“So, here we are…” I said, my voice taking on just a bit of melancholy.

We had found the stairway to the next floor, but two living armors were in front of it. The only reason we were able to fight zombies is that our jobs happened to mesh well against slow undead. My spells were literally their bane, and her speed made her difficult to handle. However, when we were facing these guys, the fact that their levels far outstripped our own became very apparent. They were like a level 15 mob, where we were around level 6.

“What should we do?” Lydia asked nervously.

I looked down at the sword hanging from my backpack and let out a sigh. “We’re going to need to git gud.”

“Good?”

“You must increase your Swordsman to level 10, and I must increase Hero,” I explained.

“It is unfortunate that we do not know our job levels now,” Lydia spoke sadly.

I blinked. “Uh, actually, I know your job and level. You’re a level six Swordsman right now!”

“You’re like a priest!” Lydia was truly surprised.

I hadn’t really said anything about it to her before, but I supposed I should explain myself. “Yes, I wasn’t trying to hide it, but since you joined my party, I can see your class and job, and I can also change your job if I want to.”

“Amazing…” Lydia’s eyes looked at me fully opened like she was seeing me for the first time. “I only know of priests that can do that, but even they can’t change their own job.”

Of course. If a priest changed their job, they’d lose the skill that allowed them to change their job. Since my ability came from my class, not my job, it was a bit powerful. Admittedly, this world didn’t even know about classes as far as I could tell. The closest thing they had to class was the idea of talent. A talented person could learn their job faster. This was a bit of mistake on this world’s part. Everyone had their talents. If someone was too slow, it was probably because they had the wrong job!

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"Well, I'm a bit different, but it's similar." I blushed at her look of reverence.

"I'm already level six Swordsman... that's the level of most city guards. Does that mean it was you who set this job for me?"

"Ah... yes..." I responded sheepishly, feeling bad for doing this without her permission.

"Thank you!" She said, her eyes growing watery.

I scratched the back of my head and fought the embarrassment as she looked at me with strangely expectant eyes. I never had anyone who looked at me that way before. What was it? It felt like... dependence. That's right, this girl was depending on me to pull her through this dungeon. Through my entire life, I had never had anyone who expected anything from me. This feeling from her, I kind of liked it. I wanted to save her. Not just from this dungeon, but from her former life too. Perhaps the hero title was infecting my brain.

We left the two living armors alone, and for the rest of the day, our target was zombies. I’d cast the spell to strengthen both of our swords, and then we would both fight. She did much more than I did, but I still could collect the money. I wasn’t as fast as her, nor did I have any sword knowledge. The best I could do is hit an enemy in the back when it was turned and run away. That meant I usually only got one strike on them. That was compared to the dozens that Lydia landed.

I also noticed that my Party Status Up seemed to work on her too. That was to say, when I had Hero equipped as a job, Lydia said she felt a little faster, and the zombies seemed to fall faster too. It did seem to be doing its job. I just wished I was a little more helpful.

{Hero has increased to level 5.}

{You have unlocked the Hero skill: Basic Swordsmanship.}

I let out a sigh of relief. This just told me two things. First, skills overlapped between jobs. Second, that despite my support class influencing my skills towards support, I could still potentially learn combat abilities. I wouldn’t be completely useless. I felt the sword in my hand, and it felt a lot more comfortable holding it. This appeared to be a passive skill, that when active, gave me the knowledge of basic swordsmanship. As luck would have it, Basic Swordsmanship was likely the first level of Swordsman, which is why Lydia could wield a sword from the beginning. I had guessed something like this was true. That was also why I wanted her to get to level ten. I had a feeling that whatever the next level of swordsmanship came, it would be at level ten. With myself gaining Basic Swordsmanship, I felt we were on our way.