“I see, so Leos is…”

  For once, the goddess Hecate wasn’t acting like her overly dramatic self.

  In fact, she had a rather uncharacteristic solemn look after one of her oldest children reported in her office of the unfortunate accident that had taken the life of one of their members.

  When her Familia returned home te into the evening with the defeated and despairing look on their faces, Hecate knew that their expedition had suffered some casualties.

  “He died a hero, sacrificing himself to save Dae.” Jirou told her.

  “He did join the Familia to become a hero.” The goddess sighed as she looked over the broken remains of her dead kin’s weapon.

  She remembered the first time she met the boy; a young orphan fully determined to achieve his dream of becoming a hero, like many that came before him.

  “To be a hero that would be remembered by the ages, one that people would read about for years to come.” Was what he told her when she asked what his dream was.

  The boy was eager, always rushing into the Dungeon everyday and often worrying his seniors with his reckless actions; it took a near death experience to cool his hotheadedness to the more calm fighter he became.

  For a rookie, he was probably one of the most determined and persistent among his peers. Yet despite that, his Falna had never rewarded that persistence and no skills had ever blessed him; though the goddess was certain that one would bless him once he reached Level 2.

  But now, there’s no way of knowing if that would ever happen.

  “And what of Drake’s condition?”

  “Garos and Lisa hadn’t returned yet, but it didn’t look like he would be in any danger of dying.”

  “That’s good to hear; it would be hard on the young ones if even he didn’t make it in the end.”

  No matter how long it took, all life would return back to the eternal cycle of reincarnation; Hecate knew that to be the absolute truth of Genkai.

  Yet, it still always stung when someone she knew personally would pass on into the cycle. The young ones are especially sensitive to such a thing.

  “Surprisingly, Tris handled it the best among them.” The swordsman noted, “The ones I am the most worried about were Dae and Tetra; the tter especially.”

  “She is the youngest among you all, after all…”

  Despite being a Level 2, Tetra was still considered a kid; whose age was barely into the double digits. It was never easy for someone that young to experience the death of a close one.

  “And the former?”

  “She… to be honest, I’m worried about what she’ll do after this.”

  Hecate raised her eyebrow at the answer, “What do you mean by that?”

  “Well, at least to me, Dae seemed to think that it was her fault for what happened to them.”

  “Ah, Survivor’s guilt…”

  It was a mental illness that was, unfortunately, very common among a lot of Adventurers; it was one of the few reasons the Guild issued Advisors to new Adventurers, to help them through it.

  “It didn’t help that Ottarl had pushed it along even more.” Jirou sighed, “That man is as tactless as they come…”

  “That is just how he is.” Hecate shrugged, “But if that’s the case, we better keep a close eye on her.”

  If the trauma was not handled well, it may led to the patient gaining self-destructive habits or suicidal tendencies in an attempt to cope with it.

  Many Adventurers had almost perished due to that trauma; including the one in front of her.

  ‘Guess it takes a former patient to recognise the symptoms…’

  *KNOCK-KNOCK*

  “Hm?” The sudden knocking at the door attracted both of their attention, “Who is it?”

  “It’s Tris, Lady Hecate. May I come in?”

  The two of them shared a confused look before Jirou opened up the door to let their second newest member into the goddess’s office.

  “Oh, Jirou is here too?” The human noted.

  “Just giving her the report about the expedition.” He told her, “Is there a reason why you aren’t sleeping right now?”

  “I…I can’t sleep…” She sheepishly ughed, “And… I wanted to ask what are we going to do about Leos’s funeral.”

  “You don’t have to worry about that.” The goddess assured her, “Jeanne will settle it.”

  They would most likely get help from the Guild to get a tombstone for him and perform a small funeral at the city’s cemetery. Quite shockingly, they have discounts on funeral services for Adventurers, as morbidly funny as it sounds.

  “I-I see… i-is there anything I can do to help? Anything at all?”

