“Master, is it really fine to let them go after they just killed Gul’sa Quan?”

“What’s the problem, Gul’sa Quan died because he was weak. We’ll just find a replacement.”

Two figures were talking in an old castle-like room as they watched the projection on the wall. There were 10 screens but they were focusing on the first one. It showed the battle between Jude’s group and Gul’sa Quan, and it was currently showing Gul’sa Quan’s defeat.

The man in a butler’s outfit sighed as he thought of the work he had to do to find someone to replace Gul’sa Quan. He couldn’t help but think that his master, the overseer of the dungeon, was too reckless. Even though Gul’sa Quan wasn’t the boss of the first floor, his strength was one of the strongest on that floor.

“Should I recruit from the other floors?”

“Are you suggesting that we put other races on the first floor.”

A furious black aura envelops the room as the man in a butler outfit kneels down and apologizes. He didn’t dare face the overseer when he was angry.

“I-I’m sorry, I’ll quickly find a replacement for Gul’sa Quan.”

“Hmph.”

The man sitting on the throne got up and fixed his crown before leaving the room. Neither of them were human, the man in a butler outfit had antlers and resembled a deer while the overseer resembled a pitch-black lion. Watching the overseer’s black fur disappear from sight, he sighed to himself and clicked his tongue.

The monsters below the first floor were all strong so it would be easy to replace Gul’sa Quan but the overseer hated mixing the themes between the floors. The theme of the first floor was a place ruled by lizardmen while the other floors had their own respective rulers. The butler sighed as he took out a mirror from his desk. Reflected in the mirror was a village covered in fog with frogmen walking around.

What’s even more surprising was that there were humans living with these frogmen. The butler smiled as he watched his plans come to fruition. Sooner or later, he was going to take control of this entire dungeon, and to do that he needed the help of humans.

“Good, another follower has died, and to humans nonetheless. I have high hopes so you better not disappoint me.”

Unlike his attitude of concern towards Gul’sa Quan earlier, the butler was smiling as he watched Jude and his group enter the stone gate. Unknown to the overseer, the butler began to manipulate the first floor of the dungeon.

|......|

“Jude, wake up!!!”

I try to open my eyes but they were too heavy. My body was sore and my mind was hazy. What was I doing before this, suddenly the memories began to play through my mind. We were fighting that red-scaled lizardman and most of our group was incapacitated, I was flung away and slammed against the wall.

“Gorou!!!”

I sit my body up as I look for Gorou. Was Gorou still fighting the red-scaled lizardman, if so I have to help him.

“Gorou’s fine, but we need to get out of here before other monsters come.”

Fifi points to the red-scaled lizardman’s corpse and towards Gorou. Gorou picked up the greatsword and I could tell that he was struggling to carry it. Besides Gorou and me, the others who were awake were Mako, Gareth, and Ken. I run towards them and help them off the ground before grabbing our gear to get going. Gorou carried Jill and the greatsword, Ken carried Rachel and CZ, Gareth carried William and some gear, and Mako and I carried everything else.

“Let’s head through the gate. There are monsters approaching us because of the commotion we made.”

In the distance, we could hear sounds of monsters approaching. We try to push the gate open but it was too heavy. We couldn’t use magic because most of us barely had any mana left.

“Stand back.”

After putting Jill on the ground, Gorou stood in front of the gate with the greatsword in hand. His body was battered in injuries, there was a hole in the side of his stomach and a large wound on his shoulder. I’m surprised that he was able to carry Jill and the greatsword in that condition. Gorou brings the greatsword down and slices the door in half just like how the red-scaled lizardman sliced through our earth walls.

“Good sword.”

We rush through the gate as we could hear chatter from behind us, it was the lizardmen language. Unlike the dirt paths we had been exploring, the corridors behind the gate were made out of gray bricks. With Fifi scouting ahead we were able to avoid fighting any strong monsters and we eventually find a room to rest in.

“Stay still, Gorou. Fifi and I will heal you.”

“Thanks…”

Knowing that we were finally safe, Gorou passes out. He deserved the rest after saving all of us. With the little mana we recovered, Fifi and I heal Gorou and the others as much as we could. Considering how much mana Fifi used, she also decided to rest alongside the others.

“You guys rest up, I’ll keep watch for now.”

“If anything happens, wake us up.”

“Thanks.”

