From Nightmare's perspective, Greg's recent behavior had been equally unusual.
He no longer spent his idle time by the underground river, attempting to catch those slippery Blackwater Octopuses with crude tools.
Instead, he often crouched in the camp's clearing, using sticks or stones to draw on the ground, sketching out complex patterns and lines. Sometimes he would talk to himself, even simulating two different voices as he argued fiercely with himself.
Nightmare had overheard him muttering things like:
"Or... maybe I should just take this chance to play the hero saving the beauty and grind a ton of affection with Silvia? Being an NTR protagonist who steals someone's girl sounds pretty thrilling; who knows, it might even trigger a special event..."
"No, no! Stop! Greg, get a grip! Your main and only core mission right now is to stay alive! Lay low until the plot is cleared! Maybe by then, this damn -10 Luck stat curse that kicks in the moment I hit the surface will automatically lift once my destiny as a villain ends!"
"When that time comes, the world will be my oyster. I can find a bustling city and enjoy fine wine, gourmet food, and beautiful women... living the life of a pampered loser—no, I mean, enjoying a happy life where everything is handed to me! Isn't that way better than sticking to a single heroine's route?! So for now, I must stay low! Minimize any unplanned entanglements with those heroines to keep the plot from going off the rails!"
However, it seemed that after several days of this internal mental debate, Greg had finally cleared his thoughts and made a final decision, no longer appearing as hesitant as before.
Faced with Nightmare's inquiry, Greg wiped his face with a cloth, his tone returning to its usual casualness.
"As for preparation... there's actually no need for anything special."
After all, this was just the wrap-up event for Chapter One.
According to the game's difficulty curve, the combat strength of that theoretical-type Deputy Professor Audrey certainly wouldn't be very high.
Compared to the Level 35 Area Lord, Lady Eight-Legs—who had left psychological scars on countless new players and was known as the Newbie Crusher—this deputy professor was practically gentle and cute.
Furthermore, in the original game, the difficulty of this event never lay in the combat itself.
The hardest part was that the player had to act like a detective, investigating and deducing based on limited clues and time. They had to track Deputy Professor Audrey step-by-step to finally find the hidden location where she had stashed Silvia.
This process was filled with time limits and branching choices; one wrong step could lead to failure.
But for Greg, who possessed the script, this most difficult phase of deduction and tracking could be skipped entirely.
He knew Audrey's complete plan of action and the exact hidden location she intended to use to imprison Silvia.
Therefore, intercepting her beforehand would undoubtedly reduce the difficulty and risk of the event to their absolute minimum.
"Oh? It seems thou art quite confident."
Nightmare flicked her tail and padded over to Greg's feet, looking up at him.
"Then, in this idle time before the operation begins... thou seemest quite free? If that is the case, why not try to romance me? For instance, by offering me some delicious jerky right now? If thou canst make me feel pleased, perhaps... my affection for thee might increase?"
"What good does romancing you do? Am I supposed to go down some shocking interspecies route?"
Greg retorted habitually, but his body was honest.
He turned and walked back into the tent, rummaging through his pack to pull out a piece of jerky wrapped in wax paper, still carrying the enticing aroma of spices.
He casually tossed it toward Nightmare's position.
"Meow!"
Nightmare let out a playfully cute cry that was entirely unbecoming of her status as a deity. She kicked off with her hind legs, her body leaping gracefully into the air. She opened her mouth with precision and caught the jerky firmly mid-air.
After landing, she chewed elegantly, her black tail swaying contentedly behind her.
"What a stubborn fellow."
Nightmare commented in her ethereal voice while enjoying her tribute, her emerald eyes glancing at Greg.
"Though, to be honest, thy appearance... is indeed my type. Thus, I can somewhat overlook these small flaws in thy personality."
"Heh, well thanks for—"
Greg's dismissive reply cut off halfway.
He snapped his head around to look at Nightmare, who was nibbling on the jerky. A flash of shock and disbelief crossed his amber eyes.
"Wait! What did you just say? You said... my appearance is your type?"
"Hmm? Is there a problem?"
Nightmare swallowed the meat, looked up, and met Greg's gaze squarely with her emerald eyes. She even gave him a scrutinizing look, scanning him from head to toe.
At this moment, standing in the dim light of the dungeon's shallow layers, Greg did indeed possess an outstanding appearance that would make anyone look twice.
His shoulder-length blonde hair wasn't a dull, flat gold, but rather like flowing molten gold, shimmering with a warm and vital luster even in the weak light, the ends swaying slightly with his movements.
His eyes were a clear, deep amber, currently widened slightly in surprise, looking as if they contained a sea of stars.
Every line of his features seemed meticulously carved by the most masterful sculptor, combining into a face that was handsome to the point of being sharp, yet without losing a sense of softness.
His physique was tall and upright, and through his form-fitting clothes, one could see well-proportioned muscles that hinted at hidden strength. His overall proportions were practically perfect.
Even in this dark, damp underground cave, wearing simple clothes stained with dust, nothing could mask his dazzling presence.
Nightmare nodded her black cat head with certainty, her tone filled with the pure appreciation one might have for a work of art.
"Indeed. Thy appearance is truly the most handsome I have seen in all my long years. Not just I, but I dare say even that hypocritical bitch who likes to stuff her bra with padding would find it hard to suppress a hint of goodwill if she saw thee as thou art now. After all, beautiful things always draw the eye, even for a god."
"Is... that so?"
Greg was stunned, his brow slowly furrowing as he fell into deep thought.
He had originally assumed that the question mark following his 10 Charisma stat meant that any character would only feel disgust upon seeing him for the first time, rather than any sort of favor.
But according to Nightmare's words, that didn't seem to be the case.
Greg pondered.
Could it be that this setting only applied to characters like the original protagonist?
But then he remembered the side character who called herself Lily Carlo, whom he had rescued from the river for the second time.
He was absolutely certain that Lily's first reaction upon seeing him after being saved was one of repulsion.
So that theory didn't hold up either!
Unless...
Greg suddenly remembered a piece of information from the original game.
Lilith had mentioned in a dialogue that she actually possessed a magic conduit capable of disguising her appearance. When she was bored, she would occasionally use it to change her looks and do things she couldn't do as a princess.
Although Greg had never actually seen what Lilith looked like while using the conduit in the game, and the original work never explicitly illustrated it...
Now, connecting this information with the fact that the plot of the Placement Exam had changed so inexplicably...
A deduction that made Greg's skin crawl, yet felt incredibly logical, exploded in his mind!
That Lily Carlo... wasn't some ordinary daughter of a wealthy merchant at all!
She was Lilith Kahn herself!
She had been using that disguise magic conduit!
"Holy crap!"
Greg instinctively raised his hand and covered his face tightly.
"I've ruined you, gray-hair!"
Greg's mental state completely collapsed.
Rate on N.U.
