Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Roughly the Ultimate Isekai Harem - Episode 53
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There was no time to explain hypnosis to Karen, so I immediately put both of them into a trance.
Exposing Wabid's true intentions wasn't difficult, but I had to hurry.
We were right in the middle of a dungeon crawling with Skeleton Warriors. If we got ambushed, the two in a trance would be in more danger than me.
Luckily, I'd already verified that Skeleton Warriors were more sensitive to light than sound, so I could boldly cast the hypnosis.
"Wabid. Answer my questions without hiding anything. What's the purpose of coming here?"
"To catch a criminal who used to be an adventurer..."
"A criminal? Why?"
"Because... it's my job."
So Wabid wasn't your average adventurer. More like a bounty hunter type?
"Is that ex-adventurer criminal me?"
"Not certain. But I do have my suspicions."
I see. So it wasn't a chance encounter—he'd been deliberately circling around me this whole time.
He wasn't suspicious enough to warrant hypnotizing him just to check, but I could at least figure out his motives for approaching me.
Good thing I'd tested the waters.
This world required way more caution than modern Earth.
With all these people sneaking up on me without going through official channels.
To protect myself, I had to stay sharp too.
Just then, footsteps echoed from the next room. Another adventurer?
"Wabid. You are forbidden from launching any attacks targeting me or Karen."
I set the most reliable safeguard in place, then clapped my hands to wake them.
"Hm?"
Wabid frowned slightly, as if sensing a vague familiarity.
"Where were we?"
If Wabid was tracking an ex-adventurer criminal, hiding our purpose would seem unnatural.
The fact that Karen and I were taking an extra test for hero candidate selection wasn't exactly a secret.
"We were talking about why we came to hunt the Lich. Our goal isn't gold."
"If I may be so bold to ask, what is it then?"
"Hero candidate selection. The examiner gave us the task of dealing with the Lich as an extra test."
"Ah! So that's the rumor I'd heard."
Playing innocent. He clearly knew already—I didn't even need hypnosis to see that.
"And the lady with you? Same deal?"
"Huh? Yeah! Actually, I'm the one who pretty much dragged my brother into this."
"So the two of you weren't acting in sync?"
Wabid asked, puzzled.
For now, let Karen handle the talking. Things felt like they were heading in a good direction.
"At first, I went to him asking for help. I had an urgent mission and needed backup..."
"...I see. Sorry, it feels like I've wasted too much of your time when you're busy with exams."
"Not at all. Thanks for the help."
"May the blessings of Ilessia be with you both."
Had my suspicions about me cleared up?
Maybe Wabid thought Karen or Esty were under some kind of threat.
With all the top village beauties hanging around me at the same time.
Any other guy might be jealous, but for a fellow adventurer like Wabid, whose job was suspicion, it might've seemed fishy.
"Bro. You know him?"
Karen said after Wabid left.
"We've crossed paths at the guild a few times, exchanged names. Seemed like he knew Esty too."
But that last bit... "May the blessings of Ilessia be with you." What was that?
"Karen. What's the blessing of Ilessia?"
"You're so clueless, bro. She's the most famous goddess of light from the Holy City. The Daytoon Kingdom worships the goddess of light."
"First I've heard of it."
"He's probably from the Holy City. That's a common saying there."
"Esty didn't say anything about it."
"Hm, Esty's an elf, so... maybe she worships a different god?"
Ilessia...
Was she the goddess overseeing this world?
The goddess who sent legitimate heroes here. She'd definitely see me as a thorn in her side.
"You're under Lady Velleira's protection, right bro?"
"How'd you know?"
"You think I'm an idiot? I know she's the goddess of fire. It's gotta be Lady Velleira.
The way you shoot fire magic right up close to your body and all. Looked like you had her blessing."
"Vella's pretty famous too, huh."
"...No clue why a goddess like that is your slave, though. Are you a god or something, bro?"
"You think so?"
I reached out and grabbed Karen's tits.
She flinched and gave me a steady look.
"Eek. Not at all..."
"You'll figure it out someday living in my cockhouse."
"I didn't bring it up 'cause I wanna know that badly. I don't sweat the details like that."
Yeah. Karen had a pretty laid-back personality.
Even with all the chaos in the Black Forest, she never pried.
"By that logic, that examiner's the total opposite of you, huh? Felt like he could guess exactly how many Skeleton Warriors we'd taken down.
That's obsession on an artistic level."
"Pfft...! Bro, don't badmouth the examiner. Who knows if he's watching."
Laughing out loud in the dim dungeon lifted my mood a ton.
"Shall we keep going?"
"Yeah. Let's nab that Lich for sure!"
"Give me the lantern. Better to have your hands free for fighting if things go south."
I stored Karen's lantern in my personal inventory and activated [Veil of Concealment] to hide us both.
We'd just run into Wabid, but the dungeon atmosphere made bumping into anyone else feel impossible.
The stone chamber felt desolate, lonely, somehow chilling.
We carefully scouted the Skeleton Warriors' positions and whispered our plan.
"One straight ahead, two on the right. What do you think, bro?"
"I'll take the two. You block the one in front."
"Got it."
Karen gripped and regripped the hilt of her blunt short sword, waiting for flames to rise.
"Fire Ball!"
The Skeleton Warrior reacted. To the light, not the sound.
I fired the Fire Ball at the two charging like moths to a flame.
Just as planned. Fire Ball's area covered them both, smashing them simultaneously.
"Karen!"
She was holding off the last one, fending off its fierce strikes and pushing back with her sword.
I didn't miss the opening.
"Fire Arrow!"
Fire Arrow was at max proficiency, so it cast much faster.
Perfect timing to lock down the Skeleton Warrior's movements.
"Hya!"
Karen swung her sword with all her might while it was frozen, shattering the skeleton's skull.
