Augustus lay on the bed, a private room prepared for him by Sir Galen where he could recover in peace.
Arielle and Vera sat beside him, one of them pouring him a glass of water while the other peeled an apple.
"You woke up," Arielle said.
I have been awake for a while, but I didn't dare to open my eyes.
"Thanks," Augustus replied, taking the glass and gulping down the water.
Vera offered him a piece of apple, but Augustus hesitated but ended up eating it in a hurry as he create any fuss.
"I'm totally fine now. It was just the Mana side effects, and I didn't have any injuries at all. The side effects are already gone," he said.
But Arielle pouted. "No, let us repay you. We have an obligation to feed and take care of our master," she said.
As the situation grew more awkward, Sir Galen entered the room.
"Um, has Sir Gray-"
"Yes! Sir Galen! Let's discuss my reward!" Augustus called out, standing up and shaking off the girls. "My reward."
"I don't have dimensional storage with me, so you'll have to head to our place to claim the reward," Sir Galen said, coming to Augustus's rescue.
"Great! Let's go," Augustus said, walking out of the room. Arielle and Vera glared at Sir Galen, who had come at the wrong time.
"Are you sure? You might need to lie down for a while," Sir Galen said, a bit terrified by the girls' glare.
"I'm fine. Even if I die, there's no problem," Augustus said as he was Dimensional Traveling so he's not afraid of dying in this dimension.
As Sir Galen heard Augustus's words, he was touched. "To think there's such a selfless person other than the Duke. He's not even someone of Exonia yet he is this selfless."
"Finally, the goddess has answered our prayer by sending Sir Gray to our side," he thought.
Arielle and Vera decided to follow Augustus wherever he went this time. Then, all of them went to the Imperial Guard's knight outpost, where they met Count James.
Upon meeting the man, Augustus could see that he was of class, even though his complexion looked very bad from lack of sleep and stress. He was somehow very charismatic.
"Count James, this is the man that I have recruited recently, and also the man that saved us from the disaster yesterday," Sir Galen introduced Augustus.
"Sir Gray, I want to thank you on behalf of Exonia, for cutting one pest from this world. If the kingdom's noble title offers the same privilege as before, I would love to give you the title of Baron after what you have done. But I'm afraid titles don't mean much anymore in this world," Count James said, expressing his gratitude.
Arielle and Vera sat on the couch in the room in front of Count James, who had a pleasant smile on his face.
Augustus stood beside them, with arms behind his back, his eyes carefully watching the nobleman's every move.
"So, I heard that you wanted the Swordsman Class Book? Is it for you, or umm... a party member?" Count James inquired politely, sensing Augustus' distrust.
"Yes, it's for Vera. I would like her to change her class to Swordsman." Augustus replied, keeping Vera's exceptional sword talent a secret. He had learned the hard way that trusting anyone in this world was not wise.
"I see. We managed to get you the class book here," Count James said as he retrieved the item from his dimensional ring and placed it on the table. "But you will have to withdraw the gold rewards. I'll be honest with you, the people here might look fine, but they're all struggling to pay taxes. In two years, this city will be turned upside down into a slave's city, similar to other small cities."
Augustus had initially wanted the gold because he needed it to buy the class book. But now that Count James had offered it upfront, he no longer needed it. He agreed to the offer, and Count James nodded happily.
"Good. Good. Great to have an understanding ally on our side. I'll be using it to pay taxes for the people, and I'll work harder for this city," Count James said.
"Good luck to you," Augustus replied, offering his hand for a handshake. Count James stood up and shook his hand, smiling widely.
Sir Galen watched the exchange with interest, marveling at how Both of them commanded the room with their presence.
After they left, Sir Galen turned to Augustus and asked, "How is he? He's a great man, right?"
"Yes, for someone his age, he has manners. He's like a trained commander, and he looks way more experienced than you," Count James praised Augustus.
Sir Galen felt a pang of jealousy but could not deny the truth in the Count James's words. Augustus was unlike any other person he had met in this world. He exuded confidence, respect, and authority.
As they walked aimlessly, Arielle couldn't help but ask, "Where are we going now, Augustus?"
"Dungeon," Augustus replied, his eyes set on finding the way to where the dungeon had spawned previously. "I'm going to get you guys leveled up."
"The Goblin King's Dungeon portal opens once per month," Arielle reminded him. "It's only been a few weeks since we got out."
"Hmm, then I can just go there myself and summon you guys," Augustus said, opening his system and selecting the dungeon option. This time, he could choose which room he wanted to go to instead of directly entering the dungeon upon selection.
Before Arielle could ask how he was able to do that, Augustus was gone. A few moments later, both Arielle and Vera started turning into particles, panicked at the sudden change. Before they knew it, they were inside the cave again.
The objective quest appeared on their screens. "Kill 300 Goblins," Augustus read. "Oh, the number increases when there are more people."
"We're in the dungeon?" Arielle and Vera both looked around, surprised and unprepared for the situation. It reminded them of the traumatic experience they had when they were captured by the Goblin King. Vera's hands trembled slightly as she and Arielle had only just escaped a few days ago, and now they were back.
"So, this is how you were able to save us," Arielle said, finally realizing. "We never saw you enter the dungeon with us, and you suddenly reached the boss chamber a week after we got caught."
Vera received the class book from Augustus, allowing her to change into a swordsman. The book disappeared in a bright light, and Vera shone like she had been blessed by the goddess.
[Your subordinate 'Vera' changed class to 'Swordsman']
"Any difference?" Augustus asked.
"No, but I'm now level 1 again," Vera said, looking at her status window. It showed that her stats had been reset to the very beginning.
[1-Star Subordinate, Vera]
Level: 1
Class: Swordsman (Common Rank)
Unique Talent: Sword Master (Legendary Rank)
STR: 5 CONS: 3
AGI: 5 DEF: 5
INT: 8 MAG: 12
"It's okay. We can get you leveled up back to level 6," Augustus reassured her.
"Here you go, these are the basic equipment that I have. They don't require states to equip, but they increase some defense, and you can use them for now."
Augustus bought the equipment from the system store, knowing that they were only starter equipment and wouldn't give many stats. However, they would do for the time being until they had high enough stats to wear Goblin's equipment.
As Vera grabbed the wooden sword, she began to glow brighter again, and the sword changed.
[Your Subordinate 'Vera' is going through Class Awakening]
[1-Star Subordinate, Vera]
Level: 1
Class: Awakened Swordsman (Epic Rank)
Unique Talent: Sword Master (Legendary Rank), Sword Master's Sword (Legendary Rank)
STR: 5 CONS: 3
AGI: 5 DEF: 5
INT: 8 MAG: 12
"I feel like I have used this sword for a long time," Vera said, staring at the sword intently. Suddenly, she charged deeper into the dungeon where the goblins were, and Augustus became worried.
[Your subordinate 'Vera' Leveled up]
"Careful!" he shouted. But his worries soon subsided when he saw the brutal scene unfolding before his eyes. It was a one-sided slaughter, and Vera was enjoying it.
[Your subordinate 'Vera' Leveled up]
Vera was no longer the shy girl she once was, now transformed into a ruthless goblin slayer who seemed to be enjoying every moment of it. As she smiled, Augustus couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine.
[Your subordinate 'Vera' Leveled up]
"Thank you, Master!" Vera smiled, dancing around and killing all the goblins. Augustus couldn't help but feel slightly unnerved by her maniacal smile, but he knew that she was just excited to be in battle.
Both Arielle and I watched Vera fight without disturbing her, agreeing silently as we observed the new Vera having fun in the dungeon.
"I thought she was trembling in fear just a few moments ago,"