Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Otherworld Cheat Harem.

Episode 24: Level Up (3).

Silence flowed between the two. It was Dojin who broke the silence first.

“I’m quite famous these days, aren’t I?”

“Famous… you say.”

“Didn’t you know? I even leveled up recently.”

“Oh, yes. That’s right. That’s how I found out…”

As soon as Dojin created an escape route, Charlotte took the bait as if she had been waiting for it.

Fortunately, she hadn’t yet realized that Dojin had figured out her identity. It was inevitable.

For someone like Dojin, who never forgets a woman he’s seen even once, assuming he’d deduce her identity just from seeing her in armor was far-fetched.

‘He leveled up?’

So what she was considering was the authenticity of the information Dojin mentioned. According to the information she gathered, he arrived in this city two months ago.

It was impossible to know what he had been doing until then. There were no records of entering or leaving the city.

If she assumed that Dojin entered the dungeon for the first time around that time, it was a remarkably fast pace.

‘Two months… not bad.’

It wasn’t a new record. The records were dominated by monsters who had undergone all sorts of combat training, like the Empire’s knights, the Holy Nation’s inquisitors, the elves’ rangers, and the beastmen’s battle clans.

However, for an ordinary person who had not received any training, it was a record akin to that of a genius.

‘The average period for ordinary people to level up… was it two years?’

Assuming a farmer who came up from the countryside with just a farming tool, who had never swung a weapon at a person, let alone a monster, did not give up and consistently put in effort.

It took them an average of two years to level up.

Compared to those people, it was a considerably quick time. Considering that even knights and rangers go to the dungeon after years of training, hadn’t they also spent quite a long time?

‘Judging by his body, it seems like he’s been training for quite a long period.’

Charlotte assessed his body, just as Dojin had done. A physique forged through long training.

Arms and legs developed like someone who wielded the sword, like herself. Even through his clothes, it was clear. Dojin was an exceptional swordsman.

‘I would like to cross swords with him if I could.’

If he truly was an entity sent by the oracle, such rudeness could not be committed. Charlotte had to find out he was the oracle’s entity without being rude.

How?

“Um… I have a question.”

Traditionally, men were known to be crazy about everything about women. From head to toe, even the invisible scent or atmosphere. Especially if the other party was a beauty like her.

When Charlotte leaned forward, emphasizing her chest as she approached him, Dojin stepped back slightly in surprise.

However, she could easily tell it wasn’t because he disliked it, but because he was surprised and flustered.

‘In the end, this man too…’

Succumbs to lust. She felt relieved. If he were some extraordinary being devoid of desire, dealing with him would have been far more challenging.

“Mr. Dojin, where are you from?”

“From where, you ask? From a rural area outside the city.”

“Which country are you from?”

“I came from the east. From a distant, unnamed country.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

Asking more might seem too suspicious, she thought, so she stopped questioning and raised her glass.

Yes, expecting to be full from the first drink would be greedy. She continued to extract information from Dojin while clinking glasses.

To be sure of his existence as a prophecy…

As a result, the alcohol kept going down. She drank until she lost consciousness.

It was partly because she drank beyond her limit, but also because, as a cleric, she had kept away from alcohol.

Her body, unprepared for the alcohol entering after so long, quickly succumbed to intoxication.

“…Excuse me?”

Dojin shook her shoulder as she fainted. To pass out from just this much, she was someone who shouldn’t drink with men.

The unconscious Charlotte had her chest serving as her pillow. Dojin could feel the lecherous gazes directed at her from those around them.

Sensing those stares, Dojin sighed and picked her up. If he stayed here, it was obvious that one or two people would try to make a move on her.

Dojin took the key from her pocket and opened her room. He threw her onto the bed in a room slightly smaller than his own, then slowly turned his body.

‘…No.’

He slowly turned back to look at her. She sometimes let out a faint moan and frowned, but she was clearly asleep.

It was certain, seeing her chest rise and fall in a steady rhythm.

‘Should I… touch her now?’

Why she came to find him, what her purpose was. He knew nothing.

In such a situation, the cheat ability to read the opponent’s inner thoughts was an incredibly effective power.

However, there was the downside that he had to touch the opponent’s genitals for it to work…

‘It activates even if touched over clothes. Just needs to make contact.’

The opponent was intoxicated and even had her legs slightly apart, so carrying out the act was not particularly difficult.

Once he decided to do it, he had to execute it immediately. Dojin placed his hand on her vagina without hesitation.

For a moment, her breathing stopped. Startled by the possibility that she might wake up, he quickly withdrew his hand and stepped back.

[Charlotte Valois]

─Zzzzzz…

The ability activated. Confirming this fact, Dojin left the room before she woke up.

“Now.”

At my words, Eunha stepped forward. In an instant, she rushed out, took a stance, and threw a punch.

