[ Ice Magic! Crystalized Swords! ] Shouting the name of her magic, Alicia launches her attack.
Swords made of Crystals flew on top of Alicia, and as she points her staff towards the enemies she"s targeting, the swords came flying at them.
The swords collided with the thick and hard bones of the orc skeletons, breaking and cutting them as they did.
The battle had already started since a while ago. The enemies are now starting to thin out and Alicia could already see their victory.
Together with the guy who beat one of her companions with one shot, she"s expecting that they will be able to win, but she was not expecting that she was the one to kill all the enemies herself. Vlad, who she thought will clear the enemies together with her, or rather, will kill all the enemies without her help at all, is only occasionally attacking the enemies when necessary.
He only focuses on blocking and shielding Alicia from the enemy"s attacks.
And one thing Alicia was just only able to notice was that he"s also supporting her magic; making her spells stronger and lesses the mana they originally take.
( I wonder why he"s only supporting my magic...? If he"s so strong then shouldn"t he at least try to kill half of them...? Is he so strong that he feels that the enemies are not worthy of his magic...? No... He"s not that kind of person...? ) she thought as she turns an eye to Vlad"s direction for a second.
( But still... I never thought he would be able to support some so good with his magic... Is he the type of mage that focuses on support magic? No way that"s possible, considering how he took out Arthur with one shot... )
[ Great, their number is now cut in half. Do you still have mana? ] Vlad casually asked as he continues to block all their attacks with his "Shield".
[ Ah! Yes... I can still keep going! ] Saying so, Alicia raised her staff again and started to chant. But as she did so, she unconsciously looks at again at Vlad"s direction.
She was still confused about whether or not Vlad was really a good guy or not. Considering how many times he had saved her already, it"s only logical that he"s a good guy. But despite this fact, in the back of her head, there"s a voice that says he"s a bad guy - in the form of Arthur"s Voice who was supposed to be in the capital.
What if he"s only doing it to gain her trust? What if he"s only doing it to influence and brainwash her.
But that was not possible - she thought.
Just what would he gain from doing those things? From their first meeting, they have asked him what does he want and he can"t figure out what it is.
They have offered him money, influence, and women, but none of them had piqued his interest.
But one thing Alicia has figure out today was that he"s not just powerful, he also has a lot of knowledge with dungeons and monsters. He acts as if he had already gone to many of them, and the way he reacts to the monsters inside that were suppose to be powerful says that he had already fought monsters that were stronger.
She wonders why such a delicate looking person would be someone much experienced that her at all these things.
( Just what is he about? )
There are still many things she doesn"t know about him. But one thing she knows is right now, she could definitely trust him.
[ In front, Alicisan! ]
[ Ye-Yes! ]
With Vlad pointing out the enemies that are gathering in front of them, Alicia had launched her attacks towards.
With that attack, their enemies had finally decreased by less than half their previous number.
( It"s an absolute win now, right...? With the number of spells I"ve thrown, my mana should already be wasted... But I guess with Vlad"s help I was able to survive... )
***
A while had pa.s.sed before Alicia and Vlad were able to defeat all their enemies.
Broken pieces of red-colored bones and all possible kinds of weapons were left on the ground; paused and unmoving.
The two of them had beaten the very first enemies they had encountered.
Looking at the appearance of Vlad, it would look like nothing had happened, but opposite his state, Alicia was exhausted and in the need of a rest. Just after they were able to defeat the last of the Orc Skeletons, Alicia had asked Vlad for a rest - in which Vlad immediately agreed to - considering that Alicia was human compared to him who has the traits of the undead.
And so they rested -
They sat beside the rough walls of the dungeon.
They are still on the same floor where dim lights are being produced by the small mossy-looking vines hanging on the ceiling and unknown mushrooms-looking plants planted on the ground.
Looking at them made Alicia feel a little more relaxed despite knowing that she"s in a rough and hard situation.
[ Haah... ] she sighs. Then she turned her head to the guy sitting beside her - who"s looking not in the least tired.
Looking at him made her reminiscent of the fight earlier...
Alicia was surprised to learn that Vlad was able to support her perfectly, without any fault. Seeing how he fought Arthur with pure magic and strength, the thought of him being someone who has skills in support magic has only barely crossed her mind.
She learned many things about him, but one thing that was still unclear to her was why Vlad did not fight or kill any enemies himself. With his strength, he could definitely defeat them by himself - this was Alicia"s honest thoughts.
But knowing that Vlad was the very definition of a mysterious and secretive person, she knows that she will not get the answer that easily, even if she asks him herself.
[ Alicisan, I"ll deal with the next batch of enemies. You can go ahead and reserve your mana then. ] out of nowhere, Vlad said to her as he turns his head in her direction and looks at her.
