Chapter 14: The Princess-Job Girls Reaches Lv40! Unlocking Third-Tier Skill Trees and Stat Allocation
"A <Silver Chest>!"
Hanna was the first to react. At this point, it had become practically a tradition.
Normally, the drop rate for a <Silver Chest> was around twenty percent. But thanks to the blessing of <Lucky Cat-sama>, as long as we fed it high-grade meat, <Silver Chests> had become a familiar sight.
Alright, wonder what the rare drop will be this time. …But before that, there was something else we needed to do.
"Good work, Zephyrus-kun~. We finally cleared a Beginner Upper-tier Dungeon."
"Yeah. You too, Hanna. Now we can finally take the E-rank exam."
I high-fived Hanna, sharing in the joy.
Honestly, I never expected her to make it this far.
She’s a production job—no combat stats whatsoever. Yet with nothing but her weapon’s performance and <Maholitan R>, she mowed down monsters like a tiny little prodigy.
How did she even end up growing this way? Her main job, 【Alchemist】, is still barely developed, yet her combat side has already bloomed this much… I don’t get it. I mean, sure, I’m the one who raised her this way, but still.
Sometimes I wonder if Hanna picked the wrong job entirely…
"…? What’s wrong?"
"No, nothing."
I won’t say it aloud. Please just stay the kind and gentle Hanna you always are.
"Good work. That’s the last proof."
Sierra gazed at the Final Proof of the Beginner-Level Dungeons with deep emotion.
With this, we’d collected them all. I’ll have to pin them on my chest later and show off.
Wait—come to think of it, how do you even use the screenshot function? Do they sell cameras somewhere?
"Good work, Miss Sierra."
"You too, Hanna. Have you gotten used to your staff’s abilities?"
"No, I’m still fumbling a lot. Even earlier, swapping for 『Dark Javelin』 took me forever—"
While I was busy fretting about screenshots, Hanna and Sierra had already started talking about the <Manalite Staff>.
Dang, I missed my chance to join in.
Oh well. I’ll just jump into the group heading my way.
"Ah! Hey, Zephyrus—we cleared all the Beginner bosses! Think this means <Eden> can reach E-rank now?"
"Good work, Sir Zephyrus."
"Good work, both of you. Yeah, with the Beginner Dungeons cleared, congratulations again. All that’s left is the trial—once we pass that, <Eden> will officially rank up to E."
Lana and Ester handed me their Proof of Conqueror, and as we congratulated each other, I pinned it on my chest, imagining the day we’d be promoted.
That made nine beginner dungeon proofs shining proudly on my chest. In <DanKatsu>, if a guild master collected all nine and brought them to the reception, they could take the E-rank promotion test.
Damn, seeing them all lined up feels so good!
"That looks amazing! Totally stylish—I want one too! Ester, pin them on me, hurry!"
"Yes, please hold still, Lady Lana."
Ester carefully attached the shining proofs onto Lana’s saintly dress.
"There, all done."
"How do I look, Zephyrus! Cool, right!?"
"Yeah, looks great!"
I gave her a thumbs-up at the sight of her glittering proofs.
Honestly, having them all clustered on your chest really does look badass.
With the proofs pinned, Lana actually looked like a capable woman—at least in appearance. It suited her surprisingly well.
But since it was Lana, "cool" wasn’t exactly the word. …So I just stuck with a simple "looks great."
More than cool, she looked… heartwarming.
After that, everyone celebrated our full beginner dungeon clear. We exchanged high-fives all around before heading back to the safe area.
The battle with <Mother Mush> had finally pushed the <Princess Job> group’s Jobs to Lv40, unlocking their third-tier skill trees.
Normally, I’d prefer returning to town and carefully passing on the new skills. But, well… with awesome skills and spells like 『Lightning Burst』, who wouldn’t want to use them right away?
Especially Sierra and Ester—this was the first time they’d be able to acquire unique skills.
No wonder the three of them looked restless and fidgety. I let out a wry smile and offered a suggestion.
"Alright, how about this: let’s just drop a few SP and activate three skills each for now."
"As expected of you, Zephyrus, you get it! I was just about to suggest the same thing!"
"That would be best. Since we’re already deep in the dungeon, if we wanted to be efficient, I know we should start farming the boss immediately… but still…"
"I understand your logic, Lady Sierra. But, how do I put this… I can’t hold myself back either."
Exactly. That’s how it always is with unlocking a third-tier tree, Sierra, Ester.
When the tree opens up, no one can resist jumping in.
Even the calmest, most collected person can’t help but spend their SP once a new skill tree unlocks—it’s just human nature.
And on top of that, they’d been saving their SP just for today. Of course they’d be dying to use it. I was the same way.
