Waking well after the early morning, Karion sat up after hearing the bustling streets. He glanced at Ruby, still asleep. Reminiscing on the night prior, he stroked her hair.
Sitting at the edge of the bed, his negative thoughts couldn't help but invade his mind. After an exhausting week, he had what he wanted, but with his methods to achieve his goals, he wasn't sure if they were right.
He heard a soft groan behind him. Ruby sat up, rubbing her eyes while using the blanket to cover her bare chest. Nothing about her had changed, but her droopy eyes, which slowly looked up at him before averting her eyes in embarrassment, the outline of her body beneath the covers, and the subtle movements of her ears dispelled his thoughts.
He initiated a kiss that she quickly returned,
"Good morning, Ruby."
"Good morning, Master… Ah..! I'm sorry!!"
"…?"
"For me to sleep on the bed, please forgive me..!" Ruby exclaimed, jumping out of bed to lower her head.
Karion had a light chuckle, "Was that all? Don't worry about that."
Karion lifted her head, "Rather, I want you to sleep next to me if you're okay with it."
"Y-Yes, sir! I would be happy to…"
Ruby assisted clothing Karion before herself, noticing Karion's periodic glances at her body. When he was dressed, Karion placed Ataria on the table, opening the synthesis panel.
"How much do you know of potions?" He asked, "Anything you know would help me a lot."
"Potions, sir?" Ruby pondered the question, "There are three types of potions divided by their applications. Positive potions give effects to enhance a person's abilities, while negative potions are used to impair monsters. The miscellaneous potions give effects that don't fall into either category. Negative and Miscellaneous potions only have one grade, while Positive potions have three."
[Just as I thought, if quality is determined by color, they can't see the value of negative potions…]
"Miscellaneous? Like what?"
"I'm not too sure of the details, but I've heard that using a Vinny's foot created a potion without effects."
[Without effects..? I'll have to look into it later…]
"What type of monster is a Vinny?"
"A rabbit, sir. While quite cowardly, when cornered, they are powerful."
[I guess I'll make do with what materials I have now.]
"Ruby?"
"Yes, master?"
"Don't be too surprised."
Before Ruby could ask anything, Ataria crafted five potions each of strength, mana, and fatigue.
"Master… Just how…"
Karion brandished his sword, "I said before it was all because of this, didn't I? I don't know the specifics, but my sword might be considered a unique ranked weapon."
"That's simply amazing, sir…" Ruby walked around the sword to observe the blade, "I never heard of ranked weapons holding skills… Usually, they only have affinities."
[Affinities must be what the bandit held on his sword…]
"How do you know if a weapon has an affinity?"
"There's no inherent way to determine that. It's created along with the weapon naturally."
[Another vague explanation… I have a lot of things to look into.]
Karion looked down at Ataria, "If I could find a way to give this an ability… Maybe I'd be a more worthy master."
"Untrue, I believe you're splendid, sir!" Ruby retorted.
"Ah, thanks Ruby," Karion replied while patting her head. Although he meant a better master to his sword, he couldn't say that to Ruby who praised him so much.
"While we're on the subject," Karion handed Ruby her identity card along with a few potions, "Take this back, hold on to it. Store the vials in your storage.
"Um… is it okay, master..?" Ruby was hesitant to retrieve it.
"Is there a reason why you can't take it?"
"Not exactly… It's just, with an identity card, what if I were to… run?" Ruby asked in a tentative voice.
[Uwahh… what a terrifying thought. Even if they have the collar, the card makes it easier for them to leave, huh?]
"Well, do you plan to run?"
"N-No! I wouldn't dream of it..!"
"Then there's nothing wrong," Karion caressed her face, "I trust you, Ruby."
Ruby's face grew flushed, "I… will work hard to be worthy of such privilege."
"Thank you, Ruby," Karion released his hand. While his faith in Ruby did stem from trust, he also placed faith in Mydon's words.
Ruby opened her card, ready to place the potions inside before freezing, "I… what..?"
"Did something happen?"
"M-My storage cells reduced… I've never heard of this before…"
Karion loomed over her shoulder, "How much did you have before?"
"Five, sir…"
Just as Ruby said, her storage cells displayed only four empty boxes.
{
Ruby - Age: 19 [Health: 75/75] [Mana: 5/5]
Active Class: [Villager - Lv. 3] [Taurus - Lv. 1] (Farmer - Lv. 2)
Skills: [N/A]
Equipment: [Aspis Shield]
}
[There's nothing wrong with her stats…] Trying to find an answer to her status, Karion furrowed his eyebrows as an epiphany came to him.
Dragging Ruby's Farmer class to replace Taurus, Ruby exclaimed in shock, "I-It's normal..!"
