Chapter 553: For the Descent of the Goddess
Chapter 553: For the Descent of the Goddess
We were surprisingly relaxed for a party heading into the dungeon after so long, but that only lasted until we stepped onto the teleportation circle.
After teleporting to the 3rd Floor, the tension on everyone's faces was palpable.
Well, it had been a while since we'd been in the dungeon.
Sara, Diana, and Leia, who could at least swim, had apparently been searching the dungeon for me the whole time I was stranded. But Silvia and Matilda had been stuck in the 4th Floor's town, unable to do much of anything.
If anything, it would have been stranger if they weren't nervous.
Alright. In that case, maybe a lighthearted joke would help ease their tension...
"Guwon... are you okay?"
Just as I was thinking that, Leia gently clung to my arm, looking up at me with a worried expression.
Heh heh. My angel. At first, I thought she'd become even more devoted to me after last night... but that wasn't it.
No, my angel has been devoted to me from the very beginning. It's not like she could possibly get more devoted.
No, that wasn't it. My angel was looking at me with genuine concern.
And when I looked closer, I saw that the other girls were also stealing tense glances at me.
In other words, they weren't nervous because they were back in the dungeon after a long time. They were nervous because I was.
"Of course, I'm fine. You're not worried I developed some kind of trauma about the dungeon, are you?"
Seeing their reactions, I chuckled and answered lightly.
But even though I spoke in a joking tone, the girls didn't relax. If anything, they looked even more tense.
I-I'm really fine... You know I'm not that sensitive, right?
I mean, I get why they're worried, since I was stranded for so long.
What should I do? This doesn't seem like a situation I can talk my way out of.
Right. Fine. If words won't work, I'll just have to show them.
Once they see me handling monsters without any trouble, they'll stop worrying for nothing.
"Alright, then! Let's get going!"
And so, I led the worried-looking girls out of town with a deliberately cheerful voice.
Unfortunately, on a day like this, of all days, there wasn't a single monster in sight.
That's strange. We'd walked far enough that we should have run into two or three packs of monsters by now.
Come to think of it, the town on the 3rd Floor did seem more crowded than before...
Anyway, I needed to fight a monster. Now.
To prove I was fine, I desperately scanned our surroundings, searching for any sign of a monster.
However, to the girls, it must have looked like I was too anxious to stand still.
"Guwon... if this is too much, should we just head back for today? You don't have to force yourself..."
Sara, not you too! I'm telling you, I'm really fine!
Damn it. I need a monster, fast... Just then, I heard the faint clash of weapons.
No doubt about it. Someone's fighting nearby.
Perfect! Let's go!
The rule is not to interfere in another adventurer's fight unless they ask for help, but this wasn't the time to worry about that. The priority was to show everyone I was fine in front of a monster.
Besides, who knows? The adventurers fighting over there might be in trouble.
With that in mind, I rushed toward the sound of clashing weapons, but an unexpected sight awaited us.
"Woooooah!"
For the record, that wasn't a monster. That was me.
The scene unfolding before my eyes was so far beyond my expectations that the sound just slipped out.
"You hold that part!"
"Got it! Keep it pinned down tight!"
Three female adventurers were pinning down a Lizardman's arms and legs, while a fourth had her hand on its crotch, pumping her arm vigorously.
"Almost there! Just a little more!"
That's right. The adventurers were working hard to obtain the Lizardman's penis.
Yes! I knew it! Ever since I found out that a penis could be a key, I knew I'd eventually witness a scene like this!
If anything, I'm surprised it took this long!
Whenever I asked how other adventurers got the penises, they'd always get vague and change the subject. So this is how they do it!
Honestly, I couldn't care less about some other guy getting off, but if I mentally blocked out the Lizardman and focused only on the female adventurers, it felt like watching a live-action reverse-rape AV. I was getting pretty turned on... Gahk!
As I was observing the adventurers, I suddenly felt a sharp pinch in my side.
I didn't even have to look to know who did it.
"Wh-why did you pinch me...?"
Even so, not wanting to disturb the other adventurers, I desperately whispered my question to Sara.
But instead of letting go, Sara twisted her fingers deeper into my side and dragged me away, out of the adventurers' sight.
Then, she spoke in an exasperated voice.
"You really are a pervert... You don't actually have any trauma, do you?"
"I told you from the start that I didn't..."
Honestly, this felt a little—no, very—unfair.
I mean, sure, it was my fault for staring at what those adventurers were doing, but still.
"You."
Seeing my state, Diana came to stand in front of me and beckoned lightly with her hand.
What? She's already right here, so she can't be telling me to come closer. Does she want me to lean down?
As I leaned down to bring my face closer to hers, Diana balled her beckoning hand into an adorable little fist and bonked me lightly on the head.
"Bad boy! It would be one thing if you were mentally unstable, but if you're perfectly fine, you should have the decency to look away when grown women are in such a situation!"
And just like that, I got a proper scolding for the first time in a while.
Diana seemed genuinely angry, planting her hands on her hips and huffing, "Hmph! Hmph!"
"Hey, I'm sorry about that... But you! You made a cute little gesture, and I was wondering what you were up to. You beckoned me over just to hit me?!"
