Chapter 68: The Beastkin Priestess
Chapter 68: The Beastkin Priestess
The first enemy we encountered after passing through the secret passage was a Werewolf.
“Oh my? It’s a wolf-dog standing on two legs.”
Leia offered this rather anticlimactic observation from behind me.
Come to think of it, I never explained where the secret passage led.
Though I have a feeling her reaction isn’t about that.
Besides, hearing a Beastkin say something like that felt incredibly strange.
Well, setting that aside for now, I decided to focus on the battle.
“Leia, stay close to Sara and Diana!” I shouted, quickly dashing forward.
Unlike Sara and Diana, who could handle themselves if a Werewolf got close, Leia would be completely defenseless.
If the worst happened, we’d have to rely on those two to protect her.
Of course, the basic plan was for me to form a solid wall up front before any Werewolf could even get near them.
Just before I clashed with the Werewolf, I heard Leia’s clear voice from behind, praying as if she were singing a song.
A warm light enveloped my body, and I felt a surge of vitality.
Ooh. So this is a buff.
Receiving a buff for the first time was a remarkably pleasant sensation.
Since she was still low-level, I honestly hadn’t expected her to be much help in a fight right away, but this was more than enough to be useful.
Alright. Then I’d better show Leia something cool.
I cast Climax Restraint on the Werewolf charging toward me, then activated Saint’s Touch and slammed my fist into the bridge of its nose.
As the Werewolf’s body went rigid, I followed up with a flurry of punches.
From behind, Sara’s arrows and Diana’s magic flew past my body and struck the Werewolf.
Thanks to all the job levels I’d gained, I could now take down a single Werewolf before the stun from Saint’s Touch wore off.
When I judged the Werewolf was about to die, I took a small jump back.
Then, activating Saint’s Touch, I raised my brightly glowing fist and shouted with all my might.
“This hand of mine burns white! It roars furiously, telling me to make you cum! Haaaah!”
I swept past the Werewolf, driving my fist into its solar plexus. The creature’s body trembled violently before collapsing.
Only a puddle of white liquid on the ground spoke of the Werewolf’s final moments.
Hmph. Perfect.
Besides, timing a finishing blow like that isn’t just for show.
It’s a technique that combines offense and evasion.
The best way to dodge is to remove yourself from the line of fire entirely.
Even your final attack couldn’t touch me.
I muttered inwardly, careful not to step in the white liquid on the floor.
“Wow! That was amazing!”
Leia clasped her hands together, her eyes sparkling as she looked at me in admiration.
See! See! Someone who gets it, gets it!
Until now, no matter what technique I used, the reactions had been lukewarm at best. Having someone react like this gave me a real confidence boost.
“Right? Right!”
“Yes! To think you’d apply a bedroom technique to combat… what a brilliant idea!”
Huh? That’s what you’re impressed by?
Not how cool my finishing move was?
Well, she was still impressed with me, and that fact remained unchanged.
I composed myself and puffed out my chest again.
“Haha. I’ve always had a knack for unique and fresh ideas…”
“All of which this one taught him, you see.”
“Yes. It’s all thanks to what Diana taught me.”
“Wow. You’re amazing.”
Leia’s sparkling gaze immediately shifted from me to Diana.
“Hmph. A mage, by nature, must possess a creative mind,” Diana said, puffing out her chest with a smug look. She didn’t seem to mind the praise one bit.
Dammit. I’m pretty sure I did all the work in that fight.
I bitterly harvested the Magic Stone from the Werewolf’s corpse.
“By the way, how is this wolf-dog walking on two legs?”
“…Leia. You don’t actually think these are the same as wolf-dogs, do you?”
“Oh, they aren’t?” Leia asked, her face flushing with embarrassment.
“Well, they do look similar, so I can see why you’d think that. It’s understandable if you don’t know much about monsters. I get it.”
I definitely wasn’t just saying that because she looked cute when she was embarrassed.
