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"Crack!"
"Crack!"
Each time Davian's wind elemental magic flew, the sound of stone grinding could be heard from the hole where Liren had been embedded.
After unleashing magic about a dozen times, Davian slowly stood up.
Peter and Rohanna, who had already dealt with the remaining demons, were staring at Davian with dazed eyes.
"What... is he? Is he a swordsman or a mage?"
"And what's with that magic power? Could it be..."
Rohanna turned her head and looked at Peter, asking.
"Could it be what?"
"Could he be..."
"Come on! Could it be what?!"
"A super-duper oldie? Like, his actual age is over 50..."
Rohanna kicked Peter's thigh.
"He's wearing a school uniform! Idiot!"
"That's... maybe just a hobby?"
"Crazy bastard."
Meanwhile.
Davian heard a familiar notification sound.
Ding.
=====
[Stage 4 Cleared]
—Reward: 8,000 Mana Points (x2)
—Reward: Active Skill Enhancement Scroll (Rarity: ★★★)
=====
Ding.
=====
[Stage 5]
—Reward: 16,000 Mana Points (x2)
—Reward: Phoenix Summoning Necklace (Rarity: ★★★☆)
—Participation: Y / N
—Failure: Death
=====
'...I'm torn.'
A Centurion appeared in Stage 3, and a Chiliarch in Stage 4.
Even though Glacier is by my side, if the difficulty keeps rising like this, a Legion Commander might really show up.
Actually, the battle with the Chiliarch Liren a moment ago made one thing clear.
'The stages I can clear with my current abilities end here.'
If I go to the next stage, I'll obviously have to rely entirely on Glacier.
'Then is there any point in going to the next stage?'
Trying to challenge the next stage without knowing whether I can clear it or not, and then asking for Glacier's help if it really doesn't work out, is a different problem than going to a stage that I can't clear on my own from the start and relying only on Glacier.
'It's just a bonus stage anyway, is it worth taking that risk? Just to get 32,000 mana points and some summoning necklace?'
Besides, these three people who were captured in this prison.
I didn't necessarily think I had to save them or anything, but it would be a bit much to drag them to the next stage and have them killed.
Ripple.
While Davian was contemplating, a dimensional portal to the human realm opened beside him.
A dimensional portal signaling the end of the stage.
Anyone other than Davian who passes through this portal can automatically end the bonus stage.
"Oh? Oh? That, that's a dimensional portal!"
A girl named Bellus shouted.
"Oh? Really! It's real! A dimensional portal suddenly appeared!"
"Let's get out of here quickly!"
They look so happy.
If Davian accepts the next stage now, that dimensional portal will disappear.
'Let's stop here. After all, even if I go to the next one, I can't clear it with my own strength. But thanks to Glacier, I was able to challenge this far with peace of mind.'
Davian jumped high towards the place where Chiliarch Liren was embedded.
The item rewards from the first three stages were just left behind, but the three-star item received after clearing this stage is different.
After searching his body, he was able to easily find a golden scroll.
=====
[Item: Active Skill Enhancement Scroll]
—When used, can raise the level of one active skill by 5 stages.
—Expiration Date: Immediate
=====
The more the level increases, the more mana points are needed to enhance the skill.
So, if Davian can use these scrolls as he pleases, it is advantageous to store them well and use them after raising the skill level as much as possible.
However, these items always come with an expiration date.
'Not a week or a day, but immediate?'
Whoosh.
A fire started in the corner of the scroll and the paper began to burn.
'The expiration date effect is quite impactful.'
Davian tore the scroll immediately.
=====
[Active Skill Enhancement]
—Song of Fire (Lv.12→)Lv.17
=====
Since there was only one active skill, the level of the 'Song of Fire' skill was automatically raised.
'Not bad.'
The Song of Fire skill is an evolving one.
When it reaches level 20, it evolves into the advanced skill 'Festival of Fire'.
Now, only 3 more levels to obtain an advanced skill.
After acquiring the item, he went back down to the ground.
Glacier approached and pointed to the dimensional portal.
"Davian! Are you going to do more? This, it disappears depending on your choice, right?"
"Yeah, uh-huh."
"As expected! My special friend. So, are you going to do more?"
"No. I'm going back."
"Why? It's fun."
"I think this is as far as I can go with my own power."
Glacier slowly nodded.
"Well... that's true. Being adventurous is good, but you have to know your limits to survive for a long time. Kkya-roo-roo."
The three adventurers had already gathered near Davian.
"Okay, this seems to be a dimensional portal. Let's all get out of here."
"I was about to do that anyway. Kid! You're going too, right?"
"I have to. They said if I stay here any longer, I'll be locked up in prison like you, Mister."
"Y-Yeah. Let's go quickly before that scary demon comes."
Davian's gaze turned to 'N' in the participation inquiry within the notification window.
Ding.
=====
[Bonus Stage Ended]
=====
Davian and his party passed through the dimensional portal without hesitation.
The human realm.
Somewhere in the Batian Lake District.
"Oh, my god. We're back alive. We went to the Demon Realm and came back alive!"
While Peter was making a fuss, not befitting his large size, Glacier whispered in Davian's ear.
"Then I'm off. I have to go brag to my sister about today. It was so much fun, Davian."
