Chapter 4: Adjusting Status and Gear. The Emblem’s Done Too!
Let’s start with my own status.
Name: Zephyrus
Category (Race): Protagonist, Male
Job: Hero
Level: 34
HP: 222/222 → 262/262
MP: 304/304 → 372/372
Acquired SUP: Total 22P Restriction: ——
STR (Attack): 100 → 120 (×1.6)
VIT (Defense): 100 → 120 (×1.6)
INT (Magic Power): 80 → 120 (×1.6)
RES (Resistance): 80 → 120 (×1.6)
AGI (Agility): 100 → 120 (×1.6)
DEX (Dexterity): 22 → 28 (×1.6)
SUP (Status Points): 0P → 176P
SP (Skill Points): 0P → 8P → 4P
Skills:
-
Body Strengthening Lv10
-
Intuition Lv5
-
Appeal Lv5
-
Sonic Sword Lv5
-
Hate Slash Lv1
-
Defense Lv5
-
Guild: Luck
-
Equipment: Abnormal Status Ailment Resistance Lv3
-
Equipment: MP Auto-Recovery Lv1
Magic:
-
Recovery Lv1
-
Shine Lightning Lv1
-
Aura Heal Lv1
Unique Skill:
-
Brave Slash Lv1
Equipment:
-
Right Hand: Sky Sword
-
Left Hand: Sky Shield
-
Body 1: Sky Armor
-
Body 2: ——
-
Head: ——
-
Arms: ——
-
Legs: ——
-
Accessory 1: Necklace of True Soul
-
Accessory 2: ——
I raised my stats evenly and finally broke into the all-120 range.
With 『Body Strengthening LV10』, it’s basically like having everything at 192.
Yeah, the 【Hero】 job is crazy strong.
Next up, <Skills and Magic>. Nothing new this time—just level-ups. I pushed 『Defense』 up to Lv5. That one’s incredibly useful.
I’m holding on to the 4 leftover SP. I’ll need them for when the third-tier skill tree unlocks.
That happens at Job Lv40.
The third-tier tree opens up the strongest <Skills> and <Magic> for each job, so I want as many of them unlocked as possible once I hit 40.
Alright, next is Hanna.
Name: Hanna
Category (Race): Villager, Female
Job: Alchemist
Level: 35
HP: 30/30
MP: 380/380
Acquired SUP: Total 14P Restriction: DEX+5
STR (Attack): 10
VIT (Defense): 10
INT (Magic Power): 10
RES (Resistance): 101 → 155
AGI (Agility): 10
DEX (Dexterity): 205 → 235
SUP (Status Points): 0P → 84P → 0P
SP (Skill Points): 4P → 10P → 10P
Skills:
-
Alchemy Lv10
-
Mixing Lv10
-
Material Return Lv10 NEW
-
Guild: Luck
-
Equipment: Blunt Resistance Lv2
-
Equipment: MP Cost Reduction Lv3
Magic:
-
Equipment: Fireball Lv5
-
Equipment: Flare Lance Lv3
-
Equipment: Ice Lance Lv1
Unique Skill:
None
Equipment:
-
Both Hands: Manalite Staff (Empty Slot, Flame Rod Magic Orb)
-
Body 1: Early Queen Black
-
Body 2: ——
-
Head: Beginner Witch's Hat
-
Arms: ——
-
Legs: Beginner's Boost
-
Accessory 1: Necklace
-
Accessory 2: Ring of Frugality
Not much has changed from before, except this time I had her dump everything into RES.
【Alchemists】 mainly rely on DEX and RES, but this is laying the groundwork for tackling Beginner Upper-tier dungeons.
Since Hanna’s combat stats are weak, this is my way of giving her a fighting chance. I’ll explain more when we actually challenge it.
Ideally, I’d like to put even the DEX points into RES, but the restrictions rule forces +5×Lv6 = 30 points into DEX. Nothing we can do about that.
Skills are unchanged. Like me, she’s saving her SP until her third-tier tree opens.
Now, Lana.
