Chapter 06
Until we went down to the 5th floor, I had no idea how well I’d be able to control this ability.
I was ridiculously anxious, but what choice did I have? I just had to try my best.
After trying this and that for a while, right when I felt like I was about to collapse from exhaustion, I plopped down on the spot.
Then Isarel, who had been staring at the wall the whole time, suddenly whipped his head toward me.
“…What?”
Why is he looking at me with those scary eyes again?
“No, it’s nothing.”
Saying that, Isarel shifted slightly to the side.
‘Wow, unbelievable.’
I was speechless, but I decided to ignore it.
Anyway… isn’t it a bit cold?
Not because Isarel was glaring, but because it genuinely felt like the air had suddenly chilled.
As I rubbed my arms with my hands, Isarel frowned sharply and spoke.
“I knew from the moment you kept standing there doing useless crap.”
“What?”
“And your body isn’t even in good condition.”
“……”
Was he making fun of me just now?
Or… was he worried?
I couldn’t tell, so I just stared silently at him.
“…?”
Isarel suddenly took off his outer coat and tossed it at me.
The fairly thick garment hit my head and slid to the floor.
“Wear it.”
“……”
“If you start wheezing or whining, it’ll be annoying.”
His tone was rough, but he was looking out for me.
I decided not to refuse and quickly picked up the coat he’d given me, putting it on.
“Thanks.”
“…Whatever.”
Once he confirmed I’d worn his coat properly, Isarel returned to his original posture—
Which meant glaring at the innocent wall again.
“Hey.”
“What now.”
“Do you know how to use aura?”
Isarel slowly turned to look at me.
As if wondering why I was suddenly asking that.
I glanced at the sword sheath hanging at his waist and continued.
“If you can use aura, even that old worn-out sword turns into a decent weapon.”
“You do know how to say something sensible.”
“…When have I ever not been sensible?”
“It’s fascinating that you don’t know that yourself.”
Yep.
He’s definitely been roasting me this whole time.
“…Anyway, do you know how to use aura or not?”
“I don’t. I’ve been trying since I was five.”
…Huh?
Five?
That was unexpected.
So he’d been training since even before he came to the Empire?
‘What was I doing at that age?’
Thinking about it made me a little solemn.
As expected, extras and main characters are different.
Our dear protagonist was training to wield sword energy as a kid. How extraordinary.
“Then practice here too. From the 5th floor down, you won’t have time to rest like this.”
At my words, Isarel gave me another suspicious look.
Then, after thinking about something, he quietly nodded.
And then went right back to staring at the wall.
Unbelievable.
“Hey.”
“What.”
“Why aren’t you practicing?”
“……”
“I meant start practicing now.”
Isarel looked back at me with a baffled expression.
Seeing that made me even more baffled.
Do we look like we have time to be relaxing right now?
“Didn’t you see me training just a moment ago?”
Whenever we have time, even a little, we should do what we can and use our abilities to the fullest.
That’s the only way we’re going to survive this place.
“You too. Hurry and train.”
With a small sigh, Isarel stood up.
He took quite some time warming up before finally drawing his sword.
Even to my untrained eyes, his stance looked impressive.
‘Ooh, nice.’
Truly, the protagonist of this world is different.
I was admiring him as he trained, slowly feeling myself drift to sleep…
“…NO, NO, NOOOO!”
Heavy footsteps pounded toward us, accompanied by a scream sharp enough to rip through my eardrums.
Isarel immediately pointed his sword toward the direction of the sound.
My drowsiness vanished instantly.
I reached into my bag, the one I’d been carefully carrying, and grabbed my dagger.
“It wasn’t me, I swear! I didn’t do it!”
As the screaming man got close, I finally saw his figure.
‘Was he the one making the groaning sounds Isarel heard earlier?’
So Isarel wasn’t hearing things?
…Then I wasted those stimulants for nothing.
“Please! Let me live! It wasn’t me!”
Isarel struck the man charging at us—
With his fist.
The guy, who’d been sprinting like a madman, got punched and dropped on the spot.
“Uh…”
What did I just witness?
I stared at Isarel in shock.
Why use your fist when you have a perfectly good sword…?
“He ran toward you. I reacted quickly.”
“……”
“He’s not dead. Just unconscious.”
But Isarel muttered defensively, as if he misunderstood my stare.
I can tell he’s not dead…
Shaking my head, I examined the collapsed man.
‘So Leonard’s group still hasn’t made it to the 5th floor.’
The man was one of Leonard’s companions.
Felix Büheim.
He was the first to suggest abandoning me.
What did he say again?
Something like:
Don’t waste resources treating my wound, and leave me behind instead.
Something like that.
Anyway, he looked like he was trapped in hallucinations.
Was he abandoned by Leonard and the others because of that?
Or did the hallucinations scatter the whole group?
‘Well, that’s not the important part.’
I looked at Isarel.
For some reason, he was watching me nervously.
Weird, but whatever.
I made a suggestion.
“Let’s strip him.”
You gave me your coat, so you must be cold. You should dress warmly too.
Good items walked right to me on their own.
My bag grew even heavier.
I couldn’t help smiling in satisfaction.
I felt zero guilt about taking Felix’s belongings while he was unconscious.
‘These were originally items I made possible for them to get.’
I’m just taking back what was mine. Why should I feel guilty?
Isarel, watching me quietly, muttered low.
“So one of the people who left you behind while you were unconscious is this guy?”
“Yeah.”
I replied while rummaging through Felix’s jacket pockets.
“This wound happened because I fell into a trap trying to get this stuff. But they heartlessly abandoned me.”
Inside the pocket, there was a cloth pouch.
Inside it—small beans, packed full.
I had fallen into a trap trying to get these.
Arrows shot from the wall and hit me.
Leaving me bleeding, those guys were busy marveling at the beans I’d retrieved.
“It’s true. After eating this, my mana started recovering quickly.”
They counted the beans and stored them all in one cloth pouch, which they handed to Felix.
Worse than demons…
Even thinking about it now makes my jaw drop.
‘Whatever. It’s already over. No point stressing myself.’
I checked how many beans there were, then picked one up and ate it.
The moment I did, Isarel grabbed my wrist.
“You don’t even know what that is! Why would you just eat it?!”
I thought he hated being close to me?
I stared at him, bewildered.
“Haa… seriously.”
Isarel shuddered as he spoke.
“You’re not a child. What is that habit of putting anything in your mouth?”
Finally understanding, I snapped back indignantly.
“This is good stuff. You think I just eat anything? No! I only pick up and eat good stuff.”
“That’s not the point… whatever.”
He gave up—he couldn’t exactly make me throw it back up.
He looked at me like I was a toddler eating dirt.
It was so unfair.
