Silence filled the cave.
"I think the monster is gone," Hayato said quietly.
Takumi let out a deep breath of relief. "That was close… whew."
While everyone felt relieved, Riku stayed tense, holding his sister as he worried about her health. Yuna was still unconscious, her body covered in bruises.
Riku spoke with a worried expression. "What should we do!?"
Everyone else looked concerned.
Hayato said, "If only we had brought that healing water from the cave…"
Souta replied calmly, "We're already too far from that cave."
Reina added, "And it would be too dangerous to go back now."
Takumi spoke worriedly, "W-what are we gonna do?"
Miyu raised her hand and said softly, "I think… I can help."
Reina, with a curious look, asked, "How?"
Miyu explained, "I… I have a support class called Divine Support, and one of my skills is called Healing." She lowered her gaze, a little disappointed. "Uhm… the problem is… I just… don't know how to activate my power."
Riku's face brightened with hope. "Really? You have a Healing skill? Then try it."
Miyu replied softly, "I… I don't know how…"
Reina stepped closer, trying to comfort her. "Just try it. You won't know if you don't try."
Miyu hesitated. "But… how?"
Reina gently grabbed Miyu's hand. "Well, I just raise my hand and say the word of my skill. It activates automatically. Just do the same."
Miyu nodded, lifted both hands over Yuna, and whispered in a soft, calm voice, "Healing…"
Then a bright light glowed in Miyu's hands, and Yuna's body was bathed in the soft radiance. Slowly, her wounds began to heal, the bruises fading little by little. After about ten minutes, every mark on Yuna's body had disappeared.
Everyone felt relieved, especially Miyu who was proud that her skill had worked, and Riku, grateful that his twin sister was finally safe. A little later, Yuna began to wake up, noticing that she was resting in her brother's lap while everyone sat in a circle around the burning fire.
Yuna woke up, rubbing her head with a slight headache. "What happened?" she asked.
Hayato replied, "You were unconscious while we were trying to escape that monster. Your brother carried you while we ran."
Yuna frowned. "What happened to that monster?"
Reina answered, "We managed to lose it while hiding here, and once it was gone, we decided to rest for a while."
Yuna asked again, "How did you make a fire here?"
Hayato replied, "That was Reina. She created it with her skill. She said her class is called Elemental Mage."
Yuna's eyes widened in surprise. "Wow! That's awesome!" She added proudly, "What about you, Hayato? What's your class? Well, I'm called a Fierce Fighter, it said in my status."
Hayato smiled. "My class is called Aura Swordsman."
Yuna's eyes sparkled. "Wow! That's awesome too! What about you, bro? What's your class?"
Riku replied calmly, "I'm a Guardian Tank."
Yuna's face lit up with amazement again, while Takumi scowled at her loud, energetic excitement. "Okay, okay, we get it," he said with an annoyed tone. "Miyu's Divine Support, I'm a Sharp-Eye Marksman, and Souta's a Shadow Assassin. Now… can you all just shut up?"
Yuna was a little annoyed with Takumi and teased him with a smile. "Alright, Mr. Scaredy-Cat, I'll shut up… but you always jump at the smallest things! I'm starting to think even a shadow could make you run!"
Takumi's face flushed with annoyance. "Oh, yeah? You loudmouth!"
Yuna shot back, equally irritated, "Oh, yeah? You scaredy-pants!"
They glared at each other, both seething with irritation.
Beside them, Miyu's hands trembled as she raised them slightly between the two. Her eyes were wide, lips quivering, trying to stop the argument before it escalated.
"G-guys… s-stop," she murmured softly.
Souta intervened calmly, his tone measured. "Keep it up, and you'll attract more monsters."
Reina's eyes narrowed, her voice sharp. "Both of you. Shut it!"
Instantly, Takumi and Yuna went quiet, sitting stiffly like scolded puppies.
Takumi's stomach grumbled loudly.
Yuna laughed and teased him, a playful grin on her face. "Scaredy-pants is hungry!"
Takumi opened his mouth to retort but quickly shut it again, too irritated to argue.
Then Yuna tossed something toward him. "Catch!"
Takumi managed to grab it. He looked down at his hand. It was berries.
"Where did you get these?" he asked cautiously.
"From the cave earlier," Yuna replied casually.
"Is this is poisoned?" Takumi questioned, eyeing the berries suspiciously.
Hayato grinned. "Because it is."
"W-what! Why would you give me this?!" Takumi shouted at Yuna.
"If you don't want it, give it back," Yuna snapped, slightly irritated.
