In this Second Chance at Life, where I can see skills as clear as day, everything feels like a breeze. And to make it even better, I’m spending my days joyfully with my First Love. - Chapter 30

I suggested, “There’s a dungeon that’s perfect for leveling up, so why don’t we all level together?”

But my father’s simple, dismissive reply—”I don’t like stuff like that, so I’ll pass”—set off a chain reaction. Everyone else followed suit:

“Well, then I’ll pass too.”
“I think I’ll sit this one out as well.”

Even Ichika-chan’s parents chimed in:
“Well, if Yasukun’s parents are opting out, I think we’ll pass too.”

A single, firm statement had swayed everyone, much like the proverbial crane’s cry… though this crane felt more like it had been living in a junkyard.

Why did they all refuse? Was it because they disliked the idea of power leveling?

It couldn’t be. Neither my dad nor mom are into games, so it’s not like they were against it for gaming reasons. And my dad, who once boasted about killing chickens on his family farm, wouldn’t have an aversion to killing monsters either.

I genuinely couldn’t understand their reasoning.

Still, just because they refused to level up doesn’t mean I can stop worrying about them. Now that my name has been broadcast worldwide by that mechanical voice, I can’t just shrug my shoulders and assume they’ll stay out of trouble.

At first, I thought of having Kanahebi protect them, but the little guy whined, “Master, I don’t want to be apart from you,” so I decided to use my dungeon administrator privileges to summon a suitable monster for the job.

The monster I chose was Hermes Pigeon.

Named after the messenger god Hermes—or so I assume—this blue dove monster supposedly delivers warning cries to its allies or master when it senses danger.

The sound, they say, reaches its master no matter where they are, even if they’re on the other side of the planet.

True to its divine-sounding name, the Hermes Pigeon itself is quite powerful. It can:

• • Heal its allies’ wounds with recovery magic,

• • Protect them with barriers, and

• • Attack with wind magic or high-speed physical strikes using its wings.

At level 999, the highest I could summon from the dungeon, it costs a staggering 5 trillion DP per bird to summon.

Its stats are around 7 billion across the board, with magic power standing out at 30 billion—an extremely high baseline. Of course, these numbers are influenced by the Beast Tamer skills and the Statistical Overkill bonus, but even so, the bird’s stats were undeniably impressive.

I assigned one Hermes Pigeon each to my parents, grandparents, and Ichika-chan’s parents and grandparents. I ordered the birds to protect them.

To ensure their loyalty, I used Magic Power Suppression and Physical Strength Suppression to intimidate and subjugate them. I trust they’ll do their job properly.

As for Ichika-chan, well, she’s already stronger than a Hermes Pigeon. Besides, I’ll protect her myself if anything happens.

Although, with how quickly Ichika-chan could surpass me in strength through leveling, who knows how long that’ll last…

And so, while I was sulking over everyone refusing to level up with me, Ichika-chan—my angel—began her leveling journey, and I was more than happy to assist.

◇

“Four-Element Magic: Prominence!”

A swarm of hundreds of Golden Fairy Papillons appeared on the first floor.

The fiery explosion consumed everything in seconds, reducing the entire floor to ash.

“Woooooahhhhhh!! It’s magic!!! Real magic!!!”

“Is it that amazing?” Ichika-chan asked, looking slightly embarrassed.

“Yes, it’s incredible!!!”

Despite the fire raging in the cave, none of our health decreased. No sign of carbon monoxide poisoning either. How did that work? And how did the magic transform from raw magic power into fire?

I couldn’t figure it out just by watching. But one thing was certain: magic was awesome.

Sure, in terms of raw power, my Magic Power Press might be stronger. But unleashing a fiery storm is just so much cooler and more beautiful. Ah, I want to use magic too.

“Hey, Kanahebi, do you think I could use magic too?”

“Hmm. Do you have any magic-related skills, Master?”

“No… I don’t think so.”

“Then it’s impossible.”

“…I see.”

So magic is skill-based, huh? Does that mean it’s impossible to learn it on my own? No, I’m not giving up yet. Maybe there’s a skill orb or item in the dungeon that grants something like “X Magic.”

Yeah, I’ll look into it later.

As Ichika-chan demonstrated the strongest fire, water, wind, and earth spells from her Witch class’s Four-Element Magic, we descended deeper into the dungeon.