[ That"s what I"m planning to do... ] pressured by his stare, Alicia was only able to reply in the manner she always does.
A moment had pa.s.sed and no words came out from the two of them. Needless to say, now that everything seemed to have calmed down, they came back to their previous state in which they feel very uncomfortable with each other. Especially Alicia - who despite now trusting Vlad, still can"t like him as a person.
*Growl...
In the silence, the sound of grumbling stomach resounded.
Vlad immediately turned his head towards Alicia for the second time. Since there are only two people there was in the large cave-like corridor, it was very much obvious where the sound came from.
[ Thi-This is! ] she exclaims in panic.
[ Ahh... Yea, don"t worry about it... Mages tend to get hungry when they exhaust their mana... ]
A fact that Vlad had read in a book. Even though he was a very talented mage in the game, in this new reality - he was still not that well-informed and educated on how human mages and other cla.s.ses that are not like his works. That was why studying and reading books he bought totally helps him in dealing with these sort of stuff.
[ That"s right... I lost my stuff when we fall and I don"t have any mana recovery potions or food on me anymore... Without any of those it will take me long before I could completely recover my mana... ] she mutters in a very honest way.
[ Hmm... Here. ] saying so, Vlad - as he always does - placed his hand inside his robe and took out something from his storage.
[ This is...? ]
One of the goods he stores in his storage - A bar of chocolate.
Supposedly in the game, chocolate bars can be used in restoring not just a huge percent of mana and energy, but also a lower percent of health points. This item was one of Vlad"s favorite as it has a very cheap price, it fits his role, and unlike the other potions, it can easily be stacked by hundreds without even taking 1% of his storage capacity.
Vlad thought at first that he should just give her a mana recovery potion, but since she"s hungry, too, it would be much wiser to give her something that will also help her fill her stomach.
[ What is this...? ]
The chocolate bar was wrapped around a red-colored cover - and Alicia was confused about what Vlad had just given her.
[ It"s food that will help you recover your mana. ]
[ Is that so...? But how should I eat it...? It contains something inside, right? Is it right to open it? ]
[ Yes. That is how you"re supposed to eat it. ]
With that said, Alicia looks at him with doubt, then she turns her head again to the chocolate bar.
[ ... ]
After observing it for a short moment, she found an opening to the cover and she gently peeled the bar open.
[ Is... Is this what I think it is...!? Chocolate!? ] seeing the content of the cover made her exclaim in surprise.
Sweets are a rarity in the world. Only n.o.bles are able to try and eat them.
Chocolate - in particular, was one of the rarest sweets even n.o.bles are having trouble to get their hands on.
[ Are you really okay with this...? Giving me something like this...! ]
[ No. Don"t worry about it... ]
The truth was, Vlad was already somehow expecting that kind of reaction from her - seeing how everyone reacts to everything he does and takes out.
[ Huu... This is why I still can"t believe you"re not a n.o.ble... ] she whispers to herself in disbelief.
*Growl...
[ ... ]
[ Hmph! But really, a food like this is something befitting for someone like me... I-I will humbly accept it. ] with that said, she took a bite and immediately her face swells up.
[ Thi... This is good...! ]
[ Really? Then, I"m glad you liked it. ]
[ U... Un... ] she nodded in silence to Vlad"s words.
[ ... ]
( Still... I can"t have myself eat this by myself... ) with that thought inside her mind, she cut 1/5 of the chocolate bar and handed it to Vlad.
[ Thi-This is... Vlad-san... Thank you for your support earlier... And also this chocolate... ] Alicia said in a very quiet voice that even she could barely hear.
She felt that she should at least express some grat.i.tude.
Thinking back, it if wasn"t for him, she would have immediately consumed by fear, run, and eventually, even die.
But that time, unlike her, Vlad was calm and he knows what to do. Seeing his confidence made her come back to herself and she was able to brush off her fear. Because of him, she was able to fight with all her might.
[ Don"t worry about it. I just did what I had to do. But Alicisan, don"t ever panic again like that. ] Vlad replied as he calmly accepted the 1/5 part of the chocolate bar he gave Alicia.
[ I... I know... ] she answers, staring again at Vlad"s figure. She then turned her head to the chocolate bar she"s holding and stared at it.
( I wonder if we made the wrong decision of coming with him... At this rate, we"re nothing more than a piece of baggage holding him back... We forced him and we even involve the guild master to do so... )
Despite her not admitting it, if it weren"t for her and Caiden, Vlad would probably won"t have any problem subjugating this dungeon. She knows that. But because of her and Caiden"s curiosity, they"ve only caused him trouble.
She was filled with guilt, and she guesses that Caiden probably is, too.
( It"s a miracle he still treats me like this... )