As the morning sun rose above the huge stone buildings, four students met in the teleportation hall.
"I don't wanna be hit by that heat wave like last time," Beatrice whined, glancing at Nox.
Frost spread along their clothes, making their bodies radiate a faint blue light.
His skin prickled beneath the ice; however, he seemed to be immune to the cold.
"S- So cold," Regea stuttered.
"W- Wasn't my best idea. Sorry," Beatrice muttered, dropping her head in embarrassment.
With an amused laugh, Regea grabbed her hand and pulled her through the teleportation gate.
Lina did the same, dragging Nox into the warm, dry air.
"Wow, you didn't close your eyes like a baby for once," she said, patting his head. She seemed happier than before, which somehow made him happy as well.
"Oh yeah? Whoever is last to the village loses!" he shouted, running through the rough sand. He almost slipped, but Lina's firm grip steadied him.
-You have received Light's sacrifice
"You won't get away, boy!"
"That's cheating!"
One minute later, Nox arrived at the village, gasping for air.
"You actually lost," Lina mocked. "It's not just about your stamina stat; it's about how you can utilize it."
"Huff… I'm telling you… my lungs are smaller…"
"Yeah, yeah," she said, walking toward him and lifting him up.
"H- Hey!"
"Don't whine," she replied, carrying him through the city in her arms.
"That teasing is too much. But I can't back down now," Lina thought. She glanced at Nox but could catch a glimpse of a warm grin mixed with his embarrassment.
"E- Everyone is looking." Nox whispered. He tried to free himself, but Light's Blessing was still in effect. His face turned bright red as he saw the civilians' confused gazes.
However, some of them recognized the students, excited smiles mirroring on their faces.
"Wow, I'd want to sink into the ground," Beatrice muttered.
"I can hear you, you know!"
"I just got an idea. Why didn't you use that skill on that Evetka woman? Then your stats would've been as high as hers," Nox realized.
"You probably don't realize this, but I always need permission from the subject. You're just so open-hearted that it happens naturally," Lina replied.
"Hello! If it isn't our saviours!" a deep voice shouted.
The village chief, Ambre Gasak, stood before them with his arms spread wide.
However, something about him was different.
"I thought he was… fat?" Beatrice whispered.
"Y- Yeah… he was, at least."
The village chief looked like he had lost over 30 kilograms in a matter of months. Even his jawline was clearly visible now.
"Well, the calory consumption is higher when casting."
"Is something wrong?" Ambre asked.
"N- No."
"Anyway, we should go have a coffee."
As they walked through the city, Regea glanced at the villagers.
They no longer looked as feeble as they had a few months ago. Their faces had color again, reflecting the bright sun.
"Here we are. Same as last time," Ambre said, pointing at a polished wooden house.
"You mean this is the old building from last time?" Beatrice's mouth sprang open in surprise.
"Thanks to you, we were able to get almost all of our resources back!"
"Almost?"
"Well… the humans they kidnapped weren't found, unfortunately…" the village chief said, his gaze darkening. "Especially the ones with main stigmas."
A heavy silence followed. Beatrice's fingers tightened around her cup, and for once, no one had a joke ready.
"Isn't your defense immensely weakened now?" Lina asked.
"Yes. That's why we need tons of magical ore. We plan on unifying all of the desert villages and build a large city called New desert town," he replied proudly.
"With a fancy name," Nox thought, chocking on his tea.
"The ore will be used to build a mana arena," Ambre said.
"Mana arena? Like the one in the royal palace?" Regea's eyes gleamed with anticipation.
"Well, the one in the palace increases training efficiency by ten times. This one only by three. The amount of mana ore needed would increase quadratically."
"But that's still great! So, you need us to find this ore to build it?" Beatrice asked.
"Exactly."
"When the arena's finished, I'm sure we'll be allowed to train there for free, right?" Lina asked with a commanding grin.
"U- Uhm…" Ambre glanced at her sharp glare, a shiver running down his spine. "S-Sure."
"You scared him," Nox whispered.
"I didn't force him to agree."
"Alright, then let's go right now!" Regea shouted, finishing his tea in one gulp.
It didn't taste like dull water anymore. Something else had been mixed into it, something that made him feel valued.