"Hmph! It's your own fault for getting all worked up over other women!"
"Fufu. Diana is right. You were in the wrong this time, Guwon."
Diana acted as if she'd done nothing wrong, and even my angel sided with her.
H-how could this be? I was only acting this way to ease your worries!
...Though I admit I was a little turned on by the scene.
I quickly turned to Silvia and Matilda for support.
"...!"
"What's with that look? E-even if you stare at me so sexily, I'm not going to defend you..."
But Silvia just flinched and didn't come to my defense, while Matilda, who had been about to refuse flatly... was gradually slipping into her pink-haze mode.
This might actually work if I push just a little more...
"Matilda. Really?"
"Ah, ahh... You..."
"You idiot! What do you think you're doing in the middle of the dungeon?!"
Naturally, I was trying to push Matilda fully into her pink-haze mode to get at least one person on my side, but Sara saw what I was doing and charged at me in a rage.
"S-Silvia, shield!"
"Heh?! Uwaaaaaah! L-Lady Sara! Please, calm down!"
"Ugh! Hey, Guwon! That's a dirty trick! Let go of Silvia!"
But before Sara could reach me, I snatched Silvia from beside me and used her as a human shield.
Trembling, Silvia reflexively spread her arms to block Sara. Sara glared at me, her hand held out flat and trembling with frustration.
Hmph. I may have been caught off guard earlier, but I'm not going to fall for the same trick twice.
Still, Silvia... thanks for blocking her, but maybe you should calm down a little, too?
I know we haven't seen any monsters yet, but we're still in the dungeon. Are you really trembling this much just because I'm holding you?
It really seems like her tolerance gets lower and lower over time.
"Phew. Anyway, the important thing is that I'm really fine. You've all seen how I am now, so you get it, right? I'm not the sensitive type to get trauma or anything. You don't have to worry, so let's just act normal. Like we always do."
And just like that, I was finally able to wipe the worried looks off the girls' faces.
Hmm. There was an unexpected incident, but in the end, it all turned out for the best.
"You can try to spin this into a happy ending all you want, but it doesn't change the fact that you got turned on watching other women assault a monster. Don't you dare try to gloss over it."
Tch. Busted.
After that little commotion, we finally began our dungeon exploration in earnest.
Our objective this time was, of course, to find the 4.5th Floor.
Of course, I was still a little uneasy about heading to the 4.5th Floor with our current strength.
We hadn't even completely conquered the 4th Floor yet, after all.
But I figured it would be best to find the 4.5th Floor before the ice cave got any more crowded.
The Kobold Cave and the Ant Nest were great stepping stones for advancing between floors, but the ice cave was an especially good environment for leveling up. It was obvious that it would only get more crowded with adventurers over time.
And I was confident that if we tackled the 4th Floor now, things would be completely different from before.
First, there was my own skill, which had skyrocketed while I was stranded. Of course, since I hadn't had any sex, my main level hadn't gone up, but my Martial Artist and Assassin job levels had shot up, and my stats had increased tremendously as a result.
Most importantly, I'd gotten used to fighting the 4th Floor's monsters and to underwater combat.
Honestly, as long as we weren't up against plant-type monsters, I felt like I could probably handle everything myself and let the girls just hang back.
Besides, I wasn't the only one who'd gotten stronger.
The other girls had raised their job levels a bit in the meantime, but Sara's growth was especially remarkable.
After all, Sara was the type who could level up through combat alone.
She was now a staggering level 156.
She used to be a lower level than me before I was stranded, and now she had surpassed me.
And since her level had risen so much from combat alone, her job level had naturally skyrocketed as well.
Her Hero job level was even the same as her character level: 156... Huh? Wait a minute.
Realizing this, I instinctively took a closer look at Sara's stats.
The Hero job, just like the Saint job, automatically increases every stat by 1 with each level up.
Which meant... her Strength stat must have also increased enormously.
Far more than my own Durability stat had.
What the hell. So all this time, I thought her pinches only stopped hurting because my Durability stat had gone up, as long as she didn't infuse mana into her hand. But she was just holding back?!
"Hm? What is it? What's wrong?"
Sara must have felt my stare, because she tilted her head and looked at me.
"Ah, no. It is nothing."
"What's with that? Why are you suddenly being so formal?"
"Ah, ahaha. I guess your beauty is so overwhelming I just couldn't help myself?"
"Pfft. You idiot. Honestly. We're in the dungeon, so stay alert. If anything happens to you again, you'll have me to answer to."
Thankfully, she seemed to buy my excuse. Sara chuckled and made a pinching motion with her fingers.
...I should probably be careful not to make Sara too angry when I tease her from now on.
Not that I was going to stop teasing her entirely.
Anyway, in addition to Sara's growth, Silvia and Matilda, who already had high enough levels, had also learned how to swim.
Of course, they'd still need more practice to fight freely underwater, but just being able to swim made a huge difference.
In other words, if we went to the 4th Floor now, things would be completely different.
Of course, the monsters on the 4.5th Floor would be even stronger than those on the 4th, so it would probably be best to face the 4th Floor's Layer Boss before we tried to proceed.