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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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Barickmeteo gnashed his teeth, his mane bristling with rising fury. Nasen and Huruuku knelt before him, trembling.
“Those whelps actually dared to enter the forest?”
“Y-yes… It’s certain. A group of Kobolds was slaughtered, and the only ones capable of such a thing around here are the Hero’s party…”
“The pups have no fear of the tiger.”
The Hero’s party had entered the forest for one reason: to hunt Barickmeteo.
“To hunt me? Those insolent fools!”
Barickmeteo roared, and the ground trembled. Nasen and Huruuku broke out in a cold sweat.
“This forest is our domain. They know this well. And yet they dare to provoke us. They must think we are easy prey.”
“Y-yes, you’re right. Even if they are the Heroes, it’s incredibly arrogant of them…”
“And it’s all because of you two!”
“Eek!”
“Oink… We’re sorry! We’re sorry!”
“The higher-ups have confirmed that the Heroes destroyed the abandoned magic city mine. If you hadn’t tried to cover it up and reported it from the beginning, we could have responded much faster.”
“S-sorry… We’re so sorry…”
“Sigh… Be prepared for your punishment. I have to report this omission myself. Damn it. I’m going to get an earful from them.”
Barickmeteo rose to his feet and spread his wings.
“Until I return, kill the Hero by any means necessary. If the Hero proves too difficult, at least take down one or two of her companions, even if it means Mutual Destruction. You useless imbeciles.”
“U-understood.”
“If… when I return, they’re still alive, I will devour you both without fail.”
Barickmeteo’s bloodshot eyes looked serious. It was the look of someone who had reached their limit.
Nasen and Huruuku had only survived this long because of their mission to retrieve the White Witch’s sealing artifact.
But their repeated failures were clearly wearing thin on Barick Meteor’s patience.
“Then I shall return.”
Barickmeteo spread his massive wings and soared into the sky. They had barely a week until Barickmeteo returned from reporting to his superiors.
‘If we don’t succeed this time… we’ll really be eaten.’
Nasen was certain.
Huruuku felt the same. As if recalling some unpleasant memory, his large frame trembled, dripping with sweat.
“We’re truly cornered now. We have to capture the Heroes, no matter the cost. By any means necessary!”
The one that concerned them wasn’t the blond Hero, but that troublesome man.
He was always the one who foiled their plans.
“Huruuku. Get up. Barickmeteo is gone.”
“…Oink… Nasen, I’m scared. So scared… I don’t want to be eaten by Barickmeteo. Being eaten by him is worse than death… Oink…”
“I agree. That’s why we must succeed this time, no matter what. Even if it costs us our lives. Understand?”
“Understood. Oink… What’s the plan?”
“I have a rough idea. We’ll work out the specifics now. The situation isn’t entirely unfavorable to us.”
“Because this is the forest… Oink… Oink…”
“Yes. This is our forest. They’ll regret ever setting foot here.”
Nasen and Huruuku busily began formulating their plan to attack the Hero’s party.
This time, even that troublesome man wouldn’t be able to interfere so easily.
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The troublesome man that Nasen and Huruuku were so worried about was currently in a very awkward situation.
‘I can’t believe Lina found my elixir first!’
The white pill in Lina’s hand. That was definitely the elixir the White Witch had mentioned.
“I found it in that embarrassing room…”
She found the elixir even while being so embarrassed! This must be the perk of a regressor Hero monopolizing opportunities.
“Lady Lina… Do you have any idea what that is?”
“Yes. I believe this is an elixir. A medicine made from various precious ingredients.”
“….”
So she knew. It would have been strange if she didn’t.
I couldn’t very well throw a tantrum and demand she give it to me.
Of all people, Lina! Not Natasha or Victoria!
If it had been the other two, I could have at least tried asking.
Seeing what I considered my elixir in someone else’s hands felt like a loss.
But it couldn’t be helped. I was just starting to think about how to retrieve it later when…
“I’d like Kerry to have this elixir.”
“Huh?”
“I said I’d like Kerry to have this elixir.”
I was dumbfounded.
Come to think of it, there’s no reason for Lina to show me the elixir unless she intended to give it to me.
But… was she really giving it to me this easily?
“I suspect this is an elixir that allows the body to absorb mana. It would be best to have the elder shaman confirm the specific ingredients before consuming it… Kerry?”
Kerry, without realizing it, hugged Lina. He suddenly snapped back to his senses, feeling the cold touch of Lina’s armor.
“Ah! I apologize, Lady Lina. I was so overjoyed that…”
“….”
Worried that he might have offended her, Kerry was relieved to see Lina blushing, her eyes darting around.
Then she cleared her throat and said,
“It’s alright. B-but Kerry… you have… Natasha. It might be best to be more careful in the future.”
“Yes, Lady Lina.”
Kerry had been worried Natasha might go ballistic seeing this, but surprisingly, she remained calm. She seemed to understand that it wasn’t a romantic gesture but an expression of gratitude. She had matured admirably.
However, Natasha couldn’t hide her displeasure entirely.
Lina addressed the party members who were staring intently.
“Does anyone object to Kerry having the elixir?”
“My husband should definitely have it!”
“I’d also like my son-in-law to have it. Heh heh.”
