Chapter 128: Jumping Event
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 128: Jumping Event
Finally, at long last, the time for a level-up had arrived.
I couldn't gain experience points just by exercising, practicing, and repeating techniques every single day. If that were possible, I would have already crushed Im Su-yeon and been proudly enjoying life as number one.
The reason I couldn't beat her was that the bitches around me who claimed to be "teaching" were all utterly incompetent. But as a mere kid with no money, no connections, and nothing big except for my "thing," I didn't have the power to change the people around me.
In other words, for my hopeless future—stuck learning from these incompetents—to shine, I needed to eat some legendary elixir or something to get a proper "pump" and defeat Im Su-yeon.
However...
"...The smell is weird."
"It is good for your body. You will not just be an SSS-Rank Male, but an EX-Rank Male."
Hindel held out the Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Carp Inner Core to me. She said she’d processed it a bit, but the scent was so foul that even I, who could eat stinky tofu while swearing my head off, felt like puking.
"Who told you something like that?"
"Camel did."
"Camel said that!?"
It seemed that perverted cow bitch had finally lost her mind after being trained by me. It was fine that she knew her place now, but to go around saying things like that to others... it felt like her sense of shame had completely evaporated.
"I was curious, so I asked. I heard that they rank males at the Academy."
Come to think of it, I remembered hearing that Her Majesty the Empress was looking for an incredibly handsome and capable male. I had a faint memory of her throwing a fit, saying the Empress’s standards were so high that the grading system had become a mess.
"So Camel judged me as SSS-Rank?"
"Indeed. Well, it is still just an estimate for now."
Fortunately, it didn't seem like Camel had said anything crazy to Mom like, 'Sorry, Ame. I’ve actually become your son’s private milking cow,' or to Hindel like, 'Call me Mama, since I’m Yong-hwan’s pet cow from today on.'
"So, when are you going to eat this?"
"...The smell is too weird! Just give me a moment to prepare myself mentally!"
"It has already been three hours..."
Hindel began to give me the side-eye. I wasn't mentally ready yet, but she was trying to force me to eat something that smelled that bad and looked like a clump of frog eggs. I cursed this gender-reversed world.
"Hindel, am I not precious to you?"
"You are precious, the most... That is why I am giving you the Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Carp Inner Core."
The Commie Dragon replied as if she were truly being wronged. I wanted to keep being difficult and tease her, but I had no other choice.
Alicia, who was waiting nearby with a bored expression, was fiddling with her phone. She had been excited like a dog in heat at first, but after I dragged it out for an hour, she seemed to have lost interest.
"...So, Hindel, what happened in the colony?"
"If I tell you, will you eat it?"
"I'll listen first!"
Hindel let out a short sigh. If she was going to prepare it, she should have refined the elixir so it smelled sweet enough for me to beg for it. Her mistake was focusing only on efficiency and doing a half-assed job on the pill processing.
"There were movements for independence in the direct territory established on the Moon, so I went as the Empress's special envoy to handle it."
"...?"
"Scientifically, it is still a distant prospect, but because we incorporated magitech, the construction costs were lower than expected. The problem was that they expanded the site excessively and took in too many immigrants."
Suddenly, I really didn't want to eat that inner core.
"If I were to execute them or punish them without legal grounds just because they are colonists, it would be a hassle due to legal restrictions. So, I just kidnapped a few people and did some 'persuading.'"
"Did you do something bad again?"
"I spent some quality time with the daughter of the Colonial Migration Chairwoman, who claimed she was acting purely for the sake of humanity living on the Moon."
Hindel looked at me as if she were the victim. From my perspective, it sounded like she had committed a terrible crime, but she seemed to be under the delusion that she’d done a good deed.
"The negotiations were dragging on too much, and since the Empress and the Assembly recognized the special circumstances, I lightly tinkered with her brain to dig for information. It turns out they were taking bribes from independence activists to stir up a bit of trouble."
"...So, did you kill them all?"
"Doing it with magic is illegal and has no legal effect, so I couldn't punish them officially. However, the Governor-General's Office plans to retaliate through active surveillance and social influence, so they might as well be dead."
It definitely sounded like our Commie Dragon had done something wicked.
"You've improved a lot compared to before. A hundred years ago, you would have just killed everyone..."
Alicia de la Vega, the SSS-Rank actor who was still messing with her phone, spoke up as if she were surprised.
"Hasn't the stance changed since Justina ascended the throne?"
"Well, I'm not going to deny that it's effective. The number of independence fighters arrested by the Secret Intelligence Agency and the Secret Police is nothing compared to back then. What I'm saying, Hindel, is that you've softened up."
Alicia finally put down her phone and joined the conversation.
"I was dragged along to assess the situation midway through. I saw your face, looking like you were debating whether to kill them hundreds of times a day. Brat, can you imagine what Hindel's expression was like?"
"Hindel promised to be a good girl, so there's no way!"
