Chapter 6
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Path to the Labyrinth
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During that time! Damn it...
Ugh, I'm totally drained.
Honestly, at first, I just planned to end it at enjoying the feel of the massage. But after seeing Hiss's privates all wet, my mind went blank for a moment.
After living three years with zero sexual involvement, all that pent-up lust built up, and once the reins slipped even a little, I feel like I can't hold back anymore. And it's not just because of that, either.
I used the massage as an excuse to grope her privates, secretly blocked her sense of smell, mixed my semen into the oil and rubbed it on her legs, and even slipped a bit into her tea for her to drink.
Thinking about it again, I must've lost my mind.
Using [Sensory Block] to touch her was already something I'd done before, but layering on [Sensory Release]—hell, even [Sensory Amplification]—that was way over the line. I only meant to enjoy the texture, but thanks to [Sensory Release], she got hit with a wave of sensations all at once and seemed to have a mild orgasm.
No matter how careful I was otherwise, this is a world where skills exist. Naturally, she'd suspect me right there next to her in that situation.
And feeding her my semen? Originally, I planned to block her taste and do it, but I figured smell has a bigger impact on flavor anyway, so I blocked her smell instead. Bonus: it hid the scent of the semen I'd rubbed on her body.
To be precise, I tried blocking smell specifically to keep her from detecting the semen on her skin. Up until then, attempts to block specific senses like 'smell' had failed outright, but this time the skill activated successfully. In that instant, desire overwhelmed me, and I immediately scooped a bit into the cup beside me and made her drink it.
By some miracle, Hiss didn't seem to suspect me at all, but who knows. She might go home, think it over alone, and start piecing it together.
But...
Honestly, I thought it was worth it.
Am I total trash? Maybe this is just my true nature? Or did something break when I got [Lust Absorption]? Am I under some heat status ailment right now?
It's definitely a crime, and my conscience should be stinging, but instead, there's this bizarre sense of liberation and intense pleasure.
Her confused expression as she couldn't understand what happened to her, the sudden orgasm with no warning signs bursting forth from a moment of pleasure, and her unwittingly swallowing my semen while it was smeared on her body...
[Lust Absorption lv.1] effect: Gained considerable experience.
And the payoff was sweet. Worlds apart from using it at the brothel. Just twenty minutes or so, but the experience efficiency was on another level. What's the difference? The pleasure I felt? Using [Sensory Block]? Hiss being stronger than a prostitute?
I might figure it out if I try it again next time... No, I'm already thinking I'll naturally do it again.
Yeah, I'm definitely not in a normal state right now.
I take a moment to cool my head and calm my excitement. What's done is done, time to face the consequences of my actions.
[Lust Absorption lv.1] effect: Gained experience.
[Sensory Block] skill level has risen to 3.
[Sensory Release] skill level has risen to 2.
[Sensory Amplification] skill level has risen to 2.
[Stealth] skill level has risen to 2.
First up, the messages show my skills leveling up. Overall power increases across the board. I wasn't even thinking about it, but [Stealth] probably quietly helped keep my actions hidden. I'd forgotten it had passive effects.
The downside: [Lust Absorption] itself didn't level up. Maybe level ups require way more experience than expected, or the bonus EXP from it doesn't feed back into the skill.
From the system log, it looks like [Sensory Block] hit level 3 when I used [Sensory Release] earlier. Blocking 'smell' afterward became possible because it leveled up. Lucky break.
I wondered if there'd be any derived skills, and sure enough, something new popped up—not quite a derivative, though.
[Stealth] skill and [Sensory Block] skill resonate. Acquired [Stealth Block] skill.
[Stealth Block]: Makes it harder for [Sensory Block] targets to notice their senses are blocked. Effect scales with [Stealth] skill.
What a weird skill to get. My two skills resonated to create a new one? And no separate level—scales with [Stealth].
Hiss didn't seem to notice anything off even after I blocked her smell, probably thanks to this. Great skill. The more skills, the better.
And the strangest one of all.
Acquired [Massage] skill due to exceptional massage technique.
Hands that deliver pure pleasure without pain! Achievement reward: Acquired superior skill [Heavenly Touch lv.1].
'What the hell is this?'
Last time, tricking Hiss's senses got me [Stealth], and now 'reaching a new realm with my hands' nets me this impressive-sounding skill. Is achievement rewards supposed to work like this? Like before, it seems to ignore how I exploited [Sensory Block].
Is getting achievements like this common? Doesn't seem like it. Anyway, check the skill info first. Might not be that great.
[Heavenly Touch lv.1]: Superior skill to [Massage]. Correction to all hand-based actions. Adds healing and buff effects to massage actions.
