Chapter 13: Let’s Check Our Status.
"Zephyrus, you promised yesterday you’d help me with magic! Time to make good on it!"
"Lana, can’t you at least ask a little nicer than that?"
"I–It’s fine! You promised, didn’t you?"
"Yeah, yeah, I’ll keep my promise. But next time, try asking in a cute, spoiled way."
"Wha—!? L-Like I’d ever do something like that!"
Honestly, I think Lana’s got some serious tsundere talent.
I actually love watching her panic like this… though I’d love to see her act spoiled just once, too.
"What are you doing? Don’t tease Princess Lana."
"No, I was kind of being serious though…"
"Then.....shall I be the one to act spoiled instead?"
"…Sierra? Spoil me?"
I tried imagining it. Cool, refined Sierra, who always gives off that perfect secretary vibe, suddenly links her arm with mine and says, "Zephyrus, I love you."
…Wait, is that a reward event? Uh, how much do I need to pay for that? Do I even have enough money left?
"Please, by all means, I’d like to experience that sometime!"
"…I was joking, you know? More importantly, could you explain jobs to me as well?"
"Of course, of course! Ask me anything—you’ll get the full lecture!"
"Hey! I told you to teach me first, remember? Or I’ll cry!"
Lana, practically on the verge of tears already, scooted closer.
I said I’d teach you! Just how needy is this princess?
"When Lady Lana and Lady Sierra are finished, I’d like your guidance as well."
"Zephyrus-kun, could I ask you too?"
"I know, I know—I’ll teach everyone, don’t worry."
"Zephyrus is so popular."
"Kalua, I’ll help you too, so hang in there, alright? If you assign your points on a whim, you might regret it later."
"Mm. I’ll wait."
Thanks to yesterday’s boss farming, Lana, Sierra, and Ester all reached Job Lv20.
That means their second-tier <Skill> and <Magic> trees have been unlocked.
From here on, their SUP and SP will have to be allocated carefully, based on dungeon needs, to optimize their stats, skills, and magic.
And since that’s way too much to explain on paper, today turned into a study session.
"First up is Lana. Rejoice—you were stuck just buffing and doing minor healing before, right? Well, now you get offensive magic too, so expect more screen time."
"Really!?"
Bam! Lana slammed the desk and leaned forward.
"Lady Lana, that is unseemly."
Ester quickly scolded her. Guess she really was overjoyed.
The 【Saint】 job also has an offensive caster side.
Jobs like 【White Mage】 or 【Priest】 mainly heal and buff, with only a touch of attack magic. But their higher-tier job, 【Saint】, can wield some pretty strong offensive spells, making them viable attackers.
Not a full damage dealer, of course—but still useful.
At Lv20, she unlocks 『Blade of Light』 and 『Pillar of Light』. Both are mid-tier spells, with solid power, and extremely handy.
And then there’s the broken one: 『Prayer of Mass Healing』. A full-party heal with regeneration attached. The MP cost is massive, but combined with her unique skill, she basically becomes unstoppable.
She should also grab 『Rain of Life』, a pure party-wide regen spell. Unlike 『Prayer』 or 『Wish』 types, it doesn’t heal instantly, but over time. Still, with her unique skill boosting it, the healing speed doubles—basically pouring out heals nonstop.
Next up—the must-have: resurrection. 『Miracle of Resurrection』. Just like it sounds, it revives a KO’d party member.
Her unique skill doesn’t apply here, so she’ll need to raise Magic Lv to boost recovery amount—otherwise the revived ally might just collapse again. Higher Magic Lv also reduces MP cost and cooldown, so it’s worth investing in.
Don’t forget 『Prayer of Purification』 either—it cures status effects. Not super important in Beginner Level, where you barely encounter those, but once you hit Intermediate Level, enemies start throwing them around, and by Advanced Level, they’re everywhere. It’s an essential spell.
At first, the MP cost is brutal, but as usual, raising Magic Lv reduces it. Still, spending SP on this would be a waste—just unlocking it for use is fine.
Finally, the core passives that all magic jobs must have: 『MP Auto-Recovery』 and 『MP Cost Reduction』.
MP management is life-or-death for casters.
