With his little side quest complete, Hiro used [Inspect Sense] from [Harem Link] to check on what was happening back at the settlement.
'These guys are still fighting?' Hiro thought. 'I personally like finishing my fights in under a minute… Oh well. Everyone has their preferences.'
He was joking, of course. He could tell that the two groups—the ruffian newcomers and the Shuvloks—were not seriously trying to kill each other. It was more of a 'We won't let you tarnish our honor' kind of fight rather than a 'I want to fucking kill you!' kind of fight.
'That makes sense. Both of these groups probably see me as the real enemy. It's only natural that they wouldn't kill each other before dealing with me. I can already predict what they'll want me to do once I get back.'
But Hiro wasn't going back just yet. There was one more skill he wanted to derive. But before that…
"How!? How did you do that??" Carnalia's voice carried disbelief, excitement, and shock.
"Why do you sound so surprised? I'm just fixing the weaknesses I had before the goblin ambush. As for deriving the skill? Is it supposed to be hard or something? I think anyone can do it, no?"
…
A few seconds of silence followed that remark.
"Wow! I can't believe there's something I want more than sex in this moment. And that is to strangle you!" A feisty reply came from the woman in his head.
"Getting strangled, huh? I can't say that's one of my fetishes. I don't mind it if I'm on the giving end, though."
"…You wish," Carnalia shot back. It almost sounded like she was speaking through gritted teeth. "And don't think I can't sense your humble bragging. Your fake humility is disgusting. Hmph!"
Having his cover exposed like that, Hiro sighed and said, "Alright. What do you want me to say then?"
"Grr…" After thinking for a bit, Carnalia asked, "Were you, like, really good at magic in your previous life?"
Magic? Hiro certainly didn't receive an invite to any magic school back on Earth.
"Unless you count my ALMOST magical ability to drive a woman to the brink of ultimate pleasure as magic, then no. In fact, my previous world had no magic. Only science and technology."
"No way," Carnalia said in a flat tone filled with disbelief. She completely ignored the first part of his sentence.
"Yes way. Now, if that's all you wanted to ask, I need to focus again."
There was one more skill Hiro wanted to derive, so he ended the conversation. There were many things Carnalia wanted to say and ask, but no words left her mouth.
'Comparison is truly the thief of joy,' she simply told herself. 'Some people are just born freaks.'
After a few more minutes of Hiro playing around with the shapes, speeds, and magnitudes of cubical and spherical Force Vectors, a new notification appeared on his Status screen.
[Congratulations. You have derived a new Skill!]
Hiro had been given the privilege of naming both his derived skills. He chose simple and straightforward names on both occasions.
[
Defensive Field: A Class Skill belonging to the Ruler of Lust derived by Hiro Antee.
This is a passive skill that can be toggled on and off. While active, Carna will be constantly consumed.
Two Spherical Force Vectors of extremely low magnitude will always surround you when this Skill is active. The outer vector is called the Sensory Vector, and the inner vector is the Defense Vector.
When the Sensory Vector perceives an unknown force or object passing through it, the magnitude of the Defense Vector will automatically increase to counteract the incoming force, thereby defending you from any projectile-based threats.
Note that additional Carna will be consumed for every threat that is blocked.
]
[
Perception Field: A Class Skill belonging to the Ruler of Lust derived by Hiro Antee.
Create a low-magnitude Force Vector of your desired shape, which expands rapidly in volume, allowing you to quickly perceive your surroundings even if your vision is blocked.
]
The amazing thing about [Defensive Field] was that Hiro could pretty much keep it active at all times. Unless it was counteracting a threat, the Carna consumption was extremely low because the initial magnitudes of the Sensory and Defense Vectors were very low.
As for [Perception Field], its usefulness was obvious and did not even need to be stated in words.
'Time for me to head back,' Hiro decided. 'Just need to allocate my free stat points first…'
Hiro had reached Level 14 after killing the goblin ambushers.
------------------------------------------
Carna: 1000
Level: 14
STATS
STR: 62
AGI: 57
MAGIC: 89
CHA: 49
Free stat points = 1
HIDDEN STATS (Free stats cannot be allocated to these)
Natural Lifespan: +3
------------------------------------------
Hiro's MAGIC stat shot above the rest thanks to his new title – [Skill Deriver]. Since Ultimate Force Telekinesis was technically a magical Skill, the increased MAGIC stat was quite handy. It made telekinesis faster and cheaper to use.
"I totally forgot about the lifespan increase. How do I put this… I kind of expected the 'treasure' from the Blessed Manawell to be something cooler."
"You'll need to realign those expectations then. I'm not sure if you realize, but there are many mortals who would be absolutely thrilled by even a small increase in lifespan. Not everyone has grandiose ambitions like becoming a God," Carnalia said in response to Hiro's disappointment.
Hiro understood what she was trying to say.
"In other words, I can increase the loyalty of my subordinates by gifting them stuff like this."
"Precisely. It should even be possible to cut it into smaller pieces and serve it to guests on special occasions. Kings and Emperors sometimes do things like that to show off the prosperity of their Realm. You're pretty far away from that level, though."
"It's okay. Everything comes to those who wait. Isn't it just a matter of time?"
After saying so, Hiro tapped into his [Harem Link] with Tara in order to use [Teleportation].