So yeah, we decided to spend just a little.
All we were doing was activating a few skills, so it didn’t take long.
Still, rushing through the third-tier skill tree just because we were short on time would’ve been a waste.
That’s why we agreed: just three SP each for now, nice and slow, savoring it with a grin on our faces. The rest we’d save for later, when we had the time to enjoy it properly.
Blowing all your points here would’ve been the real waste.
Spending SP is a sacred ritual. You’re supposed to take your time, grinning like an idiot the whole way.
"...Haah. Done."
Lana let out a sigh full of deep emotion.
Yep, I knew that feeling all too well. Unlocking your third-tier tree really is something special.
"Same here."
"It really stirs up your greed. It almost feels cruel to stop here…"
Ester said, looking torn. That uncertain expression of hers was honestly kind of charming.
Don’t worry, Ester. You’ll get to spend the rest later.
First things first, though—we needed to grind bosses. Raising job levels meant more SP anyway.
Now then—time to show off those newly activated skills and spells!
Oh, and by the way? The <Silver Chest> gave us a gag weapon called the <Blazing Mushroom Sword>.
Yeah, no thanks!
Alright, moving on!
"Let me go first! I wanna try mine out!"
"Go for it, go for it."
"This is the strongest magic of the 【Saint】 job! Take this—『Shining Blade of Holy Light』!"
"M-Mamaaaa!?"
Second run through.
Hyped up after activating a few new skills and spells, Lana unleashed her attack on <Mama>, blasting it with massive damage and sending it flying back.
What she’d cast was 『Shining Blade of Holy Light』.
It was the upgraded branch of 『Blade of Light』—a massive holy sword of light that shoots forward in a devastating single-target strike.
Among the spells learnable by Basic Jobs, this one was top-class. Easily one of the strongest.
"What is this!? This feels amazing! And look—just look at that damage! How’s that!?"
"You look magnificent, Lady Lana."
Ester gazed dreamily at Lana’s smug, beaming face.
Oi, Ester. You’re way too into her.
Well… to be fair, Lana really was shining right now. Guess I’ll give her a "like" too.
"Next one’s mine as well! It’s still my turn! 『Sacred Tree of Holy Light』!"
"M-Mamaaa!?"
This time, she fired off 『Sacred Tree of Holy Light』, the higher-tier branch of 『Pillar of Light』.
It was an AoE spell planted under <Mama>, dealing huge continuous damage. From the ground, a colossal tree of light burst upward, damaging anything that touched it.
Since its range was far wider than 『Pillar of Light』, it’d be perfect to wipe out the next wave of summoned minions. Yeah, we’d definitely have her use it then.
"Mama, mama, mamaaa!!"
Uh-oh. Looks like Lana drew way too much aggro.
Enraged, <Mama> turned to rush at her—only to be intercepted by someone. No, not me. Sierra.
"I’d like to try mine too. Mind being my test subject for a bit? Unique Skill—『Absolute Charm Shield』!"
"Ma!?"
Stepping in between Lana and the boss, Sierra activated the 【Shield Princess】’s Unique Skill, 『Absolute Charm Shield』, flawlessly.
It was technically an attack skill where you bash with your shield, so the hitbox was narrow. But I had already grilled her for the fine details, so she pulled it off no problem.
At Lv1, the effect was: "Forcefully draw the target’s aggro for 20 seconds, ignoring all hate values."
An absurdly strong skill. Even though <Mama> should’ve been locked on Lana after all that aggro, it was instantly forced to target Sierra instead.
"MAMAMAAAMMAAAA!!"
<Mama>’s massive arm(?) swung down at Sierra. But—
"『Iron Wall』!"
Her defensive skill kicked in.
Up until unlocking her third-tier tree, Sierra’s only defensive skill had been 『Cover Shield』, which was for protecting allies. So this was actually her first self-defense skill.
Her shield glowed with a blue aura, forming what looked like a phantom wall. While active, Sierra couldn’t move—but her defense skyrocketed.
<Mama>’s punches slammed into the shield again and again, but Sierra didn’t even flinch.
Then—
"『Counter Burst』!"
"Ma!?"
Timing it perfectly, Sierra unleashed a counter skill.
The instant <Mama>’s fist struck the shield, a massive shockwave blasted back, dealing huge damage and knocking the boss away. Its arms flailed up like it was spasming.
"My turn. Right here—『Flash Thrust』!"
"Mamaa!?"
While knocked back and vulnerable, <Mama> took a devastating hit from Ester.
It was her new light-element skill, 『Flash Thrust』, the higher-tier branch of 『Precious Thrust』. The strike slammed into the staggered boss, forcing it into a knockdown state.
