Chapter 262. Contracts for the Elite Lab Rats

While on the 'phone' with Natalia, the rest of the girls also returned from their exploration.

Unlike Evelyn, Tia, and Neyrelle, they had already thoroughly explored Fractured Peaks, Scosglen, and the Dry Steppes and have now returned after doing the same with Hawezar.

After nodding to Sophia to start preparing the dinner, Michael smiled gently toward the incoming Helena and Mina.

Seeing Hella and Mei pouting, he immediately realized his mistake and greeted them also.

'*Sigh* All these social niceties are mentally draining. It looks like I need to take a 'vacation' from the Pink Palace and properly arrange the knowledge in my memories. Otherwise, the girls will start suspecting me soon.'

[How did things go for you? Did you finish?](Helen)

"Mhm. The girls got to have some fun as well."

[Is that so?](Helen)

[Yes, yes! We fought all sorts of monsters!](Evelyn)

[I killed goatmen, undead, bandits, Wargs, uhm...](Tia)

[Tia! We talked about this! You need to behave in a more lady-like manner!](Mina)

Seeing the hyperactive shortie get scolded, the rest of the girls laughed and sat around the pavilion table.

Judging by how messy their armors were, the swamps of Hawezar weren't very friendly.

Inquiring about the general situation, Mei took this chance to complain to her heart's content.

[Not only is that damned area filled with flies and mosquitos, but the damned monsters spawned like crazy! It's an absolute nightmare!](Mei)

[And with that coming from a Ranger, you can imagine how crappy it was for us. Me and Aylin were fine since the equipment we usually use is on the lighter side, but Helen and Mina...](Hella)

[I lost count after seeing Helen use 28 Cleaning Marbles.](Aylin)

[Don't even remind me! I'm not stepping foot in Hawezar again unless the entire damned region is in danger of getting destroyed! And even then, I'll first consider if that's a bad thing!](Helen)

Curious, Michael looked at Mina's equipment from head to toe, confusing the pretty Priestess.

"I understand Helen since she's a melee Class, but why is your equipment heavy?"

[Eh? Well... it's the standard church equipment. A long time ago, the Cathedral decided that all Priest Classes could double as Knights. Since then, Priests have preferred heavier equipment that provides sufficient Armor. Not only does it keep us alive, but it also allows us to fight at the frontlines if needed.](Mina)

Looking at the staff taller than the Priestess wielding it, Michael rebutted inwardly, wondering if her Class was actually that of an Eastern Monk instead of a Priestess.

Speaking of which, he was becoming curious about how she usually fought since they had never partied together until now.

The subject changed quickly to everyone's gains after successfully exploring a region.

"Mhm. It looks like the rumors were correct. We also gained this small emblem."

[ Mother's Blessing

The fleeting gift of Mother's Blessing grants a 25% boost to Experience, and a 50% boost to Gold earned from monster kills. ]

Tia, Evelyn, and Neyrelle also removed the emblem from their inventory and shared their 'loot.'

After a long conversation the day before, Helen and Mina told Michael about this 'drop.' Apparently, each time you thoroughly explored a region - meaning that you fully found all Areas Discovered mentioned in Region Progress - and 'collected' all Lilith's Altars present, you would get awarded with one of these emblems.

[It's not only that one, though. Hella.](Helen)

[Mhm. While so far we got the same emblem each time we completed the other regions, I got a different one for Hawezar this time.](Hella)

[ Goblin's Greed

A recent change in items appears to have attracted more Treasure Goblins to the area. They must really like the changes because it seems they may be picking up and dropping even more than usual. ]

Seeing the strange emblem, Michael scratched his head. 

He had yet to encounter these Treasure Goblins, but from what he heard, the drops are incredibly bountiful if you manage to kill one.

[The main issue is how tricky they are to catch. If it's in the Wilderness unless your party has tons of crowd control skills, it's better not to try.](Aylin)

[That's why I was considering trying this in a Dungeon instead.](Hella)

[That's not a bad idea. With the recent changes, we can go as five now. We each have at least two crowd-control skills, so using the emblem to farm some items would be nice. The Dungeon is a much better environment to hunt those Treasure Goblins.](Mei)

"Wait! Changes? What changes?"

