Year 1452, month 03, day 17
***
Race: Wind Hue
Sex: None
Status: Normal
Level 20
***
***
Race: Water Hue
Sex: None
Status: Normal
Level 20
***
***
Race: Fire Hue
Sex: None
Status: Normal
Level 20
***
***
Race: Earth Hue
Sex: None
Status: Normal
Level 20
***
“Girls! These should be the very last ones before we reach the boss room. Take care of them swiftly, and then only the mini-boss remains between us and the next floor.”
I spoke those words in a motivating tone, watching as Woya and Wyn tightened their grips on their weapons.
“Yes, master!”
They shouted their acknowledgement in unison and immediately dashed forward toward the cluster of floating monsters.
As soon as they had closed the distance to within a few meters, the elemental monsters noticed the girls and shifted into their combat positions. The formation was immediate and methodical. The Earth Hue moved to the front to act as a shield, while the Water Hue and Wind Hue positioned themselves on either side of the Earth Hue, staying slightly behind its bulk. The Fire Hue retreated further back than the rest, taking up a position where it could utilize its high firepower without the threat of immediate melee retaliation, given that its attacks were strong but lacked a rapid rate of fire.
The primary difference between the elemental cores encountered on the 10th through 15th floors and the elemental hues found here on the 16th through 20th floors was the presence of a colorful, visible aura surrounding each entity. The Earth Hue radiated a dense orange-brown color, the Fire Hue pulsed with a vibrant crimson light, the Wind Hue was enveloped in a faint light-green glow, and the Water Hue was surrounded by a shifting, half-transparent blue aura.
Aside from these visible auras, there was another significant distinction between the cores and the hues: mobility. The elemental cores were largely stationary and unable to move effectively, especially the Earth variants, which could only float slowly while waiting to be destroyed as they launched long-range defensive and offensive magic. The Wind Cores had been capable of slight movement, though they were still remarkably slow.
In contrast, the hues were capable of active movement. Even the Earth Hue, the slowest of the four, was faster than a Wind Core from the lower floors. Despite this increased speed, the Earth Hue could barely settle into its designated position in the formation before the girls were close enough to launch their physical attacks. Since it lacked the time necessary to cast a complex defensive earth magic, it attempted to draw the girls' aggression by launching a simple, direct attack to prevent them from bypassing it to reach the Water or Wind hues.
The girls were already close and prepared to strike. Having gained considerable experience fighting these specific types of enemies and being adamant about following the tactical instructions I had provided, they did not drop their guard even for a fraction of a second.
They ran toward the Earth Hue shoulder to shoulder. The moment the monster launched its opening attack, Wyn slowed her pace slightly. Woya moved with practiced precision, positioning herself directly in front of Wyn to absorb the impact with her shield. Just as the sound of the attack clanging against the shield rang through the corridor, Wyn slipped away to Woya’s right side. She pivoted her body and struck the Earth Hue with both of her steel swords in a coordinated cross-slash.
Among all the elemental variants, the Earth Hue possessed the strongest natural defense, which made it the logical choice for the monsters to use as a primary target for drawing attacks. However, even its solid composition was prone to shattering when hit with enough frequency or sufficient force. The strike Wyn delivered was exceptionally heavy, utilizing the momentum of her dash and the strength of both blades. While the monster did not disintegrate immediately, the impact forced deep cracks to spiderweb across the surface of its spherical, stone-like body.
It was clear that even a single follow-up attack would be enough to break it completely. However, the force of the blow also caused the Earth Hue to bounce backward, pushing it into the line occupied by the Water and Wind hues. Even though the Earth Hue was on the verge of collapse, the girls did not immediately pursue it. Instead, they suddenly jumped in opposite directions—Woya to the left and Wyn to the right.
Their sudden retreat was necessary because the other hues had already begun their counterattack. Woya raised her shield high to block the incoming strikes from the Water Hue, while simultaneously weaving her body to dodge the wind blades that the Wind Hue launched toward her at irregular intervals. She struggled to maintain her balance as she tried to close the gap with the Water Hue.
