Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Investing Through the Status Window.

Episode 29: Gorge (4).

As it was revealed that there was a widespread curse, the group, which had been a bit relieved because nothing had happened so far, was thrown into chaos. After all, the curse they had considered merely a rumor turned out to be real.

Especially since rumors about the effectiveness of holy water against the curse spread, people made a fuss trying to obtain it. Of course, those who had brought holy water just in case, kept their mouths shut, pretending that they didn’t have any. Money came afterwards, they had to save their own lives first.

And then, the name of Allen, the group leader who had clearly revealed the curse, was on everyone’s lips. This led to speculation that there might be a curse-specialized mage in the Allen-Mercenary Group. Otherwise, they couldn’t have known about the curse so accurately. Even among mages, different specialties were treated almost like different professions.

Anyway, once it was revealed that there was a curse from a dark mage, the group began to prepare for surprise attacks in earnest. This was because dark mages, who had fallen into corruption by borrowing the mana of demons, could unleash hordes of demonic beasts at any moment, from anywhere.

Allen especially, was certain that the dark mage would never let them off easily. Since it was confirmed to be an event related to the dark mage, his rampage was inevitable. However, it was not yet time.

…After all, a curse is ultimately a debuff. No matter how crazy he may be, he would have thought it out, and would likely attack after draining as much physical and mental strength as possible.

Not to mention, the effects of the curse were already starting to manifest among the people. A prime example was nightmares. The members with the [Touchy] trait especially, had been suffering from terrible nightmares from the first day. On top of that, their bodies felt heavier than usual….

In fact, Allen confirmed just two days after entering the gorge that the members had temporarily acquired a [Weakening] trait. Even if it hadn’t been for the voodoo doll, he would have been certain that this was the work of a curse mage.

It was also possible that the dark mage was going through demonification. …If by any chance he had already become a demonic beast himself, they would have to be prepared for a desperate struggle.

And on the fourth night.

Most people began to suffer from severe nightmares. There were even cases of hallucinations and auditory hallucinations progressing. Of course, Allen, who was an ordinary person, couldn’t be free from it either.

“Damn it…!”

No matter how bold a person was, enduring the continuous repetition of terrifying and horrible nightmares was never easy. Moreover, he sometimes saw hallucinations. Each time, his heart would race as if it would burst, and his nerves were constantly on edge. And this soon led to a decline in his mental and physical strength…

The nerves of the members also became on edge. The jokes that were commonly made disappeared as if washed away. They started to get irritable over trivial things and began to argue.

Each time, Allen would step in calmly. Because there was no one else to stop it. …In fact, he too was filled with anger to the brim due to the repetitive nonsense, but he forcibly endured it again and again. He couldn’t bear to explode, fearing that everything built up until now would collapse.

Unable to bear it any longer, the milk-jug mage finally took out the holy water, hoping to at least alleviate the condition of her colleagues who seemed to be severely afflicted by the curse.

Allen, always well-prepared, had also brought holy water. He had intended to save it until the very last moment, but seeing their current condition, he realized that saving it any longer would truly lead to disaster.

There were a total of five bottles of holy water. Since each bottle contained only about a sip, there was no point in dividing it for drinking.

Allen opened the status window, checked the particularly severe cases among the five, and distributed the holy water to them. Kalisman offered it to the weak group leader, but he refused. After all, being cursed only meant a strong debuff, not death. It was a hundred times better to give it to a combatant who could still fight.

…And then came the early evening of the fifth day.

Allen, tormented by severe nightmares, had been unable to sleep for two days. The torturous ordeal left him regretting his decision to forgo the holy water.

“Fug, ugh, fuck…”

He saw too many hallucinations. No matter how brave you were, it’s inevitable to be startled and fall over when a ghostly figure suddenly pops up in front of you. And now, he even started to slowly hear auditory hallucinations… It was full of harsh swear words and obscene language. There were even direct incitements to rape… Especially towards the milk-jug mage.

“Milk-jug mage, milk-jugs, mage, milk-jugs, milk-jugs, fuck…”

Allen grasped the voluptuous breast in his hand. The warmth and softness of it in his palm were insanely pleasant. To the extent that he wanted to touch it for the rest of his life.

