Ability Orb
Ability Orb
"Fufu."
Aila, lying next to me, let out a small laugh while looking at me, though I didn't know what was so funny.
As for me, I was happy to be lying in the same spot as a beauty I never had any connection with in my original world, but...
'Aila has no reason to be happy, does she?'
Of course, I know that she likes that I help the people of 2-Channel.
But that just means she likes the act of me helping people, not that she likes me.
'Or is it?'
Perhaps she could like me for that, since I've helped people not starve to death until now.
"Ah. Survivor-nim. You aren't disappointed, are you?"
"Disappointed?"
"Because today, it's just me, not two people."
Until yesterday, I had slept with two members of the party on either side of me, but today, there was only Aila.
So when Aila asked if I was disappointed by that fact, I immediately shook my head and said no.
"No. Why would I be disappointed?"
"Really?"
Aila asked, looking straight into my eyes, as if she wanted to know the truth of my answer.
Seeing Aila's signature squinty eyes and the faintly visible deep blue pupils, I spoke honestly.
"Yes. Actually, I feel like even this is more than I deserve."
"Oh my."
Perhaps my answer was unexpected, as Aila showed a slightly surprised reaction.
Then, she smiled brightly and immediately wrapped her hands around my face, pulling me into her embrace.
"......!"
Thanks to that, my head was buried in Aila's chest, which was even bigger than Elisicia's.
Because she was wearing a thin one-piece pajama, the soft and fluffy sensation unique to her chest was transmitted directly.
"I also think meeting you, Survivor-nim, is an undeserved stroke of luck."
"......."
No, that...
I wanted to say something, but no words came to mind.
The supreme sensation of my entire face being buried and the fragrant scent of her skin seemed to paralyze my thoughts.
'Wouldn't it be fine to just stay like this?'
Perhaps because my physical abilities were enhanced, breathing wasn't very uncomfortable either.
Just as I thought I could fall asleep immediately if I just relaxed, Aila spoke.
"Ah. If you want, you can touch my chest, like you do with Elisicia or Rubyel."
"......."
I had heard from Sirien yesterday that she would know about that fact.
But hearing it from Aila's own mouth made me feel somewhat complicated.
'Since Aila knows, the elf Riness must know too.'
Furthermore, I had a feeling that Veronica, who joined this time, would know too.
'There really are no secrets at all.'
Thinking that and giving up on secrets and everything else, I actually felt more at ease.
Everyone knew what kind of person I was, and yet, they were approaching me like this.
Seuk
So, while hugging Aila, I buried my head even deeper into her chest.
Aila also, without any resistance, gently hugged me back, acting in a way to make me as comfortable as possible.
"Survivor-nim."
"Yes?"
"Does your desire to return to your original world remain unchanged?"
At that moment, Aila quietly brought up the topic of my original world.
In the past, I had answered that since I didn't come to 2-Channel of my own volition, it was natural to want to return to my original world.
'My thoughts haven't changed even now, but...'
That was also the reason I tried not to cross the line with the Hero Party.
I wasn't going to do things I couldn't take responsibility for, but now, that thought seemed to be wavering.
"Honestly, I don't really know. But I do want to save the world."
Separate from me returning to my original world.
I wanted to save the people I had formed bonds with.
'To do that, I have to stop the destruction.'
It goes without saying, but that also included 2-Channel, where I am now.
"If I may speak of my own greed, I want you to stay in this world, Survivor-nim."
"Yes?"
"I'm sure Elisicia and Rubyel feel the same way."
Listening to Aila, I thought about this 2-Channel.
Excluding Channel 6, which had already perished, the other channels had something special.
'Channel 3 has Awakening Stones. Channel 4 has scientific technology.'
Channel 5 has the witches' magic. Channel 7 has elixirs that come from monsters, and so on.
Even Channel 1 had a considerable number of people with skills similar to Sirien, along with quasi-transcendents.
'But Channel 2...'
It didn't have anything special.
'Because it's relying entirely on my ability.'
I wondered if the Hero Party knew that too.
To be a bit bold, even if the Hero Party could communicate with other channels, a trade like the current one wouldn't have happened.
'Right now, all I've given the Hero Party are Awakening Stones and Mana Potions.'
If I broaden the scope, there was food, safety, and the people's standard of living.
Aside from that, I could also tell that the reason the Hero Party wanted me was because of my ability.
'If my Modern Item Purchase ability disappeared, would they send me back to my original world without hesitation?'
The reason I thought this was because I didn't feel like Modern Item Purchase was entirely my own ability.
In the case of Telekinesis or the Heart of Laistal that I acquired directly, I felt they were mine, but Modern Item Purchase was different.
'This appeared out of nowhere as soon as I crossed over to 2-Channel.'
Since I'm guessing it's an ability given by my friend, I thought it might be possible for it to be taken back.
"......."
While thinking that, my mouth opened on its own, feeling Aila's chest and the scent of her skin.
"What do you plan to do if my ability disappears later on?"
Literally, if the gallery disappears after saving 2-Channel later?
There was every possibility that my Modern Item Purchase, which is linked to the gallery, would also disappear.
Furthermore, if that happened and the Hero Party's attitude changed, I thought it would be quite distressing in many ways.
"Why would your ability disappear, Survivor-nim?"
"Because it was my friend who gave me the Modern Item Purchase ability. I thought that once I save the world and my usefulness is over, they might take it back."
