"Well then, Miria, this sword is yours."
I had Roxanne and Miria exchange weapons. I also took the Holy Spear back from Miria. Her level had already jumped twice, making her a Warrior Lv 5. I still felt a lingering sense of unease, but at Lv 5, she should be fine as long as I kept her protected with my Plating magic.
We resumed our formation and continued the exploration. Miria worked hard on the front line, and for the most part, she seemed to be holding her own. Of course, the real test would be how she handled actually taking a hit.
"I did it, sir!" Miria chirped.
I glanced over at the Flytrap she was fighting. It seemed Petrification Addition had finally triggered. The monster was frozen solid. Its color had turned a pale, sickly shade—not quite white, but more of a yellowish-green. So that was what petrification looked like.
As expected, the effect didn't trigger often. Miria had attacked dozens of times since moving to the front, and this was the first time the enchantment had actually proc'd. It was the kind of thing that only happened once you’d completely forgotten about it.
Miria circled around the petrified Flytrap to engage a Hat Bat, peeling off one of the two enemies Roxanne had been keeping busy. With the number of active monsters dropped from four to three, the battle became significantly easier since the front line could handle them in one-on-one skirmishes.
I knocked down the two Hat Bats with a Breeze Storm, and then Roxanne and Miria teamed up to swarm the Love Shrub Vesta was currently tanking. I switched to Fire Storm to assist.
A flurry of embers rained down on the Love Shrub and the petrified Flytrap. To my surprise, the Flytrap turned into smoke almost immediately. Even before the Love Shrub fell, the Flytrap had burned away completely. Interestingly, it didn't fall over; it simply dissolved into smoke while remaining perfectly upright.
I see. So that was how petrified monsters died. It made sense; it would be pretty dangerous if they fell over like heavy statues. I certainly didn't want to hear a story about an adventurer who petrified a monster only to be crushed to death by its falling corpse.
I hadn't been able to tell how it worked with the Hat Bats because they fell to the floor the moment they were petrified. I suppose expecting them to stay suspended in mid-air while turned to stone was asking too much.
I finished off the remaining Love Shrub with a Fireball. Since both the Flytrap and the Love Shrub were weak to the Fire Attribute, they should have technically died at the same time. The fact that the Flytrap vanished first suggested that petrification indeed made a monster more vulnerable to magic.
"Good job. You managed to trigger the petrification perfectly, Miria. Well done."
"Yes, sir!"
I gave her a quick word of praise and we pushed deeper into the Labyrinth.
Miria took her first hit when she reached Warrior Lv 8. A Hat Bat managed to dart around her shield and slam into her.
"Are you all right?" I asked.
"I'm okay, sir," she replied energetically as I cast First Aid on her.
Despite her low level, she seemed resilient enough. I finished off two Love Shrubs with Fire Storm, weaving another First Aid in between casts. Once only one monster remained, Miria yielded the spot directly in front of the Hat Bat to Roxanne and raised her hand, signaling she didn't need any more healing.
I pelted the bat with a Breeze Ball. Miria moved to the side and slashed at it with the Estoc of Rigidity. I finally ended the fight with another blast of wind magic.
Up until now, Roxanne had handled the majority of the troublesome Hat Bats. However, with the petrification-inflicting sword in play, Miria would be the one squaring off against them depending on the group composition. It was an increase in her workload. I wondered briefly if I should just ignore the rare petrification procs and go back to our old routine, but I decided against it.
The Hat Bats were certainly annoying with their erratic movements, but the Love Shrubs weren't exactly effortless targets either. Besides, if we ran into a group of three Hat Bats, Miria would have to take one anyway.
"It’s going to be a bit tougher from here on out, but I'm counting on you."
"Yes, sir!"
I kept my encouragement brief and we moved on. We proceeded without her taking another hit, and once she reached Warrior Lv 10, I unequipped my Alchemist job. I couldn't keep her coated in Plating forever, and intentionally letting her get hit just to test the defense was too much of a hassle. Lv 10 seemed like a safe enough threshold to stop.
