Chapter 487: The Choice is Yours (1)

Two days have passed since the day I met Hwayoung Sunbae and returned after taking her flame magic class.

Yesterday, when I returned home from Sunbae’s place, nothing particularly special happened. Except for seeing Eunbyul again after about a full day.

“Welcome back, Master?”

It was truly a strange feeling to be greeted by a Maid in a naked apron the moment I returned home.

It was to the extent that my dick had gotten hard again, despite having been intimate with Hwayoung Sunbae until the early morning of that very day.

“Would you like to eat first, or bathe first? If not… perhaps you desire my body?”

I am certain that any other man in my place would not have been able to resist Eunbyul’s seduction.

It seemed she had felt lonely in her own way while left alone at home for a day.

I immediately lunged at Eunbyul’s body right there in the entryway where she greeted me naked.

Even though my body was tired from staying up half the night, my dick remained faithful to its instincts and finished its job.

『Awakening Points Acquired +60 (Base 50, Bonus 10)』

And so, yesterday, I spent my time leisurely at home, even holding Eunbyul, clad only in her naked apron, once.

A day later, today, I had gone to work and entered an A-Class Dungeon.

Together with the colleagues from Sky Blue Shield, with whom I’ve trained and sparred the most frequently.

「A-Class Dungeon, Crystal Spider Nest」

“Taekyung! Adult spider on the right!”

“Okay!”

It was the regular expedition day for Sky Blue Shield, which had finally reconvened after a long time.

The busy year-end and early new year period, when everyone had their own schedules, had ended, and it was time to return to the usual Sky Blue Shield schedule of twice-weekly regular expeditions.

Sky Blue Shield, reunited in full for the first time in a while since the last emergency summons, was in the midst of hunting in the Crystal Spider Nest.

“Hey, hey! This way, this way!”

Han Min-ah, drawing the White Crystal Spider Queen’s attention with her swift movements, buying time.

“Winds of the world, surge towards me. A whirlwind of sharp blades….”

Cha Yuri, dealing with the monsters approaching from the rear after clearing out a significant number of them with large-scale magic in the first strike.

“Defense first! We’re going to reduce the number of dangerous adult spiders, so stay alert! Taekyung-ssi, Jihee-ssi too!”

And, as always, Kang Hye-eun, standing tall with her sturdy shield, directing the battle.

Even though it was the party composition gathered after a long time, each member shone, performing with skills that anyone could see were excellent.

Perhaps they seemed even better than during the last emergency summons when we gathered.

Although the number of times we met and acted together was few, it must mean they continued training diligently in their respective positions.

Min-ah, Cha Yuri, and Hye-eun too.

…Of course, the one whose skills had obviously improved the most among them was Cheon Jihee, naturally.

“Jihee-ssi! They’re coming from the left!”

“…Got it.”

Cheon Jihee, with eyes that seemed somehow deeper than during the last hunt, stepped forward to the monsters and swung her kicks.

Before long, accompanied by the exhilarating sounds of flesh being torn, the corpses of adult White Crystal Spiders began to pile up on her side.

-Kwajik! Kwajaak!

‘Kkie….’

‘Kke….’

“…Handled.”

Cheon Jihee, with a calm expression, blew the heads off the approaching adult White Crystal Spiders before her and awaited further instructions.

There was no need to look far; the movements clearly confirmed that her skills had improved compared to the previous battle.

No, to be precise, the expression ‘skills had recovered’ fits much better than ‘skills had improved’. Despite how she looks, she once mentioned having had the chance to advance to the A+ class or higher.

It seemed her skills, which had gradually declined after she deliberately gave up her promotion to stay in the same party as Hye-eun, had recovered due to some incident.

And what that incident was… was a secret known only to the three of us: Hye-eun, Cheon Jihee, and myself.

Recalling the memory of that day when everyone became lewd in many ways, my face naturally flushed red.

I tried hard to shake off the memory of that day from my mind before shouting towards Cheon Jihee.

“Cheon Jihee-ssi, we’re moving in on the Queen now! Provide support!”

“…Ah, okay.”

Cheon Jihee nodded, her face momentarily flushing red.

Seeing that, it seemed she too, like me, had briefly recalled the previous events.

At least, seeing her react like that, it seems I succeeded in making her feel romantic interest towards me.

That must be why she could achieve such a skill increase from just that one night we spent together.

Actually, I had many worries about whether it was truly possible to resolve sexual desire with a lesbian.

