Chapter 87
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: Realizing Growth (3)
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Hughs Fog's enormous size left Nellis stunned, and Kalt called out to her.
"Nellis, if you just stand there, it'll swallow you whole. Be careful."
"Swallow…!?"
Nellis snapped to attention and faced off against the Hughs Fog.
'Don't get scared! Just stay sharp! I'm not scared at all right now!'
The old Nellis would have frozen at the mere sight of its size, convinced it was stronger than her, her grip on her sword going slack with fear.
But not this Nellis.
Every morning on the road, without fail, she'd trained under Kalt, honing her skills. Every evening, under the guise of "counseling," she'd endured his killing-intent survival drills, training herself not to fear enemies or back down.
So even now, with the Hughs Fog right in front of her, fear didn't even cross her mind. Instead, she was mostly thinking about how to show off a cool side to Kalt and the others.
That was when it happened.
The Hughs Fog opened its maw and shot out a thick, elongated tongue straight at Nellis with terrifying speed.
"Eek!"
Nellis reacted swiftly, dodging the tongue and charging forward.
'If I don't attack fast, it'll really swallow me!'
"Yaaah!"
Slash!
Exploiting the opening while it extended its tongue, Nellis slashed deep into the Hughs Fog's belly.
A deep gash appeared on its stomach.
-Grraaah!
The wounded Hughs Fog's cry filled Nellis with confidence.
'Good, one more hit like that….'
"Fall back, Nellis!"
"…! Yes!"
Though she wanted to press the attack, she retreated immediately at Kalt's command.
It was a natural response—she had no doubt his instructions were spot on.
And in the next instant, the massive beast leaped high into the air and retreated backward.
"Scarlet."
"Eat this!"
At Kalt's follow-up order, Scarlet unleashed a barrage of basic fire attack spells at the airborne Hughs Fog.
Boom boom boom!
-Grraaah!
Its charred body crashed to the ground amid screams.
"That was close, Nellis."
"Huh? Really?"
"Yeah. Hughs Fogs will shoot their tongue again to snag anyone in front when they jump back."
"Oh…."
Nellis imagined it in her head.
Chasing forward recklessly, only for the Hughs Fog to leap back and wrap that thick, long tongue around her.
"Eek!"
As Nellis shuddered at the thought,
"This finishes it!"
Boom boom boom!
Scarlet delivered the killing blow to the staggering, fallen Hughs Fog.
Browned and crispy, it slumped lifelessly to the ground.
"Hmph, all size and no substance. They said it had high recovery, but were you lying, Kalt?"
"No lie. Even with good recovery, it can't heal if you overwhelm it like that. Plus, Nellis's wound let the magic sink in deep—must've done big damage."
"R-Really?"
"Yep."
Kalt smiled warmly at Nellis.
"Nellis, you're pulling your weight out there."
She was a bit bummed she'd only landed one hit before retreating.
But with Kalt praising her like this, she couldn't stop her lips from curling up in a grin.
"…Yes!"
"Alright, shall we take down the next one? I'll help this time."
"Yes! Kalt, let's slash 'em up together and finish 'em off!"
"But how do we extract the magic stone? Won't that take time?"
"Don't worry, I know right where it is."
Kalt nimbly climbed atop the limp corpse and thrust his sword in.
Stab! He twisted it around a few times, exposing the embedded magic stone. Then he reached in and pulled it out.
"See?"
"Whoa, Kalt's even fast at mining magic stones."
"Eww, your arm's covered in blood."
"I'll purify that and get it clean."
After recovering the stone, Nellis's party hunted down six more Hughs Fogs.
Nellis and Kalt would team up to sever a front or back leg, crippling mobility, while Scarlet and Aria scorched or skewered them from behind with magic and holy attacks. They wrapped up without much hassle.
In the process, not just Nellis, but Scarlet and Aria also felt their own growth.
For Scarlet, casting spells had become clearer—her mind sharper, undisturbed by distractions, fueled instead by strong feelings for her comrades. She could unleash magic faster now.
More than properly using her current spells,
'I want to try some other magic!'
The various applications listed in the grimoire Scarlet had bought last time.
And even other elements she'd been able to use but hadn't, sticking to her specialty of fire.
For Aria, she now had breathing room with her holy magic.
She already knew her issues had been resolved by Kalt's hypnosis.
But knowing that—and seeing how reliably it worked—
Aria had no doubts her problems were improving.
In that state, she wanted to contribute more actively to her comrades.
Now, she thought she could cast blessings and then take an aggressive long-range attacker role alongside Scarlet.
'If only I had more power….'
A desire to learn other holy attacks beyond Holy Sword began to bloom.
Still only difficulty C.
Compared to the days of teaming up to fell D-rank monsters, Nellis's party had grown tremendously. Their talents, buried under personal hang-ups, were starting to shine.
'There's a church in this village, so I should ask the priest.'
Aria pondered ways to expand her arsenal.
"Kalt, if you're okay, this time…."
Scarlet was about to suggest hunting one more Hughs Fog.
"Kalt!"
But Nellis beat her to it.
"Yeah? What?"
"This time, can you show us you taking it down solo?"
"Me alone?"
"Yes! I want to see Kalt in action!"
Kalt nodded to Nellis, who gazed at him with sparkling, adoring eyes.
"Got it. I'll show you."
'I had something I wanted to test anyway. Perfect timing.'
"Yay!"
"Scarlet."
"Huh? What."
"Didn't you have something to say?"
Kalt hadn't missed her voice.
"Oh, that… I wanted to try using magic from the grimoire you bought me last time. No big deal. Doesn't have to be today."
"Sure. Let's test it tomorrow for sure."
"…Okay."
Scarlet resolved to simulate it mentally tonight so she wouldn't fail tomorrow.
Nellis's party pressed on and encountered the final Hughs Fog they'd hunt.
"You all watch from here."
Step by step, Kalt approached the Hughs Fog.
'Time to test this boosted mana and strength.'
The intense sex he'd had recently—
Angela's hours-long womb pounding—had gifted Kalt far more total mana and even greater muscle power than expected.
The essence absorbed through sex had been fully converted to power, without a drop wasted now that his succubus blood was awakened.
Even in his daily morning self-check training, he'd been shocked by the gains in strength and mana.
Normally, that muscle increase would take a week of dedicated strength training. The mana bump rivaled what he'd gained from total sex with Lunia and Nadia.
His pre-awakening essence-to-power conversion rate had been pathetically low.
And now, Kalt had an idea using his increased mana.
A way to drop the massive Hughs Fog in one shot.
'I can manage it briefly now.'
Step by step, the Hughs Fog spotted the approaching Kalt.
Even as it stared, Kalt didn't rush.
The Hughs Fog extended its thick, elongated tongue.
It shot toward Kalt.
But it never hit.
Kalt casually ducked his head and kicked off the ground, closing the distance in a flash.
The Hughs Fog, losing its target, tried to leap back immediately.
That instant—
Kalt's sword cleared its sheath.
As he drew, he channeled mana, infusing it into the blade as mana power.
'No need to hold it long. Just for the key moment.'
The rapidly injected mana quickly took form along Kalt's sword, creating a blade.
But this wasn't his usual Mana Blade.
It went beyond a mere wider edge—elongated vertically for greater reach.
Thanks to never skimping on mana control training from day one, he nailed it on the first try.
And—
Shwick!
The moment the extended Mana Blade formed, Kalt swung upward.
The mana-forged, razor-sharp blade effortlessly severed the Hughs Fog's neck.
Thud!
Its head hit the ground.
"Wha—what…."
"That's…."
"Kalt, you're amazing!"
Nellis's party, watching the whole time, reacted with shock, awe, and admiration all at once.