"Oh? Okay. Now that we're back in the human realm. Let's meet again next time, Glacier."
"Okay, Davian."
White snowflakes began to swirl around Glacier's body.
While the adventurer party was staring at Glacier with surprised eyes, a bright light spread out for a moment, and Glacier disappeared.
"W-What? What is that girl? Where did she suddenly disappear to?"
At that moment, the quiet girl, Bellus, opened her mouth.
"That person, she's a spirit. And a very strong one..."
Rohanna looked at Bellus with startled eyes.
"What? A spirit? That girl was a spirit?"
"Yes..."
"Bellus, you're a spirit mage, so you could tell, huh? And a powerful spirit at that? Well, seeing her casually taking human form, she wouldn't be an ordinary spirit."
"That's right."
Bellus looked at Davian.
"Um... Oppa. Did you happen to contract with that spirit?"
Peter asked.
"Oppa? How do you know he's older than you? You two haven't even introduced your ages yet."
"Well, he's wearing Elton Academy's uniform. Even if he's a first-year, he's seventeen, so he's older than me."
"Ah, I see."
Davian turned his head to Bellus.
'Oppa?'
Hearing the word Oppa, he finally remembered Bellus's face.
A freshman who will enter Elton Academy next year.
Davian's junior by one year.
A genius spirit mage who has contracted with dozens of types of spirits, Bellus.
'I didn't recognize her because she wasn't wearing her uniform. Her hair is also shorter than when I saw her before.'
He felt a little happy, but it was not a situation where he could act like he knew her.
"Yeah. You're a spirit mage?"
"Yes! It's amazing... To contract with such an amazing spirit. As expected of a student from Elton Academy."
Rohanna wrapped her arm around Bellus's shoulder and smiled.
"Bellus. You're going to enter Elton Academy next year, right? Then he's your senior! Senior."
The Demon Realm.
The underground prison where Davian fought.
Geometric patterns seemed to appear, and soon the space began to distort.
And a demon crossed over from the other side of the distorted space.
The Legion Commander of the Phlegethon Legion.
It was Jedikuss.
"So he came to rescue his human comrades imprisoned in the prison. Even the Chiliarch Liren was defeated. They're not ordinary guys."
"L-Legion Commander!"
The guards who belatedly ran over froze in place at the sight of Jedikuss.
Jedikuss looked around the battlefield, ignoring the guards.
The battlefield, where thick stone walls and ceilings were riddled with large and small holes.
"What's that?"
Wavering space.
It looked similar to the spatial portal he had created and crossed over, but it was fundamentally different.
"It's a dimensional portal. So they escaped through here."
Jedikuss turned around.
One of the guards who made eye contact with Jedikuss began to tremble like an aspen tree.
"You there."
"Y-Yes! Legion Commander!"
"Go to headquarters right now and tell them. Tell them I'll be visiting the human realm for a bit."
"Yes!"
Relieved to be able to leave this place, the guard dashed out of the scene.
"The rest of you. Clean this up. Block the entrance to this cave and prevent anyone from entering or leaving this dimensional portal until I return."
"Yes!"
The tall Jedikuss lowered his head and passed through the dimensional portal.
'I should go see the faces of these impressive guys.'
The Human Realm.
Somewhere in the Batian Lake District.
"Let's camp here tonight. It's too dark now and it's easy to get lost."
"Ugh! No way. I have to go to the tavern in the nearby village and drink beer today. I have to commemorate the day I came back alive from the Demon Realm."
"Just alcohol, alcohol. Shut your mouth and go get some dry firewood, Peter."
"Damn it."
Even though he spat out curses, Peter obediently left to find dry firewood.
In the meantime, Rohanna and Bellus began to tidy up the campsite with familiarity.
They gathered dry leaves and spread them thickly on the ground, and covered them with blankets taken from their backpacks.
"We have to eat dinner, even if it's just a rough one, right? I'll catch some flying creatures. With two mages, we don't have to worry about lighting a fire, right?"
Rohanna drew her thin, long sword and entered the forest.
Only Davian and Bellus were left at the campsite.
"Oppa, no, I mean, Senior. How did you end up contracting with that spirit from earlier?"
"I'm also a freshman now, so what Senior. Call me comfortably. You can just call me by my name."
"But still, how..."
"I don't have any juniors. I'm also a freshman."
Bellus hesitated for a long time.
"Then I'll just call you Oppa..."
"Whatever."
"Then Oppa, how did you contract with that spirit?"
Judging by how she kept asking, she must have been really curious.
"If you enter the academy, you'll go to the forest behind the Medio Garden during the basic magic class. Do you know that place?"
"Of course! It's the forest closest to the Spirit Realm on this continent. Elton Academy's students can meet spirits there... Ah, I really want to go there."
"You know it. I met her by chance when I first went there."
"Ah..."
"You've contracted with a lot of spirits now, haven't you?"
Bellus looked at Davian with surprised eyes.
"H-How did you know?"
Well, you're a genius spirit mage who started making a name for herself as soon as you entered the academy.
What was it?
They said that on the first day she entered the forest behind the Medio Garden, she contracted with eight spirits and had conversations with seventeen spirits?
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