“Wait, I’ll keep watch with you, Jude.”

Mako tried to stay up with me but I was able to convince her to rest up. Everyone else had fallen asleep and I had time to finally look around the room. Besides the earth wall blocking the entrance, this room was filled with weapons. Shields, swords, spears, and bows filled the racks, all of these were the weapons that the lizardmen used.

The weapons seemed usable so I decided to pick one that I could use. One thing I realized about using metal magic to repair our equipment was that the equipment never fully felt the same. When Ken repaired my sword, it was sharp but it felt weaker. It bent and chipped easier while the balance in the weapon felt off. Maybe if I was able to use metal magic better, I could fully repair our weapons but for now, we need to replace our weapons.

I looked for something that could pierce through a lizardman’s skin but most of the weapons didn’t catch my eye. It was only when I passed by a spear was my attention caught. Most of the weapons were made out of steel and wood, but this spear was different. Unlike the brown wooden shafts of other spears, this one was slightly red and the spear tip was black with a red glow. Through metal magic, I could sense that the metals that made up the spear tip were different from any other metals I have felt before. I couldn’t even manipulate it even if I put in all my effort.

The spear was on the heavier side but it felt good. Holding and swinging the spear was comfortable so I decided to use this as my weapon. I’ve never used a spear before but this was the perfect time to get used to it. While the others slept, I continued to swing the spear, and just like that an hour passed by. My body was drenched in sweat but I was satisfied, the spear was beginning to feel comfortable in my hands.

“Rachel…”

I turn around as I heard an unfamiliar voice. My body was ready to fight but I realize that it was CZ that was talking. She held Rachel’s head in her lap as I could see tears falling down her cheeks.

“Are you ok?”

“...”

CZ wiped her tears and didn’t answer back. Although she didn’t talk, she gestured towards me asking what happened. I begin recounting the story of how we fought and defeated the red-scaled lizardman before running away.

“...i’m sorry…”

“It’s fine, none of us blame you. No one would have expected your ability not to work.”

“...”

I try to cheer her up but I wasn’t exactly the best at speaking. I could see that she still felt frustrated that her ability hadn’t worked.

“Is everyone ok!?”

“Everyone’s fine, William.”

William had suddenly gotten up in a panic as he looked all around. He wasn’t fully awake as he looked around the room in confusion. I explain the situation and he breathes a sigh of relief. It makes me happy to know that the first thing he was worried about was the safety of all of us. He truly cares for us. One by one everyone begins to wake up.

“Good job, Gorou. You truly saved us all today.”

“Yeah, you did a great job.”

“Thanks, Gorou.”

“You’re the MVP, Gorou!”

We all cheer out loud for Gorou’s incredible feat in defeating the red-scaled lizardman. If he hadn’t defeated him then we would have all died today. Gorou was slightly embarrassed at all the praises but he laughs it off.

“Umm, I’ve been wondering but what’s that thing floating in the air?”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Fifila Phhilora, the most amazing fairy in existence and Jude’s master.”

“Uhh, nice to meet you?”

Rachel, CZ, and Ken were shocked to meet Fifi so I had to explain our relationship with her. The three of them had already seen the Fifi fighting so we couldn’t hide her existence anymore, but we decided to not tell them about how we could use multiple types of magic. Coincidentally, none of us had used other types of magic throughout the fight with the red-scaled lizardman so we decided not to tell Rachel and them.

I used different magic but because they were the same elements as Fifi or Mako’s, they must have just thought it was them using magic. Or they were just too surprised that a monster can talk and use magic to not really think about me using other kinds of magic.

“Whoa, I guess not all monsters are bad then.”

“Hey, don’t touch me!”

Ken reached his hand to touch Fifi but I grab his wrist.

“Please don’t touch Fifi without her permission, she’s not a pet.”

“Oh shoot, I’m sorry Fifila. I didn’t mean to do that.”

“Hmph, it’s fine.”

“Umm, Jude, can you let go of my arm. It’s kind of hurting.”

“Sorry.”

Realizing his mistake he apologized to Fifi and I let go of his arm. He held his wrist in pain and I didn’t realize that I had put so much strength. I must have gained a lot of experience from that fight with that red-scaled lizardman. That must be why I’ve been feeling so energetic. I apologize again as I heal his wrist.

“What are we going to do now, William?”

