Level Up (3)
Level Up (3)
Silence flowed between the two. The one who broke this silence first was Dojin.
"I'm pretty famous these days, right?"
"Famous......yes."
"You didn't know? I even leveled up recently."
"Ah, yes. That's right. That's how I found out......too."
As soon as Dojin created an opening for her to escape, Charlotte bit the bait like she'd been waiting for it.
Fortunately, she still hadn't realized that Dojin had figured out her identity. It was unavoidable.
For Dojin, who never forgot a woman he'd seen once thanks to his ability, thinking that showing up in armor would conceal her identity was way too much of a leap.
'He leveled up?'
So what she was pondering was the truth of the info Dojin had mentioned. According to the intel she'd gathered, Dojin had arrived in this city two months ago.
No one knew what he'd been up to before that. There were no records of him entering or leaving the city.
If they assumed he'd entered the Dungeon for the first time back then, it was remarkably fast progress.
'Two months......not bad at all.'
It wasn't a record-breaker. The Empire's knights, the Holy Kingdom's inquisitors, Elf rangers, beastkin battle clans—all the monsters who'd undergone every kind of combat training had swept those records.
But compared to an ordinary person with zero training, it was genius-level stuff.
'Regular folks take......an average of two years to level up, right?'
Assuming a farmer from the countryside who came up with nothing but a farming tool, had never swung a weapon at a monster let alone a person, and kept at it steadily without quitting.
It took those people an average of two years to level up.
Compared to them, this was blazing fast. Plus, even knights and rangers had spent years in training before hitting the Dungeon—didn't they take a long time too?
'His body looks like it's been honed over a seriously long period.'
Charlotte evaluated him by looking at his body, just like Dojin had done to her. A physique forged by long training.
Well-developed arms and legs like someone who wielded a sword like her. Even through his clothes, she could tell Dojin was an outstanding swordsman.
'I'd love to cross swords with him.'
If he was truly the being from the oracle, she couldn't commit such rudeness. Charlotte had to confirm he was the oracle's chosen without being impolite.
How?
"Um......I have a question."
Men go crazy for everything about a woman, by nature. From head to toe, even the invisible scents and vibes. Especially if she's a beauty like her.
As Charlotte leaned forward, emphasizing her chest and closing in on him, Dojin pulled back slightly in surprise.
But she could easily tell it wasn't because he disliked it—it was just shock and fluster.
'In the end, this guy too.......'
He falls for lust, she thought with relief. If he was some transcendent being with no desires, he'd be a real pain to deal with.
"Where are you from, Dojin-ssi?"
"......Where from? A rural village outside the city."
"From which country?"
"From the east. A distant land whose name isn't even known."
"Hmm, is that so?"
Pushing further might seem too suspicious, so she stopped questioning and offered her glass.
Yeah, getting full on the first drink would be greedy. She clinked glasses with Dojin and kept extracting info.
To gain certainty that he was the oracle's chosen......
Before she knew it, the drinks kept flowing. She downed them until she blacked out.
Part of it was exceeding her limit, but her cleric lifestyle of avoiding alcohol played a role too.
Her body, unprepared for booze after so long, surged with intoxication in an instant.
"......Hey?"
Dojin shook the shoulder of the passed-out woman. Blacking out from this much? She was the type who shouldn't drink with men.
Collapsed, she was using her own breasts as a pillow to sleep. He could feel the lecherous stares from around them.
Sensing those gazes, Dojin sighed and hoisted her onto his back. Staying here would obviously draw guys looking to take advantage of her.
He pulled a key from her pocket, unlocked her room door, and went in. He tossed her onto the bed—which was a bit smaller than his own room's—and slowly turned to leave.
'......No.'
Dojin slowly turned back to look at her. She occasionally let out soft groans and furrowed her brow, but she was definitely asleep.
Her chest rose and fell in steady rhythm—newgrgrk—dead giveaway.
'Should I......touch her now?'
He had no clue why she'd come looking for him or what her goal was.
In that situation, his cheat ability to read inner thoughts would be insanely useful.
The downside was he had to touch her vagina......
'Works even over clothes. Just gotta make contact.'
She was drunk with her legs slightly spread, so it wouldn't be hard.
Decision made, he had to act fast. Dojin unhesitatingly placed his hand over her vagina.
For a moment, her breathing stopped. Panicking that she might wake, Dojin yanked his hand away and retreated.
[Charlotte Valoa]
─ＺZz.......
