Chapter 78
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: Erdas Party (1)
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After enjoying Joan's climactic show, I approached once her moans had died down a bit and checked on her.
"...Ah... Aah..."
Her tongue lolling out, she only let out moans now and then, her body twitching intermittently as she squirted nonstop. No matter how I looked at her, she seemed utterly broken. I poked her body lightly.
"Hey."
"Hngh... Hngaa..."
No response. Does combining Sensory Amplification with Sensory Release do this? Tsk. I can't test it multiple times on her, so I have no idea if it's her mental strength or just how intense it is.
As I prodded her body with my finger to check her status, the system message I'd been waiting for finally appeared.
Gained experience from the effect of Lust Absorption Lv.3.
The levels of Sensory Release, Sensory Amplification, Lewd Gaze, Concealment, and Stealth have risen to 4.
The levels of Taunt, Mana Detection, and Lust Purification have risen to 2.
"...Insane."
I'd only activated Lust Absorption once, and a bunch of skills leveled up across the board. Strangely, I barely got any experience from women working at pleasure houses, but with Hiss, Lena, Miranda, and others, I racked up a ton.
So I figured maybe stronger targets give more experience, and testing it on an Intermediate Adventurer like Joan netted a huge amount, so the hypothesis seems solid. Not 100% confirmed, though...
Whatever. I can't be sure. Sleeping with an Advanced Adventurer would probably tell me, but that's just a thought.
"Heh... Hehe..."
"Anyway, gotta do what I gotta do."
I drew my sword and approached Joan. Right up to the end, she couldn't escape the waves of pleasure crashing over her, and she met her end at my hands.
I'd never planned to let her live.
"...So you killed the entire party?"
"I told you. The other party members tried to kill me."
"Haa..."
I grabbed their adventurer badges and returned to the Labyrinth Guild to explain. The receptionist, now pretty familiar with my face, clutched her head like she was exhausted. This was different from the bandit fight last time. I'd wiped out a party of seasoned adventurers.
She gave me a suspicious look, like she was questioning if it was really a raid.
"........."
"........."
What?
"...Anyway, you're prohibited from entering the Labyrinth or leaving the city until the investigation's done... You already know."
Damn. These guys are a pain right up to the end.
"Oh, and Ian."
"Yeah?"
"Try not to cause any more trouble..."
"........."
I'm the victim here, damn it? From the guild's perspective, maybe I look more suspicious. A party active on the 12th floor for years invites me and gets wiped out right away...
But hey, I really am the victim.
...I didn't push it, though. The look in her eyes screamed overtime, so I quietly left.
Ugh, all because of those 'Black Swamp' bastards or whatever.
"It failed."
"Yeah?"
Harden read the report from his subordinate, lost in thought.
A guy who just barely passed his promotion exam withstood a pincer attack from three Intermediate Adventurers and turned the tables, killing them all...
"Ha, what a riot. Is this guy some otherworlder or what?"
"Doesn't seem like it. He has a record of working at the clinic for three years."
"Clinic? Not like a sword guild or something?"
"Yes."
"Ha, ridiculous."
It sounded absurd, but Harden, who'd been around the Labyrinth City for ages, just shrugged it off. Crazy stuff happened all the time here.
"Should we invest more, boss?"
"Tch... Tricky. To take him down, we'd need someone past the 20th floor at least, or a bigger group."
Was Ian worth it? Debatable.
It wasn't just about manpower costs. Risking the Labyrinth Guild's attention by deploying high-floor adventurers or a large group would draw too much heat.
Push through the risk? Might not even gain much.
"Ugh... No info on exactly what he got from the ruins?"
"Yeah... Nothing about sales or new gear afterward."
We were just assuming he got something because he was the 'first discoverer.' Moving more manpower on a hunch was too risky, especially since Ian's actual strength was unknown.
"But is it okay to mess with him? I looked into it—the 'Iron Blood' adventurer he's buddy-buddy with ain't normal."
"True. Plenty of clans got wiped for poking her back in the day."
