The Summoned One’s Adaptation and the Priest (5)
The Summoned One’s Adaptation and the Priest (5)
#
"Will you be having breakfast?"
"Yes..."
Yoo-jin answered weakly. Over the past forty hours, he had eaten only a few crackers. Worse, during the night he had even pumped one out to clear the Heat State. Clutching his empty stomach while jerking off had not been pleasant. Damn Sex Warrior. Damn Heat.
By then, filling his stomach mattered more than whether the bald man lusted after him.
"Here we are."
The bald man quickly brought out fried eggs and bacon, onions pickled in vinegar, slightly hard bread, and beer.
"You look unwell. The beer's on the house."
"...Thank you."
Yoo-jin sipped the beer and revised his opinion of the man.
Looks like I may have misunderstood him a bit.
No one had broken into his room during the night, the lodging was cheap, and the innkeeper had even given him free beer. The bald man seemed fairly decent, if a little creepy.
When Yoo-jin thought about it, he’d frightened himself by jumping to conclusions. He’d panicked because Holy Buff worked on men, but it was his own fault for leaving the skill enabled. It was passive, but it could be toggled off.
Thinking that, Yoo-jin wolfed down the food.
The food was excellent. This world's cuisine was surprisingly decent—or perhaps I only thought so because I was starving.
'Either way, it doesn't matter.'
He still had plenty to do. He would meet Reni, travel to a village a day's journey away, and begin exploiting his knowledge under the guise of exploration.
After eating, Yoo-jin returned to his room and checked the equipment he’d bought the day before.
A canteen, blanket, bandages, recovery potions, dried rations, firewood, matches, and more. He hadn't learned any everyday magic yet, so he needed quite a lot.
Being Awakened didn't restrict someone to skills matching their class. A warrior could learn basic magic, and a wizard could learn basic swordsmanship, although the efficiency was poor.
Even so, compared with an ordinary native, it was practically a cheat. A native had to increase their mana sensitivity, memorize complicated incantations, and put in all sorts of effort to learn one spell. An Awakened merely earned points and used skills as though playing a game.
That was why the authorities managed them so thoroughly while calling them Heroes.
Even without accounting for their specialized classes, an Awakened could generally contribute at least as much as a competent adventurer.
Yoo-jin’s class might have been the bizarre Sex Warrior (性戰士), but as long as he could use the Awakened system, surviving in this world shouldn’t be too difficult.
With that thought, Yoo-jin finished checking his gear.
He didn't need armor or a weapon yet. He would acquire them naturally while exploring, and a rare weapon was hidden at his first destination.
"Alright, shall we get going?"
Yoo-jin stored all his equipment in the inventory and left the inn.
# # #
Yoo-jin’s plan was simple.
The Heroes would go east, so he would go west.
The city he was in was Guardian's Fort. The capital and royal castle lay to the east, while a colossal mountain range blocked the continent to the west.
In the middle of that range stood a massive dungeon and the city surrounding it: West Keep, supposedly named because it held the dungeon at bay.
While the Heroes trained in the east and skirmished with the demonkin, he would head west and reap the benefits.
Using West Keep as his base, he would circle the mountain range and claim every rare item and treasure he could find. Eventually, he would settle there for good.
That was where all his encounters with the heroines would happen.
"Heh heh."
He was genuinely looking forward to it. Of course, he had plenty to do first.
Several villages lay along the road to West Keep. The first was Riverbridge, near an abandoned dungeon and church. Clearing the dungeon on the way should provide basic weapons and armor.
He had asked Reni to party with him until West Keep, in exchange for a share of whatever they earned on the journey. Not that he had the slightest intention of sending her back.
Kate had objected furiously. She insisted that they return after clearing the nearest dungeon at Riverbridge.
"You mean to enter a dungeon? Reni is still a trainee priest, and while you say you are an Awakened, you have yet to experience an actual monster even once. From what I've heard, in the world of the summoned people there is little in the way of threat."
In short, she wanted me to return unharmed from real combat and prove I was qualified. Fine. If that was what it took to have Reni join me, it was hardly a burden.
