The Lone Healer-Chapter 106: Blood in the Water, Part Twenty-One

{Neve}

[... I guess this was worth it.]

In the end, the item they had so much trouble acquiring was a piece of Paladin-class armor. Rare Paladin armor. Nothing more, nothing less.

Not something that either Erin or Neve could use.

It cost 15000, though, which brought Neve’s WST up by a lot, along with her EXP from Erin defeating that miniboss.

Level 52

MP: 1100/1100 (+300)

EXP: 10/520

AP: 3690

IP: 20

WST: 97803

---

Endurance: 40

Speed: 23

Precision: 13

Strength: 5

Arcane: 80

As Neve looked at that status, she realized that she was incredibly close to being able to purchase two things. Both of which would be helpful in different ways.

Internet service and that Angel Set of armor.

As she sat on the ground, after selling off the Paladin armor, she went and looked at the Hidden Shop.

Angel Set

{Legendary}

{Armor - 5 pieces - Robes, Hood, Gloves, Skirt, Shoes}

{Req: Class: Priest/Priestess}

{Effect: All healing and shielding, both received and cast unto others, is strengthened by 100%}

{Note: Effect is only granted when the full set is being worn}

{Val: 100000 WST}

[... Holy shit,] Neve thought. [If I fight a few more enemies, I can actually buy this stuff.]

"Looking at anything interesting?" Erin asked as she lowered herself, sitting down next to Neve.

Closing the window, the healer processed this little dilemma.

On one hand, she could spend 100000 WST and give humanity the knowledge about the Final Challenge that they’d been lacking for the past year. On the other, wearing this armor set would probably make her the strongest healer out there. At least, as far as she knew.

The thing was, she knew where her heart was leaning. What she was having some trouble with right now was the small amount of guilt from it.

[I mean... I kind of just established communication with the outside world anyway, right? With that "Charlotte" person? So, it’s not like I’m really losing much by going with the armor set. I mean, besides, with all the shit that’s happened to me so far and all the shit that’s going to happen, I’ve earned the right to be selfish by now, haven’t I?]

"Neve?" Erin’s voice pulled Neve’s attention to her. "Are you alright?"

"... Yeah," Neve stood up. "I was just deciding on something."

"Well, if you’d like a bit of a royal perspective, I suppose I could entertain myself with your problems."

"Heh, next time, then," Neve replied. "I think I’ve just about made my mind up."

---

The path they were on led them to a part of this submerged city that was somehow even darker. The glowing emerald lines that had been illuminating the path thus far had dimmed. Their surroundings displayed even more scars from old battles.

[Another world that was pretty ruined by the Unity Trials. I wonder what this place was like in its prime. Must have been kinda cool.]

The corridor they were on narrowed. The floor turned to glass as the hall stretched toward one set of bronze doors in the distance.

Her gut told her to look at the map and Neve found that the boss marker was just up ahead.

[Are we here?] She wondered. [Is this it?]

It was a little hard to believe for her that they’d encountered the boss so soon. Well, "so soon" was an odd feeling to have given that she and Erin had spent days in this place, training and fighting. However, in terms of making actual progress, moving through this dungeon, Neve didn’t feel like they’d been doing that for too long.

[... It’s strange, but if the Forces That Be just didn’t feel like putting in too much time on this dungeon then, whatever. Not my problem.]

"You know, by now, every time I see a door like this my immediate thought is, ’oh joy, a hard fight is probably ahead’. Is it just me?" Erin asked.

"Nope. Means you’re learning."

"Ah, wonderful. Well then," she turned toward Neve, "shall we take this potentially dangerous battle now or is there anything else you wish to do before we risk our lives and all?"

"I don’t think so," Neve replied.

"You don’t wish to spend a little more time practicing those new sword skills of yours? Or, perhaps looking for any other trinkets?"

"We’ve just about looked through most of this place already. And, killing whatever is behind this door won’t remove all the other enemies from this place. If we want to practice, we’ll still be able to."

[Well... There’s the Floor Quest that I still haven’t done. But, Alexander’s quest ended after I fought the boss. This floor’s quest might require me to do the same. Aside from that, sure, I could go looking for enemies to get 100000 WST and buy the Angel Set, but that’s like 3000 WST away. Which, if I understand how progression works, means it’s roughly 1500 EXP away, which means that I’d level up, which means I’m basically making this boss even tougher. I think it’s best to beat this boss now and then buy the set with the WST I get from it. That’s what makes sense to me, anyway. I don’t want to end up over-leveled again. Hell, the ideal scenario would be to get the Angel Set while being at the lowest level possible. To make that happen, I need to avoid farming, so...]

Erin, of course, was oblivious to these thoughts. So, she turned and slithered to the door.

"Hm. In that case, I suppose we should just take the plunge."

[Alright... Let’s see what’s in here.]

