The monsters populating the seventh floor of the Vale Labyrinth were Escape Goats.
True to their name, they had a habit of fleeing midway through combat, which meant the time spent actually facing them was brief. My strategy was to lure them in close, and if they turned to run, I would finish them off with magic before they could make their exit.
Once the pattern was clear, they were easy targets. I was confident Sherry would be safe around them as well.
I decided to keep Sherry’s job as a Villager for the time being. She had already reached Villager Level 5, so there might not be much room left for growth there, but it was possible that reaching Level 10 was a prerequisite for becoming a Master Smith.
I also didn't want to raise her Explorer level too much. If she used the Item Box, her level would be exposed to others. I had considered training her in her second choice, Shrine Maiden, but the thought of starting over from Level 1 on the first floor was far too tedious.
The only real downside to the seventh floor was when Escape Goats appeared in groups with other monsters. The battle tended to drag on because of the effort required to keep the goats from escaping. Usually, Roxanne handled the other monsters, so it wasn't a major issue. With her on the front line, I could watch the proceedings with a peaceful heart.
And so, the first day of combat after Sherry joined the party concluded without a hitch.
As for the "first battle" as a Sex Fiend that naturally took place that night, there isn't much to say. If I say there is nothing, there is nothing. Strictly speaking, since I had used the job's powers in the Labyrinth, it wasn't even the first time. I will only say that the Increased Stamina skill certainly proved its worth.
I lay back on the bed, my breathing heavy. Being able to handle two rounds with two different partners without breaking a sweat was undoubtedly thanks to the Sex Fiend job. Sherry, meanwhile, looked like she was on the verge of collapse. I couldn't push her any further.
I felt like I could have kept going if I tried—or rather, I could have kept going even without trying—but I restrained myself. I would likely get even better at this once I adjusted. It was also possible that the Increased Stamina skill grew more potent as the Sex Fiend level increased.
This meant that increasing the number of party members would be perfectly fine.
"Master, you were quite vigorous with your affection today as well," Roxanne said as I lay there, quietly regulating my breath.
"Yes," Sherry added, slowly sitting up to respond.
Wait, Sherry responded?
Apparently, they thought I was already asleep. I must have been so still while trying to calm my racing heart that I looked out of it. I decided to stay quiet and play along.
"How was your day today?" Roxanne asked.
"I was able to move much better than I anticipated. It's all because I was allowed to join such an incredible party," Sherry replied.
"Master is the one who is incredible, regardless of my presence," Roxanne corrected.
"Roxanne-san, you are amazing too. And although I’d heard rumors, I never imagined combat could be so easy with a magic user. I’m certain this party will accomplish great things. I must work hard to keep up."
It seemed Sherry was truly committed to the party.
"Indeed. Let us work hard together."
"To be honest, I was a little worried at first," Sherry confessed. "I’ve heard that combat slaves are often treated as expendable on the front lines. I’m relieved to see that won't happen here."
"Master is not the kind of man to do something like that," Roxanne said. "Besides, even if someone tried to use us up, we would simply have to keep fighting until the enemy was broken first."
In this world, slaves were often thrown into meat grinders. Sherry’s concern was valid, but Roxanne’s counterargument was a bit terrifying. Then again, only Roxanne could evade enemy attacks until her Master fell.
I couldn't exactly jump into the conversation since I was supposed to be asleep, but I felt a twinge of unease. I had intended to let Roxanne and Sherry handle the front line. Since it was the first day, I had stepped forward myself, but I wanted them to be able to handle three monsters on the seventh floor by themselves. Even on the eighth floor, they should be able to take on two each.
Hearing Sherry’s worries made me rethink that. Perhaps I should stay on the front line a bit more often. It would help build trust.
I almost wished I hadn't overheard them.
The next morning, I took Sherry into the seventh floor of the Quratar Labyrinth as well. I didn't have an urgent need for money, but I felt she needed experience in a place where Escape Goats didn't appear.
Sherry seemed perfectly fine, even against a Level 7 Slow Rabbit. She was timing her club swings perfectly, catching the rabbits with counter-attacks as they charged.
Up until now, I had been visiting Quratar’s seventh floor every morning just to hunt rabbits, but that wouldn't be necessary anymore. We would be able to make progress in the Vale Labyrinth as well.
