After two months of intense emergency response… er, training, it wasn't just Yunyun who had made significant progress. Hayashi, Erina, and Hisako from the same team had also gained a substantial number of skill points.
However, Hayashi and Erina didn't focus much on active skills that could be compensated for with technique. Instead, they prioritized learning special skills that couldn't be made up for with skill alone—skills unique to combat. In contrast, Hisako took a much simpler and more direct approach: she completely abandoned combat skills and maxed out all the support skills instead.
Slow Heal (high recovery but slow), Fast Heal (quick recovery but low amount), Purification (removes negative status effects), Curse Removal (dispels curses), and Buff (boosts all attributes).
As Hisako Arato put it, when it came to combat skills, she could just rely on her swordsmanship. Her real job was to be the "secretary" providing support from behind the team.
After Yunyun learned advanced magic, the team's combat efficiency became even more absurd—advanced magic truly lived up to its name, with power that intermediate magic simply couldn't compare to.
And so, another four months passed. Half a year after Hayashi and the others arrived in this world, the Interdimensional Gate finally entered its third phase, allowing them to bring living beings from this world along when they crossed over.
Though Hayashi wasn't sure if anyone would actually want to come with him, it was at least an "achievement"—might as well complete it while grinding for attribute points and skill values.
...
...
"Whew—"
Hayashi glanced at the stats displayed on his status screen and pouted in disappointment. "Looks like the Rockhide Lizards can barely give us any more attribute points."
Hisako, munching on a hand-held pancake, nodded vaguely and said, "But the next monster habitats are way too close to the Demon King's Castle."
In short, that area was too dangerous. There was a real chance of running into one of the Demon King's Four Heavenly Kings out there, squatting in the grass to relieve themselves and then rubbing their butts on the ground because they couldn't be bothered to wipe—just imagine how dangerous that would be! What if there were rocks on the ground? Wouldn't that just be an eye-opener?
Wait, no—the real danger was if Hayashi and the others happened to witness such a scene. It would definitely be a fight to the death! After all, if Hayashi imagined himself in that position and someone saw him, he'd definitely have to silence them.
Erina leaned lazily against Hayashi and stretched. "Mmm, so should we ask Yunyun if she'd be willing to leave with us?"
Hayashi rested his chin on his hand and said, "But didn't Yunyun say she wants to become the chief of the Crimson Demons? She probably wouldn't want to leave, right?"
Hisako sighed in exasperation. "My dear young master! Have you considered that back then, Yunyun barely had any friends? Becoming chief was probably the only goal she could cling to at the time."
Hayashi stroked his chin. "That makes sense, huh?"
"Moreover, I think Yunyun's desire to become the Crimson Demon chief is also influenced by her limited worldview—to her, the chief is probably the most impressive position imaginable," Hisako analyzed, showcasing her wisdom. "If we take her traveling with us for a while, she might lose her fixation on becoming chief once she sees how amazing the outside world is, right? And even if she still wants to be chief, we can always bring her back later!"
No big deal!
"That could work! Mhm, as expected of Hisako!" Hayashi raised a finger in admiration. "Brilliant, absolutely brilliant! You're such a clever one, full of schemes—just like An○!"
"?"
Hisako nearly typed her frustration into the public chat!
Seeing her about to explode, Hayashi quickly soothed her. "Ahem, let's go talk to Yunyun about leaving first! Besides, if nothing goes wrong, Kazuma and Aqua should be arriving in a day or two. Don't you want to visit that iconic scene?"
"Iconic scene?"
"The giant frog swallowing Aqua—"
"Let's go!" x2
...
...
On the left sofa: Hayashi, Erina, and Hisako.
On the right sofa: Yunyun!
After a few seconds of silence, Hayashi scratched his head. "Why does this feel like a kid being scolded at home after messing up at school?"
Hisako immediately covered her face. "It didn't feel like that until you said it, but now I can't unsee it."
Erina chuckled helplessly. "I think it's mainly because Yunyun looks exactly like a student who got in trouble at school and is now getting lectured at home."
"Ah, true—" x2
Hayashi and Hisako nodded in unison, agreeing with Erina's observation.
"Wah—"
Yunyun let out an adorable whimper, nervously eyeing the trio. Her anxious demeanor only reinforced the image of a kid who'd set off firecrackers in the school's septic tank.