The situation was even more difficult for Wyn. She was forced to dodge the majority of the Wind Hue’s rapid attacks while keeping a constant eye on the secondary strikes coming from the Water Hue. Although the Water Hue was primarily focused on Woya, it checked Wyn’s movements occasionally to disrupt her timing. The greatest threat, however, was the Fire Hue. It timed its launches perfectly, choosing the exact moments when Wyn was most occupied with other threats and found it hardest to maneuver. Since Wyn did not carry a shield like her sister, she had to rely entirely on her reflexes to ensure that none of the fireballs hit her vital parts.
As I continued to watch them struggle from a short distance away, it became evident that they would likely fail to defeat the entire group by themselves. At their current level of coordination and strength, they might manage to destroy two or perhaps three of the hues, but they would exhaust themselves entirely in the process. Because of this assessment, I remained ready to intervene at any moment before the situation became truly dangerous.
Woya continued her attempt to get closer to the Water Hue while Wyn utilized a feint, tricking the Wind Hue into believing she was launching a direct assault. This forced the Wind Hue to distance itself from her, causing its subsequent attacks to drop in both frequency and accuracy. Seeing the opening, Wyn ignored the Wind Hue and dashed toward the half-collapsed Earth Hue. She delivered a final, decisive blow that demolished the monster instantly.
With that, only three elemental hues remained on the field. However, just as the Earth Hue shattered and its form was replaced by silver and copper coins falling to the floor, Wyn realized she was in a precarious position. The Fire Hue had already completed its casting and launched a powerful, concentrated fire attack directly toward her. She was instinctively aware that she could not dodge the projectile in time, so she braced herself for the impact, positioning her body to take as little damage as possible.
She was certain that the impending injury would be serious, even if it didn't prove fatal. She watched the fireball grow larger as it closed the distance, her eyes fixed on the target as she prepared for the best possible damage-mitigation action. Suddenly, a small stone bullet whistled through the air. It pierced through the center of the fireball while it was still halfway to Wyn, dispersing the flames into harmless sparks.
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Wyn was not an amateur combatant, so she did not stand dazed by the sudden rescue. She immediately prepared to shift her focus back to the Wind Hue, but she paused when she noticed that the stone bullet had not been aimed solely at the fireball. The projectile had continued its flight after dispersing the fire and hit the Fire Hue directly in its center.
The difference in power was striking. Wyn had required one heavy and one regular attack to defeat an Earth Hue, but that single stone bullet had both neutralized an incoming attack and destroyed the Fire Hue in a single collision. This was a logical outcome of elemental affinities; while Earth Hues have the highest natural defense, Fire Hues are specifically weak against Earth-type attacks.
As for the source of the intervention, it was me. Wyn and Woya were both aware of this immediately. I had cast an Earth Bullet magic the moment I saw the Fire Hue preparing its high-output spell. Since this was not the first time I had stepped in to assist them, they were already accustomed to my support. Even if it had been their first time, they were experienced enough not to turn their backs on their remaining opponents just to look behind them.
With two of the hues destroyed, the rest of the fight proceeded smoothly. Woya increased her pace and approached the Water Hue, while Wyn dashed after the Wind Hue, weaving through its projectiles with renewed confidence. Because they had moved apart during the early stages of the skirmish, the remaining monsters were no longer able to coordinate their fire. The Water Hue focused entirely on Woya, and the Wind Hue could only target Wyn.
Since the attacks were now only coming from a single direction, the girls quickly caught up with their targets. They dealt with the remaining hues using only one or two swings of their swords. Once the Water and Wind hues were destroyed, the girls collected the coins that had dropped to the ground and brought them to me.
“Here, master. We have collected the coins from the monsters,” Woya said. Wyn stepped forward as well, handing over the coins she had gathered.
The total came to 8 silver and 40 copper coins. Each individual monster had dropped 2 silver and 10 copper coins. When I considered that I used to collect only around 2 silver coins from an entire floor during our time on the initial levels, it was clear that the income increased significantly along with the difficulty of the enemies.
I noticed that both Woya and Wyn had sustained several small cuts and bruises across their bodies. I reached out and used the ‘Healing Touch’ skill of my Ascetic Monk job on both of them. Because Wyn lacked a shield, her injuries were more numerous than Woya’s, though neither of them had been seriously hurt.
“We are sorry, master. In the end, we still needed your help to finish the fight,” Wyn said, looking down dejectedly.
