Chapter 239: The Tutorial Floor (11)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 239: The Tutorial Floor (11)
Lucifer was straddling me as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
It was absurd, but not particularly surprising.
...A lover's nighttime visit?
I swallowed a laugh.
My attempt to sit up was thwarted by a hand pressing down on my chest.
I looked at the angel, who seemed to have many complaints.
“Is this because I patted Serin's head earlier?”
At my words, Lucifer's face scrunched up.
What's that saying? Spend three years at a village school and even a dog can recite a poem? I had a pretty good idea of what she was thinking.
It was the reaction of someone who'd been called out but didn't want to admit it.
I reached out and massaged the space between her eyebrows.
“You'll get wrinkles if you keep doing that.”
“...You don't need to worry about it.”
“There you go again.”
Before Lucifer could react, I pushed myself up.
Thud.
Our positions were reversed in an instant, but she didn't resist. She simply stared at me quietly.
“So, what brings you here?”
It seemed she had another purpose beyond being upset about me patting someone's head.
Her lips parted as if she were contemplating something, and after a moment, she spoke with a determined expression.
“Kiss me.”
For a second, I thought I'd misheard.
The completely random demand left me speechless.
“...You don't want to?”
“That's not it.”
I didn't know why she was suddenly acting like this, but a request like this was something I could grant anytime.
In fact, I was about to ask for the same thing.
As our lips met like they had last night, I felt a hot piece of flesh beyond the soft texture.
I never thought she'd be the one to use her tongue first.
I responded to her aggressive move by stroking her thigh.
The kiss continued until the heat from her caressed cheek was hot enough to burn my hand.
Our lips parted, and a single, thin thread of saliva stretched between us before snapping.
We stared at each other, breathing heavily.
Lucifer was the first to speak.
“...How was dinner?”
Her eyes were glazed over, dazed.
She looked like someone high on drugs.
“Want me to mix in a few lies?”
“No, be objective.”
“It was terrible. Forgetting for a moment that you can't tell sugar from salt, you burned everything, whether it was the meat or the omelet.”
To be fair, it looked fine on the outside. The problem was that the inside was burnt. On top of that, the combination of sweet and bitter flavors drove my tongue crazy.
“I thought it turned out pretty well...”
Despite my harsh critique, Lucifer didn't get angry.
Instead, she reached out and caressed my face apologetically. I knew this was the most sincere apology her prideful self could offer.
“To make an excuse, I can't taste anything. The one who made me probably thought such a function was unnecessary. It might have been better if I had more experience cooking.”
I couldn't say anything as she spoke so matter-of-factly.
I just listened.
“But there is one exception.”
A smile spread across Lucifer's lips. Blooming on her flushed face, combined with her dazed eyes, the smile was so seductive it was hard to look away.
While I was distracted by her smile, Lucifer wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed her lips against mine again.
“Jjo-op, jjob... Chuuup...♡”
Just yesterday, her tongue had been stiff and awkward, but now she was skilled enough to lead the kiss.
I supported her back and quietly went along with it.
After nearly ten minutes of her craving my saliva, she finally seemed satisfied and pulled away with a pleased, smiling expression in her eyes.
“I can't taste sweetness, sourness, bitterness, or saltiness. There's only one thing I can taste. What do you think it is?”
Her sweet, coquettish voice tickled my ear.
Her completely disheveled appearance made my lower body throb.
“Your saliva.”
Just as I thought.
[Third Step Towards an Alpha Male]
[Grade: Epic]
- Your bodily fluids become sweet.
- Your bodily fluids will contain a faint aphrodisiac component.
- Your bodily fluids will emit a pheromone that charms the opposite sex.
It was the answer I expected, so I wasn't surprised. This wasn't the first time I'd seen this kind of reaction.
She was sucking on my tongue so eagerly just now. Was it because it felt like eating dessert?
Being treated like a dessert felt strange.
But considering she was someone who had never tasted anything in her life and was now experiencing sweetness for the first time, her reaction was understandable.
Even I would have a hard time keeping my composure.
“...Want me to make a sauce with my spit?”
The thought alone was horrifying, but if it was what my woman wanted, I was willing to do that much for her.
Lucifer shook her head.
“Is there really a need for that?”
With a meaningful smile, Lucifer suddenly grabbed me by the collar and pressed her lips to mine once more.
After another long while, I was finally released. She licked her lips and gave me a bewitching smile.
“I can just take some out and eat it whenever I need to.”
Thud.
In that moment, with a strange, fluid movement, our positions were reversed again. Pinned beneath Lucifer, my lips were stolen before I could even resist.
They say a late-blooming thief loses track of the night.
True to that saying, Lucifer, completely captivated by the first sweetness she'd ever tasted, spent the entire night tangling her tongue with mine. My mouth went dry and my lips became swollen and puffy.
As dawn approached, I was finally freed when Lucifer fell asleep first.
I pulled her into my arms and tried to sleep as well. If I had my way, I would have pounced on her right then and there, but looking at her peacefully sleeping face, I had no choice but to hold back.
Another day passed as my eyelids grew heavy.
For the record, I later heard that taste-testing was Serin's job. I thought she was just a delicately raised young lady, but it seems she was just an ordinary lover of strange food.
The absurdity of it made me let out a hollow laugh.
*
Early the next morning, we resumed our dungeon exploration and found the third gate before noon.
The gate was located beyond a massive, circular arena.
As we stepped into the arena, a rather strong-looking mummy appeared as if it had been waiting for us.
The creature swung a giant halberd around, as if to show off. The aura it gave off was formidable.
CRASH!
