Chapter 202. Second Season (5)
With Loretta reluctant to let go of me, I had to buy highest-grade Health Potions, Mana Potions, and some bolts with high-grade magic imbued in them. After that, I headed to the guild house. Of course, getting Loretta off was quite a work.
"I"ll be the lady of the house eventually anyway!"
"Don"t you get tired? Even if you come, you"ll only see two sweaty men fighting each other."
"I want to go even more now!"
"Eit, go away!"
When I finally arrived at Marianne"s Garden, the garden, which had now become s.p.a.cious with the old residents Flame Drake (aka Pookie) and Giant Iron Boar (aka Iana) moving out, had Hwaya sitting under a parasol and reading. It was a rather strange scene.
"Oh, Shin. Welcome back."
"Hwaya? Why are you out in the garden? You"re not doing anything either."
"Ina"s going to come soon. She"s hunting the 45th Floor Master right now."
"Ah. Um… Sorry. I have to train with Ren for a while, so I"ll have to shamelessly leave you to take care of Ina."
At my apology, Hwaya smiled lightly and answered.
"It"s fine. I"m calculating each and everything anyways. I"m thinking about the reward I"ll get out of you with all the points I acc.u.mulated. A hug, kiss, dinner, date, and… Huhu."
"Huhu? What is that supposed to mean?"
"Ahaha, I"m kidding. Well, half-kidding. For the record, I have 2.7 Huhus saved up."
"You have no plans to hide your indecent desires, do you!?"
At my question, Hwaya narrowed her eyes and smiled. Then, she tapped the seat next to her and gestured me to come over.
"Stay for a while. Leave that lionhead alone. We can spend some quality family time with Ina. How about it, Ina"s Daddy?"
"Really… That"s an enticing offer, but I"ll have to pa.s.s for today. It"s an important time for Ren… I have to teach him how to wield the world"s power too."
"Hmm, you"re feeling responsible for making him a Hero. Ah, I want to take your place as Earth"s Hero. That way, I might get stronger than you and you"ll try your best to protect me too."
"Hmph, this power is mine. I won"t give it to anyone."
When I retorted curtly, Hwaya"s smile got bigger.
"I was kidding, Guild Master. I"ll be the one to protect you. Although it would be nice to be in the Hero"s position, I don"t really want to be a princess to be protected."
"I don"t like just being protected either. Oh, that reminds me…"
When the guild advanced to rank B, there was a function it gained. It was being able to appoint a vice-guild master given that the guild had more than 10 members. A vice-guild master could officially complete guild-related business like accepting new guild members or kicking out existing guild members. Vice-guild masters of the First Dungeon"s powerful guilds all held great authorities. Though, I couldn"t say whether Revival would also be like that.
"Hwaya, if it"s okay with you… can you be our guild"s vice-guild master? You"ve done a lot until now, and you"re really the only one I can think of who can fill that position. You have the ability and sense of responsibility, and you"re even close with everyone in the guild. How about it?"
"Is that a proposal?"
"Of course not. Good try though."
"Tsk."
Hwaya pouted. Though she was older than me, she was really quite cute. When I patted her head, she spoke with a softened expression.
"… Okay. To be honest, I also think I"m the only one who can be a vice-guild master."
"Great. Although something like this should be done through votes, I"m going to ignore all that and use my authority as the guild master to appoint you the vice-guild master."
"Mm, charming."
[Hwaya Eleni Mastiford became guild Revival"s vice-master!]
After confirming that Hwaya became the vice-guild master through the message, I took my hand off her head and extended it toward her.
"Continue with your excellent work, Vice-guild Master."
"At your service, Guild Master."
Just like that, Revival"s vice-guild master was chosen.
[Guild Revival: Guild Rank B]
[Guild member: Kang Shin (Guild Master, First - Gold), Hwaya Eleni Mastiford (Vice-guild Master, Second - Gold), Daisy Ectradion (First - Platinum), Lebuik Vandeon Granaris (First - Platinum), Kang Yungoong, Su Ye-Eun, Ren Verotude Goldlion, Palludia Gren Ehuir, Shuna Aren Lihita (First - Gold), Illina Alexandrovna Mikhalova, Kang Yua (First - Silver), Minami Violet Sumire (Second - Gold), Edward Walker (Second - Silver), Sophie Brightman (Third - Gold). Total: 14]
"Hm."
After saying goodbye around the time Ina arrived, I went into the mansion and opened the guild status window. In truth, I was rather surprised. Ludia and Shuna had become Gold rank explorers before I noticed, and with Daisy breaking through Beyond"s 13th floor and entering the First Dungeon"s 81st floor, I naturally learned when Daisy first entered Beyond.
