968

 They wander aimlessly through the forest to gather materials needed for lifting the curse.

Unfortunately, their efforts weren't very fruitful.

"Somehow nothing's showing up. Even when something appears, it's useless..."

"I know... Why were we assigned only rare monsters, both you and me, Master? I wonder if it's the same for others?"

"No, we must be special. I'm a Black Dragon, and you're a Succubus Queen. Both are 3rd tier."

"So... The higher the tier of the monster that cursed us, the more difficult it is to lift the curse?"

"That's right."

"This is serious... But Master, there won't be a case where we can't find the monster we're looking for, right?"

"You don't need to worry about that. The dungeon guide won't give a mission that can't be completed. So it must be somewhere."

"Phew, that's a relief then."

"However, the number of individuals might be limited, so if we're unlucky, we might not be able to get it. Especially in cases like ours where we need to collect rare materials. In that case, we'll have to either steal from others or exchange."

"We should find it quickly before someone else takes it."

"That's right."

Eun-ha leads the way, and Iriya follows.

The two continued their search while chatting.

During this, Eun-ha stopped walking.

"Master? What's wrong?"

"Iriya, can you see over there?"

"Over there? Ah..."

Eun-ha, hiding behind a tree trunk, pointed to one side.

Iriya, sticking close to his side, tilted her head and peeked out to look beyond the bushes.

Soon, she could spot a yellow figure on a rock.

Chirp, chirp.

A 6th tier monster, Golden Goblin.

The creature with a small pouch on its waist was looking up at the sky.

"We found it. What should we do? Are we going out right away?"

"No. It's sensitive to presence and good at running away and hiding, so if we rush out carelessly, we're likely to lose it. It'll try to run away without looking back the moment it notices our presence, right? So..."

"I should cast a binding spell to prevent the goblin from escaping."

"Can you do it from this distance? We need to succeed in one try."

"Master, I'm a bit hurt. How long have we been together..."

Iriya pouts her lips.

As she does so, she subtly reaches out and touches Eun-ha's chest.

Eun-ha flinched.

"Don't you know my skills? This distance is more than enough for me."

"Ah, I got it. I know your skills too. I was just double-checking. So, your hand..."

"My hand? Ah... When did I... I'm sorry, Master. This is, well..."

"It's okay, I understand. It probably triggered because you're close to me right now."

"Yes... I'm sorry."

It must be the influence of the curse.

Eun-ha removed Iriya's hand while giving an embarrassed smile.

On the other hand, Iriya, with her face flushed, couldn't even make eye contact properly.

"Anyway, you can do it, right?"

"Yes... Leave it to me."

"I'll ask you right now."

"Okay."

Iriya nods vigorously, as if trying to gloss over the previous situation.

She holds her rosary and recites a prayer.

<The Lord said...>

The words spread as resonance, and the manifested mana takes form and materializes in reality.

Instantly, a bundle of chains sprouted from the Golden Goblin's feet.

Clank! Clank clank!

Chirp!? Screech!

No matter how much the Golden Goblin bound by chains struggled, it was impossible to escape.

Meanwhile, Eun-ha, who had rushed to it, swung his sword.

<Violent Venom>

The blade of the Honghwa Sword, imbued with deadly poison, cut the Golden Goblin.

In an instant, the creature was split diagonally from its shoulder.

'There was no need to use Violent Venom for this.'

He had used Violent Venom in case he couldn't demonstrate his full skills due to the Black Dragon's curse and couldn't kill it in one strike.

It seems that even considering the skill reduction, he was still quite strong.

Eun-ha felt somewhat proud.

'Above all, there's also the power of the Honghwa Sword...'

Eun-ha, shaking off the blood on the Honghwa Sword, raised the corners of his mouth in satisfaction.

At that moment, Iriya approached.

"Master, can I go over there?"

"Oh, the poison has all disappeared, so you can come without worrying. Come here."

"Okay. But... Wouldn't it have been better to keep it alive instead of killing it? Fortunately, the pouch remained, but it could have disappeared along with the Golden Goblin."

