Chapter 75: The Beastkin Priestess
Chapter 75: The Beastkin Priestess
Swoosh!
Just as I was about to invest my bonus stats into Durability, a sharp sound cut through the air from behind, and an arrow slammed into the eye of the lead werewolf.
“Guwon! Are you okay?”
“Sara? How? I thought you were ambushed on your side, too?”
“…We’ve already taken care of things over there.”
For some reason, Sara had a slightly bitter expression as she answered me.
Why that expression? D-don't tell me someone got hurt?
“Guwon-ssi! Q-quickly, let me heal you…!”
“No, I’m not hurt yet. I’m fine.”
“Hmm. Quite a few of them over here, I see.”
But contrary to my worries, Leia and Diana also emerged from the tunnel one after another, looking perfectly fine.
What a relief. Neither of them seems to be hurt.
“Is everyone alright? No one’s injured?”
“Yes.”
“I heard werewolves showed up on your side too? How did you manage?”
“Mm. Let’s deal with these guys first, then talk.”
Right. Everyone seems to be safe, so I should finish the fight first.
At Diana’s words, I turned to face forward again.
The werewolves seemed quite surprised to see the women in my party appear without a single scratch.
It was obvious from their flustered expressions that they were panicking.
“You actually tried to use your brains, you damn beasts?”
I cracked my knuckles, the sound echoing as I slowly approached the werewolves.
Seeing how things had turned, the werewolves seemed to realize they had no choice but to go all out.
The creatures dropped to all fours and charged straight at me.
At a glance, it looked like they were heading for me, but their true intention was obvious.
The fact that they were running on all fours meant they were trying to bypass me and get to the women.
Of course, I wasn't about to let that happen.
I still wasn't used to using Saint's Touch with other parts of my body, so I had to use my hands.
But I wasn't facing a Transcendent Species. I could easily handle all of them with just my hands.
Any that tried to break away were picked off by Sara's arrows and Diana's magic, so in the end, none of them could get past me.
And so, I faced off against the seven werewolves.
Since we were in an open area rather than a confined space, I had to fight while surrounded by all seven of them.
This is pretty tough.
But it wasn't anything I couldn't handle.
If anything, I saw it as a chance to raise my Job Level more effectively.
It was impossible to dodge all of their simultaneous attacks from every direction, but I blocked them as best I could with my arms and legs while fighting back.
I inevitably ended up with more wounds than usual, but the party still dealt with the seven werewolves with an ease that would be unthinkable for any other adventuring party in this area.
“Guwon-ssi!”
As soon as the battle ended, Leia rushed over to me.
As if she had been preparing, a bright light was already gathered in her hands.
Leia began to heal me, caressing every part of my body with those hands.
This moment after a battle, when Leia's hands roam over my body, is truly the best.
Every time this happens, I think to myself how glad I am that I recruited Leia.
Since I had quite a few minor wounds this time, the time Leia spent caressing me naturally grew longer.
The fatigue seemed to melt away, replaced by the ticklish sensation of my wounds healing rapidly.
Leia has a gentle personality, always rushing over as soon as a fight is over, but surprisingly, contrary to that nature, she's cool-headed about judging the right time to use her healing magic during battle. She assesses the situation and won't use healing magic unless my injuries reach a certain level.
She had used it a few times during the last fight, but there were still several wounds left on my body.
Is her personality separate from her combat sense? No, maybe it's because of her personality that she conserves her holy power.
After all, using it recklessly and running out of holy power at a critical moment could lead to the worst possible outcome.
“Thanks. You must be tired too, Leia, after using so much holy power during the fight.”
“No, this is my role. Besides, I have to use my holy power like this to raise my Job Level.”
Come to think of it. The condition for raising a Job Level is to perform actions related to that job, not just to fight.
For a priest, their Job Level grows in battle when they cast buffs or heal injured allies.
In that case, would it be better for me to stop dodging and take a few hits on purpose from now on?
