Chapter 26: Day One

Chapter 26: Day One

Since our table was way too far away from the stage and the speakers that they connected to the microphone weren’t the best quality, I had a hard time following any of the opening speeches, but my guildmates weren’t really listening either so I didn’t feel that bad about focusing on the food on my plate.

“Wait, is that Lilith?” Kajsa pointed at the stage, and we all simultaneously turned our heads to see our leader taking over the microphone.

"It's a custom to give the leaders a chance to speak to everyone, to wish them luck and a smooth Dungeon Raid," Luna explained, somewhat disinterested, swiping some of Kajsas' food as she tried to get a good look at Lilith.

“Good evening, everyone. My name is Lilith. I am the guild leader of the small Magical Support Guild. Don't let the name fool you. Thanks to our new members, we will be more than just a little assistance to the larger guilds.”

For the first moment, I was irritated that I was able to hear her voice so clearly. Just then, I realized that every single person in this huge dining hall was silent. This was what Lilith’s reputation made with other mages, not a single conversation on the side, complete focus.

"I'm sure our kind speakers from the Ministry have said all about the importance of the Raid. I'm also interested in a relaxing vacation over Christmas, so please do your best, and let's have a good time together."

Honestly, I was a little confused by her choice of words. While she wanted us to act like the arrogant, unattainable guild, she was selling herself as the kind, caring leader that she is. Perhaps her strategy to increase her chances of being nominated as the next Queen of Mages differed from the one she had devised for our guild's public image.

"I can't wait to finally explore dungeons with you again." She bowed slightly and placed the microphone on the table next to her before leaving the stage. I wasn't sure if we should applaud, but the mood was no longer calm but rather tense after her last sentence, so why not try to lighten it up?

I stood up and started clapping. Shortly afterward, our whole guild stood up and applauded for Lilith. The eyes of everyone around us were focused on our group. Some of the other people also began to applaud for a few seconds before quietening down again for the next speaker.

A minute later, Lilith returned to us and sank into her chair, only to sigh loudly before resting her head on the table.

"What's the matter? I think you did a great job," Luna said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Originally, I wanted to give a villainous speech, talking about how superior we are and so on, but when I stood on that stage, I realized how cringe that would be. I'm so sorry. From now on, please just be yourself. It's enough that Jora is acting like a hero in a children's novel."

I could just imagine it too well, and besides, I was so proud of Lilith for how often she used the word cringe by now. It was definitely the work of Miko and me.

Besides Lilith, there weren't really many guild leaders who wanted to say anything. And I didn't really want to listen to them either. Only when Jora, the King of Mages, entered the stage I looked up briefly, only to continue not paying attention.

Thinking about how we would spend the rest of the night was much more exciting. The hotel had everything you could wish for, a large bar, a bowling area, a swimming pool, and a sauna. Of course, we could also go into the city. We are in a big city with two million citizens. There is nothing here that doesn't exist.

"So, what are you doing tonight?" Kajsa asked.

"Drinking."

Four out of four people replied, almost simultaneously, with the exact same one-word sentence.

I wasn't quite sure whether to be proud or shocked by this.

“But girls, don’t forget. You can start working tomorrow afternoon, so don’t go overboard.” Lilith said, failing to sound serious.

“We got Kayla, right?” Miko responded, grinning.

“Sure,” And who heals me? Based on my past experiences with alcohol, my self-healing powers somehow don't work to avoid a hangover or get rid of it faster.

◆◆◆

"Good night, and sleep well," Kajsa said as she dragged Luna back to their room. Our demon girl was basically immune to the effects of alcohol, so she drank anything she thought tasted good. Throughout the night, Luna decided it would be a great idea to try everything Kajsa ordered and got hammered.

Lilith and Miko were very responsible drinkers, although Miko started to behave differently after her first cocktail, becoming more sensitive and moodier. Our leader became more talkative as time passed, rambling on about how complicated it would be to work with the Ministry and the other guilds.

"It's lucky we met Luna on the way to your room." I knew the voice that spoke behind my back. I turned to look at him, only to spot two more familiar faces.

Alex and Krystoff, both of them wearing the same suit as Wace.

"Wait, you joined his guild?"

I stood up and hugged them both after freezing for about five seconds. Alex looked the same as she did two months ago, but Krys had changed quite a bit. His hair was longer and I don't know how fast you can build muscle, but he looked a lot more buff than he used to.

"You really do accept anyone," Miko said, bumping Wace with her elbow before also giving Alex and Krys a greeting hug. She rarely touched anyone but me, but I guess she just wanted to be friendly.

“They had to go through the same tests as everyone else. Of course, I recommended them so they didn't have to join the endless waiting list of candidates for the guild. And in the end, Jora decided that they suited us. Not me.”

“Has anyone asked for a lecture?” Miko laughed and walked over to the table next to ours, carrying an extra chair so we could all sit together.