Dust kicked up from the spot where the tip of its halberd struck the ground.
It was certainly a performance that would work well against a novice.
「The third trial begins.」
「One representative must defeat the Desert Great Warrior.」
Still, compared to the Sphinx, it was pathetically weak.
I didn't step forward for this gate.
Lucifer drew the sword from her hip and walked ahead.
She dodged the fierce barrage of attacks with fluid movements, then, seizing a momentary opening, she sliced off the creature's neck.
The fight was over in exactly 28 exchanges.
Serin watched her, amazed. But I knew she could have ended the fight in under two exchanges.
She was probably conscious of the Constellations watching.
T-ring—
「You have cleared the third trial.」
「3,000 WP has been awarded.」
What appeared before us after we passed the third gate was a large statue with the head of a falcon.
The statue held something like a staff in one hand and an ankh, a type of cross, in the other.
T-ring—
「You have completed all trials.」
「You have cleared the special zone, 'Forgotten Temple of the Falcon.'」
「Dungeon Contribution Score Ranking
1. Kang Hyun-woo
2. Lucy
3. Lee Serin」
It's already over?
For something I'd heard was a hidden dungeon, it was a rather anticlimactic ending.
Then again, considering the level of the other player candidates, the difficulty was indeed high.
Even if they somehow managed to pass the second trial, they would still have to defeat the Desert Great Warrior one-on-one.
「'Lucy' has forfeited her reward.」
「'Lee Serin' has forfeited her reward.」
「10,000 WP has been awarded.」
「You have acquired the exclusive skill, Incomplete Moon's Eye (B-).」
At that moment, I felt an unknown power seep into my left eye.
Pain flared, and my vision spun dizzily. I staggered for a moment.
“Hyun-woo!”
Serin, who was standing next to me, helped me stay upright.
Leaning on her, I checked the screen.
「Incomplete Moon's Eye」
[Classification: Exclusive Skill]
[Rank: B-]
[A fragment of Horus's left eye, shattered by an enraged Set.]
[It holds the wisdom to see through targets and the sacred power of the moon.]
The pain in my eye subsided.
A strange heat and a sense of foreignness remained, but that was all.
“Hyun-woo, are you okay...?”
The moment I slowly opened my eyes and looked at Serin.
T-ring—
「'Incomplete Moon's Eye' has been activated.」
「Name: Lee Serin
Age: 25
Contracted Constellation: -
Affiliation: -
Authority: -
Exclusive Trait: Heavenly Tone (-)
Exclusive Skills: Composition (C), Harmony of Life (D+), Echo of Purification (D), Echo of Confusion (D), Mental Resistance (E)
Traits: -
Skills: -」
Her status window appeared before my eyes.
It had activated on its own, but thanks to that, I now knew the skill's effect.
A skill that lets me peek at an opponent's status window.
I was glad I'd entered the dungeon.
Of course, seeing as the information for 'Heavenly Tone,' which was a higher grade than the skill itself, wasn't displayed, it didn't seem to be all-powerful.
But even considering that, it was still a great skill.
The problem of it activating on its own would likely be resolved as my proficiency with it grew.
“Thanks, Serin.”
If the two of them hadn't forfeited their rewards and pooled their contribution scores for me, the skill's rank would have been at least two levels lower.
Serin shook her head.
“You don't have to thank me. If it weren't for you, I would have died that day. If you need anything, just tell me anytime. I'd give you anything.”
Seeing her flushed cheeks and the slight curve of her lips, my hand moved unconsciously.
Even as I stroked her hair, Serin didn't pull away. Instead, she stepped even closer.
“Even if it's my first time...”
Just as she was about to say something else.
“I forfeited my reward, too.”
Lucifer cut in.
She stood with her arms crossed and a pout on her face, a look that suited her quite well.
“I already paid you, didn't I?”
“Paid me?”
I moved closer to her, who looked completely clueless, and whispered in her ear.
“Last night... Mmph.”
Before I could finish, Lucifer frantically covered my mouth. She was clearly flustered.
The murderous intent reflected in her eyes and her beet-red face spoke volumes about her emotions.
A laugh escaped me, and I earned a punch for it.
And with that, we headed for the surface, following the stairs behind the statue.
*
Considering how long it took to enter the dungeon, we should have had to climb for at least a few hours.
But it wasn't long before a familiar ray of light appeared beyond the stairs.
Reaching the surface in just 30 minutes was undoubtedly good news, but if it came with a troublesome situation, it would be nothing more than a drop in the bucket.
“Did people just pop out of the tree?!”
“I-It's not a monster, is it?”
“Get the leader, now!”
“The leader went out with the combat squad this morning!”
What appeared before us on the surface was a crowd of at least several dozen people.
Ignoring the clearly panicked people, I looked around. I saw familiar faces here and there. I could guess what was going on.
It must be a base camp made by the surviving player candidates.
I didn't know if it was intentional or just bad luck, but it seemed the dungeon's exit was a tree trunk right in the middle of their base camp.
More people survived than I thought.
Of the 100 player candidates, there looked to be at least 40 people here.
Honestly, I was a little surprised.
It was the third day. The daytime was one thing, but at night, hordes of ferocious monsters roamed about.
There were even monsters that launched mental attacks, so it wasn't an environment you could survive just by having a few people who knew how to fight.
The fact that the base camp, which didn't even have proper outer walls, was still standing meant one of two things.
Either there was an overwhelmingly powerful individual within the camp.
Or an outstanding leader was commanding the entire camp brilliantly.
Just then, I sensed a large number of people approaching.
“The combat squad is back!”