More Questions Than Answers

[Yes, I could bring back your friend Kei. However, he will not return in the same form that he left. The price of this request is high. Would you like to enter the first floor of the Hidden Tower?]

It felt like my breath had left my lungs and I would pass out. I remember that the difficulty of the Hidden Tower was set to extreme. Was this person insane?

"Are you serious? Do you really think that I could survive that dungeon? You, whatever your name is, must be insane. How dare you dangle an impossible dream in front of me?"

[The way you are now would definitely end in failure. Humans always have interesting reactions. You even act differently than the other players sent back in time. It is incredibly interesting.]

"Why is getting my friend back such a difficult task?"

[The system rewards you based on your feats. I cannot give you a reward that isn't comparable to the feat you accomplish. I would hurry. The reward can only be offered for so long.]

"What? How much time do I have?" I felt a sense of urgency greater than anything else I had ever felt before. The possibility of saving my friend was too sweet to pass up.

[Our time is up. Happy hunting!]

The screen changed from the blue text to the green from before. My arm passed through the screen as my most recent attempt to break it was hindered once more. How could I possibly prepare myself to take on an extremely difficult dungeon? That had to be an S class at least.

Sure, I was stronger than in my past life, but it was doubtful I had gotten that strong. Not only that, I still needed to train Callie and find more party members. It was possible no one would even want to enter such a difficult dungeon with me as well. Despair filled my mind as I felt the enormity of what I would have to do to get Kei back.

"I can't give up." My voice shocked me back from the thoughts that were threatening to overcome my mind. I had known Kei for one day before he died, but the way his life ended didn't sit well with me. It was the system's mistake that caused his death. Of course, our own stupidity played into that as well. No, I needed to fix it.

I picked myself up off the floor and selected the first floor of the Crystal City Dungeon. I needed to make sure that it was safe for Callie. Then I would go back down to the second floor and fight the tiger again. I would fight until I was strong enough to save my first friend in this new life. With the determination of my new goal, I stepped into the forest once again.

Walking through the relatively calm forest reminded me of the time Kei and I first went through this floor. It was simple to defeat the monsters that leapt out at you with one hit. It was strange that at one point I had to really pay attention to this floor, and now it was so simple. Even knowing the dangers of the dungeon, you can so easily become complacent.

Soon the exit appeared before me, and the glowing circle leading to the second floor looked especially ominous to me now. I had just replaced my armor and weapons, so it was possible to proceed to the next floor, where the tiger lurked in front of the exit, but I moved my feet to the return circle and calmly stepped upon it. Not today.

*********

Meeting Callie the next day felt like a breath of fresh air as she smiled sweetly up at me. She was wearing her new armor and clutching the staff they had bought together at Dyno's shop. It was hard to believe we would be stepping into the dungeon together with such a sweet expression.

"I can't believe I am getting to go into the dungeon with someone else!" She appeared to be hopping from one leg to the other as we waited in the ever-present line leading into the dungeon. I didn't want to ruin her good mood, so I let her get out her nervous energy until we reached the teleportation circle.

I grabbed Callie's hand and pulled her onto the circle, and we appeared in the white room. Callie looked around, surprised, and followed me to the center of the room.

"Is this what happens when you enter with other people?" She asked innocently.

I nodded to her and quickly clicked on the icon that would lead us to the Silver City Dungeon's first floor. Callie gasped with surprise at suddenly being in a forest. She glanced around and nodded to herself as she clutched her staff.

"I will be here if you need help, but first I will observe you. Remember to be aware of your surroundings."

Callie's body looked stiff as she stepped forward into the forest. Her footsteps were loud, and twigs snapped under her feet as she walked. It seemed that healers really didn't get the basic survival skills most other hunters received upon completion of the tutorial. It seemed unfair.

I had spent a lot of time honing skills I did not have in my past life, so it was probably the dungeon's way of saying, Do it the hard way. Or maybe it was that you needed to gain a set amount of experience before receiving any skills. All the healers I had come across seemed to be particularly weak in their constitution.

It was a running joke among gamers that healers were a little too much like video games in that aspect. However, other types of hunters—that relied on magic—did not match their game counterparts. Sure, some fit the typical weak mage mold, but others were just as strong as the fighting classes. In my past life, people were only just starting to question the whys and hows of the different fighting types and skills.

With the accelerated pace of my new life, it would probably be much sooner. It wouldn't surprise me if someone or the association was already doing research into that now. The association seemed to be particularly interested in the skills and abilities I had when I signed up. However, there was a clause that said I didn't have to reveal anything.

It all felt like a ruse to make me let my guard down, though. Every aspect of the services the association provided, as well as the changes that I personally saw, felt like someone was pulling the strings from somewhere. Sure, it was convenient, but it made me feel on edge for some reason. It would be easier if I only had the dungeons and their mysteries to worry about.

A squirrel monster came flying out of the trees, surprising Callie. She managed to block its initial attack with her staff, and a puff of smoke came from her staff. I covered my mouth to hide my smile.

"Come on! You are supposed to be a fireball spell, not smoke!" Callie's voice drew more monsters to our location.

I was forced to take out several monsters as she battled the squirrel monster. It was almost like Callie was a trap meant to lure in every monster on this floor. Soon, we were surrounded by small monsters with their red eyes, looking upon Callie as if she were their next meal.

With my back to Callie, I was swinging my sword in endless arcs, taking out scores of tiny monsters. I could tell that she was struggling behind me, but she relentlessly fought the squirrel that had attacked her first until finally a small cheer came from her mouth. I could tell from her labored breathing that she was already at her limit.

"Good job. Let me take care of the rest."

It took roughly ten minutes to dispatch the rest of the monsters as Callie took shelter under a tree. I wondered how she had survived coming to the dungeon if it was always like this. I wiped the sweat from my brow and turned to the tired-looking Callie. She used the staff to hold her body up as she leaned against the tree.

"I know you are tired, but we need to move from this place." The dungeon had not absorbed the bodies around us, and the ground was saturated with a crimson red.

Fortunately, I knew that most of the monsters were dead now from my experiences of going through this floor before. However, the rest of the monsters would be lured here by the smell of blood, and I knew that Callie couldn't handle anymore combat until I gave her a potion.

I sheathed my sword and then grabbed Callie and put her on my back. She struggled at first, but I felt her head fall heavily on my back after a few meters.

"I'm sorry, Kai. I'm just a burden to you." I heard her sniffle behind me.

"What are you talking about? Do you think it was easy for me to be this strong? I had to train a lot to manage that many monsters by myself, you know." I couldn't let my new healer be so pessimistic. I would need her someday, just as much as she needed me now.

"But my magic is so pitiful. It doesn't do what it is supposed to do, and I get tired so quickly!"

"Nonsense. Just as a fighter needs to train their muscles, you also need to train your magic. As long as you work hard and trust me, you too will be strong someday."

I heard a few more sniffles behind me, but Callie also gripped my shoulders with just a little more strength than before. I had a feeling that she would work hard to achieve more power, and I felt a little more assured that she would someday become a powerful healer.