[Oh, right! We only discovered it today, but it seems that the restrictions on partying during Dungeon dives or any other sort of event were lifted. In exchange, the difficulty would increase based on the number and level of the Wanderers participating.](Helen)

"Huh!? Isn't that a good thing?"

[*Sigh* Not exactly. A group of ten Wanderers tried clearing a Dungeon in Kehjistan, and all died in the process. Apparently, the difficulty increase is quite considerable. It's not official yet since we're still investigating, but the levels of the monsters in the Dungeon increase according to the number of party members trying to clear it.](Mina)

"So if five people try to clear it, the monsters become +5 levels higher than the Wanderers. No wonder the party of ten died."

[It wasn't just the levels. The number of encounters and Quests in the Dungeon also increased considerably.](Aylin)

"An overall increase in difficulty, then. It's probably a compromise between the Sanctuary and the Burning Hells. After all, with the new power-up granted to the Wanderers, they probably steamrolled most Dungeons in the past week."

[Steamrolled?](Neyrelle)

"Ugh... it means to have easily demolished the monsters within."

[So you think the Burning Hells requested this difficulty increase?](Aylin)

"Yes. In exchange, the Sanctuary lifted the party number restriction. But this is a good thing for us. Isn't it, Helen?"

[Mhm. I was thinking along the same lines. We planned to create new parties of elite Wanderers. With the newbies going through hellish training, obtaining the Heart of the Forest pill from our 'sponsors,' and enjoying the benefits of the two Training Arrays, splitting them into only four Classes with decent coordination was inefficient. Now that we can increase the number as high as we want...](Helen)

[But doesn't the difficulty increase as well?](Mina)

"It's not the same thing. These elite groups would have better overall attributes, reflexes, and Attack Power than regular Wanderers. If it were me, I would suggest partying them as groups of ten from now on."

[Ten... Meaning that they would have to fight in the Dungeons against monsters ten levels above their own. Isn't that too risky, given the resources we invested in them? Each loss of life would be a disastrous economic failure on our end.](Aylin)

[We'll start slow, first, with groups of five. This way, we can add a Healing Class to the current Tank, Melee Damage Dealer, Ranged Damage Dealer, and Magic Damage Dealer. If the configuration works, we can slowly increase and experiment with the Class composition for a complete party of ten. Any more than that would be dangerous.](Helen)

[But there aren't that many Healing Classes. Most are church-affiliated.](Mina)

"That's fine. We can 'borrow' them at a price, couldn't we? The Cathedral also doesn't have a reason to refuse. That's why, for a 'full party,' I suggest having at least two Healers. It would be even better if it's a Healer and a semi-Healer with skills that can buff allies and/or debuff enemies. More variety would increase their survival chances even if they somehow encounter the Butcher."

The conversation continued to get heated to the point where Martel and Hoduin were also called over. 

The veteran duo also offered their input, and the plan for the unfortunate 'lab rats' hailed as 'Elite Newbies' got increasingly ridiculous as the conversation lengthened. 

Fortunately, Michael introduced the idea of 'sponsoring equipment' for these Elite lab rats, with which everyone seemed to be on board. 

Simply put, sponsorship was a type of money loan.

Among the nobles, veteran Wanderers, merchants, store owners, etc., the Elite Newbies who stood out could sign a 'sponsoring contract' where the sponsor would buy them the best type of equipment suited for their levels.

Then, a neutral third party would evaluate the total cost of the equipment and state the total cost in the contract.

To ensure the sponsors do not lose out, they could agree with the Elite Newbies on an interest rate between 5 and 25%.

[But what about those that don't 'stand out?' We can't send some equipped to the teeth and leave others lacking. It would affect the party balance.](Martel)

"That's correct. That's where the city management intervenes. For those whose talents have yet to bloom or were currently insufficient to draw attention from the sponsors, the city would sponsor them instead. The only difference is that the city would always have a fixed interest rate of 25%."

