Chapter 66: Savoring the Shark’s Dismemberment [R-18]

The inside was like an aquarium.

The map itself was underwater, but it wasn’t dark and menacing like the deep sea. Instead, it was a submerged dungeon where sunlight brightly illuminated everything.

Invisible walls, like those of a cave, limited our path, and here and there, sparkling corals that looked like stalactites delighted our eyes.

The sea god must be a woman.

The mise-en-scène—the overall design of the set, lighting, and so on—was completely different from that other place I went to with Stella.

“…It’s beautiful.”

Hena and Yuuna looked around in awe.

“I’ve never seen such a pretty dungeon before.”

I, on the other hand, was tense.

Even if it looked like a date spot, it was still a B+ rank dungeon.

It wouldn’t be strange for something to jump out at any moment.

‘Kushina. You’re pretty reliable in times like this.’

Back when she was shitting out a Jelly to my Personality Excretion martial arts in the middle of a residential area, I thought she was just some trashy villain.

The calm and dependable side she’s shown so far made it easy to imagine what she was like as an academy student.

“There’s a monster ahead, Master.”

Yuuna seemed a little tense as she looked at the fishman covered in green scales.

“It’s a Green Fishman. They fight much better than the Blue Fishmen, so be careful.”

A Green Fishman?

Is that what it’s called because its scales are green?

The creature charged at us far more aggressively than a Blue Fishman.

“Get down! And cover your ears if you can!”

I immediately drew my Glock.

“No, a gun won’t pierce its scales. I’ll handle it!”

Tch, just as Yuuna said, the bullets couldn’t pierce the green scales and ricocheted off.

Does that mean a gun is a useless weapon?

At least against a B+ rank monster, a Green Fishman, that might be the case.

‘But!!’

Not if I have Personality Excretion.

As long as it doesn’t completely nullify the impact, I can still deal a critical blow.

Instead, I advanced, closing the distance, then dropped to one knee and emptied all my rounds into the approaching Green Fishman.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!!

The slide cycled at incredible speed.

Kim Sang-hyeok’s special move!

「Personality Excretion Full Burst」!!

When I ran out of bullets, I pulled out my Python and fired away.

“Geek!? Bugeek!?”

“Just shut up and excrete!!”

Just as the Green Fishman almost reached us, it collapsed, excreting a Jelly.

“…You took down a Green Fishman? With a gun?”

“Become an onahole…”

[Green-Studded Onahole (Masterpiece)]
[A high-quality fishman onahole whose interior tightens as if rotating]
[Tightness: B | Durability: B | Warmth: D | Responsiveness: B] [Personality Not Collapsed (100%)]
[Green Fishman Onahole Collection Complete]
[The collection bonus 【Doesn’t Smell Fishy】 has been added]
[Stamina +3]
[Strength +3]
[Agility +3]
[Dexterity +3]
[Magic +3]

“How about that.”

“…When did you get so strong, Kim Sang-hyeok!”

“It’s all thanks to the Magical Beast Steel my darling gave me.”

“Kyaa! What are you saying!”

Yuuna, embarrassed, playfully punched my side. Pow, pow.

Where’s the next area?

“Sang-hyeok. Over there…”

Hena pointed to the ceiling with her thunder-struck wood staff.

About six meters up, I could see a tunnel leading to the next area.

Do we have to climb the wall?

I think I could make it, but what about the girls?

I have a feeling it’ll be harder for them in descending order of breast size.

“What should we do…?”

“How about putting everyone in Master’s Onahole Inventory, and then you climb up, Master?”

“Alright. Kushina, you get in.”

I put Kushina into the Onahole-ventory.

“Should we get in too?”

“Let’s see if there’s another way first.”

I’d rather putting the heroines in the Onahole Inventory be a last resort.

Perhaps my feelings got through to her. Yuuna started searching the area without a word.

“Hena?”

Hena was just staring at the tunnel.

She held her thunder-struck wood staff, looking like she was about to do something.

“…A new spell I learned. I’ll give it a try.”

Is it some kind of levitation magic?

We watched intently to see what Hena would do.

The form on Hena’s tits is insane!

