331 - Carrot and Stick #5

I shouted boldly towards Elfriede.

"So, I can massage your feet all night then?"

"Huh? What the-?"

At my words, Elfriede, still lying down, asked back in quite a high-pitched voice. Though I couldn't see her expression from my angle, her brow was probably furrowed in shock and disbelief.

However, I paid no mind to that and decided to subtly drive the point home with a nonchalant tone.

"You said it was fine to show me your feet, right? Then you shouldn't mind me massaging them. Besides, it's a bit much to just press your back all night until dawn, isn't it?"

In fact, foot massages are the most basic of basic massages.

As I've said many times, the nerve endings in the hands and feet are so crucial they could be called miniature versions of the entire body, packed with important acupressure points.

Plus, since they're the parts that suffer all day, enclosed in shoes or socks, they're also areas where fatigue doesn't easily dissipate.

If you want to relieve the fatigue from continuous hard labor, simply getting occasional foot baths or massages can strengthen your overall vitality and change your quality of life.

Of course, there's no way Elfriede would do something like that.

*Sreuk-.*

Just then, Elfriede's white soles, which had been sticking out from under the cheap blanket of the shabby inn, disappeared back under the blanket.

The sight was strangely reminiscent of a snail tucking its head into its cozy shell, giving me a peculiar feeling.

"What the heck, why hide it? You said you didn't mind showing it."

I said it teasingly, but I understood.

In this world, for women to show their feet to men carries a meaning equivalent to, or even greater than, being asked to show their breasts.

Even if Elfriede was unnecessarily boosting her pride and putting on airs, she's still a girl. Showing the soles of her feet to a man like me must be incredibly embarrassing.

"You let me massage them so easily when you were a slave. Are you embarrassed now?"

"That's not it. Whether it was then or now, you just massage my feet."

*Sreuk-.*

My words seemed to have hit a nerve with Elfriede's pride. Eventually, her pale, seemingly soft soles popped out from under her short blanket again.

"I'm going to sleep now, so do whatever you want. If you talk to me, I'll kick you with my foot."

And she didn't forget to give a warning like that. In response, I didn't need to say anything out loud.

I just slowly moved my hands and touched her pale soles.

*Sreuk-.*

Her feet were small enough to fit within my palm. It always amazed me how she managed to walk and wander around with such tiny feet.

Of course, Elfriede rarely leaves her room; she's a homebody.

Perhaps because she dislikes walking and prefers staying cooped up at home, her skin is incomparably soft and smooth.

But still, it's cold.

But then again, Elfriede's cold hands and feet aren't a new thing; it's been happening for days. So, I first pressed the very center of her sole firmly with my thumb.

Although I was teasing her, I figured it was best to approach the massage seriously.

*Kku-uk-.*

As I applied a little pressure, I could feel her entire body tremble from the tips of her toes.

"..."

It was natural for her to feel considerable pain. In contrast to the strange groans of "Gyaaa-" she made when I pressed her back earlier, she was quiet now, as if deliberately trying not to make a sound.

According to my dual-core brain, which had realized its divinity and could perform parallel processing with both hemispheres.

I surmised that she was silently protesting, perhaps thinking, 'It's fine if he touches my feet. No matter how much he presses, I won't make a sound.'

Of course, that's just my theory, but it's probably accurate. I feel like I can see right through Elfriede's thoughts now.

*Kku-uk, kku-uk-.*

I continued to slide my hands up Elfriede's cold soles, from her toes to her heels. As I mentioned earlier, the foot is a miniature version of the entire body.

Elfriede must have been feeling the aesthetic pleasure of her entire body's fatigue melting away, from head to hips.

"..."

Of course, stubbornly, not a single word escaped Elfriede's lips.

*Puseok, deulseok-.*

The subtle movements of her waist and hips, constantly twitching under the blanket, the trembling of the fabric, were vividly audible to my ears, sharpened by the realization of my divinity.

Even if her mouth remained silent, her body was honest. If only she'd tell me with her own mouth where she'd like me to press, I could give her an even more pleasant massage-.

Thinking such thoughts, like a protagonist in a manga, I opened my mouth.

"How is it."

"What-."

"My improved massage skills? Aren't they completely different from when you were my slave?"

Currently, I possessed knowledge of traditional acupressure points and techniques, plus the grace called "Shining Hands."

The ability of this grace enhances my dexterity and the fine control of my fingers, so it was clear she could experience a massage on a completely different level than before.

