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nIt would have been nice if we could knock this guy out in one hit, but after Miki’s spirit fires splashed against him like insect bites, it was clear that it wouldn’t be that easy.

n“Spirit circle!” I shot out a wave of fire, and it only pushed him like a small shove.

nI re-equipped hero as my job. It was no time to worry about levels, I needed the party status boosts. Meanwhile, Lydia continued to hack away at his legs. It might have been more of a desperate situation, but this ghost seemed to move quite slowly. When it swung his arm, it had power, but Lydia was able to easily dodge it. The real issue came with time. Would we tire out before the ghost fell? I downed my third mana potion, continuing to send refresh and occasionally heals to my teammates. Perhaps it was wasteful, but I didn’t have anything else on me. Wait, did I?

nI thought back to all the skills I had gotten recently. I had six or seven more, but I didn’t know what they were. It was maddening. It must have felt like how the first people in this world felt. Every job you had, learning what skill you gained could only come through trial and error.

nNeither Lydia nor Miki knew what skills they had either. People wouldn’t even know their level or job if there wasn’t for a priest. They only learned their jobs from the work and study of those before them. Actually, now that I thought about it, that was a lot more realistic compared to my own world.

nPerhaps, given my unique abilities, this was something I could do for this world if I had time. Once I learned to read and write, I could create a proper guide to skills and jobs. Only I knew the skill names, after all. That could be my life’s work.

nNo, I was getting off topic here. Prolonged fights were exhausting and your mind began to wander if you let it. I wasn’t the only one. Lydia suddenly slipped just as the ghost was raising his arm.

n“Lydia!” Miki shouted.

nI looked at her in horror as his hand was raised up. “Protect!”

nIt was a skill I had gained some time ago, but I wasn’t sure what it did. However, at that moment, it seemed right to use it.

nThe arm smashed down on her and was immediately blocked by a large shield. Then, the pressure of that arm landed on me. Instantly I felt like I had been struck by a massive hit. Leave it to the hero’s skills to be all about self-sacrifice. I felt like every bone in my body was breaking. I collapsed to the ground in a heap.

n“Master!” Miki cried out.

n“Master!” Lydia screamed.

nAh… that was really painful. So, Protect allows you to take the next blow for someone else. I could think of a hundred names that could have conveyed that action better than Protect. Lydia was running to me, ignoring the monster behind her. Miki was throwing spiritual attacks at it. I could feel myself losing consciousness. That hit had truly been a direct one-shot kill kind of blow.

nI was a white mage though. I just had to heal. One moderate heal and… I couldn’t. My mouth couldn’t open to speak the words, and even the thoughts about it disappeared like wind. I felt hot tears splashing over my face, a crying girl holding me in her arms, and then the light dimmed to darkness. Well, if I had to go out, this wasn’t the worst way to go either.

n{Hero has increased to level 11.}

n{Skill Analysis has been unlocked.}

nOh, you bastard. There it is.

n{You have died.}

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