Silas came into view as soon as they turned the corner. The giant crystal that encased him pulsed with warm, gentle light, setting the entire room aglow. He curled up deep inside in the fetal position, wrapped around his lute.

Milo drew a breath. He quickly pushed his hair into place and fixed his robes. Okay. We can’t mess this up. First, I’ll explain what’s happened, explain about Stella and her mother and the dungeon, and then…

Alice dropped down from the shadows above them and landed atop the crystal, her pitch-black body a sharp contrast to the blue glow of the crystal. She peered into it, her little red eyes narrowing to slits.

“Alice, no. Come here,” Milo called, gesturing toward her.

She looked at him, then darted away, vanishing back into the shadows.

Milo looked around, searching the dark spaces of the cave. He found nothing. Alice had completely vanished. Has she been following us the whole time? Where’d she go? Where did she come from, for that matter?

Aster walked up to the crystal and rolled his sleeves up. He hefted his hammer.

“Whoa, whoa!” Milo ran over and threw his arms out. “You’ll hurt him!”

“How else are we getting him out of there?” Aster asked, crossing his arms.

Milo gestured, words temporarily failing him. At last, he spluttered out, “Stella!”

Stella perked up. “Yeah?”

“Oh, right.” Aster looked at Stella. “Can you de-crystallize him?”

She tilted her head, then walked up to the crystal and put her hands against it. Mana whirled around the crystal. The crystal began to vibrate, resonating in time with the mana. Inside, Silas trembled fiercely.

“Wait, wait, maybe Aster…” Milo started, concerned. Is it okay for him to shake that much?

The crystal shattered. Bits of crystal flew all over the cave. Silas tumbled limply to the floor.

Milo ran to Silas’ side, gripping his staff. “Silas!”

Silas shook himself. He rubbed his face and sat up, slowly gathering his legs under him. Dazed, he gazed around the room, frowning slightly as he struggled to take everything in. “Where… where am I?”

“You’re in the boss room of the dungeon,” Milo explained, crouching by Silas’ side. He peered into Silas’ eyes, examining his pupils, then put a hand to his forehead, experimentally testing his temperature. Everything seems in order, but… I’m not even sure what the symptoms I should be looking for are. What happens to a human body when it’s locked in a crystal for a week or so? Will he have a fever, or a concussion, or… or I don’t know, malnutrition?

Silas pushed him away. “Don’t be so fussy, Milo, I’m fine.”

Milo sighed. “Do you remember what happened?”

Scratching his head, Silas furrowed his brows. “I remember… going back for the boss’ skin. And then these slimes…”

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From across the room, the fire-crystal slime bounced, letting out a loud plop as it thumped back to the ground.

Silas jolted. He grabbed for his lyre.

Milo caught his hand. “Wait, wait. Silas, hold on. Listen. A lot has happened since you were trapped.”

“Trapped? What?” Silas looked around him and caught sight of Aster and Stella. He jumped again. “Wait, who are they? No—that’s Aster, isn’t it? Aster Zwei!”

“Hey, how’s it going?” Aster asked, giving a friendly wave.

Silas turned around again. “And where’s Alice? She was right there… Did she have to go to the bathroom, or something?”

Milo took a deep breath. “Silas, calm down and listen. There’s a lot going on. You’ve been trapped in that crystal for over a week…”

Aster stretched while he waited for Milo to explain things to Silas, unwinding his sore shoulders. He swung his arms and rolled out his shoulders, wincing as his muscles complained. Carrying Stella was really a mistake. I should’ve put her down.

Stella walked over to him and put a hand on his side. A warm feeling passed through him, and his shoulders unwound. Aster rolled out his arms again and stretched. “Thanks, Stella. What’d you do?”

“Gave you some mana,” Stella said. She paused, then nodded. “It always makes me feel better.”

Is that okay? Humans aren’t supposed to be able to process mana, and I can’t even use magic, but… somehow, I could absorb mana?

Well, I guess plenty of monsters can absorb mana but can’t use magic.

Does that mean I’m a monster? Or…

No, no. Back in the day, in that one ancient text I found, the land gods were supposed to be able to heal even the most serious injuries and illnesses, and even cure deep fatigue. Perhaps mana has a curative effect on humans.

Why doesn’t everyone know of this? There’s so much good mana could do in the world, if that’s true…

Aster shook his head. Focus.

Silas jumped to his feet. “Alice is a monster? Milo!”

“Silas, calm down. Please. Listen,” Milo said.

“Milo, what is there to listen to? Alice is a monster, I was locked in a crystal, there’s, there’s—”

Aster sighed. That’s what I get for leaving this up to someone as wishy-washy as Milo. He walked over and smiled at Silas. “Hey there.”

“Hey. Murderer,” Silas bit.

Aster resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He waved his hand. “Putting aside your murder of Stella’s mom and trespassing into a closed dungeon, let’s go ahead and have a little heart to heart.”

“Putting aside your murder of Alice,” Silas replied, crossing his arms.

“I’m glad we all agree. Listen here, Silas. This dungeon is under attack. Diseased monsters are breaking down the center of the dungeon as we speak, and if we don’t do something, they’ll quickly take over the entire dungeon.”

“Sounds like not my problem,” Silas said. He turned away.

Aster took a deep breath. Don’t shout at him. Calm. Collected.

Milo pressed his lips together and subtly backed up. Don’t associate me with that guy. I’m not the one taunting the S-rank adventurer.

“It will be your problem when they pour out of the dungeon and infect the town,” Aster pointed out.

“So what? I’m headed to the capital,” Silas said, shrugging.

I get that he’s angry about Alice, but fucking hell, he’s being infuriating. Aster smiled through gritted teeth. “Let me put it this way. You have two options. One, go back in that crystal.”

“Don’t like that,” Silas said.

“Option two, come with us. Help us fight off the invaders with your buffs and debuffs. Walk out of this dungeon a free man and head off into the sunset, off to your capital,” Aster said, gesturing broadly.

“Where’s the option where Alice comes back?” Silas asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Alright, wise guy, why don’t you ask your priest that?” Aster replied, rolling his eyes.

Silas turned to Milo and cocked an eye.

Milo looked at the ground. “I tried to revive her. It didn’t work.”

Silas shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. It’s not his fault. You’re the one who killed her.”

“In my role as Stella’s father, her protector, when Alice directly threatened Stella’s life,” Aster said, frustrated, gesturing at Stella. “What was I supposed to do, watch as she killed my daughter? Is that what you want?”

Wrinkling his nose, Silas glared at the floor. “Shut up. I don’t care.”

Milo wandered up to Aster’s side. “Silas and Alice were… involved.”

Aster stared. He shook his head and leaned in. “So why did you suggest we awaken him?”

Milo shrugged. “When she was alive, he acted like she didn’t matter to him.”

Aster sighed deeply. “Milo…” No wonder he was sent into the priesthood. He has no delicacy or understanding of love.

“What?” What did I do wrong? Milo wondered.