The group rushed outside, following the dry scent of the nearby desert.
Two hours passed, and the bright sun gradually intensified, making it harder for the ice layer on their clothes to keep up.
Cracks formed on it, melting faster than before. Sweat ran down his spine, small amounts of mana slipping away in slow, irritating increments.
"Are you sure your rune of detection works?" Beatrice whined, sticking out her tongue like a panting dog.
"Well, I may have ignored a few ore veins."
"What?" Lina shouted, grabbing Nox's neck in fury.
"T- They only give 1'000 points, and it would take us more than an hour to dig them out."
"Greedy."
Nox's gaze lifted into the air, as if looking at something invisible.
"It was worth it!" he said, pointing at the sand before them.
Regea slammed his hand into the ground, and a massive hole opened up.
"Wow, since when did you have such a skill?" Beatrice asked.
"I learned it when I reached stigma stage three."
The group carefully moved closer to the hole, peering into a seemingly endless abyss.
The sound of falling sand echoed far longer than it should have, making the depth feel wrong.
"Wow."
Their eyes reflected a huge cave with gleaming crystals embedded in its walls.
"Marrying here would be…" Lina whispered.
"The first time I heard you talk like a normal princess," Nox said.
"O- Oh, I didn't mean to say that out loud." Lina's face which was always calm, was now unnaturally flustered.
"Look at this!" Regea shouted, pointing at several tunnels leading deeper into the cave.
"Oh no… that looks familiar," Beatrice said, stepping back from the edge.
Wind gathered beneath her feet and stopped her fall, making her look like a ninja.
The others followed her with nervous laughter.
"Well, it's not like some giant snake woman is going to appe-"
Before Nox could finish his sentence, the ground shook violently.
"Who dares to interrupt my sleep?" a familiar voice echoed.
"Oh no. Don't tell me…"
A giant snake's body emerged from the shadows, glaring down at them with narrow yellow eyes.
"Didn't we bury you under milLions of stones?" Lina shouted.
"Me? I've never seen you before," the snake replied.
"Weird… that thing looked similar to her."
The monster's confused gaze went into the air, trying to recall something.
"Wait! My sister was buried in a collapsing cave! Don't tell me-"
The snake woman's eyes narrowed. She pulled her tail back like a whip.
"I don't think that was smart," Nox whispered.
Transparent ice crystals formed on the ground beneath his hand.
Everyone braced themselves as her tail shot forward. Ice shattered in every direction, and chunks of mana ore fell from the walls.
The tail recoiled and struck again, carving through stone where Regea had stood moments earlier.
The shockwave threw Beatrice off balance, sand and crystal shards cutting into her arms.
"You broke our valuable ore!" she shouted.
A massive flame tornado engulfed the monster.
"We're not as weak as we used to be!"
With a nod from Regea, a small water lily appeared.
Using it as a trampoline, blue flames burst from Beatrice's salamander shoes.
The flames scorched the snake's scales, but she twisted through them, shrieking as molten crystal fused to her skin. Poison spread over her body, slowing her movements.
"She's cool, right?" Lina whispered, glancing at Regea's shining eyes.
For a moment, they only watched her fight.
"We should finish her off!" Nox shouted.
The snake lunged toward him, jaws opening wide enough to swallow him whole. Lina's breath caught as she poured mana into him, her blessing burning hotter than before.
-You have received Light's Blessing (+33% stats)
Orange mana particles dripped from his hands. The cave shook as molten walls rose from the stone.
"Regea!"
Another plant formed like a trampoline, and Nox dashed toward it.
Lina's power surged through him as he swung his sword in a wide arc. A nostalgic smile played on his lips as he briefly glanced at his friends before turning back to the monster.
The snake's head was severed, the red blade cutting through her scales like butter.
The cave fell silent as the massive corpse crashed onto the stone floor.
Nox's knees buckled when the adrenaline faded. Only then did he notice the tremor in his hands.
"A few months ago, we wouldn't even have stood a chance," Lina said, sweat forming on her forehead.
"…"
This wasn't just a fight. It was proof of how far they had come.
Countless hours of training reflected in the boss crystal as Nox picked it up.
"Let's move on to the next target."