"Now’s my chance. Unique Skill—『Princess Knight’s Awakening』!"
And there it was—Ester’s trump card. The 【Princess Knight】’s Unique Skill. Perfect timing.
At Lv10, its effect was: "It reduces all skill MP costs to a quarter, and cooldowns to an eighth for 16 seconds."
In other words, unlimited spam mode.
This was the one skill I had her max immediately. Its true power only showed at Lv10.
And the result—
"『Long Thrust』! 『Triple Shoot』! 『Flash Thrust』! 『Long Thrust』! 『Legion Thrust』! 『Precious Thrust』! 『Long Thrust』! 『Triple Shoot』! 『Flash Thrust』! 『Long Thrust』! 『Legion Thrust』! 『Precious Thrust』! 『Long Thrust』! 『Triple Shoot』! 『Flash Thrust』! 『Long Thrust』! 『Legion Thrust』! 『Precious Thrust』! 『Long Thrust』!"
<Mama> gets absolutely wrecked.
With cooldowns practically erased, she could chain skills nonstop the instant the last one finished. Even 『Flash Thrust』, normally her longest cooldown at five seconds, was basically spammable.
<Mama>’s HP plummeted, ripped straight down into the red zone, and—oh, wait. Gone. Zero.
"Ahhh!?"
As the boss dissolved in a flood of flashy effects, Lana cried out in despair.
Though honestly, the one who wanted to scream the loudest was probably <Mama>.
"Yeahhh. 【Princess Knight】 is busted."
Arms folded, I nodded sagely at the spectacle.
Sure, <Mama> tried to recover, spreading poison spores and going into rage mode at low HP. But even that was just begging to be punished. Ester chained her combos straight through until the final blow dropped the boss clean.
Ah, and that 『Triple Shoot』 she slipped in? That’s the higher-tier of 『Long Thrust』—basically a triple stab version. But, uh… yeah. Kinda overkill at that point.
The 【Princess Knight】 attacker is seriously busted. No wonder they say she’s the strongest when it comes to burst damage. And now she’s even got a <Mount> on top of that—talk about insanely useful.
"We didn’t even get to do anything. That was over so fast."
"Didn’t even take a minute after the boss fight started, huh? That’s why the third-tier skill trees are so powerful. We didn’t even let it summon its minions."
Nearby, Hanna was giving a rare wry smile.
Honestly, the third-tier trees were overkill for a Beginner Dungeon.
Looks like we’re just about ready to step into Intermediate Dungeons.
Man, I can’t wait.
Also—
"Hey, Ester! That was too much! How could you hog even our share like that!?"
"M-my apologies, Lady Lana. I went a little overboard without realizing it…"
—Lana scolding Ester for once was such a role reversal that I had to make a note of how funny it was.
Alright, alright. Time to get back to farming runs!
After clearing the <Poison Mushroom Cavern Dungeon>, unloading the newly unlocked third-tier skills to our heart’s content, and grinding the place like crazy, I headed straight over to Marie-senpai. And then—
"The hell would I want with a <Blazing Mushroom Sword>! Who’s ever gonna use that thing!?"
"Knew you’d say that…"
As expected of a gag weapon, the buyback was refused.
Back in the game, joke-weapon collectors and oddball fans would’ve paid good money for it, but sadly, I didn’t have any connections to that type in real life.
Guess this one’s going into storage for a while.
With a sigh, I shoved the <Blazing Mushroom Sword> back into my <Item Bag>.
"Seriously though, the first thing you try to sell when you get back is that? Hurry up and bring out the other boss drops already."
"Yes, ma’am."
Sadly, the gag weapon wasn’t to Marie-senpai’s taste. I thought maybe, just maybe, there’d be a chance she’d buy it, but nope.
Which is kind of a shame, since on paper it wasn’t bad: <Attack Power 39> with a flame-elemental skill called 『Flame Slash』—solid for a lower-tier mid-level weapon. But the problem? It looked exactly like a mushroom.
And to top it off, it was a greatsword.
I pictured someone cleaving through monsters with a giant mushroom sword. The mental image was so surreal I couldn’t help but laugh. Yeah, no one’s ever gonna use this.
Still, gag weapons can be broken down into <Ability Orbs>, so there’s no harm in keeping them.
I don’t have any ultra-rare "Empty slot" weapons that can house skills yet, so for now it stays. Worst case, it might end up offering it as a tribute to Hanna.
Anyway, setting that aside—I started unloading today’s mountain of loot.
"…Mister. Let’s head to the back. This ain’t the place for you to be dumpin’ all that material, y’know."
"But you’re the one who told me to bring it out, Marie-senpai."
When she saw the mountain of loot starting to spill out, Marie-senpai slowly shook her head, her expression soft as she motioned me toward the back room.
