Approximately an hour had passed so far since the others had decided to take a break , atleast it felt like it to Jain.

He did not even get why they took a break to begin with. Ever since they entered this dungeon , the hunters had showed him a level of power he never knew existed , and a level of power he knew could never reach.

Why weren't they continuing with the raid ?people like them could take on armies of humanized military and still come out victorious , that's what it looked like to him. But then again, they did struggle a bit against those killer wasp and ants when they retaliated and decided to fight back , it's only because of Hindriad's plan that they managed to survive this long ; the same guy who banned Jain from directly participating in the bug extermination.

Jain didn't hold a grudge on him for that , if anything he was grateful for he would have ended up being torn by the killer ants or devoured by them with his small and frail body if he even attempted to take them on.

He had long accepted that he was weak in a raid like this, and he could only spectate as others worked their backs off getting rid of those troublesome ants.

𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒊𝒕... 𝒘𝒉𝒚 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒄 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒆 , 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒖𝒔𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒅𝒆 𝒊𝒇 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎? 𝒔𝒐 𝒔𝒉𝒆'𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒖𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒆?! 𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒏 , 𝑯𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒖𝒔𝒆 ? 𝒂𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒉... 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒋𝒐𝒃 , 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒋𝒐𝒃 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔..

Jain looked all around him , it was deadly quiet with no ocassional arguments between Misha and a hunter , he didn't get why she behaved like that.. as if she was on top of the world or something , every other hunter was similar to her - atleast they behaved the same towards him , rejection and complete hatred directed at him - just because he was weak , just because he was an E-ranked hunter.

Vin was not so far from Misha , perhaps a metre apart. He looked like he was meditating , perhaps replenishing the mana he lost or clearing his head.

Jain didn't get it , he just didn't get all this mana junk. He knew what mana was in definition ; it was a life source energy found in the universe , meaning it was somehow everywhere. but it wasn't found in the bodies of humans though , a person needed to willingly absorb the mana before they could manipulate it , but even before that they needed to sense it first ; feel it in every cell of their body , know it's movement and yes even see it.

Only then , could a person then absorb the mana. Based on what Jain knew , you could absorb mana but you couldn't keep it inside your cells which is why it was necessary to have a "mana core" , a mana core in this world was like a container , it stored mana inside the body in one point - in the middle of the chest while also dispersing it around the body in circulation. after this "mana core" was created , a person would grow in strength , speed and even senses.

But of course mana cores came in different levels , levels in which how much mana the core could store and how much could be used. Jain couldn't accurately wrap his head around the concepts , probably because he himself couldn't locate or use mana. Perhaps he would get it a lot better if he could actually sense and use mana , but he knew crying over spilt milk wasn't going to help in anything so instead he learnt to appreciate the little things he had.

" Can you guys feel it too? "

Vin suddenly asked , snapping Jain from his thoughts. Everyone looked at him as if he was losing it , when he saw that nobody actually knew what he was referring to ; he moved his mouth to speak.

" I am talking about the mana in this dungeon. Can you guys feel it ?"

Everyone's face widened in realisation ,and they looked at each other expecting another to mention something. Nisha was better in physical condition than Krohn , who was now unconscious. Hindriad hadn't returned yet ever since he stormed off. So there's wasn't anyone who was smart enough to actually try sensing the mana.

" so...what about it ? "

Misha casually asked , annoyance was spelt out on Vin's face

" Yeah , is it not to your liking or something ? "

Hanks returned with his own question , Vin shaked his head in disbelief ; as if silently saying there was nothing that could be done with those two.

" Since you guys are too uncaring to have checked it yourself , I'll briefly explain for your own sakes. The mana in the air has almost completely deteriorated , it was relatively smaller to begin with when we entered this dungeon compared to the outside world ,that means we can't replenish the mana we have lost. We'll have to rely on Hindriad and a few us who can fight those monsters to finish this raid , Any suggestion ? "

Misha yawned in a disrespectful manner , either needing oxygen or completely uninterested in what Vin was saying.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

" I dunno , I leave the smart stuff and strategics to you and Hindriad. "

" Yeah , me too Misha. I was never cut out for these genius things anyways "

Vin's eye twitched , he was somehow disappointed and angry at what his fellow colleagues were shamelessly saying , but he soon calmed down.

Jain was already bored in this raid , and wishing he was anywhere but here.

𝑰 𝒃𝒆𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒇𝒖𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈...𝑺𝑰𝑮𝑯 , 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒄𝒌 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 , 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏'𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒓𝒂 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 , 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔?

Babra was sitted next to Krohn , there was a green light illuminating from her hands - it seemed like she was trying to heal him , her face spelt out the frustration of her efforts going down the drain , for Krohn was still out cold considering Barbra was trying to heal him for more than 30 Min. He didn't know why she hadn't quit yet , but he was planning on supporting her for she had been with him throughout the raid up until now , giving him her support.

