Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Elana (2)
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The Dawn Guild party vanished from sight soon enough.
But Ilana's figure still lingered vividly in my mind.
"...Hallucination?"
We'd only just entered the 3rd floor, but for someone with weak mental fortitude, seeing hallucinations wasn't impossible.
But... it had felt far too real to be one.
I turned and stared blankly in the direction where the Dawn Guild party had disappeared.
Her appearance, the guild emblem on her shoulder, even the awkward twitching of her fingers.
Everything matched the Ilana I knew perfectly.
I doubted the madness of the 3rd floor could produce a hallucination that vivid.
"......"
If it wasn't a hallucination, a few other possibilities crossed my mind.
The most plausible? A puppeteer.
If it was an advanced puppeteer capable of sharing vision with their puppet, it would explain how they found me on the 2nd floor in an instant.
But... the moment you embed magic into a puppet, it's obvious.
At least, not enough to fool the rest of the Dawn Guild.
The same went for the one who'd partied with me.
Puppets degrade as they use magic—their runes melt away after just two or three spells, ending their lifespan.
If the one here was the real body, then the one with Dawn must've been the puppet.
But it's impossible to etch enough magic into a puppet to fool both sides.
Or... twins?
They could just be two different people who look identical.
But... even as twins, both had the Dawn Guild emblem sewn onto their clothes.
From what I'd observed partying with her... her combat sense was sharp.
No way they'd let someone like that sit idle in Dawn.
Ilana had partied with me every day for the past week, except one.
"First things first."
I started walking to find Ilana.
I'd only know for sure once I saw her.
"Rain!"
Ilana spotted me and came running over, her face lighting up.
I watched her approach carefully.
...She looked exactly the same as always.
"Why... are you staring like that...?"
"......"
I nearly blurted out if she had a twin, but held back.
No point asking—she probably wouldn't answer anyway.
"Did I keep you waiting long?"
"Oh, no!"
Ilana shook her head vigorously.
Her face bore a pure, innocent smile without a trace of suspicion.
No unnatural behavior so far.
As I moved to keep walking,
"Hold on a second."
"......?"
I grabbed her shoulder, pretending to stop her.
It felt solid in my hand.
At least she had a physical body. Check.
Next,
"Nothing unusual from the Dawn Guild? You'd think they'd want to party up internally."
"Huh? Oh... I heard they don't plan to for a while......"
Ilana averted her eyes slightly as she answered.
...She's way too obvious when she lies.
At this point, I was starting to wonder if it was some advanced psychological warfare.
"I see."
"Yes!"
Thinking her lie had worked, Ilana peeked at me before answering loudly.
Her reactions were crystal clear, at least.
This one didn't seem like a hallucination or puppet.
Breaking the party now, after coming this far, would be weird, so it seemed best to observe her for the day.
"Shall we go, then?"
"Y-Yes...!"
We stepped deeper into the dungeon.
How long had we walked like that?
-Squeal.
An orc hidden in the bushes against the dungeon wall emerged.
The hulking brute, wielding a club as big as a man, charged at us the moment it spotted us.
"Orc incoming!"
"Just like I said—follow the plan."
I'd already briefed Ilana on how to shake off the orc.
Bubble usually lasted against about four hits on average... but Ilana's seemed like it could hold out longer.
Plan was to run together at first, then if Bubble popped early, use Blink to put some distance between us and it.
Then re-Bubble to reset aggro.
-Squeal!
The orc roared as it closed in, swinging its club wildly.
But its attack bounced harmlessly off the transparent barrier.
Trapped in the Bubble, it howled in rage and swung even harder.
"Run!"
We dashed past the Bubble-trapped orc in unison.
Even as we ran, the orc kept pounding away.
Each swing whistled through the air around us.
But.
"Sh-Should I... pop it...?"
"......"
Even after we reached a safe spot, the Bubble held.
In fact, it was still holding now.
How much mana does this girl even have?
Pop—
The Bubble endured the orc's assault for a full minute.
Mana-wise, that put her at least at 3rd circle level.