What could make her look at me like that? I had no idea.
"So then, mister… just how much boss material did ya haul in this time?"
In the back, when I practically flipped my <Item Bag (Capacity: Large)> upside down, Marie-senpai stared at the heap with exasperated eyes and asked.
"Fifty-eight runs’ worth. Ester kept count."
"Sheesh, I didn’t even ask for that part. Fifty-eight, huh…"
After that fight, the <Princess Job> team had gotten fired up, and they absolutely pummeled the <Mother Mush> boss into tears.
Of course, burning through max-power attacks nonstop was wasteful MP-wise, so after everyone had had their fun testing the third-tier trees, we dialed it back. Even then, the third-tier skills were insanely strong and made boss time attacks fly by. Didn’t bother timing it, though.
I eventually lost count, but Ester remembered. As expected of her—fifty-eight runs, with three <Gold Chests> dropping along the way. No rare bosses, though.
"Every dang time it’s a ridiculous number. You got some kinda trick, don’t ya?"
"Quit fishing, Marie-senpai. That’s a trade secret."
"Well, that’s a shame. Anyway, I’m handin’ off all the mushroom drops to the cooking guild <In Pursuit of Flavor and Buffs>. That cool with ya?"
"Yeah, that’s the same place we usually send the foodstuff, right? I’ll leave it to you."
As usual, I just sold the materials to the <Wappen Seal Sticker> guild. Where it went after that was up to Marie-senpai and her crew.
Last time I tried handling distribution myself, so many guilds volunteered as middlemen that it turned into a nightmare. Since then, I’ve left everything to <Wappen Seal Sticker>.
Still, the fact that Marie-senpai went out of her way to tell me where she’d be funneling it… That’s just how meticulous she is. Maybe that’s why she’s such a good businesswoman.
Man, couldn’t they take gag weapons too? It’s strong, y’know. …Well, it’s a mushroom, but still.
"Okay then, I’ll hold on to the rest of the materials for ya. Ah, and here—take this. Finished up yesterday’s appraisal."
"Ohh, now that’s quick work. As expected of you, Marie-senpai."
I accepted the appraisal sheet for the loot I’d hauled out of the Tsukumogami Bamboo Grove Dungeon.
Since I’d already passed most of the boss materials over to Gant-senpai, my payout this time was pretty meager.
A total of 2.2 million miru. That was after selling off the leftover boss mats we didn’t need and everything from the <Wooden Chests>. Hmm. Pretty sad.
Half—1.1 million miru goes to the guild, and another 10% gets split among the party members.
Meaning my share is just 220,000 miru. Ouch. Pathetic.
"Oh yeah, Gant left ya a message, mister."
"Hm? Wait, don’t tell me he already finished it?"
I only gave him the recipe and materials yesterday. Then again, in this world, skills speed up the work, so it wasn’t impossible that he cranked it out in a day.
But contrary to my hopeful guess, what Marie-senpai said was completely different.
"He said he wants rare boss mats. Told ya to go fetch some."
"An extra demand, seriously!?"
At first glance, he struck me as a craftsman type—and yep, turns out he really is the sort who refuses to cut corners.
The recipe listed three versions: a high-class type made with normal boss mats, a standard type mixed with trash mob mats, and a supreme type that used rare boss mats.
Since it came from a <Gold Chest>, even the high-class type was more than strong enough—easily good up through Intermediate Upper-tier Dungeons. It had great performance, seating five passengers comfortably.
But no, Gant-senpai clearly had his sights set higher.
Still, a top-class carriage, huh…
"I heard tell the ones made with rare boss mats come with a tent function, right?"
Sure, the supreme version comes with the 『Tent』 skill. …But honestly, I don’t think I’d use it. Would I?
──The <Tent> function.
In <DanKatsu>, dungeons got deeper and deeper the further you went.
For example, the Beginner-Level Dungeon ended at the 5th floor.
Beginner Low-tier dungeons had 10 floors.
Beginner Mid-tier, 15 floors.
Beginner Upper-tier, 20 floors.
Clearing them in a single day trip got tougher and tougher.
Being a game, though, <DanKatsu> had shortcuts. While Beginner-Level dungeons only had a transfer circle at the bottom floor, Intermediate-Level Dungeons and up had one every 10 floors, letting you warp back and forth.
Meaning: clear to floor 10 of an Intermediate-Level on Monday, warp home. On Tuesday, teleport straight to floor 10 and keep going. From Intermediate-Level up, that was possible.
Also, Intermediate-Level Dungeons were almost twice the size per floor compared to Beginner-Level ones. So the time it once took to hit floor 20 would only get you to floor 10.