Jain stood up and walked over to her , everyone except Barbra looked at him. Perhaps they were curious to what he was planning to do , a weak hunter like him- they most likely thought he was planning on running away but their eye gazes quickly shifted when they finally saw him sitting next to Barbra who was on her knees desperately healing the unconscious Krohn.

" Hey , Barbra right ? "

" I am listening . "

Barbra didn't even turn her head or avert her eyes to look at him ; she was glued to her healing.

" So ... Uh.. I was wondering if , if what are you up to ? "

Jain nervously said , Barbra was dead serious and unlike her relaxed self and carefree self , the current Barbra and the previous one were like two different people , Jain was worrying that she would verbally bite him for interrupting her work.

" As you can see.. I'm healing Krohn , anything else ?"

Her words weren't exactly polite nor directly mean either , it was like she was wavering him off with a neutral response.

" I mean. You've been healing that guy for a while now , and I don't know if I am blind or something but I don't think your healing has made any changes. "

Jain finally spoke his mind , he was trying to keep the conversation going. There was a long and awkward silence after , it made him feel like he had deeply offended her - perhaps to her it was like saying ,"your healing is pathetically useless.. just quit "

𝑶𝒉 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒕.. 𝑰 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒌𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒉𝒖𝒕 , 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒈𝒊𝒄 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒉𝒐𝒘

Barbra took a deep breath before exhaling , perhaps she was preparing to throw some hurtful words right back at him or do some painful thing , and being Jain - he couldn't fight girls , he believed in chivalry no matter how dull his way of showing it was.

" You know. I guess you're right , I've been trying to heal his wounds for a while now .and there's no change so far , I think the damage is too much for me to heal. maybe his mana passages are badly damaged. "

Barbra sadly announced , even then she didn't look at him. The green light slowly died down - she had stopped healing him. Jain kinda felt bad.

" Is there anything I can do to help? "

" Huh? "

Barbra turned her head for once and looked at him , there was disbelief all over her face mixed with confusion

𝑾𝒉𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 ? 𝑫𝒊d 𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 ? 𝑰 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒌 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔.

" I-Is it something I said ? "

Jain asked , he was never good at comforting a person - a person would cry for a good time while he awkwardly watched not knowing what to do , he probably said something he shouldn't have or something dumb judging by the way she was looking at him. Who knew landing a helping hand could end up this badly ?

" uhh..you can say that... It's just that I was really amazed by - "

𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝑰 𝒂𝒎? 𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 ? 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒆 !

" how selfless and ignorant you are ! "

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒘 ?

" hehe - "

There was nothing Jain could do except laugh there, all awkward and nervous. Barbra's eyes widened over Jain's reaction to her exclamation , perhaps realising what she had just said. She then turned her head and looked at Krohn

" oh , that was unladylike of me - I apologize if I scared you , I know you are trying to help but I don't think there's anything you can do to help......... "

She took a long sigh , her eyes still down.

" Krohn's mana passages are destroyed , this means I can't heal him which means.......... "

There was a heavy silence as she explained the matter at hand , it made Jain want to reach out but as he was awkward with women - he could do nothing except pitifully watch.

" Which means I am useless...you know , I thought coming to this raid was a mistake and I should have stayed behind because there was no work for me to do...as in healing , but when I finally get it , there's nothing that I can do.. it's like a prank , you know ? "

Barbra turned her head to look at him ,her eyes were tearing up ready to burst at any moment and there was a sad smile plastered on her face. A smile representing hopelessness in her , and perhaps the irony of the whole situation she was in. Her eyes scanned his face , she was waiting for him to say something - anything but really , Jain was in a tight spot .

𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒚 , 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝒆𝒑𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆.. 𝑰 𝒐𝒘𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒇𝒐rt 𝒉𝒆𝒓 , 𝒊𝒕'𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 ?

" I don't know where all of that is coming from , but let me tell you this - It's way too early for you to give up , a little challenge like this shouldn't make you give up hope , for all I know that guy is still alive , and that means there's a chance for you to bring him back , as long as you hold on to that belief - it'll become possible.. "

She squirted her eyes halfway and the tears finally burst out , she didn't know what to say at his words except bring her hands over her face to hide herself as tears flowed down her cheeks. Jain moved in and gave her a hug , a tight and warm one - she hesitated for a moment and hugged him back. Jain could feel warm tears flowing down his neck and then the sound of sniffing from Barbra.

The hug lasted about 3 minutes before Jain broke it , Barbra had stopped crying while her tears weren't exactly dry yet but most of that hopelessness she showed earlier on was gone.

" Now now , I want that smile I am used to - that wide , innocent smile.. "

She looked down , blushing for a second or two before looking at him with her usual innocent smile , the first bright thing he had seen when he entered this dungeon and had improved his mood and even now , it did - and gave him pride he had never felt before , 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗲 knowing that he had helped a person in 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱.