Chapter 20: The Archmage
Chapter 20: The Archmage
“I’m sorry, but we have to go to the dungeon right now. We’re already late as it is. Come on, get up. Let’s go.”
This is the first I’m hearing of it.
I was planning on taking today off.
Shouldn’t I get at least one day to relax and recover from yesterday?
“Huh? Wait, I thought we weren’t going to the dungeon today?”
“What are you talking about? We’ve leveled up so much, we need to raise our job levels quickly. How do you expect to get stronger if you’re so lazy?”
Well, she did say her goal was to get stronger, so I guess she’d be eager to get to the dungeon as soon as possible now that she’s leveled up.
Still, after everything she went through yesterday, you’d think she’d have some trauma or something.
“So that’s how it is. I’m afraid we won’t be able to show you the Saint’s skills.”
Hey, don’t you decide for me. Whether we do it or not depends on what she looks like under that hood…
“Hm. If that’s the case, then I shall accompany you. I am quite interested in seeing how a Saint fights.”
“Wh-What?! No way. We can’t suddenly fight alongside someone we’ve never coordinated with before.”
“I shall merely follow from behind and observe, so do not worry. You may treat me as if I am not here.”
“That’s ridiculous. The dungeon is dangerous.”
“Worry not. I have glimpsed one end of the path of magic. Monsters of a level you can handle could not leave a single scratch on this body.”
“You still can’t. Only adventurers registered with the Guild can enter the dungeon.”
“That, too, is no cause for concern. I registered long ago.”
“Grr!”
Losing the argument, Sara shot a frustrated glare at Guwon.
Hey, what do you want me to do about it?
And so, having run out of excuses to refuse, Guwon and Sara headed for the dungeon with the delusional, robed girl named Diana trailing behind them.
She wants to see a Saint’s combat style? What does that even mean?
When I fight, I just fight like a Martial Artist.
The Saint isn’t a combat job in the first place.
On top of that, Sara has been in a foul mood.
She’s been like this ever since she met Diana. If it were anyone but Sara, I’d be pleased, thinking she might be jealous. But there’s no way Sara would be so endearing.
“Hey. Sara.”
“What is it?!”
“Uh, nothing. I was just wondering where we should go today.”
“…I see. For now, how about we go back and face the Wolfdogs again?”
One of Sara’s good points was that she was always serious when it came to combat-related matters.
But Wolfdogs again? Yesterday, she was the one who wanted to fight stronger opponents. Now that she’s leveled up, she wants to go back to Wolfdogs?
“Wolfdogs? Didn’t you want to fight stronger monsters?”
“I’ve reflected on what happened yesterday. First, I want to reach a point where I can handle a pack of females on my own.”
“It’s good to be cautious, but you don’t need to be timid. Yesterday was a freak situation. Even if they call for allies with their howls, it’s not normal for that many Wolfdogs to swarm in like that.”
“…I see. Then how about we test how much stronger we’ve gotten against the Wolfdogs first, and then decide?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
And so we returned to the Wolfdog habitat.
We could make a living just by hunting these things, but even I was getting tired of it. I wanted to hunt some different monsters for a change.
Let’s just take down one pack lightly, then head deeper in.
Before long, we ran into three females.
Females again… I feel like I’ve been running into more and more females lately.
“Alright, this time let’s make absolutely sure they don’t get a chance to howl!”
“Heh. Let’s.”
My playful remark finally managed to draw a small smile from Sara.
The battle against the female Wolfdogs was over much more anticlimactically than we’d expected.
Strengthened by her level-up, Sara’s attacks now dealt significant damage even to the females, and I had gotten a little stronger myself.
I effectively blocked the one that charged Sara and made sure they couldn’t howl, and we cleaned them up in an instant.
“How was that? Was that enough of a combat demonstration for you?”
Guwon spoke proudly to the robed girl, who had been following them as silently as a ghost.
Even if they’re low-level monsters, a clean hunt like that has to be a rare sight, right?
“What was that? That was merely a fight of brute force. I wish to see the combat of a Saint, not such a crude brawl.”