“It is okay. I was satisfied with your performance today,” I said honestly, trying to reassure them. “We are currently on the 20th floor, and you attempted to defeat a perfectly balanced and coordinated group of hues with just the two of you. You nearly succeeded, as well. I am proud of the progress you’ve made, so there is no reason to feel sad. I am confident that if you had access to better jobs, you wouldn't have even needed my intervention.”
What I said was true and relevant to our current situation, as their job levels had become quite high through our constant grinding. Wyn could have transitioned to a higher-tier job some time ago, but I had intentionally put her progression on hold so that Woya could catch up. I wanted them both to transition to their advanced jobs at the same time. Woya had finally reached the threshold.
***
Name: Wyn
Sex: Female
Age: 18
—
HP: 100
MP: 40
SP: 50
Strength: 5
Endurance: 5
Vitality: 5
Agility: 5
Dexterity: 4
Intelligence: 4
Wisdom: 4
Sense: 6
Charisma: 6
Regeneration: 4
—
Equipped Jobs:
Beast Warrior Level 42
—
Acquired Jobs:
Villager Level 15
Hunter Level 1
Beast Warrior Level 42
Swordsman Level 1
Dungeon Raider Level 1
Beast Champion Level 1 (New)
***
***
Name: Woya
Sex: Female
Age: 18
—
HP: 100
MP: 40
SP: 50
Strength: 5
Endurance: 5
Vitality: 5
Agility: 5
Dexterity: 4
Intelligence: 4
Wisdom: 4
Sense: 6
Charisma: 6
Regeneration: 4
—
Equipped Jobs:
Swordsman Level 40
—
Acquired Jobs:
Villager Level 10
Hunter Level 1
Beast Warrior Level 1
Swordsman Level 40
Dungeon Raider Level 1
Swordmaster Level 1 (New)
Knight Level 1 (New)
***
When I checked their status windows, the conditions were exactly as I had planned. Since both of them were now eligible for advancement, I used Party Panel skill to change Wyn’s job to Beast Champion and Woya’s job to Swordmaster.
“... Huh?... Master?”
Wyn raised her arms, looking down at her own body with a perplexed expression before calling out to me. Woya also appeared confused, her brow furrowing as she shifted her weight.
“Wyn, Woya, open your intelligence cards,” I commanded. I knew exactly why they were acting that way—the physical transition between job tiers often carries a distinct sensation—but I wanted them to see the confirmation for themselves.
“Huh?... O-okay, master. Intelligence Card Open!” Wyn said. She didn't understand the request, but she trusted me implicitly and opened the display once she had regained her composure. Woya watched us for a moment and then followed suit, mimicking Wyn’s command.
***
Wyn
Race: Wolfkin
Age: 18
Sex: Female
Job: Beast Champion
Citizenship: Hazaroth Union
Status: Slave
Master: Han
***
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Woya
Race: Wolfkin
Age: 18
Sex: Female
Job: Swordmaster
Citizenship: Hazaroth Union
Status: Slave
Master: Han
***
“... Huh?! Master, there is something very weird happening.”
“M-master, me too! My job... it seems to have changed on its own.”
First Wyn and then Woya expressed their shock at the new information.
“Is that so? What exactly does it say about your jobs now?” I asked, feigning ignorance for a moment.
“Mine says Beast Champion, master.”
“And mine says Swordmaster,” Woya confirmed.
“Yes, I have changed your jobs to these higher tiers because you have proven yourselves worthy of them,” I explained. “You may experience some minor difficulties getting used to your movements initially, as the impact of these jobs on your physical capabilities should have changed.”
“... Is this also one of your special abilities, master?” Wyn asked, looking at me with a dazed expression for several seconds.
“Hmm… Yes, you could say that.”
“I understand. Thank you, master,” Wyn said. She seemingly decided not to question the mechanics any further and took my words at face value. Since Woya was still more dazed than her sister, she simply nodded and followed Wyn’s lead.
“Anyway, let's head in and clear the boss room. You can use the fight to start getting used to the feel of your new jobs,” I said, pushing the action forward.
“Yes, master!”
I didn't want to explain the details of my system any further, and fortunately, the girls did not pursue the topic. We turned together and moved toward the final doors of the 20th floor.
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Heroes:
NaTaS
