Chapter 54
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: The Fox's Heat (3)
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After coming to my senses, an immense hunger washed over me. I roughly dismissed the system message floating in front of my eyes and hurriedly pulled food from my inventory, wolfing it down.
Seeing how my wounds had healed considerably overnight, it seemed the [Regeneration] skill had done its job admirably. It also felt like the [Regeneration] skill required a substantial amount of calories.
Lena, who had patiently waited while I ate, finally greeted me properly once my meal was winding down.
"Thank you. I survived thanks to you."
Her tone was astonishingly gentle. It was hard to believe this was the same prickly Lena from yesterday. Even someone who saved your life doesn't deserve your irritation, right? If she'd kept snapping at me after I risked everything to save her, I might've just left her behind.
Next, we discussed our next moves.
"Going up now would be too dangerous. Neither of us is in good shape yet. You're recovering amazingly fast for some reason... but the problem is me. My external wounds have healed quickly, but I need a bit more recovery time before I can properly circulate mana again."
"What if we just head back like this?"
"As much as it pains my pride to say it, I'm dead weight right now. I think it's better to recover here and then go up rather than pushing ourselves to the surface. From how I feel, I should be able to use mana again in about two days."
Two days, huh... I gauged the amount of food I had. Thanks to my inventory, supplies were plentiful. The monsters outside didn't seem to detect us in this room, as the undead wandering nearby weren't entering.
In the end, we decided to hole up here for recovery. First, I inspected the room interior for any risks.
"........."
What immediately caught my eye was Hiro's corpse. I wouldn't have survived if I hadn't killed him, but something was off about his state. Was it that torn page I picked up? The intense voice that had echoed in my head at that moment—had it bewitched me?
Thinking that way made me feel a bit sorry for him. I took his adventurer's license and placed the cross I'd picked up from the upper ruins on his body instead. Neither of us were Christian, but from his speech patterns, Hiro seemed like he was from Earth. I figured this suited his corpse better.
I closed Hiro's eyes and stood up.
It left a bitter taste in my mouth, worse than my first kill. And in the heat of survival, a fundamental question resurfaced—one I'd long forgotten.
Why were we dropped into this other world?
I'd heard that discovering ruins in a labyrinth was a once-in-a-lifetime jackpot. But after our party entered these ruins, we hadn't secured much. Just a few records and old artifacts that seemed academically valuable.
Luckily, this room we were in turned out to be the real deal. Searching it revealed several relics near the altar. I pocketed a few that looked valuable and smashed the creepy altar. Just in case, I recorded its appearance.
I worried about curses, but Lena said leaving it was riskier. Recalling that unidentified voice in my head, I took the lead and destroyed it. Thankfully, nothing happened to me afterward, but to be safe, I splashed some holy water on myself.
Lena was meditating in one corner of the room. It wasn't a broken mana circuit—just a tangle from overexertion—so she needed to introspect and regulate the flow herself.
"Could you teach me how to do that too?"
"Mana? But you don't have any mana..."
"I can use it now."
[Mana Manipulation Lv.1]
Allows you to handle mana.
Yesterday, the moment I ended Hiro's life. I'd managed to control the mana flowing through my body, at least partially. Thanks to that, I even gained the skill. Since we'd be stuck here for a few days anyway, I wanted to learn mana control from the mage, Lena.
"...I get what you're thinking, but asking a mage for instruction is quite a demanding request, you know?"
"Oh, is that a thing? Never mind then..."
"...Sit down. Let me take a look."
Her attitude really had softened, huh?
Lena gave me a quick glare, sighed, then placed her hand on my back as I began meditating and corrected my mana flow. She also taught me what I could do with Level 1 [Mana Manipulation].
"Right now, you can only concentrate mana in one part of your body to reinforce it. If you have skills that consume mana, you might be able to increase or decrease the amount used. A skill's power scales with mana consumption."
I'd already experienced body reinforcement. The power I'd felt yesterday piercing Hiro's barrier—that was probably instinctive reinforcement. And changing skill mana costs...
I thanked her for the lesson and introspected once more. The skill I cast was naturally [Sensory Block]. On top of that, I amplified my mana sensation with [Sensory Amplification] for the first time in a while.
Then, I tried consciously expending more mana than usual through force of will.
'...Did it work?'
Feeling the mana drain inside me, it seemed like more than usual... but I couldn't really sense any power difference yet. This'll need practice.
Lena quietly watched Ian, who had sunk into meditation. She figured he probably didn't remember last night.
