You, too, Kyouka-oneesan?
All of you, too?
He's certainly sleeping well.
He looks so cute in his sleep.
Such big hands...
Just a little bit should be fine...
Did anything strange happen while I was asleep last night?
N-No, nothing!
We should be good leaving the rest to them.
So now we can go for our viewing of the royal suite and...
...the Chest Cracker.
We're going to see the Chest Cracker to get the black chest opened.
You guys should finish getting yourselves moved in.
Right.
And after that, we're all heading to Field of Dawn!
You're sure in a good mood, Misaki-chan.
Yeah! 'Cause I get to live and sleep in such an amazing lodge!
That place is peak luxury!
I'm finally one of the rich and famous!
I'm sorry. She's been like this since last night.
It's good that she's motivated.
Okay, we'll meet you guys later.
'Kay!
The Chest Cracker should be right around here...
What is it, Theresia?
What's that?
A monster in the middle of town?!
Oh! Would you happen to be Mr. Arihito Atobe?
Huh?
Oh... Y-Yes, I am.
The guild told me about you.
Welcome to Arthur Chest Cracking.
I'll be opening that black chest for you.
My name is Falma Arthur.
THE WORLD'S STRONGEST REARGUARD
THE BLACK TREASURE CHEST AND THE YOUNG WIFE'S SECRET
I'm sorry Cion startled you earlier.
Cion?
Yes, that large dog.
She's a breed known as a Silver Hound,
and she used to be a guard dog that traveled with Seekers.
Wow...
So does she guard your children now?
Yes.
Mom, are you gonna open a chest?
Yes. You and Plum be good and wait for me, okay?
'Kay!
Anyway, Mr. Atobe...
Would you mind letting me see that chest?
Sure, go ahead.
Oh, I haven't felt this sensation in so long!
This is a type of chest I only encounter once a year or so.
The treasure inside it is a rarity of very high value.
But if I should happen to make a mistake when opening it...
it could summon a horde of powerful monsters
or even wipe out a whole section of the city.
It will cause some sort of massive disaster.
But you needn't worry.
CRAFTSMAN'S EARRINGS
I have Craftsman's Earrings and a Ring of Mysteries,
which raise my odds of successfully cracking it to 100%.
RING OF MYSTERIES
You can rest assured that I'll open it safely.
Now, why don't we go get this chest opened up right away?
Don't worry. I'll open it slowly and carefully.
Now...
I'm going to begin opening the chest.
What's all this?
It looks like a maze, doesn't it?
It's a defensive mechanism intended to prevent the chest from being opened.
It won't open unless all the balls are placed inside the chest.
Through passages that narrow?
If a ball touches the edge of a maze passage,
something terrible will happen.
What?!
But it'll be fine. Just leave it to me.
Oh, dear.
Now this goes this way...
No mischief, now.
There, see? It went through.
I'll keep sending them inside...
deeper and deeper... all the way to the finish line.
Yes, there you go. And that's...
all of them!
The opener of this Dimensional Barrier Lock...
is Falma Arthur.
Very good. Now, show us everything.
Open!
It's blinding...
Nicely done. It's safe now.
Go ahead and have a look at the chest's contents.
Unbelievable...
What's that? The end is shaped like a key.
It may contain some objects that are cursed.
Please don't equip anything until I've appraised it.
Okay.
What's taking them so long?
The black chest probably had some equipment pieces in it.
Maybe it's taking a while to choose.
Oh!
Wow, that looks like a bulletproof vest!
Arihito, is that...
Yeah. It's called an Ebony Sling, apparently.
EBONY SLING +1 TO ATTACK, ACCURACY, AND RANGE
I see it has slots on the grip for adding runes.
Runes?
Runes are basically superior magic stones.
Gear that has rune slots is valuable, so take good care of it.
I see...
And what are those gloves?
Light Steel Chain Gloves +1.
They apparently boost support abilities,
LIGHT STEEL CHAIN GLOVES +1
so they might work well with my skills.
Those all seem pretty amazing.
Hey, Eli-san, what about those?
Those are called Chameleon Boots.
They give you the ability to blend into your surroundings.
CHAMELEON BOOTS
Wow, Chameleon? Are they made from monster materials?
That's right.
Wow!
But the rough texture feels so nice!
Hey, by the way, where's Kyouka?
Oh... Igarashi-san is...
What's she doing?
That's some armor!
But it looks great on you, Kyouka-san!
What Kyouka's wearing is Light Steel Ladies' Armor +3.
LIGHT STEEL LADIES' ARMOR +3 HEALING POWER (MODERATE), INDIRECT DEFENSE (MINOR), MAGIC DEFENSE (MINOR)
It has a magic defense increase added to it. It's excellent armor.
Really? When it leaves so much exposed?
That just makes it lighter.
Still...
it leaves way too much uncovered!
I just can't help looking...
Suzuna-chan, I was using this Silk Sash to cover myself,
but you should have as much defense as possible, so try equipping it.
I almost feel bad accepting it now... but thank you.
Hey, that suits you! Leave it to a shrine family's daughter!
A shrine family's daughter?
Yes, my parents ran a shrine, so I helped out there.
Oh, really? I had no idea.
By the way, Arihito-san, when I checked my license earlier,
my level had gone up and I had some skill points.
