Chapter 18
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Take It Off First
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"I'm fine. Planning to grab some dinner as an after-party and head home."
[Don't overeat and get some rest. Your whole body is probably gonna ache tomorrow.]
"I won't drink, so it'll be okay. I'll text you tomorrow."
[Alright, good work! Eat something tasty and sleep well!]
After hanging up, Jeong Se-hee in the passenger seat flashed me a sly smile.
"Girlfriend?"
"......No. Just a senior?"
We're not dating, so she's not my girlfriend, but saying it out loud left a bitter taste. Telling her we're fuckbuddies would've been even weirder.
"But you talk so sweetly on the phone."
"She's my old boss from work, and we ended up getting close. She's helped me out a ton since I awakened."
"Ah, office hunter, huh? Must be research type."
The light turned green, and Jeong Se-hee smoothly pressed the accelerator. Right now, I was riding in the car she was driving.
Cheon Sang-ho and Cheon Sang-su had vanished coolly, just like they'd said, off to eat some meat. On their way out, Cheon Sang-ho had tossed in a half-joking warning to keep my dick in check.
'Talking about it getting pulled out or whatever... so that's what he meant.'
Jeong Se-hee's whisper to me earlier had been dripping with seduction, but the nuance felt a bit off.
Normally, it'd be something direct like 'let's fuck' or 'spend the night together,' but why'd she have to phrase it as 'give me your semen'?
"Any particular reason we're heading to your place?"
"What, scared I'll eat you up?"
"Nah, nothing like that."
Someone from the Association who even helps newbies with parties? What harm could she do? It'd be a lie if my heart hadn't raced for a second, but pure curiosity outweighed it.
About twenty minutes after entering the city, the car pulled up in a neat alley somewhere that exuded cleanliness.
"We're here. Get out."
"......This is your place, noona?"
"Kinda unique, right?"
Unique my ass—it was just a ridiculously huge standalone house.
Yu-ra noona's place was an ultra-luxury apartment, but this was on another level. Who puts an underground parking garage in a single-family home?
"I'm hungry, so let's eat first. What do you like?"
"I eat anything."
"Then since you worked hard today, I'll order some nourishing stuff."
Curious about the menu, I peeked over her shoulder at her phone. Eel, abalone, beef—luxury health foods lined up.
......That said, no matter how I look at it, those tits are straight-up violent. How do they block the view of her lower body from above?
"Food'll take about an hour, so shower first. Shower room's over there—open the locker in front for clothes and a towel."
"You got a side gig running a sauna or something?"
"We have sauna facilities, but heating and filling the water takes two hours. Want to?"
"I'll pass."
It was almost six already— no way I'd wait that long. I headed to the shower room she'd mentioned.
'......Doesn't seem like that kind of vibe, though. Damn.'
Sure, with my only experience being Yu-ra noona, what do I know? But the atmosphere felt ambiguous. She was friendly, but there was this subtly businesslike edge.
In the dungeon, she'd thrown sticky words and moves my way, but now that I was at her house, her attitude was straightforward. Or maybe she was just that relaxed.
'Fuck if I know.'
Hot water poured over me, melting away all thoughts as my body loosened up. Should I actually hit the sauna before leaving? Nah, too embarrassing for someone I just met today.
"Whew, feels alive now."
After broiling under the hot water, my mind felt at ease. The locker had training pants, a cotton tee, and slippers ready.
I changed and checked the news on my phone in the living room. Now that I was a hunter, I found myself checking industry updates multiple times a day.
'Yoo Ha-ram challenging the 18th floor next week?'
Does this woman ever tire? Not even a month since clearing the 17th, and she's going again. No wonder she's S-rank. Impossible dream for a scrub newbie like me.
"Seong-han, you in the living room?"
"Yeah!"
"Food should be here soon. When the bell rings, can you grab it from downstairs?"
"Take your time showering!"
She's buying me expensive grub—what's a little errand? Sure enough, about ten minutes later, the bell rang in the living room.
Down at the entrance, instead of plastic bags, there were two fancy-packaged boxes. Back in the living room, Jeong Se-hee was drying her hair in just a bathrobe.
"Put 'em on the table and start eating. I'll take a bit."
Maybe it was the outfit, but even though it wasn't much different from her dress earlier, it made me tense for no reason. As I stared blankly, our eyes met, and she smirked.
"What, curious about under the robe? Wanna see?"
"That okay?"
"It's not like it'll wear out from looking. You got enough self-control for that, right?"
"......Sorry, mouth ran away. My bad."
"Heh, cute. Hurry up and eat."
Opening the boxes, it wasn't just one menu item—they'd sent everything. Steak, grilled eel, abalone sashimi? What is this, stamina recharge special?
