"How am I supposed to carry something this big back with me? With all that new power I just got I might be able to lift it, but the hole in the barrier isn't going to be big enough."
Saorin chuckles before saying:
"Just distort the space around it to make it small and easy to carry."
What?
She continues:
"Pay attention to the way I use my magic. Since you're like us, you shouldn't have any trouble imitating it."
She raises a hand towards the carcass of the wyvern. I can detect the strands of magic attaching themselves to the very space around it, and then compressing it. Before my bewildered eyes, reality folds, turning the giant body into a small transparent bead distorting the light that passes through it.
I don't know why this worked, but I could probably replicate the process on something else. This would definitely be useful to carry a bunch of things.
She gives me the bead before saying:
"You should be able to undo the magic and release the wyvern's body. Just make sure there's enough room around it when you do."
I nod and grab the strange object. I can feel the magical threads holding it, and I'm confident I could disrupt them, but now is not the right time.
Ibellir then says:
"Alright Matt, I think we kept you around long enough. We might meet again soon, but hopefully you have a better understanding of your power now."
"I do. Thanks for everything. I'll look forward to our next meeting."
"Can you make it home by yourself? Simply go back to the Gate, enter it, and then exit it like you're used to."
"I think I'll be able to manage."
And with that, I head towards the dungeon, waving goodbye to the five Witches.
In a year, I'll have become a lot stronger, and I'll help them with something. They seemed to all be friends with each other... Having strong friends like that must be nice. Too bad we live in different worlds.
I follow Ibellir's instructions, and manage to open a gate back to my world. As I cross it, I see the sun just starting to rise above the horizon. I stayed up all night.
Evelyn is sleeping nearby, still wearing her armor, laying against a rock. If I had known it would take this long, I'd have told her to not wait for me.
I gently shake her. She wakes up, takes a moment to realize that she was sleeping outside, then sees me and gets angry at me.
"Why did it take you so long? I even fell asleep!"
"Ah, sorry about that. I didn't think you would be waiting for me."
"I wanted to be sure you were fine. Our situation was a bit unusual but you're not supposed to leave an adventurer behind in a dungeon."
"Yeah, of course. Sorry, again."
She calms down a bit.
"Anyway, I'm glad you're back. While I have you here, would you mind exchanging contact information? You're a lot stronger than me, and I figure I might need your help again."
"Yeah, of course."
While I'm stronger than her, she's officially higher level than me, and she's seen me fight. Being able to contact her might come in handy. And if she ever needs help with a dungeon again, I'll be happy to help.
We grab each other's phone and enter our information.
"Thanks. I should go get ready for class, see you around!"
Ah! Class. I'm so screwed.
When I enter the dormitory, I see Cal eating breakfast, already dressed and ready to go.
"Got a morning class?"
With a spoon full of cereals in his mouth, he answers:
"Yeah. The other two are still sleeping so don't make too much noise, alright?"
"Of course."
I head to my bedroom, put my sword down in its usual corner, and take a look at my clothes.
The slime's acid definitely caused some damage. There are multiple holes over my shirt, and while my pants fared a bit better, they look extremely worn in a few places. I'm really going to need to invest in an armor, or at the very least in sturdier adventuring clothes infused with magic. I'm going through what I brought from home way too fast.
The fact that I haven't relieved myself at all during an entire night suddenly catches up to me as I feel a need to use the bathroom. I leave my room and head there.
As I empty my bladder, I notice that things feel slightly different than usual in my hand. Must be because I'm really tired.
I manage to make it to class despite barely being able to stand. I fall asleep to the monotone voice of the teacher, and only wake up when the sound of every student getting up to leave drags me out of my slumber.
I manage to make my way back to my room, where I let myself fall on my bed and immediately go back to sleep.
I'm woken back up by my phone vibrating in my pocket. I get up, feeling better but still tired, and take a look outside the room. Looks like the sun went down already.
I grab my phone and look at the notification that woke me up.
"Thanks again for saving us from that wyvern. Here's your pay for the dungeon clear, along with a little bonus. Enjoy!"
That "little" bonus is several thousands of dollars. With that, I'll probably finally be able to afford sturdier clothes.
Now that I know more about my power and know that I'm not actually a monster or going to lose control, I should probably contact the NAA and try to get my actual level recognized. The hospital's machines aren't going to be able to give anything other than a "0", but we can still get an approximation.
That implies revealing that I'm Aurora, which is a bit embarrassing, but I'm never going to be able to use my full strength and clear dungeons appropriate for my level otherwise. After having killed that wyvern, who knows where I stand now?
I get up and head to the bathroom to brush my teeth. While I'm doing so, I notice that my reflection looks a bit different from usual. My arm muscles seem to be slightly more... subtle now. I get that I haven't trained in a few weeks, but am I already losing muscle mass? Fortunately, there's a gym available to students here, so I'll just start going a few times a week. Shouldn't take me too long to gain that back.