“What the hell is a Saint’s combat supposed to be?”
“Hmm?”
The robed girl tilted her head as if she’d heard something strange.
The fact that I could tell she was tilting her head, despite her being just a lump of cloth with no visible face, was strangely infuriating.
“Are you not the Saint? Why do you ask me such a thing?”
“I told you, the Saint is a sex-related job. Don’t you get that it’s not a combat class?”
“What are you talking about? Did you not say you possess skills that give pleasure to your target?”
“Yeah, so? What does that have to do with combat?”
“Can you not simply use those skills on the enemy?”
What… did she just say?
Guwon felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck his mind.
This wasn’t just simple nonsense. It felt like he had just tasted a fragment of something far more terrifying.
“A skill that can disrupt an enemy’s senses can, in turn, become an attack that breaks their defense. Furthermore, you appear to be a frontline fighter. Would it not also serve to draw the enemy’s attention, keeping their eyes off the rear guard? I do not understand why you would say it is unrelated to combat.”
In other words, this robed girl was telling him this:
Use the Saint’s skills on monsters to drive them into heat.
Guwon couldn’t help but shudder at her idea.
So she wasn’t just some delusional girl with eighth-grader syndrome? How can a psycho like this exist in the world?
I’d always thought of myself as a reasonably crazy bastard, but this woman was on a whole other level.
“W-Wait a minute. What if I use a Saint’s skill on a monster and end up losing? I have a feeling it wouldn’t be a pretty end for me.”
“If you are to lose anyway, will you not suffer a terrible fate regardless? If so, I believe it would be better to increase your chances of victory, however slightly.”
She had a point.
For a moment, Guwon found himself convinced.
No, no, no, no, no, that’s just wrong. Shit, I almost let her persuade me!
If I used it on a Wolfdog, wouldn’t it become a literal fucking dog in heat and try to jump me? Is that okay? Can I really handle that kind of situation?
Grr! Bark!
Without giving Guwon any time to think it over, another pack of female Wolfdogs charged at them.
“Perfect timing. I shall have high expectations for this one.”
“High expectations for what?!”
He said that, but a small part of him was admittedly curious to try it.
To be precise, his gamer instincts were tingling, eager to find out what would happen if he used a Saint’s skill on a monster.
Should I really try it? Will it be okay? It’ll probably be fine, right?
Yeah. Let’s give it a shot. It’s not like I’m weak enough to lose to these things. What’s the worst that could happen?
He immediately used Sex Analyze on the charging Wolfdogs, and sure enough, certain parts of their bodies began to glow pink.
Honestly, he was half-hoping it would work and half-hoping it wouldn’t, but to think it would work so perfectly.
Staring at the erogenous zones of a fucking dog, Guwon felt like he had seen something he should never have seen.
Ah, screw it! It’s do or die now!
Guwon immediately used Saint’s Touch, which amplified pleasure on contact, and lightly touched one of the glowing pink areas.
BARK! BARK! BARK! BARK! BARK! BARK! BARK!
The effect was astonishing, to say the least.
Perhaps because it was a beast with nothing but instinct in its brain, the moment the skill hit, the Wolfdog flinched once before its eyes turned bloodshot. Drool dripped from its mouth as it charged madly at Guwon.
Ugh! Shit! Look at this fucking dog in heat! Get away from me!
The effect was so potent that the Wolfdog completely ignored the arrows Sara was firing at it, its eyes fixed solely on Guwon as it charged.
Terrified, Guwon instinctively struck the Wolfdog with all his might.
Phew, that was a close one.
“Hmm. I see. It activates merely on contact. Interesting.”
“It’s not interesting to me!”
Still… he had to admit it. The effect was undeniably incredible.
Because it was a beast driven by instinct, the Wolfdog continued to charge only at Guwon even as it was dying from Sara’s arrows.
Aside from the minor drawback of my chastity being in danger, this is basically the ultimate taunt skill, isn’t it?
“Hmm, might I ask what the activation conditions for that skill are?”
