First, Confirm The Subterranean Labyrinth

“Truly, I am astonished. To think it was this incredible.”

The Chief sent a gaze of admiration not toward Paula or me, but behind us—at Mee-kun, the Giant Worm, who was crawling along as the rearguard.

It was no wonder he felt that way. The well-digging Mee-kun had helped with this morning had apparently progressed at a blistering pace, reaching the water source in no time. While digging dirt is his calling, his performance was equivalent to more than ten men working by hand. Furthermore, he provided an “after-sales service” by coating the sides of the well with his body fluid (urine) to harden the earth.

It was only natural that the Chief’s eyes sparkled with anticipation. After all, this is a farming village. If one can dig a massive amount of ground in a short time, applications for field work come to mind immediately.

Getting the people to stop being wary of monsters. Making the usefulness of monsters widely known. Paula’s servant was fulfilling those roles perfectly.

The well had only just connected to the vein, so the water was murky and couldn’t be used right away. That’s where the next helping hand, the Blue Slimes, came in. By the end of the day, they should have removed the turbidity and purified the water.

However, since Sue the slime stayed behind in the village to work, Yoru looked very lonely when we parted. She must have developed an attachment since she spent so much time riding on Sue’s back. I had no choice but to give her a piggyback ride on my shoulders instead, and she’s completely cheerful now as a result.

But now, Kuu has started sulking. With a grumpy face, he sat atop Rah the Blue Slime, looking up at his sister who was purring with delight. Then, he suddenly fluttered up and landed on his sister’s shoulder. The siblings, now in a “double-piggyback” state, are having the time of their lives.

Actually, the weight of two is a bit… no, it’s quite heavy.

“Kuu-chi, aren’t you happy?”

“Koo!”

“My, my, they’ve become quite fond of you, Sir Nino.”

“They’re actually quite heavy, so would you like to take one?”

When I made the offer, Hans pulled on his mustache, looking conflicted. I thought he might still have a resistance to monsters, but Mia chimed in from the side.

“It’s ’cause these kids love Sensei too much!”

“Is that so?”

“Here, watch this.”

As she spoke, Mia reached out and tucked her hands under Kuu’s armpits, lifting him off my shoulders. Immediately, the bird-child started flailing his feathered hands and let out a lonely cry.

“Kuu-kuu-kuu!”

“Uwah, so cute! Honestly, Kuu-chi is such a spoiled baby!”

Mia, seemingly finding the monster-child’s cute cries irresistible, hugged him tight and buried her face in his feathers. Then, a hand reached out from the side and smoothly snatched Kuu away.

“These children love you from the bottom of their hearts, Sir. Please, bestow your favor upon them for a long time to come.”

…And upon me as well, Paula added with a smile that seemed to say as much in her heart, as she placed Kuu back onto my shoulder. The bird-child, his mood restored instantly, let out a happy chirp.

It was then I noticed the Chief’s bewildered expression.

“Is something the matter?”

“No… it’s just that you all are about to head into a terrifying place, yet… you seem to have a remarkable amount of composure…”

“Not at all. For my part, my legs have been shaking for quite some time now,” Hans added. Having accidentally let it slip that he’d accompany us, he still seemed unable to fully steel his resolve.

Struggling to support the weight of the two little ones, I puffed out my chest as much as possible and replied.

“Don’t worry. We’re with you. Now, we’ve arrived.”

The members of this exploration party consisted of Paula the Familiar Master and Mia the Mage. The familiars Yoru and Kuu, along with the servants Imo-tchi the Great Caterpillar and Yo the Fairy. The new participants were Chief Dirk and Hans the merchant. Finally, I, the Alchemist, would serve as support for everyone.

For this trip, Mee-kun the Giant Worm stayed behind to guard the dungeon entrance, and Rah the slime stayed behind to help purify the river water.

“Now, we’ll prepare once we’re inside, so please, step in.”

“Excuse us—!”

Mia entered the dungeon as casually as if she were visiting a neighbor’s house. Following her were Yoru and Kuu, and the Fairy riding atop the Great Caterpillar. After looking at each other, the two men steeled themselves and stepped inside. Finally, I lent a hand to Paula as we crossed the threshold.

