Before heading down to the fifth floor, just how much control could I gain over this ability?
The worry weighed heavily on my mind, but there was no helping it. All I could do was keep trying.
So I experimented with it in every way I could think of. By the time exhaustion threatened to knock me flat, I finally collapsed onto the floor with a thud.
The moment I sat down, Isael—who had been staring at the wall the entire time—snapped his head toward me.
"...What?"
Why was he looking at me with such a terrifying expression again?
"No, it's nothing."
As he said that, Isael subtly shifted farther away from me.
Seriously...
I was dumbfounded, but decided to ignore it.
More importantly, wasn't it getting cold?
Not because Isael was glaring at me—though that certainly didn't help—but because the air around us genuinely seemed to have grown colder.
As I rubbed my arms, Isael frowned deeply.
"I knew something was wrong from the moment you kept standing there doing pointless things."
"What?"
"Your body's still not in good condition."
"..."
Was he making fun of me?
Or was he actually worried?
I couldn't tell, so I simply stared at him.
"...?"
Without warning, Isael took off his coat and tossed it at me.
The thick garment smacked me on the head before sliding down onto the floor.
"Put it on."
"..."
"If you end up collapsing from sickness, it'll just be a pain."
His tone was as prickly as ever, but he was clearly looking out for me.
Since I had no intention of refusing, I quickly picked up the coat and put it on.
"Thanks."
"...Whatever."
After confirming that I was properly wearing it, Isael returned to his original position.
Namely, glaring at the innocent wall.
"Hey."
"What now?"
"Can you use Aura?"
Isael slowly turned to look at me.
His expression seemed to ask why I would suddenly bring that up.
Glancing at the sword hanging from his waist, I continued.
"If you can use Aura, even an old, worn-out sword like that can become a pretty dangerous weapon."
"So you can say obvious things after all."
"...When have I ever said anything that wasn't obvious?"
"It's impressive that you're that unaware of yourself."
Yep.
He was definitely making fun of me.
"...Anyway, can you use Aura or not?"
"No. I've tried countless times."
"Huh?"
"Since I was five years old."
That answer caught me completely off guard.
So he'd been training ever since he was still in the Empire.
What was I doing when I was five?
The comparison made me feel oddly solemn.
The difference between an extra and the protagonist was truly something else.
Our esteemed protagonist had spent his childhood training to wield sword aura. Truly extraordinary.
"Then practice here. Starting from the fifth floor, we won't have time to rest like this."
Isael gave me another suspicious look.
Then, after pondering something on his own, he quietly nodded.
And immediately turned away again.
Back to staring at the wall.
I couldn't believe it.
"Hey."
"What."
"Why aren't you practicing?"
"..."
"I meant right now."
Isael turned back with a look of utter disbelief.
Seeing that expression only made me more incredulous.
Did he seriously think we had the luxury to waste time?
"Didn't you see me training just now?"
Whenever we had free time, we should be pushing ourselves to the limit.
Doing everything possible to increase our chances of surviving.
Otherwise, how were we supposed to make it out of here alive?
"You should train too."
Isael let out a small sigh and stood up.
After spending some time stretching and loosening his body, he finally drew the sword from his waist.
Even to my untrained eyes, his stance looked impressive.
Whoa. That's cool.
As expected of the protagonist of this world.
With that thought in mind, I watched him train.
And just as sleep began creeping up on me—
"NOOOOOOO!"
A bloodcurdling scream echoed through the corridor, accompanied by the thunderous sound of someone running toward us at full speed.
Isael instantly pointed his sword toward the source of the noise.
Any trace of drowsiness vanished from me immediately.
I shoved a hand into the bag I had been carrying like my life depended on it and pulled out a dagger.
"It wasn't me! I didn't do it! I swear!"
As the screaming figure drew closer, I finally made out his appearance.
Could that be the person whose groans Isael heard earlier?
So he hadn't been hallucinating after all?
...Which meant we'd wasted those stimulants for nothing.
"Help me! It wasn't me! Please save me!"
Isael stepped forward and smashed the man's head.
With his fist.
The man charging toward us was struck cleanly by Isael's punch and immediately collapsed to the floor.
"Uh..."
What had I just witnessed?
I stared blankly at Isael.
Why use your fist when you're already holding a perfectly good sword?
"He was charging toward your side."
Isael awkwardly muttered an explanation.
"I panicked."
"..."
"He's not dead. Just unconscious."
Apparently misunderstanding my stare, he continued defending himself.
I could tell he wasn't dead just by looking.
Shaking my head, I crouched beside the fallen man.
Looks like Leonard's group still hasn't made it to the fifth floor either.
This guy was one of Leonard's companions.
Felix Büheim.
The first person who suggested abandoning me.
What had he said again?
Something about not wasting resources treating my injuries and leaving me behind instead.
Something along those lines.
At any rate, he looked completely trapped in a hallucination right now.
Had Leonard and the others abandoned him because of it?
Or had the hallucinations caused the entire group to scatter?
Well, that's not what's important.
I looked at Isael.
For some reason, he seemed to be watching my reaction nervously.
I didn't understand why, but the confusion only lasted a moment.
I made a suggestion.
"Let's strip him first."
You gave me your coat, so you're probably cold too.
You should put on some warmer clothes.
Good items practically rolled into our laps on their own.
My bag felt noticeably heavier.
A satisfied smile naturally spread across my face.
I didn't feel even the slightest bit guilty about taking Felix's belongings while he was unconscious.
These were items I helped obtain in the first place.
I was merely taking them back.
Why should I feel guilty?
Isael watched me quietly for a while before speaking in a low voice.
"So this is one of the people who abandoned you while you were unconscious."
"Yep."
I answered while rummaging through the pockets of the shirt we'd taken off Felix.
"This wound happened because I got caught in a trap trying to obtain this. And after all that, they left me behind."
As expected, I found a small cloth pouch inside one of the pockets.
The pouch was packed full of tiny beans.
I had gotten injured trying to obtain these.
An arrow fired from the wall had struck me.
While I was bleeding, those bastards hadn't shown the slightest concern.
Instead, they were busy admiring the effects of the beans I had brought back.
"It's true. My mana started recovering much faster after eating one."
After counting every bean, they gathered them all into a single pouch and handed it to Felix.
Heartless bastards.
The more I thought about it, the more absurd it seemed.
Whatever. It's all in the past now. Thinking about it will only annoy me.
After checking how many beans were inside, I picked one up and tossed it into my mouth.
The moment I did, Isael grabbed my wrist.
"Do you even know what that is?! Why would you eat something like that so casually?!"
I thought he hated being close to me.
Blinking in confusion, I looked up at him.
"Honestly..."
Isael ground his teeth.
"Why do you have this habit of putting random things into your mouth?"
Only then did I realize what he was worried about.
I replied indignantly.
"This isn't random! It's good stuff! Do you think I just eat anything I find? I don't! I only eat the good things!"
"That's not something you should be proud of saying... Hah. Forget it."
Since I'd already swallowed it, there was no point trying to stop me now.
Isael gave up.
Then he looked at me the way one might look at a child caught eating dirt.
It was deeply unfair.
