Chapter 20
Chapter 20: Second Hand
Yuna and Silen's trek through the Snowfield Zone continued to go absolutely haywire after that.
Finding the answers in her heart was one thing—sure, there may have been touching, tear-filled tales of youth and growth—but reality was reality.
Still, the encouraging part was that Silen had stopped whining, and Yuna was now able to lead the party with a bit more energy.
As for me? I was basically a drink-fetching machine. A watching-from-the-sidelines machine. Do your best, you two. Your teacher is cheering for you.
The experience of battling through the Snowfield Zone gradually helped both Yuna and Silen grow, and it seemed like both of them were slowly getting used to the movement. The two hunted Ice Ents and Frozen Fish alike, and before long, they arrived in front of the Boss Room.
"Well then, before we take on the boss, shall we spread the peach jam we just made onto some bread and eat?"
"Food—no. Hah! Absolutely not, Master! We cannot eat here!"
"And why not?"
"The most delicious meal is the one eaten after defeating a powerful foe. If we eat here, won't the food taste less wonderful?!"
"Hooo…. So you intend to head straight into the Boss Room?"
"Yes! That's right!"
"I'll eat after the fight too."
To think Silen would agree as well.
"Understood. Then off you go. I'll have the meal ready."
"Yes! We're heading in!"
"Yep. Mister. We'll be back."
The two of them entered the Boss Room. I followed along and took my place standing in the corner.
Hmm….
The battle was about to begin, but my mind was occupied with something else entirely.
No matter how I looked at it, the party balance with just Yuna and Silen was a bit off.
A mage was a spot I'd eventually fill, so I could set that aside, but under the general assumption of a four-to-five-person party, having two vanguard members already was a problem.
In the literal sense, the early maps could be bulldozed through with sheer force—but the moment a terrain like this appeared that inflicted status effects, both of them had no choice but to take hits without being able to move properly.
If there had been an Elemental Mage, they could've used a wind elemental to lighten their bodies. If there had been an Archer, they could've locked down the enemy's movement. If there had been a Healer, Yuna could've been far more aggressive.
"I'll have to look for more party members."
I didn't think there would be talent of that caliber here in Demeter, but it was too cruel to tell these two to clear a terrain-shifting dungeon that had been throwing Snowfield Zones since the fifth floor, armed with nothing but a Warrior and a Rogue.
"Well then, do your best."
I don't know whether my quiet words of encouragement reached them, but Yuna and Silen hurled themselves at the boss.
.
.
.
.
This was a fierce battle.
One wrong move and she might actually die. Silen thought this from the very depths of her heart.
The boss monster was a gigantic Ice Ent.
Tree-type monsters were slow-moving at the end of the day, so the correct approach was to chip away at its health little by little.
That was the most basic strategy. Mister had said so too.
And so, Yuna and Silen began following that strategy to the letter.
The Boss Room had a completely different terrain from the regular Snowfield Zone—it was pure ice.
There was no risk of sinking into the ground, but by the same token, that meant it was all the more easy to slip.
For a Rogue with a light frame, dealing damage in conditions like these was no easy task.
Noticing Mister watching them from the side, Silen steadied her heart.
It's fine even if I make mistakes. Mister will sort things out somehow.
Under normal circumstances, she would have considered that a weak-spirited way of thinking—but here and now, a strange, ticklish warmth bloomed inside her chest.
Silen Artre.
As was often the case for those who carried the Rogue class, her upbringing had not been a prosperous one.
She had grown up under her widowed father, helping to raise three younger siblings, and her father had enrolled Silen in Demeter Academy using money he had saved over a lifetime of working as a woodcutter.
What Silen wanted was to become a daughter her father could be proud of. And to earn enough money to fully support her family—her younger siblings.
For a Rogue, those were far too lofty goals to reach, and all the more so at a third-rate academy.
Higher-ranked academies had dedicated Rogue departments, where they taught specialized Lockpicking and Rogue-class skills—but in Demeter, one could only learn just a little about Rogues within the Department of Swordsmanship.
