After completing all the tasks assigned by the system, we were finally free from the side effects of Ero Boost. My body temperature returned to normal, my heart settled back into its usual rhythm, and the sweat on my body felt cold against my skin. I started to feel refreshed and took a deep breath, letting the air fill my lungs.
"Are you girls okay?" I asked them.
"No," Justine replied. "I feel like I won’t be able to walk after this."
"I’m not... that weak, so I’m fine..." Alicia said, trying to hold back her sobs.
"You’ll get used to it..." Sarah said, trying to compose herself after the anal session.
"I’m sorry, maybe I overdid it..."
"Of course you overdid it!" Sarah scolded . "You have to understand that your dick is very large. So you need to be more gentle when you use it."
"So it was bad?" I asked her.
"I... I wouldn’t say that," Justine said with an embarrassed expression.
"I wouldn’t mind if you did this more with ," Alicia said.
"It can’t be helped. You’re such a pervert that we have to put up with your needs," Sarah said, turning her face away so she wouldn’t show her blush.
"Pfft!" I tried to suppress my laughter.
"What’s so funny?" Sarah asked with an annoyed expression.
"Nothing. I was just thinking that you girls look very pretty when you act all shy around ."
As I finished mocking Sarah, my HUD appeared in front of , updating on my current status.
[
Congratulations! You have successfully reversed the side effects of Ero Boost. Your sexual performance was impressive enough to grant you a new skill.
You have acquired Points Transfer.
]
[ Points Transfer: This skill allows the Valkyrie Tar to transfer any amount of his earned Status Points to his Valkyries. Once the Status Points are transferred to a Valkyrie, they cannot be taken back.
Cost: 0 MP ]
’Congratulations on your victory, Rick,’ I heard a feminine, cheerful voice in my mind.
’Huh, thanks, Brandish,’ I replied. ’I also got a great skill. I was already thinking about how I would bring Diane and Erina up to the sa level as the others, but with this, I can at least raise their stats.’
’I’m glad you like it,’ the young woman said, and from the tone of her voice, I was sure she was smiling.
At first glance, this skill might seem like it would make weaker, but its use is entirely up to . I can do so grinding sessions alongside the girls and transfer my Status Points to them.
If I have enough stats, I think it’s not a bad idea to strengthen my team so they beco stronger and, as a result, I can obtain more skills—of course, if I play my cards right.
"Well," I said turn to my Valkyries, "Let’s find this dungeon’s core and finish this mission once and for all."
We put our clothes back on and went to look for our way out of the dungeon. Once we managed to destroy the small crystal in the deepest part of the dungeon, we would be transported out of there.
There weren’t many places to search; most of the hall was open and clearly visible to us. The only place we hadn’t checked yet was Zalrorg’s throne. We climbed the staircase until we reached the throne of the boss we had defeated.
It was truly a well-crafted throne. The ornants carved into the wood were so finely made that I wondered if a real king would sit on sothing similar. Luckily, I had a mber of the royal family right beside to tell .
"What do you think, Alicia?" I asked my Saintess. "Does it look like your father’s throne?"
The princess didn’t seem very excited upon hearing that. Seeing the sad look on her face, I imdiately regretted bringing it up.
"The ornants are beautiful, but it’s nowhere near as beautiful as my father’s. It seems like he had the right idea of what a throne should be, but..." She suddenly stopped speaking.
"But?"
"Soone so vulgar calling himself a king is already disrespectful in itself," Alicia said, not hiding the contempt she felt for Zalrorg. "A king who proudly speaks of sacrificing his own people... soone like that should never even dare to be called a king."
"Eh." I looked at Alicia, dumbfounded.
The girl seed to take the role of a king very seriously. Well, that was to be expected coming from a princess. Surely, the daughter had already seen not only the luxury of royalty, but also all the responsibility and problems that ca with that title.
She must have been really angry when Zalrorg acted so arrogantly; every word he spoke must have felt like he was spitting on her father’s title.
"Eh!" Alicia startled when she noticed I was staring at her. "Sorry, I was just spacing out."
"No," I told her, "you must admire your father a lot."
"Yes, even though I know it’s not an easy job and that he often has to make difficult decisions, I love my father very much," Alicia said with a warm smile. "And of course, as a princess, I was raised to repay my father’s upbringing."
"How exactly?" Sarah asked, clueless.
"’How?’ By having a child, obviously," Alicia said bluntly. "Choosing a good suitor, and as a devoted follower of Lady Freya, having many children with him."
Sarah and Justine were left speechless when they heard such an open declaration. As for , I shouldn’t have been surprised, but the timing still caught off guard.
I just gave a wry smile and said, "Eh, as expected of a follower of Freya..."
I thought for a mont and then said, "I don’t mind giving children to all of you, but I would rather not be a king."
"Why, though?" Alicia asked .
"Taking the crown doesn’t seem like my thing. I’d rather live the life of an adventurer, with my own ho to rest in. That sounds like the ideal life to ," I explained.
"I see." Alicia pondered for a mont, then turned to . "Life in the palace, even as a noble, probably wouldn’t suit you either, I presu."
"I’d rather not have a life full of luxuries and noble sches. A simpler life doesn’t have many luxuries, but it also feels freer to ."
"If that’s the case, I suppose I have no choice," Alicia said, which left completely confused about what was going on in her head.
"What do you an, Alicia?"
"Isn’t it obvious? I’ll renounce my nobility."
"What?"
"Since you don’t want to live as a noble, I have no other option," Alicia said, looking at seriously. "Did you really think that when I said I would give up everything for you, those were just words spoken in the heat of the mont?"
"I would never think that about you, but let’s put this conversation on hold. I don’t want to take on such a title, but I also don’t want you to abandon your position. And besides, if Diane heard you say sothing like that, she’d get angry."
"So what will we do?" she asked, with a sad look.
I placed my hand on my princess’s head and said, "When the ti cos, we’ll think about it."
It seed my words had a positive effect on Alicia, who smiled and nodded happily.
"Hey, guys," Justine called, drawing our attention. "Look over there."
The girl pointed behind Zalrorg’s throne. It looked like there was an entrance to a small room covered by a transparent veil. And now that I was closer to it, I could swear sothing behind it was emitting a faint glow.
We made our way through the veil and entered a tiny room that barely had enough space to fit the four of us. It was probably ant only for Zalrorg and Derug to enter, and it had only one purpose: to guard the dungeon’s core.
In the middle of the circular room was the item we had been searching for. The dungeon’s core—a tiny crystal that could easily fit in the palm of my hand—floated in midair. Finally, after so much trouble, after nearly dying, we could finally clear this damn dungeon.
I drew my sword, determined to destroy the crystal. The mont I did, this place would return to being a normal mine. No ghosts, no demons, and no liches. All the miners could return to work there, and little by little, life would go back to normal in Ironburgh.
The weight in my chest over Leo not having saved that city would also disappear.
"Ready?" I asked the Valkyries who accompanied .
"Of course we’re ready," Sarah said, staring in the eyes. "We ca here for this."
"You really know how to ruin the dramatic mood, huh?" I replied.
I turned to the crystal and, without any hesitation, struck the dungeon’s core, completely destroying it. At that mont, a flash of light appeared where the core had been, and we were teleported out of the mine.
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