Iriya, who had climbed onto the rock and knelt down, expressed her doubt.

Eun-ha kindly answered.

"I understand how you feel, but it's better to kill and obtain. There are other people here too. We need to consider the case where those people might interfere and ruin things."

"Hmm... I guess you have a point. Sigh... Even if we find a monster, it would be a problem if no materials come out when we kill it."

"Still, the rarer the monster, the higher the probability of materials coming out, so we won't have to struggle too much. Unless we're extremely unlucky."

Eun-ha gave a bitter smile.

Then he checked the pouch left behind after the Golden Goblin had disappeared.

When he opened it by holding the bottom of the pouch, gems spilled out from inside.

Iriya exclaimed in admiration.

"Wow..."

"They say it likes shiny things, as expected of a Golden Goblin."

The two examined the gems with their heads almost touching.

As a result, their horns occasionally brushed against each other.

"Ouch! Master..."

"Ah, sorry. Are you okay? I'll be careful."

Meanwhile, Eun-ha was fascinated by the gems.

'They're pretty... Beautiful.'

The gems sparkling in the sunlight were incredibly beautiful.

It felt like he would never get tired of looking at them no matter how long he stared.

Then, when he turned a gem with a green tinge towards Iriya.

"...Master?"

"..."

Eun-ha couldn't help but be captivated by Iriya's green eyes.

The light shimmering in her eyes was more beautiful than the gem in his hand.

Eun-ha unconsciously blurted out.

"Beautiful..."

"What? M-Master!?"

Regardless of Iriya's startled reaction.

Eun-ha, half losing his discernment, caressed her cheek.

Her body trembled.

"Master, what are you doing..."

"Don't close your eyes, stay still."

"..."

The green eyes looking at him with various emotions - favor, bewilderment, fear, expectation - are beautiful.

He wants to possess them, covet them.

Make them look at him forever...

Just then.

Slap!

"...Ah."

Iriya slapped Eun-ha's cheek.

Only then could Eun-ha shake off the impulse and come to his senses.

"A-Are you... okay now?"

"...Yeah, I'm okay now. I'm sorry."

"No. I'm glad... that you're okay."

He had almost been completely swallowed by the curse and lost his reason.

Eun-ha apologized to Iriya who had awakened him.

She shook her head stiffly while avoiding his gaze.

Then she hung her head low.

"...Iriya? Why are you suddenly like this? Are you hurting somewhere?"

Eun-ha was just perplexed.

On the other hand, he was also worried about Iriya's condition.

Soon, a thought crossed his mind and his expression darkened.

"Is it because of me? Are you disappointed in me..."

At that moment, Iriya raised her head.

She desperately explained.

"N-No! No, you're right. It is because of you, but... I'm not disappointed in you..."

"..."

"I'm worried that you might get weird again looking at my eyes... And also..."

Iriya, with one hand on her chest, her face completely flushed, fidgeted.

She was panting.

'Ah.'

Eun-ha finally realized.

Iriya continued her words as if affirming his guess.

"Because you touched me earlier... Although I slapped your cheek, I also touched you... Because of that, the curse activated... Please wait until I calm down for a moment..."

"...I understand. I'll wait. No, I'll step aside. That would be more comfortable, right?"

"Yes... Please..."

Iriya's breathing becomes sensual.

Eun-ha, understanding her condition, stood up from his spot.

He moved far away and stood guard until she could shake off the curse.

'This is really serious...'

We need to conquer the 8th floor quickly.

Eun-ha resolved.

* * *

It might be reasonable to have doubts.

'Come to think of it, I didn't hear anything from Yu-seong... Wouldn't Yu-seong have known this would happen?'

As he came from the future, he probably knew.

Yet, why didn't he tell us in advance?

'Did he not want the future to change?'

Why? For what reason?

One question led to another.

Eun-ha couldn't readily find an answer.

In the end, he gave up thinking about it.

'I'll meet him on the next floor anyway, so I'll ask Yu-seong directly then.'

Eun-ha raised his head.

The sunset was coming, and night was falling.

"It's going to get dark soon, so shall we stop here for today? Let's eat dinner and sleep."