[Meaning that, using the newbies as investment material, the city could not only recoup their losses, but profit as well.](Aylin)

"Correct. Also, the contract can be decided long-term. It could be a one-time sponsorship, a level-type sponsorship where each time the Wanderer grows five or ten levels, the equipment must be swapped, or even a time sponsorship where the relationship between the two parties continues for a specific period of time, for example, two years. During that time, the sponsor must provide new equipment at least every five to ten levels if the newbie doesn't find better quality himself in the Dungeons. Obviously, in that case, the sum the newbie must pay and the interest rates must be revisited."

[That's a bit dangerous. No matter how I look at it, the possibility of unfair contracts might arise. I don't want to see the newbies that suffered hellish training become slaves of the nobles due to a piece of paper.](Helen)

"I agree. That's why all contracts must be approved by a council. Since the power balance in Kyovashad is set between the Wanderers, the merchants, the nobles, the church, and the city mayor, create a council with representatives from each faction. They would review the contracts and ensure absolute fairness. Also, these council members must be changed at fixed intervals. I would suggest every six months at the very minimum, but I don't think we have that many people we can use."

[Indeed. A yearly would be the best we could do.](Helen)

[Then, how about creating another party responsible for ensuring corruption doesn't take hold in the council? I could have some of my fellow Druids participate. They are bored and usually waste time doing nothing, so they won't say no.](Hoduin)

As the conversation was developing in a strange direction, Michael kept glancing toward the skies. 

He was amazed that the Sanctuary hadn't yet smithed him since he was pretty much forcing a political system based on parties that would control each other through opposition. At the same time, Hoduin's idea would decrease the possibility of corruption.

Mayor Collin was also called over, and Connie joined him for the meal. 

Seeing that it was still only around 9 p.m., Aylin asked Sophia to prepare more dishes and invited the other Wanderer Representatives over so they could help improve the plan some more.

Not only that, but they might be interested in applying this idea locally in their regions as well.

Michael ended up squeezing his brain cells to their absolute limits, trying to find 'worst-case scenarios' that must be avoided at all costs. This helped improve the current ideas thrown around by everyone based on what he saw and read about on Earth.

In the end, the conversation halted when everyone realized it was already midnight and decided to return to the same place tomorrow at 8 p.m. to continue the meeting.

Since it was late, Michael crashed in Helen's room, and Mina joined them.

Fortunately, the girls were tired, so there was no action to be had yet. Still, it was a 'problem' he had to deal with very soon, but was a bit reluctant to.

Not because he didn't want to, as he had already confirmed that the girls had feelings for him, and he wasn't indifferent to them either.

The main issue was that, unlike his facade, he was VERY inexperienced. 

Based on a proper comparison, it would make him the one watching porn, while his facade was the porn actor. 

Simply put, he had no experience to speak of and was afraid he would embarrass himself.

Wiping away the frightening thoughts clouding his mind, he listened to the calm breathing of the two girls sleeping beside him and slowly drifted into dreamland as well. 

The next day, he had tons of things to do.

Woken by movement in the bed, he groggily moved the koala-like Priestess strangling his head and suffocating him with her boobs as he watched Helen dress up.

[Good morning.](Helen)

"Morning. Where are you in such a rush?"

[Dungeon clearing. I need to clear five today for a Quest.](Helen)

"Hmm? Alone?"

[Yes. With the four extra skill points I gained, as well as the attributes increase, it won't be a problem. What about you?](Helen)

"I need to visit the Dry Steppes to wrap up four Quests. After that, Dungeon diving in Scosglen. I plan to focus the next few days on clearing each Dungeon in the region before focusing on the Dry Steppes again."

[For the Region Progression?](Helen)

"Mhm. Let's eat some breakfast before you leave. Right... should I wake up Mina?"

[Ehm... let her sleep some more. She must visit Prava to discuss the Healing Class allocation for our future parties. *Sigh* We've been so busy recently that I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing.](Helen)

"We're alive and struggling to stay that way."

Seeing Michael shrug unconcernedly, Helen frowned for a bit and shook her head.

She knew he had changed, but it wasn't anything bad so far. Ultimately, she could only hope he wouldn't change too much.