Dilemma

"When you say you want me to get you off, you mean what men and women do…?"

"Yes, that's right."

The women stood there blankly for a moment. Once they understood what I had said, their cheeks flushed. Joo Ahyeon protested.

"What do you take women for! How can you make such an outdated proposal!"

"Let me say this in advance: I'm absolutely not treating women like objects or anything."

"Women aren't objects! Ngh."

Apparently, I had preempted exactly what she had been about to say, because Joo Ahyeon fidgeted before clamping her mouth shut.

"This accessory is something I obtained after going through all kinds of hardships."

"I've seen that at the Shelter. It comes from the tutorial area. Why are you dressing it up as if you went through some great ordeal?"

"I did go through an ordeal. I spent ten days shivering in that freezing place while hunting foxes like my life depended on it."

The women's eyes widened.

"Ten days?"

"Yes. The drop rate is pretty low."

"……."

Joo Ahyeon looked awkward, apparently at a loss for words after hearing that I'd spent ten days in that freezing cold to obtain the item.

Kim Yoorim was no different.

And behind the two women, Han Sohee was staring at me with her eyes wide. She seemed unable to imagine that I had actually holed up there for ten days.

'They're looking at me like I'm practically insane.'

Well, who in their right mind would spend ten days frolicking with foxes in the dead of winter? Looking back, it really had been insane.

"Anyway, that's an item I obtained through considerable hardship. So I'd normally like to receive its full value, but it seems you don't have enough money to buy it."

"Ugh. That's true."

The women's faces grew even more awkward, then turned solemn.

"In that sense, my offer to get you off is already a considerable concession."

"Whew. I understand. I do understand, but… I have a boyfriend."

"I need some time to think too…."

Joo Ahyeon was hesitant because she had a boyfriend, while Kim Yoorim wanted time to make a careful decision.

"……."

As for Han Sohee, she had apparently decided there was nothing more worth hearing and sat down on the floor to rest.

'Looks like they still have some self-respect. If it were me, I wouldn't let an opportunity like this pass me by.'

That was only natural, since a chance like this rarely came along.

Still, I had no intention of looking down on them for it. I took it to mean they were untainted gems in the rough.

Being slow to adapt was a problem, but adapting too quickly was also a problem. The women already selling their bodies at the Shelter were, in truth, of lesser quality.

They had ultimately sold themselves for pocket change.

Tap tap.

'Hmm?'

At that moment, someone tapped me on the shoulder from behind.

I turned around and saw Lee Sera standing behind me. Our cute Reaper was tracing letters across my palm with her finger.

「Oppa, isn't it time for us to go back?」

I checked the time. It was seven in the evening. It was about time to return to the group. I put the watch away and said,

"Anyway, I'm not forcing you, so think it over. I have to head back now, so I'll hear your answer tomorrow."

"What? Where are you going?"

"I have a group upstairs."

At the news that I had companions, the women became slightly wary.

"Are there any women?"

"The gender ratio is a little strange, but everyone except me is a woman."

Only then did their faces brighten considerably.

"Then why are you traveling alone? Why don't you come with us? We can talk it over and search for the remains together."

"Haha, I haven't obtained all the weapons I need for that yet."

"Ah…. Then it can't be helped. If you can't get elemental weapons upstairs, you can't come down here."

Apparently, I had succeeded in lowering their guard, because the women asked me to come back and see them tomorrow without fail.

After parting with them, I led Lee Sera back upstairs.

"Oppa's share."

Lee Sera suddenly held out a pouch to me. It contained stat fragments.

"Thanks. Is there anything you want to eat tonight?"

She had worked hard, so I ought to at least feed her well.

"Yeah, beef."

"Anything else?"

"Tuna?"

"……."

Her tastes were strangely similar to Shin Seoyeon's.

I supposed I'd give her some canned tuna.

[Strength has increased by 3.]

[Agility has increased by 4.]

[Vitality has increased by 4.]

Every stat except Intelligence had increased. My body felt suddenly lighter. I clenched and unclenched my fist, smiling with satisfaction.

'Let's see. Sera's Intelligence increased by 3 too, and if things go well, I might be able to raise each stat by 15 per body part.'

I felt as though things ahead would become much easier.

Of course, this still wasn't quite enough to reach my desired goal, but I could make up for what I lacked in other ways.

"You know, sis, what that Black Dick guy did was…"

Since I could hear voices, it seemed the other two were safe as well.

I opened the door.

"I'm back."

"Huh? Black Dick?"

After returning to the Waiting Room from my meaningful outing with Lee Sera, I sauntered in, and Shin Seoyeon widened her eyes as if she were glad to see me before launching straight into a string of curses.