Aila spoke as if she finally understood.
"Is that your anxiety, Survivor-nim?"
Anxiety?
"Yes. Perhaps that might be it."
"I understand."
Aila, who answered that she understood, gently pushed me away with soft touches.
Then, she slowly lifted her one-piece pajama and revealed her snow-white naked body to me.
"Aila-ssi...?"
Aila opened her mouth with a calm smile.
"Like Riness-ssi, I also have to look only at the one person to whom I have offered my purity."
"Ah... is, that so?"
"I will offer you my purity. Then, I will become unrelated to your ability."
It meant that if I took Aila's purity, she would only look at me, regardless of whether I had the ability or not.
Watching her and the naked body of Aila revealed before my eyes, I reached out as if possessed and placed my hand on her chest.
"......."
Her large chest, which I couldn't even grasp half of, sank in softly.
Looking at Aila, she slowly moved her head while making eye contact with me.
In a situation where, at this rate, I might touch Aila's lips.
"I'm sorry."
I bowed my head slightly to avoid it and apologized.
Because if I took Aila's purity here, it would be tantamount to giving silent permission that I would stay in this world.
"Please give me time to think."
"......."
Then, Aila stared at me blankly without saying a word.
I'm saying this now, but every time the Hero Party stares in silence, it gives me a chilling feeling.
"Am I not enough?"
"Of course not. It's just that my original world is weighing on my mind."
Aila nodded at my answer.
"It's the world you lived in, so I understand. I would be the same."
After that, Aila wrapped her hands around my face again and made me bury it in her bare chest.
"Then, sleep like this for tonight."
"......In this state?"
"You like breasts, don't you?"
If asked whether I like them or hate them, I was obviously on the side that likes them.
If that weren't the case, I wouldn't have touched Elisicia's and Rubyel's breasts every night.
'This is different from touching, though...'
It wasn't bad. No, actually, this was good in its own way.
I closed my eyes while hugging Aila, just like a moment ago, and tried to sleep.
The next day.
"Survivor-nim. I'm thinking of trying an Awakening Stone soon, what do you think?"
As soon as we finished morning preparations and set off for the labyrinth, Tipina, the fox-kin beastman, brought up the topic of Awakening Stones.
"Yes? Ah. Awakening Stones?"
"Yes. But you look a bit dazed."
Tipina said, scanning my face along with her answer.
In fact, I was worrying about what happened with Aila yesterday and my original world.
"It's nothing. But I only have intermediate Awakening Stones, so it's hard to recommend them."
"It's fine. I'm not in a role that fights directly, anyway. It's enough if I get an auxiliary ability like the Chief."
In reality, Tipina's role was to hide me with spells when a battle broke out.
So it didn't matter what ability came out, and besides, there was Veronica, a quasi-transcendent, protecting me now.
'It's definitely a success if I just get an auxiliary ability.'
Conversely, it didn't seem like it would be that much of a problem even if any ability came out.
"Yes. Then I'll give you an intermediate Awakening Stone."
I took an intermediate Awakening Stone out of my inventory and handed it to Tipina.
Tipina showed a small gesture of prayer and soon swallowed the Awakening Stone, acquiring an ability.
"I received a C-Grade [Ability Orb]."
What is an Ability Orb, I wonder.
"First, we need to find out what kind of ability it is, so try using it."
"Yes."
Pat
At the same time, a small orb the size of a ping-pong ball appeared in Tipina's hand.
It was a transparent glass orb with nothing inside, but Tipina told me the information she found out after using the ability.
"It seems I can use it once every 24 hours."
"The cooldown is incredibly long."
Still, if it's once every 24 hours, I wondered if it might be an incredibly great ability.
'But where do you use that orb?'
Does it explode if you throw it at a monster?
Of course, it wasn't that there was no way to find out.
If I reached level 10 and saw the ability specialization description, I could roughly figure it out.
"Try leveling it up to 10. Then we'll be able to know what kind of ability it is."
Afterward, I gave Tipina over 500 Bloodstones and had her reach level 10.
As expected, once she reached level 10, I could grasp what kind of ability the [Ability Orb] Tipina acquired was.
【1. The usage time of the Ability Orb doubles.】
【2. You can create the Ability Orb twice a day.】
【3. The grade of the ability that can be stored in the Ability Orb increases by one level.】
【4. The ability stored in the Ability Orb is applied up to the 1st stage of ability specialization.】
'Storage...?'
Could it be that you can put someone else's ability in it and use it?
"Tipina-ssi. Let me see the orb for a moment."
"Here you go."
After receiving the Ability Orb from Tipina, I tried using my Telekinesis on it or thought about putting it inside.
'It doesn't work.'
However, there was no reaction from the Ability Orb.
Seeing that, I wondered if it was because the Ability Orb was C-Grade, so it couldn't store higher grades.
"Hero-nim. Try putting an ability into this orb."
So I called Elisicia, who had acquired the same C-Grade [Instant Acceleration] ability.
"An ability?"
"I think you just need to use the ability or think about putting it inside."
Elisicia nodded, took the orb, and fiddled with it here and there.
Pat!
With that, surprisingly, the orb flashed with light and was dyed yellow.
"......."
This is my guess, but it seemed like other people could use that Ability Orb.
If that were the case, it must be an incredible ability that couldn't even be compared to my Telekinesis.