  “…”

  The two shared the gnce at the human girl’s rather insistent request to help.

  “…Tris, are you really okay?”

  “Me? Oh, I’m fine, really.”

  They didn’t buy that for even a second; especially when her smile looked extremely forced and they could see how tightly her fists were clenched to the point of shaking.

  With how she was acting, it was obvious that she was putting up a brave front; she was definitely trying very hard to keep herself occupied and not think about—

  “You know you don’t have to put up a brave face in front of us.” Jirou told her.

  “B-Brave face? I-I don’t know what you are talking about—”

  He didn’t let her finish and pulled her into a tight embrace, “…It’s okay. Just let it all out.”

  “I-I’m fine! Really! I am! I’m… I’m… guu…”

  Her protests slowly stopped, before she leaned into his chest; her shoulders shaking as sobs and tears started flowing out. Sobs turned into cries, as she started openly bawling in Jirou’s arms.

  ‘She always had this bad habit of bottling up her feelings…’

  The goddess remembered when she first found and recruited Tris; the poor girl was sitting in the pouring rain at a corner of an alley with nothing but a tattered dress on her back.

  She had come to Orario in hopes for a better life, but due to circumstances, she was unable to hold a job for more than a week. Eventually, her funds ran out and she was kicked out into the streets with nothing but the clothes on her back.

  When she first joined, she was desperate to show them how helpful she could be and would often overwork herself to the point of exhaustion; there were even times where she hid the fact that she was sick and just kept on working until she colpsed.

  It took them weeks to assure her that they would not just throw her out for not working hard enough; and even longer for her to be truly comfortable with everyone in the Familia.

  From what she had seen, she was especially close to Leos, so his death had no doubt caused her no small amount of grief. She must be keeping a brave front so as to not worry the younger members.

  “Hah…”

  Hecate looked out the window and towards the starry night skies. She mentally traced the consteltions and tried to read the stars' fortunes.

  ‘…looks like my Familia is on yet another crossroads with destiny…’

  The next morning during breakfast, we received news on Drake’s condition, in which he would be fine and well; all he needed was a few days of rest for a full recovery. It was truly the best news we had these past couple days.

  Jeanne, having returned home te st night, had me and Tetra gathered in her office after breakfast; no doubt about our conduct against the Freya Familia’s captain.

  So here we are, kneeling on the carpet floor in what was known as seiza in the Far East in front of our captain in her office, with our vice-captain standing next to her.

  “So, do you know why I had called you two here this morning?” Jeanne asked us.

  “…it’s about our outburst back in the Dungeon, isn’t it…?” Tetra meekly stated.

  “At least you are self-aware.” The elf sighed, “What you two did back there could have disastrous consequences; especially you, Dae.”

  I flinched at her words as she began to berate me, “What were you thinking!? Attacking him like that!? He is a Level 7! He could have easily killed you! Is that what Leos saved your life for? To just throw it away in a fit of childish anger!?”

  Those words struck me especially hard. After what Jirou had told me yesterday, it made me even more guilty for charging in like I did. It would only make his words even more true.

  “…I… have no excuses…”

  “Look, I get that Ottarl’s words struck a nerve. Trust me, I wanted to sock him as much as you do for the disrespect he had to our dead; but there are times you have to just suck it up and take it. Words can only hurt you if you want them to.”

  “I…I understand…” I nodded.

  “You better, because the next time you did this, you might not just get away with just a punch.” Jeanne sighed, “The same goes to you, Tetra. You two better reflect on your actions.”

  ““We will…””

  “Good. Garos, if you would.”

  Garos then stepped forward and told us, “Now, for your misconduct, we’re sentencing you two to a month of bathroom duty, effective immediately.”

  Both of us grimaced at the thought of that. Cleaning the shared bath was the worst of the daily chores; unclogging the drain filled with hair and fur was particurly nasty.

  But considering what we had done, it could be considered lenient.

