Chapter 9 - A Glimpse of Light

Slowly but surely, Lily regained enough strength to stand. Once she was stable, she immediately got to work healing the others, her hands glowing with soft golden light.

Finally, she turned to me.

"Alve, are you hurt anywhere?" she asked, her voice gentle.

I shook my head. "No... just a few minor scratches from the goblins."

Despite my words, she still cast a healing spell over me. Warmth spread through my body, soothing the dull aches I hadn't even realized were there.

"It was brave of you to throw yourself into that fight," she said as she finished.

I let out a small chuckle. "Brave? Maybe. But I barely survived. Goblins might not be strong individually, but in a group, I was struggling just to stay alive."

I glanced at the rusted goblin sword still clutched in my hand. Its chipped blade was smeared with dried blood, a reminder of how close I had been to losing.

"My face might not show much, and my expression might stay the same... but when I saw that Minotaur for the first time, I was terrified."

Was I stupid?

"I can't tell if you're an idiot or just someone who doesn't care," Ramon said, shaking his head. "After this is over, I want to hear more about you."

I blinked, caught off guard.

"...Alright," I replied, offering an awkward smile. Wait, wasn't he just calling me stupid? But at the same time, was he... trying to be friendly?

Man, this hero is weird. He barely speaks, and when he does, it's always something unexpected.

Maybe when I get back to Earth, I should write a fantasy story about this.

### **The Final Task**

Once everyone had recovered both health and mana, we turned our attention to the last task—dealing with the dungeon core.

Ramon gathered us in a tight formation as Emma stepped forward, preparing to chant.

"Will you be okay?" Ramon asked her.

Emma nodded, though her face was still pale from exhaustion. "I'll manage. It might take some time to gather enough mana while chanting, but it should be fine."

Taking a deep breath, she began to chant. The air around us shimmered as layers of magic formed into a powerful barrier, thicker and stronger than anything she had cast before.

Once the barrier was in place, Ramon took his stance, his holy sword glowing brilliantly as he channeled his remaining mana into the blade. With one mighty swing, he struck the dungeon core.

A deafening crack echoed through the floor as the massive mana crystal split apart.

And then—

Everything started collapsing.

The entire dungeon trembled, cracks splitting through the stone walls. Above us, the upper floors crumbled, debris raining down like an avalanche.

Emma's barrier held strong, shielding us as the dungeon collapsed. Through the shimmering dome, I watched in stunned silence as countless monsters from the upper levels plummeted down, their screeches cut short as they were crushed beneath the rubble.

For what felt like an eternity, the dungeon continued to fall apart, stone by stone, floor by floor.

And then—

Sunlight.

For the first time since I was summoned into this world, I saw the sky. A golden beam of light pierced through the dust and ruin, washing over us like a warm embrace.

We had made it.

Or so I thought—until I realized one very important thing.

"Wait..." I muttered, staring at the massive pit surrounding us. The dungeon had collapsed, but we were still at the very bottom of it.

It stretched up so high that I felt dizzy just looking at it. Even if we used the fallen debris to climb, it would take forever—and I was already on the verge of exhaustion just from looking.

"...Please tell me there's a 'Return to Last Checkpoint' option."

No one answered.

I groaned, burying my face in my hands.

Of course there wasn't.