Chapter 683: Lovely Areum (3)

It was quite a long time later when Areum, who had fallen asleep from the overwhelming fatigue, woke up again.

Right up until just before she fell asleep, she kept saying she was okay, so I even wondered if I had overreacted before forcing her to sleep, but.

In reality, Areum, who collapsed unable to withstand the oncoming fatigue, slept much more soundly than I had expected.

Thanks to that, I had some free time and checked the points I had earned so far while holding Areum’s soft body.

『Current Awakening Points: 3090』

An amount of points that was more than enough, practically overflowing, caught my eye.

Now, even considering spare points, I had accumulated so many that I could afford to spend around 2000 points at once.

The available options had also become so numerous that it was hard to gauge which direction would be the best investment.

For now, thanks to consistently saving and investing points, I had raised my swordsmanship to the highest level. And other skills were also raised to at least level 2 or 3.

In addition to that, my main skills, Fire Magic and Recovery, Frost Magic and Protection, had been decently raised to around level 6 and level 5 respectively.

‘Simply put, spending all 3000 points to max out Fire Magic or Recovery is one option.’

Being able to use various skills was mostly a strength for me, but I still needed to possess a few more skills, besides swordsmanship, that I could handle perfectly.

And among the skills I currently possessed, Fire Magic and Recovery best fit that criterion.

These two skills, along with swordsmanship, were the ones I had used the longest, so it was natural they had grown the most.

‘And now, I even have dedicated teachers for both skills.’

Hwayoung Sunbae taught me Fire Magic, and Lulusia acted as my teacher for all recovery-related skills.

Both of them were top-tier experts in their respective fields, so if I wanted, they could awaken my abilities in each field to the highest level, just like with Eunyoung Noona.

Learning both skills to the end was not an option, but a necessity. Only the choice of which skill to master first remained.

It was an important issue, but it didn’t take long to make a decision.

『Fire Magic Lv. 6 → Fire Magic Lv. 9』

『Current Awakening Points: 990』

After all, it would be important in many ways to properly learn Fire Magic for more reliable use in actual combat.

In fact, the recovery spells I already knew were sufficient for treating injuries without any major issues.

My recovery skill was already around level 6, and I had confirmed that this level was sufficient to regrow a severed finger.

It was even capable of reattaching severed body parts if the detached part could be recovered, for accidents involving more severe dismemberment.

Injuries beyond this level were practically too late for treatment in the company’s recovery room, and it was more likely that the injured person would die in the dungeon before even reaching it for treatment.

Of course, I was still curious about what kind of abilities recovery skills would gain when raised to level 10…

‘Still, Fire Magic comes first for now.’

Since I hadn’t seen Hwayoung Sunbae for a while after our last lesson, it was only right to show her how much stronger I had become when we met again.

And no matter how much I leveled up Recovery, it wouldn’t significantly help overcome the ‘limits’ my party members and I possess.

Facing truly strong monsters, it only resulted in repeated pain from injuries, draining willpower and divine power.

However, if I mastered both Fire Magic, a magical means of attack, following swordsmanship, a physical means, it would clearly become a way to overcome ‘limits’ in crisis situations.

‘I want to raise it to the maximum level right away, but I’ll hold back a little.’

If I max it out here, I’ll only have 90 points left.

Considering situations where I might need to use summoning or forced return without even minimal spare points, I had to leave at least 500 points, preferably around 1000 points, as a buffer.

Especially in Eunbyul’s case, we didn’t know when the Geumhyang Group’s pursuit might reach her again.

I had told her to use the reverse summon to escape in emergencies, but if the summon failed due to insufficient points at the crucial moment, the sense of betrayal she would feel would be immense.

For that reason alone, I had to hold back and stop at level 9 for now.

Fortunately, points weren’t as tight as they were right after I first awakened. The constraints on time and location for gathering points had also virtually disappeared.

Just yesterday, I collected nearly 1000 points by embracing both Min-ah and Eunbyul simultaneously, and today I earned awakening points by ejaculating three times with Areum.

Points accumulated quickly just by doing what I needed to do. The number of people who could replenish my awakening points had already surpassed double digits long ago.

“…Kuu. …Kuuu.”

‘…She’s sleeping well.’

What caught my eye after spending the accumulated points was Areum, releasing her built-up fatigue with cute breathing sounds.

I also enjoyed my own rest, holding her body lightly in the narrow single bed.

Just enough not to disturb Areum’s deep sleep, using her body as a pillow.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

After releasing my own accumulated fatigue beside the sleeping Areum, who had such a lovely expression.

As soon as I came to my senses, I intuitively realized I had slept for quite a long time.

It felt like at least five or six hours. Esila and Belle probably know how long I slept.

‘…Esila, Belle. How long did I sleep?’

「Master slept for approximately 22 minutes based on time outside the dungeon.」

「In dungeon time, that’s about 9 hours! Master must have been quite tired, huh?」

About 9 hours. So it wasn’t for nothing that I lectured Areum about overwork and such.

It seems fatigue had accumulated in my body without me realizing it. Seeing as I could fall into such a deep sleep even while cuddling with Areum in this narrow bed.

And Areum, still sleeping soundly despite that amount of time passing, was probably even more tired.

“…Kuuu, peu. …Kuuu, peu.”

Whether it was before falling asleep or now, Areum’s expression remained peaceful.

She was even fast asleep, a trickle of drool running from the corner of her mouth.

Maybe it was rose-tinted glasses, but I didn’t feel disgusted at all. It felt like every part of her was just cute.

As I quietly watched, wondering when Areum would wake up, the corners of her eyes began to tremble slightly.

Realizing these were movements signaling her awakening, I quietly watched Areum’s face, waiting for her to open her eyes.

“Kuuu…eup, peu…?”

“You’re awake?”

“Mmm…. Oppa, ya…. ……Huh?”

Startled by my face right in front of her the moment she woke up, Areum began to grasp the situation as soon as our eyes met.

Then, with her mind still half-asleep, she diligently rolled her eyes, trying hard to recall the memories from just before she fell asleep.

“Ah, ah…. Did I fall asleep…?”

“Yeah. You were sleeping really soundly.”

“Ah, aaah…. S-sorry, Oppa…. I said I wouldn’t sleep, but…”

“What’s there to be sorry about? I told you it was better for you to sleep in the first place.”

“H-how many hours did I sleep? Was it over an hour?”

From the moment Areum fell asleep, I had brought up the system window, checked the points I’d accumulated, raised Fire Magic from level 6 to level 9.

And observed Areum’s sleeping face during the roughly 9 hours I slept, before and after…

“About 10 hours?”

“T-ten hours?!”

“Don’t worry. Even if you slept ten hours here, less than 30 minutes have passed outside.”

“I-I’m really sorry, Oppa! I-I slept soundly for 10 hours all by myself…”

“It’s okay. I just woke up too, you know.”

“…Huh? Y-you slept too, Oppa?”

“Yeah. I didn’t realize it, but I guess I was pretty tired lately too.”

Hearing that I had slept with her, Areum finally placed a hand on her chest, seemingly relieved.

Her fidgeting, worrying about trivial things, was simply endearing.

“But Areum, you must have been really tired. You were even drooling in your sleep.”

“…D-don’t look!”

“You should probably wipe the sleep from your eyes before worrying about the drool.”

“I said don’t look…!”

Hearing my words, Areum hastily touched around her mouth and chin, wiping away the drool, then rubbed her eyes, quickly removing the sleep.

Watching her avert her gaze from me, her face flushed bright red, I secretly smiled inwardly at Areum’s cuteness.