“

Eeeeek!

”

“...”

“Please help!”

‘This time… I

[1]

need to prove myself.’

“

Geez

, move out of the way! I’ll take care of it. Sena!” Dialuria shouted.

“I-I-I can do it too. Give me one more chance…” I said.

“It’s an order, Sena! Start providing support from the back. It’s still dangerous! I think this monster is high in Endurance,” she said.

“I-I-It’s Sera…” I mumbled.

“Get into formation, everyone!” Dialuria ordered.

“Okay, unni!” Domi answered.

“Okay, noonim.”

I saw Cheru charging at the frontline with his wings out. At some point, his wings grew large enough to cover his entire body. It was beyond amazing to see him use his wings as a shield.

The way he endured the attacks of the monster with twelve arms and swung his blue scythe whenever he had the chance made him look like an experienced adventurer.

𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

I was amazed by how he could carry out Max hyung's instructions without any errors.

I was also amazed by Thro, who had reached his current heights with his swordsmanship alone. He had become more agile than before, and he dodged every single attack coming his way while attacking at the same time.

Just like me, Domi was providing support from behind, but she was doing a lot more than me. Honestly, I was in an awkward position. Domi had the special ability of Teleport. She could not Teleport far, but the fact that she could instantly change positions was extremely valuable on this unpredictable battlefield.

I was doing my best with the spells that I had learned from Mom, but…

‘I lack firepower.’

It felt like I still had a long way to go.

Everyone had grown stronger. Of course, I was no exception.

The number of spells I could use and the amount of mana within me had grown. I had improved so much that I could finally triple cast. I was feeling pretty reassured lately, as I thought I was doing well in close combat, but my siblings’ growth was beyond what I had imagined.

‘Auntie said I’m just a slow learner…’

Running first wouldn't necessarily mean that one would reach the destination first.

This was what Auntie told me each time she comforted me, so I engraved her words in my heart, but I still felt anxious.

My siblings were slowly awakening their powers. My plan was to wield both magic and swords, but Thro and Cherbu were already skilled in close combat, while Domi was skilled at providing support from the rear. In other words, there was bound to be a difference in our contribution levels.

Of course, I knew how difficult it was to do something like that, but I had to do it, as I was mediocre in both sword and magic. I wanted to give up on magic, but I couldn’t because of Mom. I couldn’t give up on swordsmanship either, as I had already come this far.

‘Noonim and Max hyung will obviously score the highest. I’ll score the lowest.’

“We've cleared the objective this time as well. The monster was big, but it wasn’t hard to deal with. Hey, Sena. Come over here and sort out the items that dropped,” Dialuria instructed.

“O-Okay, noonim,” I answered.

I was pretty sure that my contribution grade would be…

‘My contribution grade will be a C. Or it might be an F…’

I caught the monster’s attention when the battle had just started. I did my best at close combat, but I couldn’t penetrate the monster’s skin, so I was immediately sent to the rear.

Max hyung was the only considerate one here, so he gave me a task, but I messed up.

“Sera, are you okay?” Cheru asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine, Cheru. D-Don’t worry about me. You might get eliminated because of me…” I said.

“But…”

“Auntie Sora said I’m just a slow learner… This wasn't my time, but if I work hard, I might get another chance next time… a-and Mom said not to be too obsessed with grades. S-S-She said she wanted me to be happy,” I told him.

“...”

“Also, Noonim is right. We don’t even know if we’ll be evaluated individually. Of course, it’s highly likely, but anyway, I-I need to do my best so that I can get a good score,” I continued.

“Sera,” Cheru said.

“It’s a good look on you, Sena. You definitely look a lot different from before. You'd be crying like a crybaby right now if this were before, but you aren't crying right now,” Dialuria commented.

“Noona?”

“

Hmph.

Gather around, everyone,” Dialuria ordered.

“What? Why so suddenly…”

“I have a minor injury,” Dialuria informed us.

“What?”

“I must’ve pushed myself too hard… My left foot has been acting strange for a while. I think it’s best if I take a break from raiding for the time being,” Dialuria said.

“Th-Then wouldn’t it be better for us to go back, Noonim?” I asked.

“Be quiet, Sera. Not even the Blue Guild gave up in the middle of a raid. I’ll be fine if I just take a break. Until then… I want Sera to take my role,” Dialuria said.

“That’s…”

“What? You can do it. If Max and Domi focus their buffs on you, you can do it. The monster just now had high Endurance. I think the next one will be a different type of monster, so I’m sure you can handle it, Sera,” Dialuria explained.

“N-Noona,” I mumbled.

I glanced at Dialuria’s left foot, but I saw no injuries.

“Domi, can you come here and treat my wound?” she asked.

“Sure, unni,” Domi answered.

I felt like I knew why she lied and pretended to be in pain despite the fact that there wasn’t a single injury on her.

It’d be strange not to notice that she was being considerate of me, and I was sure she’d be considerate of me in her report to Father as well. She would report that she had suffered a minor injury, so I had taken her place in the raid.

She had decided to tell a lie that could damage her reputation.

“Noona…” I mumbled.

“It’s really just a minor injury. Go and make some achievements that I can report. You get what I’m saying?” Dialuria asked.