That about sums up Lana’s magic. I also gave her directions for stat distribution and explained the future build plan.
We wrote out her completed status sheet by hand. Normally, you’d need a <Crystal Dragon Statue> to view another person’s stats, but since we don’t have one in the guild room, paper will have to do.
And here’s the status sheet we ended up with for Lana.
――――――――――
Name: Lana
Race (Category): "Royalty", "Princess", "Female"
Job: 【Saint】 Lv12 → Lv20
SUP (Status Upgrade Points): 21 points gained
Restrictions: <RES +5 or INT +5>
【HP 90/90 → 94/94】
【MP 210/210 → 340/340】
【STR 10】
【VIT 10 → 30】
【INT 60 → 110】
【RES 110 → 150】
【AGI 20 → 30】
【DEX 22 → 30】
【SUP 0P → 168P → 0P】
【SP 0P → 8P → 0P】
《Skills》
『Luck』
『MP Auto-Recovery LV1』 (new)
『MP Cost Reduction LV1』 (new)
《Magic》
『Prayer of Healing LV1』
『Wish for Healing LV1』
『Prayer of Mass Healing LV1』 (new)
『Rain of Life LV1』 (new)
『Miracle of Resurrection LV1』 (new)
『Prayer of Purification LV1』 (new)
『Blessing of the Lion LV1』
『Blessing of the Holy Magic LV1』
『Blessing of Protection LV1』
『Blessing of Magic Resistance LV1』
『Blessing of Swiftness LV1』
『Blade of Light LV1』 (new)
『Pillar of Light LV1』 (new)
《Unique Skill》
『The Saint’s Everlasting Prayer LV10』
《Equipment》
<Talisman of Compassion> Both Hands
『Healing Boost LV5』
<Saint’s Full Set> Head, Body 1, Body 2, Arms, Legs
――――――――――
"Looking good."
I glanced over the memo and gave a single nod.
With an INT of 110, she’d do just fine as a sub magic attacker.
Since she’d been saving up her SP from Job Lv.12 onward, most of the <Magic> abilities could now be activated. I wanted to push 『Miracle of Resurrection』 up to Lv.5, but we ran out of SP—so this is as far as we go for now. The rest, she’ll just have to raise little by little.
The 【Saint】 job has so many great <Magic> options that it’s honestly hard to choose.
But if you try to max out everything, you’ll definitely burn out, so it’s best to narrow it down from here.
Anyway, that wraps things up for Lana.
Alright—next!
"My turn, right?"
Next up was Sierra.
For the 【Shield Princess】, the second-tier skill tree unlocks two aggro-drawing <Skills>.
『Guard Stance』 and 『Shield Smite』.
Unlike 『Provoke』, 『Guard Stance』 indiscriminately pulls aggro from everything in range, so it needs to be handled carefully.
Up until now, Sierra had been cleverly using 『Provoke』 to grab hate from three out of four monsters, leaving the last one to the attackers. But 『Guard Stance』 builds hate on every enemy in the fight, so you lose that fine control.
Still, it’s incredibly useful against long-range foes out of 『Provoke』’s reach, so we’ll take it.
From here on, we’ll be facing more bow-users and casters anyway.
The other skill, 『Shield Smite』, is a single-target attack skill. Meaning it only generates hate from one enemy.
That makes it perfect for bosses. The catch is, the attack actually has to land. So the safest way to use it is on an enemy you’re already tanking, to avoid mishaps. Its range is narrow too, so it’s not something you’d want to spam.
Naturally, we’ll pick this one up as well.
After that, I made sure she got the elemental cut skills and status resistance-type skills.
『Fire Guard』, 『Freeze Guard』, 『Thunder Guard』, 『Light Guard』, 『Chaos Guard』—five defensive skills. These skills are great for tanking monsters with elemental attacks.
Even at Level 1, they cut elemental damage by 20%, which is pretty solid.
Oh, and they’re active skills—not passive. If they were passive at that strength, they’d be completely busted.
Finally, there’s 『Status Ailment Resistance』. That’s the same ability included in the passive set bonus of my <Sky Series> gear. If the tank gets hit with a status effect, it's game over, so she’ll need to prioritize leveling this to 10. For now, we’ll just activate it.