We reached the boss room on the seventh floor of the Vale Labyrinth shortly after. Our exploration had moved faster than expected. Or perhaps I had been unconsciously holding back because I lacked the confidence to tackle the eighth floor.
The room we entered first thing in the afternoon turned out to be the waiting room adjacent to the boss. There were only two doors, front and back. I had planned to finish early to go shopping with Sherry, but we could certainly squeeze in a boss fight first. If we cleared the seventh floor today, we could head to the eighth floor of Quratar tomorrow morning. The timing was perfect.
There were several people in the waiting room—a single party of six men. As I prepared to use Appraisal on them, I noticed their gazes. Their eyes were fixed firmly on Roxanne.
The object of their vulgar stares was, of course, her ample chest. They weren't even trying to hide it. To them, it might have been a "quick look," but from my perspective, their intentions were glaringly obvious.
These bastards. Should I just turn them all into rust on Durandal right now?
However, before I could lose my temper, the boss fight ended. The door to the chamber opened. The men gave Roxanne one last lingering look before filing inside.
"Dammit," I muttered.
"Everyone is exactly as I expected," Sherry whispered, sounding just as depressed as I was.
If you’re going to look, at least look at Sherry too. I'm the one who has to deal with the fallout later.
"That was a very unpleasant way to be looked at," Roxanne noted. Even she couldn't miss a gaze like that. Which meant she noticed when I looked, too.
"Well, try not to let it get to you," I said, hoping she wouldn't lump my gazes in with theirs.
"Yes, Master."
I drew Durandal and handed a Nourishing Pill to both Roxanne and Sherry as a precaution. I also gave Sherry a copper spear.
"A spear will be better for this fight."
"Um... are we going to fight right now?" Sherry asked.
"That's the plan."
"The boss of the seventh floor is Pan. He is a half-man, half-beast monster that uses magic. His spells are quite powerful, and he has area-of-effect magic that even Roxanne-san won't be able to evade. While his physical defense is weak, Pan is considered a formidable boss for the lower floors. That party from earlier was likely testing their mettle. The standard strategy is to equip weapons with Chant Delay before facing him."
As I nodded, Sherry continued her lecture. It was incredibly helpful to have someone who actually gathered information on monsters. I had been flying blind until now.
Of course, the monsters were the same regardless of which Labyrinth you were in, as long as the floor level matched. I just hadn't bothered to look anything up. I couldn't exactly go around asking questions that might expose my unique situation.
"Wonderful. I didn't expect you to know so much about the monsters. You're already proving your worth, Sherry."
"Th-thank you very much!"
"I’ll be relying on you from now on."
In the future, I could just ask Sherry, or have her gather information for me. That way, I wouldn't have to be the one drawing attention. It was a perfect arrangement.
"Yes, Master!"
"But don't worry about this boss. We have a weapon with Chant Interruption," I said, showing her Durandal.
"Wait... didn't you say that sword had MP Absorption?"
"It has Chant Interruption as well."
Sherry went silent. For some reason, she looked at me with an expression of pure revulsion, as if she were looking at something foul or frightening.
Stop that. Don't make that a habit.
"Is... is there a problem?" I asked tentatively.
"Um... I know it’s not impossible to have multiple skills on one item, but... how do I put this..."
"Is it that rare?"
"If a Skill Crystal fusion fails, the equipment is destroyed. If you're lucky, the materials remain, but the original Skill Crystal is lost forever."
So, if you tried to get greedy and add a second skill to an already successful item and failed, you lost everything. Since fusions failed often, almost no one was crazy enough to risk a valuable piece of equipment like that.
Only an extreme gambler or a bored eccentric would do such a thing. Or a complete idiot.
So that was what her look meant. Since I hadn't denied having a connection to a Master Smith, she probably thought I was the one forcing these reckless fusions.
"Er... look! The door opened. Let's go!"
Fortunately, the boss room door swung open, giving me an excuse to escape the conversation.
We charged through the door.
"Whoa!" I blurted out, stunned by the sight.
