This was Lloyd’s soon-to-be new team, heading out on a mission to capture a group of thieves called the Mud Blocks. Cross, the archer, believed they’d succeed if they followed the plan. Silica, the sorceress, reminded everyone to stay cautious — this was a Grade 1 mission, after all. Yui, the leader, was confident they’d manage. Meanwhile, Clum, their current white mage, was distracted — not paying much attention at all.
When the fight started, Silica launched fireballs, forcing the thieves to hide behind wooden boxes. Thinking she’d used up all her mana, the thieves tried to charge her — only to be met with Cross’s arrows, wiping them out cleanly. Yui took down thief after thief, almost getting hit, but Dagas jumped in and blocked the attack. Clum finally snapped out of it and strengthened Dagas with magic, allowing him to toss the thief aside like garbage.
With the thieves defeated, their leader — hiding nearby — started sweating. He thought of escaping, but the adventurers cornered him. Yui told him to surrender quietly. The leader asked who they were but froze when he saw the badge on Yui’s necklace. She proudly declared them S-Rank Adventurers.
Panicking, the thief leader grabbed his staff embedded with a magic stone and summoned a massive stone golem. The team was stunned. Silica predicted their magic wouldn’t be very effective against its rocky body. Cross doubted arrows would help either. The thief leader laughed and ordered the golem to attack.
But Yui stepped up, declaring she’d handle it. She struck the golem, but it did nothing. The golem swung back, and she barely dodged. She asked Clum to cast a body-strengthening spell on her. At first, Clum was still zoned out, but after a repeat request, she obliged. Empowered, Yui struck again — this time smashing the golem to pieces.
After tying up the thieves, Clum apologized to Yui for her distractions. But Yui wasn’t angry — she knew Clum was worried about her younger sister, which explained her recent absences.
Later at the guild, Yui quickly found a replacement white mage — Lloyd — and brought him to the team HQ. Silica was surprised she returned so fast. Cross joked she probably didn’t find anyone, but Yui proudly introduced Lloyd. Dagas was skeptical and asked where the new mage was. Yui pointed to Lloyd and introduced him, but he hadn’t agreed to join yet. Silica saw that coming, and Dagas grumbled that she probably didn’t explain everything to him.
Cross worried they’d have to cancel the next mission since they couldn’t do it without Clum. Dagas doubted Lloyd could fill Clum’s shoes. Silica sympathized but Yui was visibly upset — asking what would happen to their client if they backed out. Lloyd suggested passing the mission to another team, but Silica explained that this was an A-Rank mission — only teams of rank A or higher could accept it. Dagas reminded them that all other high-ranked teams were busy, and since they were S-Rank, it was up to them.
Lloyd was stunned — he didn’t realize they were S-Rank, the highest adventurer rank. Cross added that adventurers can only work with registered teammates, so borrowing someone else wasn’t an option. Lloyd wanted to help but remembered Allen’s harsh words calling him useless, making him hesitate.
However, Yui believed in him. They all went to the forest where Yui asked Lloyd to demonstrate his magic so they could judge his abilities. Nervous, Lloyd feared he’d disappoint them like he did with his last team. Dagas sensed his hesitation and suggested Yui ask him for a specific spell instead of putting him on the spot.
Agreeing, Yui asked him to cast a strengthening spell on all of them at once — which shocked Lloyd. Cross commented that even most white mages can’t do that. Lloyd asked, “If I do this, does that make me officially S-Rank?” Yui confirmed, but added he had to cast it on everyone simultaneously — no taking turns.
Unsure, Lloyd asked for a moment. Then he pulled out his staff, which surprised Yui, and began preparing his magic circles to cast the spell on all of them.
Yui asked Lloyd where he got his staff from, but instead, he pulled out a storage magic trick and asked for their opinion on the strengthening magic he’d just cast. The team was stunned. Dagas couldn’t believe he didn’t notice any signs, and Cross felt his body lighter. Then Yui tested it by striking a tree — and cleanly sliced it down! Everyone stood there, jaws dropped.