Mine’s stuck at Lv3, which sucks. I really wanna level it up to 10 too!
Anyway, with all that handled, she filled out her stat sheet. Here's how Sierra looks now:
――――――――――
Name: Sierra
Race (Category): "Count", "Princess", "Female"
Job: 【Shield Princess】 Lv12 → Lv20
SUP (Stat Upgrade Points): 20 points gained
Restriction: (VIT +5 or RES +5)
【HP 228/228 → 410/410】
【MP 110/110 → 140/140】
【STR 20 → 30】
【VIT 100 → 110】
【INT 10】
【RES 40 → 100】
【AGI 20 → 25】
【DEX 20 → 25】
【SUP 0P → 160P → 0P】
【SP 0P → 8P → 0P】
《Skills》
『Provoke LV5』
『Guard Stance LV1』 (new)
『Shield Smite LV1』 (new)
『Shield Bash LV1』
『Cover Shield LV1』
『Fire Guard LV1』 (new)
『Freeze Guard LV1』 (new)
『Thunder Guard LV1』 (new)
『Light Guard LV1』 (new)
『Chaos Guard LV1』 (new)
『Status Ailment Resistance LV1』 (new)
『Shield Guard Technique LV5』
『Flowing Shield Technique LV5』
『Luck』
《Magic》
None
《Unique Skill》
Not yet obtained
《Equipment》
<Steel-Flower Mace> (Right Hand)
『Normal Attack Power Boost Lv5』
<Shield Princess Kite Shield> (Left Hand)
<Shield Princess Full Set> Head, Body 1, Body 2, Arms, Legs
――――――――――
Her HP had passed 400, and both VIT and RES were over 100. That was solid.
Honestly, at this level range, I could say with confidence that nobody could pull off better numbers than this.
By the way, when it comes to <Restrictions> like (VIT+5 or RES+5), the "or" means you can choose either one. Last time, Sierra’s <Restriction> points went into VIT, so this time we put them into RES to fulfill the requirement.
On the other hand, for things like the 【Muscle Warrior】’s (STR+10, VIT+10), where there’s no "or," both stats are forced to receive the points. Generally, mid-rank jobs don’t get "or" choices, while high-rank jobs usually do. That’s one of the differences between them.
And one more thing—when "or" is included, the points aren’t auto-assigned. You can’t put SUP into any other stats until you’ve fulfilled the required distribution, so you have to be careful with that.
Since Sierra had also been saving her SP from Job Lv.12 onward, she was able to activate eight new skills all at once.
From here on, leveling up 『Status Ailment Resistance』 should be her priority.
The 【Shield Princess】 unique skill unlocks at Lv.40, in the third-tier tree, so that’s still a long way off.
"How’s it look?"
"Let’s see… You’re saying this is all in preparation for what’s coming, right? Meaning, the next monsters we face will require these skills and stats?"
"Exactly."
With RES, elemental guard skills, and status resistance now in her arsenal, Sierra could already guess which dungeon we’d be heading to. Her expression seemed to pale slightly.
Maybe she wasn’t good with that. Well, if it comes to it, I can always tank in her place, so she doesn’t need to worry.
"It’s a wall I’ll have to face eventually. I’ll overcome it."
…Sierra looked downright cool. Lines like that just fit her.
Still, I’ll make sure she doesn’t push herself too hard.
"Next up is Ester. Sorry to keep you waiting."
"It’s no problem. I’m the one receiving your guidance, after all."
"Relax a little, will you?"
She looked far too solemn. The truth is, the path I think is strongest for the 【Princess Knight】 is… pretty unorthodox.
Even with her second-tier tree unlocked, there aren’t that many skills I want Ester to take right now.
The real core skills come later. For the time being, she’d just be stockpiling a mountain of SP. Meaning, she wouldn’t be seeing the same dramatic growth as Lana or Sierra.
I worried she might feel left behind compared to them… but, well.
Ester placed absolute trust in me. "I’ll leave everything to you, Sir Zephyrus," she’d said. I mean, yeah—it made me happy, but it also came with a crushing sense of responsibility.
