…
“Quinlan, please let me join you!”
Lucille begged while looking up into my eyes pleadingly. We were just about to leave for the monster hunting when she found us.
“You coming with us to the labyrinth was meant to be a one-off deal, Lucille. You have your family here, you shouldn’t keep risking your life while traveling with such dangerous people like us.” I declined firmly.
“You’re being unfair! You showed me such an amazing time, and now you want me to do what? Go back to washing the dishes? Making meals? I tried, but I just can’t… I’m so bored of this life, especially when I remember back to the exhilaration of combat I felt back there…”
“So you want to leave your family behind and join us full-time?” Aurora asked this time.
Lucille gritted her teeth and her features contorted, revealing the emotional turmoil she was dealing with. “Mavena is a full-fledged woman now, and well, Robert isn’t someone I want to be with. But you’re right… Without me, the business would collapse…”
My delicate samurai’s soft voice appears in my mind. <We will need people to take care of all the labor slaves you want to buy, Quinlan. How about you get the father-daughter to work for you in that capacity while Lucille comes with us? I must admit that while her level is low, her instincts are top-notch. If we keep nurturing her, she will be a great asset, an amazing, ruthless fighter.>
<Hmm… I don’t know if I can trust those two to not reveal our secrets. Well, fine. For now, we can keep bringing this battle junkie with us and let her get her fixes. We will make the final decision later. For as long as we live here, Anna and Beatrice can take her place so that the inn isn’t short-staffed.>
The next week of our life passed well. Since we couldn’t return to the labyrinth for a while due to murdering the count’s son in cold blood on the 8th floor, we decided to settle for greenskin hunting. Ayame was already registered under my name as my combat slave at the Adventurer’s Guild, and I did the same for Blossom, while Aurora and Lucille registered as my teammates.
This way, we could also get paid while leveling, since their boards were filled with quests regarding hunting them in any shape and capacity.
The advantage of the labyrinth quickly became clear. We had numerous close calls with orcs, ogres, and trolls that were beyond our current means, and we only managed to steer clear of them due to Blossom’s magnificent sense of smell combined with my [Warp Gate]. It was annoying to waste my mana every time a strong monster got close to us.
Furthermore, it was also disadvantageous that these tribal creatures tended to stay close to each other. Even with Blossom’s guidance, we could only ambush their scout parties, as an entire monster camp was way beyond us.
The first time we attacked the goblin camp back when we saved the women and met my beloved dog-girl, there were only three hobgoblins and a single war troll, but now such weak settlements were nowhere to be found.
Back then, goblins were the footsoldiers and hobgoblins the middle leaders, but now the hobgoblins are the footsoldiers and the goblins are simple servants, running errands and such if they are not being eaten or brutally murdered because the stronger monsters felt like it.
Also, another annoyance is the way leveling works in this world. The arbitrary 30% increase of XP needed to reach the next level each time was not much of an issue at the beginning, but now I can’t help but groan with frustration. In this week I’ve only managed to go from level 14 and a half to barely reaching 16.
I know Ayame would try to strangle me if I said my thoughts out loud since I’ve gotten a higher level in three weeks of being here than she did as a 20-year-old woman who first touched a katana when she could barely walk, but still… My progression is slowing down due to the insane XP requirements, and it will only get worse.
To get to level 17, I need more than 5000 XP, after which the next step will be 6600… For reference, it was 100 to go from level 1 to 2.
Anyhow, here’s my status screen. I decided to go all in on Magic this time around.
[Name: Quinlan Noir]
[Race: Primordial]
[Title: -]
[Primordial Level: 16 . XP 18/5119]
[Primary Class: Primordial Villain 1 → 8]
[Secondary Classes]
< Warrior 10 → 14 >
< Elemental Sovereign 1 → 9 >
< Merchant 5 >
[Health Points: 731 → 863]
[Mana Points: 900 → 1125]
[Vitality: 55 → 58] (57.5 rounded up)
[Strength: 50 → 53]
[Agility: 50 → 53]
[Magic: 60 → 75]
[Unused Skill Points: 9]
[Unused Attribute Points: -]
I enjoy fighting as a Wizard the most, and I’ve decided that I will pretend to be one during the trials, which means alongside my saber I’m also wielding a wand we bought since non-primordial Wizards do seem to need it to cast spells effectively. Back when we registered at the Adventurer’s Guild when we were spying on Ian, Blossom’s old owner, I showed myself as an Assassin.
While it is certainly strange for a Wizard to have levels in such a class, it’s not the end of the world, they will just think of me as a weirdo who enjoys the dual life of a killer and a mage should they come to learn that I can cast magic spells.
Sadly this means I won’t be able to use my [Power Strike] [Backstab] [Stealth] and such spells during the trials unless our lives are in danger or we are sure that no one is spying on us from the Consortium’s side.
Now, then, it’s time to get rich- I mean go to Aldoria and get the items from the shopping list. I can’t wait to have 35 gold- well, 25 in pure profit- in my hands. Together with Luke’s charitable donation, we will be very close to hitting the 50 gold coin mark.
A few more such deliveries, and we will be rich, after which it will be time for me to buy the many slaves Ronan and Iselda will surely require to build my luxury home and begin our construction company, the first step towards establishing my future business empire.