Chapter 192
Three days after learning we might obtain rice, a turning point arrived for our party on the first day back from vacation.
"And so, though you all know her already, let me introduce Lady Esmeralda who's joined our party as a mage."
"Liberta, didn't I say to drop the honorifics now that we're comrades?"
"...Esmeralda it is."
"Oh honestly."
Whether you'd call it fate or having the groundwork thoroughly prepared, welcoming a mage into our party was significant.
As everyone gathered in the living room, applause broke out for Esmeralda's introduction. Judging from the reactions, we didn't need to worry about the typical friction between veterans and newcomers.
"Nice to meet you!!" Amina cheered energetically, with no objections from anyone.
"Liberta, I'm fine with Esmeralda joining, but what about our secret? Will we make a contract like with Ingrid?"
Nell raised the valid concern about our leveling methods and skill slots - the secrets behind our strength.
"Already contracted!!"
"Yes, officially approved by His Grace with a confidentiality agreement."
We'd already settled this. The Duke, Lotus, and Esmeralda had all participated in drafting the secrecy contract.
What I wanted kept secret were the leveling methods, skill slot unlock conditions, and EXBP acquisition. They likely suspected we had secrets, but crafting contract terms without revealing details proved challenging. Still, they didn't press about my secrets despite my debts to them, only scrutinizing clauses affecting Esmeralda's safety until both sides were satisfied.
The only concerning clause allowed Esmeralda to teach her future children as a mother - likely the Duke planning for his grandchildren's awakening. By that time, I'd presumably have completed my leveling, so I agreed, though it made me slightly uneasy about this world's impending changes.
When Esmeralda confidently assured no information would leak, Nell seemed convinced.
"Now then, let's discuss our future plans."
Surprisingly, everyone readily accepted Esmeralda into the party. With that settled, we needed to discuss our development strategy.
"Currently, our party's levels and stats are uneven. So I propose we standardize our party levels first."
I'm currently Class 3 capped. Amina, Nell and Ingrid are Class 4 capped. Claudia is Class 6 but missing 20% of her EXBP.
"Esmeralda, your current level?"
"Class 4, Level 18."
My level could be caught up soon if needed, so our priority now is developing Esmeralda and Claudia.
"Understood, thanks. First, you should know that leveling to Class 4 is just the tutorial. The real challenge begins at Class 5."
From level resets to job selections, title acquisitions, and skill gains - we have mountains of work ahead. Remember that EXBP acquisition conditions, job and title gains have all been tutorial-level so far.
"From here on, we enter the real training phase. EXBP conditions become harsher, skill development and leveling efficiency drops as enemies grow stronger."
The EXP tables feel designed for smooth progress until Class 4, but at Class 5 they spike dramatically along with enemy difficulty.
"I meticulously leveled at lower classes to improve future efficiency. You can't progress further without this foundation."
Honestly, most games would consider this balance-breaking, but FBO's leveling difficulty becomes absurd from this point.
"At Class 5, standard enemies become marsh drakes, land drakes, and wyverns. Imagine - field boss-level strength becomes normal."
"Thinking of it that way, it's amazing. That means we've become that strong, right?"
"Indeed. To grow stronger from here, we must defeat even tougher enemies than before."
Enemy stats and skills will surpass what we've faced, and while EXP gains increase proportionally, we won't get bonus EXP like before.
To earn superior enemy bonuses at Class 5, we'd need to target Class 6 or 7 enemies - truly superior opponents where even with EXBP, hard fights are guaranteed. When defeating one superior enemy takes thirty minutes, fighting equal-level enemies becomes more efficient.
My headhunter assassin build was designed for efficient solo leveling via instant kills, but party leveling would now be safer and more efficient.
"Exactly. From here, we'll level efficiently as a party, focusing on Esmeralda and Claudia first."
With Nell, Amina, Ingrid at Class 4 and me catching up, their training should finish faster than our early days.
"But we have the concert coming up, right?"
"We'll do that too."
"I heard from His Grace we're also training officials?"
"That too."
"And we need to acquire our job skills too, right?"
"That too."
"...Isn't that an extremely packed schedule? Will it be okay?"
"Where there's a will, there's a way."
But these days, we can't focus solely on leveling. We promised the Light Spirit a concert. We promised the Duke we'd train officials. There's Amina's final song, Nell's blessing acquisition, and my job skills to obtain too.
Honestly, it's overwhelming deciding where to begin.
"First priority is my leveling. If I cap Class 4, we'll have four fully operational members, improving efficiency."
But we'll just tackle things one by one. I crossed my arms confidently, though internally I was panicking about the piled-up quests. The solution was simple - get stronger myself first.
"Next is the scheduled concert. We've ordered prizes and stall goods, so we need song practice and rehearsals. Esmeralda, any musical experience?"
Next was the prepaid concert, where Amina would acquire her essential spirit and summoning magic skills to reach her prototype complete form.
Amina sings, I play lute, Nell plays cajon, Ingrid harp, and Claudia flute. Ideally, we'd have more instruments.
"Eh? I'm... not very skilled at music..."
All her earlier confidence vanished as Esmeralda averted her eyes. Since Ingrid could play, I assumed nobles typically learned instruments, making this reaction unexpected.
"Does that mean I can't participate?"
"Not at all."
I expected her to have some weaknesses, just not music-related. This posed a problem - excluding her from concerts might make her feel left out. While she'd understand, we need ongoing concerts for Amina's title EXP.
Thus, we needed to give her a role. Briefly considered a double-unit debut with Amina if she could sing, but her reaction suggested general musical difficulties. Maybe stage presence itself would be challenging.
Take a skill for it? No, taking music skills just for concerts was unacceptable. We'd discuss Esmeralda's development direction later, but music skills wouldn't fit.
Backstage roles felt wrong too.
"Then we'll have special training."
Only solution was music practice during free time.
"Eh? Really? I'm truly hopeless! Father hired numerous music tutors for me..."
"No problem! Trying different things will work out!!"
Worst case, we'd place another cajon beside Nell's for rhythm section work. Eventually, spirits Amina contracts could handle all instruments, but shared experiences create memories.
Such shared activities surprisingly improve party coordination. Band members attuning to each other for better performances parallels combat teamwork. Shared rhythm translates to battle synergy too.
"First, let's try the lute!"
"So sudden!?"
"Next is Nell's cajon."
"Then I'll get the instruments now."
"I want to practice singing too!"
"Shall we prepare our instruments as well?"
"Understood."
No time like the present - today's main event was announcing Esmeralda's membership anyway, so our schedule was clear. We'd have a welcome dinner later, but working up an appetite first wouldn't hurt.
As Esmeralda watched anxiously, we retrieved instruments from storage.
"What is this?! It's wonderful!!!"
One hour later, Esmeralda awakened. As confessed, her lute, flute and harp skills were... let's say not talent-level. But the cajon - a simple rhythm instrument nobles rarely encounter - proved different. Its straightforward percussion suited her, lacking the mental blocks of other instruments.
This breakthrough led me to retrieve an unused drum and sticks. Soon, a young lady drummer was born, pounding out vigorous rhythms with surprising skill.
Not to be outdone, Nell intensified her cajon playing, their combined rhythms creating powerful beats. Watching Esmeralda's drill hair sway as she played with full-body enthusiasm - an elegant yet wild new style - I felt certain our next concert would succeed.
"Yeah yeah!! This is great!! I'm getting excited!!" Amina's voice gained power as our upgraded band's music energized her.
Naturally, our playing intensified too. That night, dinner was slightly delayed.