Every story begins with the introduction of a character, but before I continue, I'd like to tell you a little about myself...

A year ago, I started traveling across this continent with my group of four friends, including myself, of course. Although we are now inside a dungeon, we are facing several intermediate-level monsters, including goblins and giant serpents...

The dungeon was new and had not been discovered by humans. Because of this, the monsters proliferated and began to venture outside the dungeon, harming the local wildlife.

What was once a fertile land for hunting, fruit gathering, and medicinal herbs was devastated by the goblins and serpents, affecting the surroundings of the small town of "Sandiie," which was a trading village.

My companions and I, while passing through the outskirts of the town, saw the devastation in the area, and our leader realized the real problem...

We followed the trail of the monsters to that small dungeon and got to work.

There was no rush to complete the dungeon; we moved slowly and meticulously through the place, aiming to reach the mana source of the dungeon, which was curiously protected by a serpent even larger than the other serpents we had encountered. It was evident that it was the dungeon boss.

We stopped in front of the boss chamber; even from outside, we could see the massive serpent through the large cracks in the wall. Assessing the situation, we gathered to plan our strategy to defeat the giant reptile.

The leader of our team, a light knight with a long-handled axe and a youthful appearance, exclaimed:

"Alright, guys, the usual attack formation. Eduard, take the lead and protect us from damage."

Eduard was a heavy knight trained in defense. Although he had a short sword, he was not good at dealing damage.

"Amelia, you'll back me up with ice magic and try not to hit me by mistake."

Amelia was a beautiful elemental mage specializing in offensive magic. She could cast stat-enhancing spells, but she wasn't very good at it, and we usually reserved it for emergencies.

Amelia, with a bitter expression, responded to our leader:

"Shut up, it was only once, and it was your fault, you foolish man, and I've already apologized, Yubel" - that was the name of the knight with the long-handled axe - "And what position will the little priest take?" Amelia asked, looking me in the eye with a cheeky smile.

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"Don't call him that. Ester doesn't like being called that since we were kids," Yubel exclaimed.

Ester... that's my name. Indifferent to the conversation, I say: "I'll just make sure to keep you all alive while keeping my distance from the boss. Come on, we've done this many times, and it doesn't bother me that Amelia calls me that... but only her; not you, idiots."

"Well, whatever. On the count of three, follow me. I'll draw the reptile's attention," said Eduard.

The fight was nothing noteworthy. Eduard started by attacking the serpent's tail with his short sword and then used his adamantine shield to repel most of the damage while Amelia cast her spell...

"Holy maiden of the lake, allow me to mold the water of your rivers into a tomb for my enemies, Ice Coffin!"

Once ready, Amelia cast her spell. Its effect was powerful, freezing the serpent, which became paralyzed.

Yubel, with a long-handled axe, went straight for the serpent's neck...

That monster may be a dungeon boss, but it is still a living being... you can have a lot of mana, but having your neck cut is always fatal, and I... wasn't that useful; my healing magic wasn't needed, or so I thought...

We let our guard down and forgot about rigor mortis.

Some serpents, when their heads are cut off, continue to move for an indefinite time, and that serpent started moving frenetically, causing the cave to begin collapsing.

Yubel noticed in time and shouted, "Watch out, Amelia!" but a bunch of rocks were about to fall on Amelia...

At that moment, Eduard pushed her, taking the blow full force.

That decapitated reptile was causing an even worse disaster than it would have if it were alive, so I had to attack. You might wonder what a priest can do.

Well, it's very simple...

I'm not just any priest; healing and degeneration go hand in hand.

The deadliest diseases are those in which the cells that should heal the body do not; instead, they damage the organism, destroying the immune system. My master taught me both the holy scriptures and the anatomy of living beings to master this technique...

I ran directly to the serpent, placing my hand on its cold skin, shouting:

"Degenerative Magic, PARALYZE NERVOUS SYSTEM!"

The effect is similar to the venom of some spiders, corrupting the nervous system, causing the decapitated serpent's body to stiffen and become still...

Enough for Yubel to make a horizontal cut and the serpent to remain completely inert, except for the head, which still moved, but it was just a matter of keeping a safe distance.

Yubel congratulates me on my work, but I am not finished yet...

Eduard took a lot of damage in the fight. One of the stones was very sharp and pierced his left leg. Eduard, as a heavy warrior, has a passive healing ability that allows him to heal himself, after some time, of course, but everything has its limits, and seeing the severity of his injuries, I had to heal him.

"ACCELERATED HEALING."

I recite this short spell to heal my companion. Healing magic is supposed to be not very difficult; it's just the normal job of a cleric. But there is a subtle difference: When I damage a body with my degenerative magic, I gain vitality, and when I heal, I lose it. Other priests don’t experience this, as they use mana...

I believe that even though I have mana, my mana is tied to other stats, such as my own life and physical endurance.

No one else I have met on my journey shares this peculiar trait, only my team members, so I am completely exhausted after healing Eduard.

"I know I got beaten up, but you look worse than I do, Ester," Eduard said with an idiot's grin on his face.

Amelia apologizes to Eduard since she got hurt helping her and didn't have time to use her shield. But more importantly, she thanks me for stopping the serpent with a beautiful smile that makes my heart race.

Then Yubel picks me up, places my hand on his chest, and says, "Do what you always do, quickly, I want to get out of this dungeon."

I look into Yubel's eyes, who looks somewhat embarrassed.

"Degeneration."

I use my degenerative magic on Yubel, regaining vital strength, as for some reason Yubel recovers very quickly from my degenerative magic.

My master told me it’s because Yubel is the legendary hero. And yes, to me, he is a true hero, but since we started traveling, I’ve seen several countries proclaiming that they have the legendary hero...

But for us, as far back as we can remember, Yubel is the true hero.

image [https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/078/589/161/large/duval-saul-eqweewqwe.jpg?1722519039]