Because, well… the path I’m having her follow isn’t very knightly at all. If her family were to disown her for it… I’d have to take responsibility.
"So then, which skills should I take?"
"Right. Start with 『Precious Thrust』 and 『Legion Thrust』."
『Precious Thrust』 is a physical piercing attack infused with Light-element power. Because of the element, it outdamages 『Long Thrust』.
『Legion Thrust』 is a combo of a sweep and rapid thrusts, hitting a small area. Basically, it’s one of those "deal damage to the front row" moves.
Since spear <Skills> that can strike multiple enemies are rare, it’s extremely useful.
I had her raise 『Precious Thrust』 to Lv.5.
<Skills> and <Magic> get double multipliers at level 5 increments, so it’s generally best to take them at least to 5 if you’re going to invest at all. Of course, there are plenty of exceptions.
For example, my 『Body Strengthening』 gives +5% to all stats at Lv.1, and each level adds another +5%. So at Lv.4 it’s +20%—but at Lv.5, the effect doubles, becoming +30%. Same thing at Lv.10.
That said, it’s rare to push something all the way to 10. Usually, you stop at 5.
SP isn’t infinite, after all.
Still, for any skill that forms the core of your job, raising it to 10 is basically a rule.
"And next, the skill that’s practically synonymous with "Knight"—the charge type, 『Lance Charge』."
『Lance Charge』 becomes tremendously powerful when used while mounted, but it can be used on foot too—in that case, it’s just a regular spear charge. Either way, it’s worth having for the future.
"This time, it’ll just be those three. Any complaints?"
"Not at all. I’m always grateful for your guidance."
This round, Lana and Sierra had both gained eight new <Skills> and <Spells>, while Ester only got three.
I felt bad, but for now, she’d just have to endure.
After assigning her stat points, I had her write the updated numbers down on the memo and checked them over.
Name: Ester
Race (Category): "Knight Baron", "Princess", "Female"
Job: 【Princess Knight】 Lv12 → Lv20
SUP (Stat Upgrade Points): 20 points gained
Restriction: (STR +5)
【HP 126/126 → 192/192】
【MP 80/80 → 140/140】
【STR 100 → 150】
【VIT 40 → 70】
【INT 10】
【RES 40 → 60】
【AGI 40 → 60】 (+15)
【DEX 20】
【SUP 0P → 160P → 0P】
【SP 6P → 14P → 3P
《Skills》
『Long Thrust LV5』
『Mounted Combat LV1』
『Precious Thrust LV5』 (new)
『Legion Thrust LV1』 (new)
『Lance Charge LV5』 (new)
『Two-Handed Spear Mastery LV5』
『Luck』
《Magic》
None
《Unique Skill》
Not yet obtained
《Equipment》
<Leaf Javelin> (Two-Handed)
『AGI +15』
<Full Princess Knight Set> Head, Body 1, Body 2, Arms, Legs
――――――――――
Ester mainly focuses on STR, but she spreads the rest of her stats fairly evenly for a balanced build. Even though we usually handle the tanking and threat management, she still needs enough defense to withstand AoE attacks—those are unavoidable sometimes.
Also, the stat restriction system can be tricky. If you dump too much into STR too early, it becomes harder to raise other stats later when you need them. So this more even distribution gives her some flexibility. It’s a safe, practical build.
And just like with the others, the 【Princess Knight】's unique skill doesn’t unlock until the third-tier tree at Level 40, so we can’t grab it yet.
That’s about it for Ester.
Next up are me and Hanna. Then, finally, Kalua.
