Chapter 18: Solo Boss Battle

On our way to the dungeon, Claire tried her best to keep her surprise in check, but it was no use.

There was just an overwhelming amount of new information and she couldn't help herself.

Claire: "Are you sure you guys are really humans? This place is not like any human kingdom I've ever seen..."

Both Claire and Licia were in agreement about that.

Apparently, Earth really is the odd planet.

It's funny though, their reaction is pretty close to what you'd imagine someone from past ages would have toward us.

However, while I'm the minority, unlike them, this is the only world that I know, so I can't help but think they are the strange ones.

As the dungeon gate came in sight I made sure the girls were ready for a raid.

Claire: "Of all the things I saw today, this is the only one I can recognize."

Licia: "I know right? It's so unsettling since they seem so different outside of the dungeon. You'll be surprised to know that their dungeons also don't connect to other worlds."

Claire: "That's... then there are only monsters in there?"

Licia: "Well, there are resources as well, but outside of that, yes, only monsters and other adventurers from this planet."

She was so proud and confident while acting as an expert that I didn't dare to point out that she was also just as, if not even more surprised to learn about such things.

Not to mention, she's also not that much more knowledgeable since it's not so long since she's been summoned either.

Miwen: "I don't think I need to explain this to you, but inside a dungeon, dangers are lurking around every corner, so please be careful."

Claire: "I can't believe what I'm about to say, and for sure you'd never hear it if I was in my prime, but since I've been reduced to this state, I'd appreciate it if you could look out for me."

While certainly proud of her lost powers, she seems to understand that certain things cannot be helped.

Rather than getting displeased by her request, I was fond of her honesty, as if it extended when in battle, it would make things easier for all of us.

Miwen: "Not feeling too confident? We can go back if you want to..."

I could tell she had quite a lot of pride in her, so I couldn't help but tease a little.

Claire: "Don't jest. Since I was escorted by knights to quickly gain levels on higher floors, I lack experience in lower floors, that's all."

Miwen: "Oh so you guys also do that?"

We have a similar system on Earth, but as expected, it's quite effective. Only a few people become high or top adventurers, and you wouldn't trust someone else with the job when the chances of it costing your life are so high.

Claire: "Of course it's expensive, you are essentially asking someone of a higher level to degrade themselves to a lower floor, babysit someone, and also risk their lives while doing so, if anyone offered to do that for cheap, you can be sure they have something else in mind."

Miwen: "Yeah... high and top rankers also make quite a lot already, so you have to pay a lot to make it worth their time."

And in the end, it's meaningless.

If you need someone's help to reach a higher floor, chances are you don't belong there to begin with.

But there are some exceptions since some Gifts get stronger as the user levels up. Which seems to be her case.

We were discussing a few trivial things on the way, and I also took the chance to explain to them a few things that popped up.

When we reached the dungeon, I allowed Licia and Claire to take the lead. I wanted to see how Claire fights so that I could plan things out from there on.

This morning, after I asked her, she willingly told me about her Gift and abilities.

However, I thought it was too good to be true.

It would make sense considering her reputation in her world, but it was one of the cases where its biggest focus was on growth, a little like [Gacha Kingdom Building] in that sense.

Although hers had a small starting advantage since it came with a few bonuses and skills too.

It is called [The Last Flame Knight of Abdure].

The skills it gave her at birth were [Fire Magic], [Fire Sword Arts], [Swordsmanship], [Abdure Blessing], [Increased Firepower], [Mana Control].

Just from that, she would already be a big deal. Thankfully, most of that had to do with magic, and at level 1, she couldn't do much.

At least not enough to face Licia and me at the same time.

The fact she came out naked was also a stroke of good luck.

If she had a sword with her, we might've been in big trouble as she also has a skill related to it.

Yet, her Gift's true potential lies after these starting skills.

For each level Claire gets, alongside the normal level-up points, she also acquires [Sparks Of Abdure].

These sparks cannot be used to raise status or learn new skills, but they can raise the levels of the skills she already has.

Another neat thing is that skills related to fire appear to be cheaper to level up with these sparks.

At higher levels, she can be extremely powerful.

It makes me wonder what would have happened if Licia and her were summoned at their prime.

A fight between the two would probably be cool as hell.

Shame that I would definitely run to the Kingdom in such a case as any bystander would probably be wiped out instantly.

Well, both of them are way more manageable now. Not to mention, they are also allies who, while possessing criticism and reservations toward me, also seem to be trustworthy and don't bear ill intent.

If anything, they seem keen to repay me for the things that I've been doing for them, even though I think I'm only being fair given the circumstances.

Since Licia and I were more than capable of dealing with anything on this floor, we didn't run into too many dangerous situations.

But Claire showed she was also incredibly capable when it came to fighting.

The two of them made the average experience of the party way higher, and we were definitely overkill for this floor.

However, after a few goblins and slimes, still a little early into the raid, Claire let out an interesting comment.

Claire: "Hm? That was fast."

Licia: "Did something happen?"

Claire: "Well yes, I got to level 2, so should we go deeper or do you guys wanna fight the boss?"

Miwen: "Does your Gift boost your experience gain?"

Claire: "I already told you everything about my Gift, it has no such power."

This was definitely strange.

When I first raided the dungeon, it took me way longer to reach level 2.

The experience should be divided between the party considering all the contributions, so even if she got the majority of it by landing the finishing blow, it should still have taken her more enemies to level up.

The only way to make sense of it was to take Licia and me out of the equation, that is, if she was going solo.

On a side note, the division of experience is another reason why escorts are expensive and also dangerous.

