built with strange technologies similar back to Earth, more like a virtual world.'
"I chose number one." Yuichi said to the system and the system immediately went for the process.
｢You have successfully chose ｢Warrior｣ as your Class!｣
｢Welcome to the World of Eldoria, Yuichi Hanateru.｣
'Huh...'
｢Notify: You have a privilege to learn new skills respectively both for you attribute and class. Rerouting your previous Status into your current Status.｣
｢Status: Yuichi Hanateru♂｣
Human ｢17｣
Level 35 ｢Galeblade Warrior｣
EXP: ｢19666/119000｣
Titles: ｢Aric's Descendants, Fungus Slayer, Toxic Disperser, Crystal Conquerer｣
Attributes: Wind ｢Intermediate｣
MANA: 540
HP: 1220
STR: 70
AGI: 59
DEF: 64
INT: 56
DEX: 13
Skill Points: ｢52｣
Skill: ｢Wind Gale Level 5, Sword Mastery Level 1｣
Passive: ｢Mystical Eye, Constant Hybrid Regeneration, Spatial Instinct｣
'Hmm... This is pretty darn good!'
Yuichi briefly surveyed his status, his eyes widening in amazement at the significant changes that had occurred. What was once a feeble state had now transformed into a refined and robust status, imbued with qualities that surpassed his previous expectations.
He couldn't help but feel a sense of amusement and satisfaction at the remarkable improvement.
'Not bad... This is surreal to see, but I can't believe I'm actually improving.'
He quickly brought up the screen that showed the variety of abilities that could be learned as he was getting bored of depending on one single skill all the time and was more and more attracted to the idea of learning a new set of abilities.
He goes with numbers one and three, choosing the ｢Wind Slash｣ and the ｢Gale Fury｣ from the skill lists. But he would question how he would use those abilities without a sword, though.
｢Wind Slash and Gale Fury has been learned!｣
Suddenly, the system showed him a screen of notifications.
｢Notify: You have a gift! Please claim it before the deadline.｣
'Gift? I wonder what kind of gift it is.'
"Claim." He answered the system and momentarily the system replied.
｢Notify: You have received a ｢Emerald Staff｣! Please check your inventory.｣
He immediately goes to his inventory as he summons it in front of him, scrolling over and finds the gift he had received.
｢Emerald Staff - Durability: 500/500｣
｢A staff made out of platinum and embedded with shiny emerald as its core.｣
'How can I use this when I'm not a mage? It would be better if it was a sword though...'
Just as he thought, the system appeared once again with a translucent screen.
｢Since your Class is not eligible to your current weapon, it will automatically change into a suitable weapon for your respective Class.｣
｢Initiating weapon change.｣
The staff glowed in bright white on the hand of Yuichi. Gradually, it was shape shifting and then it became a form of a sword.
｢Notify: Your weapon has been successfully change from ｢Emerald Staff｣ to ｢Platinum Sword.｣
｢Platinum Sword - Durability: 500/500｣
｢A double edge sword made out of rare and durable platinum ore. Break it into pieces and create your own money with it.｣
'Not what I expected... These fun facts need to stop convincing me to cheat life.'
As he held the sword, he raised it into the air and looked upon his new sword with excitement in his eyes. Yuichi had finally acquired a sword and he sighs in relief as he will not be using his fist anymore to fight monsters, well, sometimes.
He put it on the ground to contain his overexcitement. But even if he did, he's really excited to use the sword to test out some of his skills he had acquired.
But in the middle of the moment, Lumiella, who was hugging behind Yuichi, grumbled as she was seeking attention to Yuichi.
Yuichi heard her mumble and glanced at her, patting her head gently. Aside from getting excited over his newly acquired sword, he was also happy to see Lumiella once again. Of course, losing Lumiella in the shallow of the dungeon room and taking responsibility to find her does make him feel guilty as it was his idea to get inside of a dungeon room without cation.
"I'm sorry if you're worried about me, Lumiella. I'm fine as long as I'm alive and well." Yuichi said to her.
Lumiella blinked once and sighs in her breath. She understood Yuichi's words and wanted to express that she isn't worried but rather she's apologizing.
But why would she apologize? Did she do anything to Yuichi that made her do it?
Yuichi couldn't remember that he got beat up pretty badly by Lumiella. All he remembers is that he saw vines flying into him and attacked him ferociously until he went unconscious. But he does remember that he had seen a little girl with pink eyes, he couldn't judge if it was her or someone else as he looked at Lumiella's eyes and it was different.
Seeing her unknown frown, he gently patted her head once again with a reassuring smile.
"Don't be sad, I'm here you know? We're gonna be fine." Yuichi said.
Lumiella stared at him for a moment and smiled as she continued to hug him behind, resting her head in his left shoulder.
For a moment, there was silence for both of them. Yuichi gazed at the ceiling of the mesmerizing floor of crystal stones as his eyes looked like he had missed them. It's been two months since he got trapped in the dungeon and he had surely missed his friends.
He looked at his hand and for a moment he gritted it and closed his eyes as he said to Lumiella with his confident demeanor. "Hey Lumiella, you know how people talk about dungeons?"
Lumiella leaned over and looked at Yuichi with her puzzled face, no idea what he was talking about.
He continues, "Well, they're like those temporary speed bumps on our path to becoming awesome. This little hiccup we're facing right now is like the starting point for our incredible comeback story."
"I've been quietly getting even more determined behind the scenes, and when we bounce back, we'll be more dazzling than ever. It's not a matter of 'if,' but 'when'. And that 'when' is just about to happen."
Yuichi promptly looked at her and smiled.
"Let's keep going until the very end, okay?"
Lumiella stared momentarily and then she gave a big smile to him, indicating she had agreed on his words. They both then start separating as Yuichi goes ahead and makes a campfire while Lumiella sits down beside him.
It's time for the rest as both of them will go beyond expectation on their journey on the depth of the dungeon.