One of the perks of low levels was how quickly they went up. Even without the magical protection, Miria made it to our midday break without taking another scratch.
On my end, the Thief job I had been leveling in place of Alchemist had finally reached Lv 30. When I checked my available jobs, the one I was looking for was finally there.
Gambler Lv 1.
There it was. It seemed Thief Lv 30 was indeed the requirement. The scribbles Sherry had seen in that book were reliable after all.
I knew that Cook required Explorer Lv 30 and Knight required Warrior Lv 30, so it stood to reason that other jobs had similar level requirements. I might as well start raising my primary jobs to Lv 30 across the board. Though, I doubted my race-specific Sex Fiend job had any advanced versions.
Gambler Lv 1 Effects: Intelligence Increase (Small), Dexterity Increase (Small) Skills: Status Ailment Resistance Down, Critical Activation
The stat boosts for Gambler were small, focusing on Intelligence and Dexterity. A quick-witted, nimble-fingered gambler... it sounded like the perfect setup for a cheat. It gave off a slightly shady vibe, but looking at the skills, the job seemed to focus more on probability-based effects like status ailments and critical hits.
Was this a job where I’d be rolling the dice with every swing? It was certainly thematic.
When I tested the skills, Status Ailment Resistance Down turned out to be an active skill. When I focused on it, it prompted me to designate a target. I was relieved; I'd been worried it might be a passive skill that lowered my own resistances. Though, knowing how gamblers worked, it wouldn't have been impossible for it to offer a massive attack boost in exchange for making me vulnerable. A "cut the flesh to break the bone" sort of deal.
Most likely, the Gambler was intended to lower a monster's resistance to make status ailments land easier, while also fishing for high-damage critical hits. It was a skill set for someone who loved playing the odds.
Starting in the afternoon, I gave Gambler a proper trial run in the Labyrinth. I tried casting Status Ailment Resistance Down on whichever monster Miria was currently fighting. The synergy between Assassin and Gambler seemed promising—lowering the target's resistance with the Gambler's skill while boosting the infliction rate with the Assassin's passive.
However, even after two attempts, neither monster petrified. Miria hadn't officially become an Assassin yet, so that might have been part of it. Petrification had a low base rate to begin with, so perhaps it just wasn't meant to be. Or maybe the skill only worked if the caster was the one delivering the follow-up blow? It was also possible the effect scaled with the job level.
Since it felt like I was burning through a fair amount of MP, I decided to stop spamming it. I’d try one more test and leave it at that.
A short while later, we encountered a group of two Hat Bats and a Flytrap. I fired off a Breeze Storm while casting Status Ailment Resistance Down on the Flytrap in front of Miria. The Flytrap refused to turn to stone, but as I stacked my spells—three, four, five...
Wait. The two Hat Bats fell. That was much faster than usual.
I wondered if I’d miscounted as I finished off the Flytrap. It never did petrify.
"Master, didn't those Hat Bats go down with fewer spells than normal?" Sherry asked.
Since she had noticed it too, it wasn't just my imagination.
"Expect to see more of that from now on," I said.
So what had happened? It was unlikely that the resistance down had worked on the bats since I'd targeted the Flytrap. It was also hard to believe they'd both caught a status ailment at once. Besides, it was a resistance debuff, not an ailment itself. One could argue it lowered their magic resistance, but that seemed like a stretch.
The far more likely explanation was that a critical hit had occurred. My wind magic had landed a critical, dealing massive damage to the Hat Bats since they were already weak to that element. That seemed plausible.
Did spells have critical hits? Neither Dragon Knight nor Gambler had offensive spells, but the skill was a passive. Critical Activation probably granted a fixed chance for any attack the user performed to go critical, regardless of whether it was physical or magical.
"Is that how it works?" Sherry asked.
"It means we can't let our guard down until the monster actually dissolves," I told the group.
I wanted to set the expectation early. If I only explained it to Sherry, her analytical mind would probably find a flaw in my logic. I wasn't even 100% sure magic could crit yet.