  “Now off you go.”

  With a heavy sigh, we excuse ourselves and proceed to leave the office as we mentally prepared ourselves for the exhausting and disgusting chore ahead of us.

  “…Dae, stay behind for a moment.”

  “Hm? Me?”

  “Yeah. Don’t worry, it’ll be quick.”

  I blinked in confusion but nonetheless stayed behind and left Tetra to leave for her punishment; Jeanne gave Garos a gnce, the unspoken words were heard, and he left the room, leaving the two of us alone in the office.

  “Is… there something else you want from me?” I asked curiously.

  “Dae, did you remember what you did down at the twenty-fourth floor?” She asked me, “When you fought the Trolls?”

  “I… remember getting beaten badly by them.”

  “And do you remember how you defeated one of them?”

  “When I…?” I pondered on it, “…The memory of that moment was pretty foggy…”

  “Did you know what you did?”

  “I… I don’t really remember much.”

  I remembered hearing a voice in my head, and then the pain of a sudden influx of information being pushed into my head, then I activated a spell that defeated the Troll in front of me.

  However, I could no longer recall the name or usage of that spell, like it had disappeared from my mind as quickly as it had appeared.

  What was that spell…? And how did I suddenly know how to cast it?

  And that voice… whose voice was that? And why did it sound so familiar?

  “I see… So, you don’t even remember the spell’s name?” I shook my head in response, which the elf noted, “That is… odd. Check your status after you get updated, see if any new spell has appeared.”

  “Duly noted.” Hopefully, it would be there; though the spell was the st thing I have on my mind right now.

  “So, um… Are you… doing alright?” She suddenly asked.

  “…What do you mean?” I asked back.

  “Seeing people… die in front of you can be… hard; especially when it is one of your close friends.” She stated, “But it was after the initial grief that it started to get to you.”

  “You’ll start to question yourself, wonder if you could have done something to save him, if you should have even survived, why him, why not me.”

  “The more you ask yourself, the heavier the feeling becomes, till your heart starts to crush from the guilt.”

  “A-Ah…”

  I… I think I get what she meant. Ever since yesterday, there had been times I had wondered what I could have done to save Leos, or prevented Leos from needing to sacrifice my life. And with each question, my heart started to feel heavier and heavier.

  My talk with Jirou managed to lessen those thoughts, but it only changed the question to what I could do to prove his sacrifice was worth it. And the answer still escapes me.

  Even now, that question still weighs heavily on my mind.

  “That’s why, when you think it is too much to handle, reach out to the rest of us.” The Familia captain told me, “Despite his behaviour, Jirou can give good advice when he needs to; Lady Hecate may act all goofy, but she can be serious when she needs to be. I’m not sure about Garos or Kyumaru, but I’m sure Lisa would be welcomed to hear about your troubles.”

  “And I’m here whenever you need guidance; if you have any worries or any problems, you can come talk to me. I won’t guarantee to have the answer you want, but I’ll answer them best I can.”

  “…I understand. Thank you, Jeanne.”

  It felt nice to have someone there for me. This must be what being in a Familia truly means.

  “In that case, can I ask you something now?”

  “Sure. What is it you want to ask me?”

  “How can I prove that Leos’s death was worth it?”

  Jeanne blinked at the question, before seemingly realizing what my question was about, “I see… so Jirou had… Well, I’m afraid that’s not a question that I can answer for you. You have to find out for yourself.”

  “I…I see…”

  The same response as Jirou, huh… But I guess it was to be expected. Such a loaded question wasn’t to be answered lightly. Guess I had to think about it a bit more…

  “Although, I could give you a suggestion.”

  I looked up at her in anticipation, and she then asked me, “For what reason did Leos sacrifice his life for you?”

  “…huh?”

  “Try to think it like that. It should come to you.”

  “Oh… okay. Thanks, Jeanne.”

  “No problem. Now, head on to your chores; no way Tetra is going to unclog all those drains by herself.”

