“Are you also hungry? Let’s grab something to eat from a stall on our way home. We don’t have to eat homemade meals every time,” I said, my voice sounding cheerful as we stepped away from the dungeon district and back into the vibrant, crowded streets of the city.
“Are you craving some specific food, master?” Wyn asked, her ears twitching with curiosity.
“Yes, master. If you want something particular, I can certainly make it for you at home later as well,” Woya proposed quickly. She looked almost worried, as if she feared that eating street food might mean I was dissatisfied with her cooking or that she was losing her speciality in my eyes.
“Don’t get me wrong. The meals you’ve made are already more than good enough,” I reassured her, offering a small smile to settle her nerves. “I only suggested it as a change of pace. You should pick out something you want to eat as well.”
There is so much in this world that they haven't had the chance to experience yet. To them, food has always been a matter of survival or a strictly regulated chore. This was a good opportunity for them to experience the simple pleasure of street food stalls and the variety that a trading hub like Yargan has to offer.
I decided on two sandwiches. I truly love how natural and fresh the ingredients are in this world; the absence of processed fillers makes every bite feel revitalising. Just a simple piece of sharp cheese and a few crisp vegetables are enough to make you feel a sense of ecstasy. Woya, after a bit of browsing, bought three skewers of grilled sausages, and Wyn opted for some thinly sliced beef pastrami.
They both seem to have a deep love for meat. I suspect it’s either a natural trait of being wolfkin or a result of growing up in a village where they primarily ate food from the hunts. They were hesitant to buy much at first, as they always are when it comes to spending money, but I insisted. Once they realised I wouldn't take no for an answer, they finally relaxed and bought what they actually wanted.
We decided to take a longer, more circuitous route home to do some sightseeing, slowly enjoying our food as we walked. We passed through several different districts, looking into the windows of various shops. There were high-end clothing stores, accessory shops gleaming with silver and gold, and shoe stores specialising in everything from silk slippers to reinforced hiking boots. We also saw florists with exotic blooms, antique dealers with dusty relics, and a few dedicated magic device stores.
I have actually done business with several of these establishments in the past. One cloth merchant had previously asked me to procure a specific type of newly designed fabric from a distant manufacturer. A florist had commissioned me to bring a few unique tulips from the Ottovard Empire. An antique dealer had requested that I retrieve a specific heirloom that a noble was selling in the Targonia Kingdom, and a magic device seller had once asked me to find a device crafted in the Almiranth Kingdom that was currently on sale in Targonia.
Travelling to the Ottovard Empire was never much of an issue for me, but I have consistently refrained from going anywhere near the area surrounding Velshara city. Count Thedran Alveric had placed a significant bounty on my head during my departure from that region. I don’t believe they could actually catch me unless they sent an overwhelmingly large force—especially since I’ve grown quite strong lately—but it is always better to be safe than sorry.
When we finally arrived back at the house, I left the girls there to look after the residence and departed again. They could handle the daily chores and start preparing for dinner while I took care of my own more specialised business. Since the test of the girls' abilities in the dungeon was finished for the day, it was time for me to test my own new acquisition: magic.
I made my way into a secluded alleyway, far from the prying eyes of the crowd. After checking my surroundings to ensure I was unobserved, I activated Warp. In an instant, the city vanished, and I stepped out onto the twentieth floor of the same dungeon I had visited with the girls earlier that morning.
The atmosphere here was entirely different from the upper levels. The walls were etched with glowing lines of light blue, dull orange, aquamarine green, and scarlet, which provided a rhythmic, shifting illumination to the corridors. The corridors themselves were immense, their width being two or three times that of the first floor. I’ve noticed that as the floors descend deeper into the earth, the architecture of the dungeon tends to widen significantly.
I walked forward, searching for opponents. Before long, I encountered a group of four enemies blocking the path ahead. When I first reached the eleventh floor of this dungeon, I noticed that monsters occasionally appeared in groups of three. By the time I hit the fifteenth floor, groups of three were the standard. Now that I was on the twentieth floor, they consistently appeared in groups of four.
***
Race: Water Hue
Sex: None
Status: Normal
Level 20
***
***
Race: Water Hue
Sex: None
Status: Normal
Level 20
***
***
Race: Fire Hue
Sex: None
Status: Normal
Level 20
***
***
Race: Earth Hue
Sex: None
Status: Normal
Level 20
***
If I had encountered these creatures back on the eleventh floor, I wouldn’t have understood the significance of the "Hue" in their names, but I know better now. From the eleventh to the fifteenth floor, one encounters enemies called "Cores." These water, earth, wind, and fire cores are essentially fist-sized spheres that float in the air. They utilize elemental attacks and try to defend themselves with corresponding elemental interference.