“…”

“…”

Nothing happened.

Hena pressed the staff tightly against her large chest and hung her head.

“I-If you stare at me… I’m too embarrassed to do it…”

“…Okay.”

I slung an arm around Yuuna’s shoulder and led her to a corner.

“Looks like Hena’s about to try something.”

“Mm. Hena has to prove she’s worth the effort you put into raising her.”

“You’re pretty strict, huh?”

“Of course. A squad where one person holds everyone back can’t be a good squad. I’ve seen it happen more times than I can count.”

A squad where one person holds everyone back.

I knew exactly what she meant.

But did Hena ever hold us back in our first dungeon? She did better than me.

It’s a mistake to think that just because she was timid and gloomy at the academy, she’d be the same in a dungeon.

I learned a lot about her brighter side during our date at home, and I know she always works hard and diligently.

She’s definitely not the type to just get carried.

Hena will come through.

“…It’s done!”

Yuuna and I met each other’s eyes and immediately ran toward Hena.

I was thinking maybe she used some kind of levitation magic to get up to the tunnel, but…

[Activating Insight – Red]

[Void Platform]
[C-Rank Support Skill]
[Creates a platform out of magic. Duration and hardness are determined by magic power. Weight is light.]

Hena had created platforms that we could step on to climb up.

That’s amazing.

“That’s amazing, Hena!”

Yuuna recognized its value and immediately praised her.

“I-It’s not that big of a deal…”

“Not a big deal?! Mages usually only learn attack spells and just focus on jacking up their DPS… Ahem. Wait. Let me try that again.”

…Jacking up their DPS.

I see what the general perception of mages is.

“Not a big deal! It’s a magic crafting-type skill that’s incredibly helpful for dungeon exploration. Mages who can do this are always welcome in a squad!”

“…Really?”

“Our squad won’t need climbing gear from now on. Think how much lighter our packs will be.”

“…Hehe.”

Hena laughed shyly.

Getting her to push back her bangs was the right call. I can see her pretty green eyes and lovely face much better now.

“Should I, the heaviest one, go up first?”

“I-It should be fine if we go up one by one…”

“Duration is two minutes?”

We’d better hurry.

I quickly bounded up to the tunnel entrance.

Yuuna followed.

“Hena, you jump too!”

“O-Okay!”

Even though she’d made the platforms herself, Hena’s body was clumsy, and she slowly climbed one step at a time.

Then, at the very end, she was too slow and almost fell, but…

“Hena!”

I yanked Hena’s hand and pulled her into an embrace.

Squeeze…

“S-Sang-hyeok…”

“Goal.”

“…Ehehe…”

I patted her head as if to praise her for a job well done.

“You can come out now, Kushina.”

“Busy being all lovey-dovey, are we, Master?”

“Now we’re going to be busy fighting.”

This was obviously the boss room.

In the center, a house-sized pink star coral was literally twinkling like a star, and behind it stood a shark giant, far larger than the Green Fishman… It was well over four meters tall.

And there were two of them.

One carried a massive harpoon spear like a siege ballista, while the other had a ship’s anchor slung over its shoulder. The sense of intimidation was no joke.

“They’re Blue Shark Giants… This won’t be easy.”

“Are they B+ rank?”

“Yeah. They’re tough opponents even for a party of three entry-level A-rank hunters.”

Yuuna fiddled with the Phantom Feather—an escape item—that she’d taken from her inventory.

“There is the option of giving up and leaving.”

“But the reward must be substantial, right? Seeing as how two of them are guarding it.”

Kushina pointed at the giant star coral.

Definitely.

“They said you can get special Magical Beast Steel in this dungeon. It should be worth a try.”

“…”

But Yuuna still had a thoughtful expression.

“Let’s give up on this one. Someone could get seriously hurt.”

“Is that your call as the leader?”

“Yeah. Even if Kushina and I go out first, it’ll be tough to mark both of them.”

This was the assessment from Yuuna, who worked solo as a B-rank.

It was probably safe to assume she was right.

She had judged that Hena’s and my combat abilities weren’t enough to handle them right now.

It was hard to accept, hearing a firm ‘no’ from Yuuna, who had so much more experience than me.