“This is a monster called a Werewolf.”
“Wh-What?! A Werewolf? Isn’t that the monster that appears at the very end of the 1st Floor?”
It seemed she knew what a Werewolf was.
She must have assumed it was a wolf-dog because of the fixed idea that you couldn’t just jump to a different part of a floor by passing through a single tunnel.
“Yep. This is the end of the 1st Floor.”
“Ah! So that’s why the passage we came through is a secret!”
“That’s the gist of it.”
After that, our party continued to hunt in the surrounding area.
Since the plan was to make it a day trip again, we tried not to venture too far.
Empowered by Leia’s buffs, the party was stronger than ever, hunting relentlessly.
However…
“There are a lot of Werewolves,” Sara remarked.
Just as she said, there was an unusually large number of them.
It was a completely different scene from when we’d spent a week in the dungeon before.
I didn’t even need to compare it to that trip; just yesterday, Orcs had overwhelmingly outnumbered Werewolves.
If that’s the case, then…
“Could that Transcendent Species have revived?”
“Mm. That would be the most logical assumption,” Diana agreed.
We had blocked both entrances to the secret base with boulders.
If my guess was right and that was the only passage connecting the main route to this area, then it was impossible for the Werewolf population here to increase unless the boulders were moved.
Furthermore, we weren’t encountering Werewolves and Orcs at a 50/50 rate like before; the frequency of Werewolf encounters was clearly higher.
It was possible that whoever moved the boulders didn’t just stop there, but had set up camp here.
Or, just like when we first met the Transcendent wolf-dog, it might be coming after our party.
For now, it would be best to be a little more cautious.
Even though we’d defeated the Transcendent Werewolf before, it would be a huge pain if we ran into it while it was leading a pack of other Werewolves.
As we continued, the frequency of Werewolf encounters kept increasing.
The ones right in front of us now were even moving in a group of three.
For the typically solitary Werewolves to be acting together… should I take this to mean they’re really gunning for us?
Still, it was manageable for now.
Three of them weren’t much of a problem.
Our party, which had been clustered together, quickly fell into formation.
The basic setup was me at the front, with the other three behind me.
As I stepped forward, the beautiful prayer began once more, and a buff enveloped me.
I used Saint’s Touch to lock down two of the Werewolves, and Sara and Diana’s attacks immediately flew in.
But against three opponents, it was impossible to finish them all off before the stun wore off.
We focused our attacks and took down one, but the other two broke free from the stun.
“Grrrrrrr!”
They lost all reason and lunged at me.
Since there are two of them, I should probably focus on dodging rather than attacking, right?
But as I faced them, I found I had more leeway than usual, even while evading.
Was this the effect of my job level growth combined with Leia’s buff?
There’s a reason they say a priest is essential to any party.
I decided to immediately launch a counterattack.
It was impossible to dodge all of their attacks while fighting back, but in the end, I was able to take care of both of them with ease.
Even if I couldn’t dodge everything, I only ended up with a few minor scratches.
When you’re hunting in the dungeon, wounds like these don’t even count as injuries.
But it seemed Leia didn’t see it that way.
“Are you alright?”
As soon as the battle ended, Leia rushed over to me. She recited a prayer, her hands glowing with a warm light, and brought them to my wounds, stroking them as if to rub the pain away.
The light from her hands was absorbed into my wounds, and they healed in an instant.
So you can use Heal like this, too.
I’d just assumed it was a spell you cast from a distance, like any other magic.
“Does it hurt a lot?”
“Ah, no, not really…” I replied, my face turning red as Leia spoke, her eyes filled with worry.
“Oh my. How brave of you.”
I was moved as I looked at Leia, who smiled gently at my response.
An angel. There’s an angel right here.
For you, my lady, I would leap into the very fires of hell.
“Ahem. Hmph. Good work. Just as I’d expect from the man I acknowledged.”