Meanwhile, thanks to the Golden Fairy Papillons’ high experience yield, her class level continued to rise. She began unlocking additional types of magic, including Yin-Yang Magic, Holy Magic, Light-Dark Magic, and Biological Magic.

Her abilities also expanded to encompass Alchemy, Potion Brewing, and Curses—all of which fit the “witch” archetype perfectly.

I didn’t get to see every new skill, but they all seemed incredibly useful. On top of that, the number of skills she unlocked upon reaching max level far surpassed what I had received as a Beast Tamer.

I couldn’t help but feel a bit envious. I mean, wouldn’t it have been cooler to be a Mage instead of a Beast Tamer? But judging by appearances, Witch seemed to be an advanced class of magic users and likely a female-only occupation.

I couldn’t even think of a male counterpart to Witch. Maybe it’s one of those fantasy tropes where women naturally have better affinity for magic.

That being said, the final skill, Complete Fire Resistance, had a slightly grim implication. Was it designed to counter being burned at the stake? As if magic users ever had to worry about that…

Despite all the impressive abilities, it was clear that the Golden Fairy Papillon remained the most efficient monster for leveling in this dungeon.

By the time Ichika-chan wiped out the level 999 swarm on the final floor, she had naturally reached level 999 herself.

While the system didn’t display “MAX,” the experience she gained made it seem plausible that levels could exceed 999.

Was 999 the cap, or was the next level so far off it required an absurd amount of experience? Or were there special conditions to unlock it?

For now, here’s Ichika-chan’s status after the leveling session:

Name: Kobayashi Ichika
Health: 9,984 trillion 746.3 billion / 9,984 trillion 746.3 billion
Strength: 41 trillion 215.1 billion
Magic Power: 1,749 quadrillion 492.5 trillion
Agility: 4 trillion 121.5 billion ▲
Level: 999

Base Stats:

• • Health: 538.76 million

• • Strength: 538.76 million

• • Magic Power: 1.62828 billion

• • Agility: 538.76 million

Class: Witch

Skills:

• • Flexibility Lv. 35

• • Health Boost Lv. 24 / Lv. 20 / Lv. 18 / Lv. 16

• • Strength Boost Lv. 18 / Lv. 16

• • Magic Power Boost Lv. 78 / Lv. 46 / Lv. 34 / Lv. 30

• • Calculation Lv. 23

• • Appraisal Lv. MAX

• • Item Box Lv. 24

• • Super Recovery Lv. 19

• • Super Regeneration Lv. 17

• • Agility Boost Lv. 18 / Lv. 16

• • Health Reinforcement Lv. 18 / Lv. 16

• • Strength Reinforcement Lv. 17

• • Agility Reinforcement Lv. 17

• • Magic Power Reinforcement Lv. 29 / Lv. 27

• • Damage Reduction Lv. 19 / Lv. 17 / Lv. 15

• • Magic Efficiency Boost Lv. 36

• • Experience Increase Lv. 12

Class Skills:

• • Four-Element Magic

• • Light-Dark Magic

• • Magic Control

• • Potion Brewing

• • Plant Magic

• • Alchemy

• • Magic Seal

• • Holy Magic

• • Curses

• • Biological Magic

• • Chant Cancelation

• • Complete Magic Resistance

• • Contract Magic

• • Magic Infusion

• • Calamity Magic

• • Magic Resistance Penetration

• • Magic Power Resistance Penetration

• • Summoning Magic

• • Time-Space Magic

• • Complete Fire Resistance

Special Skills:

• • Keen Eye

• • Skill Duplication

• • Automatic Health Recovery

• • Complete Mental Resistance

• • Complete Physical Resistance

• • Complete Magic Resistance

• • Item Storage

• • True Sight

• • Magic Eye

• • Super Appraisal

Unique Skill: Insight

Title: Master of Witches

The newly acquired title Master of Witches is an all-rounder buff. It multiplies magic power by 5, increases the effectiveness of magic-related skills, enhances magic efficiency, and even boosts leveling speed.

Thanks to this title, her magic power had reached an astonishing level. On top of that, her class provided a x2 multiplier to magic power.

Is Witch the strongest class?

Her health stats were also insane, befitting her level 999 status. Her strength was about a tenth of mine, but her effective durability was likely 1.2 times greater than mine.

Of course, damage reduction skills make direct comparisons tricky.

And with that, the leveling session was complete.