“That’s all for today’s report,” said the adviser, a mature man overseeing Aldred Crow’s main team’s operations. “Remember to keep improving yourselves, everyone.”
All team members present in the conference room gathered their documents and took their leave. Among them was Pollux, a recently promoted, chubby man, who briskly walked towards the Dining Hall.
[Finally, time for dinner…]
Pollux, often talked about by onlookers as unusually active for someone with such a large build, was originally a humble second son from a rural background. Despite his appearance, he was in fact quite healthy — surprisingly muscular and with a decent level of stamina.
Upon reaching the buffet-style Dining Hall, Pollux grabbed a large plate and started walking around, piling up food from the whole selection. The variety of things he was mixing together was to the point where one might think the flavors had become distorted due to the sheer quantity.
“Damn, that looks like food for pigs…”
“What a fatty…”
Some Clan Members in the Dining Hall muttered with displeasure. These particular individuals had always been whispering behind Pollux’s back, disliking the fact that he, perceived by them as an outsider, had made it into the main team in what seemed to be a short period of active membership.
Although Pollux heard them, he paid them no mind. He single-mindedly focused on his meal, devouring the food and consuming rice as if it were a drink. While his eating style may appear messy to an outside observer, not a single morsel of food fell onto the table. The ability to quickly consume every bit of food without leaving a trace was a result of his days growing up in an agricultural community in the countryside.
To top everything off, he used a slice of bread to wipe all the sauce off his plate, knife, and fork, and proceeded to eat it. The plate and utensils looked as clean as if they had just been washed, leaving a surprisingly positive impression on those who prepared the food.
As Pollux was about to start on the next dish, a large plate filled with food was placed in front of him. Stephanie, in her usual blue combat dress, turned out to have brought him another dish.
“Would you like another serving?”
“Yes. Much appreciated,” Pollux thanked her before resuming his meal.
Shortly afterward, the team’s Tank, Bittman, and the multi-weapon Attacker, Sova, joined them at the table.
“Eating a lot as usual, I see,” Sova said sarcastically while observing the way Pollux’s eating manners.
“If anything, you don’t eat enough — it’s a mystery how you can still stand,” Pollux replied in kind, and while Sova seemed a little annoyed by that, he in fact did not particularly mind due to having gotten used to it by now.
After the disastrous Stampede had ended, Pollux had been approached by Ealdred Crow with the intent to recruit him back into the Clan. At first, however, Pollux turned down the invitation.
His previous time with Ealdred Crow had been boring, eventually ending with his unceremonious resignation. He went on to find joy in painting using the powers of an Enchanter, and while his pursuit of the arts did not bring in much income, he was able to sustain himself by assisting with his family’s business. At the time, he did not at all feel the need to rejoin Ealdred Crow.
But then, Rook had earnestly requested that Pollux come to the Dungeon City at least once to see how much things had changed — and so, persuaded by Rook’s insistence, Pollux reluctantly set foot in Dungeon City after a long absence.
He found that the Dungeon exploration business was no longer solely reliant on Attackers, providing an environment where all sorts of Jobs could thrive. Furthermore, when he saw the talk of the town — Tsutomu himself — on a Monitor, his perspective completely changed.
Initially, Pollux underestimated Tsutomu, thinking he could do all the things the latter could. However, as he spoke with Tsutomu, Pollux found himself feeling an unusual sense of respect towards the latter. That feeling persisted even now, and Pollux regarded Tsutomu as quite an interesting character.
With Tsutomu having come from another world, this was only natural, but even without knowing that, he was a subject of great interest to Pollux. That feeling provided Pollux with the motivation to rise to prominence as the top Enchanter in Ealdred Crow, and now, he constantly strove to overcome the challenges of conquering the Dungeon’s eightieth layer.
“Have you gotten used to the workflow here?” Stephanie asked as Pollux was finishing up his meal.
“I guess I have,” he replied, albeit with a tired gaze. “This challenge we’re facing is quite difficult, though — we’ll need at least a few more trial runs to figure it out.”
“Yes, I think so, too.”
“At the end of the day, Bittman, our success depends on your performance — If you die, it’s all over. And since Rook isn’t here, let me just say… his Eidolons are too unreliable. Just make sure our Tanks don’t die. We can win as long as they’re still in the fight.”
“I will do what I can,” Bittman said calmly.
The current composition of the main team consisted of one Healer, one Buffer, two Tanks, and one Attacker, which was quite unconventional. Ealdred Crow was in fact the first to include a dedicated Buffer in one of their teams. They had gone with this lineup to challenge the Winter General five times now, and the results have been the best they had ever gotten so far.
Bittman, having fought the Winter General the most times, was currently the one who could engage with it the best. Stephanie and Pollux provided thorough support, while Rook used his Eidolons for overall coordination. Sova chipped away at the Winter General’s defenses as the Attacker.
