Chapter 178
Chapter 178
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 178
Chapter Title: Hassan Learning Aura #4
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Hippolyte's armpit, prodded by my finger, was incredibly soft.
It sank in deeply, as tender flesh should, to a frightening degree.
The Extreme Heaven Acupoint in the armpit could truly endanger her life if struck too hard.
“Agh, ugh, ahh...!”
Perhaps because of that, Hippolyte trembled violently, sprawled at my feet. My strength stat was 12.
A superhuman level.
Pouring all that power into an unguarded vital point was bound to make even Hippolyte writhe in agony.
“Hnngh, ah, wh-why a mere finger...! What, what did you do to me...!?”
Hippolyte, curled up and shivering on the ground, looked up at me with eyes full of fear.
Looking down at Hippolyte, who always overpowered and beat me, felt inexplicably great. Was this the gaze of the strong?
Buoyed by the thrill, I blurted out the first thing that came to mind without thinking.
“Finger poke.”
Yes, finger poke.
This finger jab was a terrifying ultimate technique in itself.
I'd only ever been on the receiving end before; stabbing someone else was a first, and I couldn't help but be shocked by its power.
Vital points weren't called that for nothing.
Honestly, I'd always thought acupoint strikes and such were nonsense. But seeing it now gave it a whole new feel.
“Hyaah, hyaaah...”
Hippolyte, struck by my finger poke, didn't seem to be coming around at all. For a moment, I feared I might have killed her.
Hippolyte was someone deeply connected to me in many ways, wasn't she?
If she ended up paralyzed or dead because of me, I'd be wracked with guilt, unable to hold my head high.
The finger poke was a technique too fearsome for me to handle.
“Um, are you okay?”
“Hah, ugh...!”
Hippolyte just kept lying on the sandy ground, twitching.
My head, once brimming with competitive spirit, was now filled only with bewilderment and no idea what to do.
How do you treat someone hit by an acupoint strike?
Flustered, I finally grabbed her wrist. Checking her pulse seemed like the right move.
Ding-.
『Name: Hippolyte Heavensinger Lv. 44 → 37
Strength: 15 → 13
Agility: 15 → 13
Vitality: 14 → 11
Karma: Unlucky Finances → Utter Disaster → Cursed Romance』
『Status: Curse of Blood → Moonlight Allergy → Mark of Life』
Her pulse results appeared as text before my eyes. Wow, seeing pulse diagnoses as letters is still insanely amazing no matter how many times I witness it.
Of course, that wasn't important now. I needed to scan for anything helpful in this situation.
First thing that caught my eye: her level had dropped. From 44 to 37—a whole 7 levels down.
No wonder her strength, agility, and vitality stats had all declined accordingly.
It wasn't even moonlight time, so why?
Maybe that new "Mark of Life" status?
A sudden mark?
My head filled with question marks at this unfamiliar situation. Removing that mark seemed priority one.
But checking her pulse revealed no obvious blotches or marks on her body.
Looks like I'd have to randomly press spots to find the right one and lift the effect myself.
“Hippolyte, are you okay?”
“Hnngh... my body... no strength...”
With Hippolyte still out of it, I hoisted her up—also to escape the blazing sun—and carried her to the shade of a nearby large tree.
Only after laying her down in the shade could I finally catch my breath and think calmly.
She was groggy from the armpit acupoint strike.
So, gently rubbing the armpit might fix it? Like how nurses rub a sore butt after a shot with cotton.
I decided to try it. First, I lifted her right arm and placed it above her head.
Smooth.
Her sleek, soft-looking armpit was fully exposed, nothing hidden from view.
For a second, I wondered if I should even touch it, but fearing for her life if I delayed, I touched it anyway, consequences be damned.
Squish.
My index and middle fingers felt a softness unlike anything I'd experienced before.
Touching a woman's armpit.
Aside from occasionally groping Luna's under the guise of a massage, this was a first, right?
Stroke, stroke-.
“Ahh, hnngh...”
Hippolyte slowly trembled as I circled my finger around it.
“Wh-where are you touching...!”
“Just bear with it a bit.”
“Y-you're touching my body with your fingers..., ahn...!”
Ticklish? She was wriggling like a puppy, so her nerves seemed fine.
Her armpit was heating up too, so blood flow looked good.
I kept caressing her right armpit.
“Hah, ugh...”
How much time passed like that?
Smooth.
Finally, a change came to the crop top tightly hugging her chest.
It was because a small protrusion—what you'd call a nipple—had stiffened prominently between those plush, massive breasts.
“N-no, this isn't, th-that's not...!”
Hippolyte seemed to notice her body's reaction, stammering uncertainly.
But the armpit is a sensitive spot, like an erogenous zone. Gently stimulating it could easily lead to arousal.
So I understood generously.
Still, seeing those nipples hardening under her neckline was enough to arouse any man.
Maybe because we'd been rolling in the scorching sun, her lithe, sweat-slicked body looked incredibly alluring now.
Me, doing it with a woman like this in some rundown barn?
Thinking back, it felt like a dream.
