Live Strong, Leon
Despite Leon's silent protests, we spent several days climbing the tower while eyeing each other warily. I soothed him whenever he whined about wanting to know more about Daphne, and we ended up scrapping our original plan to push ahead as fast as possible. I didn't tell Leon this, but wasn't there a pregnant woman in our party now? Daphne balled her fists and insisted we ignore her, but what bullshit.
A few more days passed like that, and today, as if rewarded for our efforts, we finally took down the 10th-floor boss, the Ogre Warrior, and escaped beginner party status. We grabbed proof of our clears and loot from the tower, reported to the guild, rented a four-person inn room, and gathered together. Now there were no more excuses—we had to sort this out.
I sat the clueless Leon down in the middle of the room and started talking. No need to beat around the bush; I laid out the whole truth honestly. 'What can he do even if he figures it out?'
The story started with elven mating habits and veered wildly off course, all the way to Daphne's wand after a rough journey. Honestly, the content was so insane it made even my head spin. When I finally reached the reluctant impregnation after all the twists and turns, Daphne squirmed in embarrassment. But that lasted only a moment before Tier's fierce glare made her pout and bow her head.
After barely finishing the tale, sure enough, Leon stared blankly.
"Uh...?"
Like a pup who'd lost its mom, Leon gawked with a dumbstruck look. Tier, Daphne, and I just watched him calmly, unfazed.
The room fell into heavy silence. How long did we stare like that? As we gazed at him wordlessly, he started snapping out of it and grasping the situation—his face twisted through every expression.
'For Leon, this must be peak BSS genre.'
Suppressing the awkward vibe, Leon's gaze slowly shifted to Daphne behind me. Ever since learning the full story, some mysterious maternal instinct had surged in her; whenever she had a moment, she'd stroke her lower belly. Textbook pregnant woman behavior.
"S-So... that means... that's your kid... Berg?"
Pointing rudely at my child like that... 'But is it really mine?'
It'd only been a week since the impregnation, and Daphne's belly hadn't grown at all since. Considering elves' infertility traits, it felt like another rug-pull was coming, but 'Whatever.' The important thing was Daphne was my woman now. I just had to dye her in my colors before shit hit the fan.
"Yeah, looks like it."
Leon, who'd been trembling and hanging on my every word, lunged at me without hesitation. His sluggish moves nearly made me yawn. As I pondered how to handle it, a white blur flashed past me.
Crash!!
"Gah... ow!"
Seeing Tier bristle her fur in front of me filled me with relief. 'Nice one, house pup!'
Leon, who had no idea what hit him, staggered while rubbing his banged-up head from tumbling everywhere. Looked like Tier had gone easy since he was a party member. Should've trained her better—no mercy for Leon...
He got back up, glaring at me lounging smugly in my chair, and started yelling.
"You horny mutt! How dare you—!"
Shaking with rage, he spat nonsense in his frenzy. 'Heh. I'm innocent.' What had I done wrong here? Nothing at all. If anything, I was the tragic head of household saddled with responsibility sans pleasure.
Predictably, Daphne behind me flushed red, tears welling in her eyes. To her, "horny mutt" meant herself, and "how dare you" targeted me, Tier's mate.
"S-Sorry... sob... ugh..."
As grief-stricken Daphne started sniffling, Tier hurried over and gently comforted her. Hearing it was her mate's child made her extra protective.
"N-No, Daphne. I didn't mean it like that. Don't cry, okay?"
"It's my fault... my fault, sob... waaah."
Daphne babbled like a baby throwing a tantrum, while Tier stomped anxiously. Finally realizing what he'd said, Leon scrambled to backpedal.
"N-No, I meant... Berg, you—"
"What about me?"
"Y-You got Daphne pregnant!"
"Me? When?"
"..."
"Think carefully, Leon. Is this really my fault?"
I calmly countered, schooling him in reality. So who was the victim here? Me leaking cum next door? Tier's pussy failing to contain it? Daphne masturbating? 'Obviously you, heh.'
Leon, who couldn't snag a single girl and got cucked, was the obvious loser. If he lacked the skills, he should've charmed with personality or bought aphrodisiacs from the alchemy guild and fucked like his life depended on it. What a joke for someone who thought he owned the world.
I sighed inwardly and spoke up.
"Anyway, with things like this, Tier, Daphne, and I won't be climbing the tower for a while."
Whatever, there was a pregnant woman in the party now. We'd just cleared floor 10—perfect timing to ditch this pest.
Leon, cornered with no rebuttal, mumbled incoherently.
"Th-Then I'll rest too..."
"Until when?"
"Well..."
He glanced at Daphne's belly but knew it was impossible—his eyes shook.
"We don't even know when Daphne will give birth. The silver lining is we've graduated from beginner party status."
"..."
"Leon, you're a mage with real potential to shine in other parties. We can't waste your time dragging you along."
I hit him straight with a pitying tone, and he bit his lip, realizing he had no comeback. His eyes lingered on Tier and Daphne with sticky regret.
'Must sting, huh? Heh.'
Setting aside looks, those two were top-tier characters. Like switching from a sports car to a shitbox—natural to cling.
"Well, we'll head out then... If we meet in the tower, don't pretend you don't know us, Leon."
To avoid any clingy bullshit, I wrapped it up quick, flashed a wry smile, stood slowly with Tier and Daphne in tow, and left the room. Last glimpse: Leon shaking off his despair, psyching himself up as a gamer again.
'You're a total beta cuck. Window cleaner. Heh.'
Who'd hire a support mage tailored to our party? My lips curled at the thought as I exited.
Game Paused.
Acquired 954 points.
'Whoa, that's a haul.'
I rolled my stiff shoulders and chugged water from the table. As I fiddled with points distribution, all stats hit 66, leaving 79 spares.
'Fuckin' A.'
The tangible power surge thrilled me, but no flashy milestone meant a sigh escaped. Wanting more here was just greed.
'Main event's elsewhere.'
Pumping myself up, I pulled an item from inventory. On the table: two metal rings. Personal rewards for conquering floor 10.
The tower bases rewards on climber actions. Mine? Tanking and ripping monsters apart. I picked up the gleaming silver rings—they rolled easily. Size-wise, perfect for index and middle fingers?
'Ooh... badass.'
The silver bands on my fingers screamed thug vibes. Whatever—I infused mana.
Whirr.
Purple mana flowed from my ringed fingers, forming sharp blades.
'All that neck-ripping paid off?'
Hiding my strength meant targeting vitals, so this weapon dropped. Low mana cost via gear made it viable like hidden blades.
'Perfect for butchering. No more hand-digging corpses.'
If it eased that hassle, solid quality. Usage decided, I grinned. Low floors dropping this? With Leon gone, no eyes on me—I could climb my way and snag epic gear soon enough.
'Heh. Wonder if tower sex drops sex gear?'
Snickering as I finished deferred tasks, fatigue crashed in. Stress overload—irresistible drowsiness hit. I let go of tension and closed my eyes.
'Sleep first.'