If it had been any ordinary group of adventurers sent to deal with those goblins, the village would undoubtedly have suffered casualties.
But with Shirakawa on the scene, things played out very differently.
He single-handedly wiped out the monsters—completely and without mercy.
As a result, the village's losses were minimal. Some damaged furniture, a few villagers with minor injuries… but all in all, the mood in the village was surprisingly bright.
It had the air of a community grateful to have survived a disaster.
Originally, the villagers had offered Shirakawa various gifts in thanks.
Among them, he selected only a few rare and unusual ingredients. After careful preparation, he planned to bring them back to the real world for a little culinary experimentation.
Around noon, with the sun high overhead—
The villagers finished clearing away the goblin corpses and began setting up a celebratory feast in the village chief's courtyard.
As honored guests, Shirakawa, Lianne Viviette, and their companion naturally weren't expected to help.
With some free time on his hands—
Shirakawa turned his attention to a newly unlocked feature: the "Reputation" system.
It wasn't something tied to the Dimensional Chat Group—it came directly from his Profession Panel.
And now, curious to see what it truly did, he opened the interface.
A detailed data panel appeared before his eyes.
[Name: Shirakawa]
[Gender: Male]
[Age: 17]
[Constitution: 13]
[Agility: 12]
[Strength: 12]
[Intelligence: 13]
[Stamina: 12]
[Current Occupations: Student (Lv5), Exorcist (Lv5), Holy Sword Wielder (Lv4)]
[Reputation: 1]
Reputation was a universal function, directly loaded onto the status panel rather than tied to any one job class. Without hesitation, Shirakawa chose to view the details.
A window popped up with a detailed explanation:
[Reputation: Can be spent to lift level caps of job classes and unlock further progression. Currently available for: Student (Lv5)]
"?!"
After reading through its function, Shirakawa's expression turned rather fascinating.
Every job he possessed had an upper level cap—including his current one, Holy Sword Wielder. That cap would be reached soon, and to continue advancing, he would have to unlock a new class. The most significant benefit of leveling up was gaining attribute points and purification points.
"So if I spend Reputation to remove the cap on a maxed-out job... does that mean I can level up multiple classes of the same type in simultaneously?"
"That's basically farming attribute points!"
Among his job lineup, the methods of leveling were all different.
The Student class leveled through study, the Exorcist through slaying evil spirits...
There wasn't a shared mechanic among them.
In contrast, Holy Sword Wielder simply required him to slay monsters to level up. Shirakawa was even beginning to speculate: once it hits max level, if he unlocks another class that shares the same leveling method—
Could slaying monsters then feed experience into both jobs at once?!
"Guess it's time to think about building a mainline combat setup. I already have Holy Sword Wielder for close-range... but I'll need something with high AoE firepower. Only one comes to mind—"
"Megumin's Archwizard class."
Aqua was still active in the chat group, and spending 50 points allowed him to purchase a temporary cross-world teleportation anchor. If he could locate Megumin successfully—
He could not only unlock a new job,
But also learn her Explosion Magic, and gain a massive power-up in the process.
With his resolve firmed,
Shirakawa set his next goal: Max out Holy Sword Wielder!
---
The farewell banquet was quite well-prepared—especially the food. Even without modern condiments, the use of spices alone brought out impressive flavor.
The grape wine carried a faint note of alcohol. If only it had been chilled, it would've made the summer heat far more bearable. Fortunately, the festive atmosphere wasn't stiffened by anyone's adventurer status.
Everyone enjoyed themselves thoroughly.
As Shirakawa prepared to leave the village, many of the villagers came to see him off. Yet the one who caught his eye stood quietly on the outskirts of the crowd—
Sylvie and her younger brother.
Under the sunlight, her shoulder-length golden hair shimmered brightly. Unlike the village elder, she didn't step forward to bid farewell. She simply watched from afar.
"Oram!"
"..."
Suddenly called out by the kind adventurer who had once saved his sister, Oram looked up, confused.
"Make sure you protect your sister. If I come back one day and see you haven't—"
"I will!"
Though once quiet and withdrawn, the boy now stood tall, chest puffed with determination.
Watching his departing back,
Oram's voice rang out in a beaming smile. "Thank you, big brother!"
"..."
Feeling a trembling hand rest on his shoulder, Oram turned to look at his sister—only to see a single, dazzling tear glinting in the sunlight at the corner of her eye.
But...
Why was she smiling if she was crying?
"Are you two heading back first?"
At the fork in the road, Shirakawa asked with a gentle smile, "If so, I guess we'll meet again another time. Don't want to risk any remaining goblins nearby."
"When the chance comes, let's visit the city together."
Sylvie, who had not joined the dimensional chat group, wouldn't receive mission alerts like Viviette did when in danger.
So staying here permanently was a bit unrealistic for Shirakawa. The best move was to clear out every goblin threat nearby—and in the process—
Fully max out Holy Sword Wielder.
"Yes... thank you, Shirakawa-kun."
Viviette, who was part of the chat group, could easily reach out via private message. Even if they were parting now, she didn't feel any sadness.
What she held in her heart was simply—
Anticipation for their next encounter.
She and her friend Catherine took the opposite route back to the city.
Yet for some reason, she turned back one last time—and saw that familiar silhouette still standing there, quietly watching her go. The girl gently raised her hand—
Soft pink lips forming silent words.
"I'm so lucky to have met you, Shirakawa-kun."
---
From that point, Shirakawa shifted his target to the monsters around the village—goblins, lizard-men, and any other nearby threat.
All were wiped out effortlessly.
As time passed, the sky gradually dimmed into evening.
And when the final goblin den had been purged—
Any threat to Sylvie was completely eliminated.
At the same time, a system notification popped up:
[Class Level Up: Holy Sword Wielder Lv4 → Lv5]
[Class 'Holy Sword Wielder' has reached max level. Blank class panel unlocked.]
[New class breakthrough method available. View now?]