"Hey, fucker, where the hell have you been! You went off to have all the fun by yourself, didn't you! Did you go meet some woman?!"

Wow, our Seoyeon was sharp as a tack. How was she always so perceptive?

"It's not like that."

"Not like that, my ass! Where have you been? Confess already!"

Shin Seoyeon came rushing over and put me in a headlock with her breasts.

"Mr. Minjun, I was so worried because you came back late. You aren't hurt anywhere, are you?"

The Saintess ran over after her and healed me first.

And then the Saintess also put me in a headlock with her breasts…. Huh?

"Sis, do you really think this guy's the type to go and die somewhere? He definitely went downstairs to slack off. I'm sure of it."

"Seoyeon, you shouldn't say things like that."

I was buried between their breasts, staring blankly at the two of them.

They had clearly been awkward with each other as recently as yesterday. In particular, hadn't our Saintess done nothing but shrink back in fear whenever Shin Seoyeon said anything?

She normally could barely speak to anyone, yet somehow she was now taking my side and even scolding Shin Seoyeon.

"You're too nice, sis. That's your problem."

Yet Shin Seoyeon didn't seem to mind much. She neither snapped at nor berated the Saintess.

If anything, the atmosphere was warm and friendly.

'I guess spending all day together made them fairly close.'

Well, try spending time in a dark, damp place with a hundred or so skeletons in horrific condition.

When it came to becoming friendly with the human companion right beside you, a day? A few hours were more than enough.

'Especially since the Saintess's [Healing Authority] can resolve mental issues as well as physical ones.'

In short, they had no reason to quarrel from built-up stress.

'Good thing I left them together.'

I looked at the two of them with a deeply satisfied expression.

Nothing was more troublesome than discord between party members. Hadn't I seen plenty of parties split up, fall apart, and become enemies because of it?

In a way, their harmony might have been the greatest result of the day.

"So, Black Dick, what were you doing that made you so late?"

"I went downstairs to investigate a little."

"Oh, was the hunting ground any good?"

"Well, ghost-type monsters appear, but there's no loot."

"They don't even drop gems?"

"Nope. They don't."

Shin Seoyeon spat on the floor.

"Damn it, then I'm not going. Starting tomorrow, you hunt here too, Black Dick. The three of us can totally make it to the Waiting Room across the way, heh heh heh."

"We'll see. I'll look around to see if there are any other monsters too."

As I said that, I shifted my gaze to the floor. Countless pieces of equipment I hadn't picked up were strewn across it.

'Thirty-four weapons and seventy-one priest robes, was it?'

The income wasn't bad. I walked around and stored every one of them in my inventory.

"What about the junk items?"

"Here."

Shin Seoyeon held up a heavy pouch. Wow, there sure were a lot.

"Only gems?"

"Yeah."

As expected, even these guys only dropped trash as their miscellaneous loot.

"Black Dick, staring at me like that won't make me give them to you. You remember you promised all those gems to me back then, right?"

"Of course. They're all yours."

It was too heavy to carry around, but dedicating an inventory slot to a single weapon would be an even greater waste.

They were literally impossible to deal with, so I was actually glad she was taking care of them herself.

'Still, she's collected quite a lot. I guess I won't need to give our Seoyeon pocket money later.'

Hehehe! Shin Seoyeon gazed lovingly at the pouch full of gems, while Lee Sera, using [Stealth] beside her, licked her lips and made the exact same expression.

I was in a good mood too.

'More than a hundred pieces of equipment in one day. This is shaping up to be a real fortune.'

Even in my first run, I had never obtained this much loot. To begin with, I hadn't had an inventory, so there had been a limit to how many weapons I could farm.

'It's just a shame I only have ten inventory slots.'

I looked around with regret.

Equipment I couldn't pick up rolled around on the floor.

Only weapons of the same type could be stacked in a single inventory slot.

In other words, I could carry only ten types of items.

After storing the expensive equipment, relatively cheap goods like daggers and clubs were left rolling around all over the Waiting Room.

'It's a waste, but it can't be helped.'

We killed the skeletons one last time, then left the Waiting Room without resetting their remains.

That way, we could prevent the skeletons that respawned overnight from wandering outside the Waiting Room.

"Did you have any difficulties while hunting?"

On the way back to the campsite, Shin Seoyeon and the Saintess looked at each other in response to my question. Then they answered as if they had rehearsed it.

"Sometimes, when they respawned right in front of the barricade, it was difficult to deal with them."

"Fireballs cause such large explosions that it was a little awkward when that happened."

They couldn't spray flames like a flamethrower for fear of burning down the barricade, so each time that happened, the Saintess had to swing her club and beat the monsters to death.

