My Gift Is “Beauty”. I Think It’s Useless, but It Seems to Be an S-Rank Gift With the Strongest Buff Effect for Beautiful Girls - Chapter 18.1: A-Rank Adventurer

Chapter 18.1: A-Rank Adventurer

“—Now! Go, Mizuki!”

“Leave it to me!”

A gray-haired magician wearing white robes raises a staff and unleashes a thunderbolt at the giant evil flame dragon “Volcahaze,” which emits a rotten stench. The dragon’s body stiffens, creating a brief opening.

Not missing that chance, a graceful blonde swordswoman clad in silvery armor, her golden hair flowing down her back, grips her longsword tightly and closes in on the massive creature’s neck. With the skill “Vacuum Slash” from her gift “Ten Thousand Blades,” she strikes at the hard scales of “Volcahaze.”

Blood sprays from the neck of “Volcahaze” where the slash hits, but the wound is still shallow.

“—Mizuki, move aside.”

“Got it!”

Then, a girl in a black robe and a large triangular hat— a black-haired magician with neatly trimmed bangs—steps forward. She holds nothing in her hands, but she extends both arms and conjures a massive fireball.

As that enormous magical energy grows rapidly before her, she releases it all at once from her hands.

The fireball hurtles toward “Volcahaze’s” face and hits—or so it seemed—but “Volcahaze” opens its huge mouth and swallows the fireball whole.

“What!?”

Shock runs through the blonde swordswoman.

“The only thing that works for sure is Mizuki’s slash—”

“We’ll support you, so wear it down!”

“Got it! I’m counting on you, Asumi! Haruka!”

Regaining their footing, the three synchronize their breathing and charge at “Volcahaze” once more—

—And so, about an hour passes since the battle began.

“Volcahaze’s” large tail is torn off, its left front leg severed, and even its right eyeball crushed. Blood pours profusely from its body, and anyone can see it’s just a little more effort away from being defeated.

“One last push!”

—On this Christmas day, the three A-rank adventurers from the Tenchi Guild—Mizuki Hosaka, Haruka Akise, and Asumi Shishido—are challenging the boss lurking at the deepest part of a high-tier B-rank dungeon that appeared in Shibuya, Tokyo.

They have the skill to clear dungeons up to mid-tier A-rank without trouble. However, today’s high-tier B-rank dungeon boss is different from usual.

The powerful fire magic unleashed by Asumi Shishido’s gift “Blaze” barely works, making it feel like just the two of them are fighting. Still, it manages to cancel out the flames “Volcahaze” breathes from its mouth, so she’s useful as a wall.

Though they struggle a bit, Mizuki and the others are one step away from defeating “Volcahaze.”

“Haruka!”

“—Here I go!”

Haruka raises her staff to the sky. Then, a thunderbolt from her gift “Heavenly Thunder” rains down on “Volcahaze’s” head. The already battered “Volcahaze” can’t even dodge it and takes a direct hit.

It’s a patterned attack they’ve repeated to deal steady damage—when “Volcahaze’s” body stiffens from the thunderbolt, Mizuki aims for the finishing blow, targeting its thick, scarred neck.

“Yaaaaaaah—!!”

Mizuki activates her skill “Vacuum Slash.” The strike slices through the air and stabs into “Volcahaze’s” neck. And then—

It doesn’t split in two, but it cuts halfway through. A massive amount of blood gushes out, and with a thud, “Volcahaze’s” giant body collapses to the ground. It doesn’t twitch anymore and falls silent—

“Haa… haa… alright…!”

“You did it, Mizuki!”

“Good work, Mizuki.”

Haruka and Asumi approach Mizuki, who lands the final blow.

The three exchange high-fives, thinking about the Christmas victory celebration they plan to have later.

As they turn to collect materials from “Volcahaze,” which should dissolve into magical residue—

“…It’s not disappearing.”

Normally, when a dungeon monster is defeated, its form turns into magical remnants and vanishes into the air, leaving behind items corresponding to the monster that pop up for collection.

But “Volcahaze’s” body, which seemed dead on the ground, hasn’t disappeared yet.

“—No way!?”

“Mizuki?”