"To think you can even do such things. You truly are amazing, Master," Roxanne praised.
"I can't exactly control when it happens, though."
Still, what happens once can happen again.
"No, it's still impressive."
"Amazing, sir!"
"Is that so?"
Even Miria and Vesta were getting swept up in Roxanne’s admiration.
Even if magic could land a critical hit, there was no physical feedback, making it impossible to tell in the heat of the moment. It wasn't the most user-friendly skill. I stopped using the resistance debuff to observe the baseline.
Naturally, no more "criticals" seemed to happen. But petrification did. Of course, the moment I stopped trying to force it with the debuff, the monster turned to stone. It just goes to show how low the probability really was.
Vesta seemed to be landing a few critical hits of her own. I wondered if my critical rate was naturally lower than a Dragon Knight’s. Alternatively, it was possible that a single magical critical didn't even equal the damage of a second spell, making it incredibly hard to perceive just by timing the battle.
After several more groups, a Love Shrub finally burned away significantly faster than the one next to it.
"The combat time for that last one was shorter," Sherry noted. She was keeping a very close eye on the clock. I almost wished she wouldn't; it made me feel like I was under a microscope. Or maybe it was because I’d promised her it would happen again. She was a bit too perceptive for my own good sometimes. I probably should have kept my mouth shut.
"Indeed. As expected of Master," Roxanne added. I really wished Sherry would take a page out of Roxanne’s book and just accept things at face value.
"Hmm. The effect isn't huge yet. Let's run a little experiment."
"An experiment?" Sherry's ears practically perked up.
"It's not something I can maintain constantly, but I want to see how much I can boost the effect."
I didn't bother explaining the mechanics. Since it had happened twice now, it was safe to assume magic could crit. And there was a way to prove it.
I pulled out Durandal to top off my MP—and naturally, that was when Miria’s petrification finally proc'd again.
"I did it, sir!"
I glanced over to see a frozen Flytrap.
"Um... was that a good thing?" Roxanne asked.
"Of course. It reduces the danger, so it's always welcome. Well done, Miria."
"Yes, sir!"
I answered Roxanne's confusion and made sure to praise Miria. Though, honestly, it was a bit of a pain to have a monster’s physical defense skyrocket while I had my MP-recovery sword out. I decided to clear the other monsters first and then finish it with magic.
Actually, wait. I had another option. I hammered a Rush into the petrified Flytrap. By the way, I couldn't land criticals while Durandal was out because I had to swap Gambler for Warrior to use its skills. The inability to keep all my jobs active at once was a frequent source of frustration, though I knew it was a luxury problem.
The Flytrap dissolved into smoke after a few hits of Rush. It didn't actually seem much harder to kill than a normal one.
"Incredible. As expected of Master."
"Petrification is supposed to make physical attacks less effective, yet you handled it so easily," Sherry noted.
"As expected, sir!"
"To kill it so quickly is amazing."
Durandal had the Ignore Defense skill. It didn't matter how high the monster's defense went; the sword just bypassed it. It was exactly as I’d thought—everything was thanks to the sword.
After my MP was full, I put Durandal away. I used a Character Reset to take the bonus points I’d put into Durandal and dumped them all into Critical Rate Increase. This boosted my critical rate by 30%. If magic was critting, the change would be night and day.
We continued our hunt, waiting for the next group. When a trio of a Hat Bat, a Love Shrub, and a Flytrap appeared, I unleashed a Fire Storm. The Love Shrub and Flytrap turned to ash almost instantly.
The effect was undeniable. I could feel it—a surge of efficiency I’d never experienced before. Criticals were definitely proc'ing, steadily and surely, integrated into my spells. There was no longer any doubt.
I switched to Breeze Ball for the Hat Bat, and it dropped almost immediately. My wind magic was clearly critting as well. With a 30% boost, at least one in every three or four hits was bound to be a critical, no matter how low the base rate was. If I cast ten spells, several were guaranteed to crit. It was exactly according to the math.
