Chapter 14 - Promotion and Inspiration
Chapter 14 - Promotion and Inspiration
"Ascension and Inspiration? What are those?"
Hearing the name Ascension, I briefly wondered if it meant going up in rank.
But if that were the case, Elsie wouldn't be asking like this.
I couldn't really guess what Inspiration was.
"Just as I thought, you didn't know. You might not know about Ascension, but Lant, you've probably already experienced Inspiration."
"Inspiration?"
"Yes. Inspiration is a phenomenon that everyone experiences at least once while living in this world."
From what she was saying, it seemed like Ascension and Inspiration were some kind of phenomenon.
"What exactly is Inspiration, Elsie?"
"Inspiration refers to the phenomenon where, after having a certain level of experience, a skill related to that experience becomes ingrained in the body. Lant, what did you do back in your hometown?"
"I was a carp... Ahem, my father was a carpenter, so I used to cut wood with him."
"Then didn't you feel it while cutting wood? That feeling that suddenly, at some point, cutting wood became incredibly easier."
"Hmm... I'm not sure."
From the start, I could cut wood with sheer strength.
"Then... have you ever had an experience where you tried really hard to do something, and then suddenly it felt like that effort bore fruit?"
"Oh, if it's that, then I think so."
Hearing that, one thing came to mind.
It was my unique technique I had developed to prevent erections even while having perverted fantasies.
"That's exactly what Inspiration is. When a person puts in a certain amount of effort with a specific goal, they acquire a skill related to it. A kind of skill. That's called Inspiration.
For example, in my case, I prayed to the goddess to grant me the power to heal people, and I obtained healing magic.
Of course, there are individual differences in the amount of effort needed to acquire a skill, and even after acquiring it, the growth potential for that skill varies."
Hearing Elsie's words, I thought of my erection suppression technique as a kind of skill.
Once I use the suppression technique, I don't get an erection no matter how lewd a fantasy I have.
It truly is the fruit of my effort, but it seems the principles of this fantasy world are also involved.
To put it in game terms, to acquire a skill, you need to gain experience points related to it.
And after acquiring the skill, to increase its power, you need to raise its proficiency.
I wonder if the proficiency of my suppression technique, which I use every day, has hit the MAX level.
Thinking that gave me great confidence.
It seems I can have lewd fantasies with even more peace of mind when using the suppression technique from now on.
"I see."
From the right, Noah added an explanation.
"For reference, you don't have to acquire magic through Inspiration. You can also learn it through education and grimoires. Of course, that side depends entirely on talent. You said your hometown was peaceful, right, Lant? Then you've probably never experienced Ascension before."
"So what's Ascension?"
"Ascension refers to when one's Status of Existence rises."
"Status of Existence?"
"Yes. When a person kills a certain number of monsters or above, their Status of Existence rises. When the Status of Existence rises, it means that abilities in all aspects—strength, magic power, body durability, agility, etc.—increase dramatically."
"They say if you go through several Ascensions, you become harder than steel!"
In other words, it's like a level-up.
Could it be that the fantasy outfits are so risqué precisely because of this Ascension?
Since body durability increases anyway, people prioritize fashion by leaving only important parts covered.
I think the prime example of that is bikini armor.
"But this Ascension is much more difficult than acquiring Inspiration. There are huge individual differences, and it's unclear how many monsters you need to kill to undergo Ascension. The most prominent theory is that it's because each person's vessel of existence is different."
"There is a way to Ascend without necessarily killing monsters."
"What's that?"
"By killing someone who has already Ascended. Then you can absorb an amount of Existential Power equivalent to what the Ascended person had. That's why they say during wars in the past, many people Ascended on the battlefield without even going into dungeons."
"Ascending by killing people... That's truly sad."
I suppose Existential Power is similar to experience points.
But how exactly is this Existential Power obtained?
"Can I ask one question?"
"Yes, of course."
"How is Existential Power obtained? For example, if a party kills a strong monster together, does the Existential Power go only to the one who landed the killing blow?"
"No, in that case, it's said to be absorbed by everyone who killed it together. However, the person who dealt the fatal blow gets the most Existential Power."
"I see, thanks for telling me. That was really helpful."
"No, it's only natural for me to do this much. I'm glad it helped you, Lant."
Elsie's kind smile was as beautiful as a flower blossom.
If I were to splash semen on her face like I did with Tina last night, the beauty would completely shift into arousal.
Planting the stamen of semen into the pistil of Elsie's face's flower.
It seems the massage with Tina yesterday has increased my fantasies about splashing semen on faces.
Noah got up from the bench.
"The most basic and fundamental things an adventurer needs to know are Ascension and Inspiration. Okay, let me guide you to one more place, and then we'll enter the dungeon!"
At Noah's words, Elsie tilted her head.
"Huh? Was there another place to go?"
"What are you talking about, Elsie? Of course there is! And it's somewhere Lant absolutely needs. Come on, Lant! Follow me!"
As Noah took the lead, Elsie and I got up from the bench and followed.
◈
I couldn't help but be amazed at the place Noah had guided us to.
"Th-This is..."
"Hehehe, a place necessary for men. In other words, a place Lant absolutely needs to know! This is the Night District~! Since it's still morning, only the adult goods shops are open."
In other words, it was a street where only adults could enter.
Thank you very much.
This was information I absolutely wanted to know!
"N-Noah..."
Elsie's face flushed bright red as she trembled.
"H-How can you show him a place like this!"
"Ehh~ But in the end, Lant will end up using it too, right?"
"He might not!"
I very much want to use it.
"Ehh~ You know it too, Elsie? 70% of male adventurers use brothels. 10% don't have money or can't get it up due to accidents, 10% have lovers, and the remaining 10% have families. But even in those situations, there are always people who use brothels."
