Concentration and choice of what to give up and what to keep are important for survival. The more rationally I solved the puzzle, the higher the percentage of survival. However, this time I could not do it.

There were three wounded and one bottle of potion.

In fact, the best option was to feed Rothmiller the entire bottle. It was necessary to revive it as quickly as possible in order to get the rest of the potions from the [Treasure Vault]. The right thing to do would be to give me a high-ranking potion, and Dvalki to feed the rest of the advanced.

However...

In that case, Dvalki would have died.

It was difficult to make a rational choice. Although I already knew it in my head, my body fed half of Dvalka's potion without the slightest hesitation.

"Both of you, please, hold on!" Let's all get out of this cursed place alive!

As a result, a certain future disappeared.

Since I could not give up Dvalka, I cannot guarantee the life of even Rothmiller. Half a flask of potion would be enough if he was fed right away, but the problem was that he got it too late. Simply put, high risk means high returns. I wanted the whole team to survive, so I made an irrational decision that could have ruined them all.

"B-Bjorn...

I walked over to Rothmiller, then checked his pulse and breathing. I hoped that he would endure. If this person dies, then we will die too.

10 minutes.

After this time, the Dragon Slayer will wake up. Right now, the only one who was okay was the dwarf. If Hikurod couldn't stop Vagos, it would be over.

"Oh, that's right! Camera! Bjorn, what kind of stone chamber was that!? "Hikurod, who was guarding Dvalki, looked at me and asked me what was the stone chamber that we finally found after 12 hours of searching in the labyrinth. The question was filled with his hopes. "Elixir?" Potion? Was there anything like that in it? And if you had, you'd have already packed it, right? Or is it a healing spring or something?

— ... This camera is not for that.

"Then what is it!" We searched so diligently! There must be something!" asked Hikurod, hoping for a definite answer.

I knew that it was better not to answer such questions, but after a short pause, I opened my mouth.

"This stone chamber is a trap room.

"Trap room...?"

"Yes, if you open the box inside, you will return to the starting point.

If the bastard and the priest appeared at the same time, I thought of dropping Plan A right away and using it to get to the portal and escape. Whatever I did in this situation, there was no chance of winning.

"Yes!" Then let's take advantage of this and go back! This will be enough!

"Hikurod Murad, come to your senses. Even if we can go back, nothing will change.

After returning to the Sky Tower, we won't get any potions, it's like robbing an empty house. It was impossible to go back at all.

Go to the portal in a wounded state? That would be suicide. It will be guarded by the priest of Karui, who I believed to possess the holy power of a high priest and had changed his class.

"Oh, yes! Priest! Wasn't there an old man in their team who looked like a priest? Let's find him.

"That's enough.

"From my point of view, he should have been forced to follow him. If this is true...

"Stop it, Hikurod.

"How can I stop!?" They're both dying, something has to be done! The dwarf shouted, as if he were screaming in his own powerlessness.

I said coldly:

"There is nothing we can do now. We can only observe.

"Are you sure... What is it all?

— Yes.

The dice have already left our hands. Three options fell out: we all survived, we all died, or someone died, and someone survived.

Every minute and second passed like an eternity. After all...

"He's... What happened?

Dvalky came to his senses.

***

"Two-wheelers!" Don't talk!

"Yes, don't move. As soon as Rothmiller wakes up, take the potion...

Watching us pour out many words, Dvalki asked again:

"That man...?"

—…

— How did it end?

As if it was more important than his life, it was the only thing he asked when he opened his eyes.

I thought about it for a moment. Should I tell him the truth? I didn't hesitate for long.

"He's not dead.

"Oh...

"But thanks to you, the immediate crisis has passed. Leave it to us and rest.

"I... I can't do it," Dvalki shook his head desperately. "Time... is running out.

"Didn't you hear me?" When Rothmiller wakes up, the potion...

"It's not something that can be cured... Potion.

There was silence for a moment, and I calmly accepted reality.

— ... Got it.

I didn't know what method Dvalki was using. However, it was he who knew the current situation best of all.

These were the words of Dvalka, who longed for life more than anyone else, so there was no point in denying it.

"What are you talking about?!" This is an advanced potion!

"He's right!" You should also know what this object is. So stop saying strange things...

"Miss Karlstein," Dvalki opened his eyes and looked at us. "Hikurod and—" Bjorn.

He only said each of our names, but having seen so many deaths during my childhood in the hospital, I knew what Dvalki was going to do now.

"Tell me." I'll pass this on to Rothmiller.

— ... Thank you.

It was the flickering of a candle whose wick had run out, as if it wanted to leave something behind in this world. As if to be remembered, at the last moment he emitted a tremendous light.

"I have something to say to you all.

Soon the trembling in Dvalka's voice stopped.

***

His mother loved the sea, the unknown that she had never seen, but only heard of it. She dreamed of seeing him at least once in her life. As a child, he could not understand this, but with age he came to this.