Name: Lana
Category (Race): Royalty / Princess, Female
Job: Saint
Level: 32
HP: 94/94 → 192/192
MP: 340/340 → 448/448
Acquired SUP: Total 21P Restriction: INT+5 or RES+5
STR (Attack): 10
VIT (Defense): 30 → 70
INT (Magic Power): 110 → 170
RES (Resistance): 150 → 210
AGI (Agility): 30 → 50
DEX (Dexterity): 30 → 40
SUP (Status Points): 0P → 252P → 0P
SP (Skill Points): 0P → 12P → 2P
Skills:
-
MP Auto-Recovery Lv5
-
MP Cost Reduction Lv5
-
Guild: Luck
-
Equipment: Healing Boost Lv5
Magic:
-
Prayer of Healing Lv1
-
Wish of Healing Lv1
-
Prayer of Mass Healing Lv1
-
Rain of Life Lv1
-
Miracle of Resurrection Lv3
-
Prayer of Purification Lv1
-
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
-
Pillar of Light Lv1
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: ——
Her numbers are crazy now.
Some of her stats even outpaced my own, even with 『Body Strengthening』 factored in.
Her MP is the highest in the guild, as expected from a caster.
Normally, you’d never see a Basic job with HP or MP hitting 500 inside a Beginner low-tier dungeon. But once Lana steps into the Beginner Upper-tier dungeons, she’ll blow right past it.
It really shows just how powerful the 【Saint】 job is.
This time, I had her build mainly for durability.
If the one who can use 『Miracle of Resurrection』 goes down, the whole frontline collapses, so she has to be able to survive. As long as the 【Saint】 is alive, we can manage.
Technically, she shouldn’t get targeted unless she draws aggro, but accidents always happen. Better to prepare than regret.
Her <Skills> and <Magic> are still spread wide and shallow—jack-of-all-trades style. Some are higher, but most are just unlocked, which is more than enough to be useful.
For this round, no new acquisitions, just level-ups.
『MP Auto-Recovery』 and 『MP Cost Reduction』. These two are always worth raising when you’ve got the leeway, so I put 4 points each in, bringing them both to Lv5.
I also bumped 『Miracle of Resurrection』 from Lv1 to Lv3.
At Lv5, it’ll restore allies at half HP, and the MP cost drops sharply to 20, so I wanted it leveled at least a bit before challenging the higher dungeons.
Not that she’s likely to ever drop with her current gear and stats—but just in case. Rare bosses and such. 2 SP left in savings.
Next up is Ester.
Name: Ester
Category (Race): Knight Nobility / Princess, Female
Job: Princess Knight
Level: 32
HP: 192/192 → 290/290
MP: 140/140 → 200/200
Acquired SUP: Total 20P Restriction: STR+5
STR (Attack): 150 → 210
VIT (Defense): 70 → 110
INT (Magic Power): 10
RES (Resistance): 60 → 90
AGI (Agility): 60 → 100 (+15)
DEX (Dexterity): 20 → 40
SUP (Status Points): 0P → 240P → 0P
SP (Skill Points): 3P → 15P → 15P
Skills:
-
Long Thrust Lv5
-
Mounted Combat Lv1
-
Precious Thrust Lv5
-
Legion Thrust Lv1
-
Lance Charge Lv5
-
Two-Handed Spear Mastery Lv5
-
Guild: Luck
Magic:
-
None
Unique Skill:
-
None
Equipment:
-
Both Hands: Leaf Javelin (AGI+15)
-
Body 1, Body 2, Head, Arms, Legs: Full Princess Knight Equipment Set
-
Accessory 1: ——
-
Accessory 2: ——
This time, I held back a bit on her 【STR】.
With what she has already, regular mobs aren’t even worth mentioning, and her skills would just cause overkill. No point pumping STR further, so I figured I’d start building her other stats instead.
All her SP is being saved. Third-tier tree unlocks will be her big payday.
The rest I spread out in the 20–30 range. I gave her a little extra in AGI since she’ll be needing it more going forward.
Also, she needs a bit more defense. She’s an attacker, sure, but freak accidents—like that 『Battle Wolf-style : Blazing Tail Sweep』—can and will happen.
AOE attacks will get more common too, so hardening her up is important.
Last is Sierra.
