Priest's Delusion and the Carriage (2)
Priest's Delusion and the Carriage (2)
#
"S-so, y-you have to—you have to keep using the b-buff, the buff on m-me and p-practice!"
"Wh-what did you say?"
"R-right now! This instant!"
Reni squeezed her eyes shut and cried out. The intensity in her tone made it sound like nothing in the world could be more important.
Yoo-jin froze at the unexpected turn. W-what was I supposed to do? This was the first time a woman had asked me to do something to her. Yoo-jin was still terrible at improvising when women were involved.
So his wariness kicked in first.
Wait! Could this be Gongmyeong's trap? Had that author-dog (作狗) laid some kind of snare without my knowledge? The system definitely had a tendency to fuck with me.
First, I had to stay calm. I needed to look at this situation objectively!
"Suddenly, why?"
"Ah, aah, ah...."
Reni flailed her hands in a panic, apparently never expecting me to question her. She was more desperate than I was.
"Calm, calm down!"
"Hah! Y-Yes. Yes...."
Reni knelt, clasped her hands together, and cast her eyes down.
'From this moment onward, I was going to calm down.'
Every single one of Reni's actions broadcast her intentions like this. She was easy to read and cute for it.
"Hoo... hoo..."
A moment later, her breathing steadied and her wavering gaze settled. Now she should be able to speak properly.
"So why, all of a sudden?"
"Urk..."
Reni's eyes darted around before she spoke.
"We don't even know what your mission is, Y-Yoo-jin. If you practice only once every few hours... who knows when you'll get used to it..."
No... of course I didn't know. There was no mission. And I already knew how to use the buff...
So the lie I scattered was coming back to me like this...! Still, this was really...
'Lucky me.'
I’d been satisfied with negotiating it down to once every four hours, yet now she was asking me to do it herself. I could hardly argue with good fortune. While Yoo-jin celebrated inwardly, Reni continued speaking through her trembling.
"We never know when something might happen... if you don't awaken your abilities quickly...."
'Manifest'? Where had she learned a word like that? Ah, from yesterday's conversation with Kate.
Reni had a tendency to copy the words I used. Her actions, too.
Reni stammered on.
"A-And, o-our faith has this teaching. That a special ability has a destiny prepared to match it... y-you must not neglect your preparations...."
Hm... 'A special ability has a destiny prepared to match it'... I felt like I'd seen that phrase somewhere... but I had the nagging feeling I was missing something.
"Yoo-jin...?"
When I stayed silent without a word, Reni leaned her head forward.
'Was it not allowed?'
Damn. Don't ask me with those sorrowful eyes! And don't look up at me like a baby bird! It's bad for my heart!
"A-Alright, alright. Just wait a second. It isn't something that happens instantly."
"Ah... yes!"
While Reni waited obediently, Yoo-jin searched his hazy memories of the novel. Would it be safe to do that kind of thing on this road? Was there any danger?
The route right now was between Guardian's Fort and Riverbridge. When did this section show up again... right, it was much later.
The novel had never been precise about time, so I couldn't be certain, but the protagonist's party would pass through Guardian's Fort on the way to Riverbridge roughly a year later.
After the clashes with the demonkin had settled and the party was being honored at the royal castle, an urgent report would arrive from the west: simultaneous dungeon rampages and monster outbreaks in the western mountains, villages destroyed and cities damaged.
It would not happen without warning. Predators such as wolves and bears would stray from their territories into villages and main roads, and magic stones would begin appearing inside wild animals.
Because of that, people traveling the western mountains ended up organizing caravans to minimize casualties.
But for now, the city gate hadn't felt especially dangerous. Only two freight wagons were traveling the road to Riverbridge, and public order still seemed stable.
Alright. Then I could safely assume there was no problem for now.
...
...No. There was. There was a problem.
There was the coachman. What if he overheard?
The freight wagon's cargo bed was enclosed by cloth, but sound could escape. I didn't want anyone else to hear even Reni's moans. Reni would be mine alone.
But how? There was nothing I could do with my sex skills....
No, it was in the system. It had unlocked not long ago. At times like this, it really had to be—
'The Point Shop!'
