I took Iolka into the Hall [of Magic].
Dim lanterns lit the interior of the Hall of Magic, and the scent of unknown incense and ancient tomes filled the air. Upon entering, Iolka blinked, seemingly surprised.
"This is the Hall of Magic. Why did you bring me here?"
"I told you, didn't I? No physical work."
I closed the door leading outside. The interior instantly grew dim.
"Your job is research."
"Research?"
"Just wait."
I stood leaning against the wall.
An info window displaying the research tech tree appeared.
[Research!]
[Current progress is as follows.]
[1. Hero Responsiveness Research (Lv.0)]
[2. Facility Expansion Research (Lv.0)]
[3. Dungeon Intensification Research (Lv.0)]
[Tips/Assign personnel to the Research Lab to gain Research Points. Use Research Points to upgrade the Waiting Room to your liking!]
[Recommended Researchers!]
['Iolka (★★★)']
[Appoint 'Iolka (★★★)' as a researcher?]
[Yes (Selected) / No]
I flipped through the ancient tomes on the bookshelf.
Living in the Waiting Room, I'd realized I could even decipher the Taonier language, but the contents of these books remained incomprehensible. However, the diagrams resembling magic circles and the formulas felt vaguely familiar. I recalled seeing them a few times in the item crafting mini-game.
Iseul appeared next to the dazed Iolka.
Iolka was startled and shouted.
"Don't suddenly appear next to me! You surprised me."
[Quiet down. Get used to this. It's not like I enjoy popping up like this, you know. Anyway, you. See that desk over there? There should be a pen and ink. Solve the problems with the pen and put the paper into that container over there.]
I closed the book and put it back on the shelf.
Then I looked towards Iolka. She was awkwardly approaching the desk on one side of the hall. On the desk were glowing blue ink, a black feather quill, and papers covered in strange symbols. Iolka scanned the papers and said.
"These are formulas I learned at magic school..."
[Solve the problems and put them in the container.]
Iseul pointed to a pitch-black cylindrical container next to the desk.
Iolka asked incredulously.
"And why should I do that?"
[That's for research... Anyway, just do as you're told! If you don't want to get scolded. The Master ordered it.]
"You people and your methods..."
Iolka grumbled and sat at the desk. Then she dipped the pen in ink and began solving the problems. After three minutes, Iolka finished writing the solution on the paper and put it into the container beside the desk. The paper vanished in a flash of blue flame inside the container.
[1 Research Point Acquired!]
[Current research speed is 10/h. 10 Gems are consumed per hour.]
'The research efficiency isn't great.'
In Pick Me Up, Gems, the paid currency, were also used for research.
10 points per hour was the lowest tier. Since the facility level was low and Iolka didn't have a research skill, it couldn't be helped.
[Set research time.]
[3 hours per day!]
[Tips/If you set the research time too high, the researcher might complain! Don't forget they have daily lives too.]
"So I just need to solve this one."
Iolka said as she put the last problem into the container.
But Iolka's expression froze the next instant. A new stack of papers filled with problems had appeared on the desk. It was thicker than the last one. Iseul held up three fingers.
[3 hours every day!]
"3 hours? No way! You want me to do it for 3 whole hours? This hurts my head more than I thought. These aren't easy formulas! I'm already dead tired!"
['Iolka (★★★)' expresses dissatisfaction!]
So it came to this.
It was expected. Iolka's current schedule was quite demanding. Morning physical training, afternoon magic training focused on psychokinesis, and evening formation training again. Rest periods were scheduled here and there, but the truth was, she had little free time.
Adding another three hours to this would naturally provoke resistance. Nobody likes overtime, after all.
But cutting training time was impossible. Cutting research time wasn't feasible either. Research was a crucial factor determining the speed of ascent.
Iolka pouted.
"You say something too. At this rate, I'm a complete slave from morning till night."
"..."
I thought for a moment.
A way to maintain Iolka's motivation without losing time.
'Ah, there's that.'
I muttered quietly to myself.
'Fur coat.'
['Han (★★)' desires 'Fur Coat'. Gift it?]
[3,000 Gold will be consumed.]
[Yes (Selected) / No]
A coat covered in white mink fur appeared.
It was one of the clothing items offered in the Gift Shop.
Iolka saw the coat and her eyes widened.
"That's...!"
"You said you wanted one, didn't you?"
I chuckled.
I remembered hearing from Jaina that Iolka wanted warm clothes. Something about the Waiting Room being cold. I tossed the coat. Iolka scrambled up from her chair and hastily caught the coat.
"It's an advance payment. If you finish the job properly, I'll give you more."
Iolka rubbed her cheeks frantically against the fur coat.
Then, she suddenly snapped in a sharp voice.
"Trying to sway my heart with this. How shameless!"
"If you don't want it, give it back."
I grabbed the coat and pulled.
Iolka held on tight and didn't let go.
"Who said I didn't want it! I'll do it, okay, I'll do it."
Iolka sat back in the chair and continued solving the problems.
Even after ordering the research, Amukena continued operating the interface.
After Party 2 returned, they created a new Party 3. It was a new party composed of recently summoned promising recruits. Soon after, Iseul's voice calling the members of Party 3 could be faintly heard. Individuals among them who showed promise might join Party 1 or Party 2.
Next, the gathering members were sent to the daily dungeon, and the members in the equipment workshop were ordered to craft weapons. It was reasonably active management.
'Not bad.'
The Master had clearly changed.
What they were doing now was just the basics, but that's why it was important. The previous Amukena didn't even do these things properly.