Name: Sierra
Category (Race): Count / Princess, Female
Job: Shield Princess
Level: 32
HP: 410/410 → 452/452
MP: 140/140 → 200/200
Acquired SUP: Total 20P Restriction: VIT+5 or RES+5
STR (Attack): 30 → 80
VIT (Defense): 110 → 170
INT (Magic Power): 10
RES (Resistance): 100 → 160
AGI (Agility): 25 → 60
DEX (Dexterity): 25 → 30
SUP (Status Points): 0P → 240P → 0P
SP (Skill Points): OP → 12P → 3P
Skills:
-
Provoke Lv5
-
Guard Stance Lv1
-
Shield Smite Lv1
-
Shield Bash Lv1
-
Cover Shield Lv1
-
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
-
Guild: Luck
-
Equipment: Normal Attack Power Boost Lv5
Magic:
-
None
Unique Skill:
-
None
Equipment:
-
Right Hand: Steel-Flower Mace
-
Left Hand: Shield Princess Kite Shield
-
Body 1, Body 2, Head, Arms, Legs: Full Shield Princess Equipment Set
-
Accessory 1: ——
-
Accessory 2: ——
She’s gotten noticeably tougher.
With her VIT and RES where they are now, she’ll be fine in Beginner Upper-tier dungeons. Her armor is already mid-tier, too, so she’d only go down if something extreme happened.
So this time, I focused on her other stats.
Up till now, she’d gone all-in on defense, but since she’s already that solid, we can branch out.
Once she hits Lv40, the 【Shield Princess】 tree unlocks some offensive skills.
So far she’s only had things like 『Shield Smite』 (for drawing aggro) and 『Shield Bash』 (for breaking stances)—not real damage-dealers.
But soon she’ll be able to pick up some actual DPS skills.
So I put more into STR. I want her to hit at least 100 by Lv40.
For <Skills>, I maxed 『Abnormal Status Resistance』 to Lv10.
That should nullify most status effects.
Granted, if an enemy has 『Resistance Piercing』 or 『Debuff Success Boost』, there’s still a slim chance of her being afflicted, but we’ll just cover her in those cases.
Note that "knockdown" doesn’t count as a debuff, so that’s something to watch for.
Everything else can wait, so the rest of her SP goes into savings.
Alright. That should do for now.
"Everyone’s looking good."
"Yeah. I can’t wait until we hit Lv40."
"Me neither! I’m so excited—I want to dive into a dungeon right now!"
"Lady Lana, the sun’s already setting. Let’s go tomorrow instead."
"Zephyrus, thank you as always. I’ll be counting on you again."
"Of course. Anytime."
After explaining their statuses and what to expect going forward, the girls were practically bouncing with impatience.
I get it. I really do. Back when I checked skill trees and builds on the strategy sites, I felt the same way.
It’s exciting. Really exciting.
Grinding up to that level, unlocking that level, and finally gaining access to your job’s ultimate tier-three skills and magics…
What kind of skills are they? What kind of spells? How strong are they? How flashy? You just can’t help but want to try them, and you can’t wait to hit that level as fast as possible.
The third-tier tree opens at Job Lv40, and with the Beginner Upper-tier dungeons just around the corner, it’s practically within reach.
Motivation, energy, tension—it’s all sky-high right now.
Yeah, let’s keep pushing tomorrow and grind our levels even harder!
And then it hit me—I’d forgotten something important.
"Oh, right. Before that—does everyone remember what I told you before?"
"Before? Hmm, what was it again?"
"Hint: the guild flag."
"Ah! That’s right, we were supposed to get engraving and embroidery done on our gear! I totally forgot!"
Seems like it slipped everyone’s mind, not just Lana’s.
"Ester’s back now, so why don’t we drop off our gear? That way, it’ll be ready first thing tomorrow morning."
"Debuting in the Beginner Upper-tier dungeon with new gear emblazoned with our guild’s emblem… wow, that has a really nice ring to it!"
So, all fired up, we headed over to Marie-senpai’s shop, handed in our equipment, and called it a night.
Tomorrow, we’ll meet up at the <Wappen Seal Sticker> guild again.
And sure enough, Monday morning, a message came through my student handbook—Hanna's equipment was finished.
The student handbook even has a chat function, so personal messages like this are no problem… despite it being a student handbook.
And you can even use it inside dungeons. Handy for things like sending out a Distress Report if you get wiped.
Anyway, the five of us—Hanna, me, Ester, Sierra, and Lana—went straight to Marie-senpai’s place to try on the new gear.
And of course, she’d gone all out again.