  A shudder went down my spine at the thought of the amount of hair I no doubt have to pull out as I left the office.

  We held a small funeral for Leos at the city’s cemetery a couple of days ter; it still feels off to lower an empty coffin into the ground, wrong that Leos’s body was instead rotting in the Dungeon below our feet.

  After that, everyone was back to their usual business and diving into the Dungeon; though it would be for the express purpose of earning money.

  While we weren’t in debt to the Dian Ceht Familia, thankfully, we were in the red from paying their rather infted fee; Drake had been rather pissed about it when he regained consciousness the week after the funeral.

  As such, Jeane had tasked us with gathering up funds for the Familia before the next monthly tax payment, which thanks to our Familia’s rank, was quite a big sum.

  Which was why I found myself back in the foggy eleventh floor the third day in a row after my punishment was over, with Tris as my only party member; the others were busier at the Middle Floors due to their higher levels.

  Thanks in part to the challenges I had endured during the expedition, a couple of my stats had reached F-E rank with my magic stats somehow skyrocketing into the D rank, so I was able to dive deeper into the Dungeon.

  Unfortunately, I didn’t get any new magic spells in my Falna, which just raised more questions about what I had done back on the expedition. What exactly was that voice I had heard back then?

  “Rwah!!”

  I smashed my lightning-charged fist into the Orc’s face, smashing its snout in and pushing into onto the misty grassy ground; I then stabbed into its chest and pulled out its Magic Stone, killing it and turning its body into ash.

  “Grgk!!”

  I need not look back to see Tris blocking an Imp from attacking me as it cwed at her from behind her mace. With a great heave, she pushed the monster back and swung her weapon, sending its head flying off its body.

  Another Imp had tried to sneak up on her, but I managed to intercept it and send it crashing into one of the trees with a kick to its body. I then charged at it and ended the monster’s life by stabbing into its chest with a lightning coated hand, its body turning into dust.

  That wasn’t the st of the monsters as a Hard Armored spun towards me like a giant brown boulder; I leaped out of the way and let it sm into the sturdy white tree. As it struggled to get its bearings, Tris leaped and swung her hammer down on the monster’s head, smashing it into bloody bits.

  “And that’s the st of them… finally…” Tris let out a heavy sigh as she rested her head on her mace, “Shall we take a quick break? We had been doing this for hours now.”

  “It’s okay, I can still go on—”

  *GROOOWWWLL*

  “…I guess we could take a break.”

  Tris let out a giggle at the sound of my growling stomach much to my embarrassment. To be fair, my breakfast this morning had been rather light in preparation for my dive into the Dungeon.

  After we removed the magic stones from the dead Imps, we went close to the walls as we snacked on our small rations of jerky. Not the tastiest option avaible but it was better than hard tack.

  Anything is better than that brick of a food.

  Like, whose idea was it to make a biscuit as hard and thick as stone bricks!?

  “There's quite a lot of monsters today.” Tris noted as she chewed on her beef jerky, “A lot more than usual.”

  I had to agree with that. The moment we entered the fog, we were assaulted by monsters nonstop on all sides; I had taken out my tenth Orc on this floor since then. It wasn’t too difficult to deal with them, but it was exhausting.

  Though on the bright side, we had collected quite a lot of magic stones as a result of that, and that’s not including the few lucky Drop Items we managed to get.

  We should be able to get quite a lot of cash from this dive, which hopefully will help bring the Familia out of the red.

  “That can’t be a good sign.” She noted in worry, “We should probably start heading to the surface as soon as possible.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked.

  “It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

  To be honest, I really didn’t want to head back so soon. The mansion had felt rather empty as of te, like it was missing something; it was rather discomforting.

  It didn’t help that I could sometimes hear Leos’s voice echoing down the halls.

  “Dae…” Tris pced her hand on my shoulder, “I get it that you didn’t want to return yet, but it’s not worth getting killed in the Dungeon over.”

