Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Companions
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Holding Ji-ah's soft body as she slept exhaustedly in my arms, I stroked her while pondering the mana reaction that had occurred in her body due to sex.
From overlapping our bodies with hers, I'd confirmed there was something in my bodily fluids that triggered her mana reaction.
I'd verified that not only my semen but even my saliva caused some degree of mana reaction in Ji-ah.
And this mana reaction seemed to bring quite an intense sexual pleasure to women.
'It must have started after I awakened.'
Could it be related to the Body Strengthening skill?
Did my bodily fluids develop some kind of pheromone? Aphrodisiac component?
If it was a skill directly affecting this, the only one was Body Strengthening.
Come to think of it, Yu-na had gotten unusually aroused for her first time too.
Women having sex with me get excited because of me.
How many men would hate that?
Body Strengthening Lv 3
Strengthens the body.
The description for Body Strengthening was simple.
Strengthens the body.
Couldn't male prowess as a stud also fall under physical abilities?
Right after awakening, I'd suffered from wet dreams for a while.
Thinking about that, my hypothesis felt quite plausible.
"Mmm... Oppa... Don't abandon me..."
Ji-ah hugged me tighter in her sleep-talk.
She seemed terribly anxious about not being able to come with me.
Stroking her soft buttocks, I drifted off to sleep.
-Thwack.
Su-ji's sharply honed steel pipe pierced the zombie's head.
Su-ji had grown worried about the three who hadn't returned after a long wait and headed to the mart where Ji-ah had gone.
She'd cleared it out once before, so it wasn't that dangerous.
There was no reason for them to be this late.
'Fuck. Did those bastards...? Couldn't hold back and assault her?'
She'd thought they wouldn't cross that line, but with them being this late, doubts crept in.
Burnt zombie corpses were visible.
Did they set a fire?
Su-ji cautiously scanned the surroundings as she entered the mart.
Two zombies inside lunged at her in an instant.
As a sense of crisis hit, time seemed to slow, the scene unfolding in slow motion.
Su-ji, familiar with the phenomenon, casually stepped back, grabbing and yanking the arm of the zombie charging from the side.
The front zombie collided with the side one and tumbled to the ground.
The steel pipe swiftly pierced both their heads.
'Something's definitely changed.'
She'd been sensing it bit by bit lately.
To put it precisely, her overall physical abilities had strengthened.
As a former track athlete, her athleticism had always been exceptional.
But now, even without eating well like before, her physical prowess had improved beyond compare.
She quietly prowled the mart, surveying the area.
Two familiar male faces with crushed heads came into view.
"Ugh... Fucking idiots..."
Death was familiar to her.
The demise of those she hadn't liked much stirred no great emotion in Su-ji.
'Where's Ji-ah?'
No sign of Ji-ah's body.
'Raiders.'
Su-ji sensed it intuitively.
If raiders had taken her, Ji-ah was probably not in a good situation right now.
Ji-ah was a beauty even in her own eyes as a woman.
She could guess how raiders, eyes rolling with lust, would treat such a stunner without needing to see it.
"Hoo... Fuck."
A pang of guilt hit her—had she, out of petty jealousy, thrown an innocent girl into hell?
Unknowingly, strength gripped Su-ji's hand.
-Creak.
The steel pipe in her grasp crumpled.
Su-ji stared blankly at her palm that had crushed the pipe.
Strength beyond normal human limits.
"With this power..."
Even if she'd fallen into hell, couldn't she pull her back out?
"Oppa, how do I look?"
Ji-ah asked, tying her long straight hair into a ponytail and flicking it playfully.
Her smiling face suggested she was in pretty good condition.
Fashion's finishing touch is the face.
No one could call Ji-ah's face ugly, even as an empty compliment.
As long as she didn't shave her head, any hairstyle would suit her, right?
"Looks good."
At my response, Ji-ah's face lit up.
"Hehe."