Instantly, Mizuki activates her skill “Magic Vision.” This skill lets her see the magic surrounding an opponent. It can even pinpoint weaknesses from the flow of magic and strike them. It’s an excellent skill that can also detect signs of an attack.

Right now, Mizuki’s eyes see a massive amount of magic gathering at “Volcahaze’s” mouth as it lies fallen.

“Danger! Everyone, dodge—”

“—Get out of the way!”

Asumi, who usually doesn’t raise her voice much, steps in front of the two.

Up until now, it’s been Asumi’s fire magic that’s blocked all of “Volcahaze’s” flames.

So, even though Mizuki judged they should dodge instead of defend, Asumi steps forward, thinking she can block it with fire magic.

“No, Asumi! The magic power—!!”

But Mizuki can see it.

Unlike before, an enormous amount of magic is being forged, as if it’s pouring in all its fading life.

“Wall of flames—!”

Asumi raises a huge pillar of fire from the ground.

That’s when it happens. “Volcahaze” breathes out a powerful reddish-black flame from its mouth, stronger than anything before.

“—!!”

Gritting her teeth, Asumi endures “Volcahaze’s” flames. Showing the pride of an A-rank adventurer, she desperately pours magic into the fire pillar.

But—

“Guaaaaaaaah!!”

Overwhelmed by the force of “Volcahaze’s” flames, the fire pillar vanishes, and Asumi’s body is engulfed in the reddish-black fire.

““Asumi—!!””

The moment the fire pillar disappears, Asumi’s action is to protect the two behind her.

So she steps forward alone and takes the full brunt of the flames—

◇ ◇ ◇

“Asumi… Asumi…”

Several hours after the battle with “Volcahaze.”

It’s nine o’clock at night. The surroundings are already pitch dark.

Mizuki and Haruka, who returned from the dungeon, are at a hospital set up by the government for adventurers.

In front of them, Asumi lies on a bed. She’s breathing but unconscious. Her whole body is wrapped in bandages, connected to an IV tube, barely holding onto life.

And her left side, from her face to her feet, is covered in reddish-black burn marks, looking utterly pitiful. What’s more, these burn marks are hot. They feel so scalding that touching them with bare hands might cause burns to spread.

“Why… did this have to happen…?”

“Mizuki…”

Mizuki mutters through tears.

Haruka rubs Mizuki’s back to comfort her.

“Volcahaze” unleashed its final flame and then died, vanishing.

But Asumi, who took the flames, had her hat and robe burned away. She collapsed half-naked.

Thanks to Asumi, Mizuki and Haruka escaped unharmed, but Asumi herself ended up in critical condition.

They rushed her to the hospital and had a high-ranking healer they knew cast healing magic on her.

However, while the burns on her right side healed perfectly, for some reason, the burns on her left side didn’t heal at all.

Most injuries, even burns, can be healed with a healer’s gift. No gift capable of restoring lost limbs has been confirmed in the world yet, but healing wounds is common knowledge among adventurers.

That’s how it’s supposed to be, yet Asumi’s left-side burns wouldn’t heal.

“—Let me see her!”

At that moment, the hospital room door swings open, and a woman steps in.

“F-Fuyutsuki-san!”

It’s Saori Fuyutsuki, a guild staff member—a woman with the gift “Appraisal.”

“—I’ll use ‘Appraisal’!”

“P-Please do! Tell us what condition Asumi is in!”

Mizuki had contacted Fuyutsuki, someone who always helped at the guild, and asked her to come here.

Guild work kept her busy, making it a late hour, but Fuyutsuki still hurried over.

“—Skill ‘Appraisal’”

Fuyutsuki directs her “eyes” toward Asumi, lying on the bed.

“………………”

She stares intently, then closes her eyes once before turning to Mizuki and the others.

“Fuyutsuki-san… how’s Asumi?!”

“…I’ll explain. Shishido-san’s condition is—‘Cursed.’”

Mizuki and Haruka feel their hearts tighten painfully.

“—What?”

The two are stunned.

Fuyutsuki begins explaining slowly.

“A ‘curse’ is like a kind of skill. It clings to her skin, sticks there, and won’t come off. Even healing magic can’t cure it. And though she seems unconscious now, she’s likely feeling tremendous pain.”

“T-That means—”

“This pain is dangerous. If we don’t do something right away, she could die from shock.”

“N-No way…”