Same here, actually.
Me, too.
Ooh! Then Field of Dawn will be a great place to test out some new stuff!
Both equipment and skills!
True. Well, shall we go?
W-Wait!
I'm not ready for this yet!
All right, time to kill lots of monsters!
Everyone... let's do this!
Right!
THE WORLD'S STRONGEST REARGUARD
The World's Strongest Rearguard!
Misaki, try throwing your weapon.
Okay, I'll try!
Hi-yah!
IRON DICE
H-Huh?! All I did was throw these iron dice...
MISAKI'S ATTACK HIT THE COTTON BALLS FOR 11 SUPPORT DAMAGE DEFEATED 3 COTTON BALLS
Her support damage went up by one.
We can probably expect to see increases in defense and healing, too.
Yeah.
This is awesome, Onii-chan!
Wait... There's a bunch of them here now!
Suzuna, try out your new skill.
Okay.
Same to you, Igarashi-san.
Right!
And Theresia, use your new weapon!
Please hit!
AUTO-HIT
DOUBLE ATTACK
WIND SLASH
So Double Attack can hit two enemies at once,
and Wind Slash sends the enemy flying after hitting it.
We're looking good.
U-Um, Arihito-san...
It looks as if the people in front of me are glowing slightly.
I can't really see it...
but that's how it looks to you?
Yes, though it's kind of vague.
Does she have a sixth sense
that lets her see things others can't?
So this is the third floor?
It's still dawn, but the sky looks a bit different.
There are more trees, too. There were hardly any earlier.
More cover means a higher possibility of enemies hiding nearby.
We'll have to stay alert.
Whoa, scary! What made that sound?!
We can talk later!
Igarashi-san, Theresia, strike first!
Misaki, don't step out in front!
Suzuna, stay in front of me!
Right!
Please hit!
Igarashi-san?!
Igarashi-san, please stay strong.
I can move now...
Um, Atobe-kun...
Yes?
Oh! I'm sorry!
Stay on your guard! There's still something nearby!
What was that?
I can't see any enemies...
Theresia can see it?
They give you the ability to blend into your surroundings.
It's a Chameleon!
Suzuna! Aim where Theresia directs you to!
R-Right!
SONIC RAID
SLASH RIPPER
Die!
Whoa, a Chameleon! So there really was one there!
Igarashi-san, are you all right?
Huh?
S-Sorry.
GAZE HOUND SKILL: CHILLING GAZE DROP: ???
I see. Chilling Gaze, huh?
So I was stunned earlier, then.
But when you called out to me, I was able to move again.
Why was that?
I think it was the effect of my new skill, Morale Support.
By the way, Suzuna, you said earlier that it looked like everyone was glowing.
What do you see now?
Well...
Oh... Misaki-chan and I are glowing brighter.
Huh? Why, I wonder?
Misaki, Suzuna, take a look at your licenses.
MORALE DISCHARGE MORALE: 100% CAN USE MORALE DISCHARGE {both licenses}
M-Morale Discharge?
It seems like Arihito's support raised all of our morale.
What does that mean?
It's like our mental health points.
With enough saved up, we can recover from mild status effects on our own.
So what's Morale Discharge, then?
It's an ability that lets you use a powerful skill inherent to your job.
Your Morale Support must have raised theirs.
But still, it's crazy to think it maxed out after just a few battles...
No better way to know than to try. Why don't you test it out?
I like the way you think, Kyouka-oneesan!
My grandpa used to say "you can't regret what you haven't tried," too!
Arihito-san, can I give it a try, too?
Sure. We don't know if it'll be a combat skill, so let's see it first.
Right!
Morale Discharge: Fortune Roll!
Morale Discharge: Moon Reading!
FORTUNE ROLL
MOON READING
Did they just use a combo?
Suzu-chan, what's wrong?
H-Hey, what happened?
Suzuna...
Suzuna!
Suzu-chan, are you okay?
Oh... S-Sorry. My head went blank for a minute.
Hey, look.
"Moon Reading, success."
Was that the effect of my Morale Discharge?
MOON READING SUCCESS
I guess so.
This stone will warp us to another floor.
I used them in a different labyrinth before.
It's weird, though.
Field of Dawn should only have three floors, and we're on the third.
Atobe-kun, should we play it safe here?
Or do you think it'd be wasteful to pass up this discovery and turn back?
Yeah... I can see the logic in both continuing and playing it sa—
Onii-chan! We should go for it and...
Ow...
Misaki-chan! Come over here, quickly!
Wha... Huh?!
Hurry!
Arihito, there's no danger in warping there and back quickly.
I'll go alone.
No, I'll go.
If I'm not back soon, assume I can't come or go either way, and then...
What are you talking about, Atobe-kun? A party has to survive together.
Arihito-san, if you go, I think Theresia-san will warp right after you.
So will I, of course.
And me.
You guys...
All right.
But be ready to use a Return Scroll as soon as we join up with Misaki.
Here we go.
I was so scared!
C-Calm down, Misaki-chan.
CURRENT LOCATION: UNEXPLORED TERRITORY RETURN SCROLL CANNOT BE USED
It looks like we can't use a Return Scroll here.
So we have no choice but to move forward.
This is kinda creepy...
We might face some strong enemies...
but I just need to protect my party if they do.