Luck be Damned

27

^^ Wizard: Thayma Pentameres ^^

— Alice —

Surprisingly, (or perhaps not, if I'd given her any thought,) the Wizard Girl proved useful, in the first few floors of the dungeon. Cursed objects ruled this dungeon, created in an amusing facsimile of a Factory; each floor seemed to have a small workshop, where the spirits of monsters that were naturally drawn to the dungeon were shoved into monster-shaped vessels of Mithril, using the incredibly rare material as if it were disposable to create ultra-strong variations of weak monsters, and even animals.

It was a casual stroll for Zara and myself, as one swipe of her tail would crush most of them, and draining their mana meant I could continuously supply Cala with Mana without even touching my reserves... which she sorely needed, for her sword to work properly and slice through Mithril. Only one of the seven Runes was glowing, no matter how hard she tried, but it was better than nothing.

Two hours into the exam, we'd gotten through four floors, and I had a rapidly growing collection of Mithril in my Pocket, as well as a full Mana Reserve, even though Cala and the Wizard both looked exhausted.

"I thought Northern Women didn't get tired, Cala? What's wrong?" I frowned, realizing there had to be some sort of outside interference, for her body to run out of energy so quickly. Perhaps a Drain effect I hadn't noticed, coming from the Dungeon Itself.

"It's nothing, I just need to catch my breath!" She shook her head and breathed deeply, standing up and straightening her back with a grimace.

"Do I look stupid, my dear?" I raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to realize I wasn't going to let us continue.

"It's the Mana. She's not used to using so much. And neither am I." The wizard sighed, cracking her neck. "It has a deteriorating effect on-... well, on normal people's muscles and nerves." She eyed me and my completely calm face with mild annoyance.

"Ah... right." I tapped my forehead, irritated I forgot something so simple, then gripped Cala's shoulder, giving her a simpler form of my Mana Circuits, with Barriers around her bones only, just like Buri and the others. "That should handle that, in the future. For now, we rest. I'll make some restorative tea..." I hummed, pulling out some of my Elixir Leaves and a Teapot, looking around for a place to start a fire and brew it.

"Seriously? You brought a Teapot into a Dungeon?" The Wizard asked exasperatedly.

"... Yes? When else would I need to carry around a teapot?" I asked, confused by her tone.

Cala laughed softly, rolling her shoulders as she got used to the new flexibility and springiness of her joints. "Don't try to figure her out, we'd hate for your head to explode... and yes, a cup of your tea would do my muscles some good, thank you."

"Coming right up." I nodded, then simply lit my hand on fire, placing the teapot onto my hand and heating it to boiling in seconds. "That solves that..." I nodded, and added the leaves, smelling the mixture as it steeped to a full brew over the next three minutes or so.

"So... what about you? How are you still going after giving her Mana all this time?" The Wizard asked slowly, accepting the teacup I handed her.

"I haven't even scratched the surface of my Mana, my dear... I'm a Twice-Reincarnated Hero, my Mana Reserve is literally bottomless, as far as this dungeon is concerned, because it recovers just as fast as I can use it." I smiled, and handed the pot to Zara to toss back like a shot-glass. The dragoness's claws were delicate, holding the steel pot without scratching or denting it, and I added an afterthought as the Wizard looked at me disbelievingly. "Also, take into account my Dragon Companion being an Ancient Dragon, and with her Mana Reserve, which I also have access to... together, I have enough Raw Mana to level a small country, just like my mentors, Adrian and Victor. (Though much less skill and learnedness, of course)."