The boss room was a graveyard of equipment. Swords, armor, gauntlets, and boots were scattered everywhere—there must have been over twenty items. In the center of the debris stood a creature with the hairy, two-legged lower body of a beast.
It glared at us with an eerie, mask-like face. Two twisted, wicked horns sprouted from its head.
Pan, Level 7.
The fact that the equipment was scattered while the boss remained meant only one thing: the party that had just entered had been completely wiped out. It was just like that time on the seventh floor of Quratar.
Those men who had looked at Roxanne so lewdly were already dead. Divine retribution, or just the consequences of their own arrogance? Sherry had called this the "Demonic Seventh Floor" for a reason.
"Roxanne, take the front! Sherry, clear a path by pushing that equipment to the walls!"
"Yes!"
The battle had already begun. I couldn't afford to be distracted. I kicked a pair of boots out of the way and circled around to the monster's side. Roxanne took her position at the front while Sherry cleared the swords left by the previous party. We couldn't afford to trip at a crucial moment.
A red magic circle appeared beneath Pan’s feet. Sherry was right—he was going straight for magic. I couldn't let him finish the chant. I lunged into his personal space, swinging Durandal in a diagonal slash from his human shoulder down to his beastly waist.
"Wait... just one hit?"
Pan crumpled, his body dissolving into smoke before he even hit the ground.
Apparently, he really was that close to death. He was far weaker than a healthy Escape Goat. When the smoke cleared, all that remained was a piece of goat meat. Even though he was a half-human boss, his drop was still just goat. Well, at least dinner was sorted.
"The previous party must have whittled his health down almost to the end," Sherry said as she picked up the meat.
It seemed that if a party was wiped out, the boss didn't respawn or reset its health for the next group.
"I see. That makes sense."
"So that vulgar party really was wiped out," Roxanne muttered, her voice laced with a cold sense of justice.
Sherry added something about how people who judge others by their chest size deserve to perish, which I decided to ignore for the sake of my own sanity.
Roxanne and Sherry gathered the loot while I appraised the items before putting them in my Item Box. Among them was a Copper Sword of Obstruction with the Chant Delay skill.
"They even prepared Chant Delay weapons, and still they failed," I noted.
"Can you tell just by looking at it, Master?" Sherry asked, looking up at me.
Oops. I might have slipped up there. Well, might as well lean into it.
"I can," I said proudly.
"Ah... right. I forgot you can use Weapon Appraisal without a chant."
She accepted the explanation far too easily. It made sense to her; if I had the Weapon Merchant job, I would naturally have that skill. But I didn't have that job yet. I was just using my basic Appraisal.
"As expected of Master," Roxanne chimed in.
Roxanne was truly an oasis for my soul.
"If you attack with a Chant Delay weapon, it slows the spellcasting, right? I wonder why they couldn't stop him."
Sherry brought over more swords. There were five of them in total, along with a single wand. One member of the six must have been a healer or a mage.
"Maybe five people weren't enough to keep the delay up?"
"I'm not sure."
They had cornered Pan to the brink of death, so it must have been going well until something went wrong. Maybe one person slipped, the chain broke, and Pan’s magic finally went off. Once one person went down in a six-man group, panic usually did the rest.
"It just goes to show that if you rely too much on tactics without the strength to back them up, one mistake ruins everything. It's better to build up our fundamental strength slowly and steadily."
"Yes! I will do my best, Master!" Roxanne chirped.
"Perhaps you are right," Sherry added solemnly.
I noticed the bodies were gone. "Do the corpses just disappear?"
"In the Labyrinth, those who fall are quickly digested and absorbed," Sherry explained as she brought me the gauntlets. There wasn't even a bloodstain left. The Labyrinth truly did feed on people.
"It can't digest the equipment, though?"
"Equipment is a foreign object. It takes time for the Labyrinth to process it, so it eventually spits it back out as a treasure chest. Since it takes time, the next party to enter can often pick up what was left behind."
"I see. It doesn't feel great to wear a dead man's gear, though."
The previous party seemed to have spent all their money on the swords; their armor was just basic leather.
"The gear of a fallen party belongs to whoever finds it," Roxanne said firmly. "I will clean and maintain it properly, so it will be fine."
