Growth (1)

"Alan!"

"Huh?"

Without knocking, Kanisia flung the door open and stormed in. I had just settled into my chair when I met her with a stern glare.

After distributing the growth stones, she had come running to chase me away so urgently. It was clear she wanted to challenge my decision.

'Even after I mentioned the party leader's authority, if she still objects, I won't let it slide.'

I had no intention of using the party leader's privileges to bully Kanisia. That kind of behavior didn't suit me at all.

But if she genuinely opposed my choice despite my mention of the authority, this wasn't something that could be brushed aside.

Although Kanisia and I were closer than most men and women, we still needed to protect each other if we wanted to maintain this good relationship for the long term.

"Um... wait a second, Kanisia. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Let me speak first."

"Huh? Ah, yes."

I raised my hand to silence her and issued a warning.

"If you're going to object to my decision, I'm not listening. I already said it, didn't I? I distributed them using the party leader's authority. If you've come here to challenge that, then just leave."

"Ah, no, I'm not here to object to the distribution... I just have a question. Actually, the growth stones I received were thanks to your sacrifice."

"Sacrifice?"

I tilted my head at Kanisia's words. Sacrifice? What did she mean? She glanced around as if checking for anyone else nearby, then whispered in a small voice.

"They killed your parents..."

"...Ah."

'I did tell her that one, didn't I?'

Only then did the lie I had told her come back to me.

When I had killed the Blood King and shown her the corpse, I had lied to pull her into my side by claiming that the Palos's Bird had murdered her parents, whom she didn't even know. Creating public enemies was the most efficient and simple way to build allies.

"Hmph!"

'Tsk. I should have held back a little, but I went too far, so now even I feel confused.'

I clicked my tongue inwardly and cleared my throat.

"Don't bring that up again. Understood?"

"Yes."

Kanisia nodded, her eyes filled with sympathy. This was the heart of enemy territory, so discretion was wise. Fortunately, she understood my meaning.

"Anyway, why did you give so many to Abraham and me?"

"Yes. And while we almost got all of them, you only received nine. Even those were for raising wisdom and luck stats."

"First, Abraham has the lowest stats among us. Currently, Abraham is our main tank, but his stats are too low. He can't fulfill his role properly."

Abraham's shortcomings had been clearly shown in the recent Kutlanka raid. His agility stat was abysmal compared to the others, forcing Kanisia to abandon her own attacks to help him dodge.

If the enemies had been human or small monsters, he might have managed, but even setting that aside, Abraham's stats were insufficient for a tank role.

That's why I had given him the most growth stones.

"And you said your class had evolved. Then I need to give you strength. That way, our party's combat power will rise."

Kanisia hadn't gained a new trait, but her spearmaster class had evolved into a mana spearmaster. She was the only one in the party whose class had evolved.

Instead of focusing on Aquaril, who had hit a growth wall, or Oralisa, who was still only 3-star, or me, who couldn't evolve classes, I should prioritize her growth so the party's combat power would become even stronger than before.

And as for me, since I could raise stats through potential, I didn't need growth stones as urgently.

"But what about Aquaril and Litsha?"

"I already said it. Aquaril can still fulfill her role perfectly. As for Oralisa, she's still only 3-star, so she doesn't need that many growth stones. See? Is that enough of an answer?"

"...What about you?"

"Huh?"

"You need growth stones too."

"I'm fine. I'm the one with the highest stats among us."

"What? What does that mean..."

"And I already told you. From tomorrow, we'll begin full-scale dungeon exploration. You know my style, right? I'll be running around all day. And the growth stones that drop there will all be for me to eat. I've given a lot to you in exchange for the things I'll obtain in the future."

"..."

"That's all the talking, right? Then I'll be going. I need to think about our plans for the future."

"...Yes."

Kanisia nodded and stood up, walking toward the door. Just before leaving, she turned back to me.

"One last thing, Alan. I have one more question."

"Huh? What is it?"

"If I betray you, why are you trusting me so much? You know how devastating the betrayal of the person you trust most is."

"Heh~ Hey, Kanisia. Are you planning to betray me?"

"It's not like that..."

"Then it's fine. I don't think you'll betray me. Well, just in case... even if you do betray me, I'll forgive you once. I'll even die smiling once."

"What the heck was that?"

Kanisia's face flushed, perhaps moved by my trust. Her eyes were a little red too?

"...Thank you, Alan. I'll really work hard."

Kanisia, who had said that, ran out the door in embarrassment. A grown woman acting like that... How cute.

"Ugh, my head."

After sending Kanisia away, I sat back down and organized my plans for the future. Since I had given up following the story line, I needed to think carefully if I wanted to gain more benefits.

"Nom nom nom."

I swallowed five medium growth stones (wisdom) and began to ponder.

*****

When Montblanc had offered me regular growth stones, I had refused. Instead, I had asked for something else.