It was an issue I pondered several times on the very day I was intimate with Cheon Jihee, and even today, I still have lingering doubts about whether I did the right thing.

Just because Awakening Points came in didn’t guarantee that Cheon Jihee had regained her lost awakening abilities like the other women.

Cheon Jihee’s true love was, after all, Kang Hye-eun, not me, so there was a significant possibility that my internal ejaculation did not lead to her complete sexual release.

Of course, those worries completely vanished the moment I saw Cheon Jihee today.

Not only had the movements that seemed slightly sluggish disappeared, but it was a moment where I felt she had become much stronger than when I first met her.

I couldn’t know the extent of Cheon Jihee’s peak skills, but I could be certain that at least the awakening abilities blocked by sexual desire had definitely been unlocked.

Well, right now, defeating the White Crystal Spider Queen before me was a far more important mission than such trivial matters.

Shaking off the miscellaneous thoughts in my head, I focused on the battle.

“I’ll take the right leg! Provide support!”

“…Got it!”

The two front-line fighters charging towards the White Crystal Spider Queen according to the slightly modified plan decided in the meeting.

The S-Class Monster falling to the ground and the battle ending happened less than 10 minutes later.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Just like last time, the corpse of the White Crystal Spider Queen lay with my greatsword embedded in the spine of its neck.

Just like last time, its half-overturned state with both legs severed gave a rough idea of the battle that had taken place.

Looking only at the outcome, it seemed no different from the battle we fought last time, but when you looked into the details, it wasn’t quite the same.

Unlike the last battle, this time the subjugation concluded without any noticeable casualties.

And unlike last time, this time one of the White Crystal Spider Queen’s legs was destroyed by Cheon Jihee’s power.

It seemed these two points were the most significant changes in this battle.

In fact, according to the original plan, Cheon Jihee was only supposed to block the other monsters attacking me. I hadn’t intended to involve her directly in the fight against the White Crystal Spider Queen.

I couldn’t gauge the extent to which her peak skills had returned.

And for the two reasons: there was no need to increase the risk by changing a plan that had already succeeded.

Therefore, in this White Crystal Spider Queen subjugation as well, my plan was to destroy its legs one by one, and then deliver the finishing blow when its body was lowered.

…But well, as with all dungeon expeditions, monster hunting never goes exactly according to plan.

I noticed something strange the moment I faced the White Crystal Spider Queen, which had circled back into the cave after losing one leg.

‘Kkieeeeeeek…!’

“…Cheon Jihee-ssi, danger!”

The White Crystal Spider Queen, which should have naturally charged at me, instead charged towards Cheon Jihee, who was busy dealing with adult spiders.

Unlike the last battle, this time she had been fighting alongside me from the start, so it seemed Cheon Jihee had drawn the aggro of the boss monster, which I should have been handling.

Confirming the giant monster approaching her, Cheon Jihee made the best possible judgment call in that situation.

“……!”

-Paat!

As soon as she confirmed the White Crystal Spider Queen charging at her, Cheon Jihee pushed off the other adult spiders and leaped into the air.

And immediately, she performed an aerial kick towards the White Crystal Spider Queen’s second leg.

The goal must have been to minimize the impact by striking with the part of her body capable of generating the most force.

…However.

-Kwaduk.

‘Kkieeekk!’

“……?!”

The only exception would be that the power of that kick was far stronger than anyone could have predicted.

A single, well-aimed strike immediately made one leg of the S-Class Monster falter.

Quickly assessing the situation, she leaped again from the ground and delivered another blow to the spot where she had kicked.

-Kwajik!

‘Keeeeeek!’

The second leg snapped off so easily it felt like it was being ripped from the leg joint.

It was the moment she, an A-Class Hunter, landed a proper blow against an S-Class Monster.

Following that, I, having leaped into the air just like her, severed the spider’s third leg with my greatsword.

With only one leg left to support half its body, the White Crystal Spider Queen lost its balance and fell to the ground, just like last time.

All that remained was to plunge my greatsword into the fallen White Crystal Spider Queen’s neck to end its life.

“…Hoo.”

I thought the battle would take at least another 10 minutes, as it should have.

Thanks to Cheon Jihee’s recovered skills, the White Crystal Spider Queen subjugation ended relatively quickly, and unlike the last battle, she hadn’t suffered any severe injuries.

To think that all this was the result of just her skill improvement.

As soon as the battle ended, Cheon Jihee seemed lost in thought, standing still and silently gazing at the S-Class Monster’s corpse.

“…….”

As if carrying various worries in her mind, with a complex expression on her face.