To be honest, he liked Kate too. The original novel had never mentioned her. Who knew a beauty like that had been hidden here?
Yoo-jin walked toward the Church with a foolish grin and found Kate and Reni already waiting outside. He composed his expression; all those lewd thoughts had probably made him look ridiculous.
"Sorry, am I a little late?"
"No. We only just finished preparing."
"I see. But..."
'Why did she have so much stuff?'
When Yoo-jin looked her up and down, Reni fidgeted awkwardly.
Reni was not only burdened with bags but bundled in layer upon layer of clothing. The stiff shape of her priest's robe suggested some kind of armor beneath it.
"...What's all this baggage for?"
Reni's face turned tomato-red, and Kate opened her mouth in her place.
"We only packed the absolute necessities."
"Necessities?"
"You will be gone for several days, so she obviously needs changes of clothes, not to mention towels. Reni gets cold easily, so she needs a blanket. What if you have to camp outdoors? She cannot sleep with a different pillow either; she has used that one for years. And as I told you, her divine power is weak. If she is injured, her healing will not be enough, so she needs medicinal herbs, Divine Potions, and Recovery Potions. And then..."
"..."
That was not the end. Kate listed every item as though all of it were essential: scriptures, holy artifacts, a teapot, a frying pan, flour, salt... Was she moving into the dungeon?
He stared at Kate in disbelief, but her expression said she wouldn't yield an inch. What the hell? We'd be back in less than a week, and I'd told her we were heading somewhere inhabited.
"...Let's go somewhere out of sight first."
With a sigh, Yoo-jin moved to a secluded corner and stored all of Reni’s luggage in his inventory. When it vanished at his touch without a dimensional pouch, Reni gazed at Yoo-jin with something close to awe. Yes, this was the thrill of having a game system. Yoo-jin couldn’t resist a small shrug.
"Take off the armor too—" "Absolutely not."
Kate glared, and Reni looked embarrassed. Kate had a cold, prickly face, but the personality of a total mama bear. Could Reni still be a trainee priest because Kate was so overprotective?
"I-I'm fine, so please..."
...Fine. Have it your way. I'd be the one taking it off you anyway.
…
On the way to the city gate, Reni finally spoke after Kate was out of sight.
"I’m sorry. Priest Kate is just so..."
Kate had said this was the first time she had personally sent someone into a dungeon, so she'd been terribly worried.
Normally, only fully ordained priests entered dungeons. First, a trainee had to graduate and be assigned to a city temple or village church. Only then could they join dungeon parties or perform religious and public-service work.
So that was why Kate had packed so much. She'd looked ready to follow us herself if she could. That would have been a problem, because from this point on...
"Ah, um... the party..."
Right. The party!
"That's right. Shall we form a party?"
"You can speak casually. You are older than I am..."
"S-sure."
Natives also had the concept of a party, created through a simple form of magic. Party members shared experience and location. Natives apparently sensed their growth and one another's positions through a vague intuition. The party dissolved if they moved too far apart.
Awakened didn't need to rely on such vague sensations. They could see exact numbers in a Status Window, and party members appeared on a minimap.
[Name: Reni Liberit]
[Class: Trainee Priest]
[Stats: Click to open ▶]
[Skills: Click to open ▶]
[Traits: ??? / ??? / ??? / ???]
Hm. They were hidden, as expected. The Traits would become visible as the relationship developed or I came to understand the other person better. But I already knew Reni's traits from the novel...
"Oh, and, um..."
"Hm?"
Reni tugged at Yoo-jin’s elbow while he was lost in thought.
"Th-that, abil-ability amplification you mentioned... could I receive it now?"
Reni looked genuinely desperate. No wonder. While discussing the party yesterday, she and Kate had admitted that they did not know whether she would be useful. Her divine power was exceptionally weak, and she still had not advanced beyond trainee priest.
Well, it wasn't a problem for me. I had a buff skill, and I wasn't taking Reni along for her abilities in the first place.
"Mm. You can just call it a buff."