The ability activated. Confirming that, Dojin left the room before she could wake.
"Now."
At my words, Eunha steps forward. She shoots out in an instant, takes stance, and throws a punch.
"Chwek, kuruk!"
The Orc hit by the straight punch screamed and gasped for air—huk.
A solid hit to the vitals—no Orc could breathe through that.
The moment the Orc froze, she lightly bounced up and whipped her leg up for a high kick to the head.
A kick that normally wouldn't reach landed true thanks to her jump. Sure, it was tough putting weight into a mid-air strike, but her leveled-up body made it possible.
The Orc, struck in the solar plexus and jaw—two vitals—collapsed. Its thick neck muscles couldn't withstand Eunha's kick.
Eunha, having downed the Orc, looked at me with sparkling eyes. I nodded and praised her.
"Good job."
"......Yeah."
Eunha didn't show her joy, slowly stepping on the Orc's neck to snap its cervical vertebrae. Moments later, the Orc's corpse vanished, leaving a single Magic Stone behind.
She deftly pocketed the Magic Stone in her bag and headed to Seoyun, who was waiting for us.
Seoyun had been spacing out staring into empty air, but she glared at us approaching.
"Done?"
"Yeah."
"Do we have to do that? It's taking forever and annoying......."
"It's necessary."
We grew through leveling up. Leveling up didn't just boost physical abilities—it enhanced our unique cheat abilities too.
And the one with the biggest change was Eunha.
"...I want to be helpful too."
"You're already plenty helpful."
"Yeah, well, I'm useless. I can't do anything...."
Eunha's ability was Pain Immunity, so I had her play the striker role—going all-in on one big hit using that.
Even that was worthless after one use since her arm would break until she got healed......
'Not anymore.'
Through leveling up, Eunha gained physical prowess surpassing modern Olympic athletes, plus she awakened Pain Reflection.
Just as the name said, this ability's true value was unconditionally reflecting half the pain she received back onto the enemy.
But Eunha doesn't suffer from pain thanks to Pain Immunity. Meaning the enemy takes it all one-sidedly.
'She reflects the pain of getting hit, and the damage from striking back too. Total bullshit cheat.......'
Pain hugely impacts fights. Inflicting it one-sidedly without feeling any is a massive advantage.
On top of that, leveling up revealed Eunha had outstanding talent. Before, her weak body couldn't keep up with her thoughts, but now her body moves as she thinks—late-blooming talent.
"Or wanna train too?"
"......Why would I?"
"You can't one-trick that ability forever, right? Might as well start now......."
"No thanks. Too annoying. And you're misunderstanding something—I can just hunt monsters my ability can handle."
"......Why?"
"I'm the one who wants to ask—why get so strong?"
"What for? To clear the Dungeon, obviously......."
"That's what I'm saying—what happens if you clear the Dungeon? We get to go home?"
"Deokgu says."
"That's just Deokgu's delusion."
Hearing that, I felt my words catch in my throat. Yeah, she had a point—no guarantee clearing the Dungeon sends us back to Earth.
It wasn't even from Deokgu's ability—just baseless speculation from his knowledge.
"My life's not that bad right now...but once I have enough money, I can fix that here too."
"......So you're saying you'll quit entering the Dungeon once you hit your limit, Seoyun?"
"I won't quit. I'll just stick to that floor."
Hearing Seoyun's plan, I felt my heart chill. Like my mind was getting washed clean.
Well, she was the smart one, so I couldn't deny her thinking was more rational.
But the fact that she—who I'd thought would stick with us forever—had such thoughts.
The fact that even with mind-reading, I hadn't grasped her heart. That disappointed me.
"Yeah...you're right. Risking our lives on unconfirmed info is pretty stupid."
"Then you guys too......."
"But me and Eunha are going all the way."
"......What?"
No one knows what's at the Dungeon's end.
Could be One Piece hidden by the Pirate King.
Or Dragon Balls to summon Shenron.
Or maybe nothing at all.
But one thing's certain: if you don't challenge it, nothing happens.
That much was sure.
"Right, Eunha?"
Eunha trembled slightly at my words, glancing nervously between me and Seoyun. But she was the type who'd even self-harm in training just to be helpful.
So she wouldn't give up on conquering the Dungeon if it could help us all.
"Um, I mean...like......."
After agonizing forever, Eunha finally nodded. Seoyun saw it and tuned out like it was our business.
That said, she couldn't avoid getting wrung out by Seoyun that night for daring to talk back.