Arkhiel channeled his mana into the dungeon's humid air, forcing the water vapor molecules to condense into liquid droplets. Then, he manipulated the surface tension of the water, creating numerous liquid spheres suspended in the air. Finally, he generated a pressure differential behind each sphere and shot them at high speed toward the spiders.
The water spheres struck the spiders, killing them instantly and rendering them no longer a threat.
"Help…" came a faint groan from afar. They recognized the voice of Eldrick, the leader of the party. He had seen the light and used his last strength to call for aid.
They covered their faces again and cautiously approached the weak voice, following the sound. When they found him, they saw he was gravely wounded, though he had managed to bandage some of his injuries. Beside him were a man and two women, unconscious. Their breathing was shallow, and their wounds were also bandaged, indicating their critical condition.
Eldrick, barely conscious, looked at them with hope, as if the hell he was trapped in had finally come to an end.
"It's you…" He managed to say weakly, recognizing them immediately.
However, Celica walked past him, paying him little attention.
"Oh, a corpse that talks," she said without flinching.
Eldrick blinked, stunned. "What…?"
Celica continued walking, while Lina and Arkhiel silently followed her.
"There go my six gold coins," Lina muttered with disappointment.
It was evident that something serious had happened for the party to be in such a dire state. Celica was aware of it, but she didn't seem to care. Perhaps she was waiting for them to beg or offer something of value, or maybe she was simply curious about what lay ahead. Possibly both. Either way, their safety did not appear to be one of her priorities. Arkhiel thought.
"Wait!" Eldrick cried out, trying to get Celica's attention.
Once again, Celica ignored him and continued her way.
"I'll give you ten gold coins if you save us," Eldrick offered, trying to persuade her.
"Is that all your lives are worth?" Celica commented, unfazed.
Arkhiel was worried about something. On their way there, they encountered only giant spiders, which were highly unusual, considering that area should have been infested with them. Moreover, the place where they found Eldrick's group shouldn't be considered safe at all. It was strange that they had found them so quickly. Additionally, the strongest enemy in that dungeon had been defeated by Arkhiel alone a year ago, unless a hidden boss existed. All these circumstances made him question what was happening inside the dungeon.
"Whatever attacked you isn't ahead, it's behind us, isn't it, Eldrick?" Arkhiel asked before Eldrick could speak again.
"You're right…" he replied weakly.
"And the reason you're all still alive is because that thing is so big it can't even fit in this section of the dungeon."
"Yes," Eldrick confirmed, before finally collapsing from exhaustion.
"What do we do, Celica?" Arkhiel asked. He genuinely didn't want them to die; even if their role was secondary, it still contributed to the protagonist's development.
"If what you say is true, it's better to use them as bait," Celica said coldly.
Arkhiel had to find a way to persuade her.
Then Lina stepped in, "Please, I want the gold coins," she pleaded.
"Do you need the coins that badly?" Celica asked.
Lina nodded repeatedly.
Celica sighed and finally gave the order to heal them.
The mission was to search and rescue. If they only found the bodies, they'd receive half the reward. But if nothing remained, the mission would be considered a failure.
Arkhiel also needed information about the enemy. It was almost certain it had hidden in one of the previous dungeon branches. It was likely photosensitive, perhaps light repelled it, or it simply preferred hunting in shadow. That could explain why it hadn't attacked them yet. The lack of spiders could indicate that the creature had been feeding on them.
He approached Eldrick and began to cast white magic. White magic encompassed healing and buffs. Unlike Lina, Arkhiel didn't specialize in it, so he could only heal some injuries.
Performing a diagnostic on the wounded was the most mana-efficient method, but since he wasn't a doctor, and mana wasn't an issue for him, he decided to use the fast method.
He channeled his mana and conjured a magic circle. The spell intertwined with the body's natural biological processes, stimulating cellular regeneration and accelerating the division and proliferation of healthy cells to replace the damaged ones.
They were lucky no one had lost a limb. Although it was possible to regenerate them with magic, doing so was extremely difficult, as it was considered a very high-level spell and for good reason. The magic circle was incredibly complex and intricate, making it difficult to learn, in addition to its high mana consumption.
On the other hand, if noble magic was used, the mage needed advanced knowledge in anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, among other fields. In both cases, one had to have exceptional control over mana to avoid fatal mistakes.
Arkhiel certainly wanted to learn such a spell, but it would take him some time. It was also very difficult to find information about it, not to mention the experience required. He only knew of two people who could cast the complete restoration spell: one was the pope of the Holy Church, who knew the magic circle, and the other was an elderly mage dedicated to research, whose whereabouts were unknown. He would later appear in the story, serving as something of a mentor to the protagonist.