  “…I know.” I nodded with a sigh, “Let’s head on up.”

  We began to head towards the stairs as fast as we could while keeping our guard up, though the fog did make it tricky to do so. And yet, there were no signs of any monsters even attempting to ambush us on route.

  “Hey… is the fog getting thinner?”

  I looked around and noticed that Tris was right. The thick fog the floor was famous for had mostly thinned out to the point I could roughly see what was around me.

  Tris was right; something’s up with the Dungeon today.

  “Move it!!”

  “Whoa!? What the!?”

  “Hey, watch where you’re going!!”

  We narrowly avoided a party of Adventurers that nearly crashed into us; and they looked to be absolutely terrified by something.

  “What had them all freaked out…?”

  “GRAAAHH!!”

  A terrifying roar immediately answered that question, the cries of Adventurers afterwards ran shivers down my spine as we turned around to see the source, which nearly made my knees buckle.

  Towering over us and with its eyes gring down at us, was the strongest monster on the Upper Floors, an Infant Dragon. But unlike the one Jirou had decapitated in no time at all, this one was clearly different.

  For one, it was massive, almost twice its usual size with limbs longer than normal; its scales weren’t the usual dull orange either, more akin to dark red with more vicious looking features like an extra horn between its two existing ones.

  Just its abnormal appearance alone had me terrified to the core; this meant that the monster stomping down several unlucky Adventurers on its approach was an Irregur, and an enhanced species at that.

  If the usual Infant Dragon was strong enough to be considered a Monster Rex, then this Irregur variant might as well be one. It definitely had the appearance of one.

  “An Irregur!? And an Infant Dragon of all things…!?” Tris cried out, “This isn’t good! We need to go, Dae!”

  “…A-Ah…”

  “Dae…?”

  “Ah…Ah-ah…”

  I have to run.

  I knew I need to run.

  Such a monster was beyond the might of any Level 1 Adventurer. I would die if I even attempted to get in its way.

  But… But I can’t move my feet. Even as the Irregur Dragon raised its cw up to smash down at me, I can’t get my body to move.

  “Dae, snap out of it!”

  “Ah…! Ah…!”

  I felt my body seizing up under its gaze, the sound of my heartbeat ringing in my ears as I could feel the tears flowing from my eyes.

  An Irregur… like the one that killed Leos, the one that nearly killed all of us…

  “DAE, LOOK OUT!!”

  “GROAARRRRRR!!”

  The image of Leos’s final moment rolled on repeat in my mind, the scene of his body sptting against the tree pying on repeat over and over—

  “DAE, MOVE!!”

  I felt someone pushed me out of the way, just as the cw smashed down where I had stood just moments ago; the monster’s strike knocking up a cloud of dirt and sending several rocks flying out in all directions.

  “T-Tris…?”

  “Grgk…”

  My partner groaned as she struggled back on her feet, blood dripping from her forehead down to her chin. Did she get injured from the shockwave?

  “You alright… Dae?” She asked me.

  “I-I’m fine!” I told her, “But you’re b-bleeding…!”

  “It’s fine; a stray rock just hit my head is all…” She assured me, though her unsteady breathing says otherwise, “But we need to get away from that beast. Can you stand?”

  “Y-Yeah–”

  I paused in horror as I saw the Infant Dragon reeled back its head, flickers of fmes escaping from its close jaws.

  “Look out!!”

  I quickly grabbed Tris, just as a bst of blue fme rushed towards us from the dragon’s jaws. With a great heave, I dragged her along with me and barely managed to dodge the fiery breath by the skin of our teeth.

  “T-That was close…” I let out a shaky sigh. Any ter, and we’ll be burnt to a crisp!

  “Head towards the stairs!!” Tris shouted, “The entrance should be small enough to keep it from chasing after us!”

  “R-Right!!”

