Vol. 8 - Ch. 423 - Beauty-four X Beauty-four

The time had fully come for us—for the <Eden> to graduate from Int-mid.Following Team A's conquest over the rare boss, Team B threw a gauntlet, and they too, albeit with a slight struggle, proved the mantle.

I was sure now that the 10 members had what it took to challenge the Intermediate-high dungeons—the ultimate difficulty level in intermediate level and the dream of many other students who failed to achieve it, despite them trying to pull any way in the hope so.

It was finally the moment where we could stand shoulder to shoulder with the powerhouses of this academy—no, this world. Man, it sounds like how long a journey we had traveled—albeit an illusion, huh? It hasn't even been three months since the entrance ceremony.

Hmm, yeah. The key point was the month of April, where we put in every effort we could and that which was missing in the game. In a true sense, the game timeline for players started in May, with the only time available being after classes, the weekend, and the dungeon week at best. Reality provided us the best opportunity in the form of April; every day of it was like dungeon week. There's no way I could miss such a golden opportunity. Real world, banzai!

Speaking of our next step, there sure have been a plethora of things to do. The first would be to increase the number of members, then ‹Job Transfer› to advanced jobs, and then prepare the line-up of 15 members for the next C-rank guild battle.

At least, we would have to train 5 people to fill our bill. Oh, and to expand ‹Eden› even more. Right, then once it's over, we could challenge the guild rank, and most of all, it would finally open the path to advance dungeons! Everything was ready for ‹Eden› to board the expressway, leaving everyone light years behind! This heart-thumping development was what I was aiming for!

Ahem, let's look at reality before my eyes first. We were not done yet with everything, and there was a reason why we were still on the last floor of ‹Beast Gathering Dungeon›. You guessed right, it was a rare boss grind time!

"Magnificent work, you all! But this is not the end! Let's start the grindfest!"

"You bet I will!"

"Lulu is on it too!"

Following my declaration, everyone readily nodded for the rare boss grind, starting with Lana and Lulu.

I think I just saw a black, two-headed wolf whimpering 'owww~' and its tail drooping at the corner of my periphery. Ahaha, how could it be, right? Silly me, excitement must have been getting on my head.

"Cat Coin, grant me the ‹Gold Chest›! Please, ‹Sachineko-sama›! Come on, time to charge! After me, Team B!"

Lana hoisted the ‹Gold Cat Coin› and charged into the boss room. The rest of team B entered after her. I guess she was fishing for ‹Gold Chest›. Except, it was supposed to be our turn. Oh, well.

Fast-forwarding to the result——

"Hurray, we got ‹Gold Chest›! Woah, and four on top!"

"Oh damn, for real?"

I exclaimed in a loud voice, almost to the point of using all my energy. I mean, holy mother of goddesses, for real?

After their rare boss battle, I almost felt my knees buckling upon hearing Lana's report. Her prayer really got through! And in super-duper bonanza style too! Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ NʘvᴇlFirᴇ.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

It was team B's report that they drew in ‹Perfect Beauty-four Phenomenon›. Kuh, right, if my memory serves me right, Lana had offered ‹100% Mellow Apple Juice› to ‹Sachineko-sama›! S-So that's the force behind the auction's 6.1 million Mir price juice!? D-Did I fail through for being cheap!?

I tasted the defeat from an unexpected angle, and the rest of team A member entered the boss's room to take a look. Me? What else could I do if I did not follow them? And just as told, four sparkly shining golden treasure chests were enshrined there.

It's truly beauty-four. What's with this sudden sensation of being crushed through and through? It was the first time I had felt this in all of my life so far. It irks me to say, but that's really f-frustrating!

But I have to at least praise her! How can I praise them?

"Congratulations! Truly epic! I was really surprised to ‹Perfect Beauty-four Phenomenon›!"

"Fufu. Come on, praise me more. Better yet, you should chant 'all-hail Lana-sama'!"

"Truly. Zephyr hasn't been praising us as much as before. Yeah, this is our chance to get our rights."

"Eh, for real?"

Just as I was about to dismiss Lana's words as her usual joke, Sierra also made a similar follow-up.

Certainly, I've been taking separate actions quite often lately, and I often found myself thanking them more for their support than praise. Still, I didn't know it was bugging them that much. Now that I see she was waiting for me to praise her, she suddenly looks even cuter.

In the end, I lavished Team B with praise like there was no tomorrow. Though this act somehow pumped up Team A as well.

O-Oh right. My mind had completely brimmed with the idea of advancing by increasing the guild battle, but only now did I realize that it wasn't because of the current member that <Eden> had reached this zenith. Is this what they called 'recognising effort'? Alright, I shall make more effort to praise them—I resolved it in my heart.

Well, now I can't let the ‹Gold Chest› wait for more.

"Zephyr, you're with me! I was a teeny bit jealous when you did it with Lulu earlier!"

For some reason or another, Lana remarked in her usual tsundere-ish attitude (wait, was it?) and pulled me, who hadn't taken part in the boss battle, to open the chest together.

"Your Highness. Please lend him to me next time."

"Fine. Let's share him."

“What am I? A thing?"