"S-so… how do I look, Zephyrus-kun? Do you think it suits me?"
"Oh yeah. Looks perfect on you—super cute."
"E-Ehehe…"
"It suits you very well, Miss Hanna."
"It really does. Marie-senpai’s guild is amazing."
"Hanna looks so strong now!"
Flustered by everyone’s praise, Hanna spun in a circle, her cheeks bright red.
Marie-senpai… you’re a genius!
"Hehe, how’s that!"
"As expected of Marie-senpai’s guild, <Wappen Seal Sticker>. Incredible work. In one word—bravo!"
I clasped Marie-senpai’s small hands with a surge of gratitude.
The gear was simply stunning.
A full set coordinated in black to match the <Early Queen Black>.
With the witch’s pointed hat on top, Hanna had gone full-on witch mode. It looked exactly like an alchemist’s battle outfit.
Who would’ve thought you could make witches’ robes out of wolf-type monster materials? But then again, her real job is designing and repainting.
And the coordination was flawless. That’s the pro touch. Even though each piece was different, the whole set matched perfectly.
Honestly, it looked like some kind of super high-quality cosplay—but saying that might insult the <Wappen Seal Sticker> crew.
Even more impressive, though, were the stats:
Equipment
-
Headgear: <Battle Little Wolf’s Witch Hat>
<DEF 9, MDEF 3, +40 HP> -
Body Armor ①: <Early Queen Black>
<DEF 20, MDEF 13, 『Blunt Resistance Lv2』> -
Body Armor ②: <Rare Little Wolf Cape>
<DEF 28, MDEF 18, 『Slash Resistance Lv3』> -
Arms: <Battlefu Gloves>
<DEF 11, MDEF 4, 『HP+20』> -
Legs: <Battlefu Shoes>
<DEF 6, MDEF 3, 『Movement Speed Up Lv3』> -
Accessory ①: <Ring of Frugality>
<DEF 9, MDEF 9, 『MP Cost Reduction Lv3』> -
Accessory ②: <Charm of Fire>
<MDEF 10, 『Fire Boost Lv2』>
Every piece was top-tier for Beginner Mid-tier materials—easily among the best you could get at that stage.
Especially impressive was the <Rare Little Wolf’s Cape>, crafted extravagantly from the rare boss <Battle Wolf (Second Form)>. Its stats were insane—without a doubt, this was the pinnacle from the Beginner Mid-tier materials.
Adding everything up, it reached <Defense: 83> and <Magic Defense: 60>.
For comparison, my <Sky Series> shield and armor together only came to <Defense: 76> and <Magic Defense: 52>. So yeah, Hanna’s gear completely outclassed mine.
With armor that tough, she’d definitely be able to withstand Beginner Upper-tier dungeons too.
Hanna seemed really pleased with it, practically glowing with happiness.
From there, Marie-senpai made some final adjustments, and at last the equipment was complete.
Now then… the price tag was…
"All totaled, that’ll be 12 million Miru!"
"T–twelve million Miru!?"
The delight on Hanna’s face froze solid in an instant.
At last, the moment had come, Hanna. Every <DanKatsu> player faces it sooner or later—the moment your hard-earned currency sprouts wings and flies right out of your hands. You’ll have to get used to it.
The royals and nobles stayed calm… or so I thought. Actually, even Lana just sat there, stunned at the figure. Looks like she wasn’t used to this kind of money either.
"Alright, Hanna. Hand me your student handbook."
"Hyah!? R–really!?"
Just moments ago, she’d looked so happy. Now she looked so terribly sad. Who was it that made her look like this!? (........)
"B–but, um, Zephyrus-kun, my Miru… I don’t really have enough…"
"No worries. …Marie-senpai."
"Got it~."
At my signal, Marie-senpai smoothly pulled something out.
It was the appraisal sheets for the <Ghost Cave Dungeon> and <Lesser Wolf’s Shallow Forest Dungeon>.
We hadn’t actually collected those rewards yet. Apparently, the sheer amount of materials we’d brought back took ages to evaluate. Can’t be helped. Uh, Marie-senpai, that smile of yours is kind of scary. Sorry.
Anyway, once you add the buyback value from those, we should have enough.
"The materials you guys turned in totaled 28.85 million Miru."
"2—!!"
