Chapter 87
Yoo Dahui rose from her seat, clutching her forehead with a deep frown. “Haa… Haa…” She was still curled in on herself, crushed beneath the weight of Elena’s overwhelming spirit.
I gently stroked her hair. Yoo Dahui turned to Elena.
“…I’ll think about it. For now, just go back.”
“I’m sorry, Lady Dahui.”
Elena stepped out of the hut. The moment she was gone, Yoo Dahui whirled on me with a glare.
“Kim Jinwoo.”
“What? What is it?”
“What do you want to do about Elena?”
“I’ve got no opinion. Handle it however you want.”
Yoo Dahui let out a long sigh.
“Elena only spoke the truth. There was one false note when she said she wanted to kill you, but it’s not important so let’s move on.”
“Huh?”
“No, seriously—does this even make sense? Does the Submission Oath really need to balloon into something this huge?”
Unable to contain her frustration, Yoo Dahui roughly tousled her own hair. Watching those messy strands, the sudden urge to brush it for her flickered through my mind. I should buy a comb and start carrying one around.
“What do you want to do?” I asked, seeking her opinion.
Elena had followed my orders and delivered her excuses faithfully. They seemed to have worked rather well. I had done everything I could; all that remained was to wait for the outcome.
“She was too sincere… what the hell am I supposed to do about that?”
The Blessing of Insight had its drawbacks after all. The instant someone confronted the truth, they became unbearably fragile.
“Ugh… this is so annoying…”
Having glimpsed Elena’s true heart, Yoo Dahui was now paying the price: a strange, lingering guilt had taken root in the corner of her mind. The feeling of having done something wrong even though she hadn’t. That kind of thing could drive a person insane.
After thinking hard, Yoo Dahui finally offered a solution.
“Can’t we cancel the Submission Oath?”
“…We could if we wanted to.”
“Then why haven’t you?”
“I can’t just let a woman that strong walk away. We’d lose too much progress.”
It was the plain truth. If Elena had been a man? I would have worked him like a slave without a second thought. Yoo Dahui would have agreed without hesitation.
It’s only because she’s a woman that I’m cutting her any slack.
Yoo Dahui let out a hollow laugh at my answer.
“What the hell is this? Then there’s only one real choice left.”
“Hm?”
“Everything Elena said was true. She can only satisfy her lust if you’re there. But you don’t want to release the Submission Oath, and honestly I agree. As a hidden card, someone of Elena’s caliber is perfect. When you add it all up, only one option remains. We have to fuck with Elena watching.”
“Oh…”
Out of every possible path, only one remained. Sex in front of Elena.
“I must actually be crazy. Jinwoo, this is messed up, right? I’m not the weird one here, am I?”
“You’re definitely going to need a full day of rest after this.”
“Hey! Aaaagh, seriously… this is so annoying…”
Yoo Dahui scrunched her face up. Having sex in front of someone else wasn’t exactly an easy decision.
“Ah, forget it. I’ll just regress.”
“You’re going to regress?”
“We can pretend none of this happened.”
I stopped her. The mood wasn’t bad at all. I couldn’t let her reset now. At the very least we needed to have public sex in front of Elena at least once. Only then would Yoo Dahui truly adapt to this bizarre relationship.
“Do you really think regressing will change anything?”
“What? It sounds like you’re telling me not to regress.”
“No, what I mean is—even if you regress, Elena’s situation stays the same. Unless we cancel the Submission Oath, she’ll still have to satisfy her desires in front of me. So…”
I decided to use this as leverage for a deal that worked for both sides.
“Let’s set a fixed schedule and tell Elena to come find us when the time comes.”
“Aaaah, so you’re deliberately picking a date to have sex in front of Elena? Hey, Kim Jinwoo. Have you completely lost it?”
“Hear me out. We’re also going to use Elena to clear the Temple of the Sea. I’ve been reluctant to give her direct commands because it felt dirty, but this time she’ll be helping of her own free will, so it’s fine.”
Yoo Dahui fell silent, thinking. The image of that sea-dragon statue must have flashed through her mind. How much grinding would it take to defeat that thing? And what fresh hell would be waiting after we killed it? The chance to experience it in advance made my suggestion extremely tempting.
“…You only ever get smart at times like these.”
Grumbling, Yoo Dahui leaned against me. Her soft, warm skin pressed into mine. For some reason her pink nipples looked incredibly appetizing.
“Don’t touch.”
When my hand sneaked up to cup her breast, she spoke in a sulky tone. There was no real rejection in her voice, so I asked playfully.
“Don’t touch?”
“…Ugh, why do you only listen so well at times like this? Just touch it. Don’t ask.”
Yoo Dahui grabbed my hand and placed it firmly on her chest. I kneaded the soft, pliant flesh, savoring the wonderful texture.
“Hng… Call Elena.”
“To talk?”
“Since we’ve already decided, we might as well get it over with quickly. If we’re going tomorrow, it’s better to bring it up now.”
Yoo Dahui leaned into me, enjoying my touch.
“I called Elena.”
I summoned her. Elena appeared almost instantly.
“…Aish, you should have said something so I could put clothes on! Agh!”
Yoo Dahui raised her hand like she was going to hit me, but the playful smack that landed was completely powerless.
“Elena.”
Yoo Dahui greeted her awkwardly. Elena wore a rather gloomy expression. Yoo Dahui fumbled with her clothes, pulling them back on as she spoke.
“I thought it over. I thought it over very carefully. I don’t believe someone like you would lie about something like this. You were probably telling the truth.”
“Yes… that’s correct. I had no choice but to…”
“I also find life unbearably boring and difficult if I don’t have sex at least once a day. So I can understand how you feel, Elena.”