Although I offered my healing, Alex and Krys decided not to drink before the Dungeon Raid tomorrow. I guess the King's Guild had more restrictions on its members, even though Wace, as co-leader, was anything but a good role model as he enjoyed the length of the drink menu at the bar.

"It's not like I was planning on joining a guild that soon, but after Krys told me about this idea and the upcoming Dungeon Raid, I asked my principal if I could take a break from my studies, and he kindly agreed, so I'll still be able to graduate later," Alex explained after we obviously started to ask questions about that whole situation.

Krys wasn't so open on the subject. Somehow, he seemed stressed, but he was always like that. I couldn't remember ever seeing him relaxed. The closest he'd ever been to that state of mind was when he was about to die as we pulled a sword out of his chest.

So, was it my fault that he had such a troubled life now? Maybe he was done, and just because I saved him, he now has to struggle with the guilt and fight every day to get stronger to prove something to himself and everyone else... that would be horrible.

I guess I'm worrying too much

◆◆◆

Shortly after midnight, Miko and I headed to our room. We were both starting to feel tired, and even though it was fun to sit with the others, it probably wouldn't be the last time, so sleep was more important now.

We finally stripped off those uniforms after arriving in our cozy hotel room. They are indeed very stylish, yes, but I've never eaten so carefully as all-black clothing is the perfect display for all kinds of stains. However, the worst part is the corsage that gets on your nerves the more you move.

We then took showers, one after another. We are not ready yet to do that together, even though this huge shower formally invited us to do so. Maybe someday… we will stay in this hotel for four more weeks, so everything is possible.

Hehehe

Before I fell asleep, I healed Miko so that she would wake up fully recovered. Luna will undoubtedly suffer a headache, but her room is next to ours, so I will visit her first thing in the morning.

So, I thought, at least.

“Kayla… hey Kayla, wake up.”

I heard a voice whispering and felt someone stroke my shoulder.

“Please hurry, I think she’s dying.”

Another voice was speaking. Is that a dream?

What, wait, who is dying? Am I dying?

“Kayla… Luna needs your help.”

Ah, yes, I wanted to heal her.

“Blargh!”

Eww, what was that disgusting sound

Suddenly, the bed seemed to move.

At that moment, I finally opened my eyes and realized what was happening.

Miko was sitting next to me, still patting my shoulder. Kajsa was jumping around on the bed, and Luna was trying to call out for help in gagging sounds.

I jumped up, ran to the bathroom, and gave Luna a healing shot, a technique I started practicing after the last mission.

It's basically a faster heal, both in casting and healing duration. I thought it would be useful if I didn't have to slowly and carefully transfer my mana into someone else's body but instead just throw it at them.

It was definitely more mana-intensive than a regular heal. Still, I'm optimistic about making this my new standard one day.

After the whole situation calmed down, I realized my head was pounding. I took some painkillers, and after Luna and Kajsa disappeared into their room with a thousand thanks, I got dressed and ready for breakfast.

This time, however, I left out the corsage. Just the shirt paired with the skirt was enough to show off. Miko, on the other hand, threw herself back into the entire outfit.

It was already about half past nine, and we only had 30 minutes to catch the breakfast buffet, which we managed to do in the end. In the dining room, which had been full of people yesterday, we met this morning just around 15-20 other mages from various guilds.

Around the lobby were lots of flyers with dates for tactic meetings and workshops, but the most exciting thing for me personally… The consultations with the healing mages that I had to attend.

But I also take part in some meetings with Miko and the others. For example, there is one today where the Dungeon Raid is explained in detail, from the rules of how and when we can enter a dungeon. How do we collect points, how much money we get for each rank, etc.

Anyway, the first thing on today's to-do list was to visit a Ministry mage with Miko so she could finally get rid of half the seals on her arms. She pretended not to be excited about it, but I knew she was.

We had to take the elevator to the fifth floor, where some of the hotel's meeting rooms were placed. The Ministry had put all their important people on this floor, including the mages who knew how to remove and apply such seals.

Arrived in front of the room, Miko knocked twice on the half-open door before entering it with me behind her.

"Nice to see you again." A middle-aged woman with blonde hair greeted us from behind her desk. You could tell this room wasn't meant to be an office, but it seemed functional.

"Good day." Miko seemed unusually shy. She was probably aware that she had to behave herself. After all, she wanted something from this woman.

I just nodded to the lady and stopped next to the door. Miko gave her the documents confirming that the seals would be removed and sat down on the chair to our side.

“I hope I only have to see you once more after today. That is when I remove the rest. I realize that you didn't deserve the seals to begin with, so it's all the more important that you show everyone what you really stand for and what you've made of yourself despite this punishment.”

Miko didn't answer her; she just sat and waited, and although these words weren't meant for me, I felt the emotional weight behind them. It was the first time I met this woman, but her words felt so honest and inspiring that I became emotional.

She finally stood up and began writing on Miko's back with mana channeled in her fingertips. As expected, it was a spell written in the language of the other world, one of those forbidden ones.

I really want to know why they use them while they're always talking about how bad and dangerous they are. It must be hard to come up with original spells.