(Level increased)
(Level increased)
"Nice!"
When everything went according to plan, an electric thrill ran through me.
We high-fived, sharing the joy of success.
"My level shot up a ton. You too, bro?"
"Yeah. Keeps rising."
Karen's level had been thirty to forty below mine, right? So her gains must be huge.
"I wanna keep leveling up like this and get ridiculously strong."
I'd thought about it too...
But wasn't sure if I could keep chasing danger as an adventurer forever.
"Bro!"
That brief distraction was a mistake.
The Skeleton Warrior was closer than I thought, and it lunged as if sensing our vibrations in the dark.
Karen spotted it instantly and stepped in front, but our concealed state slowed our response.
"Ugh!"
Karen got pushed back and fell.
"Fire Arrow!"
I fired to save her, but the Skeleton Warrior tanked it and swung at Karen.
"Karen!"
"I-I'm fine, bro!"
The Skeleton Warrior was swinging wildly at empty air, like it couldn't pinpoint us.
Even with Karen right in front of it...
Ah!
It was the [Veil of Concealment].
I'd never thought how a thing without eyeballs could "see" us anyway, but now it seemed the veil kept the fallen Karen safe from follow-ups.
Karen got up, regained her footing, and shoved the Skeleton Warrior back.
"Fire Arrow!"
I blasted it with an overcharged Fire Arrow, pulverizing it.
"Hah, haa..."
"No injuries?"
"Nah. Just startled. Thought it'd slice me..."
"Sorry for getting distracted."
I apologized to Karen sincerely.
"It's my job to protect you when you're in danger. Don't sweat it."
Her thoughtfulness eased my mind.
But I was pissed at myself too.
"Monsters at this level are still risky. You level up, get hurt, and retire for good... Bet that happens a lot."
"This won't cut it."
"Bro?"
We needed to handle mobs like this easily.
Now was the time to cross the line I'd drawn.
Holding back and keeping distance forever wouldn't lead to growth.
"Let's go."
I recast [Veil of Concealment] and moved forward.
Karen followed.
The next room had four Skeleton Warriors. Perfect.
"Bro. Your plan this time?"
"Leave this room to me."
"You alone? That's dangerous."
"We're heading to take down something that uses magic too. Gotta try something now. If it gets bad, I'll use [Space Leap]."
"...Okay. I trust you.
But if your life's in danger, I'm jumping in no matter what."
"Good. It's gonna get hot, so hang back a bit more."
I kept the veil up, steadied my breath, walked to the room's center, and began casting.
"Fire Ball."
A quick incantation, and brilliant flames erupted, lighting up the room.
I'd grabbed all four Warriors' attention. They charged from all sides without hesitation.
Getting surrounded would be game over. In a normal situation.
To burn all four for sure, I poured every drop of MP into overcharging the Fire Ball.
"Bro, don't use magic or it'll be dangerous...!"
Karen shouted, but I waited for the Warriors to close in.
Then I backpedaled a few steps, dodging their attacks.
Not hard if I focused. The veil kept them from seeing me precisely, even in the bright light.
Skeleton Warriors were aggressive but didn't think like humans.
They followed my casting movements with empty swings, tangled up charging straight at the same target, failing to pursue properly.
Still, four armed monsters were plenty threatening.
Backing away couldn't shake them completely, so they surrounded me. I dodged the near-misses, but as promised, danger arrived.
Fine. I'd practiced this. Indoors and cramped, but outside I'd even blocked Thin Wolf attacks with my spirit.
I summoned a wind spirit barrier, deflecting the Skeleton Warriors' strikes.
Unavoidable hits got blocked by the spirit; dodgeable ones I handled myself.
This bought time to overcharge fully.
"Eek...!"
Karen shielded her face from the stifling heat and stepped back.
The Fire Ball had ballooned enormously while I stalled. If they were human, they'd have bolted long ago.
The moment the overpoweringly charged [Overcharge Fire Ball] was ready, I slammed it into the Warriors.
Boom!
The shock rocked the dungeon, engulfing everything in flames.
(The Goddess's Blessing Protects You)
(Level increased)
When the fire cleared, I was the only one standing.
The floor was littered with bone shards burning from the Fire Ball's force.
The [Overcharge Fire Ball] that insta-killed a Thin Wolf with three direct hits was as potent as ever.
And I'd taken the full backlash unscathed. Flames on my clothes were brushed off effortlessly by the wind spirit's barrier.
With blessing-granted fire immunity and no flame damage, this was a use I'd considered since Fire Arrow days.
But I'd thought risking danger on purpose was dumb, so I'd never done it.
"Bro...!!"
Karen rushed over.
"Y-You're okay? After an explosion like that..."
"The blessing kept me safe."
No point hiding it since Karen knew about the blessing.
"Bro, you looked totally different from any version of you I've seen."
"Pretty cool, huh?"
"...Kinda nerve-wracking, but yeah, amazing."
Karen said with deep relief.
I wasn't just showboating to look cool.
How to manage risk in this world? My thinking was shifting.
Early after transfer, I thought maintaining distance—Goblin brawl was unavoidable—and picking them off one by one was best.
But sticking to that would've made me a mage useless in a pinch.
So I actively used the spirit to deflect close attacks and unleashed my magic for AoE without hesitation.
Result: success.
What's the point of levels if you can't handle this?
To treat Skeleton Warriors as no big deal, I needed to master the wind spirit and squeeze 100%+ out of my magic.
"Stairs to B2."
Right ahead of the room I'd cleared.
"Think I could do it like you, bro? Spirit blocking attacks... I wanna try!"
Ah, Karen had never used spirits for defense, huh?
My fight must've inspired her.
"Why not? Would've been easier outside. Let's do it together."
"Yeah!"
We headed to B2 together.