CH 26

Chapter 26: The Restart of the Adventurer who Returned from Death

Yuto: “...........why…...why is he here…..?”

The second Yuto caught sight of the Golem, he had a sudden flashback of all his memories.

This was the day when the eternally E-Rank Yuto Leveled Up.

When he opened the Skill Board for the first time, he saw these words written on the board.

[EXTRA QUEST has been Completed]

Yuto: (It can’t be…..)

An unbelievable possibility crosses his mind.

Yuto: (Was that….was that dream where I died…..real? Did I really die….?)

The more he remembered his dream, the more identical it was to his current circumstances.

He was with another C-Rank adventurer.

His opponent was a Mithril Golem.

And Yuto, who had nothing he could do at the time, was crushed by it.

If that dream was something that happened in reality…

If that C-Rank Adventurer who was in the dream with him was Eliz…

----it means Yuto died and returned back to his past.

----it means Yuto redid his past and came back to this exact moment of his life.

No matter how he thinks about it, it’s impossible.

But what if the condition to clear the Extra Quest was to die?

The more he thinks about it, the more it all makes sense.

But right now, it’s all speculation to help Yuto forcefully glue the pieces of his past together.

Whether it all actually happened or not, there is nothing Yuto can do to confirm or deny it.

And unfortunately, Yuto was in the exact same circumstance as his dream.

It was the exact same circumstance that led to his death.

But there is something that is definitively different.

Unlike before, Yuto was now an Adventurer capable of combat.

Even so, Yuto knew this better than anyone that he was not strong.

Even among the Adventurers, he would still be classified as below average.

But-------

Yuto: “I am DEFINITELY stronger than what I was before.”

With that confidence, Yuto steps forward.

Yuto: (I will NOT let it end here just like it did in the dream!!)

Yuto: “Eliz!!”

Eliz: “Y---Yes, yes?!”

Yuto: “I am going to fight the Mithril Golem now.”

Eliz: “But that’s a B-Rank monster, yes?!”

A Mithril Golem was indeed a B-Rank monster.

In a standard C-Rank Instant Dungeon, B-Rank Boss monsters will not appear.

But there is a small, rare chance that they can appear.

-----that’s if they are a Rare Boss that drops Rare Items.

This Dungeon would be considered a “Winner” for that reason.

For other Adventurers, this might be a lucky lottery win, but for Yuto, it is nothing less than a cruel twist of fate.

Eliz: “If you fight...Mr. Yuto…! You will…!”

Large tears begin to form under Eliz’ eyes, and her gaze is BEGGING Yuto to not fight.

Yuto also knows how dangerous that monster is.

But not fighting is not an option.

Yuto shakes his head.

Yuto: “This time, there is no way I can get through this unharmed. Eliz, I’m going to need your help.”

Eliz: “My….help…..?”

Eliz who was tearing up suddenly becomes quiet.

She wipes her tears with her eyes, and nods with fierce determination.

There is only one plan.

An extremely simple and straightforward solution.

Beat the Golem until it stops moving.

That’s it. That’s all.

Yuto focuses, concentrates, and centers himself.

A second stretches to eternity.

He takes one deep breath.

A deep, deep level of concentration overtakes him as he dives into his consciousness.

He arrives at the pinnacle and the far depths of his concentration.

The world...begins to move slowly…

He holds his breath.

The next moment…

Yuto: “----fu!!” (*sfx quick exhale)

Yuto jumps with all his might.

He instantly crosses 20 meters with just 3 quick steps.

The Golem begins moving the second he steps through the door.

It raises its arms in response to Yuto.

But before it swings its arms down…

Yuto: “-----[LIGHTNING]!!”

Yuto initiates his spell.

A large streak of light directly hits the Golem.

The Golem is placed slightly off balance.

And in that moment…

Yuto: “Sh!!”

Yuto swings his sword at the Golem’s joint.

The sword gets sucked in to the joint just as he aimed.

But…

KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNN!! (*sfx sharp metal sound)

A sharp ringing pierces the air.

His hands become numb from the impact.

Yuto: (It’s really hard!!)

Because its entire body was made of Mithril, even his [Critical Thrust] could not cut through his joints.