"Yeah... So we cool messing with someone connected to her?"
"It's fine. She's basically retired, right? Rumors say her body's wrecked too."
Dismissing his subordinate's worry, Harden oozed confidence.
"Who do you think I am? Lost my adventurer license midway, but I reached the 28th floor back in my prime. If not for that, I'd be Advanced Adventurer easy. No need to sweat one retired Advanced."
"I see..."
Harden brimmed with bravado, unaware his active days barely missed overlapping with Alensia's and the Erdas Party's era...
'Whatever, she's basically retired. No reason to fear some woman like that. Her party all left the city too.'
Alensia was deep in thought. Summoned by the Labyrinth Guild again, she'd learned Ian was tangled in yet another incident.
As his guarantor, she got called every time trouble brewed—which worried her, but also left her exasperated. How did a guy adventuring just over two months get into so much mess?
Of course, Ian was the victim. She shouldn't blame him; she needed to protect him. Still, a corner of her heart ached bitterly.
'If only my body were fine...'
Thanks to Ian's treatments, she was improving rapidly now. At this rate, full recovery in under a year.
But if she'd been at peak condition post-treatment? Back as 'Iron Blood,' no one would've dared touch someone under her protection.
Deep down, she wanted to storm the eastern district and smash the 'Black Swamp' clan linked to this. The guild dragged its feet on eastern matters due to vested interests.
But she couldn't handle them now. Still, she couldn't abandon Ian, her precious connection. So she chose her surest option to protect him.
"...Everyone, could you do me one favor?"
[Huh? Sia! What's this about?]
[If big sis Sia asks, we'd do anything!]
She called on her old bonds from the past.
The Erdas Party: an all-female four-person party once among the Labyrinth City's elite contenders a decade ago.
They reached the 35th floor. Though disbanded suddenly, many believed they'd break the 40th-floor wall if they'd stuck together.
Warrior, 'Iron Blood' Alensia.
Priestess, 'Tranquility' Gloria.
Mage, 'Witch of Bombardment' Bella.
Rogue, 'Brat' Daphne.
But after disbanding ten years ago, they'd retired from adventuring and lived separate lives.
"Sia sis~!"
A petite half-elf woman barreled into the mansion and flung herself into Alensia's arms. Alensia, wearing an unusually soft expression that would've shocked her acquaintances, returned the hug.
"Daphne. Been well?"
"Hi, Sia~!"
A long-black-haired witch followed her inside.
"Been a while, Bella."
"Tell me about it! You never invite us first, so what's up this time? Where's Gloria?"
"Called her. She'll be here soon."
While Ian was at the guild for questioning, the old Erdas Party reunited in the mansion's drawing room.
"Sis, what's the favor? Why call the whole party?"
"Did you find an Elixir? Where?"
Alensia warmly watched her chattering comrades, waiting until Gloria arrived before speaking gravely.
"Before my request... You remember my injury, right?"
"Of course! We were still looking for treatments recently!"
"I asked other witches—no dice. Unless it's the Archwitch..."
"Yeah, that injury... It might be curable."
"".............""
Her words landed. The two who'd been babbling blinked at each other, then at Gloria, doubting their ears.
-Nod.
Gloria's confirmation lit up their faces with cheers.
"Yeehaw! Sis! For real? You can heal now!"
"Oh my, what miracle cured it? Divine blessing? Or Gloria leveled up?"
"No, a certain adventurer brought the possibility. He was a Beginner Adventurer then..."
Gloria nodded along as Alensia explained, skipping embarrassing bits and Ian's personal info: a special skill from one adventurer improved her condition.
"Great! So we're reforming the party?"
"Not yet. Treatment takes time. But I expect full recovery within a year."
"After ten years, what's one more? Hell, just healing is a miracle!"
Alensia patted the still-excited Daphne's head, then got to the point.
"But... There's a clan in the eastern district targeting the adventurer who can treat me."
"What?"
"Pardon?"
Killing intent filled the room as the two turned icy. Alensia nodded.
Her reliable comrades, as expected.