"I don't even know what to say. It's truly magnificent. As expected of Master."
"This is honestly incredible," Sherry admitted.
"As expected, sir!"
"That was so fast!"
Even Sherry was offering unreserved praise now. When the results were this blatant, even she couldn't find a reason to doubt.
"Now that I've confirmed it, I'm ending the experiment. I'm resetting my points. I can't keep it like this forever."
I needed those bonus points for XP boosts, so I couldn't afford to leave them in Critical Rate. It was a shame, really. Critical Rate Increase was a bonus skill, meaning it competed for points with my XP buffs, multiple job slots, and Durandal. It was more useful than I’d anticipated—a 30% boost was massive. The more it proc'd, the faster fights ended.
We weren't exactly struggling right now, but as we climbed to higher floors, the battles would only get longer and more dangerous. Being able to shorten that window was a godsend. Still, I couldn't justify it as a permanent fixture. Plus, the crit rate boost was useless without the Gambler job's Critical Activation skill. Keeping Explorer, Hero, Mage, Monk, and Gambler all active was a lot to manage.
I’d originally wanted to stop at four jobs to unlock the Required XP 1/20 buff sooner. Should I give up on that? Or maybe drop the Hero job? But if I dropped Hero, my base attack power would plummet, which might negate the benefits of the critical hits. Hero's party-wide buffs were just too good to lose.
Maybe I should drop Explorer? I could always swap back to it whenever I needed to show my Intelligence Card or use the Item Box. I could even make Roxanne or Sherry an Explorer to handle the inventory. The Item Box's size depended on the level, so it would be a bit of a hassle to level them up, but it would eventually work.
Then again, maybe I didn't need to go that far. If I forced the 1/20 XP buff, I wouldn't have enough bonus points left for the Crit Rate Increase anyway. And without the crit boost, there wasn't much point in being a Gambler. The base crit rate was likely quite low—Vesta didn't land them that often, and Gambler was probably the same.
In that case, I decided to go all the way and unlock the Sixth Job slot. My new "standard" loadout would be Explorer, Hero, Mage, Monk, and Gambler, with the sixth slot as a flex position. This would let me keep my core combat buffs while still having a slot for Cook or Alchemist when needed. It would also let me keep Gambler active while using Durandal as a Warrior.
Actually, instead of Warrior, I should try Swordsman. The Warrior's Rush and the Swordsman's Slash were basically the same. Slash might be sword-specific, but I’d be using Durandal anyway. My Warrior level had been stagnating because I only used it when I had Durandal out (which reduced my XP gain). It made more sense to train Swordsman toward Lv 30 and see what advanced jobs it unlocked.
I used Character Reset to unlock the Sixth Job. My Fifth Job remained Gambler, and I slotted Swordsman into the Sixth. Since I'd be relying on it whenever I pulled out Durandal, I wanted to start leveling it immediately.
As for the crit rate, I gave up on the 30% boost and settled for the basic Critical Rate Increase. I couldn't afford to keep the high-tier ones active all the time, and I didn't want the party to get used to a level of power I couldn't maintain. Sherry would definitely notice if the kill speed suddenly tanked.
Critical hits were fundamentally lucky, so I shouldn't rely on them as a crutch. I figured the basic Critical Rate Increase was probably a 5% boost, given the progression. It wasn't huge, but it wasn't nothing. It only cost a single bonus point, which I could usually squeeze out of my build.
We resumed our exploration and cleared a few more groups of monsters. The combat time was occasionally a bit shorter, but it was hard to tell. If the boost was only 5%, it meant one in twenty hits was a crit. It was subtle. Useful, but subtle. You’d need a stopwatch to really feel the difference.
Still, it was better than nothing. And if it were too powerful, I’d be in trouble whenever luck didn't go my way during a difficult fight. A moderate, steady boost was best. Moderation in all things.