"Thanks for the food."
"Eat your fill. Leftovers are fine—no need to hold back."
Why would I hold back on dinner? I leisurely enjoyed the lavish meal.
Jeong Se-hee finished drying her hair and joined me across the table. Slim build except for the chest, but she ate more than expected.
"Good appetite. Worth ordering."
"Noona eats a surprising amount too."
"Mages burn more calories than they look. Part constitution, too."
"Does it all go straight to your chest and hips?"
"How'd you know?"
Is that even possible in reality? Looking at that insane volume, though, it didn't seem implausible.
Anyway, after polishing off the delivery and even having coffee, Jeong Se-hee moved to the sofa and got down to business.
"Before awakening, I was a biotech major. So even after, I'm better at summoning magic like earlier than elemental stuff other mages do."
She'd decided to hone her skills in that direction. Specifically, creating powerful entities herself, unlike regular summons or familiars.
"I want to make an artificial lifeform that's offense and defense in one, using magic too. For that, I need base cells. Blood's easy to get, but semen isn't."
So that's why her attitude had been so straightforward since I got here. No impure motives like I'd thought.
......Though I still don't get why she phrased it that way.
"For the record, I'm not demanding it for free. Willing to pay fair price."
"What if I hadn't asked?"
"Result would've been the same, no? Might sound offensive, but you think I couldn't have seduced you if I tried?"
Jeong Se-hee crossed her legs as she sat. Something flashed between her thighs, but I desperately kept my eyes up... still a problem, fuck.
Where the hell am I supposed to look? Her house or not, alone with a guy— isn't this too defenseless?
"So you've gotten semen from all the newbies you've met so far?"
"Rare to start at D-rank like you. Usually E-rank at best. For the record, I invited you home 'cause your performance was stellar, you seem like a good guy, and above all, you're hot."
"......"
Consistent woman. Research is research; the flirting's just her personality.
"For reference, I asked Sang-su oppa and Sang-ho oppa too. Can't just demand from anyone or I'll get misunderstood, so I pick carefully."
"Misunderstood?"
"People might take it the wrong way? If I were A-rank or higher, no need to worry, but even for research, gotta look out for myself."
"......Isn't this plenty dangerous right now?"
"Pfft, now?"
Jeong Se-hee scoffed like it was ridiculous and stood. She approached slowly, placed a hand on my shoulder, and looked down at me.
"You absolutely can't beat me right now. Stat gap's huge. Think you can handle my magic?"
Gulp. Saliva that'd started pooling swallowed on its own.
Just two or three handspans away, Jeong Se-hee's pale breasts sagged slightly against gravity. The loosened front gap even revealed her nipple.
"So, give me your semen? If not, chat a bit and head home. But keep our talk secret."
"You haven't told others?"
"Like collecting samples at a urology clinic. If I say I need it for research and offer to buy, that's it."
"......Are all mages like you, noona?"
"Most, yeah? They just don't show it. People who awaken as mages usually have big dreams in their field. That's the mage's aspiration."
Guess I'm the weird one, awakening out of nowhere while running the printer like crazy. Explains the bizarre skills.
......But in that context, why the hell is there a virility stat? I wasn't some sex maniac. My fap frequency was average 20s level.
"I don't mind giving it... but I have a condition."
"Shoot. Mentor for solo practice? Money? Rare item?"
Now's the gamble. Association'll hook me up with practice mentors anyway. Didn't need cash right now. Items same.
"Extract it yourself."
"......What?"
"I think I have mild desensitization or something—gets hard fine, but hard to cum solo. Builds mood then fails sometimes."
Total bullshit, but not entirely baseless. I'd experienced it for real.
"Turning out to be a sneaky perv, huh?"
"Pass if you don't like. Won't miss it myself."
Simple horniness fix? Just call Yu-ra noona. She'd say sure, come over if I called now.
'Perfect setup anyway—time to test it out.'
Truth was, her tits had me hard already—not totally thoughtless. No aphrodisiac, though, so had to trust Golden Finger's power.
"Fine. Whatever."
"......For real?"
"Same as milking a cow, right? Bit weird here—wanna move?"
Didn't expect her to accept so coolly.
Like she said, a mage's aspiration must be some ironclad concept that bends at nothing short of extremes.
She led me to the sauna she'd mentioned. Said it'd take time to prep, but two-thirds of a marble tub around 130 sq ft was filled.
"Enough for you to soak after. Relax before you go."
"Prepped this in advance?"
"Was gonna enjoy it solo after you left, but things turned out this way."
Jeong Se-hee laid out a large air mattress on the floor and patted it with her palm.
"Just the bottoms, or everything?"