And here’s where the <Tent> comes in: if you couldn’t reach a transfer circle, in <DanKatsu> the <Tent> was mandatory to spend the night in a dungeon.
Because the setting was academy life, where all dungeon explorers were "students," the rule was "get proper rest at night."
Exploring hours were fixed: 6 a.m. to midnight.
In the game, if you stayed past midnight without using a <Tent>, after an hour, your <Student Handbook> would automatically file a <Distress Report>, dragging you back to the academy. The looming time limit was brutal.
That’s why the <Tent> was essential.
Sleeping in a <Tent> overnight restores your HP and MP (the amount varies with the tent's skill level) and lets you restart the dungeon crawl bright and early. So, as long as you had the inventory space, I'd often just forge ahead until the dungeon was cleared, instead of ever heading back to the surface.
It really was considered a vital item for progressing.
But I hadn’t mentioned any of that because once Ester could use <Mounts>, our clear speed skyrocketed. Reaching transfer circles was no problem. And in reality, we never stayed past around 6 p.m. anyway—no overnight dungeon camping. In short: not needed, yet.
Still, the supreme carriage could seat seven instead of five, boosted attack power, and even came with a basic <Tent> function.
Hmm. Strictly speaking, we didn’t need it, but it’s not like it’d hurt to have.
The catch was having to hunt rare bosses just to make it. Didn’t feel like a great trade-off.
"He said he’s only makin’ the type that uses rare boss mats."
"Man, craftsmen are such a pain sometimes…"
So yeah, looks like we were definitely going rare-boss hunting.
Time to think about the schedule.
Let’s organize what’s coming up:
-
Rank up the guild to E-rank. (Take the exam.)
-
Deliver rare boss materials from the <Tsukumo Bamboo Grove Dungeon>.
These two were the priorities for the near future.
And if I were going to do both, better sooner than later.
Once we hit E-rank, we’d recruit new members—four of them. First thing would be helping them power-level. I wanted to hurry into Intermediate-Level Dungeons and have fun, so until everyone reached Job Lv 40, we’d be grinding like crazy.
Turning in those rare boss materials sooner rather than later would be best. After all, once <Mounts> and <Carriages> were unlocked, we could just ride straight to the boss room. That meant faster leveling and smoother clears.
This time, with the <Princess Job> group unlocking their third-tier Skill and Magic trees, they now had enough firepower to respawn bosses without me around.
Which meant I didn’t have to personally tag along for boss runs anymore. That opened the way for training up the newer members.
Hmm… which should take priority?
Once Dungeon Week ended, regular academy life—complete with classes—would be waiting.
Meaning, our dungeon time would be limited. Even if we rushed in after school, it wouldn’t yield much; the deeper floors would be out of reach.
Well, really, what we’d been doing until now was the exception. Normally, students were supposed to push their exploration bit by bit, using weekends and Dungeon Week for serious progress.
But since we’d been diving dungeons every single day, it felt off to slow down. I still wanted to! Sure, I looked forward to <DanKatsu> class too, but still.
After thinking it over a little, I decided: we should prioritize the <Carriage>.
The biggest reason was clear—before regular classes started, we had to secure those materials.
Once the academy schedule kicked in, reaching the bottom floors would be tough. Different departments had different timetables too, so there was a chance that not everyone could gather.
Besides, if we wrapped this up in a single day, we could push the new members to around Job Lv 30 before regular lessons began.
Yeah, that settles the plan.
I’d let Marie-senpai know.
"Then I’ll go grab them tomorrow. Could you let Gant-senpai know?"
"Normally, if someone asked ya to hand over rare boss mats, I’d laugh in their face. But since it’s you, mister…"
Marie-senpai sighed, shaking her head like she couldn’t help it.
"It’s not like I’m doing anything fancy. Just using this."
I pulled a flute from my <Item Bag (Capacity: Small)>.
Holding it up like behold, do you see this?!, I showed her the <Rare Monster Flute (Boss)>.
"Ah, that’s a <Boss Flute>! What the heck, you’ve been holdin’ on to somethin’ like that this whole time? Ya shoulda said so sooner! Seriously, mister, why you got so many crazy rare items stashed away? C’mon, sell me one?"
"Nope."
Her reaction was understandable.
This <Rare Monster Flute (Boss)> was a drop from a <Gold Chest>… from a rare boss.
Yes. You heard right. A rare boss <Gold Chest> drop.
Granted, the appearance of <Lucky Cat-sama> and the fact that the flute dropped twice had muddied things a little, but that didn’t change the fact—it was a legit, ultra-rare item.
Rare enough that Marie-senpai tilted her head, looking up at me with watery puppy-dog eyes as she whispered, Sell it to me?
Still, I refused.
Just because I had a spare didn’t mean I could let one go.
