Chapter 3
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Undetected
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'Fuck, I'm screwed.'
Status Ailment: [Heat] has been resolved.
After ejaculating with all my might, the status ailment lifted right away, and my reason returned in a flash. Exhaustion hit me all at once.
If even a drop had splattered on a sensory-blocked area, I could've wiped it off discreetly, but of all places, it had to land on her face? Only a few drops, sure, but that milky fluid was clinging to Hiss's cheek. Like it was showing off its stickiness, it refused to drip down and just stuck there, asserting its presence.
'Shit. Still, I gotta wipe it off...'
[Lust Absorption Lv.1]: Effect activated! You have gained a certain amount of experience points. The acquired experience is distributed to the skills you currently possess and to the actions taken during the Lust Absorption act.
You have deceived the senses of an opponent with exceptional sensory acuity. You have acquired the skill [Stealth Lv.1].
[Stealth Lv.1]: Applies stealth correction to all actions.
A message popped up right on cue. While grabbing the clean cloth by the bedside, I glanced at it. The Lust Absorption skill had triggered, granting me experience points, and I'd even picked up a new skill on top of that.
I was thrilled, but cleanup came first. I roughly wiped the spot with the cloth and pulled up my pants as I kept thinking.
From what I could tell, the Lust Absorption skill worked like this: experience points got added to all my existing skills in general, and extra points went to the actions or skills I used during the act itself.
On top of the base Lust Absorption effect, tricking an opponent with "exceptional sensory acuity" must've given bonus skill experience, letting me acquire a skill in just one go. Technically, I'd blocked her senses rather than tricked them... but even using a skill like that seemed to count toward experience gain.
I eyed the system messages sidelong while carefully wiping the semen off with the white cloth. I wanted to cast Sensory Block on her face to numb the sensation, but that might cancel the existing block, letting the curse effects creep back in and wake her up.
"Mm... Ungh..."
The moment the cloth touched her face, the peaceful sleeping expression vanished, her brow furrowing as signs of waking appeared. My heart raced, but I stayed careful not to touch anywhere else while wiping.
"Un...?"
The second I pulled the cloth away, Hiss tried to sit up.
No matter how you sliced it, it looked like I'd stimulated her face and woken her. And I still hadn't cleaned the semen on the floor.
-...Ding
To top it all off, right then—maybe the Priest returning, or another customer—a sound came from the entrance. Shit, no choice but to improvise!
I dropped the cloth on the floor, stepped on it, and smeared the semen around to wipe it up, then kicked the cloth under the bed. As long as it wasn't visible now, I could clean it later under the pretense of tidying up.
I spun around, opened the wooden window I'd closed against drafts, and approached Hiss, who had her eyes slightly open.
"Wake up. The Priest is here."
"Yeah..."
I wasn't sure if it was the Priest coming in, but at this hour, it was more likely him than a new customer. So I'd staged it like I'd deliberately woken her.
"If you're still sleepy, want to wash your face? We've got a magic tool here at the clinic that provides clean water."
Before she could fully wake up, I suggested she wash her face. It might seem odd to push it suddenly, but better than leaving her to notice any lingering semen scent on her skin.
I tried not to show it, but my voice trembled, and my heart pounded.
"No... I'm good."
Defying my suggestion, Hiss yawned softly and stretched. Something small caught my eye at the corner of her mouth.
'Fuck. That's it! My semen!'
I'd thought it was only on her cheek earlier, but a drop had beaded at the corner of her mouth. At first, I mistook it for drool from sleep, but that milky color was unmistakably mine.
As she yawned, her mouth felt dry, so she smacked her lips. In the process, that one drop slid right into her mouth.
You have gained a small amount of experience via the [Lust Absorption Lv.1] effect.
Wait, feeding her semen counts as a sexual act too? I nearly yelped in shock amid all the tension.
"...Sniff sniff. Nyah?"
'...!'
Hiss seemed to sense something off; her expression twisted slightly as she smacked her lips and sniffed. My body froze in tension, but perfectly timed, the Priest entered the treatment room.
"Sorry for the delay. The holy water ran out, of all things..."