Hanna let out a strangled cry at the number.
Well, I’d expected about that much after all those runs. Honestly, considering we did 124 full clears plus a rare boss, it actually felt a little low. I mean, we fought a rare boss, for crying out loud!
"Of course it’s low! That’s deflation, duh! You hunted way too much, flooded the market with materials!"
Marie-senpai roared.
Apparently, we’d farmed so hard that the market value had dropped. She even scolded us, saying we should think about the players coming after us.
True, the freshmen who challenge the <Battle Wolf> next are probably going to cry when they see the prices. But hey, that’s how the game works. Early grinding is everything. Yep.
And no, I wasn’t planning on stopping. The other first-years can just do their best. Fuhaha!
Oh, and the materials we brought in that were used for Hanna’s equipment were excluded from the buyback value, of course. Makes sense, though it was a little disappointing.
Anyway, we had them deduct Hanna’s share from the appraisal total, and the rest was split evenly among us.
For the record, the investment plan we’d agreed on with Celestan yesterday had already started, but since this buyback was for materials gathered before then, we divvied it up evenly.
So Hanna’s cut was 5.77 million Miru. Roughly half of the cost. Which meant she only had to pay the remaining 6.23 million Miru out of pocket. Manageable, right?
"Alright, Hanna. Student handbook. Hand it over."
I pressed my student handbook against Marie-senpai’s, and with a little ding! The payment went through.
"F-fweh…"
Then Hanna pressed hers against Marie-senpai’s, and again ding!—payment complete.
And yet… why did the exact same ding! feel so different?
Hanna stared silently at her student handbook, the sight sticking oddly in my mind.
I felt kind of bad for her. I’d better cheer her up later.
Anyway—time to switch gears!
Hanna’s gear was done, meaning we were finally ready to tackle the Beginner Upper-tier dungeons.
Next up—
"Alright, the moment y’all been waitin’ for! All the embroidery an’ engravin’ of the emblems is done!"
"""""Ooooh!"""""
Next, Marie-senpai pulled out all of our gear. The ones we’d left with her yesterday. As expected, fast work.
And then—
"Wow, it’s like brand new!"
Hanna said, her eyes sparkling as she looked at our equipment.
Sure enough, all of it had been polished until it gleamed.
"Told ya, right? While we were at it, we went ahead an’ gave everything a real good clean an’ maintenance too. Well, my crew did, anyway. They said, ‘If we’re makin’ such fancy emblems, the gear’s gotta shine too,’ so they went all out. Not a shortcut in sight—sparkly clean, top to bottom. Oh, and this time it’s on the house. But if y’all want it again, it’ll cost ya next time."
"You’re awfully shrewd."
"Heh, that’s business fer ya!"
Marie-senpai’s business spirit was strong.
And yet, for some reason, I just felt like patting her on the head.
"C’mon, let’s try them on right away!"
"Yes. I’m looking forward to it."
"Agreed. Marie-senpai, we’ll borrow the back room."
"Go on ahead~."
With her permission, we went into the back to change—separating guys and girls, of course.
I finished changing first, and when I came back, Hanna looked at me with sparkling eyes.
"Z–Zephyrus-kun. You look like you’re glowing."
"Yeah, thanks."
The emblem shining on my chest, paired with the freshly polished gear, really did look fantastic.
I even ended up striking a few poses in front of the mirror before I knew it.
Just then, the back door opened.
Here come the <Princess Job> girls.
"How do we look?"
"Great! Absolutely perfect! You’re all so gorgeous it’s breakin’ through the ceiling!"
"Oh, you exaggerate."
"It feels… a little embarrassing."
"Mufufu. More! You can praise me more if you’d like!"
One of them, as usual, went way overboard, while Sierra and Ester seemed a little shy.
That bashful look? Priceless. I kinda wished Lana would blush too.
Still, when the gear shines this brightly, the whole impression changes.
Each of them had Eden’s emblem embroidered on their chest or shoulder, and it really gave off the sense that we were all members of the same guild.
Seriously, Marie-senpai’s guild, Wappen Seal Sticker, does incredible work.
"Marie-senpai, we’re expecting a few new members soon, so we’ll be counting on you again."
"That’ll be two coupons, then!"
"At least make it one?"
Man, you really can’t beat Marie-senpai.
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