"Instead of growth stones, please give me a dungeon that my party can explore."

"A dungeon?"

"Yes. I have no intention of becoming a half-baked person. To live up to Montblanc's expectations, I can't do it with just half measures."

"Half-baked... heh, what an interesting way to put it. Very well. Alan, provide the dungeon you can explore."

Even now, Montblanc still found me interesting. Despite my repeated requests for something other than what she offered, she didn't mind.

Montblanc really did provide a dungeon that our party could explore, and the moment morning broke, the Snake party led by me headed toward that dungeon.

Since Montblanc had already created the entry pass for us, we passed through Littleberry's gate without any inspection.

"Master, leave it to me! I'll take them all out!"

"Sure. I'll trust only Oralisa."

Since this was our first dungeon exploration together, Oralisa was more motivated than ever. I smiled warmly and ruffled her hair.

"Huh? Oralisa? Alan, you said her name is Litsha, right? Why are you calling her Oralisa?"

"...Eh?"

Kanisia, who had been listening to our conversation, tilted her head. Ah, right. I had introduced her as Litsha to her, hadn't I?

'Whoa... how many lies have I told? I can't even come up with excuses.'

But what could I do? It was all my own fault.

I would endure it with lies and force.

"My real name is Oralisa. Litsha is the nickname I made up."

"Really? I think Litsha sounds better. Can I call you Litsha?"

"W-well, of course!"

"Y-yes! You can call me Litsha, Kani-chan!"

Oralisa and I nodded vigorously. Fortunately, Kanisia didn't suspect anything.

'From now on, I'll stop lying so much.'

Lying too much had made it hard to maintain the lie-and-force endurance. Damn it!

After traveling for half a day, we discovered a small cave.

"Is this it?"

"Let me check... yeah. Since there are no other caves nearby, this must be it. Just to be sure, let's go in and check, then set up the base camp."

"Okay!"

"Everyone, wait here."

I sent the party members to wait at the cave entrance and entered alone. A rising notification window appeared.

"Matches what Montblanc said."

The information from Montblanc and the notification window aligned perfectly.

Although Oralisa, who was only level 52, might struggle with a 70-level recommended dungeon, I couldn't let the other four members miss out on experience just for her. Efficiency had to be maintained.

To receive a suitable dungeon from Montblanc, I had to provide my party's information, but if I planned to receive more dungeons in the future, the balance would be more than sufficient.

"This is it. Let's set up the base camp and start exploring right away."

"Yes."

"Yes, Master."

I stepped back outside and told the waiting party members to set up the base camp. After that, we all entered ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the dungeon together.

"Abraham, take the front."

"I shall protect everyone."

Abraham, our party's tank, took the lead. On his left and right were Aquaril and Kanisia, with me and Oralisa in the rear. My role was to support allies and protect the long-range dealer Oralisa.

The Snake party in a 3/2 formation advanced deeper into the cave.

"Uwoo-! Uhuuuu-!"

Soon, we encountered three orangutans, each about one meter tall, holding wooden clubs. They had white fur and stood around 150 cm tall. They weren't real orangutans but monsters of this dungeon: White Mutan (4-star).

'Mutan... yeah, I remember now. It's been a while.'

Seeing the White Mutan, the information about the dungeon automatically flashed in my mind. This was one of the dungeons I had explored while playing Fairy Masters.

"Uuuuuuuu-!"

"Abraham!"

"Don't worry, Alan."

The three White Mutans charged at us simultaneously. Responding to my shout, Abraham gripped his large square shield and stepped forward.

"Come at me, you ugly fat bastards!"

"U-? Uaaaak-! Uuuuuuk-!"

Abraham's shout made the creatures tilt their heads, then they charged at him with violent fury, understanding his words.

It was a skill essential for tanks: . Despite seeing us behind him, the White Mutans, affected by the skill, rushed at Abraham like they had found a treasure, swinging their clubs.

"Kwaak!"

Four-star monsters charging and swinging clubs at once made it quite difficult. Abraham let out a pained groan, but he didn't retreat and held his ground firmly.

"I'll help!"

"Hah!"

"Ugly!"

With Abraham tanking in front, the party members could attack the White Mutans easily. Aquaril used her sword skills, Kanisia poured mana into her spear and attacked directly, and Oralisa activated .

This skill allowed her to fire arrows ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at high speed without moving. Moreover, there was no need to draw the bowstring; arrows made of mana were automatically generated.

By the way, Fairy Masters users also called this skill Siege Mode instead of Rapid Fire Mode.

"Uoooook-!"

The White Mutans, overwhelmed by attacks from all sides, screamed and fell. Their white fur turned red.

"Good start, huh?"

We defeated the three White Mutans and obtained one medium strength growth stone. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The start had been good.

"Then let's keep moving."

We began the full-scale dungeon exploration.