Book 6: Chapter 12

Luna and Ryuka’s Cultivation Program

“From now on, Luna will become part of the House of Ernol.”

When Luna and I left the bonus room, Tina and the rest were waiting in a room right beside it.

Luke, Ryuushin and Ryuka apparently went out to search for us, so I declared that, taking advantage of the fact that only the members of the House of Ernol were left there.

By the way, the bonus room didn’t have a door, but we could slip through one of the walls, so we did just that.

Luna was a bit hesitant when we were about to go through the walls, so I pulled her hand. We didn’t have any problems after that, and we met up with Tina and the others.

The bonus room was in a separate dimension, cut off from the rest of the dungeon, so I couldn’t  detect Tina and the other’s mana.

And so, I was  relieved that we were reunited safely.

Everybody readily accepted my declaration of  Luna becoming a part of the Ernol family. 

Tina seemed to have predicted this happening beforehand, so she already talked about it with everyone.

Everyone did welcome Luna, but Leaffa had a complicated expression. She was  probably bothered about the rotation schedule. Yep, it was  true that the number of members increased, so we have to think this through.

By the way, I didn’t ask if Luna  was  a reincarnator. I thought  it was  best if she opened up about it when she would be  ready.

Afterward, everyone started to discuss the house chores in my mansion for around 20 minutes. I didn’t   do any chores, so I was treated as an outsider.

They just had  to say it, and I would  do anything..

Once, I cleaned the living room on a whim, but Leaffa scolded me since it was her turn that day. Rather than helping around the house, they’d feel better if I praised them for doing their best in house chores — that’s what she said.

After that, I didn’t do the chores on my own anymore. In exchange for that, I made  sure to appreciate them if I happened to meet them while doing their chores.

I was not really comfortable with this, but since everybody was  happy, then so be it. 

Luke and the rest also came after a while.

“We’re back! Ah! Halt and Luna, it’s great that you guys are both safe!”

“Welcome back, Luke, sorry for making you wait. So, did you see anything on the second floor?”

“Nah, there’s nothing in here. All the treasure boxes are also empty, yah know.”

“Yes, it was boring.”

Ryuushin and Ryuka answered.

As I thought, after Tina captured the dungeon, most of the items were not replenished. If there was  nothing else, then we should get going.

“Sorry for making all of you wait. Alright, let’s go on.”

“Yeah!!!”

──＊＊＊──

We reached the 7th floor with no problems at all.

Almost all of the monsters here were Level 50 and above. Monsters that were almost at Level 70 also appeared every now and then.

Transferred and reincarnated heroes boosted their level pretty quickly. This dungeon was designed for those heroes, so normal adventurers must be cautious while leveling up when challenging this dungeon, or else they would  have difficulty capturing it.

We were  not ordinary adventurers, though.

Everyone here was  already past Level 50, and there were also a few among us who surpassed level 100. That was  why we easily made our way towards the seventh floor.

Maybe I could  start that now?

I also had another plan.

It was  — “Luna’s Cultivation Program”.

Not long ago, Youko’s level suddenly rose for some reason. Apparently, Shiro carelessly gave too much mana to her.

Because of that, Youko was already at Level 150.

Her level is now higher than that of Luke.

Then, there were  Mai and Mei, too. I gave them a huge amount of mana as their reward for doing their best at the school festival, and the result was  —

They surpassed Level 200.

They evolved into an existence that surpassed Ifrit and Undine, who were the Spirit Kings.

Usually, if the Level increased, then the aggregated amount of mana would also rise. However, Youko was a nine-tailed fox demon, while Mai and Mei were spirits.

They had special existences, but they could  also level up by receiving a huge amount of mana.

Merdie never missed a single day of tempering her body, and leveled up inside the dungeon that was managed by the Ifrus Academy of Magic. Because of that, she managed to rise to Level 90 within one year.

As expected of the combat race…She was  really great, being able to reach this Level all through her own efforts.

Leaffa also surpassed level 80 from the start. She was part of the royal family of the Elf Kingdom, so she had been raising her levels since she was young inside the dungeons protected by their kingdom.

Because of that, only Luna and I hadn’t surpassed level 80 within the Ernol family.

And today, Luna joined my House.

She was  level 53.

Her occupation was one of support, being an Auxiliary Enchanter, so it would  be rare for her to fight on her own. That was  why it was difficult for her to raise her level.

By the way, Level 53 was in no way weak. C ranked veteran adventurers were around Level 60, so compared to that, it was  actually more than enough.

However, in light of the House of Ernol, her level stood out as being low compared to the rest.

I wanted to protect my family — everyone.

Of course, as long as I was here, I’d absolutely protect my family from whatever enemy we might have.

Even if we were  separated, I’d definitely chase after them.

However, there might come a day when I won’t make it on time.

That was  why I wanted all of my family members to be able to possess at least the minimum amount of power.

This was the reason for  Luna’s Cultivation Program’.

“Luna, Ryuka, hold on to this.”

I handed stones that were shining blue to Luna and Ryuka.

“Party Stones? … Why?”

The stones given to Luna and Ryuka were  called ‘Party Stones’. Multiple people could  have this, and EXP points would  be divided among them when they defeat the monsters. 

There was  no such thing as a Party Stone System in this world. Even if you joined a party, it won’t appear in your Status Board.

In exchange, the Party Stone could  be used to help raise the levels of people who’s forte did not lie in combat, just like Luna.

“I’m thinking of raising Luna and Ryuka’s level while we’re defeating the monsters on the seventh floor.”

“I- is that alright?”

“I already have Ryuushin’s party stone with me, though….”

“Sorry ‘bout that, but can you just team up with me for a while. It’ll be more efficient.”

Actually, Ryuka was kinda a bonus while I was  going to execute  my  plan regarding Luna.

I felt it’d be in bad taste if I helped Luna raise her level because her occupation was not combat type, yet not helping Ryuka raise her level though her having restoration related occupation.

“Ahm…I don’t think it’ll be efficient to form a party with Halt, though…”

“I also think so. I think Ryuushin would still be…”

Luna and Ryuka replied.

It was  only natural that they thought that way.

In this world, when forming a party, the person with the higher level gained the majority of the EXP points. 

Let’s use this as an example. A Level 10 adventurer teamed up with a Level 20 adventurer as  they formed a party. When both of them helped each other and they defeated the monster, the Level 20 adventurer would get double of the Level 10’s EXP points.

And the reason why Luna and Ryuka didn’t want to team up with me to form a party — the two of them didn’t know that I was  Level 1.