"Ah, this is bad!" I muttered to myself as the Shrieking Wraith started advancing on me.
I'm not really a fighter, even in the best of circumstances. I had gotten through the dungeon up until now by surprise attacks and running away. However, this monster already knew where I was, and running away became a whole lot harder without Celeste distracting the boss. He reached me and slashed down, so I created a cushion to block him. This didn't stop his attack from landing, but it was like being hit by a ton of pillows rather than a ton of bricks. I found myself downing a mana potion without a second thought as I retreated.
"Group Heal Plus!"
The healing spell surrounded half of the room, including the space Celeste was in. Group Heal allowed me to target who was affected, so the wraith wasn't healed by mistake. It seemed to be sufficient since once I healed her, her eyes fluttered open a bit. However, she still looked groggy and confused.
"M-Master…?' She asked in confusion.
I ducked behind a column as the wraith let out another shriek attack. This time, her eyes opened wider. I was using all of my attacks now without regard for mana at all. I threw another Group Heal Plus and a Refresh her way. I cushioned another blow and then used Moderate Heal on myself. His hits really did hurt. I'd hate to feel one that wasn't cushioned!
"I'm not your Master!" I growled out of breath, "Exorcism!"
Fighting as a mage without any other support really did kill your mana quickly. I found myself downing another potion. I only had a few left. I wanted to cry, but surviving for the moment was far more important.
"Use your tornado wind slash attack!" I cried out, preparing to give her all the time she needed as I hit it with two more exorcisms before getting hit by another cushioned strike that sent me rolling across the floor.
"Y-yes!" Celeste finally got her mind back together and then floated up.
She began to shine with magic, but I had succeeded in pissing the monster off royally and all of its attention was on me. It seemed to have used a skill and was now rapidly striking me with claw attacks. I summoned cushioned air, then a Holy Circle, and then I suddenly went for a quick attack. It was caught off guard.
"Switch position! Attack now!"
Our bodies switched positions, with Celeste in front of the reeling wraith. I immediately created three cushions around it, eating up another mana potion. At the moment, her strike triggered. The wraith was boxed in without escape, and the blades of wind spiraled around it with reckless abandon. The monster was quickly torn to shreds by her brutal spell. I still kept my guard up until her spell cleared, and the wraith dissolved into a pile on the floor. Only then did I collapse on the floor and let out a breath of relief.
A small jar appeared where the monster fell. However, after chugging seven vials of potion and casting spells without limit, I was completely exhausted. As for Celeste, she was eyeing the jar curiously, seemingly having already forgotten about the fight we were just in.
After a few moments of rest, I forced myself to my feet and walked over to Celeste. "What is this new item?"
I didn't wait for an answer as I picked it up. I equipped True Dungeon Diver and did Basic Item Identify.
"Fairy Dust." I read, and then looked over at Celeste.
"Celeste is dusty?"
"I-I-I am not!" Celeste cried out, her face flushing.
"Hmm… there is no other description, and since it was a boss drop, it probably means it has value. It's probably an alchemy ingredient, right?"
I was speaking to myself, but Celeste landed on my shoulder and shrugged. "If I'm not mistaken, fairy dust can only be made by a Fairy Queen."
"Made… huh? I wonder if it would allow me to fly?"
Many fantasy tropes turned out to be true, so why not fairy dust that could help me fly? Out of curiosity, I carefully opened the lid and pinched it.
"Well… here goes nothing!" I lifted up the pinch of dust over our heads and began to sprinkle.
I had gotten excited over the prospect of flying. Besides, I never could have predicted it would have had this outcome. In retrospect, this had been a really dumb thing to do.