New Possibilities.

Day five began with selecting the day’s companions. Word had already spread from yesterday’s participants, and the tavern was once again overflowing with volunteers. When people see that there is profit involved rather than just a curiosity, they jump at the chance.

“Very good. Everyone is getting hooked on the labyrinth. It’s a healthy trend.”

“Hehe, they’re playing right into your hands, my Lord.”

Right from the morning, we were having a conversation that sounded slightly like a pair of villains.

That aside, the tavern was filled with a wonderful aroma. Since we returned early last night, I had Ute-san cook up a large amount of the terror-bird meat. There were some comments that it was a bit too chewy, so we tried making it into a stew, and the reception seems to be excellent.

It’s closer to a pot-au-feu than a thick stew. Actually, since the only ingredients are dried beans and round potatoes, and the seasoning is just salt, you probably can’t even call it that. But perhaps because the meat itself has so much flavor, it’s quite delicious in its own way. Still, it feels like it’s missing something…

“I’ll need to have Hans-san stock up on as many seasonings and spices as possible.”

Hans-san is scheduled to depart on his peddling journey the day after tomorrow. I plan to have him buy up a mountain of supplies with the gold from everything we’ve sold.

“I want vegetable seeds to plant in the labyrinth farm, too. And saddles… actually, maybe I can manage that on my end. A month is a long time.”

The donkey saddle that was kindly prepared for me was too small to fit the Assault Birds. Only the stirrups looked usable, but they were the type permanently attached to the saddle. I also gave up on the leather reins, as it looked like a beak could snap through them in a single bite. Horses and birds clearly require different handling.

“Well, shall we head out soon?”

Today’s helpers were two apprentice Warriors (one male, one female), one apprentice Mage (male), and one more: a female Healer.

“I look forward to working with you today, Sir Nino.”

The one who bowed with a polite tone was Carina-san, the Chief’s wife. She had the slender, tall stature and refined features characteristic of the Oni race. She serves as the leader of the village women, and her composed manner gave the impression of someone very reliable. She mentioned she doesn’t have much experience as a Healer; her current level is 8. Well, with the “Labyrinth Level-Up Course,” she’ll hit double digits in an instant.

The rest of the party remained the same as yesterday, with Hans-san participating as a Mage. Upon entering the first basement floor, I handed out medicines to the villagers and offered a word of caution. Though, the caution was mostly for Yoru and Kuu.

“No hitting until I say so today.”

“So cruel—!”

“Koo!?”

After all, they are already in their 20s. Against monsters up to the third or fourth floor, they gain almost no experience points. For reference, here are the statuses of our top four members:

The specialty she learned at Level 20 is . It’s an art that frees a subjugated servant from bondage. In the game, you could simply “Dismiss” units through the menu command, so this is a skill I’m seeing for the first time. It’s a harsh truth, but it’s a skill you’d never need to use if you just let them die in battle.

However, according to Paula, it has other uses. She also mentioned that she’s currently reaching her limit for the number of servants she can maintain. We have two Blue Slimes, two Giant Worms, one Great Caterpillar, one Fairy, one Goblin, and now two large Assault Birds. Her slightly unstable emotional state since yesterday is apparently due to having too much mana drained by them. If a new monster we want to ally with appears, she’ll have no choice but to use , but everyone has been so incredibly useful… it’s a agonizing dilemma.

For the record, the top candidates for are the Assault Birds. Part of it is their mana consumption, but honestly, they’re just too stupid to handle easily. During the first battle against the slimes, while Yoru and Kuu were holding back, these two birds suddenly bolted forward, pecked the prey to pieces, and swallowed everything whole. No matter how much Paula cracked her whip, they just wore a face of total indifference. Consequently, we couldn’t collect magic stones, fluid, or hides. It was an experience that made me truly understand the term “bird-brained.”

Back to the status screens. Next, the monster-kids:

Both of them have remarkably high, stable stats. and need no further explanation, but I noticed their equipment slots have increased. Is this because they ate the “Gluttonous Dreadbeak” as bird shabu-shabu? Kuu growing massive talons from his toes is impressive, but Yoru’s “Eye of the Great Dreadbird” looks like it has a lot of potential.

The spell she learned at Level 20 is , which fires condensed air in a blade-like shape. It sounds cool, but it doesn’t have the power to actually slice through a monster’s body; it’s apparently only strong enough to snap a thin tree branch at best.

However, having reached Level 20, Mia now has the potential to change to a new job. As I touched upon with transmutation, the power of mana in this world is classified into three major stages:

*First Stage: Worldly Power. The basic power held by the six elements, essentially natural phenomena. It can be replicated using the mana within one’s body, so users are called Mages.

*Second Stage: Genesis Power. The power generated when the world was constructed from the six elements, allowing for the creation of more complex phenomena. Since magic circles are required for execution, users are called Sorcerers.

*Third Stage: Eternal Power. A higher-order power that forms and maintains the planet itself; to exercise it, one must guide the mana that fills the world. Those who draw Thaumaturgy circles, which require vast amounts of mana, are called Thaumaturges and are held in high esteem.

I’ve put it in the style of a game manual, but basically, it’s the starter job, mid-game job, and final job. It’s roughly the same for other classes; once a starter job reaches Level 20 and meets the criteria, they can change to a mid-tier job. Mid-tier jobs can change to high-tier jobs at Level 40. For the record, the level cap is 30 for starter jobs, 50 for mid-tier, and 60 for high-tier.

The big issue is that specialties are learned every 10 levels. When you change to a mid-tier or high-tier job, even if you’ve raised it to the cap, you are returned to Level 20 and Level 40 respectively. But that’s a good thing. If a Level 20 Mage changes to a Sorcerer, their level doesn’t decrease, but they only have three specialties. However, a Mage who reaches Level 30 has four. In other words, changing jobs too early means you lose one opportunity to learn a specialty. This was a crucial element in Dra-Chro 2. Class changes for vanguards—from Swordsman to Knight to Holy Knight—follow the same rules for the number of specialties. Since the level cap is 60, this can completely change a character’s strength.

So, Mia’s job change is still a little ways off. She hasn’t met the criteria yet, anyway.

Despite some fumbling caused by the Assault Birds, we arrived at the fifth floor in about two hours, just like yesterday. Carina-san, who started out timidly thrusting her bone spear, was eventually skewering monsters with a spirited shout. Once the villagers safely reached Level 15, I asked them to continue maintaining the farm.

Then, we quickly headed to the now-familiar goblin settlement.

“Oh, am I going as well?”

“Yes, Carina-san. There is something I definitely want you to do.”