Hwaya would reach Platinum rank soon to advance to the First Dungeon, and considering the talent Sumire showed in our spars, she would probably follow suit. As for Walker, he"d advanced to the Second Dungeon without telling me anything about it. It seemed Xin Shaomei"s ability was helping him greatly. That said, after he reached the Platinum rank in the Third Dungeon, he went down to the Second Dungeon"s Silver rank instead of Gold rank. I pitied him slightly. It seemed he was either lacking in achievements or some other conditions.
As for Ina, there wasn"t much to say about her. Even before she became an explorer, she was almost as strong as Hwaya and me. The dungeon was merely a playground for her, as she could use her magic power as much as she wanted. She cleared the 45th floor today and would soon become Gold rank. Only then would her speed slow down slightly. Perhaps, she might even enter Beyond.
The one I was really worried about was my sister, Yua, and the young lady of n.o.bility in charge of a conglomerate, Sophie. Although they were both elites who weren"t lacking in qualities deemed desirable in society, their const.i.tutions were both far from physical activities.
However, it seemed my worrying was for naught. The two SS rank abilities I took from Luca Bruno and Joshua Brightman found their respective owners, and they were shining more and more as the girls climbed the dungeon.
Yua had tamed all 278 mantis larvae, and she was now learning the dungeon"s system step-by-step as she learned and raised new skills. She probably wouldn"t need more tamed beasts. After all, fully grown mantises could even fly. Although ordinary mantises couldn"t fly for long, the ones she tamed came from the Evil Mantis Queen. Their genes were undoubtedly superior to the ordinary mantises". With Yua"s ability supporting them… I stopped thinking about it as I started getting gooseb.u.mps on my arms.
As for Sophie, who was the second most pa.s.sionate woman after Hwaya, she was surprisingly in the guild house at the moment. With her brilliant blonde hair tied up in a ponytail and wearing a tank top and hot pants, she was sparring with Ye-Eun in the underground training room. As Ye-Eun was also wearing casual clothes, they looked quite nice together.
"Haa!"
"Kuk, coming from the back again!"
"No, both sides!"
Although Ye-Eun was right in front of Sophie"s eyes, Ye-Eun"s dagger flew toward Sophie from behind her. Sophie quickly spun around and blocked it with just two fingers, but surprisingly, it was a clone. Ye-Eun was still in front of Sophie, and in an instant, Ye-Eun"s elbow struck Sophie down.
"A clone?"
"I just added mana into my shadow and gave it ma.s.s. Master said it was one of the most simple techniques!"
"No, your Master is strange. Realize it already."
While I pointed out Ye-Eun"s faulty statement, Sophie got up as she groaned. The spar must have been quite intense as a Gold rank explorer such as herself was dripping with sweat.
"Huu, huu… So strong."
"Huhu, of course. I"ll become a Beyond explorer after all!"
"Hmph, when I become Platinum ranked, I"ll advance to the Second Dungeon"s Gold rank, and when I become Platinum there, I can become the First Dungeon"s Gold rank explorer!"
Now that she mentioned it, it was rather scary how fast she advanced. Since she was on the Third Dungeon"s 75th floor while ravaging through all Floor Masters alone, she would undoubtedly advance to the Second Dungeon within the next month.
"You might even catch up to Walker at this rate."
"No, I"m only trying so hard so I can be with Edward."
"I, I see. Well, good luck, Miss Sophie."
"Edward is advancing quickly too. By the time I advance to the Second Dungeon, he"ll be Gold ranked. Don"t underestimate his desire to improve!"
"Maybe he"s just working hard so he doesn"t have to be with… Er, nothing, nevermind."
Mm, her spirit was already stronger than Joshua Brightman"s. Sophie getting his ability was definitely good for Earth!
"So why are you with Ye-Eun?"
"Her fighting style is the most similar to Walker"s out of everyone in the guild. I"m trying to learn how to work with Walker by sparring her. I have a lot to learn from her, really."
"Ehehe."
Right, as Ye-Eun specialized in sure-kill attacks, Sophie probably had a lot to learn by sparring with her. For example, protecting vital areas, feeling killing intent and dodging and the like. Though, I couldn"t really say out loud with Ye-Eun making such a happy-go-lucky face.
"Why is Shin here? To spar with Ren-ssi?"
"Oh, that reminds me. I wanted to ask when I first saw him. His ears… are they real?"
"Yeah. He"s a beastman. Other continents have all sorts of different races. Ren, say hel… Huu."
Sophie"s words reminded me to properly introduce them to each other. When I looked back, however, I saw Ren who was fidgeting in front of two girls he"d never talked to before. He really was completely stiff. I slapped his back to bring his consciousness back.
