DanKatsu Volume 4, Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Shizu and Pamela’s First Boss Fight Begins. No One Gets It Right The First Time.

And so, we arrived at the lowest floor.

How long is it from the first floor to here? A mere thirty minutes.

That means we cleared each floor in about three minutes. As expected of a <Carriage>—it’s fast.

And that was with Ester driving slowly and safely, too. I can’t wait to see how fast she’ll be once she’s really mastered it.

Now then—this is the boss room of the <Tropical Forest Dungeon>.

Our opponent is the <Bear Anteater>, a beast that looks like a cross between a bear and an anteater.

It’s the weakest boss in <DanKatsu>, serving as the very first trial for beginners.

Apparently, Lulu and her group cleared this same boss yesterday.

Since Shizu and Pamela had been hunting on the first floor, their levels had increased by one, putting them at level 11.

Fighting it solo would be rough, but together they should be able to beat it without too much trouble. Their gear is pretty decent, too.

Time to see what they’re made of.

I stowed the carriage away inside a <Item Bag (Capacity: Large Capacity)>.

After all, 『Drive』-type skills don’t work on bosses, and in fact, we shouldn’t interfere here at all.

Ester looked a little sad when I put it away—that left an impression. She must really like that carriage, even though she was going to use it again soon. 

Well, I did put a lot of effort into building it.

"Alright, you two—ready?"

"Yes. We can go anytime."

"All set, desu!"

Both girls nodded and readied their weapons.

Let me take this chance to introduce those weapons.

First up is Shiz, whose job is 【Battlefield Maid】.

Now, I can already hear the question: what even is a 【Battlefield Maid】?

…Wait, do I actually need to explain?

Fine, I’ll explain jobs along with it.

If Celestan’s job as a 【Butler】 means a combat butler, then a 【Battlefield Maid】 is exactly what it sounds like: a combat maid.

The standard mid-rank job 【Maid】 is a pure support role with almost no combat skills. But when promoted to 【Battlefield Maid】, about seventy percent of those support skills get replaced with combat-oriented ones.

Naturally, 【Battlefield Maid】 is a high-ranking job, ranked in the upper-middle of that bracket. They can handle themselves in dungeons and guild battles, filling the role of a scout or attacker.

There are two main ways to train a 【Battlefield Maid】, depending on the weapon you choose.

The weapon most associated with them is the gun.

In <DanKatsu>, the devs listened to the players and included both gun and magic-cannon types. Guns fall under physical ranged weapons, while magic cannons are magical ranged weapons—typically used by 【Gunner】-type jobs.

There was some debate among players about whether guns belonged in fantasy, but since HP in this world absorbs impacts and prevents bullets from piercing, people eventually accepted them as just another weapon.

Of course, in proper game style, the bullets flew slowly enough to follow with the eyes, and even when you got hit, they didn’t leave a mark. No blood sprays, either—safe for the younger audience.

(DanKatsu is rated B, ages 12 and up.)

And the other training path is hammers.

Why hammers for a maid? I have no idea. But in <DanKatsu>, mops and deck brushes were inexplicably classified as hammers.

If you went down that path, your maid would gleefully say, Time to clean up!, while sweeping away monsters.

In practice, that meant bashing them into pulp—but the players accepted it, calling it the "Battle Maid’s style of cleaning." Honestly, they probably just thought anything was fine as long as it was a maid.

Training-wise, guns scale with DEX, hammers with STR. If you don’t choose one path early, you’ll end up spreading points too thin and wasting your stats. Be careful.

As for Shizu, she was holding a fine two-handed gun.

I don’t know much about firearms, but it looked like some kind of assault rifle. Oddly enough, it really suited a 【Battlefield Maid】. Looks like she’s going the gunner route.

Well, this is reality. No one’s actually going to pick up a mop or a deck brush as a weapon here—that was just a gag.

Next, Pamela. Her job is 【Kunoichi】—a female ninja.

It’s a high-ranking job, ranking in the middle-upper range.

In fact, there are only two ninja jobs total: 【Ninja】 for men and 【Kunoichi】 for women. Why the developers bothered to split them is a mystery only they know. Probably no deep meaning.

