Chapter 792: Strengthening Period
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 792: Strengthening Period
“Silvia? What’s wrong?”
“Did something happen?”
Even for Silvia, this was too much to be just a case of her trembling because I was nearby.
It seemed I wasn’t the only one who thought so. Even Leia, who until a moment ago had been too embarrassed from last night’s events to even meet my eyes, leaned in slightly to check on Silvia’s complexion.
“Eek… N-No, it’s nothing….”
But as Leia’s face drew near, Silvia trembled even more violently and completely averted her gaze.
What does she mean, it’s nothing?
Seeing her, Leia and I looked at each other and tilted our heads, but of course, that didn’t help us understand why Silvia was acting this way.
“Hah…”
To make matters worse, the moment our eyes met, Leia seemed to remember her own embarrassment and quickly looked away from me again.
…What is this strange atmosphere?
“…Instead of just standing here, should we head down to the dining hall?”
“Yes….”
“Ye-Yesh!”
No, seriously. Could you two please stop creating this weird vibe?
People walking by are giving us strange looks.
Our party already draws enough attention as it is.
But even after we ate breakfast and I sent Leia on her way, this strange atmosphere didn’t change much.
Leia’s embarrassment gradually faded as she ate, but Silvia remained, trembling uncontrollably.
The mood was made even stranger by the fact that Silvia didn’t touch her food at all, just sitting there quietly as if she’d already woken up early and finished her meal.
“Well then, Guwon. I’ll see you later.”
“Yeah. The next time we meet, I expect to see the results of your special training….”
“Really! You’re such a tease!”
Leia turned, lightly slapped my chest with her tail, and vanished through the teleportation magic circle.
After she was gone, I turned to face Silvia directly.
“Alright then.”
“Ye-Yes! Hoo… haah…”
Thinking my signal meant it was time to hunt, Silvia placed a hand on the hilt of the sword at her waist and took a deep breath to focus her mind.
“Let’s head back to the inn first.”
“Yes! Huh? Ye-Yesh?!”
But that wasn’t what I meant.
When I took her hand and started walking toward the inn, Silvia, who had just adopted a dignified, hunt-ready mindset, immediately lost her focus. Her legs turned to jelly as I pulled her along.
I mean, come on. There was no way I was just going to go hunting with her acting so suspicious.
“So, what happened with Leia?”
“N-Nothing! Nothing happened at all!”
After returning to the room, I sat down directly across from Silvia and began my interrogation.
Under my pressing questions, Silvia flattened herself against the wall as if trying to merge with it, shaking her head desperately.
“Then tell me why you’re acting so strange.”
“I-I’m always strange when I’m with you, Sir Guwon!”
Hey, now. You shouldn’t admit that yourself.
Well, it would be strange to deny it, given how she always gets weird around me.
No, I mean it in a good way. She gets weird in a cute way. Yes.
“No, that’s not it. What is it? Tell me. If you don’t…”
“E-Eeeek… I-It’s really just because I’m with you….”
Even now, she looked cute pressed against the wall, shivering, but I kept my expression firm and shook my head resolutely.
When I made a vague threat without even specifying what I’d do, Silvia trembled, her face filled with terror.
Yet, despite that, she showed no intention of opening her mouth.
So that’s how you want to play it.
“Until you answer, I’m going to hold you and whisper sweet nothings in your ear.”
“I was scared of what’s going to happen tonight!”
The moment I said that, Silvia shuddered once and immediately confessed the reason for her strange behavior.
…What? So she wasn’t lying to deflect? It really was because she was with me?
“What’s there to be scared of all of a sudden… Why did you look away when you met Leia’s eyes?”
“Th-That’s because… Lady Leia…”
“Leia?”
“H-Her face… it was a woman’s face….”
…Ah. Right. I get it.
Hearing that, I finally understood why Silvia was having such an extreme reaction today.
For the past few days, Silvia had been watching. Every time one of our party members spent time alone with me, they would return with the face of a satisfied woman.
Sara had returned practically bouncing with excitement. Vanessa, the iron-blooded butler, had been so intense that she’d made herself sore. As for Diana, we’d gone at it so hard I was worried her back might break.
So it was no surprise that the aftereffects lingered a bit in their behavior even after they returned.
And seeing all of this, Silvia’s imagination must have run wild with terror, picturing what would happen to her when her turn came.
And just as she’d feared, when she saw Leia this morning, she too was blushing beet-red, wearing that same womanly expression.
Moreover, unlike the others, she had seen Leia connected to me right up until the last moment, making what we had done feel all the more vivid to her.
…I never thought that going at it so intensely with everyone, except Sara, would lead to this.
“…Let’s just go hunting.”
Having grasped the situation, I decided to change the subject after a brief silence.
I could have reassured her that I’d be gentle, but unfortunately, I’m a pure soul who doesn’t know how to tell such lies.
“Waaaaah….”
As if she understood my intention in changing the subject, Silvia’s eyes began to well up with tears in earnest.
Hey. Don’t look like the world is ending.
“Come on, up you get. You can still fight properly, right?”
“Eee… Y-Yes, I can….”
Leading Silvia, who looked like she might burst into a full-blown wail if left alone, I hurriedly set out to hunt.
“Alright, then…”
“……”
Just as she’d said, once we were outside the city, Silvia immediately switched to combat mode, her expression becoming stoic.
Her concentration really is top-notch.
