Chapter 40: Is It Wrong to Seek an Erotic Situation in a Dungeon? (9)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 40: Is It Wrong to Seek an Erotic Situation in a Dungeon? (9)
The flames, which had surpassed the level of basic magic, slowly began to die down.
Within the fading fire, black mana flowed from the hobgoblin's body, which had been blown apart so badly it was hard to recognize its shape.
I naturally absorbed it and rushed toward the flames.
“Shin Yu-jeong!”
It was clearly my mistake.
Maybe I’d taken magic too lightly, or maybe my magic was just unusual.
The unexpected power had engulfed even her in the blaze.
I’d hastily put up a shield, but with that much force, I couldn't guarantee she was completely unharmed even inside it.
Shin Yu-jeong’s figure, which had been momentarily obscured by the surging flames, was revealed.
Her silver armor was covered in soot here and there, but she didn't seem badly injur—
“Gasp.”
Shit.
Shin Yu-jeong’s hair was a little burnt.
It wasn't completely fried, just the ends, but…
Considering her personality, it was more than enough for her to raise hell.
“Hey, uh… you okay?”
I decided to talk to her first.
If I groveled as much as possible, what could she do?
Shin Yu-jeong, who had been frozen with her shield raised toward the direction of the fire, her eyes wide, seemed to react to my voice. She turned her head with a creak.
“Hey.”
Her voice sounded half-dazed.
“This… you shot this, right?”
“Uh… sorry.”
“Right. There’s no one else who could have….”
What was this?
The atmosphere was strange.
I thought she’d charge at me in a rage… so why were the corners of her mouth turning up?
“Hee, hehe.”
Now she was laughing.
“Yu-jeong, are you alrigh—?”
Just as I took another step closer, wondering what was wrong with her, it happened.
The light rapidly returned to her hazy pupils.
“You bastard!”
With a fierce cry, Shin Yu-jeong reached out, grabbed my head, and pulled me into her embrace.
“Whoa…!”
Before I knew it, my face was pulled toward the two magnificently towering peaks—Shin Yu-jeong’s breasts.
This wasn't exactly a "what a lucky break" kind of situation.
The cold, hard sensation of the breastplate pressed against my face.
The damn steel breastplate was preventing me from docking with her chest.
It seemed Shin Yu-jeong wasn't angry, but absolutely delighted.
“Ehehehe! Good, you did great!”
I could tell by the way she was letting out giddy laughs while stroking my hair wildly.
My attack just now must have been exactly to her liking.
Ah, but why does this feel so good?
I hated the damn breastplate, but I felt like I was about to melt from her touch as she held my head tight and stroked it.
This isn't right….
Just as I was surrendering my body to the pleasant sensation, her hand suddenly stopped.
“Hehehe.”
An ominous laugh.
When I lifted my head slightly, my eyes met Shin Yu-jeong’s as she looked down at me with a sly gaze.
“Hey, you like this?”
“…N-No?”
I don’t? I don’t?
…Dammit.
I should have enjoyed it in moderation, but this body melted on its own.
“Aww, did my little baby like big sis’s embrace? There, there.”
She cooed at me like I was a puppy or a baby, scratching my chin with her finger.
As I was caught in a strange state of feeling both humiliated and pleased, Shin Yu-jeong whispered in my ear.
“Next time, should I do it without the armor? Hmm?”
“…Really?”
“Heh, as if. You moron.”
“Ah.”
A surge of anger shot through me.
How dare she subtly poke a man’s instincts only to back out, saying it was a joke!
“Well, if you keep working hard like you are now… I might?”
“…I’ll work hard.”
Right, let’s work hard.
Pride and breasts.
I chose the latter.
Because a man is a creature who does what his chest tells him to.
“Ahem!”
After our intense reunion, as we separated, I heard someone clearing their throat from behind.
Ah, right. Yoon Ji-an was back there.
When I turned around, Yoon Ji-an approached with an awkward expression.
“…Are you alright?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
I just shot magic from the back, why wouldn't I be okay?
“Ms. Shin Yu-jeong’s armor is scorched, but… she seems to be fine as well.”
“Ah, yes.”
A strange exchange of glances passed between the two of them.
Their eyes seemed to be wary of each other.
I don't think it was this bad at the beginning. When did they get like this?
The staring contest ended anticlimactically when Yoon Ji-an turned her head toward me.
“By the way, that magic just now was….”
She asked cautiously.
“I thought the firepower would be better if I mixed Air Ball and Fire Ball, so I combined them.”
“Ex…cuse me?”
Her mouth fell slightly open in surprise.
“So… you’re saying you combined two spells on the spot and used them?”
“That’s right.”
Adjusting the mana arrangement so the two spells wouldn't mix was a bit of a hassle, but since they were basic spells, the arrangement itself wasn't very dense. It only needed a little tweaking, so it wasn't that difficult.
While she was composing her dumbfounded expression, Shin Yu-jeong placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Hey, shouldn’t we go check the reward now?”
“Ah, the reward.”
She pointed to one of the walls.
A door that hadn't existed a moment ago had appeared there.
After defeating the boss, the final monster of a dungeon, a new room appears in the boss room.
That’s what lies beyond that door.
Hunters call it the Safety Room.
The reward is one thing, but they say the appearance of that room is what makes them truly feel safe.
“Let’s go.”
“Oh…”
Led by Shin Yu-jeong’s hand, I stood before the door leading to the Treasure Room.
Just like when we entered the boss room, I placed my hand on the center of the door. It emitted a faint light and slowly began to open.
It was a small room, about ten feet across.
A simple room, with nothing but a large statue standing against the opposite wall and lights hanging on the walls.
In the center of the room sat a small box, about the size of two palms placed together.
