I Must Get Stronger! (6) - Growing Skill
I Must Become Stronger! (6) - My Skill Grows Stronger
The next morning.
Along with the clear birdsong tickling her ears,
Rose lightly leaped down from the giant ancient tree where she had stayed overnight.
[ Tat-tat- ]
Her feet, imbued with Mana, perfectly absorbed the impact as she landed gracefully.
Luke, who was preparing breakfast and lighting a fire, exclaimed "Ohh-" in admiration, then cheerfully greeted her.
"Did you sleep well, Rose-yang! Were you uncomfortable last night?"
"...What?! Un-uncomfortable? What are you talking about?!"
Rose flinched in surprise, shrinking her shoulders.
- Could it be that she was caught masturbating alone inside her cloak last night?
- She should have stopped after one or two times!
- Did she thrust her hips too violently at the end?!
Seeing Rose's face instantly turn red like a tomato, Luke tilted his head, as if not understanding.
"No, you slept on a hard branch without a sleeping bag. I was worried you might catch a cold without a blanket or anything to cover yourself with..."
"Ah... ahahaha! That! The sleeping bag!"
Rose let out a sigh of relief inwardly-
As if trying not to reveal her flinching inner thoughts,
she dramatically flapped the red cloak she was wearing.
"I slept covered by this. So it was very warm and comfortable, you see?"
"Uh... but isn't that cloak too thin and short? It wouldn't be enough to cover your whole body."
"Oh my, you don't know the half of it-."
Rose, with a confident expression, flowed Mana into it.
[ Wooong- ]
Instantly, the red cloak hanging from her shoulders wriggled,
and quickly spread out like a giant tent.
Large enough for three adults to comfortably fit inside.
"...??!"
"Surely, that cloak is an Artifact too?"
As Carlton and the other Mercenaries looked at her with surprised eyes, Rose became even more triumphant.
While she was at it, she tried to transform it into another shape.
"That's right. With Mana, it can do this too."
[ Shuuuk- ]
"Ohh...!"
The widely spread cloak instantly contracted, wrapping tightly around Rose's entire body without a gap.
Like a tight evening dress at a ballroom.
In a form that starkly revealed her voluptuous figure.
"Ohh... oh..."
The curves of her ample chest, her slender waist, and her bursting hip line.
At the sensual silhouette created by the red silk clinging tightly to her skin, the four Mercenaries gasped as if on cue.
"Uh... ahem! Ahem-ahem!"
"Ahem! Ah, now, let's finish preparing breakfast..."
"Ah..."
As the men's gazes simultaneously dropped, Rose hastily returned the cloak to its original loose form, but-
Throughout breakfast,
the strangely subdued (or heated) atmosphere, where no one could open their mouths, was unavoidable.
< Illustration - Suddenly a Dress Atmosphere >
Two days later.
The party finally arrived at their destination, the 'Black Mist Swamp' on the eastern border of Deluna.
"Ugh... what a terrible smell."
Luke pinched his nose and frowned.
Everyone else had similar expressions; the swamp's environment was, quite literally, the worst-
The disgusting gas smell rising from rotten mud and stagnant water,
thick, damp fog obscuring vision,
and grotesquely twisted, dead ancient trees.
"It's not Magical Beasts... it feels like even evil spirits might pop out."
"The atmosphere is too sticky."
The Mercenaries grumbled, looking around.
And-.
'...If it's a sticky atmosphere... haa... isn't that good?... No, what crazy thoughts am I having right now...!'
Rose, about to fall into lewd fantasies from behind, hastily shook her head.
To prove that she wasn't a hopeless pervert,
she hadn't masturbated at the campsite since the first day.
Even if she covered herself with the cloak and wasn't caught,
she convinced herself that it was impolite to do such a thing with the party right below her.
But only two days.
Just two days of strict abstinence had plunged Rose into severe sexual frustration.
'...If I use [Lewd Voice] to arouse them, then use [Domination of Lust] to make them attack me... four people rushing at me simultaneously... one touching each breast, one below, one at the mouth...'
'... No, am I really crazy? What kind of imagination is this?!'
An even more absurd and dizzying temptation because it seemed possible.
'Don't these people secretly want it too?'
Whenever such thoughts arose, Rose felt like she was about to lose her grip on reason.
"Are you alright, Rose-yang? Your face... it's a bit red."
Carlton turned back, his face full of concern.
"Ah... ah?! The gas smell was so terrible that I unconsciously held my breath...!"
"Ugh, that's right. It's probably better to stick to the outer edges of the swamp instead of going too deep."
"I agree as well."
The other Mercenaries nodded in agreement.
Rose composed herself and vigorously shook her head.
'They're good people. I can't use such people as tools for my lust!'
The surging lust, later when night falls-.
Tonight, I'll masturbate all night long!
Touching here, touching there, thinking this, thinking that-!
Fortunately, besides her lewd anticipation for tonight,
a being appeared that could instantly cool Rose's surging lust.
[ Kkururuk- Kkururuguruk- ]
"...??!"
The rotten mud ominously bubbled,
and a hideous Monster, grotesquely mixed with a giant toad and a crocodile, burst out, its red eyes glowing.
With such a terrible appearance that it would make not only sexual desire but even appetite and sleepiness vanish.