He felt the thickly risen nipple in the center of his palm, and changed the position of his hand to twirl it around with his thumb, caressing it. Then, the large breast twitched upwards with each touch.

“Good, fuck, so good.”

It was a thrilling pleasure that seemed to release all the stress accumulated so far in one go. He lunged towards the slightly parted lips, and sucked on them obscenely. Jabbing her lower abdomen with his erect cock.

The lips parted. Her mouth drooling with saliva as she panted obscenely.

“Cock, cleaning, cock…, cock cleaning… more, my, titties, more…”

“…Ah….”

Only then did Allen come back to his senses. The milk-jug mage in front of him was not a hallucination but was real. It was the real Elena.

He quickly let go of the breast he had been madly kneading and stepped back slightly. ‘Fuck-.’ It seemed that his mind had momentarily gone astray.

“My titties, touch them, more, Group Leader… cock cleaning? Yes, I’ll clean your cock…”

“Elena. Elena, snap out of it. Elena. Elena—!”

The blurry focus gradually returned. And realizing her disgrace, the milk-jug mage didn’t know what to do but to bow deeply to him and hurriedly escape from the spot.

Allen, wondering how such a thing had happened, tried to recall. It seemed that this mess started when he took her behind the carriage to have a brief talk.

‘…Fuck, it did feel good…’

Honestly, Elena’s breasts felt amazing. He didn’t regret touching them at all. …Though of course, he had to apologize.

It was a momentary mistake. He didn’t quite understand why he had done it. As he continuously suffered from both visual and auditory hallucinations, it seemed like he’d momentarily lost his mind.

He went out to where his teammates were, telling himself over and over again that he must not act this way again. It seemed that dinner preparations had just finished, as the members were holding a bowl each, forcing the food down their throats. Even if they had no appetite, they had to eat by force in order to keep going.

Allen received a bowl of food from Kalisman and sat down next to the milk-jug mage. She couldn’t even look at him properly.

“It was my mistake just now. I’m sorry. I must have lost it for a moment.”

“…No. It was the same for me….”

The conversation abruptly ended there. Both of them kept thinking about what had happened just before.

The ecstatic sexual pleasure. They both definitely felt it. But they did not show it. It was because they shouldn’t.

Thus, the silent mealtime came to an end. Normally, light jokes would have been exchanged, but now, no one opened their mouths. It was already too much for everyone just to keep it together. The curse continued to slowly sap their physical and mental strength.

It was time to sleep, but no one seemed to want to fall asleep, because of the nightmares that constantly tormented them.

However, they had to sleep. To survive. Even if they were to wake up again because of the nightmares.

“Ahㅡ!”

Not long after falling asleep, Allen was startled awake again. He felt like he was going insane.

“Damn it…”

And then the visual and auditory hallucinations came again.

How terrible it was for a curse to continue, he was truly feeling it to his bones. It seemed like he was now harshly paying back for his mockery of someone as a worthless, fucking sorcerer.

‘This fucking, dick sorcerer…! Fucking bastard. If I really catch him, I’ll kill him… Fuck, fucker…’

Allen just buried his head forward.

– Ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding

Startled by the loud bell, Allen woke up. For a moment, he couldn’t tell if it was a dream or reality.

Then, a thick and clear voice pierced his ears like an arrow.

“- It’s the enemy. Get up. Prepare for battleㅡㅡ!!”

It was unmistakably the voice of Group Leader Kalim. Only then did Allen’s sluggish mind start to return.

He sprang up from his place, only to stagger slightly from the dizziness that hit his head hard. It was because his stamina had already hit rock bottom, and his fatigue was at its peak.

However, he clenched his teeth and endured to the end.

‘If I collapse, it’s over. I must endure. Endure. Endure…!’

At the same time, blood dripped from his nose. Yet, he casually wiped his nose with the back of his hand and gave orders to his members.

“Everyone, line up——!!”

Even though his voice was half hoarse, his usual firm commands remained. The members felt the unbreakable will contained in that tone.

“Endure it. Survive until the end, surviveㅡ! Got itㅡ? …Did you hear me, you bastards——!!”

“Yes——!!”

Allen’s eyes lit up while he tasted the salty metallic flavor.

Everyone was prepared for a desperate final battle.