The interior of the dungeon looked exactly as it did yesterday. Nodding with anticipation, I watched as Yoru gave a happy hop and then went waddling toward the first T-junction. After twitching her large ears, she pointed left and turned back to us.

“Suspicious thing—!”

At those words, I let out a deep breath from the bottom of my lungs. Killing my footsteps, I approached behind Yoru and peeked carefully around the corner. Occupying the middle of the passage was our familiar friend, the blue basketball: a Slime.

There are many mysteries surrounding the mana pools of this world, but the subterranean labyrinths in particular remain largely unexplained. They are apparently so mysterious that scholars have essentially given up. Among their traits, the most wondrous is the labyrinth’s ability to restore itself. Not only the wandering monsters, but even plants and minerals return to their original state over time. Because this phenomenon is most prominent in labyrinths with strong mana, some theorize it is related to the power of the Dragon’s remains.

Actually, it’s exactly like the game mechanics. In Dra-Chro 2, the Palace of the Dragon Jade could be challenged once a day, and upon re-entering, all monsters and treasure chests would have respawned. (Though there were mechanics to stop the respawning if certain conditions were met.)

It seems something similar is happening in this realized world; apparently, that’s why famous dungeons are so hard to conquer to the deepest layers. Regardless, for us right now, there is no mechanic more welcome than this. We can gather materials and grind experience to our hearts’ content.

That said, considering my long-term plans, I can’t just be unconditionally happy about it, so I need to confirm certain things today.

“Alright, let’s have our customary medicine time.”

First, the Chief’s status…

A surprising Level 20, but this is typical for a Healer. Just like in the game, it seems that in this world, performing healing specialties on others grants experience even without defeating monsters. However, if the target is lower level than you, the experience gained drops drastically or becomes zero.

Since dungeons with strong monsters are difficult to conquer, it’s hard for high-level individuals to grow. Consequently, the only way to level up is to spend an immense amount of time casting healing arts on whoever you can. As a result, the situation in this world is such that only a handful of elderly people can use top-tier Healing Thaumaturgy.

The Chief probably reached Level 20 by diligently casting ‘Light Healing’ and ‘Shoha’ on the injured over many years. That said, Light Healing only warms a wound to slightly speed up natural healing, and Shoha merely checks the state of the target’s body. In the game, they were quite useful as early-game heals and for seeing through enemy levels and equipment, but this world is much more severe. Even Healing, which he finally learned at Level 20, only disinfects a wound; it doesn’t have the effect of closing a gash instantly like in a game. Once one masters magic circles, convenient healing arts become available… but that will have to wait for later.

Currently, his HP, MP, and Defense aren’t an issue, and since he won’t be on the front lines, there’s no need to buff his Attack. Since this is largely an inspection for him, he can go as he is.

He says that encountering bandits or stray monsters is a common occurrence during peddling, so he can use a sword and shield reasonably well. Also, to my surprise, he can even use magic—enough to stir up a small gust of wind. Is it a trope that unexpected characters have talent for combat?

However, since he’s participating as a Swordsman this time, I’ll have him drink an Attack Enhancement Potion and an HP Augmentation Potion to bolster that aspect. As a precaution, I also had him equip the bat-made armor. I checked the stats when he put them on: the Bat-Wing Hat increases Physical Defense by 2 and Speed by 1. The Giant-Bat Wing Cape increases Physical Defense by 3 and Speed by 2. He’s wearing normal clothes under the cape, but it seems the higher value is reflected.

Also, the Dog-Bone Short Spear has an Attack of 5, which is higher than his Cast Iron Shortsword’s 3, so I had him swap weapons. Removing the Leather Shield dropped his Defense by 5, but since I don’t expect him to take many hits, it should be fine.

Since the other members are plenty strong, I decided they would follow Hans on the first floor without potions to back him up.

However, with the addition of these two today, I had a major realization. In the menu’s Ally list, I confirmed a command that allows for changing initial jobs. It only appeared for Hans, but in addition to Swordsman, he can now choose Mage as well. The reason it didn’t appear for Paula or Mia is likely because they hadn’t met the aptitude requirements for other jobs yet.

If this means they can change to advanced jobs as they level up, I’m already getting excited. Suppressing my dancing heart, I made a grand declaration.

“Now, let the fun exploration time begin. …Let’s not get too carried away and stay cautious.”