The thing only had five uses. True, if you repaired it before it broke, it’d restore back to five uses—an incredible feature. But that also meant, practically speaking, only four uses per dungeon run.
With two flutes, I could double that—eight rare boss summons in a single dive. No way I’d ever sell one.
"Well, figured as much."
She must’ve been asking on the off-chance. As soon as I said no, she dropped the act. …Damn, I kind of wished she’d kept that look a bit longer.
"Anyway, Marie-senpai—know any craftsmen who can repair this?"
"’Course I do. Different guild, though."
As expected, she already knew the <Rare Monster Flute (Boss)> could be repaired.
I asked her to introduce me to a craftsman later.
The <Wappen Seal Sticker> guild was mainly armor production, and while they dabbled broadly, item-crafting was a whole different field.
There were so many branches—<Potions>, <Bombs>, <Cooking>, <General Goods>, and so on, each with its own specialized guild.
Even Marie-senpai couldn’t cover that wide a net.
For now, the flute still had seven uses left, so no rush to repair it. I told her I’d burn through all but one use tomorrow in the <Tsukumo Bamboo Grove Dungeon>, and then I’d rely on her to connect me with a craftsman. The mediation fee would come out of the guild budget.
"Much obliged~"
"Yeah. I’ll count on you tomorrow, Marie-senpai."
After parting with her, I headed back to my room.
Tomorrow was rare boss farming in the <Bamboo Grove Dungeon>.
The next day, Thursday.
"We’ve been waiting, Zephyrus! Now, teach us!"
"We beg your pardon, Sir Zephyrus. Please, grant us your guidance along with Lady Lana."
"Would you mind teaching me as well?"
Dungeon Week had hit the halfway point, and the upperclassmen seemed to be getting more and more restless.
This morning, when I stepped into the guild room, the <Princess Job> group was already lined up, fully prepped and waiting.
The reason? Of course, for a status allocation.
Yesterday, we’d had too much fun and got back late from the <Poison Mushroom Cavern Dungeon>, so we’d postponed the allocation. We just disbanded right in the ShouDan.
And so, judging from the look on their faces, they’d been waiting with barely contained excitement.
Of course, I had no reason to refuse, so I pressed a fist to my chest and accepted.
"Alright, leave it to me. Let’s start with Lana."
"I’m counting on you, Zephyrus! Make it big and flashy!"
Lana’s energy was higher than usual. …Though I had no idea what kind of sound "flashy" was supposed to be.
I glanced over at Ester, but she only looked at Lana with a gentle, amused smile.
Name: Lana
Category (Race): Royalty / Princess / Female
Job: Saint
Level: 45
HP: 192/192 → 224/224
MP: 448/448 → 534/534
Acquired SUP: Total 21P Restriction: INT+5 or RES+5
STR (Attack): 10
VIT (Defense): 70 → 80
INT (Magic Power): 170 → 300
RES (Resistance): 210 → 300
AGI (Agility): 50 → 60
DEX (Dexterity): 40 → 43
SUP (Status Points): 0P → 273P → 0P
SP (Skill Points): 2P → 15P → 0P
Skills:
MP Auto Recovery Lv5
MP Cost Reduction Lv5
Guild: Luck
Equipment: Recovery Boost Lv5
Magic:
Prayer of Healing LV1
Wish for Healing Lv1
Blessing of Greater Healing Lv1 (New)
Prayer of Mass Healing Lv1
Wish for Mass Healing Lv1 (New)
Rain of Life Lv1
Celestial Rain Lv1 (New)
Miracle of Resurrection Lv3 → Lv5
Heroic Miracle of Resurrection Lv5 (New)
Prayer of Purification Lv1
Blessing 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
Soul’s Oath Lv1 (New)
Blade of Light Lv1
Pillar of Light Lv1
Shining Blade of Holy Light Lv1 (New)
Sacred Tree of Holy Light Lv1 (New)
Barrier of Holy Protection Lv1 (New)
Unique Skill:
The Saint’s Everlasting Prayer Lv10
Equipment:
Both Hands: Talisman of Compassion
Body 1, Body 2, Head, Arms, Legs: Saint’s Full Set
Accessory 1: ―
Accessory 2: ―
After finishing Lana’s status allocation, I had her write down her updated status.
Whoa. First off—【Saint Lv45】? That’s insanely high!
Yesterday’s boss run had been ridiculously productive. In total, we managed fifty-eight clears.
To put that into perspective, back when we were farming <Takewari Taro>, even starting around noon, we only managed twenty-five runs. So yeah, fifty-eight was just plain absurd. Naturally, the experience payout was massive. Before the fights, Lana had been 【Saint Lv39】… and she’d jumped up a whole six levels.
