This time in the dungeon, the system had originally assigned Mylora a clear task: gather as much intel as possible, head toward the areas where other teams had found traces of the boss, and lock down its exact location as fast as she could.

But not only had she failed to do that...

She also felt like she was stuck between Torina and the system, awkward all over.

For example, when facing the parasite-infested lizardman... a lizardman wrapped in a giant centipede...

[Mylora, use the swordsmanship I taught you. You can't bring out its true power yet, but for your future, you need to adapt to it in real combat as soon as possible.]

That was the system's advice. It was always like that, a little overbearing.

"Mylora-chan, why not consider my guidance? This is the sword style that suits you better. Getting through the trial in front of you is what matters most."

That was Torina's advice. Very gentle, but also very suspicious.

So when the parasite-infested lizardman pounced, Mylora first forced herself to block its claws with the "guard counter & parry counter" techniques from Tataria-style swordsmanship. But then the centipede on its body suddenly struck, trying to peck at her head with its sharp mouthparts. According to the system, she should've chained parries to throw it off balance, then finished it. But the hand holding her sword was still numb. What was she supposed to do—

"Mylora! Slide step!"

Torina's shout made her move on instinct. She used a slide step to evade, reset her stance, then slashed off the centipede's head with a backhand swing. After a few more dodges, she finally cut across the lizardman's throat.

Victory.

"Haa..."

Mylora let out a breath of relief.

"Good, good. Nice work. In a fight, what's important is cutting things down. Don't do anything unnecessary. Short, clean, fast—that's the right answer."

Torina patted her on the shoulder in approval.

[Why didn't you follow my instructions? Did you forget that you're supposed to stay wary of her?]

The system, however, was unhappy.

(I-I know that! That was just instinct! I didn't mean anything by it!)

The fights that followed were the same.

Every encounter, the system and Torina gave her different advice. The system wanted her to master its sword style through real combat as quickly as possible. As long as she got through the painful adjustment period, she'd be unstoppable later. Torina, meanwhile, told her to use whatever worked, and was more than happy to teach her simpler, easier combat techniques.

[Perfect block, then attack its lower body.]

"Don't meet it head-on. I'll make an opening for you."

[Hack at the weak point. If the force is enough, it'll work.]

"Don't force it yet. Circle around a bit."

[Pull back and wait for it to come to you.]

"Now's your chance. Go!"

Back and forth, over and over, she felt like she was about to split in half—

But on the other hand, her kill count hit a new personal record. Aside from Annawiel nitpicking and muttering a few complaints, no one else said much. Ji Xue even secretly gave her a thumbs-up.

By nightfall, this dungeon run finally came to an end. At night, Amana Forest filled with miasma and swarms of insects, making exploration unsuitable. Most adventurer groups returned to town before dark, and the Shepherd Moon Adventurers were no exception.

Back at the inn, everyone went off to do their own thing. Torina went to the Adventurers' Guild to turn in quests, simple monster-clearing and herb-gathering jobs they'd finished along the way. Annawiel went to the shops to sell the monster materials they didn't need. Naji and Lindas, the two with the worst stamina, immediately went to wash up and sleep. Ranifi was chugging drinks at the bar. Ji Xue and Patti went to the blacksmith to maintain their gear. As for Lachesis, no one knew where she'd wandered off to.

"So tired..."

Mylora slumped weakly over the table. Today had really worn her out. Being personally coached all day by that yuri woman had drained her mentally to an absurd degree.

But...

Why?

Why did it feel... kind of fulfilling?

When they left the dungeon this time, aside from Annawiel's bad attitude, no one had scolded her. That probably wasn't just because Torina had thrown out harsh words earlier. It was also because... she really had performed better than before.

Being part of the team like this, without thinking about "future plans," "training in ancient ultra-difficult swordsmanship," or "finding the lord as soon as possible"... just going on an adventure and fighting monsters for the sake of it...

Honestly, that didn't feel so bad.

[As your strategic analysis support system, I must remind you that the fact you're having thoughts like this means Torina Dewell is starting to succeed. You are indulging in comfort,] the system commented mercilessly.

"I am not! I just... I'm just trying something new—"

"Oh? What are you muttering to yourself about?"

"!!"

Torina suddenly walked over after finishing her errands. She sat down across from Mylora with easy familiarity, carrying a plate of delicious little pastries.

"I... wasn't talking to myself. You heard wrong."

"Then let's go with that. Anyway, no one came to bother you just now, right?"

"Not for now..."

"So, how did today's dungeon exploration feel?"

"So-so..."

Mylora covered her face in a sulky little gesture, not wanting Torina to see that she was actually a bit happy.

"Then that means it went well. This run cleared out some of the small quests we'd piled up before, so we can rest for a few days now."

"Uh, but—"

"How about one-on-one lessons for the next few days? House Dewell's inherited swordsmanship has plenty of techniques that are practical and easy to learn. The sword style you're using now is way too strange. It doesn't look suited for real combat at all."

"But the swordsmanship I'm using now, for me—"

"For you, it's exhausting and inefficient, isn't it?"

"Th-this swordsmanship is special! It'll be useful later, once I get stronger!"

"'Later'... how much later are we talking about? I can help you with everything I have right now, and yet you'd rather place your hopes on some vague 'later'?"

"............"

For that instant, Mylora really did waver.

But the moment the system sensed it, it spoke up at once:

[Did you forget that this woman can't be trusted? She has countless chances to harm you under the excuse of helping you. Trusting me is enough. As long as you endure this brief painful phase and obtain the Mage Tower key, you'll have your ticket onto the path of the strong!]

"Uh... right! Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river—I won't stay beneath others forever! The path I'm walking is the path of the strong! I have my own ideas, so I don't need you, Captain, telling me what to do!"

"Wow, that's such a cringey, hot-blooded line. But did you actually come up with that yourself, or did someone else feed it to you?"

"Eh............"

Mylora's expression froze like she'd choked on her own words. Torina, who had read the original story, naturally knew that half those lines had been generated by the system using big data. She shrugged and said:

"This might make me sound like a hypocrite, but I sincerely hope you'll try opening your heart a little. Don't push yourself so hard. Don't let this so-called desire to become stronger drive you into doing things that go against your own feelings. I mean that."

"What's wrong with wanting to become stronger? Don't look down on me!"

"But honestly speaking, are you happy like this?"

"Does being happy even matter!?"

"If your path to becoming strong isn't happy, then what's the point of becoming stronger at all?"

"Of course I'm happy!"

"Really? But have you actually thought about what it means?"

"...!"

Mylora was speechless again.

The system kept chirping at her nonstop, but she had no attention to spare for it. Torina really had stumped her.

Why did she want to become stronger?

Because she had grown up in poverty, and wanted to change her circumstances.

Because she admired the heroes of epic tales, and wanted to achieve something great.

And why did she want to change her circumstances and achieve something great?

Because that would let her live with dignity, with a sense of accomplishment, with peace of mind.

Dignity. Accomplishment. Peace of mind.

Put simply...

Wasn't that just "happiness"?

"See?"

As if she had seen straight through her thoughts, Torina gently took her hand. She rubbed Mylora's pale hand with her own soft cheek, then whispered:

"There are so many things you haven't experienced. Ordinary happiness. Easy, peaceful everyday life. From now on, I'll teach them to you one by one. So... why don't we start by being friends, okay?"