Chapter 2: Strategy Meeting for Training the New Members. After That, Let’s All Go Eat Together!
"That's about it, since we’ve got more members now, I’d like to split the party."
"I see. Go on."
After seeing off Cheria, Lulu, and Celestan, I decided it was the perfect time to call a meeting with Kalua and Rika, since they were free.
Right now in the guild room, the vanguard group—me, Hanna, and Sierra—sat around a round table together with the rearguard group, Kalua and Rika.
"With twelve members in <Eden> now, the problem is the huge gap in Job levels. First, I want everyone to reach Job Lv.40 or higher."
I laid out the main issue.
Currently, <Eden>’s lineup looked like this: the five new recruits were below Job Lv.10, Kalua and Rika were around Job Lv.20, and we vanguard members were already past Lv.50. The difference was massive—no, too massive.
For Basic jobs, their skill trees had three stages, and their true potential was unlocked at Lv.40. On top of that, Intermediate-Level Dungeons—the real deal—required Lv.40 just to enter. In other words, Lv.40 was a milestone.
That’s why even back in the game, I always made sure to train every new character up to at least Lv.40.
After all, from the Intermediate-Level Dungeons onward, the difficulty spiked, and you needed the combined strength of many jobs to keep up.
In <DanKatsu>, parties were limited to five members.
But ideally, a party needed at least six to cover all bases—physical attacker, magical attacker, tank, healer, buffer or debuffer, and a scout. An all-rounder could cover gaps, sure, but they’d never match a true specialist. With only five, something always got left uncovered.
So why, then, did <DanKatsu> cap parties at five instead of six? It was the developers’ message.
Fixed parties.
The phrase alone had a nice ring to it.
But in <DanKatsu>, fixed parties were basically a no-go.
There were over 1,021 jobs in the game. If players could just build the "perfect six-man team" and stick with it, then all that variety would go to waste. The devs’ message was clear: switch it up, try new jobs every run. A desperate, tear-jerking plea from the dev team.
Which meant, ironically, forming a fixed party made clearing dungeons harder. That was the nature of <DanKatsu>.
Back then, I didn’t know that. I only trained the characters I liked, built a five-man specialist party, and went through hell trying to clear Intermediate-Level Dungeons. We wiped again and again. By the time I finally broke through, I was already in the second half of year two.
Ah, those were the days.
That’s why in <DanKatsu>, it was always more efficient to raise a variety of jobs evenly. More fun too—you get to play all sorts of characters. These days, I prefer it that way.
"So here’s the plan: the vanguard group and the new recruits will split up so we can train them faster. The idea is to make two parties. The academy starts soon, so chances to gather will be fewer, but we’ll adjust the lineup as needed."
Basically, whoever showed up that day would team up and enjoy some dungeon diving together.
Kinda had the vibe of school youth—like a page out of adolescence. Got my heart pumping a little.
"I see. May I suggest something?"
"Go ahead. Anything."
"If Kalua and Rika can just clear the <Ghost Cave Dungeon>, then with only one of us added to their team, they’ll be ready for Beginner Upper-tier Dungeons. So instead of two, I think we should split into three parties."
I see, I nodded, chewing over Sierra’s idea.
I’d been thinking in terms of 5 + 5, with 2 left over. But Sierra was suggesting 5 + 4 + 3.
And yeah, that did sound more efficient.
The only hitch was that I’d only planned for two parties, so we didn’t have enough party-essential gear like the <Item Bag (Capacity: Large)>. But we could always stock up again later, even if the quality dropped a bit.
"Sounds good. If no one has any objections, let’s go with that. Kalua, Rika, you two fine with it?"
"No problem."
"Mm. Looks like… We’ll be getting juniors."
"Indeed. If we’re going to be taught directly, we need to make the most of it. If we slack off, the new recruits will surpass us in no time."
"I’ll do my best."
"Right. We both need to step it up, too."
Rika and Kalua were fired up.
Good energy. At this rate, we could form the new parties right away.
"I’d rather not be the one to go into the <Ghost Cave Dungeon>, though."
"Then it’ll be me and Hanna. Ideally, we’d leave it to Lana—her help makes farming <Debubu> so much safer. But she’s not here today, so it can’t be helped."
Apparently, Rika and Kalua had been hunting <Knight Goblins>, but no elemental weapons had dropped. Buying them was an option, but elemental weapons were pricey. Worse, beginner-tier elemental gear barely saw use later on. Which meant… buying them was a waste.
If we could lend a hand, I’d like to, but <Debubu> was ridiculously strong. After all, it had the <Ghost Trait>. Add to that its sheer numbers attack…
When we fought it, things looked easy because we had a balanced setup. But if you couldn’t stop <Debubu>’s true specialty—『Fusion』—it would slowly grind you down, and in the end you’d get wiped out.
It was a seriously powerful boss. Honestly, it might be the toughest of all the Beginner-Level dungeon bosses.
Even with Hanna and me powered up, we still didn’t have enough firepower to guarantee stopping 『Fusion』. I mean, it spawned thirty-two <Mini-Ghosts>, after all.
Ahh, if only Lana were here.
"Well, let’s put that aside for now and hit the <Lesser Wolf Shallow Forest Dungeon> first."
"Right. We’ve got five people exactly. It’s already afternoon, but we can still get in a few runs if we head out now."
"Settled then. Rika, Kalua—we’re going to the <Lesser Wolf Shallow Forest Dungeon>. Goal: leveling. Get ready, we’re heading out right away to ShouDan."
"Understood."
"Mm. Got it."
Yeah, <Debubu> was too much without Lana. For now, we’d go farm <Battle Wolves> instead.
Wait for us, <Battle Wolves>! We’re coming to play! (Bow!?)
