Having begun my activities as an adventurer in earnest, I spent day after day diving deep into the dungeon.
"Hahaha! Nice. This is fun—!"
Monsters spitting venom. Monsters camouflaged against the stone walls. Monsters using their comrades as decoys to ambush me from blind spots. Everything about these battles—things I could never have experienced back in my village—felt fresh and set my heart racing.
It was the unknown.
This world was still overflowing with things I knew nothing about.
I wanted to see more.
I wanted to touch more.
I wanted to know more.
"—Now, what will you show me next?"
As I stepped forward with a grin, the monsters shrank back in terror.
Naturally, I had no intention of letting them escape. This was a ruthless world where the strong devoured the weak, where we fought to take each other's lives. I hunted them, and they bared their fangs to consume me.
The razor-sharp tension of dancing alongside death honed every one of my senses.
—It was exhilarating.
Once, I was someone who could do nothing but lie in a hospital room and wait for death. Now, I was sprinting along the edge of life and death on my own two feet. Right here, right now, I was undeniably alive.
I could go even further.
Beyond my own limits, beyond even the common sense of this world, straight into a realm no one had ever reached. Right now, I felt an absolute conviction that I could make it.
"Phew. Guess I should take a break."
Having slaughtered a massive hoard of monsters, I scanned the area to make sure the coast was clear before sinking down against a wall. I wet my parched throat with water and looked back on the battles so far. Even within the same species, their movements and habits varied, and when backed into a corner, they put up surprising resistance.
Even this vast dungeon was merely a tiny fraction of the world. Just thinking about that made my chest swell with excitement.
"My feel for magic isn't bad."
My magic had grown even sharper.
Still, reaching this point naturally made my empty right hand throb with longing. I wanted to swing a sword. I wanted to trade blows with monsters in a true clash of steel. While that urge welled up, I currently had no sword on hand. I had no choice but to make do with a knife, but... That was it. Maybe I should test out that idea I'd been turning over in my head.
"Well then, let's see if this works."
Gently taking the knife in hand, I channeled mana into the blade. Carefully adjusting the output, I spun the mana into fine threads and guided it along the edge, causing the silver blade to emit a faint, pale blue radiance.
"A success."
When I slashed at the sheer rock face, the blade sliced through with almost no resistance. At this rate, I'd probably be able to imbue elemental attributes as well.
Physical enhancement was a skill; weapon enhancement was magic. Wielding two distinct powers simultaneously—it was a combat style I had envisioned for a long time.
However, the strain of maintaining both in parallel was heavy. At my current level, about ten minutes was my absolute limit.
"Heh, heheh..."
A quiet laugh escaped my lips.
The skills the old man had taught me, and the magic the old lady had passed down. By layering the two together, I would one day reach an uncharted territory that neither of them had ever witnessed. Strangely enough, I felt certain I could pull it off.
"Well, time to move."
Slowly pushing myself up, I gripped the faintly glowing knife and set off once more, tracking the scent of monsters.
After testing the prototype knife for a while, I switched back to clearing monsters with magic as usual while pressing onward. Before I knew it, I had descended quite deep.
"Have I already passed the twentieth floor...?"
It was probably about time to turn back.
My stomach was starting to growl, too.
"Maybe I'll drop by that tavern."
Just as the thought crossed my mind, a pack of monsters sprinting ahead suddenly swarmed toward the exact same spot.
"What's going on...?"
Sensing something abnormal, I pursued them. At the center of the swarm, a lone female swordsman was locked in a desperate struggle. Her high-tied crimson hair whipped through the air, revealing a pair of fierce, strong-willed scarlet eyes beneath the fringe. Judging by her refined gear and polished swordplay, she was likely a knight who held a national license.
"Guh...! There's no way in hell I'm dying in a place like this—!"
A slash wrapped in brilliant crimson flames traced a wide arc, incinerating several monsters in a single blow. The raw power was staggering.
Yet, even more beasts poured in from beyond the wall of fire. Her breathing had turned ragged, and the arm gripping her blade was already beginning to tremble. At this rate, the sheer weight of their numbers would crush her.
I raised my staff and spoke in a quiet murmur.
"—Frost."