Name: Zephyrus
Race (Category): "Protagonist", "Male"
Class (Job): [Hero] Lv20 → Lv26
SUP (Stat Upgrade Points): 22 points gained
Restrictions: None
【HP 222/222 → 228/228】
【MP 272/272 → 304/304】
【STR 80 → 100 (×1.6)】
【VIT 70 → 100 (×1.6)】
【INT 70 → 80 (×1.6)】
【RES 60 → 80 (×1.6)】
【AGI 60 → 100 (×1.6)】
【DEX 20 → 22 (×1.6)】
【SUP 0P → 132P → 0P】
【SP 0P → 6P → 0P】
《Skills》
『Body Strengthening LV10』
『Intuition LV5』
『Taunt LV5』
『Sonic Sword LV1 → LV5』
『Hate Slash LV1』 (new)
『Defense LV1』 (new)
『Luck』
《Magic》
『Shine Lightning LV1』
『Aura Heal LV1』
『Recovery LV1』
《Unique Skill》
『Brave Slash LV1』
《Equipment》
<Sky Series> Right Hand, Left Hand, Body 1
『Status Ailment Resistance LV3』
<Necklace of True Soul> Accessory 1
『Auto MP-Recovery LV1』
――――――――――
First, let’s talk about my stats. I dumped 100 points into STR, VIT, and AGI. Thanks to 『Body Strengthening』, they’re multiplied by 1.6—so they’re effectively 160. This is exactly why the 【Hero】 job is so ridiculously strong.
I didn’t put any points into HP this time. Partly because 『Body Strengthening』 doesn’t apply to it, but also because Lana’s 【Saint】 healing is insanely powerful, and in Beginner Mid-tier dungeons, my HP barely takes a scratch anyway.
So it’s better to invest in other stats.
Mm-hmm. Looking at my numbers, I can’t help but admire them. Three stats at 160… yeah, this is crazy strong.
Next, onto <Skills>.
The new one I unlocked is 『Hate Slash』. And after hitting Hero Lv.20, I also gained 『Defense』.
『Hate Slash』 is, as the name suggests, a slashing attack that draws enemy aggro.
Since it’s single-target and you have to actually land the hit to generate hate, it’s really more of a boss-fight skill. If it’s just about raw damage, 『Sonic Sword』 hits harder.
『Defense』 is a defensive skill.
I almost used it against that <Bear Anteater> before, though Sierra’s perfect cover made it unnecessary.
When activated, you take a defensive stance, greatly reducing incoming damage. Against certain attacks, like charges, you can even win the guard check. If you win, the enemy gets knocked back, staggered, or even stunned in the best case. It’s an extremely powerful skill.
Think of it as a way to create an opening for counterattacks. I definitely want to level this one up in the future.
I spent the remaining 4 SP on 『Sonic Sword』, bringing it up to Lv.5.
『Sonic Sword』 is just so handy—it’s fast, reliable, and has a short cooldown. Definitely worth investing in.
That about sums it up. Looking good.
Next up is Hanna.
――――――――――
Name: Hanna
Race (Category): "Villager", "Female"
Class (Job): 【Alchemist】 Lv6 → Lv29
SUP (Stat Upgrade Points): 14 points gained
Restrictions: (DEX +5)
【HP 30/30】
【MP 80/80 → 380/380】
【STR 10】
【VIT 10】
【INT 10】
【RES 19 → 101】
【AGI 10】
【DEX 65 → 205】
【SUP 0P → 322P → 0P】
【SP 0P → 23P → 4P】
《Skills》
『Alchemy LV10』
『Mixing LV1 → LV10』
『Material Return LV10』 (new)
『Luck』
《Magic》
None
《Unique Skill》
Not yet obtained
《Equipment》
<Flame Rod> Right Hand
『Fireball LV2』
<Early Queen Black> Body 1
『Blunt Resistance LV2』
<Beginner Gear> Head, Feet, Accessory 1, Accessory 2
(Hat, Shoes, Necklace, Bracelet)
――――――――――
This is the first time Hanna’s stats have been revealed since she hit Job Lv6, and her current level—29—is ridiculously high compared to the rest of us.
Honestly, past-me (in the game version) would’ve been like, "Why the heck is a production job leveling up through combat??"
Well… it just sort of turned out that way.
Hanna, being a crafter, had barely raised her combat stats. She was a full-on pure production build.
She only had three skills, all capped at Lv. 10.
She still had 4 SP leftover, but that was being saved for when the third tier unlocked at Lv. 40.
The unique skill of the 【Alchemist】 job was incredibly important, so the plan was to push it straight to Lv. 10 the moment it became available.
"At this rate, you might actually hit Lv. 40 just from fighting…"
"Hmm… I’d really rather level up inside a dungeon, though?"