Which was precisely why she could not afford to fail.
Not a single mistake—not in investing her skills, not in assigning her traits.
For Silen, that had always loomed over her like pressure, and eventually, it had hardened into a compulsion.
And yet.
【Is advancing without ever making a mistake truly the same as becoming stronger?】
The words of that brainless, hollow-headed, knows-nothing Student Council President had moved Silen's heart.
Right. She'd heard about it.
"The Advanced Class Change—said to be permitted only to a handful of legendary heroes."
If one could undergo that Advanced Class Change, it was said that all prior skill investments in one's current class could be redone from scratch.
If I mess up and it goes sideways, I'll grab Mister and Yuna and make absolutely sure they take responsibility for getting me to the Advanced Class Change…!
Freed from the obsession with success, Silen began to roam the battlefield without restraint.
The massive Ice Ent before her was a formidable foe.
But to a Silen now aiming for legend, it was nothing more than a waypoint.
【Yu—na—Lin—force—is—here!!】
Is that one planning to grow up to be a grand general of the battlefield or something?
No matter how many times she heard it, she just couldn't get used to that Battle Howling line.
Anyway, confirming that the boss had fully locked its aggro onto Yuna, Silen sprinted across the Snowfield Zone.
Gripping the dagger I had given her and her own dagger in a dual-wield, she raced across the ice, leapt onto the Ent, and in that very moment she tried to plunge her dagger in—
Craaack…!!
"Gh!"
Silen, who had latched on at full speed, flew back from the Ent at an even greater speed.
"Silen! Are you okay?!"
"The moment I touched it, I froze. My leather trousers and boots got slightly frozen too. That thing. Frozen Thorns…? Or Holy Prison?"
Either way, it was an annoying ability that inflicted【Status Effect: Frozen】on contact with a certain probability.
"Seriously?!"
"Seriously. Don't go trying to deflect it carelessly with your sword or shield. Demeter doesn't have the capacity to handle a frozen Student Council President."
"Are you really cracking jokes right now…. Whoa-aaah?!"
The Ice Ent slowly extended a branch toward Yuna, and Yuna—who had reflexively moved to block with her shield—yanked it back at lightning speed after hearing Silen's warning.
"Better to freeze me than ruin an expensive shield!"
"Stop saying ridiculous things…. Anyway, Yuna. For now, instead of defense-tanking, try moving like an evasion-tank—just keep dodging."
"Y-You're telling a tank to run around the Snowfield Zone?!"
"Yep. If you fail the dodge, Mister will scoop up the failed Yuna and carry her out. Failure is experience, right? So good luck."
"You're seriously—!!"
Yuna replied with a tearful face to the snickering Silen, then turned and broke into a sprint across the Snowfield Zone.
After spending a moment watching Yuna Linforce's furious dash, Silen sank into thought.
Two melee fighters. A way to deal with a monster possessing a Thorns ability—that is, a reflection-type ability.
The textbook answer that anyone would give was "overwhelming offense." In other words, a hellish battle royale where you kill it before its Thorns kill you.
"Tch…."
But no other method was coming to mind.
She'd killed Ice Ents plenty of times on the way here. She knew their weak point.
It was the core sustaining the Ent, hidden inside the hollow knot-hole that looked like an eye. If she could drive a dagger into that hollow and twist it, victory was theirs—but…
"Can I even do it…."
What if she couldn't?
Would that mean failure?
She felt a brief, cold prickle of fear—but then she suddenly remembered Yuna's words, and Mister's groundlessly confident smile.
No. It'd be an experience.
If it was experience and not failure, then it was worth trying.
"Yuna! I'm going to explain a plan! Listen carefully!"
"Yeah! Explain, quickly! Hurry! I feel like I'm actually going to die-ee!"
"First, drag the Ent toward me, turn your back to me, and face the Ent! Then use the tank's position-locking ability to plant your feet into the ground as hard as you can and hold!"
