I woke up sore.
Like, whole-body sore.
"Ugh... did I die and respawn with minus five stamina?" I groaned, stretching on the still-warm cushion pile. Naked bodies lay tangled around me—Raven's leg draped over my waist, Lira curled up against my chest, Mei pressed to my side like a heat-seeking kitten. Iris was snoring softly with a smile, and Aria slept on my arm, her thigh halfway across my face.
No complaints.
But I needed to move before my left arm died from blood loss.
[System Notification]
[Temporary Dungeon Cooldown Lifted – Phase 2 Opening Soon]
"Shit. Already?"
The temple pulsed with warm light. The air buzzed. The next part of the trial was waking up, and we needed to get moving.
I nudged Aria. "Babe. Wake up. Temple's horny for round two."
She blinked sleepily. "Already...? Gods, you broke me last night."
"You and everyone else." I pulled on my pants—barely. "Come on, team harem. Let's get prepped."
Status Check Before We Die Again
We gathered around the glowing circle in the center of the room. Everyone looked flushed but focused. Their weapons were back—Raven reloaded her sleek obsidian gun and checked the hidden blade in her boot.
"One minute until reset," Aria said, checking her dungeon lens. "We'll get full mana and stamina restored, but only if we're inside the circle."
"Everyone ready?"
Mei just clung to my side.
"Uh-huh," Iris chirped. "But before we go in, can we do a quick team status check? Y'know, so we know who's carrying who."
I smirked. She was clearly fishing to brag.
"Fine. Everyone pop your windows."
[Status – Raven]
Class: Crimson Hellshot (SS-Rank)
Level: 26
HP: 880 / 880
STATS – STR: 41 | AGI: 39 | END: 33 | INT: 22 | CHA: 18 | LUK: 12
Skills:
Hellburst Rounds – Enchants bullets with explosive infernal energy that deals AoE fire damage and applies Burn.
Gun Kata Rush – An acrobatic close-range shooting flurry that increases evasion.
Infernal Overdrive – Temporarily boosts attack speed and reloads. Overheats with overuse.
Crimson Aftershock – Executes a Burned target, triggering a fiery shockwave.
Shared Skill: Crimson Synchro Pulse – While within 10m of Hiro, both gain +20% attack speed and +10% crit chance. Hiro's next Libido Burst auto-crits.
[Status – Mei]
Class: Scavenger (B-Rank)
Level: 19
HP: 560 / 560
Mana: 140 / 140
STATS – STR: 24 | AGI: 31 | VIT: 23 | INT: 12 | CHA: 18 | LUK: 20
Skills:
Flame Spit – A short-range fire breath. Good for disorienting and close combat.
Salvager's Instinct – Detects hidden loot and rare dungeon materials.
Burst Run – Dash that leaves a fire trail. Great for dodging or repositioning.
Shared Skill: Libido Burst – Mei's next physical attack gains +50% fire damage. Heals her slightly if under 30% HP. Cooldown: 30s.
[Status – Iris]
Class: Arcane Jester (A-Rank)
Level: 21
HP: 530 / 530
STATS – STR: 14 | AGI: 29 | END: 24 | INT: 38 | CHA: 27 | LUK: 19
Skills:
Mind Dazzle – Causes visual and mental illusions. Lowers enemy accuracy.
Pleasure Hex – Distracting debuff that reduces magic defense and focus.
Masquerade Mirage – Creates illusory clones to confuse enemy targeting.
Shared Skill: Hexual Feedback Loop – When Iris hexes Hiro's target, Hiro gains mana regen and may apply an extra debuff (Confuse, Charm, Blind).
[Status – Lira]
Class: Moonlight Nymph (B-Rank)
Level: 19
HP: 470 / 470
STATS – STR: 12 | AGI: 20 | END: 28 | INT: 35 | CHA: 31 | LUK: 20
Skills:
Moonlight Kiss – A soft-touch heal that scales with Charisma. Soothes debuffs.
Lure Pulse – Emits a charm wave that lowers enemy accuracy and weakens intent.
Lunar Cleanse – Removes status effects and grants a small defense buff at night or in low light.
Shared Skill: Lunar Resonance – While near Hiro in darkness, both regenerate HP/MP 15% faster. Moonlight Kiss grants bonus healing and a shield.
[Status – Aria]
Class: Hex Enchantress (S-Rank)
Level: 22
HP: 560 / 560
STATS – STR: 17 | AGI: 36 | END: 27 | INT: 29 | CHA: 25 | LUK: 22
Skills:
Rune Sleep – Paralyzes a target for 6 seconds. Especially effective if the target is emotionally unstable (rage, lust, etc). Breaks on damage.
Curse Sigil – Applies a curse that lowers defense and magic resistance by 20%.
Emotion Lock – Debuff that slows and weakens targets driven by strong emotions.
Enthrall Seal – Marks a target. If they become aroused or distracted, they fall into mind-control for 6 seconds (or until hit). Cooldown: 45s.
Shared Skill: Arcane Echo Link – Hiro and Aria share vision briefly in a dungeon. Increases trap detection, boosts Hiro's magic resistance, and auto-casts Aria's next debuff when Hiro lands a critical hit.
"...damn," I muttered. "My girls are cracked."
Iris grinned. "Told you I was stacked."
"Your INT is stacked. That's about it," Raven shot back.
"Hey! I'm emotionally balanced too!"
"Emotionally horny maybe," Aria quipped.
"Focus," I laughed. "Let's get in. Phase 2 won't wait."
Entering the New Floor
The light pulsed, and we stepped in.
Everything shimmered.
When it cleared, we were in a massive chamber lined with glowing pillars. The walls looked like living obsidian. A mist clung to the floor, thick and tinted... pink?
"Smells like strawberries and sin," Iris whispered.
[Dungeon Alert – Lust Trial Phase 2: The Temptation Gauntlet]
[All members subject to passive Charm & Libido Aura]
[Mental Resistance Checks: Ongoing]
"...we're in the horny dungeon."
Raven sighed. "Great. Just great."
"Don't worry," I said. "We've trained for this. Kinda."
[Lustweave Aura Activated]
[+10% All Resistances While Holding Hands with a Bonded Partner]
Mei immediately grabbed both my hands.
"...Mei, you can't double-resist."
She didn't let go.
"Alright," I smirked. "Team Harem, let's go kick this dungeon's lewd ass."
End of Chapter 28