"Yes, buff..."
"It would be difficult here... We should go somewhere private first."
"Huh?"
I looked around, then lowered my voice. This was a secret between the two of us...
"I told you that my ability activates on contact, right? I still haven't been able to figure out exactly what the conditions are. So I need to try a few different things."
"Yes? Yes..."
Innocent Reni believed every word and followed me into an empty alley. It was time to test that skill...
[Skill: Touch of Pleasure]
[Type: Active / Consumes 1~20 Vital Essence per hour]
[Effect: Bestows sexual pleasure upon the target.]
[Details: Click to open ▶]
'Heh heh heh.'
I wore the most serious expression I could manage while laughing wickedly inside. No need to rush. I would begin with the lowest intensity and proceed slowly...
# # #
"First, give me your hand."
"Here..."
I held Reni's hand and waited, but this much contact was not enough to activate anything. Just as I had expected.
"Nngh."
I deliberately let out a groan to heighten the sense of crisis.
"Is it not working?"
As I groaned, Reni's face crumpled. Her drooping brows made her look so pitiful that I nearly softened. Only for a moment, though. I still had to do what I had to do.
"No, stay still a moment."
I held Reni's right hand in my left, turned her palm upward, and gently stroked it with my right hand.
"Ah..."
Reni's fingers curled in slightly, as if ticklish, but she didn't try to pull away. She wanted the buff, after all.
I felt a little guilty about exploiting her vulnerability, but excitement won out. Besides, I wasn't doing anything terribly wrong. Today, I intended to limit myself to very light physical contact.
Reni's wrist was so slender it looked as if it would snap with just a little force. Blue veins stood out against the snow-white skin, and when I pressed my index finger to her wrist, her pulse sped up a little as if she were a bit aroused.
"Ahh..."
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
Her pulse quickened as I kept my finger there. Then I traced the lines across her palm, tickling her. Her hand tensed beneath the blatantly suggestive movement.
"Ugh..."
Reni bit her lip as though holding back a moan. I activated Touch of Pleasure on my index finger, set it to the minimum intensity, and lightly scratched the horizontal crease across her palm.
"Hahht?! Ahhh..."
Reni flinched the moment my finger touched her, but with her right hand still held in my left, she tried to endure it.
When I looked up, her flushed face was full of confusion. She clearly had no idea what was happening. To think she would react so innocently and adorably from nothing more than having her hand touched...
Keeping the skill active, I continued moving my finger, slowly rubbing back and forth along the lines of her palm,
"Nnht... hng..."
then played with each of her fingers in turn, tracing every ridge of her fingerprints.
"Ahh... nghaa..."
Reni's fingers were soft and cool. A pleasant shiver traveled up my hand.
"Hahh..."
Reni's eyes were filled with confusion. Her free left hand wandered in the air while I tickled her fingers, and finally she used it to clamp over her own mouth.
"Mmph... hng..."
At last, moisture gathered at the corners of Reni's eyes and her hips began to twist. It was time to stop. If I went any further, she would become suspicious.
But before that, one last bit.
I set Touch of Pleasure to mid-level and pressed firmly into Reni's palm.
"Mmph?!"
Reni's pupils widened and she bent sharply at the waist. Damn, had that been too much? That was close.
[Holy Buff]
[Target: Reni Liberit]
[Buff Grade: D]
[Details: Click to open ▶]
[Until Buff Ends: 15:59:40]
It worked.
[Beginning settlement...]
Skip that.
"It's done."
The moment she heard those words, Reni yanked her hand away.
"Hah... hah..."
Her eyes were filled with doubt. That pricked my conscience a little. But I had to be shameless for now. I ignored the dull ache in my lower half and asked with a serious expression.
"It really is difficult. How is it? Check for yourself."
"Hoo... hoo..."
Reni took a step back from me, closed her eyes, and concentrated. Before long,
"Huh? Ah?"
Her eyes flew open with a small cry.
"It worked! It worked!"
With her flush still lingering, Reni beamed brightly and clung to me.
Wow, she was so pretty.