*[Massage lv.M] skill effects applied by default
*[Lust Absorption] bonus effect: Slight increase in sexual arousal for opposite sex during massage.
How does a massage skill evolve into this?! Not content with buffs and healing on massages, it buffs all hand actions, and throws in a non-existent [Massage] at master level to boot. Even minor skills at master level are incredibly rare—this one's effects are straight-up broken.
Tiny [Lust Absorption] bonus tucked in there, but the skill's so overwhelming it feels like a side perk. Hands down the best skill I have.
No matter how I slice it, this achievement reward feels miscalculated. Just blocking senses and massaging to get something this OP makes my three years of effort feel pointless.
It required [Sensory Block] leveling up first, though... Am I being too greedy?
After checking the new skills and poking around with my remaining mana... I made one decision.
I'm going into the Labyrinth.
Heading into the Labyrinth means different things to different people.
Some go for treasure and coin, others for fame. Warriors seek strength, mages probe its mysteries for arcane truths.
I've heard some isekai folk like me believe one of the countless secrets in the Labyrinth holds a way back home, so they head there too.
Whether anyone's succeeded, who knows. Adventurers who venture deep and never return—some speculate they made it home, others say they just died.
My take? They're all dead. If anyone returned to Earth, it'd be big news.
And me? I've dreamed of exploring the Labyrinth too.
Reasons are mixed. After three years, the itch to explore this world's wonders hasn't faded. A faint hope of finding a way home. Rebound from three years of stagnation fueling my ambition, greed for wealth...
While working at the clinic, I'd planned for it under the 'what if my skills grow' premise.
Sure, some variables have changed since then, but the key is my stalled growth has broken free, and the Labyrinth will accelerate it further.
Plus, I need to figure out this dubious [Lust Absorption] skill.
That's the big one. Thinking back to today, getting swept up in lust like that—no way that's normal. [Lust Absorption] is the prime suspect, but I can't exactly spill the beans to anyone. Gotta investigate myself.
Of course, I'm not charging in half-cocked like when I first arrived—grabbing gear and soloing the Labyrinth blind.
...Still legendary how I thought that was a good idea. No party, no skill checks, just dive in?
My plan: Take the beginner adventurer training from the Labyrinth Guild. It's pricey, but it covers basics theory and pairs you with guild adventurers for a trial party run.
A bit expensive, but as a beginner policy, part can be offset by low-level requests. Guild-affiliated adventurers train under seniors, so it's mostly for independents like me.
Even with requests, it's still 50 silver left over. My monthly pay's five silver... Feels steep, but compared to nearly dying clueless on my first try, it's cheap for the lifesaving.
First thing first... Tell Priest Jeffrey I'm quitting.
"Go ahead."
"...?"
I psyched myself up big time to tell Priest Jeffrey, but he let me go cooler than expected. Not that I hoped he'd beg me to stay, but I figured at least some regret, or 'find a replacement and hand over duties'...
"I always knew you'd head to the Labyrinth someday, Ian. Remember the day we met?"
Of course. I'd blundered into the Labyrinth clueless, fled out covered in wounds. Barely knew temples existed, so I staggered into this clinic instead.
Luckily, no Labyrinth mana contamination, so even low-rank Priest Jeffrey managed to patch me up somehow.
And leaning on his kindness, I begged—more like groveled—for a job.
"Adventurers who flee the Labyrinth like that usually fall into two camps: spirits broken, or tempered stronger. You came out mangled but didn't abandon your sword. Then snapped to and asked me for work right away. Folks like that usually return to the depths."
With that, he fetches something from a chest in the corner.
"Isn't this... the sword I left as payment for treatment back then?"
Leather armor shredded, no coin left—my only asset was this sword, which I traded for care. Bought it with most of my isekai settler stipend; quality blade. Blade honed sharp, oiled up—clearly well-maintained.
"Lately, I saw your heart drifting elsewhere and figured it'd soon be time to return this. Had a blacksmith friend tune it up. Take it. Back then, it was too much for my novice healing. I've held it these years—call this interest paid."
He hands it over with its leather scabbard. The feel of it after three years. Gratitude wells deep in my chest.
"If you were a young woman, Priest, I'd propose."
"If I were a young woman, I'd turn your proposal down flat."
And his first joke I've ever heard—cheerful as can be.
The jest sweeps away my rising tears. I sling the sword on my back and bow deeply to Priest Jeffrey. No idea if bowing's a thing here, but the feeling'll get through.
"Owner Jeff... no, Priest Jeffrey! All this time! I've been in your debt something fierce!"
"I hear isekai folk say that to their benefactors. An isekai tradition?"
Ah, cringe. Just got my emotions in check...
Who started it?
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