Riku spoke calmly to Takumi, "Don't worry. It's already neutralized. The water I mentioned from the cave removed the poison from the berries." He gave a reassuring look, letting Takumi know it was safe to eat.
Takumi shot Hayato an annoyed glare for teasing him, but Hayato just smiled cheekily.
Yuna spoke up again. "Here, everyone, take some. I picked these berries and hid them in my jacket pocket."
One by one, she handed berries to her hungry brother and the rest of the group.
Later that hour, Takumi nervously asked, "H-Hey, Yuna… do you still have any of those berries?"
Yuna reached into her jacket pocket and replied with a playful smile, "Sorry, scaredy boy… only one berry left."
Reina overheard them and thought to herself, *Maybe there's a way to get more berries to eat, and if so, we'll also need a way to detoxify the poison. We'll need drinkable water too.*
Then she remembered a glimpse of her status window from before and realized that one of her attributes was both Plant Magic and Water Magic.
The she murmured, "Status."
[Reina Tsukishiro]
Level: 1
Personality: Intelligent, Composed, Aloof
Traits: Analytical, Perfectionist
Class: Elemental Mage
Strength: D
Agility: C
Intelligence: S
Mana: 700/1000
Skills: Elemental Spell D - All cost 100 mana
Flare, Bubble, Gust, Stone Bullet, Shock, Icicle Shot, Grow.
Affinity: Spirit Mana (Fire Magic, Water Magic, Wind Magic, Earth Magic, Lightning Magic, Ice Magic, Plant Magic)
Then Reina pressed Water and Grow on her Status Window with her finger.
Bubble: Creates a water orb. Drinkable.
Grow: Accelerates plant growth and can help living creatures recover faster.
Reina then said proudly, "Bingo."
She turned to Yuna. "Hey, Yuna, could you give me that last berry?"
"Sure, here," Yuna replied, tossing it to Reina.
Reina carefully placed the berry on the ground.
Takumi and Yuna exchanged puzzled looks. "What are you doing?" they asked.
Raising both her hands toward the berry, Reina murmured softly, "Grow..."
The berry began to sprout. Everyone stared in surprise, but Reina's skill wasn't strong enough yet.
"Grow..." she said again. This time, the sprout grew into a small bush, but it still wasn't enough.
"Grow..." she repeated a third time. Finally, the bush was full of red, ripe berries.
Yuna immediately said, "Identify!" A warning popped up: the berries were poisonous. "Everyone, don't eat these!"
Reina thought to herself, *What if we go back and bring that water Riku mentioned? But… how do we carry it? * She rested her chin on her arms, deep in thought.
Hayato spoke up, interrupting her thoughts. "I think I have an idea to neutralize the poison from the berries."
Everyone asked in unison, "How?"
Hayato looked at Miyu. "Miyu, isn't your class Divine Support?"
Miyu nodded softly. "Yes… why?"
"Do you have a skill called Purify or Cleanse?" Hayato asked.
Miyu shook her head. "I don't know… let me check."
She murmured, "Status," and her screen popped up.
[Miyu Hanabira]
Level: 1
Personality: Shy, Sweet, Sincere
Traits: Diligent, Empathetic
Class: Divine Support
Strength: D
Agility: C
Intelligence: A
Mana: 900/1000
Skills (All E-rank): Holy Spells D - All Cost 100
Light, Protect, Healing, Cure, Purify, Bless
Affinity: Holy Mana (Light Magic)
With a happy smile, Miyu said softly, "Oh, yes, I do have a skill. It's called Purify. It says it removes curses, evil, darkness, and toxins."
Everyone's faces lit up with joy. "Good job, Miyu!" they cheered.
Miyu raised her hands, pointing at the berry bush, and whispered, "Purify." It took about five minutes for her spell to finish.
Yuna then said, "Identify," appraising the berry bush. After a moment, she smiled. "It's okay, guys. It's edible now."
Everyone rejoiced again.
Reina looked at Hayato. "How did you know that?"
Hayato shrugged. "Oh, I've played some games before. This place feels like an MMORPG. Each of us has a class: you're a mage, I'm a swordsman, Riku's a tank, Yuna's a fighter, Takumi's a marksman, Souta's an assassin, and Miyu, she's a support."
He went on explaining how their classes balance each other in fighting monsters.
Just then, Takumi interrupted, rubbing his stomach. "Guys… what about water? I'm thirsty."
Reina sighed, then smiled. "Oh, I have a skill for drinkable water."
Everyone let out a sigh of relief and praised Reina.