I'd groped those huge breasts with these hands. The sensation of them nearly bursting from my palm was still vivid.
Tearing my eyes from that ripe, exposed flesh was torturously hard. Having a defenseless woman right there, and only allowed to touch her armpit.
Of course, a beauty's armpit was reward enough in its own way, but still regrettable.
Wait, why am I even thinking this? Wasn't this a rescue effort? To clear my lust-addled head, I asked,
“Does rubbing like this feel any better?”
Asking a patient about their condition is basic medical practice. Massage therapists do it all the time.
No one knows their body better than themselves.
Hippolyte might know best how to treat her own body. So I asked, and she panted out,
“...Breathing feels tight.”
“I see.”
The Extreme Heaven Acupoint links from armpit to lungs. Strong stimulation burdens the chest and heart.
That explained why she couldn't snap out of it.
Only one solution then.
“Um, Hippolyte. This is a lifesaving act. Nothing problematic about it.”
“Suddenly, what do you-”
She seemed about to ask what I meant, but her face flushed like a boiling kettle, words failing her.
Probably because my palm was now on her chest. Natural panic.
To ease chest tightness, you have to touch the chest. So I rightfully groped her breasts.
Squish.
That massive breast under my palm. Not quite watermelon-sized, but comparable to sizable fruit.
A melon.
Soft like a ripe melon.
Different from Baroness Brigitte's or Luna's perfect handfuls—this overflowing, finger-squeezing fullness was incredible.
How does a person carry these around?
If it were me, I'd be fondling them nonstop alone.
Knead, knead. Squish-squish.
“...H-how's that? Feeling better...?”
I gripped both breasts, one per hand, kneading and pressing.
I knew this was treatment, thought of it as such, yet my lower half throbbed painfully hard.
“...How is it?”
“I-if you're thinking of raping me, you'd better stop...! That house over there has Antiope. If she sees you assaulting me, your head's coming off!”
Hippolyte thought I was trying to rape her. Can't blame her; it looked that way.
Panicked women sometimes mistake emergency aid for assault and escalate things.
So I needed to clearly state the situation and my intentions.
“Hippolyte, this is rescue. Not sexual at all. Why can't you understand my selflessness...?”
Just in case, I moved her behind the tree. Even if Antiope opened the back door, she wouldn't spot us.
“Now, let's focus on treatment.”
I gripped her breasts firmly with both hands, pouring in sincerity. Too big for one hand. Yet firm, shapely, no sag—impressive.
Truly divine blood at work.
“This, this is a Gold Tier chest. Amazing. No wonder breathing's hard with these attached.”
I had no idea what I was saying. Words just spilled out.
She'd said Bronze Tiers have too many stray thoughts. Today's lesson: act on instinct before thinking.
I was the model student following it to the letter.
“G-Gold Tier chest? Wh-what shameless...! Don't give it nicknames like that...!”
Hippolyte bit her lower lip in fury. Aroused and thrilled by her reaction, I finally pinched her protruding nipple between my fingers.
Pinch.
“Aahn...!”
The direct stimulation made her arch her back and jolt violently. Text popped up.
Ding-.
『Cured Hippolyte Heavensinger's status: Mark of Life.』
『Karma Value +10』
『Current Karma Value +175』
“Oh-.”
The mark on her body was gone.
Placing fingers on her still-twitching wrist, her level was back up, condition normalized.
“Haaah, ugh...!”
But Hippolyte was still writhing in pain, not recovered. Legs clamped tight, curled like a shrimp, twitching.
“Feeling a lot better now?”
“Ugh, uhh, even... harder to breathe...”
She complained of worsened breathing trouble. But no new status clues appeared.
As I puzzled over it, Hippolyte spoke.
“M-making my body unable to move... Evil Samaritan sorcery. You're blackmailing me, doing as you please...?”
“Huh?”
“Th-the aura training was an excuse. To get me alone, wait for my guard to drop. Right...?”
Hippolyte was paranoid, delusional even.
In her mind, I was a barbarian tearing meat with bare hands, no fork or knife; a battle-hungry warrior.
And a lustful beast always plotting to ravish women and impregnate them.
I felt a bit wronged. But half of it was spot-on.
Gazing at her disheveled, panting form made me want to swing my raging staff wild.
Any healthy guy would think that.
Of course, as a gentleman, I had the restraint not to act, being a cultured modern man, not some Samaritan savage.
Then Hippolyte panted out more.
“That night was the first and last, I said... Now you're forcing me to get pregnant...?”
“...Pregnant?”
“A Gold Tier adventurer like me, knock me up to make it fact? Barbarian way: give me a kid so I can't run. You barbarian beast...!”
Pregnancy.
Never crossed my mind, but her words conjured a daughter half me, half her.
She'd probably inherit our parents' crazy looks.
But with Hippolyte's stunning beauty, it'd be a healthy, cute kid for sure.
“...Y-you knew about my mandarin duck oil too! Kept it secret from Noxdoty, targeting me, me...”
“Mandarin duck oil? The stuff from Venus Temple?”
“Yeah, pretending not to know. Worse than a cultist, you vile beast...!”