"Not really. It's just... the same as before, you know."

However, Elfriede was more prideful than I expected. Despite her feet being as soft and smooth as Luna's or Hippolyte's, her pride was harder than Hippolyte's armor.

This sparked a strange sense of defiance in me, too.

Therefore, I focused my efforts on the life force, or perhaps energy, emanating from within me, spreading it from my lower abdomen to my palms.

*Jeo-rit, jeo-rit-.*

My palms began to tingle, as if blood wasn't flowing, like pins and needles. The sweat forming on my palms instantly vaporized, emitting something like red steam.

This was the red fist infused with Aura.

You could say I had coated my hands with something like Armament Haki, which I've been practicing in secret.

Although I haven't settled on a precise name, it's clear it would be an incredibly awesome ultimate move. The only downside is that it can only be maintained for about a minute?

For now, that should be enough.

Take that, you damn Elf slut! Taste my Aura!

I channeled the Aura I had honed through training under Hippolyte and experiencing many reversals, not into the Hydra's body, nor Regulus's or Gigas's heads, but into the Elf slut's soles.

*Seuk-.*

And finally, when my thumb poked the very center of her sole-.

*Seureuk-.*

Wasn't her waist, which had been calmly resting under the blanket, twitching and creating a slight incline?

"..."

Of course, not a single sound escaped Elfriede's lips.

But whether it was because my fingers were passing between her soft toes, or because her skin was continuously stimulated, her cold body soon turned red and became as warm and soft as freshly made rice cake.

The extremities of her body, where blood hadn't flowed well.

With so much blood rushing to those areas, making them red and warm, she would surely receive stimulation more sensitively. As a test, I lightly brushed her soles with my Aura-infused finger.

*Seureureuk-.*

*Umjjil.*

Then, in sync with my finger's movement, wasn't Elfriede's waist and hips, as she lay there, slowly rising upwards?

Although I couldn't be sure because it was hidden by the blanket, it was definitely hips rising towards the ceiling. What the heck? Does Elfriede's foot have a button that makes her hips rise? What kind of algorithm is this?

To find out where that button was, I massaged her feet back and forth with my Aura-infused fingers.

But without needing to investigate further, no matter where I touched her reddened feet, she just kept lifting her hips higher and higher.

"..."

Of course, stubbornly, not a single word came from Elfriede's mouth. 'Should I touch it a little more?' Thinking that, I moved my hand again and lightly brushed her soft skin.

*Bureureut-.*

I felt the blanket covering Elfriede tremble, subtly but clearly.

*Seureureuk-.*

At the same time, the soles of her feet, held in my hand, disappeared back under the blanket. Then, I heard rustling sounds from within the blanket, as if she was fiddling with something.

"That's enough. You can stop now. You're really pathetic-."

With that, Elfriede curled her body into a ball inside the blanket and hid herself completely.

*Chiiik-.*

The red Aura burning in my hand conveniently extinguished itself.

* * *

The next day.

When I opened my eyes, Elfriede was already looking down at me with cold eyes. Judging by the sunlight streaming through the window and the chirping of birds, it seemed morning had arrived.

What the hell. When did I fall asleep?

My body felt a bit tired. Using Aura consumes a lot of stamina, so it seemed I had unconsciously lain down on the floor and fallen asleep.

Elfriede spoke to me, who was in such a state.

"Today too, you must meditate until sunset. However, you must hold this cup and not spill a single drop."

*Seuk-.*

What she handed me was a cup filled with water right to the brim, thanks to surface tension. She wanted me to meditate holding that until sunset? Without spilling a drop?

This was fucking ridiculous.

"Hey, is that even possible?"

For a moment, I wondered if Elfriede was angry about me playing with her feet yesterday and was trying to get revenge.

But surprisingly, her expression was nonchalant, as if she didn't care about what happened yesterday. She said.

"Don't you want to learn to handle mana? If you want to do the impossible, you naturally have to challenge the impossible. You have to put in impossible effort."

Indeed, Elfriede's opinion was the epitome of a sound argument.

"It's a practice done by second-year Elf monks. But you said you have to awaken your mana within a week, right? If you can't do this, you won't be able to handle mana."

"Hmph, fuck it, I'll try."

I took the cup from Elfriede.

*Chulleong-.*

Just the act of receiving it made the water in the cup look unstable, as if it were about to overflow. After barely stabilizing it, I calmly closed my eyes and plunged everything into darkness.