"No, it's fine. That happens."
'...Phew.'
Her suspicion lasted only a moment before she started chatting with the entering Priest—about which labyrinth floor she'd caught the curse on, how it was the weakest kind so she came to the clinic instead of the temple... wait, hadn't he gone to fetch holy water without even hearing the full curse details?
Thankfully, no signs she'd noticed anything odd. I was relaxing when the conversation turned to me.
"Um... Ian? Anyway, this guy's skill worked great. I couldn't sleep in the labyrinth because of this constant faint itch, but it felt just like the curse lifting—I passed out without realizing."
"No... My skill is weak; it's only good for kids getting shots or something. Plus, since it's judged as a status ailment, most people resist it."
"Oh... Is that so? My status ailment resistance is pretty low..."
That tracked. Minor curses like this usually only hit weakened bodies or those with innately low resistance—healthy adults resisted them fine. That's why they could be treated at small clinics like this instead of the temple.
But still, blabbing about low resistance to strangers? And passing out the second I said she could sleep? This woman had zero guard up.
"Ian, mind stepping out for a bit?"
"Sure, Priest."
The conversation paused as he asked me to leave for the curse treatment. I stepped out of the treatment room.
'...She won't notice, right?'
The cloth under the bed nagged at me, but pulling it out now would look even weirder, so I left it and hoped the herbal smells would mask any semen scent as I exited.
"I think we'll be seeing a lot more of each other!"
"Huh?"
After the treatment, as Hiss walked out and saw me off from the clinic, she suddenly said that. When she addressed me out of nowhere, I tensed up, thinking she'd caught on to what I'd done.
"I mentioned my low resistance, right? Ends up with me catching minor curses in the labyrinth all the time. Using cure scrolls or going to the temple every time racks up the costs... Heh heh. But an acquaintance told me to try a clinic for minor curses, so here I am."
Yeah, minor curses mostly hit kids or poor folk. Low-level priests at places like this could handle them. Way cheaper than buying pricey cure scrolls or donating to the temple.
"Came today and it was great, so from now on, minor curses get treated here."
"Our Priest can't handle strong curses or diseases, but minor ones are a breeze for him."
"Oh, and could I maybe get your skill sometimes too, Ian? Even after cure, symptoms linger until the mana dissipates."
...She'd come by often and let me skill her up?
"Thank you."
"Huh?"
Ah, that wasn't what I meant to say.
Once it seemed like I hadn't been caught, I returned to my temporary room and let out a sigh of relief. With that relief flooding in, other thoughts bubbled up.
With the Lust Absorption penalty apparently lifted, excitement swelled at the prospect of finally growing after three years of waiting.
I got so hyped I repeated a few motions, hoping for a system window with new skills. Naturally, nothing new appeared.
Thinking about it, that made sense—if repeating actions alone granted skills, everyone would have them.
Sure, repetition built experience toward skills, but it took forever that way. There were shortcuts, though.
'First: A master.'
Training under someone with high skill levels gave bonus experience. That's why labyrinth city had guilds teaching swordsmanship, martial arts, and such.
They charged money, of course, but they taught solid fundamentals beyond just experience, so plenty of adventurers paid up.
'Second: The labyrinth.'
Adventurer lore said labyrinths amplified experience gains, especially deeper in where the mana grew denser.
That's why so many delved deep to level skills. Rumor had it some treasures granted new skills or boosted levels.
'Third: Achievements.'
Pulling off the impossible earned bonus skill experience for the feat. Like how tricking—or rather, blocking—a Catkin's sharp senses while groping her tits got me [Stealth].
I heard one guy who punched a top adventurer for an achievement got beaten down five times (with heals in between) and earned a tanking skill.
'And... [Lust Absorption].'
This was an off-the-books skill. The achievement bonus helped me snag [Stealth], but the Lust Absorption effect played a part too. I'd never heard of skills that granted extra experience like this. Someone might hide it, but it wasn't common knowledge.
Bottom line: grinding solo in my room was inefficient as hell.
After mulling it over, I grabbed my wallet and left the clinic.
'Time to run some tests.'
Why hesitate? Off to the brothel.