Roxanne was a stickler for maintenance, so I trusted her judgment. There was a leather tunic, but it wouldn't fit anyone but me. Sherry looked at it and then glared at me.
"Is something wrong?" I asked.
"The leather tunic will have to be sold," she said flatly. I hadn't even said anything, but she seemed to be reading my thoughts about her size again. Her paranoia was reaching impressive levels.
There were also six Magic Crystals. They hadn't defeated many monsters before reaching the boss. I tucked everything away and we prepared to leave.
"That was a bit of a hollow victory. We don't need to fight him again, do we?"
"The experience wouldn't be a negative," Roxanne suggested.
"I would also like to see Pan's actual patterns from the start," Sherry added.
Fine, fine. Because I had opened my mouth, we were doing another lap. Since you can't go backward from a boss room, we exited to the eighth floor and then used Dungeon Walk to return to a room in the middle of the seventh.
"Pan relies mostly on magic and doesn't use weapons. Master, I would like to try using my skill. Is that alright?" Roxanne asked before we re-entered.
She was talking about the Beast Attack skill from her Beast Fighter job. I usually had her on the front line, and since chanting prevented other actions, it was hard for her to use a skill while actively tanking.
"Alright. Sherry, can you take the front for a bit?"
"I’ll try!"
"If he starts a chant, I’ll cancel it. Roxanne, find an opening and let him have it."
"Thank you, Master!"
It was better to practice her skills in a controlled environment like this. Pan was the perfect target since his physical attacks weren't very threatening.
The door opened, and we charged back in. Sherry took the front, and we surrounded the boss from three sides. Sherry swung her club while I hit him from the side with Durandal. He didn't go down in one hit this time.
"Warrior of the beast... unleash the power of... Life Taking, Beast Attack!" Roxanne shouted.
She slashed with her scimitar, but nothing happened. It was just a normal swing. The chant had failed.
"That didn't look right," I said.
"It was a failure. Brahim is very difficult."
"Try reading it slowly. The words should be in your mind."
I moved to her side while staying wary of Pan.
"Amaraha warrior of the beast... unleash the power of the eighty. Ah, I see. It's eighty."
"What's an Amaraha?" I asked. That word hadn't been translated, which meant it was wrong. If it were correct Brahim, my skill would have translated it into English for me.
A red magic circle appeared at Pan’s feet, and I quickly slashed him with Durandal to interrupt it.
"Amaraha... amarama... araraha... ugly?"
"Ugly?"
"It sounds something like that," Roxanne said.
"Ugly" was the only word that had translated.
"Ugly, huh... but there's no such thing as an 'ugly beast warrior,' is there?"
I thought about it. If it wasn't a coincidence, it had to be something close to that.
"Maybe not 'ugly,' but 'sturdy'?" I suggested. "Shiko?"
"Amuraha?"
"Shiko."
"Shiko?" Roxanne repeated.
The word translated in my mind. It was an archaic term that could mean "sturdy" or "powerful."
"It’s an old way of speaking. It means powerful. Probably."
Pan tried to cast again, and I interrupted him while explaining. I didn't actually know if I was right, but since it translated, it had to be close.
"Powerful warrior of the beast... unleash the power of the eighty; Life Taking, Beast Attack!"
Roxanne tried again, but it still didn't quite work. She had phrased it like a question again. You can't be hesitant with an incantation.
"How was that?"
"Still a failure. Brahim is so hard..."
"It’s Brahim, after all," Sherry consoled her.
"Wait, instead of just 'warrior,' maybe try 'mononofu'?" I suggested. It was an archaic term for a warrior often used in old poetry alongside the number eighty.
"Mononofu?"
"It's an old-fashioned word for a soldier," Sherry explained.
"Ah! That might be it! Let me try!"
Roxanne took a deep breath. "Sturdy beast mononofu, unleash the power of the eighty; Life Taking, Beast Attack!"
She slammed her scimitar into Pan with a speed that was leagues beyond her previous attempts. The blade bit deep into Pan's flesh with a sickening crunch.
"Whoa, look at that!"
"I did it! It worked!"
"That was amazing!"
The blow was devastating. Even from the side, the difference in momentum was obvious. That was a successful skill activation. Pan tried to retaliate with a magic circle, but I finished him off from behind with Durandal. He dissolved into smoke once more.