She’d allocated a mountain of SUP along the way, pushing her INT and RES all the way to 300. Her MP had also broken the 500 mark. Crazy high numbers!
On top of that, she’d dumped plenty into SP, unlocking nine different spells for activation.
Here’s the list:
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Blessing of Greater Healing Lv1 – Single-target heal. Advanced-tier magic.
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Wish for Mass Healing Lv1 – Party-wide heal. Intermediate-tier magic.
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Celestial Rain Lv1 – AoE regen. Intermediate-tier magic, with enhanced recovery.
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Heroic Miracle of Resurrection Lv5 – Revives an ally with all buffs intact. MP cost is enormous.
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Blessing of Purification Lv1 – Cleanses party-wide status ailments.
Soul’s Oath Lv1 – Recovers a small amount of MP in exchange for removing buffs. It can’t be used on oneself.
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Shining Blade of Holy Light Lv1 – Single-target attack. Holy-element, Advanced Mid-tier spell.
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Sacred Tree of Holy Light Lv1 – AoE attack. Holy-element, upper-intermediate advanced spell.
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Barrier of Holy Protection Lv1 – Anti-magic defense. Barrier spell. Holy-element, upper-intermediate advanced.
Yeah. In short, she’s stupidly strong.
I even boosted 『Miracle of Resurrection』 all the way to Lv5 for her.
"Looking good!"
"Zephyrus, I can’t wait to try them out! Can I cast one now?"
"As long as it’s not an attack spell, sure."
"Yesss!"
Lana threw her hands up in delight. Well, she had already blasted enough offensive spells yesterday to last a while.
I’d like to chat more, but time was ticking, so I decided to save the in-depth explanations for when we were in the dungeon.
"Sir Zephyrus, if you would."
"Leave it to me."
Next up was Ester.
Name: Ester
Category (Race): Knight Baron / Princess / Female
Job: Princess Knight
Level: 45
HP: 290/290 → 322/322
MP: 200/200 → 350/350
Acquired SUP: Total 20P Restriction: STR+5
STR (Attack): 210 → 350
VIT (Defense): 110 → 120
INT (Magic Power): 10
RES (Resistance): 90 → 100
AGI (Agility): 100 → 130 (+15)
DEX (Dexterity): 40 → 50
SUP (Status Points): 0P → 260P → 0P
SP (Skill Points): 15P → 28P → 0P
Skills:
Mounting Lv1 (New)
Vehicle Control Lv5 (New)
Long Thrust Lv5
Triple Shoot Lv1 (New)
Mounted Combat Lv1
Precious Thrust Lv5
Flash Thrust Lv1 (New)
Legion Thrust Lv1
Legion Charge Lv1 (New)
Lance Charge Lv5
Two-Handed Spear Mastery Lv5
Mounted Combat Mastery Lv5 (New)
Accel Drive Lv1 (New)
Drive Turn Lv1 (New)
Overdrive Lv1 (New)
Guild: Luck
Magic:
―
Unique Skill:
Princess Knight Awakening Lv10
Equipment:
Both Hands: Leaf Javelin
Body 1, Body 2, Head, Arms, Legs: Full Princess Knight Set
Accessory 1: ―
Accessory 2: ―
Ester’s STR-focused build had been honed even further. Three hundred and fifty, huh…
At this point, the regular monsters in Beginner-Level dungeons wouldn’t even be able to put up a fight against her.
On top of that, Ester had acquired a total of nine skills—including a unique one.
This time, she’d even picked up a brand-new category: the 『Drive』 series of skills.
They were mobility skills designed specifically for the <Mount> category. They could only be activated while riding, but when it came to plowing through mobs while charging ahead, they were ridiculously effective.
The drawback was that they couldn’t be used against boss monsters or other players. Still—once a certain condition was met, these skills would evolve into something terrifying.
Man, I could hardly wait for that moment.
For now, here are the details:
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Vehicle Control Lv5: Allows control of mounts. Improves handling, reduces damage taken.
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Triple Shoot Lv1: Upper branch of Long Thrust. A three-hit thrust combo.
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Flash Thrust Lv1: Upper branch of Precious Thrust. Adds light-element damage.
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Legion Charge Lv1: Upper branch of Legion Thrust. An area-of-effect charge attack.
Mounted Combat Mastery Lv5: Unlocks attack actions while on mounts. Increases attack power.
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Accel Drive Lv1: Mount-based attack skill. Linear AoE strike.
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Drive Turn Lv1: V-shaped turning attack. Two consecutive linear AoE strikes.
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Overdrive Lv3: High-speed movement skill. Extremely fast.
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Princess Knight Awakening Lv10: Reduces MP cost of skills to one-fourth; cooldown times reduced to one-eighth for 16 seconds.