It seemed like not just Lana; I was due to open up with Sierra as well. And they didn't even ask about my feelings at all, deciding just between themselves. I mean, yeah, I would have only nodded in the end, but really, just that? Maybe it's their subtle sign to ask for more praise. A-Alright, let's praise them no matter what happens. Yeah, let's do so.

Out of my mental debate, I looked at the treasure chest. It was another, even more heart-thumping moment. Just like before, with Lana excessively close to me—almost as if we were glued together—we grabbed each corner of the lid and lifted it up at the same time.

"Ohh! W-What is this, Zephyr!?"

"A-Ahh. I didn't expect the talisman to drop from the rare boss's ‹Gold Chest›. This is called ‹Soothing Talisman›."

Peering at the inside, it was an astonishing item. ‹Soothing Talisman› was primarily the weapon of the healer job holder, similar to the magical talisman Lana was currently equipped with. The design was on the cuter side, requiring quite a bit of courage if any boy would want to use it.

Honestly, the timing couldn't be more exquisite. Wait, don't tell me its ‹Sachineko-sama› blessing?

———————

Two Handed Weapon ‹Soothing Talisman›

‹MATK - 68› ‹Healing Potency - 80›

‹Cooldown Abatement LV5› ‹Soothing Prayer LV7›

———————

Such were its abilities. One might be wondering, 'isn't its abilities a bit too mediocre for a drop from a gold chest,' and indeed, they were. However, the focus of this weapon was the cooldown reduction skill. This was our first item that actually had ‹Cooldown Reduction›.

What made this skill an asset was the fact backing it up—that this skill belongs to advanced jobs. It was well within the reason for it to be dropped from the rare boss's ‹Gold Chest›.

If I had to grade it, it would definitely be a mega-jackpot level. A super-rare equipment!

While it was only applicable to selected jobs like ‹Shaman› or ‹Saint› that have skills related to ‹Protection› ‹Prayer› ‹Blessing› etc., it couldn't have dropped at better timing!

But man, was I so glad to have finally, finally a piece of equipment from ‹Gold Chest› that we could actually use? You know, almost every other piece of equipment we had gotten from ‹Gold Chest› simply ended up at the door of the warehouse.

Oh, as for the details of the skill—‹Soothing Prayer› was a magic that boosted the overall abnormal state resistance. It is quite a handy skill when facing an opponent specializing in inflicting the abnormal state.

"Can I use it?"

"Of course, it's your equipment. Other healers use cane or grimoire; besides, talismans go well with prayer type healer jobs. Isn't it nice? A fit for you."

In fact, Lana's equipment was just about to demand an upgrade. This talisman was perfect for that.

"O-Ohhh. I don't know why, but I am suddenly feeling a bit fuzzy. So this is my new equipment. Say, Zephyr. Can you put it on for me?"

Lana stared at her new equipment with sparkly eyes, then, laced with a bit of nervousness, she made the request.

‹Talisman› category equipments were generally necklace-type items worn around the neck. She cheerfully removed the ‹Talisman of Compassion› she had been wearing and handed me the ‹Soothing Prayer›; though, another person standing next to us interjected.

"Cough. Lana-sama, please refrain from such things."

"Wha—. Shizu! It was just getting better, so can you not get in the way!?"

"Restrain, Lana-sma. Besides, other members are also waiting for their turn. Zephyr-dono, please move beside the Sierra-sama."

"Hey, Zephyr!?"

"Ah, right. Another time then, Lana."

Oh, yeah. I had almost forgotten, but everyone was also here in the room. We were pretty much earning everyone's attention, so I stopped there while Lana shouted, 'You can't do this with the given opportunity; that's just too much—' and knelt beside Sierra.

"Let's open it then."

"Now that I think about it, we are opening it together for the first time, aren't we?"

"Indeed, it's also my first time opening it with someone else."

......Is she implying that 'Zephyr is first', is she? It's probably just my imagination.

'1, 2, and—,' We counted together and opened the lid. The drop we got was——

"A great shield."

"You too!? And in my eyes, it's ‹White Fang Kite Shield›! It boasts high defense, magic defense, and a set of skills. A great piece of equipment."

"Fufu, that sounds good."

―――――――――――

Great Shield ‹White Fang Kite Shield›

‹DEF - 33› ‹MD - 44›

‹Pierce Resist LV5› ‹Poison Resist LV10› ‹Shock Absorption LV7›

―――――――――――

With a grin almost reaching her ear, Sierra took out the shield from the treasure chest. Appearance wise, the kite shield was red in color, with strips of white elongating from the edges. It was just the same size as Sierra's current shield.

A drop worthy of a rare boss's ‹Gold Chest›; it boasts high defense, magic defense, and three skills. And the best among them was the ‹Shock Absorption LV7›. A passive skill that heals the holder of 12% of overall damage from the physical attack it takes. Not to a flipping degree, but it definitely further boosts the capability of shield job holders.

With it being a great shield, Sierra was the best suited for it in ‹Eden›.

"Are you sure?"

"I guess it must be God's blessing to you that it wants you to pick it. So, of course."

"Fufu, thank you. I will take good care of it."

Thus, ‹White Fan Kite Shield› became Sierra's first shield. Ability wise, it surpasses her current shield, and it could also handle whatever Advanced-low dungeon throws in. And since she was also in need of a change of equipment, there was no need to contemplate.

Gradually, ‹Eden› equipment was also coming together.