"There are things... that I can't get, so I want to get even more.

There were such things in the world. And because they were unknown, because they were inaccessible to him, they shone brighter and brighter.

"You were all that to me.

He was luckier than he deserved. He met good people and explored the world with them. They talked a lot and comforted each other. The empty space that he thought would remain empty was finally filled. And he had to say it.

"Thank you for being my comrades.

He hadn't said it until now because of embarrassment. These were words that had always been postponed, promised for later, but if not said now, they would forever be buried in his heart.

*Sob*

Dvalki looked ahead with blurred eyes.

"No!" Don't say that! Hmm? Dvalki, please...

The woman he loved was crying. It wasn't what he wanted.

*Sob*

He looked away.

His dear friend looked at him and smiled.

"I... I am also grateful to you for being my friend. That you joined... to the team I created.

He was grateful for the way Hikurod smiled through his trembling beard. And he regretted it. He promised to open a forge one day. Now he couldn't keep that promise.

*Sob*

He shifted his gaze again.

"Riol Warb Dvalki.

The latter was a rival and a dear comrade. Unlike him, a coward, Bjorn was a warrior who always fought to the end and protected everyone. He looked at Dvalki with calm eyes.

"I'm sorry. I misunderstood you. You were a better mage and teammate than anyone else. And the choice you made was sublime and noble," said a man who was always stingy with praise, a warrior who never put words in his mouth that he did not mean.

"It was an honor to work with you.

It was overwhelming, and he felt some kind of relief. It was recognized for the first time. He was honored by a great warrior who lived like a hero in a fairy tale. A demi-mage like him had graced the page of this warrior's path. With this, he could die in peace. This should be enough.

But why..

He was angry. It was unfair, scary and useless.

Why...?

It was death to be erased from someone's next page.

Soon the warrior spoke:

"Do you have anything else to say?" If you want, we'll step aside.

And only then did Dvalki realize the reason for this feeling.

"No!" Dvalki! Don't die! Please, okay?

There were people in the world who shone. For him, Misha was such a person. He hadn't said those words yet.

Probably, this is greed.

He tried his best to overcome his selfishness. There will be no other chance after that, but that's why he must endure it. Her journey won't end today. He should not remain a dark shadow in her future life. If it's really for her sake, then that's how it should be.

So, Dvalki opened his mouth.

"Bjorn."

— ... Do you want to tell me something?

"I want to."

It was the only thing that a departing person could leave behind.

"You're not very perceptive. Please don't look away anymore.

The warrior did not ask. He must have known what those words meant. He was too clever and wise to be called a barbarian.

"Answer... To me...

"I understand.

Dvalki, who finally received an answer, smiled heartily. But that was all the time that was allotted to him.

The warrior's eyes turned cold.

— ... He woke up.

Dvalka's dying heart began to pound. Dragon Slayer, Regal Vagos. Although he fought with him at the cost of his life, he was never able to defeat him.

"Can you—" win?

"Don't worry. We will definitely return alive.

With that, Dvalki erased all his worries. He also let go of his worries about a senseless death. If this reliable warrior said so, then this is how it should be. Now he could forget about everything.

*Sob*

He closed his eyes. The sounds subsided, the darkness deepened. Gradually dulling his mind, he thought, "If I lived a heroic life so that my life was recorded in a book, even if it was a short one, what would be written in the last sentence?"

A rather plausible phrase came to mind. Maybe it's not quite the right expression for the end of a sorcerer, but it's not a bad one.

[The mage of the team of misfits, Riol Varb Dvalki, after protecting his dear comrades from Orcules' member, the Dragon Slayer Regal Vagos, died valiantly in battle.]

***

[Achievement]

[Prerequisite: First death of a teammate].

[Reward: Spirit +1]

***

There was no paradise to escape to.

As I learned the identity of this bastard, Dragon Slayer Regal Vagos, this thought became more and more solid. He belonged to a group of Orcules who looked down even on the king. Although we didn't introduce ourselves, he wouldn't have had any trouble finding us. If he wanted revenge, the city would be unsafe.

Here's why...

I've come up with a plan to get rid of it using the [Keeper of Balance] effect. I decided that if I didn't do it at the moment, there would be no other chance. But what was the result?

*Tudum!*

My heart beat weakly. My new plan failed. The battle took place, but I couldn't save everyone.

*Tudum!*

Even in the place where I fought back, there was no paradise. Not that I didn't know, because nowhere else in the world was there such a wonderful place.

*Tudum!*

Unlike my weakly beating heart, this guy's heart was no longer beating. But...

"Hikurod, you must prepare for battle.

"I know.

I stood up, using the mace as a staff. Those who stayed had their own jobs. I caught my breath and looked down the aisle. The bastard lifted his body from the inside of the shell, which opened wide like a flower petal.

—…

It was time to end this bloody battle.