  I nodded in agreement as we dashed towards the stairs as fast as we could while I supported Tris unsteady gait as much as possible.

  Thankfully, the fog had somewhat cleared up and allowed us to see the stairs to the floor above, so we didn’t have to waste time navigating our way around; small mercies that we would gdly take advantage of—

  “RROOOAARRRR!!”

  A loud roar echoing across the floor had me gncing back in morbid curiosity.

  The Irregur had its limbs tensed, and then the it suddenly leaped forward; it reached us with a single bound and its jaws wide open and fully prepared to chomp down on us.

  “S-Strike, and break through; Electro!!”

  I quickly chanted my spell and let the lightning surge through me, just as the dragon’s jaws closed down around us; I quickly leaped forward with Tris and barely avoided the monster’s bite, tumbling onto the grass again.

  “You okay, Tris!?”

  “Grgk… yeah…”

  This was no looking good for us. It was bad enough that it could move that fast, but for it to be able to also lunge forward and close the distance that quickly? There’s no way any of us could get away from it.

  And unlike that time with the Goliath, there weren’t any monsters around to act as buffers between it and us, so we have no way of slowing it down.

  The only way for us to survive is…

  “Wait, Dae!? What are you doing!?”

  I turned around and faced the monster in front of me. I could feel my legs shaking in fear, but I stood firm in my next words.

  “Tris, head to the stairs without me.” I told her, “I’ll keep it occupied.”

  “What, no, that’s a bad idea!” Tris shouted at me, “An Infant Dragon is at least a Level 2 monster! And this Irregur is way stronger than that! You wouldn’t be able to survive!”

  “I know that! But you saw how fast and vicious it is! We’ll be dead before we even reach the stairs! This is the only way we could get out of this alive!!”

  “T-Then let me be—”

  “You’re badly injured, Tris! You would just die before I am even halfway there!” I shouted at her, she flinched back at my words, “It has to me! There’s no other way!”

  “B-But, Dae—!”

  “Go!!”

  With my spell still active, I charged at the dragon just as it unleashed its fiery breath at me. I dodged the bst of fire and lunged forward, striking my fist into its side as hard as I could.

  “Grgk!”

  Its scales were way harder than I thought it would be; I could feel my knuckles bruising underneath my gauntlet.

  But it was enough to draw the Monster attention towards me, made apparent when the dragon swung down its tail at me. I quickly dodged out of the way and took a distance.

  That’s right, look this way! I’m your opponent!

  But unfortunately, its attention on me was only fleeting as the dragon turned its head back towards the limping Tris; its limbs already tensing for another lunge that she wouldn’t be able to avoid.

  Oh no, you don’t!! You’re not getting anywhere near her!!

  “Look over here, you damn lizard!!”

  I charged at it and smmed another lightning coated fist into it, this time aiming for its limbs, specifically its joints. I could hear my gauntlet’s metal ptes creak and groan under my abuse but I ignored it.

  Equipment integrity was the least of my worries right now.

  Monster or not, one’s joints were almost always one of its weakest points. Even a slight tap at the right angle should have some effect at least.

  That was proven to be right as my somewhat futile attack did the trick as I could see the dragon’s limbs loosen its tension and even almost buckled under itself.

  And judging from its gre when it turned to me, I had successfully pissed it off.

  “RROOOOAARR!!”

  Letting out a roar, the dragon lunged its head down with its jaws ready to chomp down on me. I quickly leaped back to avoid it and then to the side to avoid a cw smming down at me; a tail then whipped at me which I barely managed to duck under before dashing back to get some distance between us.

  I need to keep away from its jaws, those cws and its massive tail. Unlike Garos, I have no way of taking such brutal hits and remain standing. I have to keep my distance while keeping it focused on me—

  It then reared its head back before unleashing a fiery breath at me, which I barely managed d to dodged out of the way of but managed to burn one of the trees beside me to cinders almost immediately.