Yeah, well… easier said than done. Beginner Mid-tier dungeons cap at Lv. 35. To hit Lv. 40, you’d need to move up to Beginner Upper-tier dungeons.
With those stats, there’s just no way it’ll work. A measly 『Fireball Lv. 2』 won’t even tickle the enemies in there…
Still, this was Hanna’s wish—the same Hanna who’d been with me since the very first village.
If possible, I wanted to grant it.
I’d think about it a little more later.
For now, it was study session time. On to the next one.
The last person was Kalua.
"Kalua, about your 【Star Cat】 job. There’s a best build route already figured out. I’d like you to build it this way—cool with that?
I handed her my carefully written, strongest-build memo.
Kalua skimmed the note, her drowsy eyes suddenly widening for a second.
Then she turned to me and said:
"…I don’t really get it."
"You didn’t get it at all!?"
What the hell was that reaction, then?
I was starting to get a feel for Kalua’s personality.
She seemed really bad at thinking things through.
"Alright, let me break it down for you. Basically, I want you to lean toward scout or thief-type roles. The 【Star Cat】 isn’t a pure attacker. It’s better suited for mob clearing and scouting."
It even had a skill like 『Trap Bypass』—letting it dash through traps before they triggered, essentially disarming them in the process.
With its incredible mobility, the job could sprint through dungeons freely, cut down enemies as it passed, avoid traps, and clear areas with ease.
A really strong job.
"So yeah, speed is the main stat we’re gonna focus on."
"Okaaay. Zephyrus, do your best."
"…How the hell am I supposed to respond to that?"
Anyway, I broke down the memo for her in simple terms and had her allocate her stat points. I drilled it into her over and over—don’t mess this up, because once you commit, there’s no undo button.
And here’s the result—
――――――――――
Name: Kalua
Race (Category): "Catfolk", "Beastfolk", "Female"
Class: 【Star Cat】 LV6
SUP (Stat Upgrade Points): Gained 19P
Restriction: <AGI +7>
【HP 30/30 → 62/62】
【MP 20/20 → 50/50】
【STR 10 → 40】 (+5)
【VIT 10 → 20】
【INT 10】
【RES 10】
【AGI 10 → 60】 (×1.3)
【DEX 10 → 14】
【SUP 114P → 0P】
【SP 11P → 0P】
《Skills》
『Speed Boost LV5』
『Dual Daggers LV5』
『Throwing Blade LV1』
『Luck』
《Magic》
None
《Unique Skill》
Not yet acquired
《Equipment》
<Hunting Dagger> Right hand
『STR +5』
<Beginner Dagger> Left hand
<Robes of Wanami> Body 1
<Forest Walker’s Boots> Feet
――――――――――
First, let’s look at the status.
Since her <Restriction> gives her AGI +7, that leaves only 12 SUP points to freely assign.
One thing you’ve gotta be careful about here: if you dump everything into AGI recklessly, you’ll severely weaken the other stats.
AGI naturally skyrockets on its own, so the right move is to invest sparingly there and spread the rest into other stats. Besides, boost-type passive skills can raise those numbers too.
If you go all-in on AGI now, it might be fine while enemies are still weak—but later on, you’ll just end up ridiculously fast but pathetically fragile, completely useless. I’ve learned that the hard way. The higher your level, the more experience you’ll need, and if you mess up once, recovering is brutally difficult.
Mobility, speed, and attack power—only when you balance all three does the 【Star Cat】 truly shine.
Now, about skills—there are three types.
The most important is the passive skill. Skills that directly boost your stats are actually pretty rare.
『Speed Boost』 works just like 『Body Strengthening』, except it only raises AGI. Even so, it’s ridiculously powerful.
Next is 『Dual Daggers』—a passive that increases your damage when you’re equipped with daggers in both hands. It’s the same type as Ester’s 『Two-Handed Spear Mastery』. Instead of raising stats, it straight-up multiplies your damage.
Finally, there’s 『Throwing Blade』. It’s a ranged attack skill. Don’t ask me how it works, but it lets you launch tangible phantom blades.
You can use it while retreating, circling around, or in hit-and-run tactics—it’s a very versatile skill.
For now, I want her to push toward job LV20 with just these three skills.
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