“Y-Yes!” I answered.

“Congratulations, Sera.”

“I’m happy for you.”

“Yeah, thanks, Thro,” I said.

“Then, I think it’s best if we change the formation,” Max suggested.

“Max hyung…” I muttered.

“Don’t worry. It’s an easy task. We’re kind of lacking firepower, so I’ll need to change the items as well…” Max said.

“Thanks, hyung,” I said.

Max hyung was taking out items from the mysterious box floating in the air while Dialuria noona was pretending to be in pain to the point that it was embarrassing.

Thro and Cheru didn’t seem jealous. They sincerely congratulated me, as this was a really good opportunity for me.

I hated myself for being jealous of my siblings in the first place.

“T-T-Tha—”

And that was when the atmosphere changed...

“

Huh?

”

No, that wasn’t the only thing that changed. All I did was blink, and I suddenly found myself in a completely different place.

‘What the heck?’

“Domi?”

“I-It’s not a trap, unni. This is just… I don’t know… what’s going on right now…” Domi answered.

“Max?” Dialuria called out.

“I can’t control it. The dungeon… it’s moving, unni. It’s my first time encountering something like this…” Max replied.

Just then…

[The children are here.]

“Ruuuun!!!” Dialuria screamed with all her might.

BOOOM!!

Cheru grabbed me and ran to the other side, and then I heard low rumblings from both the ceiling and the ground as they were split apart.

Dialuria transformed in an instant and unleashed a massive Breath.

The golems that Max hyung had summoned created a giant wall.

“It’s an order! Run right now! And get help!” Dialuria instructed.

BOOM!

I couldn't really understand what was happening right now.

“Max and I will take care of this place!” Dialuria added

“Okay, noona.”

“

Hmph.

”

One thing I was sure of was that the culprit was staring at us from midair.

[You think I’m going to let you get away that easily, children?]

“You’re ridiculous! And we’re not children!” Dialuria exclaimed.

A woman with long, messy brown hair was in midair, and she was wearing a very fancy outfit with some dried tear stains. This was what an unrealistic-looking person would look like if I were asked to describe someone like that.

It was like I was looking at my father.

It was like I was staring at a being on a whole new level…

‘No. Father? She’s not like him.’

The being above us was unstable and imperfect. She wasn’t in her true form and was actually losing her essence. It was like she was sealed and was forcefully tied to this dungeon…

“Unni! A transparent wall…” Domi pointed out.

“How long do you think it will take to destroy it?!” Dialuria asked.

“About… th-three hours!” Domi answered.

“I’ll give you one hour. Domi! No, I’ll give you thirty minutes!” Dialuria shouted.

I thought the space was pretty big, but even the exit was blocked.

[How funny.]

“What’s so funny?” Dialuria asked.

[It’s foolish to think that a dragon that hasn’t even reached adulthood thinks that she can stop me. Looks like there are many things your mother hasn't taught you yet. No matter how young and how ancient your lineage is, a dragon is still a dragon. Unless you don’t know the difference in strength, you wouldn't—]

“You sure talk a lot for a demigod. I’m not scared of you at all. Come at me if you’re not scared! Max! Help me!” Dialuria shouted.

“Okay!” Max replied.

[Not bad. You’ve got quite a spirit for a young dragon.]

The giant dragon swung her large claws, but the transparent wall stopped her claws dead in their tracks.

A brown stream of energy surrounded Dialuria and charged at her, but the wall of golems that appeared out of nowhere took the attack for Dialuria.

Dialuria swung her tail, creating a gust of wind. Dust flew everywhere, blinding me.

Moments later, I saw Dialuria in her human form emerge from the dust with a sword in hand, and she was charging at the demigod.

‘That’s it!’

It was an attack that would definitely reach the demigod.

I was convinced of it… until the demigod grabbed Dialuria's hair.

“N-Noona!” I shouted.

“That’s an illusion! Good job, Max!” Dialuria shouted.

The real one was behind the demigod, aiming her fangs at her. The giant dragon’s mouth broke through the dust. Before the dragon could close her mouth to devour the unstable being…

[It’s a cute trick.]

A wave of energy burst out of the demigod.

[That kind of trick doesn’t work on transcendent beings, child.]

Kabooooooooom!

‘No…’

Dialuria coughed out blood and collapsed.

Thro was surprised as he ran out of the cloud of dust with a sword in hand.

“Damn it… why isn’t it opening?! Why?! Mom! It’s an emergency! Mother!” I shouted.

“...”

“Mother! Can you hear me?! Damn it! Did we lose connection, too?!” I yelled.

Domi was focused on destroying the wall while Cheru was protecting me.

‘Can we not do anything about this?’

'Am I really incapable of doing anything at all? A-As always… will I not be able to do anything this time as well? Am I destined to only receive help from others without returning the gesture in kind?'

Just then, everyone suddenly moved slowly. Perhaps it was because I was thinking about many things at once, but it was like time had slowed down for me.

"S-Sera can do anything. I-I… believe in you, Sera…"

I heard Mom’s voice in my head.

“J-Judgement,” I mumbled without realizing it.

With that, radiant golden swords pervaded the air.

1. Sera’s POV ☜