The next day.

We entered the dungeon from morning.

"Today we'll hunt, but I also want to raise my proficiency in Reifrea's spirit magic."

"Proficiency...? I suppose it's true that spirit magic improves with practice. But I've already used it quite a bit, haven't I? At least more than my younger sister."

"Everyone's different."

I myself barely remember what the fourth spell even was—I picked them up all at once.

I don't understand why Reifrea struggles so much with learning spells.

But if you use them correctly and repeatedly, a path will surely open.

In fact, that's really all we can do.

First off, the light technique... I think that's what 'Lumen Manifest' is, and I believe being able to fully master it is essential. Even I, who possess 'Umbran Manifest'—originally called Dark Mist—found that relying solely on Dark Mist caused various other techniques to emerge.

"I see... Indeed, during exploration, I mostly used Cure Glow and hardly ever relied on light."

"Prioritizing healing spells over using a torch as a substitute for light is only natural, but perhaps that's where the mistake began?"

Once we reached the third layer, there was no need to use light at all.

That only made us rely even more on Cure Glow.

It's like how I'd be stuck using only Shadow Runner without ever trying Dark Mist. Thinking about it that way, it makes sense why my proficiency didn't improve and I couldn't unlock other techniques.

It was just a gut feeling, but I had an odd sense of certainty. There was a difference in how the Darkness Fog felt compared to other spells when using them. It was hard to put into words, but the Darkness Fog alone felt like summoning—or even creating—the spirit of darkness itself.

"But you've used Light quite a bit too, haven't you? It's useful in the second layer."

"Wasn't that just used as a substitute for torches?"

"Huh... yeah, but..."

It must be that fighting in combat is the real key.

Well, I guess I'll just try it out.

"Refray, is it only five uses per day? The spell."

"Y-yes."

"Then, before heading to the third layer, let's use Light in the second layer to defeat some monsters. How about ogres?"

With that decided, we moved on.

We skipped the first layer and arrived at the second.

Knowing about the third layer makes the second layer seem dark and damp, and it's clear why it's called a dungeon prison—just like a labyrinth, really.

"So, I was wondering, is the light spell just bright, or does it cause damage through heat as well?"

"It's just bright. Like Hikaru's darkness, it has no physical form."

Then, combining it with my own darkness could make for a very powerful technique.

"By the way, when we first met, your light from Refreia erased my darkness—was that because your magic was stronger?"

"Impossible! My magic couldn't possibly erase Hikaru's. That was an 'attribute override.' Light and darkness are opposing elements, and whichever is cast second always prevails. Apparently, light and darkness spirits are said to be the same entity, and that's why it works this way?"

"Winning by releasing it later...? Seriously?"

"I'm actually more surprised that Hikaru didn't know that."

I thought spirit magic was powerful and convenient, but it has an incredibly serious weakness.

If Dark Fog gets dispelled, it could be a fatal blow for me.

Still, since monsters with light attributes are probably rare, that might be a silver lining.

"You don't need to worry so much—only techniques of the same type can overwrite each other, right? The only ones that are both light and dark are Manifestation, Illusion, and Summoning. Well, Illusion just creates a copy near you, so it doesn't really matter in terms of overwrite."

"I see... "

It's good that other techniques aren't easily erased, but I should definitely keep in mind that Dark Fog can be reliably dispelled by Light.

For me, Darkness Fog is truly a lifeline.

◇◆◆◆◇

Walking around casually, scattering goblins and orcs, I spot an ogre.

Two of them, both armed. Quite a formidable enemy.

"Just one more thing—Reflia herself isn't affected by light, right?"

"Eh, yes. I can benefit from brighter light, but it doesn't feel blinding."

"Alright, then—when I give the signal, aim your light at the ogres, then strike with your sword. We won't know until we try, so let's keep experimenting."

"Y-yes!"

I use Darkness Fog to move stealthily through the shadows, closing in on the two ogres huddled together, expanding the darkness to envelop both of them.

The two-tiered monsters, despite prowling through the dark levels, rely solely on sight and cannot handle the pitch-black darkness akin to Dark Fog. Perhaps it wouldn't have mattered if it were Dark Mist instead.

The ogres, blinded and panicking, are unable to see.

If they have companions, they hesitate to swing their weapons, suggesting they might actually have a sense of camaraderie.

The effect of Dark Fog extends up to a maximum radius of ten meters.

I maintained a distance of nearly the full ten meters from the ogres and signaled Reflair.

"Now!"

"Yes! Light!"

Instantly dispelling the darkness of Dark Fog, a blinding light sphere appeared directly before the ogres' eyes.

"Ugaaah!"

The two ogres writhed in agony, blinded by the sudden brightness.

"It's working!"

As expected, the monsters relying on sight are effectively disabled.

Darkness and light are two sides of the same coin. If darkness works, then light must work too— that's how it should be.

The ogres are disoriented, nearly dropping their weapons.

It's like suddenly being forced to stare directly at the sun after being in pitch darkness. A human would be blinded for a while, unable to see anything.

In battle, this is an overwhelming advantage. The outcome is effectively decided right here.

Incidentally, I blocked the light with my arm, so I'm fine.

"Shadow Bind!"

There shouldn't be any issues, but just to be safe, I restrained both ogres with binding magic.

Binding is typically a technique that affects only one target, but it can also be expanded to cover a wider area. However, in such cases, the restraining power becomes significantly weaker, and an ogre would break free within about two seconds.

But two seconds is enough.

With their eyes locked and their bodies immobilized, the ogres are mercilessly slaughtered by Refirea as she swings her greatsword in rapid succession.

　

As expected, the result was predictable—but judging by this, even without my technique, an opponent could likely be intimidated using the same method.

It's an incredibly versatile ability, yet one might never have thought to use such a binding technique, with its limited daily usage of only five times per day, to single-handedly defeat an ogre, as Refirea does.

"Well, it's kind of like what we usually do, but this is what actually using a technique in battle feels like. I guess if you practiced this every day, you'd get reasonably skilled over time."

I couldn't exactly boast about it, but I did have more information—after all, I knew that there was a status board showing skill level.

And I knew what kinds of conditions made improvement easier.

"Y-yes, I really do feel like I managed to use the technique more smoothly now... I never thought I'd actually use this technique in real combat... I used to think all techniques besides Photon Ray were just minor, supporting extras."

"About the extras... Refleia, I haven't seen many other techniques either, but I think 'Manifest' is the most essential and fundamental technique, while the others are just accessories. Even my own abilities— I wouldn't miss the others, but I couldn't do without Darkness Manifest—Darkness Fog."

"Y-yes... I see... That's right..."

Come to think of it, the first time we met, Refleia had called Light's ability boring. That's probably where the misunderstanding started.

Then, the spirit of light won't lend us its power either.