“Hmph. Good work.”
As I was being healed, Diana also came over and started patting my head.
“It was nothing. More importantly, I heard werewolves appeared on your side too? How on earth did you deal with them?”
“Hm? Well, it was easier than I thought. They must have underestimated us, since there were only three of them.”
It seems the werewolves were most wary of me.
Did they think that if they just tied me up, they could take care of the women one by one?
Well, from the werewolves' perspective, I guess I would have stood out the most.
But even if it was only three, it must have been dangerous without a vanguard.
Wouldn't it have been incredibly dangerous if one charged at Sara, one at Diana, and one at Leia?
Even if Sara managed to hold on with her dagger and Diana with her shield magic, Leia would have been taken down in an instant.
“…It was all thanks to Diana.”
Sara muttered, still with that bitter expression.
And for some reason, it felt like she was glaring at me.
“It's true. I was so surprised when she took out a werewolf in an instant with a single fire spell. Diana-ssi, you're incredibly strong.”
What?! A werewolf in one shot?!
Diana's not the type to not brag about something like that.
When I whipped my head around to look at Diana, she unexpectedly blushed and spoke with a hint of embarrassment.
“W-well, my level went up quite a bit last night, didn't it?”
Come to think of it….
I'm an exception with my Saint job, but normal people in this world only get stronger after leveling up through sex and then raising their Job Level.
Right after leveling up, there's only a slight difference from the level-up bonus.
But unlike normal people, whenever Diana levels up, her Job Level immediately rises to match.
In other words, she becomes absurdly strong just by leveling up through sex.
Besides, as we saw when she used Explosion at a level where she shouldn't have been able to, she displays skills far superior to other mages of the same level.
After yesterday's intense sex, Diana's current level is 38.
Now that she's surpassed level 35, the recommended level for fighting werewolves, it was easy to imagine she'd be strong enough to dominate at this stage.
“Still, strong enough to take out a werewolf in one hit? Then why don't you usually do that? Even in the fight just now…”
“I can no longer raise my Job Level. I've been adjusting my power so that you all can grow.”
Diana said this with a deep blush, looking quite embarrassed.
Ooh. Archmage-nim. So that was your profound intention. I guess she really is the great Archmage, despite appearances.
From the sound of it, she's been holding back her power not just now, but in most of our battles so far.
I always thought she was the type to get a big head and brag whenever she was helpful, but to think she was hiding the one thing most worth bragging about.
I finally understood Diana's deep intentions, and a newfound respect for her began to bloom within me.
“H-hmph. Now that you understand, you should respect me a little more.”
Even as she said it, she averted her gaze, her face flushed with embarrassment.
Cute.
“…It was truly amazing.”
That explains Sara's slightly bitter expression.
Was she disheartened by the difference in skill between herself and Diana?
As a Hero with the mission to one day face the Demon King, it's understandable that she'd be discouraged if someone was growing stronger than her, even if they were growing together.
But comparing herself to Diana is just picking the wrong person to compare with.
Alright. As the party leader, it's my job to take care of her.
“Sara, don't be too discouraged. Diana is a special case because of how she levels up. You're getting plenty strong, too. Once your Job Level is higher, you might even become stronger than her.”
“Thank you. But it's not what you think, Guwon.”
Not what I think? It's written all over your face that you're bitter.
Anyway, with that, we successfully completed today's objective: retaking our secret base.
Looking around the secret base, the boulder that had blocked the other side was just shoved into a corner, with no signs of it being broken or cracked.
That means we can rest easy today, too.
Though I doubt the werewolves will come looking for this place again after the beating they just took.
I quickly blocked the main route with the boulder, then went through the tunnel we'd used and thoroughly sealed the entrance on the other side as well.
After Diana set up her alarm magic to make it perfectly secure, Leia let out a gasp of admiration.
“Wow! We can rest here without worrying about monsters?”
“Yep. We stayed here for a week and had no problems.”
