Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: [Reality] Erika Returns Home
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"...Ugh."
The moment I opened my eyes, a splitting headache and languid exhaustion washed over my entire body.
A thick fatigue pressed down on me, and my mind felt blank, like a hole had been drilled in one corner of my head.
'Did I pass out?'
My blurry vision gradually sharpened, and the first thing I saw was the blue sky.
And a stranger of a woman peering down at me with a worried expression...
"Lee Jun! Are you okay?!"
Whoosh.
It was Erika, burying her face in my chest and bursting into tears.
Oof...
Her movement made my shoulder twinge a little.
Is this a dream?
Why is Erika here?
Oh, right.
I summoned Erika.
As my sense of reality slowly returned, I recalled what happened before I collapsed.
"Erika? You okay?"
Even uttering those words was an effort.
My condition must be a total wreck.
"Waaah! Lee Jun! I really thought you were dead...! We suddenly ended up in this weird place, there was a monster right in front of us! And you were covered in blood!"
Erika bawled, smearing tears and snot all over my clothes.
Yeah, I get it.
She was suddenly dropped into an unfamiliar world and forced into a fight.
And the guy she summoned ended up collapsing right in front of her, drenched in blood.
"Sorry."
"No! It's fine!"
As Erika wailed again, the unfamiliar woman behind her spoke up.
"Are you coming to? How's your body feeling?"
I wondered who she was, but then I noticed light emanating from her hand, healing my wounds.
A healer, huh.
Couldn't exactly ignore her.
I forced my lips open, though it was tough.
"Yes... Thanks to you, I'm alive. Thanks for the heal."
"No need. I just finished it off. This lady did all the emergency treatment."
The healer woman pointed at Erika as she spoke.
"And you blocked that sudden variant gate. If it weren't for you two, a lot of people would've died for real. We would've been in danger too."
We?
I turned my head and looked around. About a dozen people were watching from a distance.
They were clearly hunters.
But their outfits were a sight.
Someone in a loosely thrown-on tracksuit, an auntie clutching a grocery basket from the mart, a young guy in slippers...
Less like hunters, more like a random gathering of passersby.
Anyone could tell they'd rushed out in a panic.
The situation was wrapped up, so they could just head home, but I wondered why they were still staring.
Then the healer next to me glanced at Erika and asked.
"But... what's her nationality?"
"Huh?"
"She's been saying stuff since earlier, but I can't understand a word. Sounds kinda like Japanese, but not quite. Never heard it before."
Her words startled me.
To my ears, Erika's words sounded like Korean.
I could vividly hear her sniffling and mumbling about how worried she was.
"Erika, can you hear me?"
"Yes? Yes, I can hear you fine, Lee Jun. What's up?"
Such a natural conversation.
No sense of awkwardness at all.
The healer perked up her ears as she listened to us.
"Wow, Hunter, you speak that foreign language really well."
We were talking in Korean right in front of her, and she reacts like that...?
That means what Erika says—and even what I say to her—sounds like a foreign language to everyone else.
'Aha.'
Now I get it.
My trait [Into the Comics] had another hidden feature.
Guessing from the name, something like auto-translation?
[Abyss Miner] was published in Korea, but it's originally a Japanese comic.
Thinking about it, there's no way they'd speak Korean.
But the moment I entered that world, I communicated naturally and could read the writing.
'It was all the trait's adjustment.'
No matter how Japanese the comic, once it became reality, it was silly to think the people there spoke Japanese.
It's an isekai fantasy, so they have their own unique language.
Probably some continental common tongue or kingdom language.
'The documents in the story were written in weird, curly script, not Japanese.'
The trait translated it into Korean in my brain.
And did the same for my speech.
But for other people in reality, the translation doesn't apply, so they hear Erika's original language.
This could be pretty useful later.
Like holding strategy meetings others can't understand, or trash-talking behind backs.
Not much comes to mind right now, but there must be other uses.
