"Phew—finally... home safe."
As he officially stepped into the dungeon and felt his talent begin to take effect, Greg felt an unprecedented sense of security.
Although the surface world was full of sunshine, delicious food, and people, because of his -10 Luck stat, Greg still felt that this dark and damp place felt more like home.
"I wonder when Silvia started liking me."
Recalling Silvia's sudden and bold move in the Central Courtyard that afternoon, Greg's throat still felt a bit dry.
He walked along the familiar path toward the camp, thinking with lingering fear.
The situation at the time had indeed caught him off guard.
But fortunately, relying on his firm belief in building a harem, he had suppressed his instincts with sheer reason and managed to handle the situation.
Now that he had calmed down a bit, he was even more grateful for his wise decision at the time.
On his way back, he suddenly remembered that his important partner that was supposed to accompany him through the other world, Excalibur, was still wrapped in a layer of holy white light that constantly emitted a glow like an LED strip due to the Divine Punishment!
Therefore, until he found the current Saintess of the Holy Church of Light to solve this problem, he wouldn't be able to dispatch Excalibur for any cave exploration missions.
This is simply the shame of a transmigrator!
Greg roared indignantly in his heart.
He didn't even dare to imagine what would have happened if he had been impulsive this afternoon, blinded by Silvia's direct approach, and had actually brought her back to the camp as the atmosphere developed. If they had reached a peak of intimacy, the air thick with tension, and he was just about to mount up and show off his transmigrator's prowess, only to look down—
Shink!
A holy and brilliant divine sword, seemingly capable of purifying all evil thoughts, would suddenly unsheathe!
That image...
"Hiss—!"
Greg suddenly sucked in a breath of cold air and stumbled, nearly tripping over a protruding rock on the ground.
He felt as if his toes, driven by that intense embarrassment and the premonition of social death, had cringed so hard in his boots that they could have etched a highly artistic mural of adult Silver Wolf fanart!
He shook his head vigorously, as if to banish that terrible fantasy from his mind.
Now was not the time to be immersed in fear and embarrassment.
"I've temporarily cleared the hurdle with Silvia, but... it's not time to rest easy just yet."
Greg composed himself, and the expression on his face became serious and solemn again.
He looked toward the camp and quickened his pace.
Conquering the second layer, increasing his strength, dealing with the Headmistress, guarding against Catherine, handling his relationships with Vivian and Lilith...
A whole mountain of trouble was still piled up there, waiting for him to deal with it. It truly was a long and difficult road ahead...
With these complex and heavy thoughts, Greg finally passed through the last grove of low stalagmites and saw his tent, which looked exceptionally welcoming in the gloom.
As soon as he entered the camp, Greg saw Nightmare sitting on several stone tablets.
She was still in that mysterious black cat form, her fur seemingly absorbing all light in the dim underground environment. Only those emerald-green eyes flickered with a non-human, mysterious luster in the shadows.
She sat leisurely on those stone tablets, her head lowered as she slowly and methodically licked the fur on her front paw, looking like a noblewoman enjoying a leisurely afternoon in her palace garden.
"Your efficiency... is truly frighteningly high."
Greg sighed with a complex tone.
"In just one day, you found two more... To you, this dungeon must be like your own backyard; you can dig up whatever you want."
He paused and couldn't help but ask the question in his heart:
"By the way, Hajimi, what exactly do you plan to do with all these stone tablets? Use them as a jigsaw puzzle? It's impossible you're planning to feed them to me like last time, right?"
Nightmare finally stopped licking her paw and raised her emerald eyes to look at Greg. Her gaze was calm and rippleless, but it made Greg feel an ominous premonition for some reason.
"Of course they are all for thee to eat, and in a single dose."
Nightmare's voice was still ethereal, yet carried a matter-of-fact indifference.
Greg: "...???"
The expression on his face instantly froze.
"Holy crap! You've got to be kidding me!"
He pointed at the pile of stone tablets emitting an ominous aura, then pointed at his own nose, his expression shifting through a kaleidoscope of emotions.
"Eat all this?! Are you trying to murder me?! You know that just swallowing a tiny bit of the Mother of Depravity's power last time left me unconscious for a day and a night!"
In Greg's mind, the terrible feeling from the last time he had forcibly devoured a stone fragment and the Breath of Slumber involuntarily resurfaced—the feeling of his soul being repeatedly pierced by countless cold, slimy tentacles.
He never wanted to experience that feeling a second time, let alone with a double dose!
Looking at Greg's defensive posture, a hint of amusement seemed to flash in Nightmare's emerald eyes.
She flicked her tail and said:
"Do not be so tense, my other half. My words just now... well, they were indeed a joke. Well, about half and half."
Greg: "...Half and half?! Meaning half of that was serious?! At the very least, you should let me absorb them slowly in batches!"
He felt his blood pressure soaring. Could this unreliable goddess be even a little bit dependable!
Nightmare walked with an elegant feline gait, lightly jumping down from the stone tablets. She walked over to Greg and gently brushed his calf with the tip of her tail.
This movement made Greg instinctively take half a step back.
"Now, now, thou truly needst not worry too much."
Nightmare's voice took on a hint of reassurance.
"Although I am not sure of the specific reason, thou seemest... indeed to have an extraordinary... adaptability or immunity to their power."
"If that were not the case, the price thou wouldst have paid for forcibly devouring that small amount of power last time would have been far more than just being unconscious for a day and a night."
She paused, her emerald eyes looking seriously at Greg as she continued to explain:
"Furthermore, the boosting effect of the same external force will rapidly diminish with the number of times it is absorbed, just like developing a resistance to medicine."
"Therefore, the amount thou absorbist at one time can only increase, not decrease. However, I judge that even if thou absorbist the power in these stone tablets all at once this time, it will definitely not cause a backlash that leads to unconsciousness like last time. The most likely outcome is that thou wilt simply feel some discomfort."
Listening to Nightmare's analysis, Greg's tense nerves relaxed a tiny bit, but his brow remained furrowed.
He stared intently at the pile of stone tablets, then at Nightmare, struggling intensely within.
If absorbing them this time would still cause him to fall into a coma, he had no intention of taking the risk. After all, last time he had no choice, but this time he did.
But if it only meant feeling some discomfort to increase his strength, he was still willing to give it a try.
Finally, Greg took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. He raised his head, his gaze becoming firm again as he looked at Nightmare and nodded slowly.
"Alright."
His voice was a bit dry. "I'll trust you this once, but..."
He stared into Nightmare's emerald eyes, his tone becoming exceptionally serious.
"Don't you dare lie to me. If I end up unconscious like a dead dog again after absorbing this, I won't believe a word you say next time, no matter what!"
Rate on N.U.