【Ninja】 jobs fall under the "Branch Family" category, which is mostly made up of support jobs—but unlike most, 【Ninjas】 can fight as scouts as well. You can only get them from that category.

As a 【Kunoichi】, Pamela specializes in scouting too—detecting enemies, discovering and disarming traps, even reusing them.

In combat, they excel as evasive attackers.

The 『Ninjutsu』 skill line allows you to lower an enemy’s hate or redirect their target, so no matter how much you attack, you rarely end up drawing too much aggro.

On top of that, emergency evasion skills like 『Utsusemi』 or 『Substitution』 let you dodge area-of-effect or wide-range attacks, making it a very survivable, powerful job. It pairs well with tanks too.

And since you can also act as an evasion tank to draw enemy focus, the job can serve as an effective sub-tank. Lowering your own hate makes switching with the main tank easy, so it’s a very flexible job overall.

Their weapons fall broadly into two categories.

The first: the sickle.

A chained sickle with a weight at the end is the main weapon, paired with knives, kunai, and other small arms as sub-weapons. Since you fight primarily at mid-range, it’s easier to dodge and maintain a stable rhythm in combat.

The downside is that its skills don’t pack much punch.

The second: the sword.

Specifically, the ninja sword. Unlike the curved blades Rika uses, this one is a straight blade, often called a chokutō.

In <DanKatsu>, they weren’t distinguished from regular swords, so both counted as <Sword> and could be equipped freely. Still, some players insisted on style—samurai with katanas, ninjas with ninja swords. It looked cooler and felt more authentic. And since the game lets you take screenshots, players cared about appearances.

I was the same way—I’d visited the <Design Paint Modifier Shop> plenty of times just to get the look right.

This path was the close-combat type.

Skills like 『One-Slash Sever』 and 『Thunder Cut』 were seriously cool.

The skills were powerful and effective, but the set was limited, and being too close made dodging harder. That was the trade-off.

So the fighting style was generally hit-and-run, mixing in shuriken and the like.

Both weapons had their merits, but Pamela had clearly chosen the sword. She carried two ninja swords across her back.

Dual-wielding ninja blades—now that’s cool!

When I blurted that out, Pamela gave me this mischievous, toothy grin, and I remember thinking it really suited her. She must have liked the look too, since she’d gone out of her way to have ninja swords made. Something told me Pamela and I were going to get along just fine.

"Well then, we’re off."

"Watch our gallant performance, desu!"

Waving back, I saw the two of them step through the gate.

Alright then—just as declared, let’s see this gallant performance of theirs.

"Ester, you work with them, right? What do you think of their abilities?"

"Let’s see… in their normal bodies, they were extremely capable. Pamela especially—she’s quick and skilled at hiding her presence, perfect for a hidden guard. Shizu was originally Lady Lana’s maid, but before anyone realized it, she’d become… well, that. The reason is… Ah, pardon me. That’s a secret."

"A secret, huh. So there’s some story there?"

"…No, no deep meaning… Please don’t mind it. —I can’t exactly say out loud that she followed Lady Lana here just because she cares too much about her. (mutter)"

"Hm? You said something at the end? I didn’t quite catch it."

"No, nothing. Anyway, this is the first time I’ll see them in action after they’ve taken jobs. So it’s best if we just watch for ourselves."

"I see. Fair enough. Thanks for telling me, Ester."

"Not at all. If you ever want to ask something, please don’t hesitate."

"Alright, I’ll count on you."

I turned my gaze back to the boss chamber. Just then, the two of them were squaring off against the <Bear Anteater>. Looks like the fight’s about to start.

Not long into the battle, Ester and I were already exchanging impressions.

"Yeah… they don’t really seem to have a handle on their jobs yet. Their skill usage is off."

"I agree. I think Pamela’s overusing her 『Ninjutsu』."

At present, Shizu and Pamela were locked in combat with their very first boss monster, the <Bear Anteater>.

Ester and I were watching from the safe zone, sipping tea.

The bosses on this Beginner low-tier could be seen and heard from outside, which made spectating possible.