In a flash, a frigid, pale blue wave swept across the chamber.
The layer of frost blanketing the ground swerved cleanly around the knight, flash-freezing every single monster encircling her without exception.
"Huh...?"
To the female knight standing there in utter shock, I called out just to check on her.
"You all right?"
Naturally, I kept my voice deeper than usual. Since I had also blurred my features with perception-inhibiting magic, there was no chance of my true identity leaking out.
Then, her expression twisted in agonizing despair, and her sword clattered to the ground.
"Kuh... Kill me!"
With those words, she dropped straight to her knees.
"...Excuse me?"
What in the world was wrong with her?
Had she lost her mind from sheer panic?
"Calm down. The monsters are gone."
"To have my life spared by a mage, of all people, is an unbearable disgrace for a proud knight! Go on—freeze me just like you did these beasts!"
"...No, how does your mind even jump to that?"
What was I supposed to do with this girl?
I never dreamed the petty feud between the staff and the sword would crop up in a situation like this.
"I'm not going to kill you, and what's so bad about being saved by a mage anyway? Swords and magic simply have different strengths and weaknesses. You're confident in a one-on-one fight, aren't you?"
"Of course I am! It is utterly impossible for a proud knight to fall behind in single combat!"
She declared the words with absolute conviction.
"Then you just ran into a bad matchup this time. A knight cuts down the heavyweight foes, and a mage thins the horde. Isn't covering each other's blind spots the ideal way to fight?"
"A knight and a mage... covering each other, you say?"
"Yeah. It's just plain more efficient that way."
The female knight's eyes went wide, and she stared blankly at me.
"Are you truly a mage...?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"For a mage, you speak with surprising sense."
"...Should I just go ahead and freeze you after all?"
"W-Wait! Throwing away one's life is a direct violation of the chivalric code!"
That was an awfully convenient chivalric code.
It seemed she had finally come back to her senses and decided she wanted to live after all. Well, that was fine by me. It was infinitely better than watching someone throw their life away out of sheer stubbornness.
"I'm heading back. You should return to the surface, too."
The moment I spun on my heel, a faint groan drifted from behind me.
"Kuh..."
"What is it? Are you hurt?"
"No... Well, that is..."
"If you're injured, I can use healing magic on you."
Blushing crimson all the way to the tips of her ears, the female knight averted her gaze in deep embarrassment.
"My legs... gave out."
"What?"
"P-Please carry me on your back... I can't walk..."
"What happened to the proud knight from a second ago?"
"This is no time for that!"
"...Sigh."
After a moment's hesitation, I turned around and crouched down in front of her. Well, carrying her up to the surface wouldn't be much trouble. And so, I found myself retracing my steps through the dungeon with a strange female knight strapped to my back.
Once we arrived outside the Adventurer Guild, I let her down.
"I'll leave you here. Walking in while carrying you would draw way too much attention, and you wouldn't want that either, right? Can you walk now?"
"Y-Yes... I am fine now. You truly saved my life. You have my deepest gratitude."
"Take care, then. Be more careful next time."
"W-Wait—!"
As I turned to walk away, her loud voice called after me.
"Your name! Please, tell me your name!"
"Leon—"
Catching myself right as I began giving my real name, I swallowed the final syllable.
"It's Rio."
"Rio, is it? Allow me to thank you properly once more. Truly, thank you. I am Rosalia Glanz."
"Got it. See ya, Rosalia."
"Yes! Until we meet again!"
Parting ways with Rosalia, I set off toward the tavern.
Yet right in front of the door—I ran headfirst into the very girl I had said goodbye to only moments before.
"Ah! Rio, isn't it?!"
"...Rosalia? What are you doing here?"
"Ah, well! I finished submitting my report to the guild, and the food here happens to be fantastic!"
To think we'd bump into each other again by pure coincidence... Ideally, I wanted to avoid getting too close to anyone, but...
Rosalia's cheeks flushed slightly, and she cleared her throat with deliberate drama.
"A-Ahem. I-If you don't mind, would you care to join me? As a token of my gratitude for today, the meal is on me!"
"...Well, if you insist."
Besides, I figured it was best not to leave any debts lingering between us. Accepting her offer, the two of us stepped inside the tavern together.