I'd used up a significant amount of MP, so I pulled out Durandal. Ever since I’d started using six jobs, I was having to pull out the sword more frequently. It seemed the MP Recovery Speed x3 buff I used to run had been doing more work than I’d realized. Oh well, you can't have everything.
I targeted a Hat Bat with Slash. I watched its movement, timing my swing to meet its charge, and sent it reeling. As the bat tried to stabilize itself in mid-air, I hammered it again with another Slash.
Slash felt almost identical to Rush. I could fight exactly as I always had. I dodged the next bat’s lunge and cut it as it tried to loop back around.
Oh. That was a critical. Durandal swatted the bat out of the air with incredible force, leaving it wobbling violently. So Slash could crit too. It made sense; if magic could crit, physical skills certainly could. Critical Activation clearly rolled the dice for every single action.
"I did it, sir!" Miria gave a small shout.
The Hat Bat she was fighting dropped to the ground. She wasn't talking about my critical; she’d proc'd petrification again. Roxanne was busy with a Love Shrub, and Miria and Vesta were focused on the other bat, so no one had noticed my crit. Sherry knew Durandal had the Chant Interruption effect, so she was busy monitoring the monsters I wasn't currently hitting.
I turned my attention back to my Hat Bat and finished it off with a final Slash as it tried to recover. It hit the ground and dissolved into smoke. Then I helped Roxanne finish off her Love Shrub. That just left the petrified Hat Bat.
"Uh... how do we handle this one?" I asked.
I had to kill it, but it was small and lying flat on the ground, making it an awkward target for a sword. Should I just use magic?
"It looks like a bit of a challenge," Roxanne said, tilting her head.
I flipped Durandal into a reverse grip and stabbed downward from directly above, like I was using a cane to poke at the ground. I felt a surge of MP.
So that worked? It felt a little silly.
"This should do it. It's thanks to you, Miria. You're doing great."
"Yes, sir!"
I gave her a reassuring smile and started "stabbing" while visualizing the Slash skill. After a few hits, I got bored and just started poking it rhythmically without the skill. It felt like I was working on a construction site, tamping down soil.
Wait—that last hit went in deep. A critical. The others were watching now, but no one seemed to notice the difference. I guess that's just how it goes. After a few more stabs, my blade went straight through the bat and hit the ground. It dissolved into smoke. Success.
We continued our exploration until late afternoon. It was the day the aprons were supposed to be finished, so we called it an early day. I picked up the order in the Imperial Capital and we headed home.
Starting today, Vesta would be wearing her apron whenever she helped with the cooking.
"Vesta, can you help make the breadcrumbs?"
"Breadcrumbs?"
"Ask one of the others how to show you."
"Understood."
I watched as Vesta put on the apron. She was a large woman, but the apron softened her appearance significantly. The fabric stretched over her ample chest, creating a look that was both wholesome and incredibly suggestive. The frills and the way the apron emphasized her curves created a vision of domestic paradise. There was a certain lustrous, gentle suppleness that seemed to radiate from her.
Though, because she was so tall and broad, the frills did look a little "large-scale." Still, moderation was best.
Roxanne nodded to show she’d handle the instruction, so I headed to the bathroom to start the water. When I came back down to recover some MP, the breadcrumbs were already done. Vesta was already busy helping someone else chop vegetables.
"Thanks. Looks like you did a good job."
"Yes. We're almost finished with this part too," she said. She was turning out to be quite handy.
"Vesta, can you make boiled eggs?"
"I can handle that much, at least."
"Make one for me, then. Hard-boiled."
"Understood."
I gave her the extra task. "Roxanne, can I leave the Labyrinth trip to you as usual?"
"Of course."
I went to the Labyrinth with Roxanne to top off my MP. By the time we got back, Vesta was already at the stove.
"Oh, you're at it. Use that hot water to blanch these vegetables when you're done."
I quickly blanched the greens and then added the remaining ingredients for the bath.
"Master, the boiled egg is ready," Vesta said. She’d finished just as I was wrapping up.
"Perfect. Now, squeeze this for me."
I handed her a lemon.