They were the first monsters I had seen in this world that utilized magic. The primary downside of their power is their lack of mobility; they float very slowly, and if you can break through their spells, they are incredibly easy to suppress in close combat. Hues, however, are an evolved version of the Cores. They use the same elemental spells and are just as fragile in a physical struggle, but they possess a plasma-like "hue" surrounding their bodies.
Whenever a Hue moves, this surrounding energy vibrates, allowing them to shift and dodge attacks with surprising agility. For me, they are still relatively easy to finish, but a regular dungeon diver would struggle immensely against them because they can evade physical strikes while using magic to shield themselves.
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I didn't get too close to the group. I wanted to test my new power from a distance. As soon as I had equipped the Magejob, the basic foundational knowledge for manifesting simple elemental spells had been engraved into my mind. I understood instinctively how to coordinate the mana flowing through my body. I focused that energy toward my outstretched hand, following the mental pathways provided by the job.
“Fireball,” I whispered.
A sphere of fire roughly the size of my head formed in the air just in front of my palm. It took about two to three seconds to manifest, and the form was somewhat distorted and convulsing. I had to exert a conscious effort to keep the spell stable. Once I felt I had sufficient control, I manipulated the mana and sent the fireball hurtling toward the monsters.
I wondered if my control would increase as I leveled up the Mage job. I’ve heard rumors that the more a caster uses a specific spell, the better they become at stabilizing the mana and shortening the manifestation time. I had observed a similar phenomenon with my Swordmaster job; my swordsmanship was already improving while I used the basic Swordsman job, but the refinement became much more apparent once I transitioned into the higher-tier role.
The fireball streaked through the air at the speed of a thrown knife and slammed into one of the Water Hues. The glowing plasma surrounding the monster flickered and decreased by more than half. The impact drew the attention of the entire group, and they all began to rush toward me.
I didn't panic. I managed to manifest two more spells before they could reach me. I cast a Wind Blade followed immediately by a Stone Ball. The Wind Blade sliced through the second Water Hue, and it died in a single hit. The Stone Ball struck the Fire Hue squarely, finishing it instantly as well.
As the remaining Earth Hue reached me, I unsheathed my longsword and met it head-on. I closed the distance and swung my blade toward its center. The Earth Hue tried to manifest an earth wall and surround its core with protective particles, but my sword was too fast; it cut through the monster before the defensive spell could fully form. I am certain that even if the wall had been complete, my strength is now high enough to have shattered it with a single strike.
With the Earth Hue destroyed, I turned my attention to the first Water Hue—the last standing enemy. While Water Hues aren't as fast as Wind Hues, they are generally faster than the Earth variety when their hue is intact. This one had lost the majority of its protective energy to my initial fireball, so while it was still moving, it lacked its usual speed. I stepped forward and shattered its core with a single, precise strike.
The corridor fell silent once more. The only things remaining on the stone floor were the silver and copper coins dropped by the defeated enemies. Each monster had dropped two silver and ten copper Obscura, giving me a total loot of eight silver and forty copper for that single encounter. I collected the coins and continued down the corridor in search of more prey.
As I fought more groups of monsters, I began to get a feel for the rhythm of spellcasting and the interactions between the different elements. Through trial and error, I analyzed the effectiveness of my spells.
When I used a spell of the same element as the monster—for example, hitting a Fire Hue with a Fireball—it had very little effect. However, when I utilized a counter-element, the damage was critical, often resulting in a one-shot kill. If I used an element that neither countered nor was resisted by the target, the damage was still significant because it was the magic of a Mage, but it lacked the devastating impact of a direct counter.
I started to map out the elemental hierarchy in my mind. For now, it seems to function in a cycle: Fire > Wind > Water > Earth > Fire.
I pondered the logic behind this order. Fire likely beats Wind because fire consumes oxygen and spreads through the air, breaking the wind's cohesive form. Water beats Earth because water naturally erodes and softens solid ground, its flexibility allowing it to break down even the sturdiest shapes. Wind beats Water because high-pressure air can stir, disperse, and carry water away with ease. And finally, Earth beats Fire because Earth can smother and contain flames, preventing the fire from spreading until it loses its effect.
These explanations might not be the literal truth of the world’s magic system, but they served as a functional framework for me to work with. I suspect my understanding of elemental magic will deepen as I level up the Mage job or unlock higher-tiered derivations of the class.
I spent several hours testing my power, pushing my mana pool to its limits before finally deciding to head home. I considered testing myself in the floor’s boss room, which is always swarming with monsters, but decided to save that for a day when I had more time.
