[AN: Bonus chapter 2/7]
"Haah… Haah..." Jill was completely out of breath and covered in blood. She never thought in her entire life she would be able to accomplish such a feat as killing a monster who was much stronger than her. The blood was mostly that of the three eyed monkey, but she still did not get away unscathed, she had many gashes here and there on her body.
"You did really well for your first battle." Kana smiled. She had expected to have to help Jill at some point during the fight, but never did she think that Jill would be able to take on the three eyed monkey as she did. Although it came at the cost of being injured, Jill's injuries were not so bad that she would be unable to continue on.
"Thank you… Ouch..." Jill held her arm, which had a deep gash in it.
"I will stitch her up." Mary said as she took out a first aid kit from her storage.
The group went on like this for a few days until they were finally standing in front of a huge metal door. By this time, Jill had fought over fifty battles by herself and was covered in wounds. "Kana, Jill doesn't look too good..."
Kana looked at the pale faced Jill and frowned. The little girl had been pushing herself far too hard. "Jill… During the boss fight, you will stay hidden. Do not come out for any reason unless you have no choice. Try to rest for a while. Every time you fight, your old wounds open up, and then you gain new ones on top of that. You have lost a lot of blood, so it is best that you don't move around as much for a while. With that said, we will take a two day rest."
Jill wanted to say that she could continue on, but she soon found herself feeling woozy. Gritting her teeth, she found a spot by the massive door that was embedded into a tree, sat down, leaned against it, and fell asleep.
Mary saw this and let out a sigh. "What should we do with her. At this rate, she will just run to her death."
"Let her be. Although Jill is a good girl and I sympathize with her. We only just met. I will do what I can to help her but, it is up to her to understand her own limits. She asked us to allow her to follow along and knew what our plan was. Just like how you asked to follow me, and I agreed. You and her are the same. The only difference is that you know how to survive. For Jill, I was able to give her the ability to survive. It is up to her on how she uses it now. Aoi and I are only two. These early levels may be easy for me, but that does not mean as we get closer to the end of the dungeon that Aoi and I will be able to protect everyone. I am not even sure if I will be able to protect myself." Kana explained. She was not trying to sound like an asshole as she said this, it was just how she saw it. She had many people waiting on her to return. If not for herself, she at least needed to cherish her life for the others.
"No, I understand all this. I knew from the start that this was going to be a dangerous endeavor. But, after all this time, I think I can take on an army with my current skills." Mary smiled as she stretched her hands out in front of her. She was not offended in any way by how Kana spoke. Everyone had their own way of doing things. Kana had given not only herself but Jill a path for the future. As it was now, if she truly wished to do so, Mary was sure she could live on this little island on this second level without issue. She can easily take out hundreds of pig men with ease now. As for the bow wielding monsters that had grey skin…. As long as she sensed them, there would be no issues. The more Mary thought about this, the more she realized it might not be best to follow Kana. She knew with Kana's nature, although she says one thing, that there would be no way Kana would let any of them die even if it meant getting hurt herself.
After thinking about this for a while, Mary came to a firm decision. "Kana…. I will not be leaving with you. I will take Jill and find a spot on the island with the least amount of monsters and set up camp."
Kana looked at Mary, feeling somewhat dumbfounded. Mary's announcement came out of nowhere. But when she looked at Mary's eyes and saw that she had no hesitation in them, Kana let out a sigh. "Then I will part ways with you both here. Take the items out of your inventory, so you do not lose them."
Kana felt slightly depressed by Mary's decision, but she had no right to say anything against it. After mary cleaned out her inventory. Kana removed the two from her team. She then walked over to where Jill was sleeping and patted the young girl on the head. "Mary, promise me you will take care of Jill and train her so she can be on par with you."
"I will. I know this is all out of nowhere. But this island is the perfect place to settle down. I can set up a small camp and slowly build it up and make a place for the two of us to live quietly. With the monsters here and the water that runs through the island, we have everything we need." Mary explained.
"Alright, I wish you the best. Tell Jill I said goodbye and to make sure she trains hard." Kana did not waste any more time. With Aoi perched on her shoulder, she waved goodbye and pushed open the huge metal doors before stepping inside. When the door closed, Mary stared at it for a long time, feeling a bit of melancholy. She walked over to where Jill was and sat next to her, leaning her head back against the bark of the huge tree as she mumbled quietly to herself: "Stay safe my friend..."