But inside, things looked… a bit chaotic.

"Wah!? It went for Shizu again, desu!? Wait up, desu!"

"Pamela! What are you doing? You’re the vanguard—hold it properly! 『Fire Bullet』!"

"『Sword Slash』, desu!"

"Grrraaaah!"

"Ahh! It’s not stopping, desu! Shizu, run for it!"

"Eh!? Hold on!?"

"Grrraaaah!"

"Kyaa!?"

Pamela failed to stop the <Bear Anteater>, and it started chasing Shizu around.

Shizu was reduced to desperately running for her life.

Watching this, I leaned toward Ester.

"Weren’t these two supposed to be skilled royal guards?"

"…I have no words. That display was… unexpected. Normally, they’re both excellent attendants and bodyguards."

Even Ester looked troubled watching her colleagues flail around like that.

Well, it’s not really fair to compare their usual duties to fighting a dungeon boss monster. Still, I hadn’t expected this either—so hopefully she’ll forgive my surprise.

Now that I think about it, during Ester’s very first boss fight, she was pretty awkward herself. Maybe not this bad, but still.

At first, I figured maybe they were just clumsy because Ester had picked a spear for her weapon. But looking closer, maybe it wasn’t the weapon at all—she just didn’t have enough experience fighting monsters in the first place.

Since Sierra had been flawless right from the start, I’d assumed Ester and the others must have had similar training back at home. But a first time is still a first time. Of course, they’d be awkward.

Really, it was Sierra who’d been too perfect.

If she hadn’t been there for our very first boss fight as the perfect tank, maybe we would’ve looked just like this. …Then again, I think Lana screwed up back then and burned her opening buff too early.

Come to think of it, this is actually my first time watching another party go up against their very first boss. Maybe this kind of mess is what a beginner’s boss fight usually looks like.

"Shall we step in and help?"

"Hmm… let’s try throwing them some advice first. If that doesn’t work, then we’ll jump in."

"Understood."

This is a Beginner’s low-tier dungeon, so the boss room doors stay open until there are five people inside. If we wanted, we could run in and join the fight at any moment.

But if we just barged in and cleaned it up for them, it wouldn’t help them at all.

This is their first boss fight—it’s all part of the experience.

So I leaned forward from the safe zone and shouted out advice.

"Heeey, Pamela! First thing—steal the hate! Stop using 『Ninjutsu』! Just stick to 『Draw Attention』! And Shizu, stop attacking for now and focus only on running—don’t rack up too much hate!"

In other words, it was a hate management screw-up.

Beginners often don’t really grasp the concept of aggro yet.

Looking at their jobs, Shizu is a backline attacker, Pamela’s a frontline evasion attacker—it’s definitely skewed toward offense. But Pamela’s a 【Kunoichi】; she can act as an evasion tank too.

Ideally, Pamela should be holding the target while Shizu piles on the damage.

But since Pamela kept spamming hate-reducing 『Ninjutsu』, the boss’s focus shifted onto Shizu, the backline attacker.

Shizu’s rearguard with very low defense. She’s a maid, after all.

She can tank a hit or two, but take several blows from a boss, and she’ll go down for sure.

The only way to fix this is for Pamela to start pulling the hate back again.

"Got it, desu! 『Draw Attention』!"

The 【Kunoichi】 skill 『Draw Attention』 is a provocation move—needlessly flashy effects to pull enemy focus.

But even so, the <Bear Anteater> didn’t turn its target to Pamela. Shizu must have already built up quite a bit of hate.

"Pamela! Once the cooldown’s up, hit 『Draw Attention』 again! That should do it. Shizu, just keep running!"

"You say that so easily! Kyaa!"

Hmm. Looks like Shizu’s prim exterior is starting to crack—her true self’s coming out.

"Cooldown’s almost doneeee! Shizu, just a little longer, desu!"

"Pamela, you’re getting a lecture later! Kyaa!"

Pamela had given up on intercepting and was now cheering Shizu on, but apparently that just made Shizu’s hate shift toward her. A maid’s scolding, huh. I kinda want to see that live someday.

"Cooldown’s up! 『Draw Attention』, desu!"