“Whack, urgh!”

The orc, struck by the punch, let out a scream and gasped for breath.

Since it hit a vital point, no matter how much of an orc it was, there was no way it could breathe.

The moment the orc stopped, she lightly bounced up and delivered a high kick to its head.

A kick that wouldn’t normally reach hit its mark because she jumped. Of course, it was quite difficult to put weight on her foot while in mid-air, but her leveled-up body made it possible.

The orc, hit in the solar plexus and jaw, fell over. Its thick neck muscles couldn’t withstand Eunha’s kick.

Eunha, having taken down the orc, was looking at me with twinkling eyes. I nodded and praised her.

“Well done.”

“…Yeah.”

Eunha showed no signs of joy as she slowly stepped on the orc’s neck, breaking its cervical vertebrae. Moments later, the orc’s corpse disappeared, leaving behind a solitary mana stone.

Skillfully, she packed the mana stone into her bag and approached Seoyoon, who was waiting.

Seoyoon was staring blankly into space, lost in thought, but upon seeing us approach, she widened her eyes.

“Is it over?”

“Yeah.”

“Can’t we skip that? It takes too long and is such a hassle…”

“It’s necessary.”

We grew through leveling up. Leveling up not only improved our physical abilities but also enhanced our unique cheat abilities.

The one who showed the greatest change among us was Eunha.

“…I want to be helpful too.”

“You’re already plenty helpful.”

“No, I’m nothing. I can’t do anything…”

Eunha’s ability was Pain Immunity, and I assigned her the role of a striker who would bet everything in one go using this ability.

Even that was a useless ability that did nothing but break her arm once used, until she received treatment, but…

‘Not anymore.’

Eunha, who gained physical abilities surpassing modern Olympic athletes through leveling up, awakened an additional ability called Pain Reflection.

The true value of this ability, as its name suggested, was that it unconditionally reflected half of the pain she received back to the opponent.

However, Eunha wouldn’t suffer from pain due to Pain Immunity. In other words, only the opponent would suffer unilaterally.

‘She reflects the pain she receives, reflects the damage she deals. It’s just utterly broken…’

Pain had a significant impact on battles. The ability to inflict pain on an opponent without suffering any on oneself was a huge advantage.

Moreover, it was discovered that Eunha had exceptional talent as she leveled up. Previously, her body couldn’t keep up with her thoughts due to her weak physical abilities, but now that her body moved as she would think, her talent emerged belatedly.

“Or do you want to train too?”

“…Why would I?”

“You can’t rely on that single ability forever, can you? Starting from now…”

“No. It’s bothersome. And I think you’re misunderstanding something, but I just need to hunt monsters that I can handle with my ability.”

“…Why?”

“I’d actually like to ask, what’s the point of getting so strong?”

“What do you mean, ‘what’s the point’? It’s to clear the dungeon…”

“So, what happens if you clear the dungeon? Do you get to go home or something?”

“According to Deokgu.”

“It must be Deokgu’s delusion.”

Hearing those words, I felt a lump in my throat. Yeah, as she said, there was no guarantee that clearing the dungeon would let us return to Earth.

Not Deokgu’s ability, just an unreliable inference based on his knowledge.

“I’m not exactly dissatisfied with my life right now… and once I earn enough money, I can take care of things here too.”

“…Seoyoon, you’re saying you’ll give up entering the dungeon if you hit a limit, right?”

“I won’t give up. I’ll just settle at that level.”

Hearing Seoyoon’s plan made my heart feel cold. It was as if my mind was being washed away.

Well, considering how sharp she was, I couldn’t deny that her perspective was more rational.

However, the fact that she, whom I thought would always be with me, had such thoughts…

I was disappointed that I couldn’t grasp her heart, even with the ability to read minds.

“Yeah… you’re right. Honestly, risking your life on uncertain information is foolish.”

“Then you guys also…”

“But Eunha and I will climb to the very end.”

“…What?”

I don’t know what’s at the end of the dungeon.

It could be the One Piece that the Pirate King hid.

Or it could be the Dragon Balls that can summon Shenron.

Or perhaps there might be nothing at all.

But one thing was certain, if you don’t challenge, nothing happens.

That much was certain.

“Isn’t that right, Eunha?”

Eunha trembled slightly at my words and began to gauge the reactions of Seoyoon and me. However, she was someone who wanted to be helpful, to the point of enduring grueling training.

In that case, she wouldn’t give up on a dungeon raid that could benefit all of us.

“Um, well… so…”

After hesitating for a long time, Eunha finally nodded. Seoyoon, seeing this, seemed to dismiss it, as if telling her to do as she pleased.

However, that night, she couldn’t avoid being reprimanded by Seoyoon for daring to talk back.