“…Yes?”
Elena seemed to draw a line, as if saying it wasn’t quite to that extent.
“Showing the sexual relationship between lovers to someone else… that wasn’t an easy decision to make.”
“Ah…”
Elena glanced at me. The excuse that wasn’t really an excuse had brought us this far.
“I’ll show you, Elena. I’ll even let you masturbate while you watch Jinwoo. In return, grant us one request. That’s the compromise.”
“May I ask what the request is?”
“…Come hunting with us just once tomorrow. Without Elisha.”
Elena’s eyes darted back and forth. I could see her weighing her options.
“Yes. Understood. I will assist you with one hunt.”
After careful consideration, she accepted. For an 8-Star player like Elena, it wasn’t a difficult favor.
Yoo Dahui smiled with satisfaction, then added awkwardly.
“Once a week. Friday evenings…”
She hesitated over the right word.
“…I’ll invite you.”
“Yes…”
Elena’s eyes sparkled with a strange, eager light.
After Elena left, the hut fell into silence. Having just enjoyed an intense round of sex, neither of us felt any further hunger for it. Yoo Dahui lit an incense stick and asked quietly.
“…What does it feel like when you fall into estrus?”
“Hmm… First, your peripheral vision gets blurry and only women stand out clearly.”
“And?”
“……”
I had tried to stop at half the truth, but Yoo Dahui refused to let it go.
“There’s more.”
“I might get angry.”
“I won’t get angry. It’s not your fault—why would I get mad at you?”
She’s definitely going to get really fucking angry.
“Hurry up. Tell me before I actually get mad.”
“…Women give off a lewd scent. An incredibly strong one.”
“Strong enough to be hard to resist?”
“Honestly, if the estrus level rises any higher…”
I gave a small nod. If level one was already like this, level five would probably be impossible to handle.
“Haa… I should have killed that damn rabbit…”
I could understand her feelings. If Yoo Dahui fell into estrus and started panting after men, my eyes would roll back in my head right then and there.
“Can’t be helped.”
Yoo Dahui stripped off the clothes she had just put on. It looked like she had reached a decision.
“I’ll drain you until your balls are completely empty so you can’t fall into estrus at all.”
“Ha, haha…”
Yoo Dahui gripped my cock tightly. There wasn’t a single moment when it wasn’t covered in saliva and semen.
The next day.
My eyelids felt impossibly heavy. I was exhausted even though I had slept. It wasn’t the kind of tiredness that came from sleep, so I dragged myself out of bed with great effort.
“Ugh…”
My dick was swollen and sore even though it wasn’t even hard. This was the first time it had been sucked, bitten, and drained so thoroughly. Honestly, I had half-expected to regress from sheer exhaustion.
“Wake up. Brother, wake up…!”
No matter how much I tapped and stroked it, our brother refused to rise. It just lay there limp like a dead snake.
A rustling sound came from behind me. After a moment of squirming, Yoo Dahui woke up.
“Mmm… huaaaaaaaahm…! Hard again?”
“It won’t get hard… Fuck… I came way too much yesterday. My dick hurts…”
“…Hoo, want me to suck it better?”
Yoo Dahui looked at me with pure pity. I shook my head with difficulty. I never wanted that lewd mouth anywhere near me again. Brother probably felt the same.
We ate a simple meal and stepped outside. Elena followed quietly behind us. She wore light clothing and carried only a single sword. In truth the sword was mostly for show.
We headed for Second City. After gathering a suitable party, promising them coins, and releasing the seal on the blue pillars—
Rumble—
The seal broke and the Temple of the Sea revealed itself.
“I had no idea something like this existed…”
Most players who only lived once never paid any attention to the blue pillars. They would grow by hunting earth soldiers, and once they were strong enough they would join a golem raid to ascend to the next floor.
This was Elena’s first time seeing the Temple of the Sea. The sacred building floating above the artificial lake was an absolutely breathtaking sight. A scenic view so beautiful you’d want to take a photo if you could.
“How exactly did you discover a temple like this, Lady Dahui?”
“Uh…”
Yoo Dahui shot me a pleading look. With those desperate eyes begging for help, I used a command to smooth things over.
“Pluto’s black magic includes secret arts that can detect the presence of barriers. Detecting the one installed here wasn’t particularly difficult.”
Complete bullshit. But the ‘command’ mixed into my words forced her to accept it. Elena didn’t question it much.
Zing—
“Ah. Wait a second.”
Yoo Dahui followed after Elena.
“Jinwoo. Let’s fight the statue too.”
Combat was the most intuitive way to grow. An elite monster like this would bring even greater rewards.
But it was already too late. Elena’s sword was drawn, and with a clean slash—
The sea-dragon statue’s head flew off in a single cut. Elena sliced through the stone golem as easily as cutting tofu.
Boom—
It crashed to the temple floor with a heavy thud befitting its stone body.
“…Ha…!”
Overwhelmed by the sheer display of power, Yoo Dahui couldn’t even speak. The gap between us—who had been completely suppressed by the statue’s spirit—and the 8-Star player Elena Trigard was enormous. The Submission Oath that reduced that overwhelming difference to nothing was truly incredible.
Elena retrieved the trident and brought it to us.
“This is the trident said to be able to part the sea.”
[Replica]
Can be used five times to part water. Requires the blood of the chosen clan to wield.
“…It has interesting properties.”
Yoo Dahui took the trident and examined its information. It was a replica that could only be used five times. With those five uses we would have to locate the crystal orb submerged in the lake.
“Only those possessing the blood of the chosen clan can use it…”
Yoo Dahui muttered after reading the description.