The next day, we arrived at the Adventurer’s Guild around noon and were immediately greeted by a receptionist and apprehended—I mean, escorted to a meeting room where Tolley was waiting.
Did they know we were coming? We were here a little later than planned—L’lyeh had been running uncharacteristically late this morning. Maybe we should have at least sent word a little sooner.
As soon as we sat down, Tolley began. “A part of me didn’t think you could do it. Certainly not this quickly.”
“How did you know we quelled the volcano?” I asked.
“It was a little cooler out this morning.”
“Okay?” I said. The air still felt hot to me. Maybe the locals are more sensitive to changes in temperature. Other than being impressed by Tolley’s acute sense of temperature, I wasn’t sure what to make of his response. “Well, we came to give our report for completing the quest,” I said.
“Please proceed,” Tolley encouraged us.
“We brought Ifrit out of Ifrit’s Oasis and had her quell the volcano with a dance. That should keep the volcano from erupting, at least for a while,” I explained.
Tolley nodded, looking satisfied. “I take it Ifrit was agreeable to our request.”
“No. We defeated her in battle so she would come with us,” I said.
Both Tolley’s and the receptionist’s eyebrows flew up. The option of convincing Ifrit to come with us by force had apparently never entered their minds. “What?! You fought Ifrit...?”
I laughed awkwardly. In our defense, Ifrit hadn’t objected to coming with us once we’d defeated her—it wasn’t like we’d dragged her to the volcano kicking and screaming.
Tolley let out a loud sigh. “I knew how strong you were—I thought I did, anyway. I never imagined that you’d be strong enough to defeat Ifrit in combat. We’d better reassess your Guild Ranks. There’s no doubt in my mind that you all deserve an S-rank.”
“Thank you.” I was happy to have our hard work validated. Besides, it seemed like an S-rank came with all sorts of perks. It could also involve some red tape, but an S-rank would definitely come in handy if we ever wanted to enter another restricted dungeon.
“But it’s not all up to me. You need a recommendation from three Guildmasters,” Tolley said.
“That’s right,” I said. It had been the same way in the game. “If you’re willing to recommend us, we only need two more.”
“I am. Not that I think you’ll struggle to get two more names, but do you have any leads?”
“We’re acquainted with Zille’s Guildmaster. We’ll go see him soon,” I said.
“Great idea,” Tolley agreed.
There were a few other Guilds we’d visited—like the ones in Snowdia and Blume—where we could handle a few more quests and score recommendations from their Guildmasters...probably.
“In that case,” the receptionist suggested as we were wrapping up our discussion, “why don’t you apply for A-ranks for the time being?”
“Good idea,” Tolley said. “I’m sure your levels and jobs haven’t changed from the ones in your files—”
“Oh,” L’lyeh breathed out of nowhere. She didn’t usually speak up during meetings like this.
“What’s the matter, Lulu?” I asked.
“My job isn’t Novice anymore.”
“What?!” We were stunned. Once we’d started adventuring with L’lyeh, we had realized that she was a Novice—which, I supposed, was better than her having a unique job called something like “Goddess of Darkness.” In part because L’lyeh could wield powerful spells already, we’d never decided on what job she should get. I just thought that’s how goddesses were.
“What’s your job now?” I asked her.
“Chef.”
The entire room might as well have gasped. It was entirely unexpected, yet...meant to be, somehow.
But Chefs aren’t even supposed to fight! It was a job that allowed a player to cook good food. That was it.
“Uh... There’s no precedent of an S-rank Chef. Or even an A-rank,” Tolley said.
“There is a record of one F-rank Chef in the Guild...” the receptionist added as she shared a look with Tolley.
“I don’t care about rank. It’s up to Sharon.” L’lyeh passed the buck to me without a second thought.
A quick solution would have been to have Tolley witness Lulu fighting...but I had to clarify a few things first. “If you don’t mind, can our party have a word alone?” I asked.
“Sure, take all the time you need.” Tolley must have guessed that L’lyeh’s new job came as just as much of a surprise to me as it did to him. He and the receptionist gave us the room.
“So, Lulu. When did you become a Chef?” I began. “I’m guessing sometime between last night and now...”
