Chapter 74

Becoming a seducer and cultivating that profession.

At those words, and their meaning, I and Haru thought that Carol might be overexerting herself.

The only one who didn’t know about seducers, Marina, tilted her head and asked,

Most likely, the expression under the mask was one of bewilderment.

"Ichino, what’s a seducer?"

"Huh? Ah, we’ll talk about that later."

For Carol, being a seducer should only be a trauma.

I hesitated to talk about the benefits and drawbacks in front of Carol.

But Carol shook her head quietly,

"No... I want Marina to know too. A seducer is—"

Carol began to talk about her profession.

About being a seducer.

The benefits and drawbacks of being a seducer.

How many people had used her, and how much Carol had suffered.

The greatest harm to Carol was that her ability caused others—like her parents—to be hurt.

Even the usually high-spirited Marina listened quietly to the story.

In the end, she spoke a little vaguely about no longer being a seducer.

She probably thought it was better not to mention that I had changed her profession.

"But why did you suddenly want to cultivate being a seducer?"

"Marina said that she hasn’t yet discovered the potential of this path. Carol is the same. Carol has always turned away from the abilities of a seducer and kept running. Maybe... if the level goes up, maybe this skill can be controlled."

Carol continued,

"Also, if a child with the same profession as Carol appears in the future, Carol wants to leave something for that child. The potential of a seducer—"

"Is that okay?"

"Yes. Fortunately, we are in the middle of a vast grassland. I don’t think anyone will be caught up in the mass migration of monsters, and I don’t think the smell will reach the Itomimizu underground."

"…Haru, this is a selfish request, but lend the magic bow to Marina. When Marina’s level goes up, she can immediately acquire the bow equipment skill. And if I think it’s dangerous, I’ll change Carol’s profession back."

"Understood."

Haru lent the wind bow to Marina and explained how to use it.

Marina can’t even equip it yet, but once the hunter’s level goes up and she learns the skill, she should be able to use it immediately.

"Alright... let’s change the second profession. The first profession will remain a gatherer, right?"

"Yes."

"Then, let’s go!"

I focused on changing Carol’s second profession to a seducer.

...It should be set now.

Silence dominated the scene.

We were staring in the direction of the wind.

"There’s nothing coming."

Marina, who had been holding the bow that she couldn’t even use yet, lowered it, looking disappointed.

But Haru was the first to notice.

"Master, they’re coming!"

"……! I’ve spotted them too! They’re ants—!!"

They had been hidden by the shadows of the grass and the darkness of the night.

Black ants—about the size of wild dogs—were approaching in large numbers.

"Petit Ice! Petit Stone! Petit Dark! Petit Wind! Petit Water!"

We didn’t use lightning or fire magic because we didn’t want the grassland to catch fire. Light magic only affects the undead, so we didn’t use it.

Chunks of ice, gravel, dark orbs, wind blades, and water masses hit the approaching ants.

"Slash!"

"Slash!"

Four vacuum waves were released from Haru’s two arms holding short swords and my two empty arms, hitting the ants.

But the number of ants didn’t decrease.

"Carol! Let’s change your second profession to something else for a moment!"

"Yes!"

I changed Carol’s profession to a farmer.

But that didn’t make the ants disappear.

They were still here.

I jumped into the center of the ants and, while sitting,

"Spinning Slash!"

I chanted the skill name.

With me at the center, the surrounding ants were cut down.

"Spinning Slash!"

Haru followed my lead, using Spinning Slash to cut down the ants,

"Slash!"

After 10 seconds, she defeated two more ants from a distance.

Maybe we can do this.

Just as I thought that,

The ants were trying to spit something from their mouths.

"Marina, watch out!"

I jumped in front of Marina, who was next to Carol.

A liquid came out from the ants and hit my back.

Despite wearing light armor, I felt an intense pain beyond what I expected.

"Master!"

Haru seemed to have defeated the ant that had spat acid at me. The presence disappeared.

"Mr. Ichino!"

"I’m fine. Petit Heal!"

I used Petit Heal on my back.

The pain subsided, but I wonder if the armor is okay?

It’s the armor I received from Margaret, so it might have melted.

"Slash!"

I turned to face the enemy and unleashed Slash.

The battle continued until the remaining ants fled.