"A perfect success," I praised.
"It's all thanks to you, Master!"
"You did great, Roxanne."
The skill seemed to have roughly the power of one or two Durandal strikes. For a scimitar to reach that level of damage was impressive. Since Roxanne usually tanked, she wouldn't use it often, but it was a great ace up her sleeve.
"That was incredible, Roxanne-san!" Sherry cheered.
"Thank you, Sherry!"
We gathered the drop item—more goat meat. Tomorrow’s dinner was definitely Genghis Khan.
"Congratulations, Roxanne."
"Thank you. Master, your knowledge of Brahim is astounding. Truly, you are incredible."
"To know such archaic expressions... you really are something else, Master," Sherry added.
"Well, you know," I said, trying to look cool. Sherry seemed to be looking at me with a bit more respect now. Even if I only "knew" Brahim because the system translated it for me, I’d take the win.
"Still, for a seventh-floor boss, that was over so fast. I didn't even get to see his full patterns," Sherry grumbled.
I guess the respect only went so far.
We moved to the eighth floor. From here on, we could face up to four monsters at once. My dream of letting them handle two each while I relaxed in the back was still a work in progress, but we were getting there.
"We'll start with small groups as usual," I instructed.
"Understood... that way. It smells like Collagen Coral."
"Collagen Coral, huh?"
"Master, if you want to know which monsters are on a floor, you can just ask the explorers at the entrance or visit the guild," Sherry pointed out.
"Well, sure, but knowing the name doesn't help if we don't know their patterns or weaknesses," I argued.
"Hah..." Sherry sighed.
"From now on, I’ll rely on you to provide that kind of info, Sherry. That would be a huge help."
"Understood," she said, though she still had that cold look in her eyes. Please, don't make that a habit.
"The real issue is if four of them appear at once."
"We could do three for me and one for Sherry, or two each," Roxanne suggested.
"Master, I’d like to try something," Sherry said. "A club is a swinging weapon, which means it can hit multiple enemies at once. If I can master that, I can take on two at a time like Roxanne-san."
I didn't know clubs had that advantage. If the two of them could handle the front line entirely, my life would be much easier, even if it felt a bit guilty to leave the dangerous work to them.
"Alright. Do you want to try it right away?"
"It’s better when they're clustered, so let's wait until a group of four appears."
"Got it. We'll follow your lead."
The first Collagen Coral we met was Level 8, but magic handled it easily. The Labyrinths didn't seem to have massive difficulty spikes between floors. Eventually, we found a group of three Collagen Corals and one Escape Goat.
"Roxanne, take the goat and one coral. Sherry, take the other two."
I fired off two Fire Storms. I held back the third because the goat would likely flee if its health got too low.
Sherry swung her club at the two corals on her side. However, the club slammed into the round body of the first coral and stopped dead. The second coral, completely unharmed, lunged at her.
"I guess just swinging isn't enough," Sherry muttered.
"Is it too difficult?"
If the first hit absorbed all the momentum, the swing wouldn't continue to the second target. She either had to just graze the first one or swing with enough force to knock it through.
"I have to swing hard enough to knock the first one away, don't I?"
I used First Aid and reapplied her plating. The Escape Goat was backing away, but since it was crowded by the other monsters and Roxanne was blocking its path, it couldn't turn around easily. It took it a long time to find an opening to flee. I caught it with a fourth spell right as it turned.
Sherry tried again. She hit the first coral, but her trajectory was off, and she missed the second. She took a hit in return. I finished the group off with a fifth Fire Storm before things got messy.
"Grazing them is hard," Sherry admitted.
"Do you want to keep trying, or should we switch formations?"
"Please, let me try a bit longer. I feel like I'm close to figuring it out."
"Very well."
"She’ll be fine," Roxanne added. Roxanne was always supportive. If she thought it was a bad idea, I would have stopped her.
Sherry started practicing her swings in the empty air, looking a lot like a baseball player. She was swinging from left to right.
"Wait, Sherry, if you're swinging like that, shouldn't your hands be reversed?"
"Reversed?"
"In baseball... er, in some fighting styles, if you're a left-handed hitter, your left hand goes on top. But you're holding it with your right hand on top, like a sword. If you hold it that way, swinging from the right side is more natural."
