Chapter 25 : Leveling Up the Hard Way

Anyway, since it’s impossible, there was no choice but to let go of that lingering attachment. 

I had to be satisfied with secretly checking Teresa-senpai’s status window. 

Iris removed her hand from Teresa’s back to avoid raising her suspicion. 

Along with that, she let go of her desire to obtain Teresa’s skill. 

‘It’s not easy to acquire the skill of someone with a high level. 

On top of that, for some reason, Teresa-senpai showed a message saying she wasn’t suitable…. 

Huh? Wait a minute. Don’t tell me.’ 

The targets for whom the message “you must want to grope them” appeared had been men. 

She wasn’t sure about monsters’ genders, but at least with thugs and Laika, that had been the case. 

And then, there was that horrifying memory of Laika’s chastity belt wide open in the first YouTube video she saw…. 

‘Don’t tell me the reason Teresa-senpai was marked as “unsuitable” is because she’s female? 

That… might actually be it.’ 

The message didn’t explain anything clearly, so she couldn’t be certain, but it felt like a reasonable deduction. 

Given the origin of the chastity belt item and the kind of behavior this thing (the system) encourages, it made sense. 

Either way, she couldn’t acquire Teresa’s skill — at least not for now. 

Iris let out a sigh, and Teresa, unaware of the reason, suggested they keep walking to find more monsters. 

As they walked through the park, new monsters appeared. 

Using her newly acquired skills, Iris skillfully defeated them. 

Before long, she had met her goal of defeating twenty monsters. 

Sweat beaded on her forehead. 

“This mission is definitely tougher than the last one. 

It’s doable, but I’m completely worn out after taking down twenty.” 

“Iris. You need to reach a point where this kind of mission feels easy. 

That’s how you’ll be able to take on villains.” 

“Ah… villains. Right….” 

It was true. 

To defeat villains, she had to get to a point where this felt easy. 

She realized she still had a long way to go. 

Meanwhile, Teresa misunderstood Iris’s expression as discomfort and rubbed her chin with a troubled tone. 

“No, that was careless of me. 

Taking on villains… it’s not something easy. 

And it’s not like all heroes have to fight villains. 

Sigh. 

Still, even if you don’t, it’s best if they’re easier to deal with — that’s how you can make good money. 

Got it?” 

“Yeah… you’re right….” 

Seeing Teresa’s uneasy expression and hearing her mention villains multiple times, Iris simply nodded. 

Teresa claimed it was a careless comment, but Iris knew it was just something she added after the fact, worrying she might be pressuring her. 

Defeating villains — that’s not just a hero’s dream, but likely what everyone in Gyodam City wants. 

Everyone wants to live in a peaceful city without crime. 

But since that’s a dream that can’t be achieved right now, all they could do was keep running from it. 

Iris wasn’t confident she — someone so weak that she couldn’t even read all of Teresa’s status window — could accomplish what even Teresa hadn’t managed to do. 

The only thing she could rely on was her chastity belt skill that lets her learn others’ abilities. 

‘If I could learn the skills of strong people, I’d be able to grow even faster.’ 

Still feeling down, Iris casually asked Teresa, 

“Teresa-senpai, I wish I could learn your skills.” 

“What? 

Well… I can teach you. 

But I don’t know if someone like you, a hero of a different type, could actually learn them.” 

“Oh, that’s…” 

Just as she was about to politely decline, an unexpected message appeared before her eyes: 

> Permission has been granted by the target. 

If you are taught, you may acquire the skill depending on compatibility. 

‘Gasp. 

What a huge gain! 

I totally thought it was impossible, but I can actually learn a skill if I’m taught it?’ 

Was it because the chastity belt’s core skill was copying others’ skills? 

She never imagined that Teresa agreeing to teach her would allow her to acquire a skill. 

It was completely unexpected. 

Checking the message, Iris smiled brightly. 

“Yes, great! 

I’ll do my very best to learn, Senpai!” 

Just like that, the second mission ended successfully without any major trouble. 

After collecting all the loot on the ground, Iris and Teresa left the park and sat on a bench outside to rest. 

Teresa gave her some stamina and mana potions, and her tired body recovered completely. 

After undoing her transformation, Iris opened her status window, her heart pounding. 

She wanted to see the messages and updates she had missed during battle. 

> [Whip Swinging] becomes much more familiar. 

LV.4 → LV.5. 

The whip grows thicker and longer. 

> [Claw Attack] proficiency rises. 

LV.3 quickly increases to LV.5. 

The claw becomes faster and more accurate. 

It gains more power. 

‘Must be because I used the claw a lot. 

It’s caught up with the whip skill level.’ 

Next message: 

> [Shield] proficiency rises. 

LV.1 → LV.2. 

It becomes sturdier. 

> [Scanning] proficiency increases. 

LV.5 → LV.6. 

Allows quicker and more precise detection. 

> [Alarm] proficiency increases. 

LV.13 → LV.14. 

It can now alert with incredible speed. 

> [Running] proficiency increases. 

LV.12 → LV.13. 

You gain tremendous running speed. 

‘I saw the scanning skill increase earlier… wow, my other levels are rising too. 

Wait… Laika has the [Scanning] skill. 

Could it be that the [Peeking at Backs] skill I have is something she originally had, and it evolved into [Scanning]?’ 

She wondered if instead of awakening [Scanning] out of nowhere, the [Peeking at Backs] skill had evolved into it. 

But that was just a theory. 

She wouldn’t know for sure until she saw a skill evolution firsthand. 

‘Feels like that might be it… 

I should train harder and find out.’ 

Iris decided that if she wasn’t going to Teresa’s house, she’d focus on leveling up her skills by scanning and running around the neighborhood. 

She checked the rest of the messages. 

> ChastityBeltGirl’s level has increased. 

Strength increases. 

Agility improves. 

Stamina rises. 

A mysterious aura fills your body. 

> ChastityBeltGirl’s level has increased. 

Strength increases…. 

> ChastityBeltGirl’s level has increas…. 

‘Three levels in one go. 

No wonder I felt a surge of strength between fights. 

That aside, I guess the bracelet still can’t share the [Scanning] skill. 

Maybe it needs a higher skill level?’ 

To level up her scanning skill more efficiently, Iris resolved to be more aggressive in scanning both monsters and people’s backs. 

The messages were all checked. 

Iris took one final look at her status window: 

LV.7 ChastityBeltGirl 

[Owned Skills] 

Alarm LV.14 

Running LV.13 

Whip Swinging LV.5 

Claw Attack LV.5 

Shield LV.2 

Pocket In LV.1 

Peeking at Backs LV.6 

[Special Skills] 

Smash the Skull In 

Insight 

[Status] 

Joy / Pride / Slight Fatigue 

ChastityBeltGirl’s level had reached 7. 

One more mission, and she might hit level 10. 

Maybe it was psychological, but she felt lighter on her feet than she had before entering the park. 

It made sense — every time her level increased, so did her stamina, strength, agility, and even her hidden mana. 

Thanks to those stats being fully replenished with each level-up, she hadn’t needed to use a mana potion while fighting today. 

Iris closed the status window and sank into thought. 

The special skill Smash the Skull In didn’t seem like it could be used just anytime. 

It hadn’t activated when Teresa attacked monsters. 

Maybe it triggered at random? 

There was no description and no way to know when it would activate, but it was still better than not having it at all. 

Buoyed by the smooth level-up, she turned to Teresa with a bright, energetic voice. 

“Senpai, are you free today? 

Could you maybe start teaching me your skill right now?”