Chapter 175
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 175
Chapter Title: Miracle of Breast Milk
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"What the hell is this..."
I'd scored a nice little item and come back feeling great, only for a pair of voluptuous breasts to suddenly press against me.
Normally, when chests collide like that in a tight hug, your ribs should ache from the impact, but Gyeo Yeonsu's breasts were just as soft and plush as Han Semi's, making it feel pretty damn good.
It was like an endless depth of fatty goodness softly squishing against my chest.
The fragrant shampoo scent mixed with her body odor was pretty tantalizing too.
The problem was why this woman was doing this.
I'd clearly told Hong Si-jun, and he said he'd explained it properly to Gyeo Yeonsu.
If he'd explained it right, she shouldn't be clinging to me like this, right?
My gaze turned to the three culprits avoiding my eyes.
"Kang Jik, thanks to your semen... I awakened my stats."
"...Pardon?"
My mind went blank at the sudden bombshell word.
Why would that come up out of nowhere?
To get to the bottom of this, I first pried Gyeo Yeonsu off me.
I sat her down and waited until she calmed a bit.
Then, with the culprits, I investigated what had happened.
"What the hell went down, exactly?"
"Well... Kang Jik."
Lee Sua took the lead and explained what happened while I was out.
"You left us four bottles of milk, right? We were sipping one each when Yeonsu unnie showed up... We couldn't just hog it all selfishly..."
"...So you tricked her by saying it was semen?"
"No, we didn't say it was semen... We said it was milk. Right, girls?"
"Yeah."
"Right... We didn't even know what it was..."
"That's true."
It was in baby bottles from the start, so assuming it was milk made sense.
I hadn't told them what it was anyway.
But why did Gyeo Yeonsu think it was semen?
"...I thought it was just milk too, but then my stats shot up... So I figured it had to be your power, Kang Jik. And to get pregnant, you need semen, so that's what I assumed."
In the tense grilling atmosphere, Gyeo Yeonsu stepped forward with an apologetic look and explained to me.
"Ah."
Hearing that put me a little at ease.
"So that's it? You didn't drink it wanting to get pregnant or anything, right?"
"Yes. If it was that, I wouldn't have... It's a relief, sort of..."
"Pardon?"
"Nothing. Anyway, so I'm not... pregnant, right?"
"Yeah. It's not semen. Just think of it as... milk? Special milk? But how did it boost you all at once?"
Now I was the one baffled.
Im Hyeji too.
This 'very low probability' thing felt off somehow.
Especially since going from S-rank to SS-rank was even rarer.
"...So you've reached SS-rank magic power?"
"Yes. It was my dream. Sure, abilities matter, but for summoners, magic rank determines the limits of what our summons can do, so stats are everything. It's all thanks to you, Kang Jik. I'll spend my life repaying this favor. Call me anytime you need anything. I'll come with my husband, ten times or a hundred—whatever you want."
"No... Skip words like 'service.' Si-jun hyung would kill me."
"...Pfft... You're really something."
"..."
Not 'something'—I still couldn't forget the look in Hong Si-jun's eyes when she asked if it was okay to impregnate his wife.
It felt like my head could've been split in half right there.
"I'll head out now. Got some stuff I want to try with my summons."
"Sure, take care. And... please put in a good word with Si-jun hyung... If it sounds weird, I might actually die."
"Don't worry. Nothing happened, after all. My husband's tough on the outside, but he's warm-hearted."
Well... it worked out, I guess.
As Gyeo Yeonsu hugged me tightly one last time and left.
Silence hung over the barracks.
"I-I've got something to take care of..."
Lee Sua tried to slip away first like nothing happened, but I grabbed her.
Im Hyeji threw herself in the corner of the mattress, covering up and pretending to sleep.
Kang Hana boldly confronted me.
"Sua unnie gave it to her. I was against it."
"Hana, how could you betray our friendship like that..."
"Unnie, we almost caused a huge mess. We couldn't give Yeonsu unnie any more hope. What if she snuck over to Oppa behind her husband's back asking to get pregnant? You'd have done it happily, right? Forget the family tree—we might've had Hong Si-jun chopping up our baby daddy."
"..."
"..."
Looked like we had a unanimous culprit.