Most of the dungeon, the parts beneath the top floor, had been dark and dilapidated. Stagnant, rotting halls that looked like a shell of their former selves.

The same could not be said for this place. No, Neve felt like she’d just walked into a palace.

A marvelous, massive chandelier illuminated a luxurious, spacious room. It had golden decorations and walls of glass, from which Neve could peer out and see the ocean around the city. The air smelled of flowers, though Neve couldn’t tell where the scent was coming from.

No, if anything, it should have smelled horrible given how many corpses littered the floor.

The bodies were so plentiful that every step Neve took threatened to make her trip. Some of the bodies resembled the couple that Neve had met earlier, but most were otherworldly. Monsters that had seemingly been trying to swarm this place only to be put down.

Probably by the man standing at the far back.

He looked almost exactly like the person the statue Neve had seen when she first arrived at the Third Floor had been depicting. Tall, muscular, with grey-blue skin, tentacles on his face, and wearing broken golden armor with a red cape, the man carried a trident from which blood dripped onto the glass floor.

[A knight? Or, maybe the king of this place?]

His level came into view as Neve and Erin approached.

Level 62

MP: 350/350

As Neve walked over a particularly tall mound of bodies, a long sigh escaped him. A low sound, but one that reached Neve’s ears clearly regardless.

He turned toward her and Neve found that his eyes were blank.

[Undead, maybe?]

"Any guess as to how strong he is? Is that ’System’ of yours saying anything?" Erin asked quietly.

"He’s stronger than you, but not enough to where you can’t beat him through skill," Neve muttered, breathing in and calming her nerves.

"All of the weapon-wielding enemies we’ve encountered thus far have been quite skilled, though," Erin noted.

[I’m heading into this with full mana,] Neve thought. [Be patient. Get a feel for the fight and see what this guy’s got up his sleeves. You’ve got this.]

As Erin approached him, the battle began unceremoniously.

Naturally, the man’s swings came fast and hard, so much so that Neve could see how Erin was caught off-guard by his strength.

She moved to the right, aiming her staff at him, looking to catch him with {Fireball} while his back was turned. With any luck, he’d share the same weakness to Fire that all of the other warriors had.

However, as Neve used the ability, something strange happened.

Her spell disappeared before it could reach him.

[What?]

Using that spell, however, had successfully gotten the man’s attention, though. He turned toward her. Neve got ready to avoid whatever attack would come.

Before he could do so, though, Erin moved in.

She used {Dragon’s Divine Swipe}, likely the fastest out of all the new Techniques she’d learned.

Her right hand was shrouded in flame. Her claws reached out, and Erin tried to slash at the man’s back.

Only for her draconic hand to be stopped by something.

From this angle, Neve saw it.

A barrier of some sort prevented Erin’s hand from reaching the man.

[What the hell?]

Erin had frozen out of surprise, not understanding why her hand wasn’t digging into her enemy’s body right now.

The man took advantage of it by turning his trident and stabbing it straight through Erin’s head, while his back was still turned to her.

Erin disappeared and Neve’s eyes locked with his.

[Shit.]

She summoned Erin again in an instant, getting the lamia to stand beside her.

"Neve, what just happened?"

"I-I don’t know. Uh, try something else."

"Sure."

Erin used {The Lamia’s Hunt} then, granting herself a boost in speed that somewhat lessened the gap between them in that regard. She lunged at the enemy, ducking under his trident and trying to attack him with her claws again, without using any Techniques this time, only to be stopped by the same barrier.

At the same time, Neve used both {Iceball} and {Waterball}. None of her spells passed through it.

Erin pulled back and then initiated {Rorvan’s Flurry}. Even Neve could guess that the man would dodge one of the hits rather quickly, thus ending the Technique, so she figured that Erin’s goal here wasn’t to do any real damage but to see if her Technique would do *any* damage at all.

It did not. She landed a few hits on his barrier before the man pulled away and the Technique stopped.

[What the hell is going on? Is...]

From the angle she was at, looking past the man, she noticed that the door leading into this place was still open, unlike the one that had closed to stop them from exiting the time trial earlier.

Something came to her mind. An idea. One Neve quickly thought of a way to test.

Erin was about to dodge out of the way of an incoming stab. Neve marked them both, however, and ordered Erin to allow the man to wound her.

Erin froze. The man’s trident embedded itself in her torso.

And, Neve used {Equivalent Exchange}. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Only to find that, like everything else, it didn’t manage to cause any damage to him.

[... Oh. I get it.]

As the man was about to finish off Erin, Neve ran for the door.

Erin died, of course, but thanks to that distraction, Neve was allowed to reach the entrance to this place.

And, surprisingly, nothing prevented her from leaving.

Her idea had already been confirmed in her mind. This was just the cherry on top.

Neve emerged outside the boss room. The boss did not follow her.

Shaking her head, Neve thought:

[Damn... It’s a gimmick fight, isn’t it?]