Afterlife Dream

I tightened my grip around my wand and raised it above my head.

"Holy Arrow!" I shouted.

The wand in my hand turned into a golden bow with a shiny string. I pulled at the string and a magical arrow appeared. I released it into the sky.

"OOGA!! OOGAAAA!!!"

"Come here!" I shouted, mid-healing. "Come close to me!!!!"

I sensed the Waikiki tribespeople nearing, pressing close to where I was. When I thought I got everyone, I shouted, "Purification!!!"

Right after I cast the spell, a blinding ball of light emerged at the tip of my wand. It grew bigger and bigger, then it rose up into the sky and exploded with a bang. Following the bang, a translucent, golden layer started to spread as it moved downward. The end result was a protective dome that purified everything and everyone underneath. It even dispelled all the poison balls that the explorers were throwing at us!

"Alright!" I shouted happily and healed everyone as quickly as possible.

"OOGA!!!" one of the tribespersons shouted.

The others also shouted in unison, "OOGA BOOGAAA!!!"

Before I could stop them, they already ran forward to continue fighting the explorers.

"WAIT DON'T LEAVE THE DOME!!!" I screamed to no avail.

In the end, I too ran to the front, trying to pull them back.

And then I noticed something unusual. The dome. The dome was moving with me.

...

Oh. Purification was the best spell ever, you guys.

"Dear [Healer], congratulations on your success in making use of the new [Holy Priest] skill, [Purification]. The Poison Master has retreated from the battle.

Both parties had decided to send their strongest warrior to fight each other to determine victory and defeat. You and Waikiki Tribe Chief Mahi-Mahi will represent the Waikiki Tribe. Explorer Mark James and Nurse Betty Hayes will represent the explorers."

The cloud of smoke around us dissipated into thin air. My purification dome subsequently faded without leaving any trace. The hundred something Waikiki tribesmen disappeared, and a hunk of at least two meters in height appeared next to me. He had long curly hair, and he looked especially fierce with a long, pointy spear. It must be the Waikiki Tribe Chief, Mahi-Mahi.

As the poisonous smoke cloud disappeared, I squinted at what was lying in front of us. The many explorers had also disappeared. In their place stood two people who were clothed in the same safari clothing as the other explorers. Explorer Mark James was a tall, blond guy who was wearing spectacles with gold-rimmed glasses. He had a lightsaber in one hand and a light shield in another hand. Next to her was Nurse Betty Hayes. She was one head shorter than her partner. Her long red, curly hair was pulled up into a ponytail. She was holding a notebook and a fountain pen in her hands, ready to make notes.

I had learned my lessons from a lot of party quests. Rule number one for all Healers and High Priests and Bishops : you must give your teammates Divine Guard before they even think about attacking the opponents. Most people did not die when they did not have Divine Guard, but they all would first blame the Healer when they died due to an unfortunate encounter with an extra-strong boss.

Yep.

I thus cast Divine Guard over both me and Mahi-Mahi. While I was still giving myself Mana Guard, he already charged ahead with our usual Waikiki Tribe battle cry.

"BOOGAAAAAA!!!"

I quickly followed after him after shouting the same battle cry.

Don't look at me like that. Have you never been swayed by the war spirit? No? Okay, never mind.

Explorer Mark James also ran toward Mahi-Mahi and the two warriors met in the middle of the battlefield. The spear clashed against the lightsaber with a loud clang. Both of them were equally strong, and they were gnashing their teeth at each other. I thought that I was supposed to handle Betty Hayes, but the nurse did not have any interest to fight me.

Instead, she started to spin around and twirl her fountain pen above her head. It turned into a staff and she made a cute high-pitch sound when the staff was properly in her grip.

Betty pointed her staff at Mark James. I did not know what she did, but bright fluffy balls of light started to flow from the end of her staff and entered Mark James' body. Right after that, Mark James let out a roar and he threw Mahi-Mahi backward.

I ripped my eyes open in shock. The Waikiki Tribe Chief slammed hard against a nearby palm tree and the tree broke into two. I quickly rushed to his side to heal him. That one attack drained half of his HP. After healing Mahi-Mahi, I stared at Betty Hayes. She was doing her funny dance again and sent more light balls into Mark James' body.

I squinted at Mark James. The explorer seemed to have grown taller. He was a lot shorter than Mahi-Mahi before, but now he was almost the same height as Mahi-Mahi. I ran next to Mahi-Mahi without taking my eyes off the dancing and spinning Betty Hayes.

It was not only my imagination. Every time Betty Hayes produced the eerie light balls and they entered Mark James' body, Mark James grew... bigger. By now, the lightsaber looked like a stick in Mark James' big hands. The real enemy was not Mark James. The real enemy was Betty Hayes.

The next time Mahi-Mahi got hit he lost 75% HP. I cursed in my heart. When I saw Betty Hayes doing her dance again, I quickly shot a Holy Arrow at her. The arrow successfully interrupted her. She stared at me and started to run away.

...

I healed Mahi-Mahi then I started to pursue Betty Hayes. Although I teleported all around the map, I still did not manage to kill her. She had high HP.

Using my peripheral vision, I saw that Mahi-Mahi was slowly getting overwhelmed by Mark James. I rushed toward Mahi-Mahi to heal him.

Not sure what really came to my mind at the moment, but I suddenly cast Mana Guard on myself. It might be pure instinct, but it was what saved me. Betty Hayes suddenly stopped running and started attacking me with her staff.

Magical balls brimming with power emerged at the tip of her staff and shot at me like a bunch of baseball balls during baseball practice. I had my back facing her, so I did not see the balls coming at all. These balls were designed to drain my HP although Mana Guard was still active. As a result, I almost died. If I had not dropped to the ground and rolled to my side, the last magical ball would hit me, and then the test would be over.

I gritted my teeth.

Between saving myself and saving Mahi-Mahi, which one should I pick?

"Damn it!" I cursed under my breath.

I rose to my feet and ran toward Mahi-Mahi. Betty Hayes kept attacking me, but I was better prepared by now. I could not tell you guys how proud I was of my agility. Only a few magical balls managed to hit me, so the damage was not that serious. In between running, I still managed to heal.

When I finally reached a Mahi-Mahi with only 20% HP left, Betty Hayes stopped attacking me and moved toward Mark James. I knew what she wanted to do. Not again.

"Holy Arrow!" I shouted while pointing my transformed wand at Betty Hayes and shooting at her. I unleased three arrows one after another. The nurse let out a shriek when the arrows hit her, but they did not make any damage at all. Was Betty Hayes invincible??? Why did her HP bar not go down at all???

I opened my user interface screen and checked the High Priest's skill tree again. There had to be a skill that I could use in this situation, or else I would not even make it to the last stage!

My finger trembled as I went through the list. While I was busy healing Mahi-Mahi, Betty Hayes started to perform her funny dance again.

My heart pounded against my chest rapidly. After receiving another buff from Betty Hayes, Mark James would be able to 1HKO both of us.

Wait. Buff???

I almost fainted when it dawned on me. Of course. Betty Hayes had been buffing Mark James. She most likely had something similar to Mana Guard, which explained why her HP remained intact throughout my attack. There was indeed one skill I could use in this situation, and it was the solution to all my problems at the moment.

I waited until Betty Hayes was done with her move. The buffed-up Mark James meanwhile had grown taller than Mahi-Mahi. He roared angrily into the sky before he approached me and Mahi-Mahi. I stepped between Mahi-Mahi and our enemies bravely. Then, I pointed my wand at both Mark James and Betty Hayes and shouted, "Dispel!!!!"