Ok… So I figured it out…
They all think that my forte lay in magic and I have been depending on Odeta to cover me in the physical department all this while…
Well… I don’t blame them for thinking so since I’ve never shown my physical capabilities to everyone and I advertised myself more as a mage than a fighter…
It’s also true that Odeta was physically stronger than I was anyway and I’m more of an all rounder than a specialist.
I decided not to correct them for now since it’s also true that my swordplay could use some work.
Odeta looked like she wanted to tell them about me being capable with the sword as well but a finger on my lips told her enough to keep quiet about it.
There was one thing I felt the need to point out before we went further though…
“Tika? Could I ask if you know what monsters that may be present in the Dungeon?”
She paused, “Ummm… I’m afraid I don’t…”
“In that case… Are you also judged by how prepared you are for the Dungeon?”
“Eh? I… I’m not sure… Can that be judged under leadership?”
I gestured to our party, “Are we supposed to assume this is a real Dungeon exploration?”
“I… I guess we are?”
“In that case, we don’t have supplies that we could use in case of emergencies and neither do we have any prior information about this Dungeon either… The information isn’t that important seeing that this one is managed by the school… But supplies are quite important.”
Tika blinked at me, “Umm… Do we need those?”
I tilted my head at her, “Let’s speak hypothetically… We run into another group of monsters and both Jules and Henri have been severely injured and require immediate medical attention. What should we do?”
“Umm… We activate the Dungeon Record’s emergency call function?”
Ok… I did not know the Dungeon Record has a function like that but that would not be treating it like a real Dungeon exploration.
“Outside of the school, you would not have access to a Dungeon Record, would you?” I pointed out.
She shook her head, “No… We won’t…”
“So consider the possibility that we do not have a Dungeon Record, what could we do?”
Tika was panicking a little now, obviously not expecting to be faced with such a problem.
“Umm… Umm… We head back to the entrance!” She finally blurted out.
“And do you know the route back to the entrance?”
She hesitated before pointing in a random direction, “Umm… Over there?”
I shook my head before pointing towards the direction we had just come from, “Head down this corridor, turn right, then a left, straight past the next intersection, another left, then a right and then straight ahead.”
Of course, I was reading this out from the notes I had taken down with my [Screened] boon, something that I have gotten used to doing after my first Dungeon since I’ve learned the risk of getting lost first hand.
I continued, “And what if the two of them are unable to be moved?”
Now this question left her stumped as she just stared at me without knowing what to say.
I frowned, “I understand that we might not have brought a tent or even supplies but do we not even have potions?”
“I’m sorry… But we don’t…” She admitted.
Now I’m just shocked, isn’t that some of the basic items that someone going into a Dungeon would bring along? Actually, it’s not even limited to parties going to Dungeons either since even a Mercenary group would have a few potions on hand for emergencies.
Ah… But then again… Everyone here was still a student who had yet to go out into the outside World to experience it, myself included.
“Aster really knows a lot…” Henri muttered.
Jules was also looking at me with wide eyes, “Does Aster have a lot of experience with Dungeons?”
Odeta laughed, “Wahahaha! Sister Aster has been going into Dungeons for far longer than I have! She’s way more experienced than me!”𝑜𝗏𝓁xt.𝗇𝓔t
Well… That’s not really a big secret so I don’t mind Odeta saying it. Plus, it doesn’t reveal my skills so it’s not like they would realise that I was actually quite proficient with the sword too.
I don’t think I want to embarrass Tika any further by revealing that right now…
Tika scratched her cheek a little sheepishly, “Thank you for your guidance, Aster… I suppose we should return for now?”
I waved my hand at her, “While it would certainly be the better option under normal circumstances, there’s not really a need for us to do that now. Our priority for this today should just be getting used to the party and allowing everyone to get a good idea of everyone’s capabilities.”
“Oh! I see! Thank you Aster!”
Odeta laughed again, “As expected of sister Aster! You already took over the party as the leader!”
Ah…
I quickly turned to Tika, “Ahhhh! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to do that! Please feel free to ignore what I said just now!”
How could I do what I warned Odeta not to do where we hijack Tika’s role as the leader of the group?! This makes me an absolute hypocrite!!
I can’t believe I let myself get carried away like that! I’m so embarrassed!!
“Ah! Don’t worry, Aster!” Tika assured me. “I really appreciate your help! In fact, please do let me know if I’m doing anything that I shouldn’t in the future too! I’ll make sure we would get the best test scores for all of us!”
Well… At least she’s open minded… Because I’m sure there are some group leaders out there that would simply blow off their team’s suggestions and insist that the rest of the group follow their lead no matter what.
Tika then reached forward and grasped my hands, “Aster! Could I trouble you to help us remember the route of the Dungeon floors in case we need to use it to make our escape?”
“Oh, of course. That’s something simple for me to do~”
“And I believe Aster is also capable of Iatromancy right? Could I also ask that Aster assist in healing any injuries we might get during this session? I’ll make sure to prepare a few potions for the next time we come back!”
Well… There’s no need for me to do that since I have my Pack of Folding with me and we could just use the potions in it instead but… I believe any injuries they might sustain inside this Dungeon should be relatively mild enough that I would be able to heal with my magic.
I nodded, “Very well, I can help Henri with that bite wound right now if you’d like?”
He seemed surprised by my offer but accepted it quickly by moving his injured foot forward slightly and pulling up his pants leg to reveal a relatively large bruise.
I raised an eyebrow at him, “Were you not planning on telling us about this injury?”
He scratched his cheek sheepishly, “I… Didn’t think it was a big deal?”
His brother nodded in agreement, “It’s just a bruise right? That shouldn’t be that big of a deal?”
“Mmhmm… So what happens if I do this?”
I put my hand on his shoulder and pushed him to put his weight on his injured leg.
He cried out in pain and collapsed on the ground while clutching his foot.
I gave him a wry smile, “Now imagine we were caught up in a trap that required us to run away and you fell down like that. Now one of us has to turn back to save you.”
“Ughhh… I get it… I’m sorry.”
“Good, now stay still. Flesh to flesh, knit and repair, heal the incisions and the bruises. [Close Wounds].” I chanted, since I couldn’t just do a chantless cast here.
The healing spell enveloped his leg and the bruise slowly faded. It was still there since this spell was not high enough to heal it completely but he should at least be able to walk and fight on his own.
Henri tested his foot and looked at me with wide eyes, “I know Aster can cast a lot of different types of magic… But seeing it is so cool…”
Oh stahp it, do you think I’d be happy if you praised me like that?
Odeta placed her hands on her hips and laughed, “Wahahaha! It’s sister Aster after all! She’s the coolest!”
Awww you~ Let me grope those squishy abs of yours~ Ehehehe~ Squish, squish~
Tika coughed to get my attention, “Ahem… I err… I think we should go? Is there anything we should take note of as well, Aster?”
I recovered from fondling Odeta’s abs and cleared my throat, “Ahem… Well I suppose I would point out our party composition is quite bad if I were to also act as a vanguard as well… But considering the difficulty of this Dungeon, I don’t think that’s a really big problem for now.”
She nodded, “I see… Unfortunately I do not believe I am able to reassign Aster as the mage since we are expected to fight our way through the Dungeon using our close combat skills… Is there really a need for a mage though?”
“Umm… This is why we need prior knowledge of the Dungeon too so that we can see if we have any monsters we need to worry about…”
“Ah… I see… I shall pay attention to that… Thank you again, Aster! Let’s continue our exploration then!”
With that, we continued on our trek through the Dungeon again.
Now that I think about it…
Aren’t I adapting pretty well into this World? I don’t even feel like an outsider anymore.