"Ah! You're right! This is much easier to swing!"
She tried a few more swings, looking much more comfortable. I thought about teaching her the "one-legged" stance, but that was probably a bad idea in a real fight.
The next group of four appeared. "Here I go!" Sherry shouted.
I fired off magic as she charged. She took a full swing at the two corals in front of her. The blow was devastating—she literally knocked the first monster into the second. The sheer brute force of a Dwarf was something to behold.
"I did it!"
"Well done!"
I finished the group with magic. After the fight, I checked the party settings out of curiosity.
Sherry: Villager Lv 9, Explorer Lv 10... Warrior Lv 1... Master Smith Lv 1.
There it was. To become a Master Smith, she had needed to hit multiple enemies with a single swing while being at least an Explorer Level 10. That forceful strike had been the final trigger.
I finally had a Master Smith in the party.
"Alright, let's call it a day." I couldn't help but smirk. Everything was going perfectly.
"It's still quite early," Roxanne noted.
"I have some errands to run. And besides, it's better to quit while we're ahead."
I didn't want to push our luck while I was this excited. Misfortune often follows a blessing, after all. We left the Labyrinth and headed for the Merchant Guild in Quratar.
On the way, Sherry explained that while middlemen took a cut, they were necessary for auctions because they knew the market and were all in league with each other. Outmaneuvering them was almost impossible for an outsider.
We entered the guild, and a man approached us.
Laurel: Male, 47 years old. Sex Fiend Lv 35.
A Sex Fiend. My first time seeing another one.
"New faces? First time here?" he asked.
"That's right," I replied.
"I’m Laurel, a middleman. Want to hear my pitch?"
"Just the pitch."
He led us toward a private room. I stopped and turned to the girls. Taking them into a room with a Level 35 Sex Fiend felt like a terrible idea.
"Roxanne, Sherry, go to the clothing store first. Buy us each a new set of clothes. My treat—we had some extra income today."
"Are you sure, Master?"
"Absolutely. Go ahead."
They headed off happily, and I followed Laurel into a sparse meeting room. I sat in the chair closest to the door, just in case.
"Have you been with those two long?" he asked.
"Not really."
"You're human, right? Humans have a great job for the Labyrinth. Why don't you join our guild?"
So he was recruiting. I felt a little silly for being so tense. He probably saw a guy with two beautiful women and assumed I was a prime candidate.
"A Sex Fiend?" I asked.
"Oh? A fellow professional?" Laurel leaned back, looking surprised.
"Not exactly. But I've heard the stories."
"Well, you should consider it. It’s a great job if you have the drive."
"Tell me about the Abstinence Attack. How effective is it?" I asked, seizing the chance for information.
"You know about that? I’m not supposed to talk about it with outsiders, but... well, I enter the Labyrinth once every ten days. It’s not a one-hit kill for a boss, but it’s powerful."
"Ten days?"
"It's hard to abstain that long, but it’s worth it. I'm married, so ten days is a good rhythm for me."
I put the pieces together. The Abstinence Attack's power depended on the duration of abstinence. Two or three days gave a decent boost; ten days was enough to heavily damage a boss. The Increased Stamina skill probably made the buildup even more intense.
"Sounds difficult," I said.
"With those two as companions? I imagine it would be. But join while you're young. The power fades as you get older."
So the "stamina" behind the skill was tied to youth and vitality.
"I’ll pass," I said. Abstaining for ten days while living with Roxanne and Sherry was literally impossible.
"Fair enough. So, did you come to sell or buy?"
"A bit of both. I want to know the market for Kobold Skill Crystals."
He checked a papyrus notebook. "The last few went for around 5,200 Nahl. My commission is 500 Nahl. You pay after the deal is done since I’m an explorer—if I die in the Labyrinth, you don’t owe me anything."
He explained the auction system. You set a maximum price, and the middleman bids for you. But I could see the scam: the middlemen would just bid against each other to drive the price up to your maximum and then split the profit.
"I see. And for selling? I have five Copper Swords of Obstruction."
