Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Assignment
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A tattoo that definitely hadn't been there when he'd been groping Karen's body earlier to check if the replication was perfect.
It was too blatant to claim he'd just overlooked it—rubbing his eyes and looking again, a faint pink glow still seeped out, and its position was far too obvious to have missed before.
'What the hell...? What is this...?'
Maybe some magical treatment hid it normally? Or perhaps the shape and placement screamed shady regret from her wild youth, something she'd gotten tattooed and then concealed...
But if so, why was it showing up now?
"..."
Whatever it was, that pink tattoo had a strangely captivating allure that drew the eye.
Staring blankly at it, he slowly reached out a hand toward the tattoo on her lower abdomen...
-Whoosh!!
"Ah."
...Right as he tried to touch the tattoo, Karen's replica vanished like a burst bubble, and a heavy wave of exhaustion crashed over him.
"Tch. Hit the limit, huh?"
His energy pool had definitely grown since replicating Laila, but the duration felt about the same?
Less understanding than with Laila, and no direct contact—maybe that's why?
'Well. Plenty of chances next time...'
He was curious about the tattoo on Karen's lower abdomen, but he'd replicate her again eventually and figure it out then.
For now...
"Gotta... rest a bit..."
The replication skill was great and all, but draining every last drop of energy left him fighting off sleep... so... sleeeeepy...
.
.
.
The day after experimenting with replicating Karen.
As usual, he'd spent the morning stacking knowledge about this world in the library, then headed to find Karen for sword training that afternoon.
"My disciple! You're here!"
"Yes..."
Facing Karen, who looked stunning today and wore an outfit that made it hard to know where to look, he struggled as his gaze kept drifting toward her chest.
'No way... even now...?'
Imagining no underwear beneath those thin clothes—just bare breasts—made it impossible not to stare.
A quick glance confirmed it: her nipples subtly poked against the fabric, like she wasn't wearing a bra...
'Get it together.'
Last time he'd leered at Laila like this, his life nearly went up in flames. Why ruin things with Karen, who was diligently teaching him the sword?
He could indulge with a replica later. Hold it together for now. Yeah.
'No tattoo, as expected.'
Just in case, he'd checked her lower abdomen, but it was smooth and toned—no sign of any tattoo.
But if she'd gotten it young and hidden it, going braless all the time... Karen must be bolder than she seemed.
"What're you thinking so hard about?"
-Thwack!!
"Guh!"
Lost in thought, perhaps—Karen's wooden sword whipped across his shin.
The sharp pain made him clutch his leg and crumple. Karen clicked her tongue and withdrew her sword.
"That's it for today. Forcing practice while your head's in the clouds won't help much."
Ending the lesson earlier than usual, Karen plopped down beside him without wiping her sweat.
"So. Why the spacing out today? Got some worries?"
"Uh..."
Karen's expression was surprisingly serious.
She'd grown concerned, it seemed—after two weeks of him following training without complaint, now he couldn't focus...
'How do I even explain this.'
Like asking if she was going commando right now? Or if she had some naughty tattoo on her lower belly?
Racking his brain briefly, he sidestepped the real issue with another recent concern.
"Well... I was thinking it's about time to get back to adventuring."
"Hm?"
His main job was adventurer, after all—he'd paused gigs for Karen's lessons and library study.
And low-rank adventurers lost qualifications if they skipped requests too long.
'Even without that, I wanna earn some cash.'
Laila's master had given him plenty, but relying on it without income would burn through it fast.
Can't forget his penniless days just because of a windfall.
"Adventuring, huh... Right, what was your rank again?"
"E-rank."
"E-rank... That's odd. With that physical ability and talent even before my sword lessons, you could've hit D easily."
"Ahem..."
Well, he didn't have these abilities back then.
But he couldn't explain how he'd gained them, so he brushed it off.
"The city I was in before didn't even have a D-rank promotion exam."
"Really? Must've been some backwater town."
Karen accepted it readily. It wasn't exactly a lie.
Unlike E-rank, which promoted on request quotas alone, D and up required exams.
"Fair enough. If that's your worry, good thinking. Better to mix in real combat than just holing up training."
With his excuse landing, Karen nodded in approval.
She pondered briefly, then fired off a few questions.
"You qualified for the D-rank exam yet?"
"Yeah. They counted my old city's request history."
Adventurer ranks ran from bottom F to top S.