"Got it!"
Yuna sprinted over and stood in front of Silen.
In terms of footsteps, about five.
The distance they had always kept when forming up in position.
"Okay! I'm facing it! Silen! What's next?"
"I'm going to step on you and fly through the air."
"Huh? Gugh!"
Before Yuna could even react, Silen was already sprinting across the ice and stepping off Yuna's back.
The self-holding technique unique to defense-tanks didn't buckle just because one Rogue stepped on her and launched off, and Silen sailed pitifully into the air, and went straight—
CRAAAACK!!!
Into the hollow knot-hole, driving her left hand—the one holding the dagger—inside.
【Groooaaan….】
The Ice Ent writhed in agony.
If it had been a regular field mob, one hit like that would have finished it—but being a boss, one shot seemed to fall just short.
"Then, have another!"
Pushing past the terror of her arm and leg beginning to freeze, Silen dug into the inside of the hollow with her other dagger as well.
Right. Would this kill it?
Or would this become an experience?
Immediately after—Silen got her answer.
【Groooaaaannnn….】
It was clearly in agony. The Ent still couldn't even lift its branches.
Just a little bit more was needed, and she might have to pull back like this. Just as Silen clicked her tongue, her body trembling from the cold seeping into her limbs—
"Silen! Pull back, quick!"
"No, just a little more—"
"You have no means of attack left, so what are you going to do! Pull back first! I have a plan!"
"Tch…!"
Formulating a plan and executing it doesn't have to be done alone.
If it succeeds, they succeed together—if it fails, they experience it together and grow!
She had no idea what plan that brain-empty Student Council President was going to use—but Silen swiftly yanked herself back and slid across the floor.
"It seems like I failed. Not enough damage."
"No. It's not over yet. If I attack, it'll be fine."
"What?! You idiot! How are you going to close in on that huge thing and do what exactly! This one's just a fail—an experience, alright?!"
"No! I clearly said it's fine to fail and I can think of it as experience—but that doesn't mean I have any intention of giving up on something I can actually win!"
"Ugh…. What are you even going to do?!"
"Let me apologize first! Sorry! If this doesn't work, can we go flying together for a bit?!"
"Huh…?"
"The tank might not be able to tank! Apology first!"
Faster than Silen could grasp what was happening in front of her, Yuna's arm was already moving.
And immediately after.
Whooooooooomm!!
Something that should not have flown took to the sky.
If the lifeblood of a Swordswoman was her sword, then the lifeblood of a Tank was her shield.
【Shield!! Booomeeeraaaang!!】
"……."
A two-person party.
A party with only a Tank and a Rogue.
And in that party, a strategy unfolded that defied any reasonable comprehension—the Tank hurling her shield at the boss.
No—that thing did exist. She'd heard there was a skill like that.
But why, here, right now?
What if this failed to clear it?
Then would the shield-less Tank and the light-armor Rogue have to get smacked by branches together and go soaring high into the sky?
Was this actually a viable tactic right now?
Silen stared blankly at the trajectory of the projectile, and the thing—freely soaring through the air, spinning like a top wound to ultra-high speed—
CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!!!!
Bored through the inside of the hollow knot-hole that had been thoroughly carved open, and punched out through the back of the boss's body.
Cla-clang-clang-clang…….
The metallic sounds clattering against the icy floor—three of them. Silen's two daggers and Yuna's shield.
And immediately after.
Thuuuud…….
The boss, which had been standing still for a brief moment, collapsed on the spot.
"Haah…."
"Hfff. Haah…."
Victory. A flawless, perfect victory.
The two of them stared at each other for a moment and grinned, then closed the distance to where they could reach out and touch each other, and—
"Silen. What on earth were you thinking? Why would a Rogue with low health rush into melee, and on top of that, fly in front of the Tank—?!"
"And what about you, Yuna! A Tank throwing her shield?! Hey, since when is that a tactic that exists in this world?!"