Her expression brightening at my single word was both fascinating and cute.
And I could clearly see Ji-ah's mana flow had become much more active.
It differed slightly from the mana flow in the ordinary Chae-won sisters.
The mana reaction I'd seen up close yesterday wasn't ordinary, so maybe that influenced it?
It seemed to have a positive effect on her body.
And finding it amusing that our intimacy caused this phenomenon.
Nothing else special about this girl stood out.
What about Yu-na, then?
It might be good to check when I returned to the original world.
And with Ji-ah, I should keep close contact ongoing to observe.
Our eyes met.
Lost in thought, I'd been staring at her blankly without realizing.
Whatever Ji-ah thought, her face flushed as she hugged my arm with a smile.
She'd seen my strength and ability, knew sticking with me was advantageous for survival, but she acted even friendlier than that.
Did she like me?
Or was it just for survival?
Still too early to tell.
Chae-won glared at us with tired eyes, giving a hint.
Last night hadn't been quiet, so I understood.
But I wasn't sorry.
Chae-won's eyes were dark with fatigue; she looked worn out.
Had she agonized all night? Couldn't sleep because of me and Ji-ah? Or actually stood watch?
I got the anxiety, but she was the type to make unnecessary trouble.
"You want to come along?"
As the moment of choice arrived, Chae-won ultimately said she wanted to join me.
Anxious as she was, she'd seen my abilities and had no other options.
"Yes. If... it's not too much trouble..."
It was trouble.
Honestly, baggage.
Of course, I had the consideration not to say it outright.
But we already had two pieces of baggage.
Glancing aside, Ji-ah hugged my arm with a relaxed, smiling face.
No need to even ask her opinion.
Anyone would think we were heading on a date.
What difference would two more make?
If it were the long journey to Seoul, I might've thought differently.
But we'd already decided on nearby Sejong City as a base.
We needed a kid minder too, and honestly, Ji-ah didn't seem the type to handle children well.
Still, Chae-won had a little sister, so maybe better?
"Heading to Sejong City?"
"Yeah. Anything there?"
A monster like that giant boar would be a headache.
"There's a survivor camp I was at."
"Your old place?"
"Yes..."
If there was a survivor camp, it was hard for survivors to leave.
Staying inside was unconditionally better for survival.
Was the group's state bad?
Or...
"Did you cause some incident there?"
"N-No. The leader was a lolicon. So I left."
My gaze naturally shifted to Chae-won's little sister, Chae-young.
Frightened by my look, the kid hid behind her sister.
She took after Chae-won—adorably cute.
Left because of her sister?
"Was it a shitshow?"
If too chaotic, we'd clash eventually.
"No. Aside from the leader's tastes, it was decent enough. And the people there don't know what kind of guy the leader is. They just think he's a good guy who likes kids."
A group with some rules despite a lolicon leader?
Livable, but she left because of her sister.
Couldn't fully trust her words blindly, but no reason not to either.
I could check and judge later.
Still better than clashing with that Daejeon giant boar monster.
"Hana."
"...?"
"The kid's name. Kang Hana."
Seemed to be naming the little one.
"How?"
Chae-won probably hadn't named her.
"She knows how to write."
"...I see."
My first impression of Sejong City was the abundance of apartment complexes.
And I realized luggage was better kept light.
Had to admit I'd been overconfident in my abilities.
With so much baggage to protect, I had to avoid fights with Corrupted Beings.
Fine against just Corrupted Beings, but zombies too meant I couldn't fight with kids in tow.
The problem was the kids struggling even with single zombies.
Couldn't carry all four kids, so zombie hordes were dangerous, let alone Corrupted Beings.
Thus, we had to move quietly, cautious even of zombies.
No time to think about hunting Corrupted Beings.
First priority: secure a base suitable for a save point.
With kids along, the plausible plan was to scout the outskirts first, where zombies were fewer.
But that plan didn't go as thought.