“Huh? You just have to touch them with your hand. Why?”
“What is the precise definition of ‘touch’? For example, if you attack with your hand, is that also considered a ‘touch’ that activates the effect?”
Another bolt of lightning struck Guwon’s mind.
Now that she mentions it…
He also noticed that the skill caused the target to flinch and recoil for a moment from the sudden pleasure. In other words, it could be used as what games would call a stun.
What if he repeatedly punched a monster with Saint’s Touch active?
Couldn’t he just infinitely stun-lock it and turn it into a punching bag?
Alright, let’s test that next.
“Alright. Let’s go! Next one. Next one.”
Forgetting his earlier resolve to venture deeper into the labyrinth today, Guwon began searching for another Wolfdog to continue his experiment.
Whine! Yelp! Whimper! Yip!
And just as he’d thought, it worked.
Even when he struck them with his fists while Saint’s Touch was active, the sudden jolt of pleasure from the skill’s effect made the Wolfdogs flinch reflexively. During that brief stun, he could land a follow-up attack, extending the stun’s duration.
If he overused it, the enemy might get used to it and the effect could diminish, but against Wolfdogs that he could take down in three or four hits, it was absolutely dominant.
“Hoh. So it can also be used for a stun effect. Your application is quite good.”
Not as good as yours, though!
Who the hell was this robed girl?
That strange way of speaking, too.
Could it be that she wasn’t just a delusional girl, but actually someone incredible?
At the very least, her wealth of ideas made her a helpful presence.
She seemed to be a decent level, too. Should I try to recruit her?
“Are you satisfied now? We’re going to continue our exploration, so you can go back now.”
“What are you talking about? I still have many questions. I would also like to experience it for myself to see what it feels like.”
Hearing that, Sara immediately glared at Guwon.
Why me?! This is unfair. Of course, I’m looking forward to demonstrating my Saint skills on that robed girl, but I’m not the one who brought it up!
Is she hoping I’ll refuse?
Sorry, but I can’t do that.
Unlike you, I’m not the type to despise sex. In fact, I think it’s a very good thing.
So I’m going to do it.
Assuming, of course, that the face revealed when she takes off that robe is pretty.
Did she really think I’d kick away a blessing that rolled right up to my feet?
To be honest, he had high hopes for the robed girl’s face.
Judging by the way she spoke and the combat advice she gave, she was likely the type to be confident in her own abilities.
Which meant there was a very high probability that her appearance was enhanced by her level.
At the very least, she had to be above average.
And a woman like that was offering herself up to him.
Not only would it feel good, but it meant he could also gain the practical benefit of leveling up.
This new world is the best!
I feel like I could lick the feet of this world’s goddess if she asked me to.
Guwon smiled at Sara, his expression filled with that firm resolve.
Glare all you want, I’m still doing it.
Whatever Sara took from his smile, the tension in her eyes soon faded.
Hmph… I definitely didn’t say a word. Misunderstandings can be a dangerous thing.
“You said you have a lot of questions. Is there something else?”
“Hm. For example, what happens if you use that skill on a male monster?”
“Wh-What? What do you mean?”
“I mean exactly what I said. The ones you just fought were all female, so it is understandable that they all charged at you. But what would happen against a male? Would the male also charge at you? Or would it charge at the females in the vicinity?”
That was certainly a problem worth considering.
What if he used the skill on a male monster without thinking, and it charged at Sara?
The thought alone was horrifying.
Of course, the thought of a male beast charging at me with its dick hard and its eyes bloodshot was too horrifying to even imagine.
The thought made him hesitate to test it.
Do I really have to verify this? Can’t I just not use it on males?
Either way it charged, the mental damage was going to be significant…
But then again, it was an undeniably useful skill.
This was a dungeon where your life was on the line. It was best to use everything at his disposal.
Besides, a Wolfdog was the perfect test subject, since even if a male charged at Sara, it wouldn’t pose any real threat.
I have no choice. I have to prepare myself.
Steeling his resolve more grimly than ever before since coming to this world, Guwon set off in search of a male.