[Miraculous Love Potion]
[Rank: ???]
[Makes a living being of the opposite gender fall in love with you.
The effect is permanent and extremely potent, so be careful when choosing your target.]
***
[Healing Potion]
[Rank: Bronze]
[Instantly recovers superficial wounds and fatigue.]
***
[Love Compass]
[Rank: Silver]
[Will point toward a potential love candidate for the host.]
***
[100 Credits]
[Used to buy items from the System Shop.]
***
[Bronze Skill Coupon]
[Grants the host a random Bronze-ranked skill.]
[P.S. Don't expect too much.]
***
'System Shop? Potential love candidate?'
Each reward was extremely useful for me, but those two were what I wondered about the most.
'System Shop!'
[Shop is locked. Gain qualification through finishing quests.]
'What quest?'
I checked the quest list, but there was no quest that rewarded this qualification.
Right now I only had two quests: survive the dungeon, and find a partner to use my Snu System with.
'So this must be a reward for some other quest… maybe I'll get a new one after surviving this dungeon?'
"Aaah… ah…"
A loud moan broke my focus.
'Should I peek or not? Nah, forget it. I don't want to poison my soul even more.'
I then checked what "potential love candidate" meant.
[Someone who suits the host and could potentially fall in love with you with all their heart.]
'Wow… if I could use this for other people, I'd become a millionaire.'
Finding someone who could truly love you with their whole heart, in this current capitalistic world, was almost impossible.
Most marriages I knew were just transactions.
Either they had kids because society demanded it, then divorced later…
Or they just married for money.
A thought crossed my mind and the Love Compass suddenly appeared in my hand.
A small silver compass with heart-shaped patterns carved on the lid.
The moment I opened it, the needle began spinning.
Spinning… spinning… spinning…
It did not stop.
"…Seriously?"
I waited a bit longer, hoping it would at least point somewhere.
But after a full minute, it was still rotating .
I sighed.
'So that means… there is no one here who can truly love me, huh.'
I felt a bit dejected.
But at the same time, also relieved.
At least it meant I would not find myself in some twisted romance situation with a dungeon monster.
I closed the lid and put the compass back into my inventory.
"Alright… next. Bronze Skill Coupon."
I tapped the coupon in the system window.
[Using Bronze Skill Coupon…]
[Gacha system activated…]
[Rolling rewards…]
[Shuffling skill list…]
[Please pray to Lady Luck…]
A bright light flashed in front of me.
Several skill icons spun around like a slot machine, flickering rapidly, before finally stopping on one.
[Congratulations!]
[You have obtained Bronze Ranked Skill: Pleasure Touch]
A new window appeared.
[Pleasure Touch]
[Rank: Bronze]
[By channeling mana into your hand, your touch will stimulate the pleasure nerves of the target, causing strong positive sensations.
Effectiveness depends on host's mana control and target's resistance.]
I stared quietly, then my lips twitched.
"…What kind of ero-RPG skill is this…"
Honestly, I had hoped for something that could help my current situation.
But this skill was just not it.
I stayed hidden for a while until I could no longer hear the sound of the naga couple.
Only when the cavern grew quiet again did I finally move.
I slipped out from my hiding spot and headed toward the remains.
Up close, the bones looked even worse.
Some still had dried flesh stuck to them.
"…Sorry for using your stuff."
I put my hands together for a short prayer.
It was not much, but it made me feel a bit less like a grave robber.
After that, I started checking the things left behind.
There was a broken water canteen.
The lid was gone, and it could not be sealed anymore, but it could still hold water.
There was also a knife with a broken blade.
The tip was gone, but the edge was still sharp enough.
Better than bare hands.
I also found some pieces of leather armor that were still usable.
Most of it was torn or pierced, but I managed to salvage shoulder guards, an arm guard, and something close to a chest piece.
They were not my size, but with some adjustments, I could strap them on.
When I finished equipping everything, a soft "ssshhh" sound brushed past my ears.
My whole body froze.
Slowly, I turned my head toward the sound.
Her face was filled with anger, and two of her hands were covering her breast.
But it's not enough, as it show most of her skin barely covering her nipple.
I had to admit it's a good view, but the situation is very bad.
She stared at me for a second, then her pupils narrowed.
Her tail lifted slightly, and a low hiss echoed through the cavern.
Then she roared.
From the large path on the other side of the stream, more naga poured out.
Among them, I spotted the male from before, and several others I had never seen.
They gathered together and began speaking in a language I could not understand.
"Shssra khal… rrasha kith…"
"Kraa… hisssha toru…!"
My grip tightened on the broken knife.
'Great… what now?'
I forced myself to breathe slowly and glanced back at the narrow tunnel I had crawled through earlier.
That cramped hole was the only hope.
'If I can just get back there…'
The female naga pointed one of her hands at me.
"Hisssha toru…!"
Several of the others shifted their gaze toward me.
That was my only opportunity.
I turned around and sprinted toward the tunnel.
The ground shook behind me as several naga launched forward.
I dove for the narrow entrance.
SLASH!!!
A sword swung down where my shoulder had been a moment earlier, smashing into the rock.
Fragments of stone hit my face.
I shoved my body into the tight gap.
The sharp stone scraped my skin, but I did not care.
Then something wrapped around my ankle.
My body jerked to a stop.
A strong force dragged me back.
I kicked hard, twisting my body, and stabbed backward with the broken knife.
The blade hit something hard, like armor.
The impact rattled my wrist, but a pained hiss erupted behind me.
For a second, I thought I had a chance.
Then two strong arms grabbed my leg at once.
I was yanked out of the hole like a stuck carrot.
My back hit a scaled chest.
Two arms pinned my own arms down, another grabbed my legs, and the last one held my head still.