"S-Sleep? With me?"

"..."

Iriya startles.

Eun-ha was dumbfounded.

"Don't misunderstand in a strange way. I purely mean camping."

"Ah... Purely camping... Yes... That's fine with me."

Iriya, belatedly understanding what he meant, hung her head in embarrassment.

She fidgeted with her fingers.

Eun-ha guessed her condition.

'She seems to be struggling a lot because of the curse.'

In fact, Eun-ha was struggling too, but less so than Iriya.

Because he had some ways to alleviate the impulses caused by the curse.

For example, alleviating murderous intent by killing monsters.

Or alleviating possessiveness by collecting monster loot.

There were realistically quite a few ways to alleviate it.

However, he had to be careful not to lose his reason by indulging too much in alleviating it.

But for Iriya...

'She has no proper way to relieve it. Given the nature of her curse...'

Moreover, unlike Eun-ha, Iriya was cursed with only one form of the 3rd tier Succubus Queen's curse.

It was understandable that she would struggle even more.

In a way, it was remarkable mental strength.

'But if I leave her like this, there's a possibility her mind might break. I need to help her relieve it a little.'

After some consideration.

"Iriya, take this."

Eun-ha handed his cloak draped over his shoulder to Iriya.

Iriya tilted her head.

"Master, why this..."

"Use that to manage the curse, at least."

"Ah..."

Iriya, blinking as if understanding, brought Eun-ha's cloak to her face.

She closed her eyes.

"It smells like you, Master..."

"It's mine, after all."

"You mean I'm yours, Master? Oh my..."

"..."

"It's a joke. Don't take it seriously. You'll get hurt..."

"So, how is it? Is it a little better?"

"...Yes. It's a bit better, but... Master, if possible..."

"Don't be shy, just tell me. I'll help as much as I can within what's possible."

"Then please give me some of your saliva, Master."

"..."

Eun-ha froze on the spot.

He decided to pretend he didn't hear that.

"I'm sorry, but endure with that. Let's find a place to camp."

"It's disappointing, but okay..."

Fortunately, Iriya, hugging Eun-ha's cloak, showed a more stable appearance than before.

Eun-ha took her and looked for a campsite.

It was during this that they encountered other people.

"¿Quién está ahí? (What? There's someone there.)"

"Es cierto (It's true). Es asiática, ¿no? (They're Asian, aren't they?) ¿Eres coreano? (Are you Korean?)"

"¿Es coreano? (They're Korean?) ¿Por qué están aquí? (Why are they here?)"

They were players from the Spanish conquest team who were originally supposed to conquer this place.

Eun-ha, standing as if protecting Iriya, faced the men.

"Master..."

"It's okay, leave it to me."

A man with a goblin's appearance, a man with an orc's appearance, a man with a vampire's appearance.

Eun-ha noticed that their gaze momentarily swept over Iriya behind him.

'These guys...'

Eun-ha was just displeased.

His brows furrowed.

At that moment, the men spoke in English with a friendly attitude.

"Why are you here?"

Starting with the question of why they were here.

Eun-ha deliberately conversed with the men on behalf of Iriya.

Although she was better at English than him, he didn't want her to mingle words with them.

At this time, he was unknowingly feeling a desire to dominate.

Meanwhile, the conversation, having grasped each other's circumstances, moved on to the next topic.

"If you want..."

"..."

They have their campsite nearby.

If you want, they'll allow you to stay there.

No, let's conquer the 8th floor together while we're at it.

Eun-ha, having heard the story, quietly fell into thought.

'According to the log I read before the regression...'

In case of being cursed by a goblin: impulses for looting, murderous intent, sexual desire, reproductive urge, possessiveness, sense of conquest, etc.

In case of being cursed by an orc: reproductive urge, appetite, sense of conquest, ambition, destructive urge, etc.

In case of being cursed by a vampire: blood-sucking desire, self-intoxication, lust, desire for sleep, authoritarianism, etc.

They were engulfed in various states.

Eun-ha, having judged based on his memories up to that point, answered in English.