"Do you know your last mana level?"

Mana what?

"About 600 with the seals," Miko replied as the lady placed a device on the table in front of her.

"Channel all the mana into your hand and put it onto the device until it stops at a number."

Miko did as she was told, and I slowly walked closer to her to watch her mana being measured. I've always wanted to know if it's possible to know how much mana I have. Of course, I suspected there were devices for that, but I never really tried to find out.

"4000. Do you want me to write you a note?"

"No, thanks."

"And you? Do you want to measure your mana?"

Damn, I made it pretty clear how interested I was. But can we talk about Miko's new score? I had no idea if it was as impressive as I thought it was, but from 600 to 4000, that was huge.

"Yes, please," I said quietly and walked to the table, holding my hand on the device and waiting for the lady to give me the go.

I concentrated my mana and channeled it into my hand. The numbers on the digital display shifted and finally stopped.

"1500."

I looked at Miko, Miko looked at me. Was that a lot? It was definitely more than she had with the seals.

"Is that good?" I just had to ask the question.

"If you used the current ranking system, you would be at the top of the C-rank, while your friend here is in the middle of the A-rank. You are both impressive witches in any case."

With that comment in mind, these two impressive witches left the room with big smiles on their faces.

"I don't want to spoil your fun, but the amount of mana is secondary. If you're bad at using your magic, you can score higher than me and still not win a fight. And if we're talking about a fight, mana is irrelevant if your opponent has more experience or a better strategy."

"I know, but I'm still happy. Do you happen to know Lilith's score?"

"No, but I'm guessing it's over 9000, definitely S-rank."

"So you're close without any seals?"

"Nah, not really. The last six remaining seals aren't that powerful. I think I can reach around 6000."

This whole conversation was straight out of an anime. I'm curious if Miko had an inner monologue where she was thinking about how to train me to improve my mana level because of her plans to make me the greatest witch alive.

KAJSA

Sadly, we skipped breakfast today because I had to care for Luna. I had hoped that she would be fine after the healing, but this whole vomiting thing has caused her some form of mental damage that no magic could fix.

So I had to go to this lecture about this Raid thing on my own. I didn't know if any of the other girls would attend, and I had no way of contacting them. I really need to get one of those phones for communication.

I changed into my uniform and combed my hair before leaving the room. I knew all eyes would be on me, so I wanted to look good for them, at least. And I decided to hide my tail under my skirt. I just wrapped it around my thigh so no one could touch it. The tail itself doesn't hurt when it is pulled, but the end above my butt does.

However, no one pestered me on the way to the meeting room. I could feel the stares as I walked in, but as soon as they recognized me, they averted their eyes.

Now, I had to make a difficult decision: sit in the front row so that I could look the speaker in the face while I listened, or choose the back row so that no one would be disturbed by the back of my head.

I know Lilith told me to act like I was something better, but I couldn't be so arrogant in a world that wasn't mine. I didn't care that a lot of people treated me like I was something worse than them; I still had respect for their race, so I couldn't take the best seats away from them.

If the clock in the room was correct, we had to wait another five minutes until the instructor came to tell us about the Dungeon Raids.

"Hey, gorgeous, is the seat next to you still free?" I was going to ignore the comment, but the moment I felt a hand on my shoulder, I wanted to turn around to at least give them an angry glance. But the moment I looked behind me, I was so ashamed that I wanted to disappear at the spot because Kayla and Miko were standing there, barely holding back their laughter. At that moment, I realized that Kayla had slightly distorted her voice, so I could no longer recognize it.

I apologized ten times, and they took the seats next to me. A moment later, the human male lecturer entered the room and immediately began his presentation after connecting several devices through cables.

Much of the information he gave us seemed useless, and he had trouble speaking fluently, although I suspected he was proficient in the language. But I think we now knew what we wanted to know.

It's pretty simple. To enter a dungeon, you just have to get registered. There are restrictions on the number of people allowed into a dungeon, as it can be more dangerous if everyone gets in each other's way.

Earning points for your rank is also straightforward. Sign up for a mission, points. Enter the dungeon, points. Be useful in the dungeon, points. Complete the mission successfully, points. Be an obstacle, minus points. Do not show up after you have registered, minus points. Die, minus points.

The last one was a joke.

“What are you doing now?” I asked after we left the room and walked through the corridors, heading towards the stairs and elevators.

"I don't know. I have to go to some sort of gathering for all the healers later. I have time until then." Kayla replied.

I found it fascinating that she could heal serious injuries with her power. They tried to explain the function of this magic to me and told me that it simply improves the natural healing process of humans, but I had my doubts. They tried to look at it far too logically.

"We could eat something, meet in your room, and talk about which dungeons we want to go to," Miko suggested with a grin, and I noticed her eyes wander to my stomach. Even though my gut was making noises, I could barely hear it myself.

Somehow, Miko reminded me of my best friend, who always cared for me without showing it too clearly. Even though she deserved her death, I still missed her.