Was Eli crazy?

  Cecil didn’t understand why they weren’t running away— they needed Myrla and Kelton to help them out.

  Yes, the elf knew that his roommate was extremely talented. Even in a royal duel with the Seventh Prince, Eli had completely dominated. But that was a royal duel. Pure technique, no strength, no Skills.

  It just wasn’t the same as in a real battle. Especially one where there were no rules, and a single mistake could cost you your life.

  And Eli was just a [Healer].

  Sure, he had a variety of spells he could use in battle— tricks that would help him out, just like in his battle against the spectral sentinel. But that had been in a one-on-one battle, and he still had to be aided by artifacts he picked out specifically to help him win.

  Right now, they were clearly outnumbered. And by hellhounds, no less. Perhaps if these were just a few demonspawns— or maybe even a weaker lesser demon like a shardling— Cecil would be confident in being able to take a dozen or so of them down with just the three of them here.

  But hellhounds were strong. Some of the most dangerous of the lesser demons.

  At least, that was what Cecil recalled from the small booklet that their instructor, Seb, had given them before the exam this morning. They weren’t going to be sent to hunt down these demons without knowing what they would be up against. So they were given a list of all the possible demons that they could encounter during their exam.

  And Cecil didn’t think they could win this battle without their entire group. At least, not without sustaining significant injuries.

  Unless Eli thinks he can just heal us and we’ll be fine afterwards? Cecil thought as he narrowed his eyes, turning back to the white-haired boy who was conjuring up a few magical arrows. But the wounds that a hellhound inflicts is said to be hard to heal, so that is not—

  But before Cecil could finish that train of thought, the first of the hellhounds moved. It pounced, moving straight for the magical sphere of white light. Cecil tensed, and Sonia readied for an attack.

  However, Eli moved faster, sending his first magical arrow out to intercept the hellhound. Cecil didn’t think it would do anything, though. He thought it was some kind of [Light Arrow] or [Spectral Arrow] type of spell, which would make it a Bronze Rank Skill. So at most, he expected the attack to barely graze the skin of the lesser demon, slowing its approach for a moment.

  To the elf’s surprise, the arrow impaled the hellhound through its head, knocking it to the ground as it whimpered.

  Cecil blinked. Sonia paused for a moment. The hellhound lying on the ground convulsed for a moment, before becoming still. Eli tilted his head at the remaining hellhounds, eyeing them expectantly.

  Just what kind of spell was that? Cecil wondered with round eyes. He had an inkling of an idea of what it could be, but he was still processing what just happened.

  And that was when the rest of the hellhounds charged all at once. But this time, they didn’t run in a straight line for the three students. They darted from side to side, moving to avoid the oncoming magical arrows Eli sent their way.

  His first flurry of arrows mostly missed their marks, taking down only two more hellhounds. But Eli just conjured up another dozen or so magical arrows and sent them out again. This time, the projectiles were less precise, only managing to keep the hellhounds back.

  However, he just grinned, almost like that was exactly what he had intended to do.

  As the hellhounds leapt back from the oncoming attacks, the white-haired boy brought two hands together as a ball of white flames formed in between his palms. The ball of flames quickly expanded, before he sent it launching out at the lesser demons.

  The hellhounds tried to get out of the way, seeing the attack. But the sphere of white flames exploded, completely engulfing the group of lesser demons. The blast blinded Cecil for a moment as he looked away, expecting to be hit by a wave of heat.

  But there was no heat. Just a gentle warmth that washed over his body. Blinking, he looked up to see the flames fading away as the group of hellhounds just lay scattered around the sewers, their corpses charred and burned.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Hellhounds are supposed to be resistant to fire magic… the elf thought as he stared at the dead lesser demons. Just how…?

  It almost made no sense to Cecil. Eli’s spells shouldn’t have been able to easily bring down these hellhounds. Perhaps the fireball could be explained away with it being some kind of light magic instead of fire magic— but even that shouldn’t have allowed it to kill so many of the lesser demons at once.

  However, those magical arrows? Ordinarily, salvo spells— which were projectile-type magical attacks that could summon a multitude of them at once— were weak. That was the drawback of being able to unleash so many attacks at once.