"Hey, we're just joking—don't panic!" Hayashi said, amused by Yunyun's pitiful expression. "Actually, we have something important to discuss with you… yeah, pretty important."
"Ah, okay!"
Hearing it was serious, Yunyun immediately straightened her posture.
"Here's the thing—we're planning to leave Axel—"
Hayashi explained to Yunyun that their party had come to Axel from a distant land to train and grow stronger. But now, the monsters around Axel no longer posed a challenge, so they'd decided to journey to another faraway place to continue honing their skills.
Upon suddenly hearing this news, Yunyun was stunned. She opened her mouth several times as if wanting to say something, but no words came out—this feeling of being choked up only made her more anxious, and beads of sweat began forming on her forehead.
"Yunyun, don't panic. Calm down," Erina and Hisako noticed her distress and each took one of her hands to comfort her. "Take your time. There's no need to rush."
Reassured, Yunyun nodded and took a deep breath, trying to steady her emotions.
After a long while, she finally calmed down and stammered, "C-can't we just... not leave? If we go deeper toward the Demon King's castle..."
Hayashi looked at Yunyun and shook his head helplessly. "That would be far too dangerous! Have you forgotten how we nearly got caught by a patrolling high-level Death Knight half a month ago?"
Kazuma had Aqua, the goddess, by his side. Though she was a bit of a disappointment, as a goddess, she possessed a cheat-like ability—unlimited resurrection!
Hayashi had no such convenient ally—during this time, he had tried searching for Eris, who disguised herself as a thief, but whether she was deliberately avoiding them or hadn't descended yet, he hadn't encountered her.
"Compared to that, the place we're heading to next has more and stronger monsters, but also a much safer environment for growth—" Hayashi met Yunyun's red eyes calmly. "Given the choice, why would we stay in Axel?"
Clearly, Yunyun understood this too, so she lowered her head dejectedly.
"So, we wanted to ask you—" Hayashi looked at her gently. "Would you like to come with us?"
"Huh?" Yunyun lifted her head in surprise.
"If you're willing, you can travel with us for now," Hayashi continued. "If, after some time, you still want to become the chief of the Crimson Demons, we'll bring you back. How does that sound?"
At this point, how could Yunyun possibly refuse?
"Okay!" She nodded rapidly, as if afraid Hayashi would change his mind if she hesitated. "I'd love to!"
...
...
Later, after witnessing Aqua being swallowed whole by a Giant Toad and documenting the entire incident with photos and videos, Hayashi and his group officially prepared to leave Axel—he didn't even interact with Aqua, fearing that the troublesome goddess would latch onto them and become impossible to shake off.
"Alright, we're ready to leave—" Hayashi turned to his teammates with a smile. "Everyone set? All packed?"
"Mhm!" Yunyun's face lit up with the excitement of a child on a school trip. For her, traveling far with her teammates seemed like an eagerly anticipated experience.
"Then, summon—"
Hayashi extended his right hand forward, and a pink Interdimensional Gate instantly materialized before him. As he grasped the doorknob with his right hand, a sudden surge of information flooded his mind—
In simple terms, because Hayashi had received the blessing of this world's "data card," his power system had been modified into a mode resembling an RPG game—earning experience points and using skill points to learn abilities. Upon leaving this world, the Interdimensional Gate would grant him one opportunity to alter his power mode.
If he chose the Konosuba mode, Hayashi would adhere to the power rules of the Konosuba world in any world he visited. If he chose the normal mode, the skills he acquired in the Konosuba world would not disappear.
'The advantage of the Konosuba mode is that learning skills only requires skill points, and as long as you have them, even racial or special skills can be mastered directly. However, the downside is obvious—without skill points, you can do nothing, and as levels increase, obtaining skill points becomes increasingly difficult.'
'The benefit of the normal mode is that skills can be learned even without skill points, and there are no restrictions like talent points or experience. The drawback is that innate skills or bloodline abilities likely cannot be acquired.'
So…
"Damn, is there even a choice?" Hayashi couldn't help but twitch his lips. He barely hesitated before selecting the normal mode—let's be honest, the skill points in the Konosuba world were just too much of a scam!
Just look at Yunyun—it took her several years to accumulate enough skill points to relearn advanced magic. If she had relied on her natural talent, she probably could've mastered it in half a year!