"Good work, everyone~."
"Mmh… yes, good work."
"…Hungry…"
"Are you two alright?"
Evening. We had just returned to the ShouDan after a day of <Battle Wolf> hunting.
The sun had dipped a bit lower, but we managed fifteen boss runs in the end.
Still, starting in the afternoon really cut down on results. Next time, we’d go in the morning. New target: break the record! (Over seventy-three runs!)
My resolve to farm <Battle Wolves> burned brighter. …Weird, though—I thought I saw a trembling <Battle Wolf> hallucination out of the corner of my eye. Must’ve been my imagination.
In contrast to my fiery spirit, Rika and Kalua looked completely drained, like they were about to collapse on the spot.
"What’s wrong?"
"It was just… harder than I expected. So this is what the vanguard group was doing all along. No wonder we couldn’t catch up…"
"…Hungry…"
Looked like their first boss run had worn them out.
Come to think of it, neither of them had ever done a boss run before. To run bosses, you needed big, heavy-hitting attacks. Speed-type Kalua and balance-type Rika didn’t have that kind of firepower. Well, to be fair, most jobs in the second tier of the tree couldn’t meet the requirement either.
This time, though, I was with them—『Brave Slash』 blew away the boss.
We breezed through the <Battle Wolf> fight. Just when the girls thought we were heading home, I dragged them back, slammed open the gate, and forced the boss to respawn. Their reactions were priceless. Kalua’s ears and tail shot straight up as her eyes went wide, and Rika blinked in shock, totally caught off guard. A rare sight, indeed. Both of them looked like they couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Perfect surprise prank!
"Zephyrus, at least warn us next time."
"That’d ruin the surprise. I just want to see everyone’s shocked faces."
"…I never thought you’d have this side to you, Zephyrus."
Rika blinked at my unexpected prankster streak.
"Zephyrus has always been like this. The rumors about the 【Hero】 just ran off on their own."
"That’s true. But Zephyrus-kun is usually considerate and kind. Plus… he’s cool."
"Mm. That, I agree. Zephyrus… cool."
Sierra, Hanna, and then Kalua, each backed me up in turn.
Fuhaha. Well, I am that amazing. …Just kidding.
Since joining <Eden>, Rika and Kalua had been kind of left out. Especially Rika—she’d let the rumors inflate her image of me way too much.
I figured it was time to actually communicate more with them from now on.
"So, did you two at least enjoy the <Battle Wolf> fight?"
"Enjoy…? I never really thought about it like that, but lately… yes, I’ve started to feel that way. This <Battle Wolf> battle was… fun."
"Mm. Dungeon… fun."
"That’s the spirit. Remember this well: enjoy the dungeon. Dungeons aren’t grim, punishing trials. They’re fascinating, joyful, fun places—and on top of that, you get stronger. The best places ever. So when you step into a dungeon, enjoy it first and foremost. I’ll say it again: enjoy the dungeon."
"…Strange. That’s very different from what I imagined dungeons to be. But somehow… it feels right."
"Mm."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. When you say it, Zephyrus, it has this strange kind of persuasive weight to it."
"I get it too. When it comes to dungeons, Zephyrus-kun’s passion is just on a whole different level."
…Oops. Guess I got carried away and went on a rant.
But I want them to understand—<DanKatsu> really is the best world there is. Saying you can’t enjoy it is just a lie.
Now that they’ve joined Guild <Eden>, we’ll make sure they learn that properly. They can look forward to it.
"Oh, it’s Lulu-chan and the others!"
"Hmm?"
At Hanna’s voice, I turned to look. Just then, Lulu, Cheria, and Celestan were coming out of the Beginner Dungeon gates.
They noticed us too, so Hanna gave a little wave.
"Ah, Sierra! Hanna Onee-chan! Zephyrus Onii-sama!"
"Good work. Looks like you finished up too, huh?"
"Aye! And Sierra—my job 【Lolita Hero】 just hit level 10!"
"Alright, alright. You did well, Lulu."
Lulu, still bursting with energy despite just leaving a dungeon, dashed over and leapt into Sierra’s arms. She must’ve been so happy about hitting level 10 that she kept rubbing her forehead against Sierra, who stroked her gently on the head through her hat with a motherly smile.
…Lucky Sierra. Hey, how about swapping places with me for just a second?
While I was entertaining that thought, Cheria stepped forward to report.
"Thanks for your hard work. We’ve successfully gotten everyone to job level 10."
"Nice! That means tomorrow you can finally move on to the Beginner Low-tier Dungeon as planned!"
When the <Beginner Dungeon> got so overcrowded, I was worried (not my fault!), But it looked like they managed to grind their way to level 10 just fine.
Time to start planning tomorrow’s schedule!
Just then, someone’s stomach gave a loud growl.
"…Hungry…"
Apparently, that was Kalua. Well, it was evening by now.
"Then how about we all go grab some food together?"
"! Totally in favor!"
"Sounds good to me."
"Am I allowed to join as well?"
"Of course you are. You’re a member of <Eden> too, Celestan."
Since everyone could come, we headed toward the street lined with restaurants.
"So, where should we go?"
"…I vote curry."
For once, Kalua said it without hesitation, her eyes sparkling.
Apparently, curry transforms Kalua.
Since nobody voiced any objections, we decided on the curry specialty restaurant Marvelous, the same one we’d gone to when I first met Kalua.
Back then, I gave up after three bowls. This time, I wondered how far I could push myself. Maybe it was time for a challenge.
…But in the end, I caved again after three bowls. Curry is not a drink, you know.
By the way, Kalua polished off ten refills without batting an eye. Sierra and Hanna, meanwhile, couldn’t stop staring curiously at her round, bulging stomach, wondering where all that curry had disappeared to.
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