"So this is the skill that leads to that summit you spoke of."
"Yeah. The reason I made you hold back until now was so we could properly raise your <Mount> proficiency. Going forward, Ester, I plan for you to master a certain <Mount>. I’ve already put in the request to have the equipment crafted."
"I see. So we’ve come that far already."
"That said, we’re still short on materials. I was planning to go gather them today—are you good with that?"
"I have no objections. If it’s something you’re doing for me, then I’ll gladly lend all the strength you need."
Ester’s voice carried undeniable passion.
Nice. Nothing beats the excitement of powering yourself up!
"My turn next, then?"
"Yeah—sorry to keep you waiting, Sierra."
Name: Sierra
Category (Race): Count / Princess / Female
Job: Shield Princess
Level: 45
HP: 290/290 → 322/322
MP: 200/200 → 350/350
Acquired SUP: Total 20P Restriction: VIT+5 or RES+5
STR (Attack): 80 → 110
VIT (Defense): 170 → 250 (x1.1)
INT (Magic Power): 10
RES (Resistance): 160 → 250 (x1.1)
AGI (Agility): 60 → 70
DEX (Dexterity): 30
SUP (Status Points): 0P → 260P → 0P
SP (Skill Points): 3P → 16P → 0P
Skills:
Provoke Lv5
Guard Stance Lv1
Aura Point Lv1 (New)
Shield Smite Lv1
Shield Bash Lv1
Impact Bash Lv1 (New)
Counter Burst Lv1 (New)
Cover Shield Lv1
Induction Cover Lv1 (New)
Iron Wall Lv1 (New)
Fortress Shield Lv1 (New)
Material Shield Lv1 (New)
Fire Guard Lv1
Freeze Guard Lv1
Thunder Guard Lv1
Light Guard Lv1
Chaos Guard Lv1
Status Ailment Resistance Lv10
Shield Guard Technique Lv5
Flowing Shield Technique Lv5
Defense Boost Lv2 (New)
Magic Defense Boost Lv2 (New)
Guild: Luck
Equipment: Normal Attack Power Boost Lv5
Magic:
―
Unique Skill:
Absolute Charm Shield Lv5
Equipment:
Right Hand: Steel-Flower Mace
Left Hand: Shield Princess Kite Shield
Body 1, Body 2, Head, Arms, Legs: Shield Princess Full Set
Accessory 1: ―
Accessory 2: ―
Sierra had toughened up even more, like a solid wall.
Her HP had broken past 500, and both VIT and RES had reached 250—making her incredibly durable.
On top of that, from the third-tier tree, she unlocked the same Boost series of skills that Kalua had. With the 1.1x bonus, her toughness was polished even further.
Taking Sierra down now was no easy feat—it was practically impossible.
Her STR had also climbed past 100, giving her at least some offensive strength as well.
And since the 【Shield Princess】 line gained several powerful attack skills starting from the third tier, Sierra was about to see her role expand beyond defense alone.
Here are the details:
-
Aura Point Lv1 – Upper branch of Guard Stance. Forces a large-scale taunt on all enemies.
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Impact Bash Lv1 – Upper branch of Shield Bash. A high-powered shield charge.
-
Counter Burst Lv1 – Counterattack skill. On success, it deals a massive knockback effect.
-
Induction Cover Lv1 – AoE guiding defense skill.
-
Iron Wall Lv1 – Reduces incoming damage massively at the cost of being unable to move.
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Fortress Shield Lv1 – Physical-specialized defense skill.
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Material Shield Lv1 – Magic-specialized defense skill.
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Defense Boost Lv2 – The VIT version of Agility Boost.
-
Magic Defense Boost Lv2 – The RES version of Agility Boost.
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Absolute Charm Shield Lv5 – Forces aggro regardless of hate value, shield attack skill.
"So my main focus is defense and attack skills now?"
"Pretty much. Up until now, you were managing with just the benefits of passive skills. But from here on out, you’ve got a whole arsenal of abilities designed to win—whether by defense or by offense. It won’t just be about hate-control anymore; you’ll actually be taking enemies down too. That’s gonna be rough, huh?"
"That’s exactly what I want. I don’t intend to just pull aggro and stop there. The role of a shield isn’t to be a wall—it’s to draw the enemy in and create a favorable situation for allies. And if that’s the case, I’ll master these skills too."
"Now that’s reassuring."
Her determination was enough to inspire confidence in me. With a strong shield in the party, everyone could fight with stability. The more Sierra shone, the faster we could push forward.
Alright—that wraps up the status sharing.
Time to invite Hanna and head out to the <Tsukumo Bamboo Grove Dungeon>!
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