I picked up Lee Sua and laid her on the mattress, then sank into thought.
"Kang Jik, I'm ready. Punish me."
"...What are you talking about? Who knew mana breast milk would cause this butterfly effect? It's wild that it works on others too. But... it turned out great. Good job."
My biggest worry had been whether Gyeo Yeonsu could accept it and move on.
I'd never had depression, so I couldn't empathize, but I knew it was serious.
If reverse scaling and missing SS-rank Resurrection had driven her to depression, could she just accept failure and overcome it?
The best awakening she could get without pregnancy—especially since stats often didn't rise even after pregnancy—made this ideal for her.
"It's a relief, and all, but from now on, that couple's getting milked for all they're worth."
You could call it Gyeo Yeonsu's luck.
Or Lee Sua's potential boost going to her instead.
Her vow to repay the lifelong favor wasn't just polite talk anymore—I'd earned the right to demand compensation openly.
"Perfect."
From Hong Si-jun hunting me down days after entering the dungeon, to him avoiding me, and now me strutting to him to brag.
What a rollercoaster.
"Gonna squeeze at least one SS-rank out of this."
Good thing I wasn't on bad terms with an SSS-rank hunter, just holding a 'debt' over him.
In summary:
To awaken further, she needed to get knocked up by me... (omitted)... but Gyeo Yeonsu awakened anyway.
That about covered it.
"But... Hong Si-jun won't take it the wrong way, right?"
A twinge of unease lingered, but I trusted Gyeo Yeonsu to explain properly.
"Kiyaoooo—!!!!"
The SSS-rank summon, Steel Gargoyle, roared as it soared through the sky.
The massive shadow it cast dove toward its target at incredible speed.
This was the thrill.
It was S-rank, so it couldn't perfectly replicate Resurrection's performance.
But summoner power drew over 70% from summon skill grade and magic rank, so it was close enough.
Boom-kaboom!!
The Steel Gargoyle's skill slammed into the clustered monster pack.
A massive rock spike erupted from the ground, shattering their formation and dealing heavy damage to everything in range.
It felt like a small hill had burst up.
"Whoa..."
A chill ran down my spine.
It hadn't tapped the Steel Gargoyle's full SSS-rank potential yet.
That needed SSS-rank magic.
But even with SS-rank magic, it was unleashing over 90% of its power—overwhelming force.
"This is it..."
Gyeo Yeonsu covered her mouth, speechless in awe for a while.
Such a powerful beast.
Wrong owner, and it never shone...
Bang!!
Moments later, the rock spike exploded with the gargoyle's roar, sweeping up impaled monsters and those fleeing nearby.
Devastating destructive power.
"Wow... Every time I see them, Yeonsu-ssi, your summons seem stronger?"
"I got blessed too. By Kang Jik."
"R-really?"
Gyeo Yeonsu shyly confessed to Han Semi, who'd permitted this test.
Han Semi had recently gained an SSS-rank skill tied to Kang Jik, so she could talk freely.
They'd agreed to just porter in an S-rank dungeon, so no killing monsters without permission—easier to chat openly.
"But Yeonsu-ssi, when did you and your husband...?"
Han Semi asked, baffled at Gyeo Yeonsu's casual confession to an innocent remark, worried about misunderstanding.
"Ah! No, not that. I drank something like milk from a baby bottle, and my magic stats rose. I thought it was semen, but he said no. Don't know what it was—Kang Jik didn't say—but I'm grateful."
"Ah... From a baby bottle..."
"Do you know what it was, Semi-ssi?"
"W-well... Hohoho. Anyway, congrats!! Jik was worried about your troubles too. Glad it worked out."
"Yes. Soon as we leave the dungeon, I'll buy magic stones to repay him."
"He loves those. Jik does. Oh! Did you tell Si-jun-ssi?"
"Not yet, but I should... Honey!"
Right on cue, Hong Si-jun arrived from barracks chores, sorting his messy feelings.
Gyeo Yeonsu proudly showed off her empowered summons.
"What happened...?"
Hong Si-jun asked in a trembling voice.
Gyeo Yeonsu beamed innocently.
"Kang Jik boosted my stats!"
Perfectly concise and accurate summary.
"Wait! You can't just say it like that!!"
Han Semi watching from the side shouted.