The terrified adventurers were sweating bullets, too close!!! They felt extremely grateful for Samuel. But realizing that they were relying on him made them get even more worried, what happens if he dies! Won't they die too?!?
'This can't go on' Samuel was in a bad situation. Although he had pushed all of the enemies back, he had also used up a lot of mana, he might die at this rate.
'I shouldn't have lost my cool before entering the room' Samuel could have annihilated all of the low-level skeletons with ease from the start but he originally intended to preserve his mana for unexpected scenarios.
It was too late for regret. He just had to struggle, like he always had.
But was that really true...?
Why did he have to struggle alone?
Why was he shielding these people? Was it because of his morals?
Doesn't he have a family to care for?! Why did he enter the dungeon in the first place!?! wasn't it to eliminate the danger it posed to his family? There was no way he could die without accomplishing that! So Samuel came to a decision, he couldn't do it alone.
The paralyzed adventurers heard Samuel's angry yell at that moment.
"HEY!!!" An explosive outburst, his roar echoed across the whole room.
A period of silence, only the sound of leaking water could be heard. It was just one word but the expression it carried was immense, the adventurers were once more focused on him.
"ARE YOU ALL JUST GOING TO STAND THERE AND DIE!?!" The knights already recovered from the flooding and were ready to once more initiate their assault.
The adventurers were baffled by Samuel's sudden outburst, why was he so angry?
"Why did you all become adventurers? Why did you accept this mission!?!" Samuel readied his sword and stood firmly. He was grinding his teeth in anger as he looked at the approaching enemies.
Why did they become adventurers? For most, it was out of circumstance. They had no choice but to embark on these dangerous journies to sustain themselves or sometimes their entire family. If they died, their parents. their siblings, their families. What would happen to them? Some of them woke up from their stupor once they thought this way. Wasn't this the path they chose after all? How could they cower when death was finally at their doorstep, they knew this could happen all along!
Some of the braver adventurers gripped their weapons tightly and slowly approached Samuel who did not even spare them a glance. Nobody could truly ascertain why he said the things he said, was it an outburst? Or did he want to rile them up? Did he know they would try to help if he said what he said? But now wasn't the time to ask as they first needed to survive.
The lich was naturally not idling away, once it realized it couldn't curse Samuel it decided to directly attack the other adventurers. It was the best course of action especially due to Samuel's good nature. The approaching adventurers were hit by a stamina debuff. The amount of aid they could provide Samuel was already very limited and things were seemingly getting worse.
'I need to get rid of it' Samuel sent a sharp glare towards the lich that stood in the distance. It moved its staff and chanted spells from time to time in a carefree manner.
The five enemy knights neared Samuel who was ready to counter. The adventurers although terrified stood near him.
"Some of them will go for you guys, try to hold out"
One of the knights did an overhead swing which Samuel easily deflected. Another knight came from the side and tried to take advantage of the opening his partner had created by releasing a sharp sideways swing. Samuel's whole body was coated by the green mana as he nimbly ducked to dodge the swing. The knight then suffered from Samuel's mana coated blade which had sliced off its head.
Two of the now four remaining skeleton knights moved against the six adventurers. Samuel hoped they would be able to hold them without his help as they outnumbered the enemy. But that was arguably a miscalculation as the lich cast another spell. The ground near the adventurers trembled intensely making them falter. The knights which were used to their liege's timely help easily exploited the opening. One of the adventurers in the lead was stabbed by the knight's deadly blade.
Samuel did his best to ignore the other adventurers and focus on the two enemies in front of him. A minute at the most, he could take care of them. He was a swordsman at heart, he didn't need mana to take care of opponents at their level. But mana would make it easier just like earlier.
'I need to overpower the lich' The last thing you would want to do is give a magician time to prepare.
The adventurer wasn't stabbed in a fatal spot and the other ones instantly backed him up, they were all well-seasoned adventurers so once they got over their fear they became quite the fierce individuals.
The two skeletons attacked simultaneously, it looked like Samuel would only be able to deflect one of the swings. Contrary to the skeletons' expectation Samuel simply jumped back, as puppets, they weren't very intelligent, their swordsmanship was based on instinct. That instinct was likely honed from whatever life they lived previously.
Although the skeletons didn't expect it the lich certainly did. A spike popped out of the ground waiting for Samuel to attach himself to it. Samuel with his superior power of wind noticed the protrusion and used the wind to create a small but swift spin which sliced off the earthly protrusion.
"Try harder" Samuel dashed towards his opponents immediately after. The knights were puppets, not statues so they prepared to intercept Samuel.
As the distance between himself and each skeleton wasn't the same, one of their swings approached before the other. Samuel deflected the first strike and moved aside for the second one, he coated his sword in a minimal amount of green mana and cut off one of the knight's arm while he was at it. As the skeleton knights used both hands to hold their sword the knight whose arm he cut off was effectively disabled.
The fight became much easier thereafter, his only worry was the adventurers behind him who he noticed were finally starting to break. One of them was already out for the count and the injured one wasn't of much help anymore. The lich interfered with both sides which accrued more injuries for the adventurers, they couldn't sense attacks as well as Samuel did or dodge them even if they could.
"Keep it together!" Samuel yelled while finishing off one of the knights. It could be considered hypocritical to worry about them after pitting them against the skeletons but it was the reason they were hired in the first place.
Samuel did his best conserve his mana but by the time he had finished off both knights, he could only afford to manipulate his mana a few more times. He still dodged the lich's long-range attacks with ease as he rescued the remaining three adventurers. They held out better than he had expected.
Samuel and the adventurers were tired but they couldn't afford to rest. They all looked towards the lich who was casting more spells.
"It's your turn now" Samuel said as he squinted looking at the lich in the distance.
***
Ed's consciousness was once more in the endless darkness. It was time for Ed to face whatever consequences his actions so far had garnered.
[Champion has met the conditions to level up, initiate level up? Y/N]
His answer was obviously yes but before he could respond another message appeared, one much more threatening in nature.
[Champion is advised to wait for the respawn timer to end to avoid penalties]
Although the words were polite the meaning behind it certainly wasn't.
'Penalties...' Ed started to think about that.
The dungeon did not mention any penalties until he was offered to level up so why would it now? To Ed, it seemed quite simple. It felt threatened. The adventurers were probably fighting the boss at the moment and the dungeon wanted him to help.
'Tough luck' Ed had no intention to go back down into the dungeon before leveling up his consciousness.
[Champion has met the conditions to level up, initiate level up? Y/N]
[Champion will be subjected to isolation for 24 hours, advised to choose wisely]
Ed wanted to chuckle, it was as if he was talking with two different entities. Did it want him to level up or not? But Ed was determined to level up at all costs.
'Yes!' Ed resolutely yelled in his mind
[Champion will be put to sleep]
The foreboding message appeared before Ed, his consciousness then blacked out.