# # #
[Point Shop Ver. 1.5]
[Combat Skills: Click to open ▶]
[Magic Skills: Click to open ▶]
[Specialized Skills: Click to open ▶]
[Dimensional Shop: Click to open ▶]
[Skill Proposals: Click to open ▶] NEW!
[Golden Roulette: Click to open ▶]
[Other: Click to open ▶]
'There's a lot of stuff. And Skill Proposals? What's that now?'
The Dimensional Shop was a system for buying items from Earth, and the Golden Roulette was a kind of gacha you spun with special tickets.
What stood out most was the sparkling “Skill Proposals” option marked NEW. I didn't remember it from the original novel. Come to think of it, the version number seemed to have increased too...
Well, I'd leave that aside for now. What mattered now wasn't a new system.
Awakened could purchase skills from the shop. That was how a warrior could learn magic and a wizard could learn swordsmanship.
Points? Warriors and wizards earned them by fighting. Alchemists and blacksmiths earned them by making things. And me? I earned them by having sex.
Of course, skills bought from the shop weren't very efficient. But that rule only really applied to intermediate-ranked skills and above; the basic ones were all about the same.
And even a basic skill had limitless utility. For example, something like what I was about to buy now.
[Skill: Stealth Series - Silence]
[Type: Active / Consumes 1–5 Mana per hour]
[Effect: Blocks sound within a radius of 1–5 m centered on the caster.]
It was normally used by thieves to sneak into places or set ambushes. Here, however, I could use it as a soundproof barrier.
The price, let's see... 50 points. I had 90 points total right now. Checking the logs, I'd gotten 20 points each from Kate and the baldy, and 50 points just earlier from applying the buff to Reni.
[Would you like to purchase?]
[▶Yes / No]
Good. Purchase complete. I activated it right away.
Now, no matter how many moans Reni let out here, no one was going to hear. Reni's voice was mine alone now.
"Heh heh heh...."
"Yoo-jin?"
"Ah, no. It's nothing."
Urk. I almost drooled there.
"Can you wait just a little longer? I need to configure... no, I need to check a few things."
"Ah, yes... Ah!"
Reni gave a vague reply while staring openly at my hand, so I pulled it in and gave her my left one. As if she'd been waiting, Reni toyed with my hand, observing it... Wait. Had she just sniffed it? How embarrassing. Why was she doing that...?
Tch. Anyway. Next were the sex skills. The skill I'd use this time...
[Skill: Sensitivity Enhancement]
[Type: Active / 1~20 Vital Essence per hour]
[Effect: Temporarily enhances the target's sensitivity.]
Sensitivity Enhancement was a time-honored classic. I didn't intend to set it too high. We were outdoors, and excessive sensitivity would interfere with the fun; hearing every irrelevant noise would ruin the mood. Next...
[Skill: Body Temperature Increase]
[Type: Active / 1~5 Vital Essence per hour]
[Effect: Temporarily increases the user's body temperature.]
The author must have read a great deal of Hitomi to create a skill like this. 'Guh! Cock! Your cock is too hoooot!' That was probably the intended use. I did plan to try it that way eventually, but for now I'd apply it to my fingers and mouth instead...
When I'd touched her hand earlier, Reni's skin had been a little cool. If I used Body Temperature Increase and Sensitivity Enhancement together, Reni was bound to show me some fun reactions.
'Heh heh.'
Good, Reni. You wanted me to practice the buff? You had walked into the trap yourself. It was too late to blame me now. Laughing inwardly like a third-rate villain, I pulled her toward me.
# # #
"Whaaat?! You're not doing it with your haaand?!"
"Yeah."
I looked directly into Reni's eyes while speaking, my teeth clenched tight. If I relaxed for even a moment, a shameless laugh might escape.
"Yesterday, Kate touched my, um... my ch-chest. With you, I tried your hand. And the durations were different, remember?"
"Yes...."
Then in a voice of the utmost sincerity.
"It seems the buff applies differently depending on the point of contact. To get an accurate picture, I need to investigate where the optimal location is."
Reni, I needed to investigate your body!
"N-no way..."
Her face was flustered, her lips kept parting and closing, and her eyes shook wildly. Reni had no idea what to do.
"Aah.. ah... what do I do...."
"If you don't want to, we'll stop...."
"N-no, that is not it!"
Reni squeezed her eyes shut, then turned her back toward me and sat down.