I race forward, towards where I heard the scream come from. The whole interior has expanded, so it's no longer like I'm in a corridor of stone. Now, with all the fauna everywhere, it feels like I'm in a forest of some kind. There are even trees that reach the ceiling, which is also getting higher and higher. From here, I can see the walls continue to widen in the distance as I continue ahead.
I hear another scream, much closer this time, and push through a particularly tall thicket. Once on the other side, I see that there's a boy there with grey and curly hair, and droopy eyes of the same colour, and he's struggling to push a lycan off him with his sword.
I recognise him, it's Wyll Cryasius the third prince of the Kingdom of Hoff, the kingdom we're in right now.
"Wait, wait, wait! Seriously, just wait! I have meat! Trust me, it'll taste way better than me!" Wyll cries pathetically. Lycans can't understand human language, but I swear it seems to get even more aggressive at that.
Wyll screams again, sounding even shriller, and I can't help but find this kind of funny. But still, he's in danger, so I launch myself forward, smoothly slicing the lycan in half. Man, these new moves feel so good to use.
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10 EXP
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Wyll, now no longer in danger of being eaten in the next few seconds, closes his eyes, collapses on the ground and lets out a loud noise of relief. After a few moments, he opens his eyes again and looks at me, "Thank you so much… wait, aren't you that Filmore guy? The one who challenged Rex Cranz to a duel?"
"News travels fast," I say as I pick up the blue gem the lycan dropped.
"Yeah, I mean, everyone's talking about it," Wyll says. Also, his sister is in the Hero's Party, but he won't say that. Wyll is considered the incompetent prince, so he's attending Ward Academy pretending to be a commoner named Wyll Struick. There's a whole plotline to do with his sister later that reveals this.
In the end, most of the royal family of Hoff dies, and since the princess will be travelling with Rex after that, Wyll will become the new king. The plotline with Wyll's sister sort of resolves his incompetency, so he's a fitting choice by that time.
"So are you planning to sit there all day?" I ask Wyll, "More Lycans will be here soon, you know?"
"Right, of course!" Wyll says, jumping to his feet. He looks at me strangely, "You know, you seem a lot different than how you were described."
"And how was I described?" I ask.
"Well, for one, I was told that you hate commoners…" Wyll says hesitantly.
"Is that so?" I begin walking, and when I hear him follow after me like it's only natural, I look back at him, "You're continuing? Even after almost being mauled to death?" That's an exaggeration, he probably would have managed to escape somehow even without my interference. I mean, there's no scene like this in the game, after all.
Wyll laughs sheepishly, "I'm here because I want to get better, so…"
Honestly speaking, I don't know what I should do here. I could act like Thomas Filmore and tell him to leave, but I also remember really liking Wyll Cryasius as a character. I want to speak with him a little. Also, practically speaking, he's the guy who's going to become king. It'd be beneficial to me if I made his acquaintance early, right?
Also, I know he won't take experience points away from me. I got ten experience points for killing the lycan he had been fighting with, just like before.
"Don't slow me down," I say. It feels like it's something Thomas might say. I've decided to act at least a little like him to stave off any suspicion. Otherwise, who knows when somebody might suddenly start questioning if Thomas has become possessed or something?
"Right!" Wyll says. We continue walking deeper into the jungle-like terrain, and he asks, "How far are you hoping to get today?"
I think about it, "At least the third floor." If Rex has gotten that far, then I need to go even further to surpass him.
"Wow, that's ambitious," Wyll says, "How much of the second floor have you completed already?"
"Some," I say vaguely. I only get ten experience points from each lycan, so Thomas has definitely fought them before. "What about you? What can you do?"
Wyll looks embarrassed, "Er… I can fight decently with a sword. Also I can use a little bit of water magic to slow enemies down. And… that's it."
"I see," I say. I think I remember Wyll being a guest party member for one or two battles, so I really had forgotten his skills.
We press forward, killing lycans when they attack, and more and more trees begin to appear. This place feels like a real forest now, and that's when we hear an ear-piercing screech. We look up and see an orange monkey snarling at us. The only thing that separates it from an ordinary monkey is its tail made entirely out of fire.
"A flame monkey," I remember. I ask Wyll, "It attacks primarily with its tail, so make sure you dodge it."
"Oh, ok—"
The flame monkey leaps at us, spinning in the air, and its tail suddenly grows in size, well on its way to crash against us. I duck underneath it, pulling Wyll down with me. The monkey lands on the ground, but before it can make another move, I stab through its chest.
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10 EXP
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"Whoa. Thanks," Wyll says, his eyes wide.
"Let's go," I say, picking up the dropped blue gem.
As we continue onwards, several more monkeys attack us, and I manage to defeat them rather easily each time. As their numbers increase in each encounter, keeping Wyll safe gets a bit tougher too, but I don't think it's a problem yet.
However, when I glance back at him, I notice the discouraged expression on his face. Right, of course, he's here to improve, but all I'm doing is protecting him.
I hear the telltale screeching of flame monkeys in the distance, and I say, "Your water spell, it can't extinguish the flame monkeys' tails, can it?"
Wyll perks up at being addressed, "N-no. I can only use it to slow my enemies down."
Yes, I remember this. Wyll's spell is basically just a debuff.
"Did you use it against the lycan?" I ask.
Wyll looks embarrassed, "I did, but it barely had any effect. I don't think my spell is strong enough to use on this floor…"
"Use it against the flame monkeys next time," I say. And just as I do, they appear, hopping from tree to tree until they spot us. They launch themselves at us, and Wyll flinches. I cut through most of them with ease, receiving their experience points, but I leave one alive.
It heads for Wyll, and he barely scrambles out of the way, with the flame monkey bouncing against the ground. As he tries to reorient himself, I shout, "Your spell!"
Wyll and the flame monkey recover at the same time, and just as the flame monkey begins charging at him, he raises his hand and winces as he yells, "Waterlog!"
A cone of blue extends from his hand, and the flame monkey is caught in it. It instantly slows, as though weighed down by something exceedingly heavy, and Wyll stares in shock.
"You have to finish it off," I remind him.
"R-right!" Wyll runs at the flame monkey, and with a battle cry, slices it in half with his sword. He breathes heavily as he stares at the vanishing corpse.
"Congratulations," I say evenly, "Your first kill on the second floor."
Wyll picks up the dropped blue gem, still staring at it in awe, "My first kill…" He looks at me, "Why did my spell work so well this time?"
"Elemental reactions are a thing, you know?" I say, "Your spell is a water spell, it does better against fire enemies than any other. Come on, let's continue."
Wyll stares at his hands, as though witnessing something new. I walk a few paces before looking back at him and seeing that he's still rooted in place, "Are you heading back now?" I ask.
He looks at me with shining eyes, "N-no, I'm coming!"