Lloyd casually explained that he had cast five spells: body strengthening, defense enhancement, magic power boost, mana consumption reduction, and resistance to negative effects. Yui was flabbergasted — “You did five spells on everyone?!” But Lloyd, thinking a simple strengthening spell was too basic, assumed they wanted something extra. Realizing he might’ve overdone it, he apologized, thinking he wasn’t worthy of being their white mage and offered to leave. But Yui stopped him.
She was shocked to hear that Lloyd was part of the Hero’s Party, though they kicked him out for “lacking power.” Cross couldn’t believe it — how was this guy considered weak? Silica admitted she’d never seen anyone use magic on such a scale before. But Lloyd insisted there were plenty of white mages stronger than him. He suggested they just bring back their previous mage, Clum, instead of relying on him.
But Yui explained that Clum had a very sick younger sister, which had drained her both physically and mentally — they’d all noticed how tired she looked on the last mission. Silica added that Clum herself chose to leave the team, not wanting to burden them. Lloyd finally understood why they needed a replacement. Dagas joked they could go without a white mage, but that would be quite risky. Everyone grew worried about Clum and her sister.
Lloyd asked about her sister’s illness. Yui explained vaguely, but mentioned that the disease turns the body into a magic stone. That rang a bell for Lloyd, recalling his teacher’s lessons. He asked Yui to guide him to Clum’s house.
When they visited, Clum was surprised. Lloyd asked directly about her sister’s condition, so Clum showed him. When she opened the room, a foul mana stench filled the air. Lying there was Sylvie, her sister, visibly turning into a magic stone. Clum said the mana was spiraling out of control, and it was only a matter of time before the transformation completed.
But Lloyd had a theory — he asked if the injury happened in a cave with high mana density. Clum confirmed it was during a mission to retrieve a magic stone. Lloyd inspected Sylvie’s wound and concluded that mana had seeped in from that exact spot. Clum, skeptical, asked how he knew this, and he humbly credited his “ideal teacher.”
Then Clum asked if she could trust Lloyd. He got to work, using a magic circle and a reverse mana transfer spell to absorb the wild mana from Sylvie, though it made him visibly tired. Clum was shocked to see him reshaping a spell on the fly. He explained that he needed to suppress the mana to near zero or any treatment would be pointless.
He combined spells cleverly, albeit with poor mana efficiency, allowing him to burn off the excess mana while healing. Both Yui and Clum were amazed. Yui was especially stunned to see Sylvie’s limbs recovering. Eventually, Lloyd succeeded in fully healing her — and Sylvie woke up, calling for her sister. Clum burst into tears of relief and gratitude.
She thanked Lloyd, saying once Sylvie fully recovered, she might adventure again. Yui thought that was for the best. Clum promised to treat them to their next meal, and Yui and Lloyd said their goodbyes. But before Lloyd left, Clum told him she was sure the team would be safe with him and asked him to take care of them — even though he wasn’t officially on the team yet.
Later at the tavern, the team celebrated. Dagas praised Lloyd for healing Sylvie. Yui teased Lloyd for being so humble despite his achievement, giving him a playful smack. Lloyd was just happy that Sylvie was safe, though Clum wouldn’t be returning to the team. Silica noted they needed to plan for their future, but Cross was just happy to celebrate.
Dagas then asked what they’d want if given a second life. Silica shyly said she’d like to be a wife. In the middle of the fun, Lloyd surprised everyone by asking to officially join their team — on the condition that they didn’t mind having someone like him. Dagas thought he was against the idea, but Cross was thrilled. Silica said Lloyd’s presence was reassuring.
Yui warmly welcomed him to the team, shaking his hand. She declared it was time for a welcome party! Lloyd insisted it wasn’t necessary, but Yui wasn’t having it — “That’s just how things are done!” She cheekily asked if he’d follow her, and while the rest thought she just wanted an excuse to party, Yui insisted she was being serious.