“That's amazing! To think there's a place like this inside the dungeon… First the hidden passage, and now this. How did you find it?”
“Just got lucky.”
I knew about the passage because of game knowledge, but finding this place was pure luck.
I'd only followed the werewolves hoping they'd lead me to a Transcendent Species if I tracked them back to their lair.
“Even if it was luck, that's still amazing. It seems the Goddess's blessing is with you, Guwon-ssi.”
Coming from Leia, who serves the Goddess, that's probably the highest praise she could give.
Leia looked at me with admiration.
It's embarrassing to be looked at like that for something so trivial.
The catch is, I might have actually received the Goddess's blessing.
It seems the Goddess has brought others to this world besides me, but I appear to be the first one she sent over with a broken job like Saint.
Though there's no reason she'd bless a complete stranger like me.
The only thing I can think of is that she's a huge fan of Great Earth's games.
But in that regard, there are plenty of guys way more incredible than me.
There are guys who run fan sites and post strategy guides, and even guys who enjoy yarikomi [hardcore completionist] playthroughs.
Well, it's not like I can meet the Goddess, so there's no point in me worrying about it.
Afterward, the party enjoyed a leisurely meal.
As expected, even though we were still in the dungeon, the peace of mind that comes from being in a completely safe space versus a place where monsters could pop out at any moment was completely different.
And then, when it was finally time to sleep.
As always, Sara and Diana spread their blankets right next to me.
“Oh my. Are you sleeping side-by-side? Hehe. You all seem to get along so well.”
“W-well, even in a safe place, we can't guarantee monsters won't attack, and Guwon is the only one who can handle a surprise attack. We're sleeping like this just in case. Just in case.”
“By that logic, shouldn't Leia, who's physically weaker than you, be the one sleeping next to me…?”
“What did you say?!”
Sara glared at me as if to say, 'What do you mean by that?'
Ugh. I guess if we were ambushed, both Sara and Leia would be taken out in one hit anyway.
Did it sound like I was choosing to protect Leia over Sara?
“No, that's not what I meant…”
“Hmph. In that case, Lady Leia, you may sleep next to this man in my stead.”
Diana suddenly spoke up.
Ooh. As expected of Diana-nim. She's showing her considerate side again, just like before.
“Huh? Is that really okay? Then what about you, Diana-ssi…?”
“It's no problem at all. Don't you worry.”
Leia said this hesitantly, but Diana truly didn't seem worried at all.
Can she sleep with a shield spell active? Or maybe she can set it to activate automatically upon being attacked.
But the reason Diana looked so unconcerned had nothing to do with magic.
“Hmph. Well then, good night.”
“Oh, my.”
“W-what are you…!”
The moment I lay down, Diana actually flopped right on top of me.
At the sight, Leia covered her mouth with her hand, her cheeks flushing slightly, while Sara seemed too stunned to speak.
“It can't be helped. I am just as vulnerable to a surprise attack.”
“Th-then!”
“It's a more rational choice for my smaller body to do this. Wouldn't you agree?”
“Uuuugh!”
It seemed Sara was rendered speechless by Diana's logic.
“Well, you're not wrong… but are you sure about this?”
She had a point. If you only looked at her argument, that is.
But it felt strange seeing Diana, the one who had strictly forbidden any such acts in the dungeon, initiating this kind of physical contact.
“Tsk. What are you thinking? This is purely for safety. You'd better not get hard.”
“Y-you’re hard!”
“N-no, I'm not!”
Not yet, anyway…
“Then I'll sleep like this.”
“Ugh!”
At Diana's declaration, Sara pressed her entire body tightly against my side.
Hey. You expect me not to get hard like this?
On top of that, Leia turned to lie on her side facing me, perhaps because of her tail, and the pressure intensified.
Leia wasn't pressed right up against me, but since a certain part of her was so enormous, the sensation against my arm was no joke.
Can I really get through the night without getting hard?
And so passed our first night in the dungeon as a party of four.