Episode 18: I Was the Tentacle Armor That Grew Stronger on Its OwnThe party members had arrived first.
Four people were gathered. A woman who appeared to be the Party Leader stepped forward to confront her.
"H-hic. I'm sorry..."
Seol-hwa immediately bowed her head.
An absolute subordinate. As a half-baked Hunter, she had to submit to the woman employing her.
"You're ten minutes late for the agreed time. How do you plan to make up for this?"
Seol-hwa bit her lip. She must feel wronged. She wasn't supposed to be late - it was because of me.
But she couldn't voice her grievance.
"I'm... truly sorry. It was my mistake."
She bowed so deeply it looked servile.
"Be more careful."
The Party Leader turned away.
No mention of "next time."
It seemed she'd made a terrible impression on the Party Leader.
The party members followed behind the leader.
"Hngk."
She sobbed. Resentment seemed to well up inside her.
"Aren't you coming?"
"Y-yes. I'm coming."
The Party Leader didn't even give her time to compose herself.
Seol-hwa ran to join them, taking the last position in the party formation.
* * * * *
Paju Hazard Management Zone.
Hunters called it the Paju Hunting Ground.
One of the few hazard zones in South Korea where monsters naturally spawned.
It was also where the first Break had occurred in South Korea - a place where the boundary between another world and Earth had blurred due to spatial distortion.
The hazard zone was so vast and deep that there were jokes about never returning to Earth if you went too far in.
But the outskirts were different. Goblins, beasts corrupted by mana...
Monsters that even low-rank Hunters could handle were stationed there.
This party where Seol-hwa worked part-time was such a case.
A team that hunted monsters while patrolling the outskirts.
Yet they earned more money than office workers.
"Our entry time was pushed back 30 minutes because of someone's 10-minute tardiness."
The Party Leader returned with sharp words.
"Exactly. Because of some part-timer being 10 minutes late, we're about to lose 40 minutes."
The Orc Healer chimed in.
Though she only possessed half-baked healing skills, low-rank parties were grateful even for that.
"I'm sorry. So sorry."
Seol-hwa kept repeating apologies.
I felt bad. I was responsible for her tardiness.
"Everyone, go easy on her. Anyone can be late once."
A woman in a pointed hat defended Seol-hwa.
She was the Magician, with a cute appearance.
"..."
The remaining member stayed silent.
The Magician didn't seek her support - perhaps she normally didn't involve herself in others' affairs.
"This is why porters keep quitting our party. If this continues, no porter will want to join later. The pay is low and no one wants to carry backpacks, right? Cut her some slack this once. Okay?"
"Fine. We'll decide after seeing her performance today."
The Magician's persuasion worked.
The Party Leader spoke as if conceding. At her words, Seol-hwa's face brightened.
"Hmph, what a party with no standards."
The Orc Healer muttered loud enough to be heard, openly criticizing the Party Leader's decision, but no one called her out.
Healers truly were the nobility of parties.
The suffocating atmosphere eased.
Party members sat around killing time.
"Thank you, unnie."
Seol-hwa expressed gratitude. Without her, Seol-hwa would have been fired from this gig.
"It's okay. It happens. Just do better next time."
The Magician comforted Seol-hwa, who teared up.
She must have been through emotional turmoil in that short time. Poor thing. I patted Seol-hwa's back.
"Hngkt!"
I'd forgotten her back had become an erogenous zone too.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt somewhere?"
"Uwaah! N-no..."
I ruined the mood. What should have been a moment of apology and gratitude got shattered by her moans.
She sat down looking dejected.
"Seol-hwa, did you change cosmetics?"
"No?"
"Strange... Your breasts look bigger and your skin is incredibly improved."
The better skin was thanks to Nutrient Liquefaction.
The larger breasts were pregnancy effects.
I'd once read online that breasts enlarge during pregnancy.
"My doing. Bigger breasts, better skin. Saved you tons of money. Shouldn't you thank me?"
She saved on breast augmentation and skin care costs.
Must have saved tens of millions of won at minimum.
"Kngkt... I... don't really know... I rested at home for a week! Other than that..."
Seol-hwa evaded the question, using all her strength just to suppress moans.
"Uuungg."
Love juice gushed out. Climax. Lost count of how many today.
I drank the overflowing fluid.
"I admit it... I'll admit it. Please stop."
She surrendered. I ceased tormenting her.
"Are you okay?"
"F-fine..."
The Magician looked at her worriedly.
Seol-hwa forced a smile to signal she was alright.
"Lee Mi-ae party members, your entry time has arrived."
Had 30 minutes already passed?
"Let's move out."
The Party Leader spoke.
Seol-hwa stood up, staggering from climax aftereffects.
They arrived before the guard post.