But Yuto did not give up after the first strike. He repeated struck at the Golem’s joints.

Yuto: (Is there some place where he’s weaker?!)

But as the name suggests, the Mithril Golem is made from pure Mithril.

There was not a critical weak point that Yuto could exploit anywhere.

Yuto caught a dark shadow in his peripheral vision.

Realizing the danger, he steps back quickly.

But…

Yuto: “AAAGGHH!!”

He evaded a moment too late.

Yuto received the Mithril Golems hit and rolled onto the floor.

He was overly concentrated on attacking, and allowed himself to get hit.

Yuto quickly learns his lesson and stands up.

Fortunately, Yuto was not seriously wounded.

He still had all four limbs, and their bones were intact.

As long as Yuto does not get critically injured, he will be able to continue the fight.

That’s because Yuto is not alone. There is someone covering his back.

He felt the warmth spread on his back, and he once again steps towards the Mithril Golem with another attack.

<<<<>>>>

As Eliz watched Yuto fight the Mithril Golem, she casts another [HEAL] towards Yuto. She already lost count on how many times she has done this.

The Mithril Golem’s attack was hair raising.

But even more, the fact that Yuto is taking it head on is even more amazing.

Eliz: (If it was me, I would have died from it’s first attack.)

Yuto has received several blows from the Mithril Golem.

Fortunately, he has not received a direct hit.

He seems to be holding a very high-grade weapon, but his defense is that of a common villager.

If Yuto received one solid blow with that kind of defense, there will be very little Eliz can do.

At times, Yuto will be rolling on the floor with blood scattering everywhere.

And every time, Eliz will quickly cast [HEAL].

Eliz: (Please! PLEASE! Heal his wounds, heal his wounds, HEAL HIS WOUNDS!!)

Eliz continued to cast [HEAL] with all her might, and Yuto managed to stand back up with his wounds gone.

They continued this over and over and over again.

[HEAL] regenerates the body and heals wounds. She knows this.

But as Yuto hits the ground yet again with blood spreading everywhere, she begins to dread the moment when her [HEAL] will no longer do anything.

She dreads that on the next attack, Yuto may die.

The worries start filling up to the brim inside Eliz.

But Yuto has successfully hit the Mithril Golem several times with his attacks.

But there was nothing to show for it.

----The Mithril Golem’s body was just too hard.

Yuto’s attack failed again, and he received another blow and rolled onto the floor.

Watching him do this over and over, Eliz wanted to cry out and stop him.

She wanted to cry out and tell him that it’s okay. To stop fighting.

She just wanted him to not be hurt anymore.

But if he gives up on the fight, both Eliz and Yuto will die inside this Instant Dungeon.

Eliz still wanted to live. She had more reason to live now than ever before.

That’s why she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t stop him from the bottom of her heart.

She knew she was sacrificing Yuto in order for herself to live.

The shallowness of her heart was too much and tears flowed down her eyes.

And as she cried, she cast [HEAL] with everything she got again.

All she could do was continue to cast [HEAL] - nothing more, nothing else.

Eliz: “H---[HEAL]....!! *gasp *gasp……”

Eliz already had signs of Magic Exhaustion appear.

Her face was a pale blue and her lips were purple.

But Eliz still had more left in her. She was sure of it.

This is nothing compared to what she had to endure before.

No matter how many times she fell into Magic Exhaustion, Eliz was forced to continue casting [HEAL].

Because of that experience, Eliz knew that she could keep going.

And there was NO WAY IN HELL that she was going to be the one to go down first while Yuto was fighting at the front.

The Magic Exhaustion, the pains and sufferings that stemmed from it, was the only sensation that helped Eliz feel that she was fighting with Yuto against the monster together.

Eliz: “[HEAL]!! *gasp……*gasp….!!”

Since the Magic Exhaustion symptoms surfaced, she has cast a vast amount of [HEAL]s.

Her head feels dizzy.

She’s starting to lose her balance.

The corners of her vision are turning white, and stars are flying everywhere.

Eliz: “I…..I CAN KEEP GOING, YES!!”

It was when Eliz was about to cast the next [HEAL] that it happened.

--------CRACK!!

Yuto’s attack cut down the Mithril Golem’s right arm.