I activated Warp and teleported to the interior of a small, empty hut located just behind my house. I had prepared this tiny space specifically so I could use my teleportation skills freely without being seen by neighbors or passersby.
By the time I walked into the main house, the sun was setting, and the sky was a bruised purple. Dinner was almost ready, and the girls were in the living room setting the table.
“Welcome home, master,” they said in unison, stopping their work to greet me the moment I entered.
“Thank you. It smells wonderful in here. Give me a few minutes to change into casual clothes before we eat,” I informed them.
“Umm… Master. D-do you need me to h-help you with that?” Wyn asked. She was wagging her tail nervously and looking at the floor, her expression shy.
“...Oh. Okay. Why not?” I replied. I didn't realize at first exactly what she meant by "help," but once it clicked, I saw no reason to refuse.
She proved to be a significant help. Unequipping a full set of steel plate armor is a tedious and time-consuming process when done alone. At first, Wyn worked with the clinical efficiency of a professional maid, but as she removed more pieces and my skin became more visible, her movements grew noticeably clumsy. Her face was flushed deep red; she was clearly feeling a great deal of shame or embarrassment. I felt a strong urge to tease her because she looked so adorable, but I restrained myself. This was her first time performing such an intimate service, and I didn't want to make the experience harder for her. I can tease her as much as I want once she’s more comfortable with the routine.
Once I was changed into lighter clothing, which took much less time than usual thanks to Wyn’s assistance, we went downstairs. Woya had prepared another delicious meal, and we ate together in our now-familiar routine.
“We will be going to the dungeon every day from now on,” I told them as we finished. “Keep that in mind and prepare accordingly.”
“Yes, master,” Wyn replied instantly.
“Yes, master… Umm… Master?” Woya added. She seemed hesitant, as if she had a request but was afraid to voice it.
“What is it, Woya?” I asked.
“Umm… D-do you mind if we accompany you to bed tonight as well?” she asked, her voice small and shy.
“Hmph, of course. That would make me quite happy,” I said. “We were all active today, so we’ve likely worked up a sweat. Since we can’t take full baths every day due to the limited water supply, let’s do a thorough wipe-down of our bodies before we head to bed.”
“Master, you really do care deeply about cleanliness,” Woya observed.
“Of course. Being clean makes you feel refreshed, and when the people around you are clean, they appear much more beautiful,” I explained.
We prepared three buckets of lukewarm water and three fresh towels. I started by washing my face and then began to wipe down my body, focusing on the areas where sweat tends to accumulate. The girls watched me closely and then began to mimic my actions. I wiped every part of myself that I could reach, leaving only my back.
“Now, Woya, turn your back to me. Wyn, sit in front of Woya and turn your back to her as well,” I commanded. They obeyed without hesitation. “Woya, start wiping Wyn’s back with her towel, like this…” I demonstrated, and then I began to wipe the areas of Woya’s back that she couldn’t reach herself.
“B-but, master… Why are you cleaning me yourself?” Woya asked, her voice rising in panic.
“It’s fine. Once I’m done with you, the two of you can clean my back in return,” I answered nonchalantly.
“It is only normal for us to perform such a task, master,” Wyn intervened, looking over her shoulder. “I can handle Woya’s back, so please—”
“Enough!” I cut her off, though not unkindly. “Stop questioning everything I do. Besides, I enjoy touching Woya, so don’t worry about it.”
I said it plainly, though for a moment, I did feel a bit like a pervert. They stopped complaining after that, albeit still appearing a bit reluctant, and we finished the process.
“That’s good enough. Now, make sure you clean me well, too,” I said, urging them to begin.
They both worked together to wipe down my back. We didn't use any soap powder since we were just doing a sponge bath; I didn't want any residue left on the skin. We saved the soap for our weekly full showers.
“Thank you. That’s plenty,” I said, standing up and directing them toward the bed. “Now, get to sleep.”
“Y-yes, master,” they replied, blushing deeply as they climbed onto the mattress.
Looking down at them, I thought they both looked incredibly cute. They were trying to cover themselves with their hands, attempting to look modest while also trying not to appear reluctant to be there. They were both looking in opposite directions, seemingly unable to even meet each other's eyes in such a state.
“Both of you look beautiful,” I said, my gaze moving over Wyn’s fit, curvy frame and Woya’s more voluptuous silhouette. “Since you’ve laid yourselves before me without hesitation, I think I’ll show you some magic of my own. Let’s get along well from now on.”
This time, since it wasn't our first night and we had grown closer, I had no intention of holding back. I caressed them and enjoyed their company thoroughly throughout the night. We spent significantly more time together than we had the previous evening, and I was so exhausted and satisfied that I didn't even notice the exact moment I finally fell asleep.
[Edited]
