Labyrinth Bank's first-floor boss, a Wood Golem, is just a log with limbs, but its tough material resists slashing or piercing weapons like swords, spears, or rapiers. Maces or axes are ideal for crushing it. My golems, with flexible weapon choices, all wield two-handed axes for boss hunting. After defeating it, we exit the room, re-enter, and it respawns—efficient farming. Others could try, but the golem's counterattacks snap off golem arms easily, and the small room corners you. I rush four golems to pin it in a corner, a tactic viable because I don't care about golem damage.
"Ilmera, we'll keep farming the boss. The wooden bracelet, a rare drop, boosts defense for priests and mages, stackable."
"Yes, four minimum for both arms. Sells for 1 gold, 5 silver each—triple a high potion."
Modest for defense gear. Ilmera readies a shield spell during fights, creating an invisible barrier to block surprise hits, buying time. I focus on golem control, pulling damaged ones back for repairs, keeping three active. The boss, though first-floor, wrecks a golem every third fight.
"Odd drop…" I note after the tenth kill.
"Reinhardt-sama, a wooden ring? Wood Golems don't drop those," Ilmera says.
Nine kills gave three wooden shields, two bracelets; the tenth, a ring. I Identify:
Wooden Ring: 3% Damage Reduction, Stackable up to 10Wooden Shield: +3 DefenseWooden Bracelet: +2 Defense, Stackable up to 2
Three rings cut damage by ~10%—huge. The guild map doesn't list rings; they're tied to lower-floor Man-Faced Trees.
"Unlikely, but it happened. Hypothesis: every tenth kill drops a fixed ring, or the third rare drop is a ring. Not coincidence—wooden gear series."
We'll probe the guild later. If consecutive boss kills change drops, it's big. High-level parties could exploit it, though it might require thousands of kills.
"Ilmera, keep this secret. If true, we can farm good rares on low floors."
"Of course. Unverified info is gossip. If your hypothesis holds, it's our edge—no need to share!" she says, smiling darkly for a Moa priest. We're schemers, aren't we?
"Alright, let's test up to the twentieth kill!"
My hypothesis proved right: the twentieth and thirtieth kills dropped wooden rings. Thirty consecutive bosses drained me mentally, despite mana recovery at level-ups. I hit level 11; Ilmera didn't. Thirty bosses for two levels—is that good? Level-ups restore mana, enabling the marathon. The boss room's safe zone—no respawns until we exit, locked to others—lets us rest.
"Reinhardt-sama, it's noon. Lunch?" Ilmera suggests.
"Yeah, let's rest."
Mental fatigue dulls focus. I pull a table, chairs, and Ilmera's food from spatial creation. My gift's greatest perk: a personal room or labyrinth, preserving items like hot meals.
"Dining in a boss room is wild. I'll brew tea," Ilmera says.
Her graceful tea-making, a maid's precision, captivates me. The tea's aroma fills the air.
"Surprising you love hamburgers," she says.
"It's a knight's field ration—Knight Burger! Half-pound patty, avocado, onion, lettuce in a huge bun, over 7cm thick. Flip and squash to eat!"
No dainty nibbling for warriors! But Ilmera, smiling, slices it like cake on a board.
"Wait, Ilmera, that's not—"
Too late. I eat my "Knight Burger" with a fork, like quiche, unable to protest her beaming face.
"Thanks to Moa's god," I say.
"Thanks to Moa. More tea?" Ilmera replies.
Our bizarre labyrinth lunch ends. I'll ask her to study adventurer dining etiquette—noble manners don't fit my future as a non-noble.
Leaving the boss room, adventurers wait outside.
"Took long enough! Struggling? Smells tasty in there," a woman says.
"Sorry, we ate and rested post-boss. An hour's wait?" I lie—it was three.
I size them up: four men, two women. The speaker, a fierce late-teen knight in ornate armor, likely noble, has striking red hair and strong eyes—a Deodora baron's kin, known for fiery hair. The party, Dexter Knights, is Grim Viscount's faction, like House Barei. A snide blond man, typical Emden noble, sneers—likely Grim's son, a knighted quasi-baron via bought merits, per Father. Two arrogant men, a timid woman with a staff—rare mage for Grim's faction, noble or merchant's daughter—and two older, high-level guild-hired warrior and priest escorts exude pressure.
"Sorry, we rested in the safe zone post-boss. We were battered," I say.
Grim's faction leads House Barei; I want no faction drama, especially with my planned disinheritance.
"Weaklings have it rough. Watch yourself," the blond says, shooing us.
"Thanks, appreciated," I reply, moving to leave.
Ilmera's icy glare chills me—she's ready to snap. The red-haired girl stares, assessing us; to them, we're a kid mage-priest duo, not nobles. I grab Ilmera's hand and hurry off before she explodes.
A hundred meters away, I summon golems. No boss room for now—goblin hunting for levels and drops.
"Rude bunch. Nobles, Reinhardt-sama?" Ilmera asks.
"Yeah, kids of Father's faction. Only nobles call their party a 'knight order.' The blond's a Grim son, knighted last year via bought merits. Their escorts—those older two—are high-level guild hires, letting them act big."
Ilmera's blunt: "So, nobodies riding their parents' coattails?"
Her smile's sweet, words venomous. "Not quite. Their parents aren't fools—kids get safe escorts. The old duo could crush Wood Golems. They're here for quick leveling, likely hitting lower floors soon."
Six-man parties split EXP; their level 10-ish group will grind floors two or three. We'll stick to efficient boss farming.
The floor glows—goblins.
"Goblins again. Different from Wood Golems, but let's do this."
"Yes, we'll grind our way," Ilmera says.
Break Free, rank F, average level 17, remains a weak party.