## Chapter 77 – 77. Southwest
#77. Southwest
In the deep of the night, freed from her restraints, the dark elf woman stretched and moved, reveling in her regained freedom.
Then, as if suddenly remembering the emptiness at her chest, she glared at me as if to kill me, but I dealt with it nonchalantly, adhering to my principle of not dwelling on the past.
Come at me if you dare.
‘Come to think of it, those guys over there still haven’t woken up.’
Whether it was comfortable being tied to the tree or not, the dark elf woman’s companions were still sound asleep, enjoying their lives to the fullest.
Even considering the difference in rank, wasn’t the difference in skill too extreme?
I felt something was off, but quickly dismissed it.
My head was already overloaded with the answer I’d heard in the last question, so I didn’t have the余裕to think about anything else.
‘…I hope it’s just wishful thinking.’
There was no clear evidence for my speculation, but there was no way Iris wouldn’t have thought of what I had.
I didn’t want Iris to worry unnecessarily, so I thought it best to keep it a secret for now.
Then, if I ever had the chance to contact the World Tree again in the future, it would be right to seek advice separately then.
I rose from my seat, leaving behind a heavy sigh that had unconsciously escaped my lips.
“Leaving?”
A listless voice came from behind.
The dark elf woman wasn’t even looking at me.
“Of course, I’m leaving. It’s not like I’m going to fall in love with you and get married.”
“…”
Only then did the dark elf woman’s fierce gaze turn towards me, as if to pierce my head with passionate intent.
“What, want me to touch your chest again?”
“…Get lost.”
The way she took out a dagger from her chest and threatened me was like a black cat.
I smiled lightly and turned to leave.
“What’s your purpose?”
What stopped me wasn’t a dagger suddenly flying at me, nor sharp criticism. It was a voice filled with faint goodwill and curiosity.
“Why, do you think I’m a spy for the Northern Empire?”
“Of course not. There’s no way someone as dim-witted as you could pull off being a spy.”
“…”
Suddenly, I felt like raping her.
As if noticing my thoughts, she quickly covered her chest, which was absurd.
“Sorry, but I’m not into flat chests, so don’t worry, I have no intention of touching them again.”
“…Not once, but twice you touched my chest!”
“Take care of your milk intake, or your baby will starve later when you have one.”
Thwack!
No sooner had I finished speaking than a dagger flew and lodged in the tree trunk right next to my face.
“Next is your head.”
The Oath of Mana flashed through my mind, but come to think of it, I was the only one who promised to let her go without laying a finger on her.
‘…I’m screwed.’
As soon as I realized this, I fled from that spot with all my might.
However, perhaps due to an awakening caused by anger, the daggers the dark elf woman threw were imbued with a faint energy, and I almost died for real.
***
Asila watched Kang Hyun-woo disappear completely from her sight, then let out a heavy sigh mixed with various emotions as she finished untying her squadmates.
Normally, she never felt tired even when she was assigned night missions and ran through the forest until dawn, but today her body felt unusually heavy.
Was it because she had been through so much?
‘To think I’d have my chest fondled by a human…’
To make matters worse, she had even shamefully leaked a little.
Of course, it was true that dark elves had a somewhat open view of sexuality, but she, who had not yet had her coming-of-age ceremony, had a duty to protect her virginity.
From that point of view, being captured by the enemy and not losing her virginity, but only having her chest touched a little, was nothing short of a stroke of luck. There was no need to even mention the treatment of female knights or female spies captured during war.
Nevertheless, she couldn’t help but feel a little complicated that the other party was a human, not even an elf.
No, conceding a hundred times, unlike those greasy-looking elves, she slightly liked his sharp features!
‘What? Small?’
Thump!
“Eek?!”
“S, Squad Leader?!”
After fondling her chest, how could his reaction be like that?
There were plenty of men courting her in the city and within the tribe!
“…Hyun-woo.”
She hadn’t heard all the conversations he had with his companion because she had been unconscious, but she clearly remembered that the woman had called him Hyun-woo.
Asila savored Kang Hyun-woo’s name, vowing to her soul to sharpen her blade in preparation for the day of reunion that would come someday.
***
Just as the night comes early in the forest, so does the dawn.
[Remaining Matching Time: 45:37:17]
“…Haa.”
What obscured my vision from early morning was the timer floating in the air.
Now there were less than two days left.
According to the dark elf woman, it would take about two days to walk out of the Great Forest, so if I hurried, I might be able to reach the border city of Wayble.
To do that, I had to start moving diligently from now on.
‘Ugh, I don’t want to get up.’
Instinctively, I hugged Iris, who was sleeping using my arm as a pillow, tightly like a doll. Her fragrant body odor seemed to envelop me. Moreover, the softness that I never wanted to let go of, perhaps because she was naked, was one of the elements that pleased me.
Being like this, I really felt like falling asleep again.
‘Did I sleep for about 2 hours?’
It was already deep in the night when I released the dark elf woman and returned to the tent. Due to the accumulated fatigue, my body was demanding sleep, but I couldn’t refuse Iris’s temptation.
The result was reaffirming our love for each other by mingling our bodies until just before dawn.