She stared blankly at his face, forgetting to even adjust her own mana. His furrowed brow, groaning in frustration as he struggled to control it just like he wanted.
She gazed vacantly at this serious expression she'd never seen before—not like his usual training face.
They were alone in this situation, and she was powerless without her mana. Yet Ian wasn't expressing any lust; he was focused on his training. No, wasn't she the one who'd used this situation to satisfy her own desires?
That thought brought back memories of last night. Those thick, masculine hands... veins bulging on them, and the liberation and pleasure when they scraped her ticklish inner walls... The bizarre thrill of secretly toying with a sleeping man's body...
'...Ngh♥...No way, not again...?'
-Drip♥
Thinking about last night, she jolted at the wet sensation and rising heat below. Hadn't last night's act settled it?
This accursed body ignored its owner's mind, as if one momentary lapse wasn't enough, urging her once more to relive those sensations.
And unlike yesterday when Ian was unconscious, he was right there, awake and meditating.
-Throb♥ Throb♥
'Ngh........'
She desperately tried to suppress the surging lust, but her body whipped her relentlessly, as if nothing mattered more than mating.
And Lena had changed a lot from nearly dying and that one-night lapse.
Her body, terrified near death without fulfillment, had grown more honest. Her boldness from enjoying last night's indulgence had intensified.
-...Squelch... Squelch♥
'I'm crazy. Crazy. Crazy crazy!'
Her finger slyly slipped into her panties. Earlier during the search, she'd discarded her ruined underwear and changed into her spare—the only one she'd brought. It was already soaked from her arousal.
-...Schlop..........Squelch...
She wanted to be quiet, but her drenched folds writhed on their own at the lightest touch, emitting fleshy rubbing sounds. As if announcing to any male nearby that a bitch in heat was present, it grew even wetter.
-Squelch.... Squelch..
Once her finger was in, she couldn't stop. That one lapse had subdued it somewhat, but this unusually prolonged heat insisted a mere man's fingers weren't enough. It revived memories of the man's cock from back then—unknown to her conscious mind—and demanded she feel it again.
'Hah... Hnngh.... Hah...'
Lost in fingering herself mindlessly, Ian—who'd been concentrating—suddenly stirred and opened his eyes.
She yanked her wet finger out in panic, hiding it behind her back and wiping it on her clothes like nothing happened.
"It's tougher than I thought. Have you recovered at all, Lena?"
"Y-Yeah... At this rate, I should be able to use mana the day after tomorrow."
In that final moment, guilt stabbed her—not for adjusting mana, but for masturbating. Just days ago she'd belittled him so much; if he caught her like this, she'd die of shame.
"Time to eat. Luckily, I brought plenty of food."
"Y-Yes..."
Ian eyed Lena oddly as her response lagged, but she played it cool, standing from her spot to start a fire for the meal.
A small puddle of liquid pooled where she'd sat.
-Lena: In Heat. Masturbating.
While I was grunting, testing my [Mana Manipulation] skill, a system message popped up. It was the Level 3 effect of [Lust Absorption], letting me check info on absorption targets.
Even after absorption ended, I could track the target for a while. That's how I knew Lena's heat persisted even after I pulled her off the wall and thrust into her.
This message suddenly appearing told me two things.
First, the [Lust Absorption] activation message from when I woke wasn't a glitch—it targeted Lena.
And second, Lena was masturbating behind me while I meditated!
Honestly, I wanted to see, so I shifted slightly to peek, but she was watching too and hid her hand the instant she noticed.
I pretended not to know, suggested eating, and observed her reactions. Hmm... Lena masturbating... I kinda want to see it...
"Then you take first watch, Lena."
After the meal, we did one more room sweep, then decided to sleep early for quick recovery. Lena insisted on taking first watch, and I didn't object this time.
I lightened my gear, set up sound barriers around us, crawled into the spread tent, and lay down. I closed my eyes but fought the rising drowsiness, breathing evenly to fake sleep. All in anticipation of witnessing something.
For what felt like over an hour lying there with eyes shut and steady breaths, my fatigued body tried to drift off, but I whipped my mind to stay awake.
".........Hah...♥"
'She's here!'
About two hours into faking sleep, the sound I'd waited for finally came. Given her heat was bad enough for her to masturbate while I was awake, I'd bet she'd do it once I "slept"—and sure enough, her aroused moan slipped out faintly.
-Step. Step.
Huh? Did she notice I'm awake? Why's she coming this way...?