Dream Life Vol II Chapter 73.1: “Three Years Later: Part 1”

　October 2, 316, Tria calendar

　Three years have passed since Mel and Dan came to live with us.

　Me and Sharon have successfully advanced to the fifth grade, the highest grade. Mel and Dan, as well as the rest of us, have been improving steadily as a result of our training in the forest.

　We, the “Zack Quartet,” were all fourth-rank adventurers, and Liddy was now a third-rank adventurer. Beatrice is still at third rank because she is with us, but she told me that even if she had been solo, she would not have been able to rise above third rank.

　My levels are forty-one for Swordsman and forty-two for Sword Arts, and I have cleared 40 by the time I graduate, which is one of my goals. Furthermore, my Evasion, which is my forte, has grown to fifty-two, to the point where I can go toe-to-toe with a fourth-rank mercenary since I am at a first-rank mercenary level when it comes to Evasion alone.

　As for magic, wind, earth, and gold are forty-six, and other attributes have risen from forty-two to forty-four, making me one of the top adventurer magicians. In Saltus, famous for magic, it seems that there are few magicians of this level even among the court magicians of the kingdom.

　However, there is one thing that worries me. It’s about my Sword Arts.

　The growth slows down around level thirty-five, at the current pace, I will probably only make it to level forty-five by the time I graduate. It is said that after a certain level, the growth of skills decreases, and I seem to have reached that limit at the age of thirteen.

　Fortunately, I am doing well in terms of magic, with my wind attribute improving through combat and my earth and gold attributes improving with the help of Professor Ruspede. At this pace, I should be able to surpass level fifty by the time I graduate.

　And the most important thing is that I have grown in height. I know that people may say that my height is nothing compared to my deadly skills and magic, but it is important to me.

　My current height is just under a hundred eighty centimeters. Finally, I no longer have to look up to Liddy. However, I am still growing steadily, although I am a little too thin due to my low muscle strength.

　Sharon is doing well, being level forty-four in wind attribute and forty-two in fire attribute magic. According to the professor, this is the difference in talent between me and Sharon. Well, I heard that an ordinary magician can only improve one level a year, so even though the speed has slowed down, I am still improving three to four levels a year, so there is no doubt that I have a great deal of talent.

　Furthermore, thanks to her swordsmanship training with Liddy, her Sword Arts have surpassed level fifteen, making her much more talented than the young adventurers who are just starting out.

　As for her appearance, she is over a hundred fifty cm tall and is the smallest among us, but she has beautiful pale blonde hair, clear sky-blue eyes, and long eyelashes. She is growing into a beautiful girl.

　Unlike before, she wears leather armor and a slender short sword hanging from her waist, giving her the impression of an undercover princess imitating an adventurer.

　As for Mel, she has completely left me behind when it comes to swordsmanship.

　She is a level forty-four Swordsman, with forty-five in Sword Arts, and has not yet begun to reach my height. I secretly think she has the talent to surpass level one hundred, or in my character’s setting, talent level four or above.

　At fifteen years old, Mel was originally a healthy beauty with big brown eyes and red hair, but now she has a feminine body and is about to shed her girlish features to become an adult woman. Even the way she wields a bastard sword in her rugged leather armor is reminiscent of a war maiden, or perhaps even a similar kind of appeal.

　She is no longer mentally unstable as before, and her vivacious personality is just as she was as a child. For that reason alone, I am glad I brought her here.

　Although Dan is usually shadowed by the rest of us, I think he is the one that grew the most.

　He is now a level thirty-two swordsman, with thirty-four in Sword Arts.

　His is also a level thirty-five archer and raised his Archery to thirty-six.

　At fifteen years old, just having all these skills is amazing enough, but when it comes to Detection and Stealth, he surpasses not only me, but even Beatrice, and rivals his father, Guy.

　Dan has the fine features inherited from his mother, Claire, with slightly faded straw-colored blonde hair and a slender figure. Growing up as a beautiful young man.

　For this reason, countless women have courted him, ranging from girls his own age in the new town to female adventurers in their mid-thirties, Beatrice’s age.

　But he has turned them all down sooner or later, seems like he still cannot break his feelings for Mel. I don’t know if it’s because of that, so rumors about me also liking men disappear and appear, but they never go away.

　As for Liddy, she too has reached level fifty-five in wind attribute magic and over fifty in Archery. She had hardly improved her level for several years before coming to Doctus, but this is because she started hunting monsters with us here.

　Recently, she has become accustomed to the city and no longer wears a hood. She has golden hair with a slight green tinge, dark emerald eyes, a smooth bridge of the nose, porcelain-white skin, and a slender figure but with feminine curves. All of them are so flawlessly beautiful that the men of Doctus sigh every time they see her.

　Still, she rarely smiles at anyone but us, perhaps because she doesn’t like to be approached by men. Some call her the “Ice Princess” because of her use of [Snow Storm – Blizzard].

　Beatrice has been a level fifty-one spearman since we first met, and this year she reached level sixty. At the age of thirty-four, her level sixty is considerably higher than that of my grandfather, Govan Lockhart, who reached the same level at the same time. Beatrice herself was surprised at this.

“I thought my level had hit its peak. I didn’t think they would go up from there.” (Beatrice)

　I didn’t understand what she meant. It wasn’t that strange, considering our level, and first of all, my grandfather and the squires were still raising their level.

“You’re still young, so it’s not surprising that your level is going up. I was more worried that you, babysitting us might have slowed down your level growth.” (Zack)

　When I said this, Beatrice shook her head.

“Before I met you, it took me a year and a half to get from level fifty to fifty-one. I’m with you now, and I’m seeing that it’s gotten better.” (Beatrice)

　Beatrice then explained that I had the power to increase the abilities of my friends, and that it was a gift bestowed by the gods. Liddy and Mel and the others support her idea, but I deny it.

“Nowadays, my memories of coming to this world are a bit dubious, but I don’t remember being given that kind of power. And Dan, Mel, and Sharon are working incredibly hard. And of course, so are you. It honestly doesn’t feel good to be told that it’s a gift given by the gods. I think it’s the result of everyone’s hard work.” (Zack)

　Beatrice still looked like she wanted to say something, but I guess she understood my point and said nothing more.