Was it because I wanted the Magical Beast Steel? Because I needed to sell onaholes to the demon merchant for money?

Well, those were reasons, I guess, but…

Implicitly, Yuuna was saying, ‘Kushina and I will be fine, but Hena and you are in danger.’

“Yuuna. You said it yourself. A squad where one person holds everyone back can’t be a good squad.”

“Knowing how to avoid danger is also a condition for a good squad.”

“What if you don’t need to mark them?”

“Huh?”

“What if the two of you could fight to your heart’s content?”

Yuuna blinked.

She didn’t seem to understand what I was trying to say.

“If you don’t have to protect me and Hena, can you fight them?”

“We could fight, but…”

“Then let’s do it. Hena can’t back down like this either, right?”

Hena nodded her head repeatedly.

“I don’t want… us to fail because of me.”

“This isn’t about that. Once they start attacking, this tunnel won’t matter. They’ll chase us like ravenous beasts all the way back to the area we first came from.”

“…”

A muscular shark monster over four meters tall… carrying a weapon that could easily crush a person, right?

That’s a little scary.

“It’s my fault, too. I don’t have a skill with enough stopping power to hold back the Blue Shark Giants.”

Kushina also raised her hand.

“I don’t either. I can only draw their attention for a moment.”

“So if it sounded like I was saying the mage and the gunner are holding us back, that’s a misunderstanding. If we had a mage who could take them out instantly, it wouldn’t make sense for them to be with a swordsman of my level in the first place.”

“There’s a way to escape to a place they can’t follow.”

Everyone looked at me.

The hint is Hena’s skill.

“The ceiling.”

I pointed at the underwater ceiling that enclosed us like an aquarium.

“Using Hena’s Void Platforms, we can make things much more annoying for the Shark Giants.”

I explained the plan.

In this dome-shaped space centered on the giant star coral, first, we’ll create platforms like a staircase for Hena and me to climb up.

Then, from up there, we’ll create another Void Platform… and stay in the air until her magic runs out.

During that time, I can support Kushina and Yuuna, and the two of them can fight focusing only on themselves.

This was the optimal strategy I proposed.

Yuuna put a hand to her chin and started thinking again.

“Hena, how long do the platforms last?”

“I won’t be able to use any attack skills… but if I squeeze out all my magic, about five minutes…”

“For one platform?”

“I’ll have to try it to be sure, but if it’s thick enough for two people to stand on, it’s safer to assume… three minutes.”

Since we had to climb eight to nine meters high, she wouldn’t have much magic left. In the end, the time we could hold out in a high position was about six minutes.

“Six minutes…”

“Worst case, I’ll put Hena in my Onahole-ventory, and I’ll run straight back through the tunnel. That should buy us up to eight minutes.”

“Sounds doable, doesn’t it?”

Kushina said.

“And since we have Kushina… Maybe…”

“This is what I think a really good squad is. Something you couldn’t do alone, but can accomplish by everyone lifting each other up.”

“So you’re saying we should aim for ideal teamwork, Master.”

“It’ll be even easier in practice.”

I cast the Onahole Buff on Yuuna.

“Ah…!”

“A sword will probably work better than your fists. Right?”

“…Y-You’re treating me like an onahole. This.”

Yuuna’s cheeks flushed, but she gave a small nod as if accepting it.

“It’s a necessary situation. It can’t be helped.”

「I Choose This Onahole」

Having received the Onahole Buff, Yuuna now possessed the strength of an active A-rank hunter.

“What about me, Master? I’m an onahole, but I don’t get an Onahole Buff…”

“Support Yuuna. Don’t you have anything?”

“I have a taunt skill, but…”

“Perfect.”

“…Hmph.”

Don’t worry. If anything happens, I’ll come running.

…It felt a little weird saying that to an onahole in front of my two girlfriends, so I kept my mouth shut.

A real man acts rather than speaks. Yup.

“Well, with the stage set like this, I guess we have no choice but to do it.”

Yuuna drew her sword.

“Time for a sword dance. Let’s all have shark for dinner.”

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Translated By: Meher (RaidenTL)

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