“Your clothes are getting in the way of the ritual. Ideally, I’d have you to take off your underwear too if possible.”
At the moment, I am sitting in a seiza-style in the center of a room encircled by candles. Wearing nothing but my underwear.
“Especially something like the Twilight Robe. It is stacked with resistances which interferes with the ritual.”
The child-goddess stood behind me, her right hand raised over my back as she poured something like a faint, pale aura into me—almost like telekinetic energy.
It felt gently warm, soothing in a way that reminded me of the electric therapy you get at an orthopedic clinic when treating an injury. The comfort made my eyelids grow heavy with drowsiness.
| > Good thing he wasn’t stripped completely naked > Being totally naked in front of someone who looks like a little girl is straight-up a crime > Officer, it’s this guy > An old man going full naked here would be rough lol > Eh~, I kinda wanted to see though > N-not gonna lie, my heart skipped a beat (blush) > I wanted him to corrupt the goddess with his “Daishi” and drag her into the dark side > If he’d taken everything off, he definitely would’ve been banned > I mean, this is already pretty borderline lol > Stuff like “Hell Gate” is definitely not okay lol > Maybe they’re just letting it slide on purpose > With this many viewers, you’d think at least one person would’ve reported it by now |
My “Daishi” doesn’t have that kind of power. It’s not “great”—it’s “small”.
…Ah, no. That really doesn’t matter at all!
My apologies.
“Once this ritual’s over, do I have to head to the Nether Class dungeon?”
Trying to distract myself from the numb, prickling pain in my legs from sitting seiza, I threw the question at the loli goddess. Judging from how things had been going, that was the only possible outcome.
“I do like a perceptive man, Ajiri Daishi. As soon as the ritual is complete, I’ll transfer you right near the entrance to the Nether Class, so just relax and wait.”
Her voice was gentle—yet it carried a whisper of something almost devilish.
Ah… there goes my dream of a laid-back dungeon life…
I guess I don’t have the right to refuse anymore.
Fine, I’ll concede a thousand steps.
But, even if I have to go, could I at least get a day to prepare…?
And if that’s too much to ask, then please, at least let me take a bath.
I might be fine, and the loli goddess might be fine, but I really don’t want to walk around reeking of the Nether King’s hell-stench. Apparently it’s strong enough to knock people out just from the lingering odor alone. I want to get rid of this clingy, almost branded stench as soon as possible.
“My aura also has fatigue recovery and purification effects, so there’s no need for rest. And that stinky Nether King’s ‘fart’ smell will naturally disappear too, so don’t worry.”
…She read my mind again.
“I’ve already prepared your equipment, food, and all the bare essentials you’ll need for exploration, so you can head into the Nether Class dungeon anytime.”
“By the way… Goddess, aren’t you coming with me?”
“I can’t leave this West Tokyo Fourth Beginner Dungeon. If I did, all the causal structure I carefully set up here would fall apart.”
“Huh? Then how did you get the Nether King’s organs…?”
Just like that, the conversation looped right back to the original question.
“Ah, that? You really want to know, don’t you? It’s simple.”
According to the loli goddess, every dungeon—and every monster within it—was something she herself had created and managed. With her master authority, she could freely add or remove things from anywhere at any time. However, as she’d mentioned before, the Nether Class was currently operating under the Nether King’s independent system, which meant her authority didn’t normally apply there.
That said, she could still grasp the situation to some extent. And while something like this would never happen in Divine Realm Class or Abyssal Sea Class, the Nether Class alone would, on rare occasions, experience brief lapses in the Nether King’s control. She seized one of those fleeting moments—and barely managed to extract only the organs. The reason she didn’t destroy anything and took only the internal organs… was to strip away that power and grant it to me.
Because she believed that someone like me—who had already broken through the Eighth Layer of the Selection Domain—could synchronize with the Nether King.
Incidentally, the source of the Nether King’s power was also burial energy. The same as mine.
Just like mine…
…
Thinking about it like that… yeah, I really don’t like it.
Am I eventually going to end up like that too?
The more I think about it, the more uneasy I get. If every time I fart, something like a [Hell Gate] gets summoned, that’s the kind of thing you just can’t live with. And if it happens unconsciously while I’m asleep… that’s not even a joke.
| > I didn’t hear the earlier part, so I have no idea what’s going on > So it’s like shoplifting, huh! > “While no one’s looking…”—that’s totally different, idiot lol > Anyway, once this ritual’s over, you’re heading to conquer the Nether Class dungeon, right? > So we’ll get to see the old man in action again, yeah? > Hurry up and finish the ritual already >Can he still get stronger? > I’m excited |
“What kind of nonsense are you even thinking about?”
“Ah—well… for me, it’s a serious concern.”
“Humans really are incomprehensible… Honestly. Oh, it’s done, by the way.”
“Huh? It’s already over?”
That was faster than I expected.
But… it doesn’t feel like some overwhelming power is surging through me or anything.
Did I really awaken at all?
“Why don’t you check your status? A lot has changed.”
“A lot huh.”
Well, if that’s the case, I guess I’ll take a look for now…
| Name: Daishi Ajiri Class: Burial Priest Level: 1 HP: 999/999 MP: 999/999 Strength: 999 Endurance: 999 Agility: 999 Intelligence: 999 Burial Power: 999 Surplus Burial Points: 4817 Skills: 【Burial Fist (MAX)】 【Retribution (MAX)】 【Requiem (MAX)】 【Return (MAX)】 【Cremation (MAX)】 【Clairvoyance (MAX)】 Unique Skill: 【Hell Gate】 【Infinite Item box】 Title: 【Enlightened One】 |
“Isn’t this whole ‘status system’ just fascinating? It’s easily one of the most brilliant technologies humans have ever invented. Well, yours is a special case since I’ve tweaked it quite a bit, so it works very differently from what ordinary explorers use.”
The loli goddess was smirking as she rambled on about something, but none of it registered.
I was completely transfixed by the contents of my status screen.
A lot had changed.
No—too much had changed!
Where was I even supposed to start checking…?
Honestly, I didn’t have the faintest idea.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com
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