Pollux’s Job, Enchanter, gave him the rare ability to enhance attributes such as STR and LUK, which could not be boosted by a White Mage or Channeler. He could also decrease the enemy’s abilities and resistance values.
The most noteworthy aspect of the Enchanter Job was the skill called <<Exchange>>, which allowed the manipulation of allies’ mental energy. This skill enabled the exchange of mental energy between members of the party. Currently, its primary usage was for Bittman to replenish his depleted mental energy by exchanging with someone who had an abundance of it, allowing him to more easily pull enemies’ aggro.
The amount of mental energy could be adjusted by the Enchanter at an exchange ratio of ten to one. It was a skill with versatile applications, but unlike in the game, rapid depletion of mental energy could lead to dizziness and nausea. Additionally, since there were no clear numerical values shown, adjusting the donor and recipient’s mental energy levels was quite challenging to get right.
Pollux was a special case, however — after leaving Ealdred Crow the first time, he had been using his skills to enhance his drawing and coloring processes, making him even better than Tsutomu at controlling his skills. Perhaps it was due to his early experience and talent in handling Enchanter skills that he was also much more proficient at adjusting mental energy compared to others.
“As long as I provide support and Stephanie provides healing, Bittman can fight. Now if only Rook would stop skimping on Magic Stones, victory might not be just a dream. And seriously, that adviser really likes to criticize me without understanding the big picture,” Pollux spoke, his voice tinged with displeasure at the adviser responsible for the main party’s strategy planning and administrative tasks.
“He is just being conventionally strict, I would say.”
“I still have no idea why we have to — or should — take orders from him. It’s quite a privileged position he has, being paid to say things without getting into the action himself…”
“While our opinions on this may differ, it is a fact that we are receiving assistance.”
“That’s right,” Sova chimed in. “Staff like him bring us detailed information and provide valuable external perspectives. Very important.”
“I’m not sure I want to believe them, is all,” Pollux groaned at Stephanie and Sova’s rebuttals. “The way I see it, the only ones that can truly understand the team are the team’s members. If I wanted outside instructions, I would just ask Tsutomu to tag along — Now HE is someone who knows what he’s doing.”
Sova felt an intense urge to punch Pollux’s round and chubby face, but refrained from doing so. On the other hand, Stephanie’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
“That is a brilliant idea! However, we should not. He is surely busy with his own things, and my skills are still not something I can show him…”
“Too late for that, then. You’re shown on the Pedestals all the time — I’m sure he’s already seen you.”
“But Mister Tsutomu would never waste his time to look at me!”
Pollux’s expression turned visibly disgusted as he was subjected to Stephanie’s baby-doll eyes.
“I’ve been meaning to ask for a while now… aren’t you worshiping him way too much? Frankly, it makes you look crazy.”
“Worship… yes, I suppose that is what I’m doing. Ahh, Mister Tsutomu…” Stephanie mused on, spinning around her skill wisps while looking as if she was having an interdimensional travel-induced hallucination.
Observing her, Pollux wore a face resembling a pig presented with inedible feed
“…Has she always been like that?”
“Don’t ask…” Bittman said, shaking his head. “She’s perfectly normal as long as Tsutomu isn’t involved.”
“Try not to bring him up when she’s around,” Sova added, also shaking his head. “If you know what’s good for you.”
Sova’s reaction was especially strong due to him having faced her chilling gaze after making derogatory remarks about Tsutomu in the past. Her fury resembled that of an insulted follower of a divine being — it was something even Sova, a long-time acquaintance of Stephanie’s, did not ever want to witness again.
“What in the world did Tsutomu do to her, anyway? All I’ve heard is that she was chosen to help Tsutomu with his teaching test run, just like me…”
“Hell if I know. Rook said he really didn’t do anything special… No one has any idea what actually happened.”
Indeed, Stephanie had become much stronger-willed, but her other aspects had also changed so much that she seemed like a completely different person from before. Her abnormal level of faith in Tsutomu left Sova and others perplexed.
Moreover, her capabilities had somehow skyrocketed to the point that no other Healers could keep up with her. Such an occurrence was rare within Ealdred Crow, which is why discussions about Stephanie never ceased.
“Maybe we should try asking Stephanie herself.”
“…Rook told me to avoid doing that.”
“We don’t have to obey his every word blindly, you know.”
“Hyah–!?” Stephanie suddenly screamed out as Pollux and Sova were talking between themselves. Then she immediately dove under the table.
“What?” Sova asked, looking uneasy at Stephanie’s peculiar behavior.
“…Speak of the Tsutomu, and he shall appear,” Bittman muttered as he looked in the direction of the Dining Hall’s entrance.
Sova and Pollux also looked in that direction, and they saw Tsutomu, accompanied by office staff, walking in.
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