Chapter 78: The Beastkin Priestess
Chapter 78: The Beastkin Priestess
And so, Guwon finished his unjustly solitary meal. It was still a bit too early to go to sleep, though.
Shall I get some practice in?
Growth wasn't just about raising my job level. Honing my skills was another way to become stronger.
Sitting on the bedding I’d laid out, I decided to do some more research on new ways to use Saint's Touch before bed.
First, I activated Saint's Touch in the usual way, retracing how the mana flowed. Then, I tried activating it in my hand, the way the people of this world did.
As expected, it took longer to activate than my usual method, but channeling it into my hand was still relatively easy.
Come to think of it, what would happen if I infused more or less mana using this method? Would the skill's power change?
To test it, I first needed a volunteer to tell me how powerful it was.
First off, Leia was an absolute no-go.
Right now, I had no idea what exactly triggered her Gumiho transformation. If I carelessly tested a skill on her and she transformed, it would be a complete disaster.
Then what about Diana? As part of our skill research, she was the perfect candidate.
The problem, however, was Diana's particular kinks.
If I used Saint's Touch on her here and it stimulated her exhibitionism, sending her into heat… The thought was arousing, I'll admit, but I had no confidence I could handle the consequences.
I guess that only leaves Sara.
"Sara. Sorry to bother you, but could I ask you for a small favor?"
"Huh? What is it?"
"I mentioned I learned how to use skills the way people in this world do, right? I want to see if the skill's power changes depending on the amount of mana I use."
"Oh, I see. If it's for that, I'll gladly cooperate."
"Thanks. First, can you tell me how different this feels from the usual Saint's Touch?"
I channeled as little mana as I could into Saint's Touch and lightly touched Sara's butt.
This was by no means because I was disappointed I had to stop touching her yesterday.
I was simply using a small amount of mana, so to make the comparison easier for her, I touched her most sensitive erogenous zone. That's all.
"Wha?! Using Saint's Tou—ah… Oh?"
Sara was quite flustered by my words, but she seemed surprised when my hand touched her and she didn't feel the usual intense pleasure.
"How is it?"
"Yes. It's definitely much weaker than usual."
Just as I expected. But I was already fairly certain that would be the case.
The real question was what would happen when I infused more mana than usual.
It was clear that the people of this world could unleash greater power by pouring more mana into their skills, just as Sara had pierced through that Orc in a single blow.
But would that be possible for me, someone constrained by the game system's skill levels?
"Alright, here's the next one."
This time, I took Sara's hand and, channeling as much mana as I possibly could, activated Saint's Touch.
"Haahng!"
Instantly, Sara's body trembled violently, and she leaned against me.
But Saint's Touch was powerful to begin with, so I couldn't tell just by looking if this was any stronger than usual.
"How is it?"
To know for sure, I had no choice but to ask her directly.
"I-it feels good…"
But Sara, her face flushed, just mumbled something completely off-topic.
Ugh. To think that even Sara, who doesn't have any particular kinks like that, would react this way. Saint's Touch is truly a terrifying skill.
If I had done this to Diana, I can't even imagine how she would have reacted…
Sara's sexy response almost swept me up in the mood for a moment, but I barely managed to regain my composure and ask again.
"N-no, I mean, how is the power compared to usual?"
"Ah! R-right! I don't think it's very different from usual."
At my words, Sara came to her senses and answered, her ears turning bright red.
There, there. No need to be embarrassed. Big brother understands everything.
But as I thought, it seemed this method couldn't produce an effect beyond the skill's current level.
I was hoping that if it were possible to surpass the skill level's limits, it would be effective for many skills, not just Saint's Touch. Especially if a skill like Sex Analyze could be enhanced, I could produce far more satisfying results than I do now.
It was a shame, but what can't be done, can't be done. There was no point in clinging to false hope.
The game system had already made me unusually strong compared to others. I should just think of this as a necessary penalty to maintain some semblance of balance.
"I see. Thanks. That was a big help."
"I-is that it?"
It seemed Sara had gotten worked up after all. A hint of disappointment colored her voice.
Her reaction was getting me excited, too. If we weren't in the dungeon, I would have pounced on her right then and there.
"Yeah. Thanks."
"O-oh, no problem. Well then."
With that, Sara immediately dove under her covers, pulling them all the way over her head.
I feel like I did something I should be sorry for.
Since I just got her worked up and left her hanging today, I'll have to make it up to her the next time we sleep together.
Though I feel like I make that same promise every time with Sara.
My skill practice didn't end there.
I spent a little more time practicing activating skills with parts of my body other than my hands, and soon it was time to sleep.
Just like last time, Diana tried to lay herself on top of me.
"Diana, wait a second."
"Hm? What is it?"
"Is there really a need for you to sleep on top of me?"
It was a shame, a truly tear-jerking shame, but I had to stop Diana.
If we all slept piled on top of each other again, it would probably become the default way we slept in the dungeon.
Of course, sleeping sandwiched between three beautiful women was a blissful experience, but I didn't think my mind could take it if we kept doing that.
Even I couldn't guarantee I'd be able to maintain my reason indefinitely.
For the sake of a comfortable night's sleep, I decided to swallow my tears and suggest a different arrangement to Diana.
"What are you talking about? This is in case of an emergency…"
"Right. If that's the case, you can sleep on a blanket above my head and still be able to respond."
"Even if we're ambushed in our sleep?"
"There aren't any monsters around here strong enough that I wouldn't be able to react to them, at least."
"…Do you dislike this one sleeping on top of you that much?"