They grabbed each other's cheeks and began pinching with all their strength.
"I threw it because it comes back! Can't you see your two daggers are just lying on the floor over there?!"
"It didn't come back! They all fell on the floor together! Your shield is right over there too!"
"What?!"
"What are you going to do about it!"
The cold, biting Snowfield Zone.
In front of the fallen boss—two girls engaged in an extremely wholesome post-battle debrief.
Watching that sight, the Archmage who served as both escort and instructor could only laugh so hard tears squeezed from his eyes, and clap.
.
.
.
.
It was an unimaginable victory, achieved through a strategy that was equally unimaginable.
From the start, I hadn't even thought these two could beat that boss.
Defeating a boss equipped with both 【Frozen Thorns】 and 【Area of Frozen】with two melee fighters—and a couple of kids at that. How would that even work?
And yet, they'd done it. They'd dealt with the boss in a way I never could have predicted.
The Dealer dealing two consecutive critical hits, and then compensating for the insufficient penetration with a Shield Boomerang on top of that. Easy to say in words—but it wasn't a solution two little ones could have come up with in that situation.
Moved to admiration by the utterly brilliant strategy, I served up the finest cooking I could for them.
Frozen Fish didn't seem like the right fit for this moment, so instead—bread generously slathered with peach jam, and a sweet tea brewed from the same jam.
The items the boss had dropped could be collected later. For now, I just wanted these two to eat something as delicious as possible—that was the thought I'd put into making it.
"Aahh…. It's sweet. It's so sweet that I'm so happy…. Aha…. Wow…."
"Yeah. It's not that I dislike sweet things—it's that I dislike sweet things that taste bad…. This is good…."
The battle had subsided, and Silen and Yuna sat in the igloo by a warm fire, eating peach tea and jam bread, utterly sunk in bliss.
When I even produced peach-flavored candy and handed it over, smiles never left the corners of their mouths.
About an hour later.
"Master…. I'm sorry, but…."
"Yeah. Mister…. I'm sorry, but can I ask one favor."
"What is it?"
"That…. I apologize. I don't have the confidence to walk all the way back to the dormitories as I am right now…."
"Yeah. Even if you told me to sleep here, I think I could sleep just fine…. So either carry me back on your back, or see me in the morning…. Sorry. Good night…."
"Wait—hold on. These kids…. Did they actually fall asleep?"
Before I could say anything, both of them had curled up hugging their knees and quietly drifted off to sleep.
Still—today they had truly given it everything, so I had no choice but to activate a warming spell, and since sleeping on the bare floor would be rough, I also cast an Air Cushion spell.
After confirming they were resting comfortably, I stepped out into the Snowfield Zone and, alone, looked up at the night sky while sipping peach tea.
"Well, I'll be."
I never thought my life would change like this.
Under my Master, I had done everything I could to cut down the Demons.
Enduring the time within the spatial transfer research lab running at a different flow from the outside world, ceaselessly researching magic—and still, I had climbed to the 6th Circle.
The life I'd had after that was as the Sage of the original Hero's Party.
Endless battles and the slaughter of Demons.
If not that, then my own death—that was the only life I thought I'd ever have.
After being torn apart from the Thunder Strike lot, with their animal-kingdom power dynamics.
A life aimed at making modern cuisine, drunk on the nostalgia of home—that life had welcomed unexpected guests.
Kids giving it everything they had. And a life of encouraging those kids, making food for them, teaching them strategies.
Not bad at all.
No—wasn't living like this actually enjoyable?
I wanted, as much as possible, to share delicious meals with these kids—and in the end, see things through to a conclusion we could all smile about.
The moment I settled on that thought.
Click.
Something inside my mind snapped into place—like a puzzle piece locking in.
"Huh…?"
Being someone who had been blocked by the wall, unable to become a Transcendent, I could tell.
Just now, by the tiniest margin—
A truly tiny margin—
The second hand leading toward Transcendence had moved.