Maybe higher.
Plans changed.
"Ilana."
"Y-Yes...!"
"How many Bubbles can you cast at once?"
"Oh... I'm not sure......"
"...You've never pushed it to the limit?"
"No......"
...Just how much mana does she have?
"...What's the most you've ever cast?"
"Up to... ten...!"
Ten? More than enough.
"Modifying the plan a bit."
If she had this much mana, I should've said something sooner.
We might even hit level 20 today.
-Grrrr!
The lead wolf, with its silvery fur, leaped high.
A pack of 3rd-floor monsters: Silver Wolves.
The fifteen wolves drooled hungrily as they charged me.
But.
Thud—
They slammed into something soft and ended up dangling helplessly in midair.
Ilana's Bubbles showed no sign of bursting, no matter how the Silver Wolves gnawed at them.
Seizing the opening, I channeled mana into my staff.
Crackle—
-Yelp!
Chain Lightning erupted, and the pack howled in unison.
Most were left on the brink of death but still breathing.
Crackle—!
I fired a second Chain Lightning immediately.
Thanks to the staff cutting my mana cost in half, I could chain two now.
The second blast wiped the Silver Wolf pack clean.
[Silver Wolf defeated.]
[Experience gained.]
[Level up.]
17 → 18
We'd barely started hunting, and I'd already gained two levels.
All thanks to Ilana's Bubbles.
"A-Are you okay?!"
"Yeah."
I glanced at Ilana as she ran up.
Her Bubbles were ridiculously sturdy, turning Silver Wolf pack hunts into a breeze.
Just approach a pack, Bubble them up, wait for them to gather, and done.
Once the wolves clustered, Chain Lightning to clear.
Recover mana while heading to the next pack.
No running around exhausted, no worrying about getting hit.
...This is way too sweet.
I used Mana Resonance to pull in all the magic stones from the floor, then split them with Ilana.
"Let's take a quick break."
"Sure!"
Aiming for level 20 today, I dialed back the pace a bit.
I led her deeper into the dungeon.
There was a no-spawn point around here.
"Wh-Where are we...?"
"Not much farther."
I guided Ilana even deeper.
The further in we went, the denser the grass and trees grew.
Pushing through them, the path began to twist subtly.
The thick foliage seemed to converge toward a single point, like it was being sucked in.
A bit further, and...
"Wow......"
A cliff appeared, evoking the illusion of reaching the end of a forest cave.
The path ended there, but ahead stretched a vast chasm.
Far below gleamed a massive lake, stirring an urge to leap right in.
The Twisted Chasm of the 3rd underground floor.
Too bad... the scenery was just an illusion. Falling meant instant death by fall damage.
Still, no monsters spawned near traps or these special spots.
Perfect for resting.
"Don't go any closer—it's dangerous."
"Oh, it's an illusion......"
I blocked Ilana, who'd been walking forward entranced.
Illusion or not, the view wasn't bad.
"Want some?"
"Th-Thank you..."
I'd bought a lunchbox before coming and handed her one.
We sat at the cliff's edge, eating and chatting.
"Dungeons are so amazing...! It really feels like an adventure... I've always dreamed of stuff like this."
Ilana swung her legs happily.
"I wish I could show her too......"
Ilana's head drooped sadly, then lifted again.
"I actually have a little sister... Well, not blood-related, but like a sister since we were kids. She went through something awful in the kingdom......"
Ilana closed her eyes, as if picturing her.
"She's really angry about it, and I want to be there for her, but I can't seem to help... It worries me......"
With that, Ilana fell into deep thought.
After hitting level 20, I parted ways with Ilana and left the dungeon.
It was late, and I was tired, so I headed straight to my lodging.
As I arrived,
"...We meet again."
Ilana.
The one I'd just parted from.
No—something wearing her appearance stood there.
"......"
I quietly equipped my staff.
"Who are you?"
"...Oh. Did my sister not mention me?"
The Ilana lookalike gave a faint smile.
"Elana. We met before."
Her hair began to slowly shift to blonde.