Diana's slightly bitter tone made my efforts feel pointless.
What am I even doing? Trying so hard to convince this beautiful girl to sleep apart from me.
"No, it's just, wouldn't it be uncomfortable for you, Diana?"
"You need not worry about this one. I am perfectly fine."
Well, she always slept like that after sex, so it was unlikely she'd suddenly find it uncomfortable now.
In that case, I had no choice but to use my last resort.
I might get an earful, but it was a necessary sacrifice for my future nights of restful sleep.
"A-actually, when you sleep like that, I can't get any sleep."
"Hm? Am I perhaps too heavy?"
"No, that's not it. It's just that… another part of me gets a little uncomfortable. You know what I mean."
After I went that far, Diana finally seemed to understand what I was talking about.
Ugh. She's going to get angry, isn't she? Am I about to get another lecture on being shameless?
"H-hmph. I see. I see. W-well, it cannot be helped. This one is, after all, quite charming. I understand."
But far from getting angry, Diana's voice rose a few tones as she spoke.
Is this okay?
I have no idea what the standard is for when she gets angry and when she doesn't.
In any case, my persuasion worked, and Diana ended up sleeping horizontally at the head of our group.
And, as if to match Diana's distance, Leia also slept properly in her own bedding this time.
It was the natural result, of course, since I'd said I could respond even if they were just above my head.
We were only about a meter apart, but after being so incredibly close yesterday, it felt like a huge distance.
On top of that, Sara had disappeared under her covers earlier and still hadn't shown her face.
I could tell she was still alive from the occasional twitch, though.
At any rate, my good night's sleep was now guaranteed.
I'm not sad. I'm not disappointed in the slightest.
I repeated the words to myself like a mantra as I drifted off to sleep.
And so, our dungeon exploration, which had taken on a slightly strange atmosphere with Leia's arrival, finally began to return to normal.
As we had planned, we spent the next few days filling out the map of the secret passage area.
With each passing day, the probability of encountering Werewolves decreased, to the point where most of the monsters we now faced were Orcs.
Thanks to that, my inventory was now overflowing with so much Orc meat that we could never hope to eat it all.
"Looks like there's nothing special here either."
Today's exploration would finally fill in the entire map around the secret base.
"You can't expect to make a new discovery every single time," Sara said in a cool voice, as if she hadn't been expecting much anyway.
Still, this was the first normal conversation I'd had with her all day.
Other than when she handed me a change of clothes this morning, she seemed to be avoiding even making eye contact with me.
"Alright, let's just explore this area for today, and starting tomorrow, we'll head back to the main route. After today, there won't be any unexplored spots nearby."
"Okay. Let's do our best until the very end."
Leia clenched both fists in front of her chest as if to say, "Fighting!"
I feel this every time, but whenever Leia does that, her enormous breasts are pushed together and squished, which is a rather delightful sight.
To be perfect not only in personality but in this aspect as well… she's truly like the physical embodiment of my ideal type.
And then, we made a new discovery at a moment when our expectations had waned and we least expected it.
"There are more Orcs up ahead."
"Alright. Let's go get some more meat."
Appearing before us were three ordinary Orcs, just like always.
They seemed to be looking for something, their backs turned to us as they walked around, glancing about.
"Hey, boys! Where are you off to?"
When I called out to them, they jumped in surprise and fumbled to draw their weapons before turning to face us.
Why are they so startled? It's not their first time in a dungeon.
Because the Orcs were unusually clumsy, the battle ended with us taking almost no damage.
Tch, there goes my healing time…
Feeling disappointed, I harvested the magic stones without needing to heal anyone and we continued on our way. It was then, as I glanced at the map, that I noticed something strange.
A corner of the map was completely empty.
To be precise, a perfectly square-shaped section of the map was blank.
The dungeon wasn't a place that was packed to the brim without a single wasted inch of map space. But a perfectly square empty space like this was too suspicious to just ignore.
"Hold on. Let's go back to where those Orcs were."
"Why?"
"They might have actually found something."
Returning to where we fought the Orcs, we decided to search the area thoroughly.
"Oh? This smell…"
The first to notice something was Leia.
Smell? I don't smell anything. Does she have a good sense of smell because she's a Beastkin?
The spot Leia headed for was the exact center of one of the sides of the empty space on the map.
But that's just a wall…
Even as I thought that, I reached out and touched the wall, and my arm passed right through a thicket of plants.
Huh? What's this?
The place was structured as if a wall had been densely covered with ivy, and then only the wall itself had been removed.
At a glance, the vines made it look like a blocked-off wall, but in reality, the vines were spread out like a curtain, meaning we could pass right through if we pushed them aside a little.
So there are mechanisms like this, too.
Even on the map, it had been marked as a dead end. Only at the moment I stuck my arm through to check did it change to show a path.
A path that doesn't even show up on the map.
Isn't creating a path like this a little too hardcore?
Well, this isn't a game, so there's no use complaining.
In any case, our party passed through the curtain of vines and entered a square, room-like area.
Usually, a place like this would have some kind of hidden treasure.
But what greeted our eyes inside the room was nothing but an empty space.
What is this place? There's nothing here. Is there any reason for it to be hidden like this?
"Wow!"
But contrary to my assessment, Leia's eyes sparkled as she let out a cry of admiration.
"To think there was a place with such a concentration of mana! This is amazing! Sir Guwon, the Goddess's grace must truly be with you!"
Leia grabbed my hand with both of hers, pulling it close and burying it in her cleavage as she spoke in a voice filled with awe.