"Kroaaak-!"
"It's a Magical Beast! Scatter!"
The Magical Beast waddled towards them.
Following Carlton's urgent command, the Mercenaries scattered in all directions.
[ Puuk- ]
"Huk...!"
But as Barek, whose feet were deeply stuck in the swamp, lost his balance and swayed,
the Magical Beast's giant fist, covered in mud and black Demonic Energy, flew towards him-
[ Teong-! ]
Rose's Gauntlet, emitting blue Mana,
blocked the attack in front of Barek.
"Rose-yang!"
"You can thank me later!"
[ Shuuuk- ]
Rose thrust the Rapier held in her other hand straight forward,
[ Teok- ]
but the Magical Beast grabbed the thin blade with its hand, enveloped in thick Demonic Energy.
"Eeeit..."
As Rose and the Magical Beast continued their standoff, locked in a struggle of strength with hands pressed together.
[ Pishut- Pishut-! ]
Arrows shot by the Mercenaries scattered to the left and right sharply grazed its crocodile-like snout-
"Kraaaak-!!"
The moment it let out a furious roar and turned its gaze.
Rose didn't miss the subtle disturbance in the Demonic Energy where their fists met.
"Eiiit!!"
As she released the Magical Beast's right hand, which she had been blocking with her Gauntlet, as if flicking it away,
the sudden break in the balance of power caused its massive body to stagger greatly-
'An opening!'
Rose gathered the strength from both hands to the tip of the Rapier and thrust it forward fiercely.
[ Puuuuk-! ]
"Kuaaaah-!!"
The Magical Beast, its heart pierced, let out a desperate scream.
Blue Mana flowed from its body and flew towards Rose.
Along with that.
[ Pushashasha- Chwaak- Chuaak- ]
Along with the black blood and piles of dark green rotten mud scattered as its massive body shattered into pieces.
"......"
"...Rose-yang, are you alright?"
"...Yes...."
The lewd Guardian, burning with lust,
was covered in Magical Beast blood and rotten mud instead of semen.
Having confirmed the appearance of Magical Beasts, the party
set up camp on the outskirts of the swamp and continued hunting around the area.
However, Magical Beasts weren't that common, so they mostly encountered ordinary monsters around the swamp.
In three days, they had only encountered Magical Beasts three times, including the mud-covered one on the first day.
There were tricky enemies like the 'Swamp Anaconda' that ambushed them from hiding in the mud,
and the 'Poison Flower' that emitted deadly poisonous gas.
There were crises during combat, such as Luke being grazed by poison or Barek being sent flying by a tail whip,
but they neutralized the poison with pre-prepared antidotes,
and Rose used wind to safely land Barek, who was flailing through the air-
They managed to achieve their goal without significant damage.
The goal, of course, was for Rose to absorb their Mana and grow stronger.
[ Wooong- ]
Rose felt the power flowing within her body growing increasingly immense, but-
'No, this isn't enough. I'm still not even at Risolde's level!'
To use Balthazar's way of speaking,
Risolde was actually a skilled individual who ranked quite high when all Guardians were lined up.
But not knowing that,
Rose, who had never met any other Guardian besides Risolde,
was burning with even greater fighting spirit, thinking she was still weaker than her.
So, during every break when there was no combat.
"I'm counting on you again, Carlton!"
"Alright, shall we begin?"
Basic swordsmanship, posture, application, theory, and sometimes even sparring.
She tried to learn anything. If only she could get stronger.
Of course, in sparring, if she used Mana, she would be unmatched, so she only used her pure physical abilities.
[ Kkang! Kkagang! ]
Carlton lightly crossed wooden swords with Rose, teaching her the practical swordsmanship of Mercenaries for survival in real combat.
Footwork to deceive the enemy's gaze, parrying to deflect force, and the knack of reading an opponent's center of gravity to exploit openings.
"Haa... haa... I definitely feel like I understand more now."
After sparring, Rose, drenched in sweat, panted heavily but her eyes sparkled.
Feeling the certainty that she was growing stronger day by day.
And panting heavily, drenched in sweat, was also the case when night fell.
"Eut... Eung..."
Fingers roughly violating herself under the widely spread red cloak, her mouth covered to avoid being heard.
As she gained some knack and familiarity with the act, fortunately, her lewd thoughts towards the party gradually decreased.
'That's right, I'm not a pervert! With this attractive body, this much is only natural!'
Thus, Rose was both self-gratifying and self-preserving.
Day 5 of swamp exploration.
Having spent all the planned days, the party returned to the campsite and decided to return to Deluna tomorrow.
They were leisurely resting, packing their belongings and sharpening their weapons.
[ Kukuk- Kugugung- ]
A heavy vibration that shook the ground.
At the same time, a giant silhouette tore through the thick fog and approached them.
"Ah... um... that's..."
What emerged through the fog was,
a giant Ogre.
Its entire body was thickly covered in the swamp's rotten mud,
and its eyes gleamed with the characteristic crimson glow of a Magical Beast.
'Strong...!'
Rose instinctively realized.
It was on a different level from the ones she had faced in the swamp so far.
A similar oppressive presence to the Golem she had encountered in the mine.
But-
'I've also grown much stronger since then...!'
Rose drew her Rapier and approached the Ogre.