  For each one to be capable of piercing a hellhound’s hardened skin with ease… it had to have been a Gold Rank Skill cast at its maximum output.

  But… there was no way, right? Eli was supposed to be a Silver Rank, just like Cecil. And a [Healer] no less. How was this possible?

  Cecil was evidently not the only one surprised by this scene.

  “He defeated them all by himself…” Sonia whispered, breaking the elf out of his stupor. “...and he did it so easily.”

  “It’s not over yet,” Eli said, shaking his head.

  Both Cecil and Sonia frowned back at the white-haired boy. And from the murky sewer water, a half-burnt hellhound leapt out, swiping out with a set of flaming claws.

  Cecil recoiled, and Sonia took a step back. But Eli didn’t even flinch.

  Because the hellhound’s claws just struck the white sphere protecting them, cracking the surface, but not piercing through this barrier.

  “Nice try,” Eli chuckled as he held a hand out, creating a dozen more glowing arrows. “But it’s over.”

  And the projectiles shot out, completely skewering the last remaining hellhound and pinning it against the sewer wall.

  ***

  *ding!*

  You have slain a [Lesser Demon] - Experience is awarded for killing an enemy!

  *ding!*

  You have slain a [Lesser Demon] - Experience is awarded for killing an enemy!

  …

  *ding!*

  You have reached Level 2!

  +3 [Magic]

  +1 [Vitality]

  +1 Free Point

  I looked over the notification as they flashed before me. Somehow, I had leveled up from killing about a dozen or so hellhounds. I was surprised by that. Since they were evidently much weaker than me, I would have thought that they would not even give me a single level.

  Well, I was going to gratefully accept the level up. But I highly doubted that I would get my next level up so easily. After all, that had been only the first level up in Gold. Each level up afterwards would become more and more difficult if I was only fighting Silver Rank enemies, since I would be getting further away from Silver.

  Letting my [Domain Of Light] dissipate, I turned to both Cecil and Sonia. The two of them had just watched idly by as I dealt with the hellhounds on my own. Not that I was complaining, since I preferred it this way.

  I would be able to keep most of the experience for myself— which had already served to benefit me just now. After everything that happened with the demonic calamity, I knew that I needed to progress faster than I previously intended. Just in case the situation ever arose again where I needed to fight at full power.

  I needed to be stronger than I was before. So I could survive.

  Anyway, they probably assumed that they wouldn’t have been able to attack the lesser demons through my barrier, which was why they did nothing this fight. Even if I wanted to hog the kills for myself, I thought it’d be best to inform them that that wasn’t the case.

  I nodded at both Sonia and Cecil as they just blinked.

  “By the way, you can send your attacks through my [Domain Of Light],” I explained to them. “I can control what I want to let in and out of the barrier. So next time, you guys can help out too.”

  They exchanged a glance, before nodding hesitantly.

  “R-right,” Cecil said.

  “That’s totally why we didn’t help out…” Sonia trailed off.

  “Well, I’m glad I clarified that.” I smiled at them, before stepping forward. “Now let’s get a move on.”

  “Wait, what?” both of them said in unison.

  “What’s wrong?” I eyed them both curiously.

  They hesitated. It looked like they were both thinking the same thing. But they were waiting for the other one to speak up first.

  Eventually, Cecil found his voice and stepped forward. “Eli, don’t you think it would be a better idea for us to meet back up with Myrla and Kelton now that we have a trail?”

  “Actually, that’s exactly why we shouldn’t go back outside and meet up with them,” I said, walking past the elf. “We have a trail now, we don’t want to lose it by leaving and returning when the trail is cold.”

  Sonia was the one to interject next, shaking her head. “But it would be safer for us if we all stick together— especially if you bring your summon with you.”

  I waved a hand dismissively back at my two companions.

  “You guys can head back if you want. I’ll press forward and see what I can find. Don’t worry, I’ll leave a trail for you guys to follow.”

  I didn’t mind pressing on alone. In the first place, I suggested splitting up and being the one in charge of exploring the sewers because I wanted to reduce the number of people who would end up fighting so that I could save more experience for myself.

  So if Sonia and Cecil didn’t want to press on, I was completely fine continuing on my own.

  And with my intentions clear, the two of them just watched on with wide eyes as I walked forward down the passageway the hellhounds came from.