As I silently pondered, the healer spoke up.
"Um... Hunter?"
"Ah, sorry. My head was spinning for a sec."
"No, it's fine. You must be exhausted. Even if the wounds are healed, the blood you lost doesn't come back. You might feel dizzy."
High-rank hunters can recover lost blood too, apparently. Guess she's not that high.
"Yeah, oh, and this friend's language is from a minority ethnic group, so you won't understand it. I studied it separately. She's a friend I know from overseas."
"Ahh, that explains the unique accent."
"Minority ethnic group? Like Mongolian? Ainu? Something like that?"
"Yeah, it didn't quite sound Korean."
They seemed convinced among themselves with my vague excuse.
Earth has so many countries anyway.
They'll just assume it's some obscure one.
No need to waste a [Deception] skill on this.
'Bringing documents from that world to reality could be fun sometime.'
The thought crossed my mind.
Studying their world's documents or magitech might not be bad.
I'd read them as Korean, but to others, it'd look like a whole different script, so I'd need linguists first.
Not something for now, though.
Anyway, what to do.
A C-rank hunter like me and Erika took down the raid boss.
Association staff will show up and ask questions like these folks.
The hassle already gave me a headache.
Incident reports, ID checks, investigation on Erika.
Corpse and magic stone processing too.
'At least a few hours of dragging this out.'
But Erika's a temporary summon—she'll vanish soon.
If she poofs during questioning, things get messy.
Better to head home now and wait for the association to contact me later.
I can say my friend went back home by then.
I tried to stand, but my legs wobbled.
"Whoa, careful! You still need rest."
"Sorry. I'm just so tired... I don't think I can handle questioning here. Sorry, but when the association arrives, could you all explain the situation for me? I need to go rest first."
"Of course! What kind of questioning with a body like that."
"Yeah. You worked hard taking down that monster. We'll handle cleanup and reports. There are survivors' testimonies anyway. No worries about merits or rewards."
"Go rest. Oh, right. What's your name and hunter rank?"
"Lee Jun, C-rank hunter. Live nearby, so it'll be in the association records quick."
"C-rank? Same as me, but impressive for a young guy. Anyway, we'll testify well, so don't worry."
They all nodded with kind faces.
People with that much sense of justice, rushing out without proper gear in a crisis—they're good-hearted.
Not much reward for helping with this stuff anyway.
They didn't look like the type to steal merits or rewards.
"Thank you."
I bowed once more and turned.
"Let's go, Erika."
"Yes! Lee Jun."
Erika clung tightly to my clothes and followed.
She'd been shrunken among strangers, but relaxed once I said to go.
"Ugh."
"Lee Jun!"
My legs buckled on the stairs, nearly collapsing.
[Master Healer's Touch] saved my life, and the healer treated me, but my state was still awful.
Erika quickly supported me, then crouched with her back to me.
"Get on."
"Huh? No, I'm fine. I can walk."
"You don't look fine. Your legs are shaking. Come on."
Erika said firmly.
She's usually shy and obedient, but stubborn at times like this.
Hard to refuse.
"...Alright, excuse me then."
I climbed onto Erika's back.
Slender-looking, but surprisingly steady.
"Up we go."
Erika hoisted me easily and started walking.
As expected of a fantasy world resident.
Going in and out of mines builds strength disproportionate to size.
Riding her back, a fresh, invigorating scent wafted up.
Pleasant smell—I unconsciously nuzzled into her shoulder.
Then, backed-up system messages appeared before my eyes.
"A thousand points...?"
Before summoning Erika, I had 502P, spent 380, left with 122P.
Now 1,122P total.
Jackpot.
Rewards didn't end there.
This much was expected.
Fighting a strong foe to the brink ups stats and proficiency—it's a given.
My trait rewards effort proportionally.
The next message was rare.
"Tenacity?"
A new stat.
First one since Magic Power.