"You managed to swing that thing? Isn't it heavy?"

"Oh, yes. The clothes Mr. Minjun gave me made me quite strong. Stronger than Seoyeon, actually."

The Saintess smiled brightly, took a stance, and swung as if she were wielding a baseball bat.

Whoosh—

The air split with a fearsome whoosh.

'Come to think of it, [Lumina's Holy Robe] had an option that increased all stats by 10.'

The Saintess was now strong enough to win a contest of strength against most male athletes. So smashing a skeleton's head would be nothing to her.

It truly was an effect worthy of a Mythic-grade item.

'Hmm, even so, I feel uneasy about the two of them handling it alone.'

It was still only the first trial, so the two of them could hunt without much trouble, but mages and healers were vulnerable in close combat.

Hunting would become more difficult as we advanced to the next trials.

'But I can't be tied down here every time either.'

If I hunted too, I'd be more efficient by moving separately.

Shin Seoyeon alone provided more than enough firepower. And with the Saintess there, we didn't have to worry about running out of mana.

'I do have a tank in mind, but it's troublesome that I have no idea when we'll meet.'

I had actually planned to acquire companions after the third trial, so unexpected problems kept cropping up.

'Sera won't work.'

"What are you thinking about, Mr. Minjun?"

"Nothing. I was just thinking about what to eat for dinner."

"You're not busy, right?"

"Of course not."

"Then answer me. Who would you like to stand the first watch with tonight?"

Huh? When I came to my senses, the Saintess and the Witch of Crimson Flame were staring intently at me. Their eyes burned with desire.

"Stand watch?"

Nod.

They were both looking at me as if asking to be chosen.

"Hmm. Would you two like to take the first watch together?"

"……."

They had finally grown close, so I should help maintain their harmony. More importantly, the first watch was the cushy one.

…But my consideration was useless.

"Ah! Ahh! Minjun oppa! Please thrust harder!"

From Shin Seoyeon on the first watch to the Saintess on the second, I was kept awake and thoroughly milked dry.

"Ahh! Ahh! Mr. Minjun! Come inside me just like that!"

"……."

***

A beautiful morning, bathed in pure white light.

"Ah."

As always, I woke up to find myself rolling around naked with a virgin.

The difference from yesterday was that I now knew who had secretly entered the tent during the night and sucked my dick.

I lightly poked the assassin with the hime-cut hair.

"Hey, let's eat and get ready to hunt."

"Mmm."

"Get up."

Pinch.

"!!"

When I pinched her nipple, the virgin Reaper sprang up at last and scanned all around her with fierce, wary eyes.

"Get ready to go. I'll prepare breakfast right away, so get ready to eat too."

"Okay!"

Lee Sera gathered her clothes and vanished straight out of the tent.

She was a future S-rank assassin who, once breakfast was prepared, would secretly take her own food and return to the storeroom to eat it.

"What? Why is my portion so small?"

She always took an especially large portion from Shin Seoyeon's share, though I wasn't sure why.

After finishing our meal, we parted ways in the Waiting Room.

"Then let's give it our all today too."

"Yes, Mr. Minjun. Be careful out there."

"Black Dick, I'll kill you if you slack off. Work hard if you don't want to get scolded when you're standing watch tonight."

"……."

Even though she had spent the night beneath me, acting cute and calling me 'oppa, oppa,' she was always so fierce during the day.

Seeing her getting along so well with the Saintess made her seem somewhat different from my first run, but I didn't know why she was still so bossy with me in particular.

"Black Dick, aren't you going to answer?!"

Should I make her lick my ass tonight?

Whack.

"Ow!"

After mouthing off to me, Shin Seoyeon finally got smacked by Lee Sera.

Leaving the Witch of Crimson Flame clutching her head behind us, Lee Sera and I descended to the middle level and headed toward the women I had met yesterday to hear the answer to the offer I'd made them last night.

"Ah, don't be so picky…."

As we descended the stairs, we heard voices.

A voice I'd never heard before.

I muffled my footsteps and approached quietly. In the open space before the chapel's main entrance, two groups stood facing each other in a tense standoff.

'One side is the three women I saw yesterday.'

The people on the opposite side were strangers to me.

"I don't recognize them."

"They move around the pews on the left. I saw them while farming fragments."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

So the women farmed the right side of the chapel and the men the left? It had seemed strange that there were only female survivors.

"Think this over carefully. At times like this, shouldn't we join forces?"

Five men were trying to persuade the women.

Wondering what, exactly, they were discussing, we hid in the shadow of the stairs and quietly eavesdropped on their conversation.