“This morning,” L’lyeh confirmed.
“How did you know that?” Kent asked.
“We were all sharing EXP yesterday. Lulu couldn’t have been level 1 while we were still in the dungeon,” I explained.
“Right... Her level reset to 1,” Kent said, the realization draining color from his face.
“If she had become level 1 when we were making our way through Underground Volcano...” Cocoa said, trailing off yet looking wholeheartedly relieved. Having one of our party members lose over a hundred levels in the middle of clearing a dungeon would have been catastrophic.
“Okay, now we know Lulu’s situation. Once we’re done here, we’ll go leveling—” I began, then realized. “Wait, is that what you were doing this morning?!”
“Mm-hmm,” L’lyeh responded. That explained her being late. She had to be over the moon that she’d become a Chef. “Now I’m level 32.”
“What?! You got that far on your own?! That’s incredible!” Kent raised his voice.
If any of the rest of us had had to start over from level 1, I doubted we could have gotten to 32 in half a day all on our own. L’lyeh must still have access to her Dark magic... She’s the strongest Chef in the world! “Well, we will take Lulu leveling later, but we need to make a decision about her rank. Getting a higher rank means we’ll face fewer restrictions in the future... What should we do?” I asked the party.
“What were you planning to do if Lulu had still been a Novice?” Kent asked.
“She was a Novice who could fight. I was hoping to take Tolley underground and have him watch Lulu fight firsthand. But now that her level is lower...” I was always down for adventures—not for recklessness.
“I’m fine,” L’lyeh said brazenly. “I can fight.”
The rest of us shared a look. As much as I wanted to believe her, it felt too dangerous.
“Hmm...” I grunted in contemplation.
“I can, Sharon,” she insisted. “Trust me.”
After a deep breath, I answered, “How can I not? But if things start to look dicey, we’re turning right back around. Okay?”
“Mm-hmm,” L’lyeh agreed.
After we’d all agreed to the plan, I stepped out of the room and called over Tolley, who’d graciously waited a few steps away from the door.
“If you’re concerned about Lulu’s abilities, could we ask you to come with us to the first level of Underground Volcano and have you watch her fight?” I suggested.
“That sounds great!” Tolley agreed without hesitation. This Guildmaster certainly wasn’t afraid of legwork.
And so, we all went down to the first level of the dungeon.
“I didn’t think I’d be coming down here too... Are you sure we’re safe?” the receptionist asked, trembling with each step she took. In contrast, Tolley was looking around, eyes bright with curiosity. He probably hadn’t had a chance to go into the dungeon like this all that often.
Kent was leading our formation, playing tour guide for the benefit of Tolley and the receptionist as he explained how we would make our way through the dungeon and what monsters to expect.
That gave me a chance to whisper to L’lyeh, “Your usual magic will make them suspicious about who you are... Can you fight only with your Chef skills and physical attacks?”
“No problem. I got it.”
“Thank you. I believe in you!” I answered. It was a huge ask, but even Tolley might freak out if L’lyeh whipped out Dark Arrows when she was supposed to be a Chef. If it could be helped, I wanted the fact that Lulu was the Goddess of Darkness to remain a well-kept secret...preferably forever. While some worshipped the Goddess of Darkness in this world, there were others who harbored ill will toward her. Those were the kind of people I wanted to protect L’lyeh from.
Seeing that I’d finished talking to L’lyeh, Kent came over. “So, what are we going to do? You want me to go ahead like usual and have Lulu attack?”
L’lyeh shook her head and took a step forward. “No. Leave it to me.” Her eyes were trained on a trio of Lava Rats.
If we had been on a routine hunt, Kent would have drawn their attention with Taunt while Cocoa and L’lyeh took them out with their magic. What are you going to do, L’lyeh? Feeling my heart start beating faster, I quietly watched L’lyeh. What made this situation worse was that her weapon was a staff—she could have at least clobbered those monsters if she’d had a proper weapon. Just then, L’lyeh swung her staff fast and hard, sending a rat flying.
“What...? She’s so strong...” I breathed.
Tolley looked dumbfounded that tiny Lulu was fighting by swinging her staff like a club. His eyes had gone wide and his jaw was on the floor.