They will usually take someone to a higher floor by soloing the bosses and then have the lower level contribute a minimum damage so he can get a percentage of the experience from a strong monster.

Licia: "...Maybe that was the case after all."

Since my speed was greater than his, so was my strength, and as such, as our blades meet, he's unable to fight me off.

The injury on his other arm also delayed a response, a weakness I did not have as I punched his stomach with my free hand.

This made him lose the strength in his arm. His sword fell to the ground and he let out a shriek.

Thanks to this, I had seized victory and finished him by stabbing his neck.

In the end, Licia was right. I was better than I thought, and by giving my opponent so many opportunities, I was actually hurting my chances.

The boss dropped his core, and also the sword.

So now that we have another one, I could give it to Claire, as she's also probably better with it than me.

Not to mention, she has the lowest level among us, and I do actually like fighting with a dagger since it doesn't get in the way too much and I can go for quick fatal attacks.

It took Claire and Licia just a bit to finish their last opponents after I was done with the Goblin Lord.

Licia: "Good job. I managed to get a glimpse, it seems like you improved."

Miwen: "A little. I can at least fight more confidently now. I'd say I got another trick."

Claire: "That's what it is all about. Keep learning new tricks and eventually, you'll be undefeatable!"

...Although my confidence didn't match hers at all.

Also, I doubt it's so easy, but seeing her enthusiasm, I did not have the courage or will to deny her words.

Claire: "Oh, speaking of which, I got another level up."

Miwen: "Huh?"

That was... too fast.

We had killed a few more monsters on our way to the boss room after she got to level two, but without killing the boss herself, there was no way she could've gotten enough experience for another level-up.

Claire: "Strange isn't it? I also thought it was way too quick."

Licia: "That's for certain. For you to level up this fast, you'd need to have soloed every monster we faced today."

My calculations were around that too.

Claire: "That's about right, if I was alone it would make sense but... Oh, I got it!"

Licia: "Did you come to the same conclusion?"

Claire: "Well, there's only one Gift here that would allow for something like that so..."

...She had already said her didn't have such an effect.

Licia had told me everything about hers as well, and there was no such thing to be found there either.

The only one left was [Gacha Kingdom Bulding], but it never mentioned anything about boosting experience gain in any of its descriptions.

Claire: "Do you truly don't get it?"

Miwen: "Well I'm ashamed to say so..."

Claire: "It's not something to be ashamed of. It's harder for you to notice it after all. Both you and Licia have reached this floor's level cap, right? So you aren't getting experience even though you contribute to the kills."

While we weren't getting experience, it does not fly toward the next target. It simply gets wasted, so it this couldn't have been the reason.

After all, an escort's job would be much easier if this was commonplace.

Licia: "That's just the reason it's harder for us to notice though, it's not why she's getting more experience. Since our experience is not getting higher, we have no way to confirm how much each kill is giving us."

Claire: "Correct. If you weren't at the level cap and started paying real close attention, you'd see that even if you only contributed a little to the battle, you guys would get the full experience as if you had killed the monster alone."

Licia: "And that is because..."

Claire: "...You are killing it alone."

...

Oh...

So that's their conclusion.

It was certainly strange, but I guess it makes sense for the two of them to have thought of this first, as the idea of our lives being linked is always on their minds.

I guess since I was with Roy and Sam, the fact that Licia and I were sharing the experience with them made it harder to notice.

While I was killing the most troublesome opponents, I was getting a little ahead of them, at a pace that would only be explainable if I was killing more than those two.

Miwen: "It's because you were summoned by my skill, is that right?"

Licia: "I believe so. Since the both of us only exist here thanks to your ability, it could be said that every kill we get is also because of your Gift. And so, when we kill a monster it's actually your Gift that is killing them."

Claire: "And of course, since it's like this, we also get the same experience, as if we had also soloed the battle."

Basically, we share the experience.

Or rather, it could be said that it gets multiplied, as each of us is getting the full amount that a solo battle would give.

The dungeon is treating them as extensions of me, their contributions are mine, and vice versa. The experience I get, they get.

Miwen: "It's hard to prove, but... it makes sense. It would also explain a few things that happened after I summoned Licia."

Claire: "Eh? It's a great power!"

Licia: "It's a little depressing that the dungeon is not recognizing me as being my own being, but... I also think it's amazing."

Even though it's a good thing, that part does leave a sour taste...

Claire: "Nothing that can be done there. Like Gifts, the dungeons are a blessing from the Gods. If his Gift treats us as being part of it, then it makes sense for the dungeons to do the same since they share the same origin Don't let it get to you though, you are as alive as it can get."

Licia: "I know..."

She ended up doing my job for me but... she had a unique position that enabled her to sympathize better with Licia.

This was one of the reasons why I wanted to try the [Companions Banner] once more.

I thought that if Licia had someone else who shared her experience, it would make her a little more comfortable.

Thankfully, Claire is doing a lot in that sense.

Miwen: "I think we've done enough for today, so let's head home and have dinner alright?"

Licia: "Sounds nice to me."

As for me, this was the way I had to lift her spirit.

Although I wanted to do more for her.

Again, our loot wasn't anything to be impressed by, but we did get $8, so it was better than nothing.

Most importantly, we were able to raise Claire's level to the cap.

She is a good girl, and it seems like we can trust her.

There's always a little danger, even more so since now she might be even stronger than Licia, but she would probably lose against the two of us combined, so we should be safe.

I'd rather see it in a positive light though. She doesn't seem to mean us any harm, and so... we might've raised our strongest ally yet.