In the courtyard, Lucas lay sprawled on a rocking chair, looking perfectly content, a faint smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.
His mind played back scene after scene like a carousel of pleasant memories, each one stirring up a rush of satisfaction.
This evening felt especially beautiful. He was, in every sense, completely at peace.
"Who would've thought the Holy Maiden had that kind of side to her?"
"They say everyone's got a devil inside, and Jeanne's no exception. In fact, after being bottled up for so long, hers might just be worse than most…"
Lucas murmured to himself, voice lazy, tone amused, his heart swelling with a strange and quiet sense of conquest.
"Hm. Jeanne with her hair tied up has a different kind of purity… classy, elegant. Damn."
As he smacked his lips, savoring the sweetness of those memories, his right hand moved automatically, circulating magic power.
Open. Close. Open. Close. Open. Close…
Finally, the flickering stabilized, and his Status Panel appeared before his eyes, crystal clear.
Strength: G273 → F313 (S923) +40
Endurance: F355 → E401 (S966) +46
Dexterity: F348 → F391 (S978) +43
Agility: F329 → F387 (S958) +58
Magic: E491 → C633 (S989) +142
A total increase of 329 points across all five stats.
It wasn't even close to Jeanne's monstrous growth rate, but compared to the average adventurer, it was already absurd.
One skill in particular, the [Heart of a Scholar] played a major role in that growth.
"Only 329, huh."
Lucas muttered, then chuckled, shrugging it off.
"Still, not bad. I'm no genius like Jeanne anyway."
"Been an adventurer this long, and this is the first time I've ever seen progress like this in just two days."
He had already run the numbers.
If he were exploring alone, same hours, same intensity, he'd be lucky to hit even one-fifth of that.
And that's assuming everything went perfectly—no surprises, no setbacks.
But this was the Dungeon. The unknown was its middle name.
It never hesitated to hand out surprises. Want a nice, safe monster grind?
Keep dreaming.
That was the difference between lone wolves and adventurer parties.
Going solo meant slower kills and far more risk.
One bad encounter, and you'd be lucky to die with your eyes open.
But a party? That was a whole different story.
Even a two-man team meant double the safety net.
With someone watching your back, you had more options when things went south—better reactions, higher survival odds. It wasn't 1 + 1 = 2.
It was more like 1 + 1 = 3… or even 4, with the right synergy.
Everyone had a role.
After some coordination and strategy, with tactics, planning, and complementary professions, a solid team could outperform any solo adventurer.
Unless that solo adventurer was a cheater.
Thinking that, Lucas let out a satisfied sigh.
"Good thing my stat growth doesn't rely only on battle or training."
"At least I've got the pay-to-win option."
"Otherwise, with my talent? I probably wouldn't even get close enough to see Jeanne's braid."
He paused. "Should I… top up right now?"
Jeanne's rapid progress was putting serious pressure on him.
He was a transmigrator, a man blessed with cheat-like powers, the god and captain of the Lucas Familia, and the one being served by a Holy Maiden.
How could he let himself get left in the dust by his own follower?
But the moment he remembered the insane amount of experience points and valis needed to boost stats directly, his excitement deflated fast.
Experience was manageable. After all, exploring the Dungeon meant endless experience pools waiting to be farmed.
Back when he worked solo, he could pull in 30 to 50 points a day without much effort.
Now that he was running dungeons with Jeanne, that number only skyrocketed.
Take today, for instance.
It had been their first run on a new floor—a scouting mission, not a farm run—so efficiency wasn't great.
But the sudden Irregular, a Monster Rex event, made up for that entirely.
One kill later, and they walked away with over a hundred points of experience in one go.
Counting the monsters along the way, the total haul for the day was close to two hundred points.
Experience wasn't the issue.
Money was.
Experience: 9,100
Savings: 6,777,455 valis
Before his last massive stat investment, his balance had been around 12 million.
But then came a spree of big-ticket spending—Jeanne's gear, weapons, armor, potions, and even daily necessities—nearly 900,000 valis gone right there.
Then came the main expense: crafting his new weapon using the Great Holy Tree Branch and Scholar's Staff Blueprint.
Material costs, processing, craftsmanship fees… in total, 5 million.
After all that spending and a few earnings here and there, his savings had dwindled to a measly 6.77 million valis.
Lucas stared at the number and sighed.
"Yeah, no. Better hold off for now."
"As long as I can still raise my stats naturally through training and combat, burning through my gold and experience would be downright stupid."
He pushed aside the thought of mindless spending and started analyzing his weaknesses.
"That beating from that orc really showed me my gaps, especially in close combat."
"As a mage, I'm supposed to fight smart—keep my distance, cast from safety. But accidents happen."
After being tossed around in too many accidents, Lucas had learned his lesson. It was time to fix his combat style once and for all.
"I need to start training both hand-to-hand and staff techniques. Top priority."
"The old saying's right—you might not need it now, but you'll regret not having it later."
Being prepared was peace of mind.
"Next, the Familia issue. We need to expand."
"With just Jeanne and me, our earnings already scaled up massively."
"If we add more members, we can boost both our growth rate and profits."
He opened his eyes, reaching for the black envelope sitting on the stone table beside him.
"This time, I should recruit a frontliner. Safety first, after all."
He grinned. "Holy Maiden, bless me. Let's go."
---
On the road leading to the neighboring capital of Baltrain.
A lone traveler walked through the midsummer fields, carrying a simple pack.
Her steps were light but steady, her movement unhurried, the weight on her shoulders barely noticeable.
Long, glossy blue hair shimmered under the sunlight, and despite walking under the blazing heat, not a trace of irritation touched her gentle face.
A white collared blouse, a deep blue high-waisted floral skirt hugging her curves, a double-buckled brown corset cinching her waist, and a matching ribbon tying her hair low at the back—she was the very picture of elegance and composure.
A pink shawl rested loosely across her shoulders, and her waist-length braid swayed softly with each step.
Mature, graceful, yet radiating a youthful energy.
"Eh? Huh?"
The woman suddenly stopped, blinking in surprise.
A pitch-black envelope had materialized out of thin air and floated down right in front of her, landing neatly on the dirt path between the crops.
Baffled, she bent down to pick it up.
"This… doesn't make sense."
Turning it over, she noticed the wax seal embossed with a sigil.
Before she could react, the envelope burst open on its own.
A sheet of parchment floated out, unfurling midair to reveal lines of text written in an unfamiliar script.
"What kind of writing is this?" she murmured. "How odd… I can't read it, but somehow I understand what it says."
"'Lucas Familia'? 'Contract'? How fascinating."
Her lips curved upward, intrigued.
She reached out, taking hold of the parchment. Instantly, she felt a faint, mysterious pulse flow from it.
Her golden eyes widened briefly before a soft smile returned to her face.
She was stunning—refined, otherworldly, radiating divine poise.
"How interesting. A Familia, is it?"
"I accept."
---
Dungeon City, Orario
Luas's Home.
As Lucas enjoyed the warm summer breeze, he had no idea that somewhere far away, after passing the strict judgment of a certain witch, a new member had already joined his Familia.
And at that very moment, she had begun her journey to Orario.