"Grrraaaah!"

At last, on the second 『Draw Attention』, the <Bear Anteater> finally turned its focus to Pamela.

"Time to focus on dodging, desu! 『Acrobatics』!"

Pamela cast her self-buff skill to boost her evasiveness, slipping past the monster’s swipes with nimble footwork.

But—

"Awawawa, this is actually really scary, desu!?"

"I’ve been chased by that scary ant-eater this whole time, you know. Maybe now you understand how I felt."

"Shizu!? Hurry up and shoot it already, desu!?"

"I ran too much. I’m tired. My arms can’t even hold up the gun anymore. I’ll just take a little break."

"Lies, desu! Shizu, I’ll apologize, okay!? I’m sorry, desu! Just hurry up, the 『Acrobatics』 buff’s about to wear off, desuuu!?"

Now that the target had shifted to Pamela, Shizu’s counterattack had begun.

From the outside, it was actually pretty entertaining to watch.

Pamela was turning pale as she desperately dodged attacks. A complete reversal of earlier.

Seeing her colleagues like this, Ester could only let out a long sigh.

"I apologize, Sir Zephyrus. It seems they’ve gotten… a little slack. They may need to be retrained."

"It’s fine. They actually look like they’re having fun. That’s what matters—enjoy the dungeon. Those who enjoy it are the true victors."

Enjoy the dungeon—that’s my way of <DanKatsu>.

"...You’re right. Then, let’s continue watching over them a little longer."

She must have felt my enthusiasm, because Ester gave a faint smile and nodded.

After that, Shizu finally joined the attack properly, and despite Pamela’s shrill cries, they somehow managed to take down the <Bear Anteater>.

"You two look like a wreck."

"We didn’t have time to heal."

Shizu replied coolly to my comment.

They’d won their first boss fight, sure—but both had less than half their HP left.

They’d really been beaten up. Shizu had taken a few hits while being chased, and Pamela, who’d been dodging as an evasion tank, got pummeled the moment 『Acrobatics』 wore off.

Once the boss’s target swung back to Shizu, it was a desperate struggle all over again.

…Honestly, it was a little funny to watch from the sidelines, though I kept that to myself.

Still, it really drove home how important a stable tank is.

Thanks, Sierra. Always.

I thanked her silently in my heart.

"For now, let’s get you healed. 『Aura Heal』! You’re up next, Pamela, once the cooldown’s done."

"Thank you, Lord Zephyrus."

"Thanks, desu!"

I cast healing spells on Shizu and Pamela in turn.

But yeah, no time to heal during the fight itself, huh.

In <Eden>, we’ve got plenty of people who can tank, but healers? We’re short on those.

Right now, only Lana and I have jobs that can heal, which is a real problem.

Technically, Hanna, Celestan, and even Shizu can craft healing items, but in the middle of a fight like that, there’s no time to use them.

A healer is indispensable for dungeon runs.

Next round of recruits, I’ll definitely need to look for one. Mental note made.

"So, Sir Zephyrus, what shall we do now?"

"It’s already midday. Let’s head back for lunch. After that, we’ll tackle the <Stone Bridge Abandoned Mine Dungeon>."

"Understood."

Ester only asked to confirm our schedule, but she spoke so formally that it almost felt like she was Celestan. Not like she needs to act so deferential with me, but oh well.

"It’s gonna be a tough schedule. Can you handle another boss fight this afternoon? Actually, we’ve got more than one lined up."

"Yes. I hadn’t expected the <Mounts> to allow such fast dungeon travel, but I believe it will be no problem. I can fight."

"So when Shizu said she was tired earlier, that was a lie, desu!"

"No, I was tired. I wonder whose fault that was?"

"Eh? W-well, that was the boss’s fault, of course, desu! Don’t look at me like that, you won’t get anything out of it, desu!"

…Looks like both of them still have plenty left in the tank. Good. With this much stamina, we can probably run boss fights all afternoon.

"Alright then, let’s head back!"

We didn’t loop the boss this time—just made a temporary retreat.

For now, speed takes priority. I want to clear the entire Beginner low-tier today.