It was good for me, but Iris, whose magic power was suppressed and close to that of an ordinary person, didn’t show much reaction even when I hugged or stroked her, as if her stamina was about to run out.
It would be nice to spend time like this, but as I said before, I had to move diligently to get to Wayble within the remaining time.
With tears in my eyes, I gently shook Iris to wake her up.
“Iris.”
“Uhh… Hyun-woo…?”
She had managed to come to her senses, but she was still reluctant to open her eyes, hugging me with her eyes tightly closed. I gently stroked her back.
“Sorry, I think we should get up soon because we have a long way to go today.”
“Okay…”
She was trying her best to get up even though she couldn’t even open her eyes properly, which was too cute. I laid her down again and massaged her waist and pelvis.
She had been tormented by me all night, so her muscles must be quite stiff.
“Ah, ahh…♡ Hyun-woo’s touch is too lewd…♡”
“…Be quiet.”
It was already bigger because of the morning erection, and if she kept seducing me, the entire morning could evaporate.
Iris must have just said it, as she quietly accepted my touch while humming a tune.
Whether it was because her body was much more relaxed with the massage that had lasted for a while, Iris stretched and changed her clothes. However, the one who was really in trouble was me.
The bouncing breasts as she stretched came as an unimaginable stimulus.
In the end, Iris, who noticed my partner who had been completely resurrected beyond the morning erection, sent me a subtle look, but I endured it with superhuman patience.
Leaving behind Iris, who was feeling regretful, I hurried to prepare for departure along with a simple breakfast.
“Iris, do you remember what I told you yesterday?”
“Yes, you said you were going to a place called the border city of Wayble, right?”
“That’s right, but…”
The dark elf woman said that it would take about two days to go southwest, but now that I think about it, there was one big problem.
“…I don’t know where southwest is.”
I can’t tell where east is and where south is in this forest where even the sun is almost completely obscured by trees. It’s strange that I didn’t pack a compass even though I packed various survival items, but it’s too late to regret it now.
I was seriously thinking about cutting down a tree and finding the direction by the shape of the annual rings that appeared on the bottom of the tree trunk, when.
“Southwest is that way.”
Iris pointed to the seemingly unremarkable bushes with a confident voice. Of course, she wouldn’t just throw out any random words, but still, how did she find the direction in this forest?
“Is finding direction in the forest also an elf’s ability?”
“Of course not. Jin told me.”
“Jin?”
At that moment, I felt a chilling sensation down my spine along with an enormous presence.
It was somewhat similar to the feeling I had when I recognized the existence of the Wendigo, but it was an even more intense aura.
“I’ll formally introduce myself. I’m Jin, the high-ranking spirit of wind who contracted with me. Although I can’t manifest due to the seal, I can still provide simple conversations and help like now. I couldn’t call you when I was in the underground complex because of the barrier, but I think it’s okay now.”
Iris was saying it with a smile, but I couldn’t laugh at all.
Even without manifesting, the pressure was comparable to a minotaur in a berserk state.
Unintentionally, I seemed to have briefly seen a fragment of the skill that Iris possessed as a spirit mage.
The amount of magic power felt from Iris was so small due to the seal that I sometimes mistook her for an ordinary person.
But I realized once again.
That the one next to me was the 8th Circle Archmage, known to have transcended the limits of a clear human being.
‘…8th Circle.’
I reached the 4th Circle with the battle against the Minotaur, and although it wasn’t certain, I also had achievements in swordsmanship.
I was satisfied with the results I had desperately wanted and felt a sense of accomplishment.
Now, I suddenly remembered.
Wasn’t I complacent, using the excuse that I was satisfied with my current self?
It is an undeniable fact that the path to the 4th Circle is abnormally fast compared to others.
But I suffered as much as I did.
I had to risk my life.
Wasn’t I unconsciously afraid of the death line I would cross again, trying to be satisfied with the present?
Ding-
[Entity Name: Additional rewards have been paid for defeating the Minotaur]
[Skill: Berserk has been acquired]
[Berserk]
[Grade: Rare (Growth Type)]
[Strength is temporarily increased]
[Stamina consumption increases while using the skill]
I stared blankly at the screen that appeared in front of me.
Rather than the joy of gaining a new skill, I chuckled at the app’s shamelessness in displaying the screen even at times like this.
“Hyun-woo?”
After letting out a burst of laughter, I felt much lighter.
Maybe I was worrying about something that was too fortunate.
If I hadn’t gotten the app in the first place, I would have lived my whole life struggling in poverty, living as long as my lifespan allowed without leaving any traces.
That I, who had only risked my life a little, was able to reach the realm of the 4th Circle, which many mages had failed to reach.
‘In the end, all I have to do is not die.’
It may have been a too simple conclusion compared to what I had been worrying about, but the identity of the unpleasantness and anxiety that seemed to be gripping and pressing down on Kang Hyun-woo’s chest just now was a 심마(心魔).
It was a kind of mental illness caused by mental stress, a result of Kang Hyun-woo’s spirit not keeping up with his body, which had become too strong in a short period of time. The price for breaking through it on his own was beyond imagination.
A realm called the beginning of walking one’s own path in the history of mages that has continued for centuries.
Kang Hyun-woo took his first step towards the fifth brilliant ring, the 5th Circle.