“That’s wonderful, Kerry. If you take that, you’ll grow even stronger as a mage.”
A wave of heartwarming support washed over Kerry.
He had done well in his party life!
Taking care of his party members and providing for them hadn’t been in vain.
Damn, being loyal to the regressed Hero had paid off!
The desire to continue adventuring with Lina surged within him.
“You’re all more enthusiastic than I expected. I understand, knowing Kerry’s passion for magic…”
“I may not be shedding tears right now… but a tsunami of emotion is surging within me, leaving me adrift in the Pacific! Lady Lina! Thank you all for yielding to me!”
“Pacific…? Tsunami? What do you mean?”
“Just know that I’m incredibly happy!”
Kerry received the elixir from Lina. The white pill looked particularly enticing.
This was the elixir that would upgrade him!
“Kerry, don’t take it yet. Some elixirs are of poor quality and may have side effects. In severe cases, they can even be fatal.”
He knew that well. But Kerry had the Eyes of the Goddess. He used it on the white pill.
Eyes of the Goddess Ten years’ worth of mana?!
This meant he could gain the equivalent of ten years of painstaking mana cultivation just by swallowing this pill.
This world was truly absurd!
He was newly grateful to the White Witch and his party for providing him with such a boon.
But there was still one crucial piece of information left.
“….”
“Kerry? What’s wrong? Is something the matter?”
What kind of side effect was this? But enhanced virility wasn’t bad.
“It’s nothing.”
“Then why don’t you entrust the elixir to the elder for now and take it later?”
“Alright, Lady Lina.”
Kerry’s thoughts grew complex. Did the Witch know about the side effects?
Enhanced virility. Just how much more virile would he become?
Honestly, Kerry was already quite virile. He wasn’t sure he could handle any more.
‘Surely the White Witch didn’t give this to me knowing about the side effect?’
If she did, it would be a bit spiteful.
But it wasn’t a bad side effect for Kerry. He had recently been reaching his limits during his threesomes with Victoria and Natasha.
Perhaps this would allow him to grow not only as a mage but also as a man. This was promising.
Kerry finished his thoughts and addressed the party.
“For now… let’s have dinner, shall we? I’ll show you my true culinary skills.”
“Yay! I always love your cooking, hubby!”
“I’m actually quite hungry myself.”
“I’ll examine the elixir in the meantime, son-in-law.”
Thus ended another day at the villa.
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Late at night, Kerry awoke. He got out of bed.
The villa had so many rooms that everyone in the party could have their own.
Of course, the women slept together, having grown accustomed to it.
“The White Witch specifically told me to come back to her before taking the elixir.”
If the White Witch knew about the side effects, it seemed like she had orchestrated this whole thing to trick him.
It was a rather cute scheme, but he still felt a bit annoyed.
He had to go and confirm it himself.
Kerry made his way to the White Witch’s bedroom. She greeted him with noticeable enthusiasm as soon as he arrived.
“Kerry. You’ve returned. Oh ho. That confident look on your face tells me you’ve secured the elixir I told you about.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“That’s good… No. That’s excellent.”
“….”
Wasn’t that a dead giveaway?
The White Witch assumed Kerry didn’t know about the side effects. That’s why she was so careless.
“Witch, is there anything you’d like to tell me?”
“…W-what do you mean? What should I tell you?”
“Are you hiding something?”
“….”
“I… have no idea what you’re talking about.”
The White Witch was truly terrible at lying. Should he let it slide just this once? He needed to think about it a bit more.
“Alright. Then let’s take the elixir right away. You said I had to take it here so you could assist me, right?”
“Indeed. An elixir is a concentrated mass of energy. Normally, even if you consume it, you can’t absorb it all. At best, you’d absorb half or sixty percent. But with my assistance, you can absorb close to one hundred percent of the elixir’s power.”
“Oh. As expected of the legendary Archmage.”
“Flattery won’t get you anywhere… but it’s alright once in a while.”
Kerry was thrilled. The moment he would finally become a proper mage was at hand.
Thanks to his diligent training, Kerry had accumulated mana the size of his finger joints within his body. But it was still insufficient for practical magic use. The magic he had used so far had been powered by pre-charged mana beads, not his own power.
But after absorbing the elixir, things would change.
Even after his mana storage beads were depleted, he would be able to use magic as long as he had his own mana remaining.
He would be one step closer to becoming a true mage!
“Then let’s begin right away.”
“Alright. First, assume the lotus position. That is the basic posture for absorbing an elixir.”
“Okay.”
Kerry assumed the lotus position, and the White Witch sat behind him.
“Steel your resolve. An elixir isn’t some convenient item that grants power just by swallowing it. If you fail, you could damage your body.”
The White Witch thought Kerry didn’t know about the side effects, but he did.
“I’ve already prepared myself.”
“Then… consume it.”
Kerry swallowed the white pill. The moment it went down, a hot energy seemed to surge through his body.
Kerry groaned as the heat spread through him.
He felt something growing.
Was this the feeling of power?
At first, he thought it was simply a sensation of growth.
In fact, the feeling of growth wasn’t an illusion.
Kerry looked down, feeling a strange sensation in his lower body.
He saw his precious penis, erect enough to burst through his pants.
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