Grinding levels works better in the Beginner mid-tier, where boss loops give better experience anyway.

So for now, focus on clearing.

Still, just defeating each boss once won’t be enough to hit level 15. That’s why I plan to farm the <Alligator Lizard> in the <Still Waters Underground Dungeon> a few times.

I explained all this after lunch.

"Lord Zephyrus, your planning is astounding. You’re like a researcher. It’s no wonder Princess Lana and Lady Ester have already reached level 50."

"This schedule is way too hardcore, desu!"

Yeah… judging from Shizu and Pamela’s reactions, this kind of speedrun really is on another level.

Well, high-speed dungeon runs using <Mounts> aren’t really a common thing here (in the real world).

First off, just gathering the massive amount of materials needed to craft a <Mount> is already a huge pain. On top of that, piloting one requires a special-category job. That’s a bit too difficult for most students.

And the biggest reason—sure, even if you use a <Mount> to zip straight to the bottom floor, if you don’t know about the <Official Cheat Tactic: Boss Farming>, then it doesn’t mean much. You’ll get the clear, but since you skip all the mid-level fights, your levels don’t rise much. The next dungeon will be tougher, and eventually you’ll still have to grind levels. In terms of efficiency, it’s a bit meh.

This high-speed mount strategy only works because there’s a spot where you can farm levels efficiently. That’s the whole point.

"Well, for now, I want to really focus on these three days before classes at the Academy start. I don’t know what the class schedule looks like, so we’ll figure out the plans after that. Once lessons begin, we’ll probably just form parties with whoever’s available in the guild and tackle dungeons casually until things settle down."

"I see. So the idea is to raise everyone’s job level equally to 30. That way, no matter who joins a party, the team won’t end up unbalanced."

"Exactly."

Parties are all about role balance.

If the attackers are weak or the tank is weak, it makes progress harder. That’s fine—it’s part of the dungeon experience. But if your level is too low to even keep up, that just sucks.

Besides, dungeons have level requirements. If your job level’s too low, you can’t even enter the party. That’s just depressing.

And then there’s the matter of guild battles. I want to raise the guild’s overall baseline as much as possible.

"Alright, we’re done with lunch. Time to work it off with a dungeon run!"

"""Yes (desu)!"""

Our afternoon run began. Just like the morning, a few more issues popped up.

Ester, who was driving, kept slamming the carriage into cave walls in the underground dungeon. Luckily, the impact barely reached the inside, and I healed her while giving pointers on the finer points of maneuvering.

In the boss fights, Shizu and Pamela still hadn’t gotten the hang of hate management, and Shizu’s shrieks echoed more than once.

Yeah… Pamela really loves her 『Ninjutsu』, huh. She uses 『Draw Attention』 to gather hate—then immediately uses 『Ninjutsu』 to lower it. Why!?

I get it, I do. 『Ninjutsu』 is pure style. It’s romantic in a way.

…Well, after the fight, Pamela ended up teary-eyed after Shizu pinched her butt. Another lesson learned.

At 3 PM, we headed into the <Still Waters Underground Dungeon>.

More carriage crashes all the way down, but this time fewer than in the cave dungeon. Looks like Ester’s starting to get the hang of it.

"I’m still not ready to carry Lady Lana."

"You’ll get there soon enough. Practice makes perfect."

Apparently, her goal is to deliver Lana safely to the bottom floor in the carriage.

I gave her some encouragement.

Then came today’s third boss fight.

Pamela got chomped by the <Alligator Lizard> at one point, but it spat her out right away—no injuries. Getting eaten and coming out without a scratch… that’s <DanKatsu> for you.

The sight of Shizu, cheeks flushed as she tried to hold back laughter while shooting the lizard, was oddly surreal.

This fight went smoother than the last two, so we added another boss. Time for some boss run.

At that point, both of them were job level 13, so we farmed the boss five times. They safely reached job level 15.

And with that, today’s run came to an end.

Shizu. Pamela.

Congratulations on graduating from Beginner Low-tier dungeons.

Tomorrow—it’s on to Beginner Mid-tier dungeons!

Previous Chapter - TOC - Next Chapter