“…Welcome back. So how much did you hunt?”
We return after our morning tests, and head to the same conference room as always. There, we are greeted by a troubled Aki and apologetic Maki. Did something happen?
“Hum… We tested from a little far away, and really far away. Then I thought to take them to another spawn point, and tested three times. We took down a Hobgoblin, a General Goblin, four Boss Wolves, and two Werewolves. It was pretty hard to get the last one to spawn.
Also, I’m level seventy-two, and now Fast Run is a guaranteed drop. How many did I get…?”
“Three hundred fifty-five.”
“That’s it.”
I thought I wouldn’t hunt many hill wolves, because I took a Boss Wolf from the other team, but since I ended up going after the ones the Boss Wolf summoned, I hunted quite a bit.
Then, about the experiment I came up with…
“So the smoke of the one I took to area B went to area A. I have other things in mind, but they’re lower on my priority list. At least I’m glad to see the conditions to spawn a powered up one aren’t absurd.”
“…I see. Good job.”
“So what happened?”
They look at each other.
“Shouta, about these necklaces…”
Says Maki.
“The love necklaces?”
“Ah, yes, the love…”
It’s cute how Maki isn’t used to their name.
“Hnn. Do you remember their effect?”
“Yes, and they work. Ayane didn’t touch rare monsters, but leveled up. Wait…”
“Yep, we leveled up too! Maki was sixty, so she leveled up first. And I went from eighty to eighty-two.”
“That’s…”
“Incredible!”
Says Ayane.
“So you don’t have to be in the dungeon… That’s a broken hidden ability.”
“And…”
“You feel bad about it?”
“Yes…”
Well, they probably have mixed feelings about leveling up while in a safe area. But for me, if their safety increases proportionally with my efforts, I don’t see a problem. It’s not like the original experience is being broken up and divided either.
The only real problem is having more trouble adjusting their power during their daily lives.
“If master says so, is it not something not worth fretting over?”
“Eh? I didn’t even say anything.”
“Well, I’m grateful. It’s nice to get stronger.”
“Then you can join them and go hunt…”
“No. I told you I’d stay with you, Maki. You heard Shouta, so let’s just take it as a blessing.”
“Seriously, I didn’t say anything.”
“You said it with your expression!”
“Ah, yes…”
What was my face like, if even Aki could read it?
“Are you thinking something rude?”
“Not in the slightest.”
“Hm…?”
Her accuracy is still off.
“Don’t worry about it. I didn’t do much today either.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I cheered from the back!”
Well, now that she doesn’t have to attack rare monsters once, she’s free to do other things, and I feel like she’s actually doing quite a bit. She countered that rare monster, and kicked around the normal monsters that attacked her to send them my way. Her moves are completely different from when we first met.
Well, it’s fine if it’s to convince Maki, but I need to make sure she knows what she said isn’t true.
“If leveling up will make you even more beautiful, I’m all for it.”
“R-really?”
“If you say so Shouta…”
Both smile happily.
Now that they accept the level ups, we can sort out this morning’s items.
“Let’s leave a hundred minuscule magic stones for the golems to eat, and hand the rest to the association.”
“Understood.”
“We’re going to the golem area in the afternoon, so I want to keep the medium and large magic stones to experiment.”
“Okay. Next… I know it’s a pain, but compress.”
“Can I eat first?”
“Of course!”
I recharge my batteries by having lunch, and then compress Fast Run.
I got three hundred fifty-five. My stock before taking a break was three Fast Run and three Fast Run II. I sold a Fast Run III, and gave the other one to Ayane.
And adding the two Fast Run II from the Werewolves…
Fast Run: 2
Fast Run III: 3
Fast Run IV: 5
I use three Fast Run IV to get mine to V, and give three Fast Run III to Ayane to get her up to IV. That means I have two Fast Run IV left…
“We already have Fast Run II, so we won’t use them.”
“But it could be useful in a pinch if you have to run away. You should upgrade. IV is faster than II, and more magic energy efficient, so you can use it for longer.”
That’s what True Appraisal tells me.
“Au, I guess so…”
“We don’t know if a fight could be sprung on us again, like with those slimes, so you should learn it.”
“Give it up, Maki. There’s a small chance we might use it, so let’s take it. We promised Shouta.”
“…All right.”
Maki reluctantly takes it, and so does Aki. And then we use some Werewolf skills.
I take two Grappling Lv2 and one Martial Arts Lv3.
Ayane takes Swift III.
Aira takes Swift III, Martial Arts Lv3, and two Assassination Lv2.
Rare II skill drops really are nice… Not counting General Goblin’s. Base Command doesn’t get me excited anymore.
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Thanks for the treat.