“Let’s rest for a bit before heading out. We’re still to close to where we killed that red lizardman and I’m sure the other lizardmen are going to hunt us down.”

We were all given 30 minutes to rest so I decided to use this time to check on everyone’s condition. Everyone besides William and Gareth was gathered around Gorou as they inspected his greatsword. Standing next to it, the greatsword was almost as tall as Gorou was.

“Fifi, do you know what’s inscribed on the sword?”

“Hmm, it seems to be some kind of language.”

I enter the group as they were all staring at the greatsword. Taking a closer look, the white greatsword had writing carved onto its surface. It was written in a different language but an idea popped into my head.

“Wait, Fifi can’t you use the glasses that I used when we were in the prison.”

“Sorry, Jude, but I need to know the name of the language if I want to use those glasses. But all language has a commonality so I should be able to read some parts of the sword.”

My idea was shot down but there was still hope.

“This sword seems to be some kind of inheritance but it seems to advance for a lizardman to have created. I don’t think that red-scaled lizardman created this, it’s more likely that he found it by chance.”

“Thanks, Fifi.”

“If you want to learn more about this sword then try to create a connection with it. It’s faint but I can sense that this weapon has a soul in it. If the sword comes to accept you then its secrets will naturally be revealed to you.”

“A weapon with a soul? How do I create a connection with it?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never had a weapon with a soul in it before.”

The group was silent as Fifi blatantly replied that she didn’t know. She was spewing so much knowledge but when it comes down to the most important things, she didn’t have an explanation for them. This has happened to many times that Gorou, Jill, and Mako couldn’t help burst out into laughter. Fifi was confused and look at me for help but I could only shrug my shoulders.

“You...you. What did you pick up!!??”

Fifi screamed in anger and rammed her head into my face. Fifi was furious but I didn’t know what I did wrong. The only thing I could do was apologize.

“I...I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t look at me like you’re going to cry. I didn’t mean to be so angry, Jude. Haah, it’s my fault I didn’t explain this sooner.”

“What’s wrong?”

William and Gareth gathered as there was a commotion. I was just glad that Fifi wasn’t angry at me anymore. I felt a sharp pain in my heart as I thought that I had wronged Fifi in some way.

“Alright, everyone gather around. Jude, give me that spear so I can inspect it.”

I hand over the spear as Fifi took out glasses from her pouch before inspecting it. She muttered curses as she inspected the spear. “Another cursed weapon?” “There’s a connection, already.” “What a troublesome curse.”

“Fifi is there something wrong with that spear.”

“Yeah, this spear is cursed and now that curse is stuck onto you.”

“What! Is Jude going to be fine! Can you get rid of it!”

Mako was even more shocked than I was. I didn’t really feel anything out of the ordinary after holding the spear.

“I would have gotten rid of the curse already if Jude hadn’t gone and created a connection with the weapon. It’s going to take me at least a month to get rid of this curse.”

“I don’t feel that different Fifi, what is the curse on the spear.”

“It’s a terrible curse, you can’t use magic if you are holding the spear.”

I thought that the curse wasn’t that big of a deal but the more I thought about it, the worse the curse seemed to become. If I was using this spear when I had fought that red-scaled lizardman, my method of fighting would have been very limited. I usually fought using magic and my sword in unison, but I definitely depended on magic a lot more to deal damage. If I can’t use magic then I wouldn’t be able to kill monsters.

“Can’t Jude just use another weapon?”

“Curses aren’t that simple. There are weak curses that only come with a single negative condition but there can also be curses with hundreds of negative conditions. Fortunately, this spear only comes with two conditions, you can’t use magic while using the spear and you can’t use another weapon. I’ll warn all of you right now, if you find an item or weapon that seems even slightly off, it’s better just to leave it alone.”

“But I didn’t feel anything bad from the spear when I first saw it.”

“You probably weren’t paying attention. All cursed items give out a negative aura like Honkers mallet. If only I realized that Honkers mallet was cursed, I would have asked for something else.”

“Honkers mallet is cursed?”

“Yeah, that’s why I didn’t want you using it but now you found another cursed weapon. I’m just glad that the curse on the spear isn’t too strong.”

I really didn’t feel any negative aura coming from the spear. Even now it didn’t feel that bad to hold onto the spear. I can’t do anything about the curse so I just have to get used to not being able to use magic when fighting.