“Yes. I’m always grateful to you, Guwon, for holding the front line so reliably.”
What’s more, even Diana and Sara, who rarely said such things, were praising me.
Though they both looked a little fidgety, as if embarrassed to say something they weren’t used to.
Has Lady Leia’s benevolent aura spread to those two as well?
My devotion to Leia grew even stronger in my heart.
After that, whenever we encountered a pack of Werewolves and I got scratched, Leia would heal me with that same gentle touch.
“Can’t healing magic be used without touching the person?” asked Sara, who was probably as unfamiliar with priest magic as I was.
Gah! I was deliberately not saying anything because I was afraid she’d stop if someone mentioned it!
But there was no need to worry.
“It can, but this method is more efficient with my holy power. At my level, I have to use what little I have as efficiently as possible to be of any help to you all,” Leia explained, blushing slightly.
I see. Given Leia’s personality, I thought she would have healed me the instant I got hurt during a fight. So this was the reason she deliberately waited until after the battle to do it this way.
Whatever the reason, I was relieved. It seemed my happy time wasn’t going to disappear.
“I-I see.”
Sara nodded, seeming to accept Leia’s answer.
Wait a minute. If that’s the case, then…!
A brilliant idea suddenly flashed in my mind.
I really am a genius! How do I even think of these things?
When we met the next group of Werewolves, I decided to put my brilliant idea into action immediately.
The number of Werewolves was perfect, exactly three.
It was the perfect opportunity to execute my plan.
I sprang into action.
First, I stunned all three with Saint’s Touch and focused my attacks to take down the first one.
Then, I fought against the two that had been freed from the stun.
The process of the battle itself was identical to the last one.
What was different was where I got injured.
As I faced the two crazed Werewolves, I carefully observed their attacks.
And when one of them swiped its claws at just the right height, I made my move.
Now!
Pretending to dodge the other one’s attack, I moved my body in a wide arc, letting the first one’s claws graze my crotch.
The sensation of the claw grazing my balls sent a chill down my spine, but when I thought about what was to come, this was nothing.
Alright. The plan was a success, so I have no more business with you guys.
I stopped playing around and swung my fists to quickly finish off the remaining two.
“Are you alright?”
And just as expected, as soon as the battle was over, Leia approached me.
She looked at my wounds and was about to recite a prayer, but then she froze.
Her face grew redder and redder as she began to hesitate.
Yeah, even I have to admit it looks a little strange.
Most of the scratches I had were on my arms and legs.
There were almost no wounds along the centerline of my body, which made the one on my crotch stand out conspicuously.
“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just a scratch in a weird place.”
But I put on a brave face and spoke boldly.
From what I’d seen of Leia’s personality, she would definitely heal me even if I said this.
As I looked at Leia with hopeful eyes, her face turned even redder.
She seemed to be muttering to herself, conflicted.
Good. Just a little more of a push should do it.
“Come on, let’s go. You don’t need to worry about my wound at all. A little spit will fix this right up.”
In truth, the scratches really would heal on their own soon enough.
My natural regeneration was pretty decent, after all.
“No. I can’t do that…”
But my words seemed to have solidified her resolve.
Though her face was still bright red, she looked me straight in the eye and began to pray.
Yes. It looks like she took the bait.
“Are you an idiot?!”
Just as I was about to break into a grin, Diana jabbed me in the side.
Ugh. Did she figure it out? My perfect plan?!
But it was too late! The prayer had already begun!
When Leia finished her prayer, a bright light enveloped me, and my wounds healed in an instant.
Huh?! What is this?! No! What about the stroking?!
“There, all better now,” Leia said with her usual gentle smile.
“Th-Thanks.”
I forced a smile and thanked her.
“Pfft!”
Beside me, Diana burst out laughing, clutching her stomach.
You just wait until tonight… ugh. I promised I’d do whatever she says tonight.
My sorrow deepened.