No description, but the name says it all.
This is grit.
Tanking hits and enduring.
Stat for forcibly pushing past physical limits with mental fortitude.
'Perfect fit for me.'
I already rely on [Steel Body] and [Earth's Blessing] to tank a lot.
Synergy with Tenacity is inevitable.
Add a recovery passive, and I'd be a real zombie.
And the final message.
"Kuh..."
New stat opened and retroactively boosted by 10.
Same as with Magic Power.
Reward so good I'm dizzy.
Feeling great, I grinned, and Erika glanced back.
"Lee Jun, something good happen?"
"Huh? Why?"
"No, I heard you laughing."
Must've leaked out from joy.
"Just... glad to be alive."
"Hehe, me too. So relieved you're safe."
Erika beamed and quickened her pace.
Still gawking curiously at the surroundings.
"Anyway... where is this place? So amazing. Buildings scraping the sky..."
"My hometown."
"Lee Jun's hometown... Ah! What's that?"
Erika pointed at cars stopped on the road.
"Those are cars. Like carriages people ride in."
"Carriages? No horses? Magic stones?"
"Similar. Runs on oil."
"Oil?"
"Kinda like magic stones."
"Wow, so cool."
Cute.
Her wonder at everything brought a smile to my face.
"I, I have so many questions."
"Figured. I'll explain everything soon. Let's get to my place first."
"Yes! Lee Jun's house... Can't wait."
Riding piggyback, her steps rocked my view up and down.
Bodies naturally pressed close—soft side flesh and warm palms gripped my thighs tight.
Her back felt through clothes was incredibly warm.
The woman's heat against my chest and belly.
Erika's heat.
And her skin scent tickling my nose was oddly stimulating.
A citrus-like fragrance lingered.
They have hygiene stuff, but compared to modern standards, [Abyss world] lacks.
Why does Erika smell this good?
And naturally, my lower half started reacting.
Ah, fuck...
Hey, hold up, you bastard.
Not now.
Back then, maybe, but absolutely not now.
First time meeting Erika in [Abyss Miner].
I hugged her while she cried, secretly stroked her back and hips in the chaos, stayed hard the whole time.
But my dick then was thumb-sized, about 3cm.
No matter how hard, it didn't show, and Erika didn't notice even pressed close.
Now's different.
Reforged in [Master Healer] world—long and thick.
Erect, it bulges through clothes. Piggyback like this? Impossible to hide.
Dumb dick would poke her soft back.
And that damn overly detailed imagination stiffened it more.
Felt blood rushing down.
'Calm down, please. Stop thinking...!'
Desperately distracted myself, even chanted, but.
Once riled, body ignores red lights.
Shit.
Why are women's bodies so soft, squishy, and good-smelling.
Sweet scent.
Sweet, yet lemon-ish body odor drilled into my nose, accelerating arousal.
Twitch.
Slooowly.
Finally, the wriggling beast in my pants reared its heavy presence.
Then stiffly, angrily jabbed the center of Erika's back.
'...Fucked up.'
No way she misses this.
Sudden hard stick on her back? Weird if she didn't notice.
Erika's steps faltered, her chattering mouth shut.
Awkward silence.
Her ears turned ripe-strawberry red, flush spreading to her nape.
'Ah, fuck...'
Die of shame.
No, but this isn't my fault.
If my dick wasn't huge, she wouldn't notice.
Now she'll think I'm a horny monkey.
My trust level crashing?
And her shy reaction made it worse...
Lower half throbbed shamelessly, asserting itself.
Like yelling, ignore me more! Look! Poke poke, tormenting for reaction.
Wouldn't stop jabbing along her spine.
Haa...
True to form, what a dick move.
Erika said nothing.
Just kept walking, head down, silent.
But her burning ears.
"Haa..."
And quickened, ragged breaths spoke volumes.
After that, until we reached home...
Aside from occasional directions, no words exchanged.