"Five? That’s a shame. They're used for boss fights, and a party is six people. A set of six sells for way more. I’d buy five from you for 15,000 each right now. But a set of six? I’d give you 100,000 for the lot."
The middleman's cut was massive. One sword for 15,000 when they could go for 30,000?
"I’ll think about it. Maybe I’ll find a sixth one first."
I stood up and left. Even if I needed a middleman, this guy was too shady. Plus, he didn't have a Calculation skill. I’d rather find a Merchant to handle my deals.
I found the girls at the clothing store. They were having a great time picking out outfits. I ended up waiting while they narrowed down their choices, eventually giving my "expert" opinion that Roxanne looked beautiful in everything.
We bought the clothes and some food and headed home. Once there, I sat Sherry down. It was time to put her new job to use.
"Sherry, from today on, you are a Master Smith."
"Huh?" She stared at me, dumbfounded.
"I know it's a surprise. You probably thought it was impossible."
"U-Um..."
"Are you going to give up? Remember why you wanted this. You're so close."
I pulled out a copper sword and a rabbit Skill Crystal. "You're a pro now. Fuse them."
"But... I can't..."
"You can! Believe in yourself! If you get serious, everything changes! Follow me!"
I was basically bluffing with pure momentum. Sherry was completely bewildered, but the intensity of my "motivational speech" seemed to be working.
"Repeat after me: Skill Crystal Fusion!"
"Skill Crystal Fusion?" Roxanne repeated, looking confused but supportive.
"Skill Crystal Fusion..." Sherry whispered.
The moment she said the words, her eyes went wide. The knowledge of the incantation was now in her mind.
"Give it your all!" I shouted, giving her a thumbs-up.
"But... how...?"
"Don't worry about the how. Just do it. I believe in you."
I held out the materials. This sword had an empty slot, so if my theory was right, success was guaranteed. Sherry took a deep breath and recited the incantation.
"By the heart that now arrives, under the blessed shadow of heaven and earth... Skill Crystal Fusion!"
A brilliant white light filled the room. When it faded, the sword remained. I picked it up.
Copper Sword of Obstruction. Success. My theory was correct: you could fuse crystals into empty slots.
"Master! Did it work?" Roxanne asked.
"Perfectly."
"You did it, Sherry!"
But Sherry wasn't celebrating. She was slumped over the table, sobbing.
"I'm so sorry... I'm sorry for succeeding. I'm sorry for trying to be a Master Smith. I'm sorry for being born..."
I looked at Roxanne, who was just as confused as I was. Then it clicked. MP depletion. When your MP is empty, you fall into a state of extreme negativity. As a Level 1 Master Smith, that one fusion must have drained her completely.
"Sherry, you're amazing. You did a great job. Here, take this."
"No... don't waste medicine on someone like me... I'm sorry..."
She was too far gone to even take the pill. I took a Tonic Pill, put it in my own mouth, and pulled her toward me. I pressed my lips to hers, prying her mouth open with my tongue. She clung to me desperately, her tongue entangling with mine like a drowning person reaching for a rope.
I transferred the pill to her and held her close until she swallowed.
"Better?" I asked, stroking her hair.
"Yes... I... um..."
"Don't apologize. It's a side effect of the magic."
"I... I’ve heard of this," Sherry whispered, her head clearing. "They say new Smiths should never fuse alone. Many people commit suicide because they can't handle the despair if they fail."
"It's just a temporary thing. Don't worry about it."
"Master, you're incredible," Roxanne said, looking at me with pure devotion. "To be able to make someone a Master Smith just like that..."
"I have my ways," I said mysteriously.
Sherry was still looking at me with shining eyes. I had definitely earned some points today.
"Now that Sherry-san is a Master Smith, my attack power will increase too," Roxanne noted.
"Wait, what?"
"A Master Smith provides a benefit to the whole party," Sherry explained. "It’s a well-known fact. Having one in the party makes everyone stronger."
I checked the job screen. Master Smith Level 1: Strength Increase (Medium).
In this world, the passive stat boosts from a job weren't just for the individual—they applied to the entire party. That’s why certain jobs were so highly valued.
"I see... so that’s how it works."
"Did you really not know that, Master?" Sherry asked, her eyes turning cold again.
Please, stop with that look. I’m going to start liking it.