“I’m sorry…” Alysia’s voice came through, slightly shaky. “I’ve messed up again.”
Her voice was filled with defeat. Just as she thought she had found a new purpose; she had been beaten down by the dungeon master. It’d be like deciding you wanted to try out for a sport, only for another person to come along and defeat you thoroughly. It would surely cause someone’s resolve to waiver. The guide stopped her attack. Apparently, she was happy gloating over her victory.
I stood back up slowly. Blood was dripping down, but I had lost blood before. After the other pains, this dungeon had forced me to face, this level of hurt was practically nothing. I was getting better and better at ignoring such pain, especially when there was a fight to win.
“What are you saying? We’re not done yet,” I said as I finally managed to get to my feet, although I was leaning against the wall to keep from tipping over.
“I-I’m broken… if you continue to use me, you’ll fail. You need to use something else to fight her. We have to depend on one of your tricks.”
“We’re in this together, or don’t you remember?”
“Do you want to quit now?” I asked, accessing White Mage as I spoke. “Frankly, I want to keep going.”
First, I used heal on myself, recovering the damage from my injuries. Technically, this body wasn’t real, but skills seemed to work the same way despite I was just a soul. Since that was the case…”
At level 48, I had unlocked Moderate Repair, the next level from Light Repair. It allowed me to fix damaged armor. It wasn’t at the level a blacksmith could repair stuff, but it was good enough on the fly. I rarely needed to depend on the thing, since most of my items were destroyed completely when they received any damage, but it was still a useful trait. The crack in the blade disappeared.
“Y-you healed me?” Alysia said in disbelief.
The little girl had been waiting for us. Perhaps, it was a show of her confidence. However, when she saw the blade heal, her eyes went wide.
“Y-you… you have far too many tricks up your sleeve! It doesn’t matter, you won’t be able to change the outcome of this fight. You will become a sword like everyone else!”
“I-I’m not sure I can do this.”
“Didn’t you agree to rely on me?”
“Then, we’re going to win this together. She thinks she’s more powerful, she thinks that a sword forged by love is a weak sword. I don’t believe any of that.”
“L-love!” Alysia cried out, and I was pretty sure she’d be blushing if I could see her.
“Alysia, I’m trusting my life with you. Will you fail me?”
“I won’t! I won’t ever fail you!”
“Then, you have to be strong enough to protect me.”
“Strong enough to cut through anything.”
“Then, trust in me, and I will trust in you.”
Just as I was about to attack again, Alysia began to glow. Her blade became a bright light, and for a moment it felt almost like the night when we had sex. It felt like her soul was wrapped around mine. I could almost read her mind and her mood. I could feel the bond. I could feel Alysia.
“What are you doing?” The little girl took a step back. “Th-that’s not possible!”
I held the glowing sword toward her. “Let’s see who is truly stronger.”