Another party was being inspected nearby.
A measure to prevent criminals from entering Paju Hunting Ground.
The maze-like Paju Hunting Ground made finding anyone deep inside nearly impossible.
"One moment. I need to check your IDs and entry permits."
A handsome man appeared. A Hunter. Working at the hazard zone meant he was skilled.
Damn him. Felt God's unfairness. Already handsome, yet supremely skilled too. If I'd met such men in my human life, I'd have been jealous.
"Here."
Party members presented pre-prepared permits and IDs.
The man checked and returned them.
"Here... you go."
Lastly, Seol-hwa presented her ID and permit.
Her hand trembled. Unusual behavior. I'd threatened her in advance.
"Thinking of asking that handsome, strong Hunter oppa for help? Even if you do, you'll die."
Needed to preemptively poison her mind. That way she wouldn't entertain foolish ideas.
"All five members of Lee Mi-ae's party confirmed. You may enter now."
"I wasn't thinking that. Nngkt. Please stop."
She pleaded. Losing focus in dangerous Paju Hunting Ground could be fatal.
"Understood. I'll stop."
I ceased tormenting her. I had enough discernment to know when to stop.
The party left the guard post, entering deep forest.
Traces of civilization faded, then disappeared completely.
Trees grew dense. Sunlight filtered through branches.
"Contact. Magician, prepare spells."
The Party Leader halted, raising a massive shield.
A giant wolf appeared opposite them.
Not just one. Eight. A Dire Wolf family.
"Numbers are high. I'll handle five. Everyone else take the remainder."
The Party Leader charged forward with her shield.
A lone human separating from the group triggered the wolves' instinct to hunt isolated prey.
Wolves surrounded the Party Leader.
Three of them.
The alpha wolf deemed three sufficient.
"Hngk!"
The Party Leader swung her sword, slashing two wolves flanking her.
Strange mana lingered in their wounds.
Yelp!
The cuts weren't deep - mere splinters to giant wolves.
Yet the wolves shrieked in agony.
Grrrrrr.
The wolves growled at the Party Leader.
Awooooo.
The alpha tried to control them.
But the wolves wouldn't listen.
Snarl!
Two more wolves charged.
Fulfilling the five the Party Leader mentioned.
Branding. A skill that deals damage and etches mana onto targets.
Affected enemies lose control and charge the user.
"Hngk! Fireball!"
A massive flame sphere flew through the air.
BOOM!
The fireball landed amidst the wolf pack.
Some wolves were thrown aside. Dust cleared to reveal carnage.
One corpse was mangled beyond recognition.
The remaining two weren't in good shape either.
Limping or missing an eye.
Incredible destructive power. Equivalent to three of my large magic spells combined.
This was skill power - the mystery humans obtained. I felt overwhelmed by its majesty.
'If I poured 30 mana into it, could I produce that kind of power?'
Probably. The artifact could use all fire-related magic.
'Then what if I poured all 200?'
Unimaginable. Might rival Meteor, the ultimate fire magic.
I felt the urge to cast magic.
"Porter. Handle the skinning. We'll wait until the pelts are prepared."
The battle ended. I snapped back to reality.
"Yes! Understood."
Seol-hwa answered, standing before Dire Wolf corpses.
She pulled a hand axe from her backpack.
A monster-skinning axe designed for easy swinging.
She swung the axe. A Dire Wolf's skull shattered.
She extracted the magic stone buried deep inside.
The main income source for low-rank parties.
This small stone was worth hundreds of thousands of won.
Thanks to this, low-rank parties could earn more than office workers despite working fewer days.
'Wait... Is this really F-rank strength? She shattered a Dire Wolf's skull too easily.'
Any animal's hardest part is the skull.
Not something an F-ranker could break like a watermelon.
Seol-hwa remained unaware of the strangeness.
She drew a dagger to skin the hide.
'Could it be?'
I changed my traits to Goblin Hands.
The trait list formed [Manual Dexterity].
Seol-hwa pressed the dagger against the hide.
Schliiick.
The blade slid. The hide peeled off cleanly like an expert's work.
In under five minutes, she'd skinned a Dire Wolf the size of a bull.
Thud.
She stacked the pelt.
Moved to the next Dire Wolf corpse.
No coincidence this time - she skinned another in five minutes.
'My abilities are being shared!'
I realized. My abilities only showed their true worth when combined with my host.
Until now, I'd only used half my potential.
Metaphorically speaking, I'd become tentacle armor that grows stronger itself while sharing all abilities with its wearer.
"Already finished?"
The Party Leader was astonished. All seven Dire Wolf corpses processed in under 30 minutes.
"Uh... seems so?"
Only then did Seol-hwa realize something was strange.
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