My mind was completely submerged in black darkness.

Is this what they call clearing one's mind?

Indeed, I have no thoughts at all.

Is thinking that I have no thoughts still a thought? Then shouldn't I avoid this thought too? How can I stop this?

*Chalsak-.*

Just then, something struck my shoulder.

"What the-why?"

"You spilled all the water. You can't just close your eyes."

When I opened my eyes, I saw that the water in my cup had noticeably decreased compared to before. *Joreureuk-.* Elfriede poured more water into my cup.

"Still, you lasted an hour. I'll acknowledge your effort, though."

"Oh, an hour has already passed?"

I was surprised by the unexpected success of my meditation.

For some reason, I felt like I could sense mana now, so I closed my eyes again and sank into meditation.

....

"Hassan-nim, look at this new skill I've developed...! If I stick out my tongue like this, my tongue can reach my nose...!"

Oh, shit. Paranoy has invaded my mind again. In my imagination, I quickly clenched my fist and thrust it towards him.

"Go away, Paranoy, before you get bopped on the head!"

Then, as if afraid of the imaginary bopping, the imaginary Paranoy gradually dissipated like clouds.

I was very satisfied with that outcome.

And so, just as I was about to reach a state of thoughtless bliss again.

"Shit, look at this! Hassan! Look at this! I've entered Hassan's dream!"

This time, Luna, with her pink hair neatly tied in pigtails, entered my mind and disrupted my meditation.

"I was just trying to take a short nap, did Hassan come into my dream? Or did I enter Hassan's dream?"

"Luna, I need to train."

"They say daughters of Nox-nim can use dream-traveling voodoo! Is this similar to that? Amazing! Have I become a Daughter of the Night, a succubus?"

My imaginary Luna, just like Paranoy, chattered incessantly about something.

Even in my imagination, I couldn't bring myself to bop Luna on the head. Thinking about what to do, I raised my hand and lightly grabbed one of Luna's hips.

"Hieeeeeeek-!"

Then, my imaginary Luna, startled as if genuinely surprised, vanished like dissipating clouds.

After our intimate encounter last time, Luna seemed afraid when I touched or brushed against her hips. It seemed my dream-Luna was the same. Did it hurt a lot?

*Seuseu-.*

Thus, my consciousness sank deeper into the darkness. What appeared then was Hippolyte, sitting cross-legged under the shade of a tree, meditating just like me.

Even Hippolyte, whom I trusted, was disrupting my meditation.

*Seureuk-.*

Just then, one of Hippolyte's closed eyes slowly fluttered open.

"It's been a while since I've had distracting thoughts during meditation. Samaritan, what kind of mental trick are you planning to play on me this time?"

"That's what I should be saying. Please get out of my head."

"I, in my current state, will not yield to any temptation. With my Karma level approaching 43, I will not tolerate anything that hinders my enlightenment, even if it takes your form."

*Seureung-.*

At that moment, I felt as if my body had been cleanly severed in half, from head to crotch. What the hell, did my imaginary Hippolyte just cut me in half?

My thoughts are rapidly collapsing-.

"Ughhh..."

My severed consciousness continued to sink deeper into the pitch-black abyss. Just how much of this is imagination, and how much is daydreaming during meditation?

I tried to open my eyes, but my body wouldn't budge, as if caught in a nightmare. Only my consciousness continued to plummet towards the deep, deep bottom.

And then, when I finally collided with something.

I realized I had fallen into a darkness where I couldn't see an inch ahead. Before me stood a massive gate I had never seen before, locked.

Above the gate, large, imposing letters glowed like fire.

"Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."

Someone began reading the words into my ear in a grand voice, and finally, with a terrifying *Gooooo-* sound, the massive gate slowly opened inward.

*Beonjjeok, beonjjeok-.*

Shining from within that dark gate were six blue lights. It didn't take long to realize they were the glowing eyes of a massive, terrifying creature.

*Jeolgeureok, jeolgeureok-.*

With the sound of heavy chains, as that immense presence began to reveal itself towards me, I couldn't help but think I needed to escape this place as quickly as possible.

But it was too late. Already, a large, thick foreleg had shot out from inside the gate, flailing around to grab me.

I dodged it quickly, but its long, large claw-like talons accurately lunged towards my torso.

Oh, shit!

Just as I was about to curse in panic.

*Hwiik-.*

Then, I felt something firmly grab my waist.

"Yaaah-, that was close. This place isn't ready for challenges yet."