I believed in Hindel, who had sobbed and soaked her panties while telling Papa she would be a good girl.
"Listen to this kid. Hey, she's saying stuff like this because you're coddling her too much. Even if Ame and I find it cute, you need to be firm with her."
"I refuse. I will be the one to coddle him, so you be firm, Alicia de la Vega."
Alicia pouted.
"Do you even know how much one hour—no, one minute—of my time is worth? How much longer are we going to waste time here debating whether to feed him the Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Carp or not?"
"You seem to have a lot of complaints, so let's just let Alicia go home."
"I would love to kick her out, but she is necessary. Papa is... ahem, since you are still young, you need the assistance of blood magic."
It seemed I couldn't stall any longer.
"Fine, I'll eat it like a man!"
"...? It might be uncomfortable, but first, you must take off your clothes."
Following Hindel's words, I stripped down completely, even my underwear.
"Hey! A boy shouldn't just strip like that! Ame's education of this kid is..."
The pervert vampire started to say something, perhaps feeling guilty herself, but then she shut her mouth and stared at me.
No, to be precise, she was staring between my legs.
"It... it got even bigger...?"
Alicia spoke in a trembling voice while looking at my "equipment," which wasn't even active yet. Seeing her look so terrified, I couldn't help myself.
"Why... why is it getting bigger...?"
Alicia turned her head away, covering her face with both hands. But she was still peeking at my member through the gaps in her fingers.
"I'm still in my growing phase, so Mom said it's going to get even bigger!"
"Thanks for letting me kno—No! You don't have to tell me that!"
Alicia shrieked. I saw Hindel swallow hard.
"If we feed him the Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Carp Inner Core now, just how much..."
I seriously should have felt a sense of crisis, being defenseless between a pervert vampire and a dragon who both wanted to devour me. But since they were the type of females who would cry 'Hieek! Hieek!' just from getting their butts smacked, I didn't really feel scared.
I finally popped the Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Carp Inner Core, which Hindel had kept in an emerald-encrusted box, into my mouth.
"Ugh...!"
As expected, I didn't think I could do it. My body rejected it, and I gagged, nearly spitting the inner core back out.
Thump.
Suddenly, something lightly tapped my Adam's apple. I felt a sense of déjà vu, but regardless, the inner core slid down my throat.
"Ack...! Cough... Gulp... Ugh... I-I swallowed it..."
"Now, sit cross-legged. We will begin the absorption in earnest. Marika, Aoi, get ready. You too, Alicia."
"Fine, fine..."
Unlike the white-haired tanned delinquent and the grey wolf sister who ran over without a word, Alicia grumbled as they all surrounded me.
The atmosphere felt serious, so I sat cross-legged. I’d eaten the inner core and didn't feel much at first, so I thought it would be fine. But the next moment, sweat began to pour off my body like crazy.
"Huh? Uh?"
"Do not open your mouth. Aoi, if Papa... no, if this child opens his mouth, block it. I trust you know the method."
"Of course I do."
Things seemed to be taking a strange turn. My whole body felt slimy and soaked, which was disgusting.
Then, the kind of vascular pain you feel when blood finally rushes back into a limb that’s been numb for a long time began to spread through my entire body. It felt like it would be better to have an IV drip pushed into my veins at maximum speed than this.
I tried to scream, but Aoi clamped her hand over my mouth.
"The compatibility is the best, after all. It seems the Ice Essence is actually creating a synergistic effect. Chairwoman, I will guide it into the Small Heavenly Circuit now."
"Hey! The blood is moving too fast! Slow down! There's a limit to how much I can slow it with blood magic; his vessels are still weak!"
"Lower the blood flow rate by about 5 bpm. 0.1 every two seconds."
"If you asked anyone else but me to do that, they would have slapped you. If you're going to be like this, call an anesthesiologist!"
"Drugs are too slow to react. Shut up and do as you're told. Didn't I say I would forgive you even if you had an affair with him?"
They were blabbing about something outside, but it didn't reach my ears.
The sensation of my veins tearing became vivid and sharp, but more than that, the heat surging from deep within my stomach made it feel like my internal organs were being cooked. My body began to writhe uncontrollably.
"Why are you the one giving permission for that...? More importantly, isn't the mana flow too fast? He's going to pass out!"
"I am continuously injecting mana into his brain to keep him awake, so he will endure."
"Hey! Don't you know his brain could turn to mush!?"
"It is fine because I am the one doing it."
I wanted to pass out from the sensation of my organs melting and flowing away, but strangely, I couldn't. I screamed at the sharpening pain, but my mouth remained shut.
"The smell of blood...? It seems he is bleeding."
"His vessels are fine! Is it a nosebleed...?"
"It is coming from his throat. Do not make a fuss."
I must have screamed so hard that my throat was bleeding. I was crying out for help, but no one responded.
These crazy bitches had clearly decided that today was the day.