Well, that’s also why she’s always on the verge of dying from pleasure when she’s with me.
In any case, watching her, I let out a sigh of relief and immediately began to think about how we would fight today.
When I fight with a different companion like this, my partner’s job class changes every time, so I have to come up with a new combat strategy.
Silvia had no ranged attacks, so I couldn’t lure distant enemies like I did with Sara, Diana, or Vanessa.
Nor could I use the method from yesterday, where I shrouded my entire body in my skill and quickly dispatched monsters, even if it meant taking some damage.
Without a healer, there was no way to recover from accumulated damage.
Well, to be precise, it wasn’t that there was no way to heal… but if I even mentioned Healing Sex in the middle of the dungeon, let alone tried it, Silvia would probably die on the spot.
Even in combat mode.
That left fighting in a way that utilized Silvia’s role… but to be honest, when I use my Saint skills in combat, there’s not much for a melee damage-dealer and tank like Silvia to do.
My growth is the priority, so I have to be the sole damage dealer, and the fights don’t last long enough to need a tank.
In that case, should I try sealing my Saint skills today and hunt using only my Moon Shadow Warrior skills?
I had originally planned to do that once my Moon Shadow Warrior level reached a certain point, in order to raise its skill levels.
Of course, my Moon Shadow Warrior level hadn’t risen as much as I’d initially hoped, but since its original level was far below the standard for the 4th Floor, it had still shown significant growth over the past four days.
Name: Guwon
Race: Human 24
Job: Saint 203 / Adventurer 82 / Moon Shadow Warrior 156 / Elementalist 26
Level: 203
Life: 56200/56200
Essence: 22900/22900
Strength: 441
Durability: 475
Agility: 471
Stamina: 393
Intelligence: 246
Spirit: 394
Charm: 458
Bonus Stats: 387
Status: Normal
With a level this high, even if my skill levels were low, couldn’t I combine them with my overwhelming stats to hunt at a decent pace?
In fact, based on my stats alone, it wouldn’t be strange at all for me to be on the 6th Floor. No, it was stranger that I wasn’t on the 6th Floor.
And most importantly, this was a good opportunity to see how well I could hunt without endangering my partner while my Saint skills were sealed.
I couldn’t very well test something like that with Leia, could I?
In that respect, Silvia, with her high level and durability, was the most suitable party member for this kind of experiment.
“Silvia. Today, I’m going to fight with my Saint skills sealed. You just watch, and if I get into trouble, jump in and block the attack.”
“Yes, sir! I will protect you, Sir Guwon!”
Having made our decision, we set out to find monsters. The first to greet us were none other than two great white sharks.
They were among the more dangerous monsters on the 4th Floor, but of course, I wasn’t nervous at all.
The monsters on the 4th Floor were no match for me even with my Saint skills sealed. The only question was how quickly I could hunt them.
Besides, to test the various skills of a Moon Shadow Warrior, wouldn’t a slightly more challenging opponent be better?
First, I used Weakness Analysis to observe the great whites.
Just as Sex Analyze showed a target’s erogenous zones in pink, Weakness Analysis showed their weak points in blue.
It was a skill I could learn back when I was an Assassin, before becoming a Moon Shadow Warrior, and it was essential for that class.
Assassins were fundamentally a class that used swift movements to strike at an enemy’s vitals, and many of their passive skills involved increasing critical hit chance or critical damage when attacking weak points.
Naturally, the Moon Shadow Warrior, a hybrid of Assassin and Martial Artist, retained these characteristics.
On top of that, I also had the skill ‘Ruthlessness,’ which I’d learned from my time crushing the balls of male wolfdogs.
This meant that attacking a vital point was several, or even dozens of times more effective than attacking any other part.
In any case, through my Weakness Analysis, the sharks’ weak points began to glow blue, and the one shining most brightly was the gills.
Having chosen my target, I immediately swam toward the great whites.
The moment I got within close range, I used Stealth.
Although I’d used it all day yesterday and its skill level had risen quite a bit, it wasn’t high enough to work when used right in front of them.
The reason I used it anyway wasn’t to hide from the sharks.
The moment I used Stealth, I sensed a brief hesitation in the sharks’ movements.
They probably saw me blur for a second, or something like that.
And that fleeting moment was all the opening I needed to launch my attack.
“It’s not fair that you’re the only ones who can breathe underwater!”
Shouting a pointless taunt, I slammed my ki-infused fist into a shark’s gills.
Bubbles escaped the shark’s mouth, but of course, it didn’t die from a single blow.
This first attack was just to set the stage for the battle.
Confirming that a black crescent moon mark had been engraved on the spot I’d just struck, I dodged the shark’s teeth and pulled back slightly.
The instant the shark’s teeth snapped shut on empty water, I threw a knife I’d pulled from my inventory.
The shark instinctively twisted its body to dodge the knife, but the one behind it couldn’t avoid the suddenly appearing weapon.
The knife itself didn’t inflict a fatal wound, but I had thrown it with a skill that applied a continuous bleeding effect.
And underwater, a bleeding effect was quite significant.
Moreover, as the first shark forcefully dodged the knife, the two of them ended up overlapping slightly.
The moment the first shark’s shadow fell upon the body of the one behind it, I used Shadow Movement without hesitation.
Time to follow up with a spectacular combo!
That’s what I thought, but in the next instant, both great white sharks had vanished from my sight.