“Go on, open it.”
Shin Yu-jeong pushed my back.
Pushed forward, I ended up near the box, where I crouched down and lifted the lid.
Creeak.
The only thing inside the box, which opened with a stiff groan, was a mana stone the size of a 500-won coin.
Shin Yu-jeong, who had checked the reward over my shoulder, smacked her lips.
“I knew the reward would be bad since it’s such an easy dungeon… but this is worse than I thought.”
Mana stone was the name given to ore that contained mana.
In the early days, it was just a material used by artisans to craft equipment for Hunters.
Then, about ten years ago, I think?
A corporation succeeded in developing a product that ran on the mana contained in these stones.
From then on, mana stones began to be hailed as a new energy source, and now they’ve become one of the most indispensable resources.
After checking the mana stone, Shin Yu-jeong spoke with a bored expression.
“This is… barely E-rank, I guess.”
Mana stones are graded from F-rank to S-rank.
The higher the purity, the clearer and cleaner the blue color. If impurities are mixed in, lowering the purity, the blue becomes murkier, until it’s almost black at F-rank.
The mana stone in the box was a dark, murky blue.
At this rate, just as Shin Yu-jeong said, it was barely scraping by as E-rank.
“Grab the reward and get up. We have to get the other thing too.”
“Alright.”
I took the mana stone from the box, stuffed it in my pocket, and stood up.
There are two types of rewards given in the Treasure Room.
One is the material reward inside the box, and the other is the stat reward.
This stat reward was the main reason I wanted to enter a dungeon.
The reward process begins with the statue erected in the Safety Room.
Shin Yu-jeong went first, standing before the statue and kneeling.
A faint light then poured out from the statue and rained down on her.
About three seconds passed.
Shin Yu-jeong stood up with a look of complete dissatisfaction.
“Agh, damn it. Not a single point.”
The amount of the stat reward is determined by several factors.
The amount of the reward is decided by the dungeon's difficulty and one's contribution to its conquest, and the stat that increases is chosen based on the action most frequently performed within the dungeon.
Not only had Shin Yu-jeong entered a low-difficulty dungeon, but she also hadn't been able to do much because of me, so it seemed her stats hadn't risen by a single point.
In other words, she might as well have been volunteering today.
“Alright, your turn.”
Just like her, I stood before the statue and knelt.
A light, much stronger than the one that had shone on Shin Yu-jeong, began to pour down on me.
[You have successfully conquered the dungeon.]
[A stat reward will be given based on the user's actions.]
[Your Mana stat increases by 2.]
The light gathered in my heart, expanding my core.
The core, now heavier by a value of 2, felt good.
As I straightened my knees and stood up, Shin Yu-jeong clung to me, asking curiously.
“Hey, did you get a lot?”
“Just 2 points in Mana.”
“Well… this place was easy for you too, I guess.”
She was right.
This place was way too boring.
It wasn't the Hunter Association's fault for giving me this dungeon.
It was just that my magic had far surpassed their expectations.
For real beginners, this place wouldn't have been easy to clear.
“Let’s go now. Ms. Ji-an must be waiting.”
I deliberately brought up Yoon Ji-an’s name.
As expected, Shin Yu-jeong retorted, getting worked up.
“Hey, that woman’s job is to wait for us. Her job.”
“Still…”
When I argued back, Shin Yu-jeong’s eyebrows shot up.
She’s mad, she’s mad.
“You, tell me straight.”
“What…?”
“Do you like that woman?”
“N-No?”
When I pretended to be flustered and stuttered a little, she took another step closer and glared at me.
“Then why do you keep subtly taking her side?”
“It’s just, she’s been good to me until now… in many ways.”
“In many ways, what? What did she do for you that makes you defend her so much?”
At this point, I could probably call this jealousy.
The way her eyes glared at me as if to eat me alive was fierce, yet thrilling.
It was as if she was telling me that all her attention was focused solely on me.
I paused for a moment, thinking.
What should I say she did to make her even more worked up?
“Just, this and that…”
Nothing specific came to mind, so I just made a vague comment, leaving room for interpretation. Shin Yu-jeong pouted, crossed her arms, and curled her lip.
“What, did that woman suck your dick or something?”
Wow, I didn't think she’d go that far.
Her words were so direct my own face was burning up.
I was so speechless I couldn't say anything, and Shin Yu-jeong sneered with a tone of conviction.
“She did, she totally did. This bastard… he’s a fucking sly one.”
This was dangerous.
She was on the verge of snapping.
If this kept up, she was going to blow her top before this was over.
“Th-That’s not it. Let’s just go!”
I cut the conversation short and fled the Safety Room.
“Hey, I’m not done talking, where are you…!”
Shin Yu-jeong, who had hurriedly followed me out, grabbed my shoulder hard to turn me around, but then she froze.
“Ah, you’re coming out now. I was getting worried since you were in there for so long.”
Yoon Ji-an, who had been standing far away just a moment ago, was now standing right in front of the Safety Room door.
“Tch.”
Shin Yu-jeong clicked her tongue with an annoyed expression and removed her hand from my shoulder.
Then, as she passed by me, she whispered in my ear.
“You. We’ll talk about this later.”
Yeah, no thanks.
I’m going to keep teasing you.
Shin Yu-jeong, who had been striding ahead, turned around and shouted.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to follow me?!”
“I’m coming…!”
She’s the one who went ahead, so why is she getting mad at me?
Still, I figured I should at least pretend to listen, so I started jogging casually.
[Prove, your worth.]
The unpleasant voice I had momentarily forgotten echoed in my ears once more.
I stopped in my tracks and scanned the wide-open space.
Things I hadn't been able to see until just a moment ago began to come into view.