  Right, and its fiery breath would burn me to a crisp if I am not careful. Tris was right about this guy being out of my league, but if it was just me stalling it, I should be fine for now.

  I gnced back at Tris, who was only a few more steps from the stairway entryway. Alright, just need to keep it occupied for a little while longer—

  “Guargk!?”

  Out of nowhere, a giant red tail smmed into me and sent me flying into one of the many white trees; my enchantment spell dissipates on impact, and I smashed into the bark before slumping onto my knees.

  I could feel parts of my ribs crack from the attack while my vision started to blur. Damn, such one hit from it hurt me this badly…?

  With my blurry vision, I could just make out the Irregur Infant Dragon by the wall, exactly where the entryway is; its head pushing against the small hole in a futile attempt to push through it.

  So, Tris made it to the stairs…? If so, that’s good. At least she made it out of here alive.

  Though, that can’t be said about me.

  While my limbs didn’t feel broken, they do feel as heavy as lead. The taste of iron in my mouth had me coughing out blood, and my chest was hurting with each breath I take.

  At this point, I highly doubt I could make it out of here alive.

  An angry roar echoed across the floor; the dragon was no doubt pissed about letting an easy prey get away. When I saw it turned this way, I knew immediately what it intended to do.

  So, this is how I’m going to die… still, it’s not a bad way to end it all; at least I managed to save Tris’s life.

  Yeah, that’s good enough…

  “Is that what Leos saved your life for!?”

  It’s… good enough…

  “He used his life to save yours, because he is too weak to save both you and himself. That is the actions of a fool, not a hero.”

  It’s… enough…

  …

  …

  AS IF IT IS!!

  I struggled back to my feet, my legs shaking from the strain, but I didn’t care.

  My chest hurt from the deep breaths I was taking, the taste of blood flooded my mouth, but I didn’t care.

  I clenched my shaking fists and raised my heavy arms, my muscles ached and strained from the act, but I didn’t care.

  My heart pound in my chest, my ears ringing from the loud heartbeats.

  But I. Didn’t. Care!

  To just roll over and die!? Wouldn’t that just prove that Ottarl was right!? That Leos sacrificed his life for nothing!?

  No!! I can’t die like this!! Not like this!!

  I have to live on! Survive! To prove that damn boar wrong!! That Leos didn’t sacrifice his life for nothing!! That I am worth his sacrifice!!

  “For what reason did Leos sacrifice his life for you?”

  What reason…? It had been obvious. He had sacrificed his life for me for simple reason, so simple that I was blind not to have realised it until now.

  “The reason I became an Adventurer was to be a hero, like the Braver of the Loki Familia.”

  He did it, because of his dream, his goal of becoming a hero; a hero that inspires awe in their name, that inspires people to follow in his footsteps.

  “Prove that Leos isn't a fool for sacrificing his life for you, that your life is worth his sacrifice.”

  For my life to be worth his sacrifice… the answer was clear.

  Leos couldn’t achieve his dream in life, and I was the cause of it.

  If I were to prove that he wasn’t a fool for giving up his life and dream for mine, then I’ll have to achieve that he had wanted to.

  I’ll become the inspiring hero he wants to be, and for his tale to be interwoven into mine, that his life was that which gives birth to one!

  And to do that…

  “RROAAARRRR!!”

  I stared down at the stomping Irregur charging at me, my fists clenched as I recited my lone spell, the spell that will be the one that end this damn dragon’s life.

  “Strike, and break through;”

  “ELECTRO!!”

  …To be continued…

  Finally finished this part!! And boy, things are about to become intense for the next chapter!!

  And as the chapter title says, this is what it leads up to. Like I said in the prologue chapter, this is the story of Dae becoming a legend. Hopefully, how she came to that decision was good enough.

  Sorry to have to cut things off there. Any longer, it might have dragged on too long. But don’t worry, the next chapter will be just as intense!

  With that, I thank you all for reading this!