F was basic registration.
E came after a few beginner requests as F.
D required building some record as E, then passing an exam.
'They say real adventurers start at C.'
Still, F, E, and D were all bottom-feeders.
Like lumping low ranks in those AOS games from Earth as "bronzies."
But D-rank earned respect as "one full person."
Requests paid enough to escape hand-to-mouth scraping, like his old life.
"You're A-rank, right, Master?"
"Yep. Retired, but still qualified."
Thinking about ranks made Karen seem even more impressive.
S was the pinnacle, but true S-ranks were historical rarities across the continent—A was the practical peak.
And Karen looked young—yet she'd claimed A-rank at that age? Incredible.
"But, Master."
"Hm?"
"Why'd you retire?"
Admiring her rank jogged a question he'd overlooked before.
Word was, a year ago she'd abruptly quit adventuring to open this dojo and find someone to teach her swordsmanship to. But she didn't look retirement age, and her skills were top-notch.
"Hm... The reason for retiring?"
Karen's expression turned slightly troubled mid-conversation.
She scratched her cheek quietly, then gave a vague answer.
"Well... an injury."
"Injury?"
Scanning her body instinctively, he saw no visible scars.
He'd have noticed during lessons if there were.
"Not all injuries show on the surface."
"???"
Her cryptic words left him puzzled, but Karen clearly didn't want to elaborate.
Brushing it off, she stood abruptly and steered back to the original topic.
"Anyway! You're getting back to adventuring, right?"
"Uh... yeah."
It was a hasty cover—he'd actually planned to start in a few weeks.
"Good. Then as your master, I have an assignment for you."
"Pardon?"
"Go promote to D-rank."
"...D-rank?"
"Yeah. You're ready for it."
Karen jumped straight to assigning it.
"I was gonna throw you into real combat soon anyway. Perfect timing since you mentioned adventuring."
"Wait, hold on."
He was flustered, but her resolve was firm.
"I won't make you rush off right now... so I'll add a condition."
"Condition?"
"One week. Promote to D within a week."
"No."
His current strength could handle D easily, but a week? Come on...
"Don't want to? Fine, no pressure... But succeed within a week, and I'll give you a reward."
"Reward?"
"Yep. Something good."
'Something good?'
Stifling another urge to glance at her chest. No way it'd be that kind of reward when she wouldn't even let him touch.
...Still, a little exciting.
"How good?"
"You'll find out when you earn it. It'll be fun."
He swallowed hard asking, but she just smiled mysteriously.
Dipping her head with a soft laugh...
'Whoa.'
A sweat drop on her face trickled down her jawline, then fell straight into her cleavage, slowly soaking between her breasts.
Witnessing it up close, he overlapped it with last night's replicated view of her inverted nipples.
'Ngh.'
One release last night wasn't enough— this brief fantasy nearly gave him an erection.
Forcing his gaze from her cleavage, he deep-breathed to calm down when...
-Twitch.
Karen's body shivered faintly mid-laugh, her face flashing confusion.
"Ngh... Why now?"
"Master?"
"Y-You get it? One week! Training's over for today!"
Her demeanor suddenly urgent, she finished and hurried inside with flushed cheeks.
One hand drifting to her lower abdomen...
'Ah. Physiological urge.'
That explained the embarrassment.
Even beauties had bodily needs. Sure.
Anyway... D-rank promotion in a week for a reward.
'Perfect timing. I was curious myself.'
He'd felt his improved body's power through Karen's training. And he'd built sword basics.
How much stronger was he now than his E-rank wimp days?
'D-rank... D-rank.'
Objectively low, unimpressive—but during two years adventuring, it'd been a pipe dream.
Why did it feel so... doable now?
"Alright. Time to prep."
E and D were both bottom-rung outside, but a key difference existed.
Specifically...
"The promotion exam... it's a group request, right?"
Group requests.
Unlike solo E-rank gigs, D introduced multi-person requests.
The D promotion tested teamwork—could you collaborate on a guild-assigned request with a party?
Common knowledge: form a party, complete the designated request. Done.
So for this exam, it'd be his first time partying with others.
'Excited... but a bit worried.'
No prior team request experience.
His trip with Laila was client-escort, not adventuring partners.
He'd grown stronger, mastered basics, but never learned cooperation.
'...Should be fine, right?'
Maybe because his last gig ended with evil god cultists.
Why the unease?