“What the heck, Onii-chan, those people are so annoying. What’s with that attitude?”
“That’s just how complicated human relationships are.”
“That’s not what Hill meant!”
“You gave them food, but they still acted all high and mighty!”
Siloque and Hill explored the area above the Fourth Floor of the Castle.
They had agreed with Aduofa’s group to meet back at the previous spot in three hours.
“And they smelled bad too.”
Hill pinched her nose in disgust.
Well, they’d been trapped for a whole day, so they couldn’t bathe.
“Hill, you need to be extra careful around male Explorers in the future.”
“Hill doesn’t want to interact with them either. They ruin the time between me and Onii-chan… Anyway, what you mean is not to trust strangers easily, right? Of course, Hill knows that.”
“No, I mean, because in Minotaur butter games, most of the random NPCs are bad guys.”
Mainly, judging by his own bad luck, it never felt that simple.
“Minotaur?? Why are you suddenly talking about that? Hill doesn’t get it, and I don’t like NTR types.”
“Anyway, just keep being cautious around them. Onii-chan only pretended to be soft earlier to adapt to the situation, so they’d let their guard down and spill information.”
“Mmm… I see. As expected of Onii-chan, you even think about that.”
But.
Hill looked at herself with dissatisfaction.
“What, is there something on my face?”
“Onii-chan’s actions backfired a bit. You already have this aura that makes people want to protect you, and now you can easily charm even men. It’s scary.”
Hill muttered quietly.
“What did you say?”
“Nothing, Hill didn’t say anything!”
Hill turned away in a huff.
Weird.
The conversation started off fine, so why is she angry now?
After three battles with Skeleton Soldiers in the Castle, Siloque finally found the room he was looking for on the Fifth Floor.
A room marked Room 2038.
He knocked on the wall beside the door, and a passageway appeared, a narrow gap between rooms.
After walking a short distance inside and turning two corners, he arrived at a room piled high with various goods, like a Warehouse.
The room containing the skill.
Siloque looked around and spotted a transparent, hexagonal Skill Crystal embedded in a pile of miscellaneous items not far away.
“That crystal… is it a skill? Can I touch it?”
Hill noticed it too, so Siloque walked over and pulled out the Skill Crystal.
Inside was a fragment of text:
Invisible
‘Invisible Stealth Walker’
Thank goodness, we managed to get it in the end.
The first reason for splitting up was to confirm if this skill was still here. The second was to explore.
“This is it. Take it.”
Siloque tossed the crystal to Hill.
“Once you crush it, you can use this skill. The effect is invisibility and erasing presence. Try to control your emotions when you use it—some experts can sense presence by instinct, and certain Barriers can also detect it. Be careful about that.”
Hill stared blankly at the Skill Crystal in her hand.
“Ah!”
Suddenly, her expression changed dramatically.
“If you have this skill, does that mean you can walk through a crowd of monsters without attracting their aggro? Treasure hunting and escaping would become super easy!?”
“That’s about right. But don’t rely on it too much. Some people might notice in unexpected ways, and your body still has physical mass when you use it, so be careful not to bump into anyone.”
Realizing the potential of the skill, Hill’s breathing grew rapid.
“Is it really okay, Onii-chan? This skill is amazing. Just thinking about it, Hill can imagine a hundred evil uses.”
“Like what?”
“Robbing a bank, stealing classified info, getting Initial Limited Editions for free, skipping lines at events… Hill could get anything…”
My little sister’s ambition is subtle.
Well, it is a powerful skill.
This hidden map was already hard to enter, and finding this skill inside is even harder.
Currently, the most you can find on the market are skills that erase presence.
A skill like that makes the body invisible and erases presence is held by less than three players in the game.
But that’s all.
If you run into a strong opponent, you’d still need attack skills to take them down.
“But you wouldn’t actually do those things, would you, Hill?”
“Eh…? Onii-chan, why are you so sure?”
“Because you wouldn’t do anything that would make me hate you.”
Hill’s face flushed, and she looked down, murmuring.
“Gu, gu, gu… Saying it so directly at times like this… Onii-chan has gotten sly…”
“And you need to be careful when using it.”
Siloque couldn’t hear her quiet words, so he continued warning.
“Don’t let anyone besides me know about this skill. And don’t show it in front of others.”
“If I’m invisible… no one will notice, right?”
Siloque shook his head seriously.
“Just as you thought, this skill is a dream cheat for criminals… and for most people.”
“Think about it. If someone finds out you have this skill, what do you think they’ll do?”
“They’ll definitely ask where Hill got it.”
“Exactly. Like you said, if Explorers obtain this skill, dungeon exploration safety improves a lot… But if word gets out, there’ll be a flood of people wanting to buy it, and others digging for the truth. You’ll be in for a world of trouble.”
Imagining the scene, Hill’s expression grew grave.
“Hill doesn’t want to be swarmed by Journalists as soon as I leave the house…”
“Hill understands, Onii-chan. I won’t misuse it.”
Then, as if she remembered something, her expression brightened.
“We shouldn’t tell Mom and Dad either, right?”
“Of course.”
“And not to Bried Onee-chan?”
“Definitely not.”
“Hey…”
Thinking of something, Hill giggled.
“Thank you, Onii-chan. Then Hill will accept it without hesitation.”
She crushed the crystal.
The text sealed in the crystal scattered as silver ribbons, floating through the air.
They wrapped around Hill’s body, and the silver ribbons melted into her skin.
As the light faded, Hill touched her upper body.
“Is this it?”
“Yeah. Just think of using in your mind, and imagine activating the skill—it’ll work.”
Before Siloque finished speaking, Hill vanished from sight.
The room now looked as if he was alone.
The only scent was dust; the fragrance of milk and lemon from the girl was gone.
He tried detecting magic power—no response.
The effect is excellent.
Siloque looked around, his eyes landing on the dust on the floor.
Two footprints appeared on the ground, less than a centimeter away from him.
At the same time, he felt heat in front of him, and a warm breath washed over his face.
“So that’s how it works… Hill, you’re too close.”
“Hehe, Onii-chan found me.”
A girl’s voice came from empty air—a strange experience.
Siloque reached out with his right hand, curious if touching would break the invisibility.
“Ah!”
Hill let out a sharp, ticklish cry.
It didn’t break.
Siloque continued touching, wondering how long the effect would last.
Soft and elastic to the touch… is this an arm?
“Wait, Onii-chan… Don’t move around so roughly…”
The invisibility still hadn’t been lifted.
Hill was about the same height as him, and the area he touched was probably her stomach.
It felt wide, so maybe it wasn’t an arm.
It even felt like armor was resting on his hand.
“Ah… Onii-chan, if you did it on purpose, Hill doesn’t mind here…”
At that moment, Siloque realized his right hand was in a very compromising position.
“Ugh.”
He hastily pulled back his hand, almost shouting “Sorry,” but quickly shut his mouth.
“Hm? A passage?”
Before Siloque could speak, a male voice came from behind in the distance.
It was Aduofa.
“Tch.”
Siloque didn’t want to run into them.
He didn’t want to explain why he was here.
Most of all, he didn’t want to deal with those pushy guys.
If possible, being alone with his cute little sister was much more pleasant.