Chapter 26: Mana DeficiencyThe numbers of kobolds thinned quickly. I didn''t think that they would fall that fast, but the power behind my |Ashen Arrow| and Fina''s skills surprised me.

    "You have gained |Experience|. |Experience| limit reached. You have gained a level." [Spirit Guide]

    ("Oh, nice.") [Solace]

    "You have gained |Experience|. |Experience| limit reached. You have gained a level." [Spirit Guide]

    ("Another one? Pretty good-") [Solace]

    "You have gained |Experience|. |Experience| limit reached. You have gained a level." [Spirit Guide]

    ("Uh... How many-") [Solace]

    "You have gained |Experience|. |Experience| limit reached. You have gained a level." [Spirit Guide]

    This continued on for about an entire minute. By the time it was all over, I was at a whopping level of 18.

    "...Just a few more." [Fina]

    She faced the last kobolds with a killing glare, causing them to take a few steps out of fear.

    ("Yikes... I never thought someone like her could make such a face...") [Solace]

    The kobolds growled at Fina, but she didn''t budge. All she did was take a single step towards them, making them quite literally turn tail.

    ("There they go...") [Solace]

    Running with their tail behind their legs, the kobolds went deeper into the cave. At long last, we had a moment of rest.

    "That... was amazing." [Jai]

    "Thank you. Can you stand?" [Fina]

    She walked over to Jai and held out a hand, but he simply shook his head.

    "Not yet. I''ll need to rest a bit." [Jai]

    Jai looked over to both his sides, observing the state of his comrades.

    "Fina, you wouldn''t happen to know any healing magic... would you?" [Jai]

    He nodded a head towards Nash, whose breathing seemed to get heavier by the second.

    "...I do, but it won''t work on Nash." [Fina]

    "I-It wont?! I thought it fixed everything!" [Jai]

    Fina sighed at Jai. She looked at him as if he was stupid, and I would if I had eyes, but I also thought healing magic kind of fixed everything.

    "Nash is currently suffering from mana deficiency. The treatment and symptoms were taught in class a few days ago for me. You''re a third year student, correct?" [Fina]

    "Y... Yeah? I mean... I would remember, but..." [Jai]

    "But you weren''t paying attention." [Fina]

    Jai seemed to be embarrassed. He promptly shut up while avoiding eye contact, which would probably be something I would do too if I were to be called out like that.

    "Anyway, the treatment of mana deficiency is simple. We could either feed him a mana potion, or directly inject mana through skin contact." [Fina]

    "I-I think I might have a mana potion in my pouch!" [Jai]

    Having said that, Jai quickly brought out a sack that rattled with items inside.

    "It should be about here- Huh?!" [Jai]

    His face was panic stricken, causing Fina to raise a brow.

    "What''s wrong?" [Fina]

    She leaned over to get a closer look within the darkness of the cave, revealing a sack full of shattered glass and strange liquids mixed together.

    "...We can''t use this." [Fina]

    "I-Is there any chance that you have one too?" [Jai]

    Fina shook her head with a pained expression on her face.

    "I do have one, but I cannot give it to Nash." [Fina]

    "What?! Why?!" [Jai]

    "According to dungeon laws, a dungeon clearer must keep one mana potion in reserve for personal use." [Fina]

    "W-wait! Then it should be fine then! I haven''t seen you use a single potion since we entered, surely you have more than one mana potion...?" [Jai]

    Jai spoke frantically, clearly displaying his desperation.

    "I apologize. I only brought one. I mainly use daggers to fight, so I rarely need to use a mana potion for recovery." [Fina]

    Jai was shocked. Tears began to pour down his face, and he lowered himself to the floor.

    ("What is he doing...?") [Solace]

    Slamming his forehead against the ground, Jai put his hands forwards to mimic the form of prostration.

    "Please...! Make one exception! Just this once...!" [Jai]

    He was desperate, frighteningly so. I had no clue behind the relationship between Nash and Jai, but it didn''t seem very simple. Sёar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "I... can''t. Although, I am willing to inject mana as long as you take responsibility." [Fina]

    Jai''s face lit up with hope. He lifted his head off the ground with glee, showing Fina and I his bloodied forehead.

    "I will! I''ll do anything you ask! Please, just save him!" [Jai]

    His willingness was overbearing. It was like I could feel the energy gushing out of him.

    "Um... Okay..." [Fina]

    Fina seemed a bit weirded out by Jai, but she ignored it and turned her attention to Nash.

    "First, I''m going to remove his shirt." [Fina]

    "Huh?!" [Jai]

    ("Hah?!") [Solace]

    Disregarding Jai''s reaction, Fina promptly unlocked any gear on his torso and took off his shirt.

    "W-woah! I thought you were saving him!" [Jai]

    "I am. Be quiet so I can focus. If I mess up, then he might become unable to use magic again." [Fina]

    That was when Jai shut his mouth. Now that he was simply observing, Fina made Nash lie down on his stomach.

    "This should do." [Fina]

    Fina sat by Nash''s side, placing her hands on his back. Moments later, a dim light began to shine around them.

    "Let''s hope this works." [Fina]