While watching Amukena's operations, Iolka suddenly spoke up.
"Have you thought about learning magic?"
It was such a sudden question that I was a little surprised.
Iolka was solving problems with her back turned to me.
"Even if I can only use fire magic, my theory is solid. From what I see, you seem to have quite a bit of talent. How about it?"
"Learn magic?"
"It would be difficult with just me, but there are tons of valuable books in the library here. The basics should be possible somehow."
I had already raised my weapon skills to level 6.
'Is she telling me to become a Magic Swordsman?'
My 2-star class is currently 'Beginner'.
A class can be chosen starting from 3-star. Focusing on sword and shield, I would become a Warrior if things continue, but fulfilling certain conditions opens the path to a hidden class. One of them was Magic Swordsman.
I shook my head.
"I'll pass."
"Why? It'd be good for you."
"It messes up your stat growth."
Hidden classes aren't automatically stronger.
They might be stronger than standard classes in specific situations, but they're often weaker overall. Especially for Magic Swordsman, you need Intelligence on top of Warrior-type stats focused on Strength and Stamina, so your overall specs inevitably suffer. Meaning there's a high chance of ending up being a master of none.
"If you change your mind, tell me anytime."
"It's because you don't want to solve problems alone, right?"
"Wh-what nonsense!"
Spot on.
I chuckled.
'Raising a Researcher.'
After clearing floor 15, once things settled down a bit, I considered letting Iolka handle it.
The Researcher was a Mage-type but a support role solely responsible for research, not combat. It was much harder to learn than typical support roles, but surely one out of several dozen recruits would qualify. Because I couldn't keep Iolka stuck here forever.
I watched Iolka solve the problems.
While solving problems, Iolka began talking about her personal history. Her family was originally a renowned noble house famous in the Empire, but they became fallen nobles due to political strife. She said she had a duty to restore her family.
'Not that I asked.'
"How did you live before coming here?"
"Me? I was a farmer."
"Lies. Who would believe that?"
"...Just solve the problems."
I spent time flipping through the old books on the shelf.
After 3 hours passed, Iolka stood up from the chair with a tired face. The hall's clock now showed midnight.
However, the Master hadn't logged out yet.
The reason was clear. They were waiting until the research points accumulated. The research points obtained from 3 hours of research totaled 30. 30 points was enough to complete the first research level.
'The time has come.'
The research tech tree is divided into three branches.
'Hero Responsiveness Research,' which enhances heroes' responsiveness to missions and commands.
'Facility Expansion Research,' which opens detailed tabs for facilities and enables more direct operation.
'Dungeon Intensification Research,' which increases the variety of special-purpose dungeons and facilitates smoother resource gathering.
They corresponded to Heroes (Human - 人), Facilities (Internal - 內), and Dungeons (External - 外).
The first research branch Amukena unlocked was,
[Ding!]
[Research, 'Hero Responsiveness' has become Lv.1.]
It was the Hero Responsiveness research.
I had anticipated the effects of this research.
[The Goddess's Blessing descends upon the Waiting Room!]
Crackle!
An unknown cluster of light flashed high in the sky.
The cluster split into dozens of light rays that shot down towards the Waiting Room.
One ray struck Iolka in the chest as she stood in the hall.
"Huh?"
Iolka, who was getting up from the chair, staggered.
Iolka steadied herself on the chair and bowed her head.
"Something strange..."
I opened the door of the Hall of Magic.
Jaina and Aaron, who were in the training ground, were in a similar situation. They were half-collapsed in awkward postures.
I checked their faces, but they didn't seem to be in pain.
It seemed like temporary dizziness. Not long after, Iolka came to her senses and stood up. Her face was deathly pale.
"What was that? It felt really unpleasant."
"I told you. Research."
"Research? What exactly are we researching?"
After thinking for a moment, I said.
"Try saying 'Status Window'."
"Status Window? Ack!"
Iolka fell backward.
Her eyes widened in shock.
'Seems like she can see it.'
I smiled.
"It's the status window. It shows your abilities as numbers."
Until now, only I could see system messages like the status window or mission details.
But from now on, things would be a little different. One of the reasons Party 3 died accomplishing nothing was their inability to know the precise mission objectives. They couldn't see the system interface. They didn't know the success and failure conditions of the mission. The Hero Responsiveness research was the way to make this possible.
"Strength, Intelligence, Stamina, Agility. And skills. See them?"
"Intermediate Fire Magic... Psychokinesis...?"
"Those are skills."
The light that seeped into Iolka's chest wasn't the only ray.
All the heroes in the Waiting Room probably experienced something similar.
"Follow me. Seems like I need to tell the others too."
I took Iolka and went out to the training ground.
Aaron was bouncing around the training ground.
"It's a ghostaaa!"
"...What are you doing?"
"Hy-Hyungnim! Weird ghost letters keep following me!"
I rushed forward in one bound and grabbed Aaron.
"Don't panic. It's not a ghost or anything. I'll explain."
"Wh-what is this?"
On the other hand, Jaina looked fine.
Rather, she seemed to be enjoying it.
"Aha, so this is how it was. Oppa, you were seeing things like this. Hyaa!"
Jaina pointed at me and shouted.
"Appear, Status Window!"
"..."
"Huh? Why isn't it appearing? Mine showed up just fine."
"Where did you learn that?"
"I sometimes heard Oppa mumbling. I felt something strange, so I copied it, and guess what? Something fun appeared! These letters, they're what you were looking at, right Oppa?"
I nodded.
I planned to tell them anyway.
This is going to be a long explanation.