"Oh? That many?"
"After all, most of the time, what they do is go into dungeons and exterminate monsters. Even if they're monsters, killing living things is still killing, so stress and excitement build up, right? They release that in brothels."
Noah wagged her tail lightly and poked my forearm with her finger.
"Did you know? Among female adventurers, there are some who can't control their excitement and become day-workers at brothels for some extra pocket money. I hear accidents even happen where they run into their own party members."
Thank you for this prime jack-off material.
A female adventurer who, even though she has someone she likes, can't control her excitement after monster extermination and is tempted by a fellow female adventurer's suggestion to start working at a brothel.
But the first customer she gets is a middle-aged adventurer she's always hated!
No! Don't tell him!
Heh heh heh, if you don't want it to get out, you'll take care of my lower half for free from now on.
And then follows a daily life of lewd training!
One jack-off plot, complete.
But is Noah perhaps implying that she herself is like that?
The mischievous cat-girl brothel worker Noah.
That has a great ring to it.
With her face bright red, Elsie tugged at my clothes.
"L-Lant! Let's get out of here quickly! Let's go to the dungeon! Come on, hurry!"
"Honestly~ Elsie is really weak to this kind of stuff~ Even male clerics all use the Night District, you know? Can't you get a little used to it?"
"I don't care! Lant! Come on, hurry!"
"Uh, yeah."
"Ehh, let's not go to the dungeon yet. How about we look around a bit together? Like an adult goods shop..."
"Noah~~!!"
Elsie let go of my clothes, clenched both fists, and pounded Noah's shoulders repeatedly.
Though Elsie the cleric's fists were weak, they struck Noah's shoulders quickly.
"Ow! Ow ow! Sorry! Sorry, Elsie! I'll go! I'll go to the dungeon! It hurts! P-Please forgive me!"
After being hit on the shoulders several times, Noah apologized to Elsie with tears welling up in her eyes.
Even angry, Elsie was cute.
If someone could swing their arm at that speed while giving me a handjob, it would feel great.
Let's ask Tina tonight to put a little more force into it.
◈
Dungeon entrance.
The three of us were lined up, waiting our turn.
"Elsie~ I said I'm sorry."
"I don't care."
Elsie was still sulking at Noah with her cheeks puffed out.
If she stayed like this inside the dungeon, it would be a problem.
Let's take Noah's side a little.
"Elsie, it's not like Noah showed us that place with bad intentions, right? Let's forgive her."
"But... Noah is too l-lewd... going toward the o-obscene side! I, I mean, a-as a man, L-Lant, you probably have those desires too... but I think intentionally guiding you there is wrong!"
I wish she'd properly say "lewd" instead of stumbling.
"Yeah, you're right about that, Elsie."
Even if she's right, I want to intentionally listen to Noah's lewd conversations.
"But Noah is apologizing like this, right? Let's forgive her this time. It would be dangerous if you two kept being on bad terms in the dungeon."
"I'm really sorry, Elsie..."
"...Fine. Noah, you really can't do that from now on, okay?"
"Yeah, I got it!"
Elsie bowed her head slightly to me.
"I'm sorry, Lant. For making you worry about us for no reason."
"It's nothing. When you get down to it, it happened while you were guiding me."
Elsie's sulking face was cute, but if they kept being on bad terms, it wouldn't be comfortable.
On the contrary, if a catfight broke out over who gets to handle my dick, that would really get my blood boiling.
"I'm glad Elsie forgave me~ I won't do it again~."
Noah hugged Elsie and rubbed her cheek against hers.
"Kyaa! N-Noah! There are other people around, you know! It's embarrassing."
"Hehehe~."
"Oh, honestly..."
Elsie sighed as if giving up and stood still.
But Elsie was smiling slightly.
It seemed this wasn't the first time Noah had hugged Elsie.
Thank you for this little yuri development.
If I stuck my dick between the two of them rubbing their cheeks together, how good would that feel?
I've acquired new jack-off material.
◈
Moving to the 1st floor of the dungeon, we walked toward a hunting area that wasn't too crowded.
"Wow~ Just having Lant by my side is reassuring. After all, you blew away a hobgoblin in one hit."
"I feel the same way. But we mustn't let our guard down, Noah."
"I know. I got into big trouble yesterday by letting my guard down."
"Now that you mention it, what are you two going to do today? Just fulfill the request and leave?"
When I was being shown around the city, I bought a pouch at the tool shop to hold magic stones and attached it to my waist.
Now I can carry more magic stones than when I put them in my coin purse.
If Elsie and Noah were going to leave after just completing the request quota, I was planning to take them to the Warp Device.
"Lant, if we catch just 5 goblins and leave, there's no point in coming to the dungeon. You can't be an adventurer earning only 5 silver a day. If we're in here, we should catch as many as we can!"
"I suppose so."
"Ah! Noah, Lant! Goblins are coming!"
Kkikkikkikkikke!
From within the dim darkness, 5 goblins appeared.
"How many can you handle, Noah?"
"Sorry, but you take 3, Lant. I'll hunt the other 2."
"Got it."
Noah and I charged toward the 5 goblins.
Kkikkikkikkikki!
Thud!
Pushing off the ground, I slipped between the goblins ahead of Noah.
First, I brought my fist down on one goblin and killed it.
Kwaaang!
Leaving the dead goblin, I thrust my fist toward the goblin on the left.
Kwaak!
The goblin's head tore from its neck and rolled on the ground.
This time, I weakened my strength and punched the goblin's face.
Kwak!
The goblin's face caved in, and it died instantly.
After killing 3 goblins, I turned around and looked at Noah.
"Yaah!"
Just in time, Noah slit the throat of one goblin with her dagger.
Behind Noah, another goblin was holding a club and aiming for her.