"Ren, snap out of it."
"I can"t, Crown Prince. They"re both too beautiful, I can"t look at them! Plus, t-their clothes are too revealing!"
"It"s okay, Ren. Unlike you, they don"t really mind it that much. Try to man up."
"That"s a bit hurtful, but regardless, it"s too much for me!"
Really, not even teenagers would be like him. I sighed. Then, a question suddenly popped into my head.
"Isn"t Lebuik just as beautiful as the two of them? Isn"t Ren really casual around Lebuik? Why is that?"
"T-That"s because I"ve known Lebuik ever since I was little… She"s not someone I can see as a woman."
Did he just drop the bomb…?
"Of course, Lebuik is also very beautiful. Her popularity among the knights was through the roof, and there were endless streams of proposals flowing in from every country in Panan. She had elegance and beauty, and she even had a kind personality. When I was young, I looked up to her too. However, that"s it. Lebuik is my Master and someone akin to my mother. I don"t see her as a woman."
"Ah…"
If Lebuik heard about this, it wasn"t going to end pretty! Though I found it quite funny, when I imagined how dejected Lebuik would be when she found out, a sigh naturally came out. Sophie"s and Ye-Eun"s expressions also became rigid as they instantly realized the circ.u.mstance.
"L-Lebuik is the cat-eared unni, right?"
"Can"t see her as a woman? Then he has to be…"
"Whoa, hold it there. You can"t impose your beliefs on others. Let me deal with this."
When I cut them off, they widened their eyes and looked at me.
"Can"t impose our beliefs?"
"What are you trying to do, friend?"
"Mm, I can"t impose anything on him, but I can help him change his mind. Usually, by beating him up."
"Isn"t that the same thing!?"
I just had to make him miss Lebuik. I just had to beat him up until he wanted to cry in Lebuik"s embrace! I looked back at Ren and smiled.
"Alright, we"re done with the introductions. Let"s start, Ren."
"C-Crown Prince, aren"t you more spirited than before? Did I do something wrong?"
"No, nothing at all. Ren isn"t wrong. Once the thrashing phase is over, everyone will be happier."
"Something did go wrong!"
Ye-Eun and Sophie, who were done with their sparring for the day, sat down nearby. It seemed the phrase, "thrashing phase," had interested them. Realizing this, Ren"s ears perked up and sweat began to appear on his face.
"Ha, hahaha. Really, Crown Prince. Are you trying to beat me like a dog in front of these beautiful ladies?"
"Ren, how can you say that? I"m not beating you like a dog. I"m just thrashing you for your own sake."
"That"s the same thing!"
"Now now, let"s begin."
"Uwuuuuuuuk!"
For the next 30 minutes, Ren and I both squeezed out our power as Heroes and clashed. While Ren wore a full set of armor and equipped himself with a wooden sword, I only had a wooden spear without any armor. Though it looked like I was lacking in terms of defense, as my armor was in its bracelet form and my spear in its choker form, although I wasn"t affected by their attack and defense, I was still affected by their additional effects.
My stats were already miles ahead of Ren. With the additional effects from my items added on top of my superior martial arts, there was no way for Ren to defeat me. Not even if he was Hero!
"Crown Prince is too strong! Too strong I tell you!"
"You only just found out? Don"t think about running away, come at me! Come on, hurry!"
"Kuk… Kuaaaang!"
"Having a wild nature isn"t bad, but we"re doing this because you can"t control yourself!"
"Kuak!"
I mercilessly smacked Ren"s back with the wooden spear. Immediately afterward, I smacked him three more times.
"Ku…!"
"Are you going to sleep? Counterattack!"
"Even without Crown Prince saying that I was about to do it! Kuak!"
Hearing Ren"s pitiful cries, Sophie and Ye-Eun, who were still watching from the side, added.
"Wow, he really just beat him up for 30 minutes straight."
"Shin is so cool!"
"Crown Priiiince!"
"You have more strength in your sword, but you"re still wide open! Didn"t you learn anything from Lebuik!?"
"Kuhuk!"
30 minutes wasn"t enough to expend Ren"s stamina. We were both vastly different than when we met on the 20th floor. As such, I beat him up for 2 hours more. My goal was to help Ren hone his b.e.s.t.i.a.l instincts while maintaining his sanity. If he could respond rationally even while in his wild mode, Ren could be a powerful warrior.
"Kuaaaaang, kak!"
"Just because you open your mouth while you run, the enemy won"t let you bite him!"
Of course, he was still far from that point.
Author"s note:
Ren, you can do it! Just endure the beating for now!