Chapter 16 : Monsters and Level-Ups (2)

“Ugh!”

The man was expressing his thanks to Iris when he suddenly pointed behind her in shock.

Iris, sensing a chill, quickly turned around.

A monster was stretching its long tongue toward her.

‘Claw!’

In a hurry, she summoned the first skill that came to mind and stepped forward.

Her whip transformed into a pincer and stretched out to strike the monster.

The monster, whose tongue was severed by the solid chain-formed pincer, let out a horrible scream and toppled backward.

“Let’s go!”

“Ah, thank you.”

While the monster reeled, Iris pushed the man’s shoulder, urging him to run.

The man hesitated briefly before quickly fleeing.

The monster writhed in pain from its severed tongue, clutching its mouth and staggering, before its eyes lit up again with rage.

It wasn’t in the same league as the black crayfish she had previously killed in one blow.

This one was twice the size of a human and didn’t give up even after losing its tongue.

‘Can I kill this thing with my current power? Should I just run?’

Iris was momentarily scared but chose to muster her courage.

The only reason she felt it was worth trying was because the monster moved far slower than her.

No, not just its steps—its every action was sluggish.

That’s how she had been able to strike first with the claw skill before it could attack with its tongue.

‘Not from Gyodam City, huh… Hoo, this might actually be doable.’

Slowpokes don’t survive in Gyodam City.

Iris, keeping her eyes on the slowly approaching monster, retracted her claw.

The chain, which had slithered back under her skirt, quickly extended again.

‘Scan!’

“Kreeee!”

The monster screamed incomprehensibly at the approaching, tentacle-like chain.

Even from a monster’s eyes, it must have looked grotesque.

It flailed its arms, but the chain clung tightly to its body.

[Scan Result]

Long-Tongue Pouch Lizard LV.4

[Skills]

Tongue Lash LV.5

Rampage LV.2

Body Slam LV.3

Pocket Hide LV.6

[Status]

Severe Injury / Hunger / Enraged / Searching for Herbs

‘Scan successful. Let’s see, is there anything I can get out of this?’

The chain, under Iris’s will, wrapped tighter around the Long-Tongue Pouch Lizard and began to feel around.

As soon as she saw the status window, she chose the skill she wanted.

The name of it sounded like it could work similarly to a game’s inventory function.

You have learned a skill.

You can now use LV.1.

If you practice before you forget, the skill will become yours.

‘Woohoo! I learned a skill from the Long-Tongue Pouch Lizard. Let’s finish this thing off and check the skill description after.’

Iris was about to extend her claw again but stopped.

Though she had never tried this before, she felt she could deal a stronger attack by applying the skill creatively.

She grabbed a large chunk of a broken statue with the claw, then hurled it at the monster.

‘Smash it hard!’

She swung her hips powerfully as if taking a golf swing…

The claw, guided by her movement, struck the monster like a golf ball.

“Hyah!”

With Iris’s powerful swing, the monster was knocked out instantly.

The trembling lizard finally lowered its head.

‘I was just thinking of that golf scene I saw in a movie… and it actually worked?’

The monster finally died.

Iris’s tactic had succeeded.

She quickly defeated the remaining monsters as well.

The long-tongued one had been the strongest; the rest were easy to take down.

Switching between claw and whip, she took down a total of ten monsters.

Normally, her mana would have run out long ago, but her stamina had recovered each time she leveled up, allowing her to keep going.

Chastity Girl has leveled up.

You have become stronger.

Your body has become more agile.

Your health has increased.

A mysterious energy fills your body.

Chastity Girl has leveled up…

You have acquired a new skill.

‘Yay! I wonder how many levels I gained? And a new skill, too—oh? Those guys!’

While she was distracted by the message, the remaining monsters fled in a panic.

They had been slow while smashing up furniture, but ran surprisingly fast now.

Iris was about to give chase but stopped abruptly.

Although leveling up had replenished her stamina and she could still use her skills, it was time to be cautious.

If she tried to catch them all and her mana suddenly dropped, it would be dangerous.

‘Just like in games, leveling up seems to restore depleted mana and health. But this is where I stop. I don’t have any mana potions, so I can’t be reckless. I need to be more careful.’

Where the monsters had disappeared, only broken debris remained.

Turns out, the fire was caused by a flamethrower that had run out of fuel and was lying on the ground.

Someone had likely been spraying flames around as a bluff to scare off monsters.

In the end, they hadn’t killed a single monster but had completely wrecked the cafe tables.

A true Gyodam citizen—valuing their own life above all and not caring a bit about someone else’s store.

After checking the area, Iris found no casualties.

Everyone had fled quickly except the man pinned under the statue.

The bakery cafe was completely destroyed, but no one had died, so it was acceptable.

Relieved, Iris headed behind the building and released her transformation.

She opened her status window to check her new skill and level gains.

Given all the messages she had seen, the results should be pretty good.

LV.4 Chastity Girl

[Skills]

Alarm LV.13

Running LV.12

Whip Lash LV.4

Let Me See That Back LV.4

(new!) Pocket Hide LV.1.

Claw Attack LV.3

Shield LV.1

Smash the Skull Mercilessly

[Status]

Excited / Happy

‘Wow. I’m level 4 now from that fight. First, let’s check the detailed info on the skill I got from the Long-Tongue Pouch Lizard. Then, the new shield skill.’

She tapped the skill with her finger.

This time, she prayed desperately inside that it would be usable via her bracelet.

Pocket Hide LV.1

A storage skill.

You can store items in a subspace by putting them into a pouch made from the Chastity Belt.

“Ugh! Damn it!”

The moment she read the description, Iris shrieked and collapsed to the floor.

A pouch made from the Chastity Belt?!

She imagined forming a pouch with the chain emerging from between her legs and shoving items into it…

The very image was so grotesque she swore without thinking.

‘Calm down. It’s a storage skill—it’s super valuable, right? Just ignore how disgusting it is…

Yeah, if I ignore that…’

Would she throw it away just because it’s gross?

It was an incredibly useful skill!

Iris forced herself to accept it.

Then she tapped the newly acquired skill.

Shield LV.1

A defensive skill.

The chain of the Chastity Belt transforms into a shield that blocks enemy attacks.

‘Now this is a decent skill. A shield made from the chain. Looks better than the whip or claw.’

Compared to the shock she got from the Pocket Hide skill’s description, this seemed downright normal.

Though both used the Chastity Belt, they were extremely useful skills, so she had no complaints.

Before testing the new skills, she decided to check the other skills that had leveled up.

Apparently, all the back-touching during monster battles paid off, because Let Me See That Back was now level 4.

‘I think I heard that once a skill levels up enough, you can transfer it to the bracelet, right?’

As Iris muttered to herself, a message popped up as if in response.

This skill can now be transferred to the bracelet.

‘Knew it! Transfer it now, please! At least this one!’

Now that the skill had leveled up, it could be transferred.

She wondered how the usage might change if it were transferred.

Whatever it became, it would definitely be better than having chains creep out from between her legs.

She screamed internally for it to transfer.

Chains began squirming out from between her thighs in multiple strands.

It was grotesque no matter how many times she saw it—an excellent trigger for frown lines.

‘Come on, hurry up!’

She had said to transfer it, so what was taking so long?

Getting impatient, she bared her teeth in frustration.

Then the chains started moving a bit faster.

The multiple squirming chains rose upward and attached to her bracelet.