[Ahh, so that's what "experience" means.] Karion figured out that storage cells people use had a limit based on the sum of their active classes, [Just why hasn't anyone figured this out yet? It's hardly the toughest problem…]
Returning to Ruby's class as it was, he began to explain his findings, "Don't worry about it too much, I was the one who changed your classes. It seems that the storage limit is based on your active classes."
"Active… 'classes'?" Ruby questioned, "Master may not know, but… people only have one class that evolves and only that class has levels. If you're skilled enough, your class will evolve to an exclusive to your race." Ruby showed her card, pointing to the class that clearly stated "Villager Lv. 3".
"Huh..?"
[This world doesn't even know about multiple classes…? When she talks about classes evolving, is it not just a different class?]
"Is… that so. Thank you, Ruby."
Karion opened his status panel, [Now's a good time as any…]
{
Karion - Age: 19 [Health: 20/20] [Mana: 50/50]
Active Class: [Swordsman Lv. 3], [EX - Jack+ Lv. 1] (Farmer Lv. 1, Villager Lv. 4)
Skills: [EX - Appraisal], [Pierce]
Equipment: [EX - Ivory Ataria]
}
Switching Villager for Jack+, Karion's health had dropped, but he felt normal, [Since I was exhausted, I never tried to switch my classes again. This time I can try to level what Jack+ does.]
Feeling a rattle from his pocket, he pulled out his identity card and found it began vibrating uncontrollably before ejecting monster materials at random.
Catching both Karion and Ruby by surprise, they could only stare at each other while the materials poured out, spreading across the floor.
"Just what is happening…?" Ruby asked.
"Ah, sorry. I was testing things with my storage cells," Karion said.
Although Ruby wasn't convinced, she accepted his answer, knowing she wouldn't know where to begin asking. After cleaning up the mess, they deposited the materials in a neat pile inside the wardrobe, [So this is what happens when stored items have a sudden decrease in boxes…]
With only four spaces remaining, he filled three of the four boxes with potions, leaving the final slot empty. When they were ready to depart, they headed to the dungeon fortress. Remembering Ruby's explanations, he held his hand to the door, concentrating his mana. When the doors opened, he saw the same wooden hallway. Entering the labyrinth, it wasn't long before slimes began inching towards them.
[Mana loading is really useful! Does this mean that the labyrinths have a network that knows how deep a person has gone?]
Instructing Ruby to avoid the slimes, they made quick progress venturing through the dungeon, locating the boss room quicker than usual.
With Ruby blocking the hits of the Dire Wolf using her shield, Karion was easily able to swap in, getting a heavy slash to the monster. Repeating the process, they defeated the wolf with relative ease.
[Being in a party is really helpful,] Karion thought to himself as he watched Ruby retrieve the dropped items.
As expected, two doors appeared on opposite ends of the room, "You wouldn't happen to know what's on the next floor, do you?"
"Yes, master. In Qirsley, the silver level starts after the Dire Wolves. Just like this level, the silver level has two floors. The first floor has monsters consisting of Roosts, Vinnies, and Allures."
"What kind of monster are they?"
"Roosts are avian creatures that have loud screeches to disorient you. Their claws are also sharp enough to tear flesh."
[Scary…!!]
"Vinnies are the bunnies we spoke of earlier. They're cowardly, but aggressive in packs. Allures are sheep-like creatures. They charge at you with their horns, but their more fearsome quirk is that their wool is soporific."
"Soporific? Like- sleep-inducing? How do you fight that?"
"Quite easily, sir," Ruby replied, waving her hand, "It's only through long exposure before you feel drowsy."
"That's a relief-"
"Of course, when paired with an aggressive horde of agile Vinnies, death couldn't be more certain."
[That's less of a relief.!!!]
"They make packs of different species?"
"They do, but it's not understood why or how."
[We'll have to be more careful going forward. I hope the potions we have on hand are enough…]
"Ruby, as a precaution, use a potion of strength."
"Yes, master!"
Entering the door leading them deeper into the labyrinth, the narrow, wooden halls were wider and made of tall stone.
"The room is much higher…" Karion said, looking up at the distant ceiling.
"I believe that's to accommodate the Zings on the next floor," Ruby replied, "They're large insect monsters with sharp stingers that can paralyze you if given enough time."
Karion took less than a second before doubt filled his mind, [Are we even well prepared for this..?]
While venturing through the new maze system, a couple of black-feathered chickens appeared.
{
Roost - Lv. 10
}
[These are the Roosts…] Taking note of their level, Karion was quick to notice their jagged but sharp claws. Ruby was quick to stand in front of Karion, her shield pointed against them.
The Roosts rattled their feathers before a deafening screech echoed through the tall hallways.
Karion held his ears immediately, the sounds distorting his vision before he collapsed.
"Master..!!"