Villain Simulator-Chapter 97: Temptation

Ba-dump!

Ba-dump!

Rachael’s heart started beating frantically as she felt something wild and Chaotic triggered in her veins by something that was in this bag.

Her expression changed to one of shock and bewilderment.

Noticing this, Adrian asked quickly.

"Something wrong, Rachael?"

"N-no, just... What’s inside this bag?"

She asked inquisitively, her expression filled with bewilderment. However, despite her shock, Adrian responded in a casual manner, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.

"Oh, nothing much, just some things to use and experiment in the Dungeon."

Even though he understood the reason behind her behavior, he chose to feign ignorance.

"Though they could be dangerous, don’t touch them carelessly."

By issuing her a warning once, he fulfilled the necessary formalities. Then, without allowing her much time to process the information, he pulled her into the Dungeon.

"Oka—whoah~!"

[You have entered a Dungeon suitable for level 14~20]

[Breakout: 16%]

....

There were many types of Dungeon Cracks.

Some allowed the real parts of Nexus World to descend, while some were similar to Chaos Anomaly, transforming parts of the Earth into dungeons. There were various other types as well.

The one in which Adrian’s team entered today was another commonly found type of Dungeon.

[Real-world imitation]

Entering the Dungeon, what appeared in front of them this time was not a forest but a destroyed underground subway station.

Naturally, this wasn’t a real subway station but rather the Dungeon’s counterfeit version of one.

In this foreign place, Rachael walked cautiously, her hand firmly held by Adrian.

As they entered the subway, an unpleasant, humid odor filled the air, causing Rachael to instinctively wrinkle her nose.

Unfortunately, before she could react by covering her nose...

"It’s an archer."

Updat𝓮d fr𝙤m ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com.

Adrian spoke abruptly, pulling Rachael closer to him.

"Whops!"

Swoosh-!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

It was only when a barrage of arrows, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, narrowly missed the spot where Rachael had been standing that she became aware of their presence.

Just looking at them and imagining her fate had Adrian not pulled her, a shiver ran down Rachael’s spine, and she couldn’t help but let out a frightened scream.

"Ahhhh!!!"

Instinctively, she sought refuge in Adrian’s arms, who caught her and offered soothing words while gently rubbing her back.

"Don’t worry. As long as I am here, nothing can hurt you."

With Rachael safely in his arms, Adrian raised his hand, forming a finger gun, and muttered to himself.

"Some trash needs to be cleaned here."

[Magic Bullet]

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

He swiftly fired three shots in succession at three different locations, causing three goblin bodies to fall to the ground with large holes in their chests.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

"Seems like these goblins are already adapted to the subway station."

"Indeed, Master."

Briefly conversing with Charlotte, Adrian turned his attention back to the trembling girl in his arms, who watched all the events unfold from her peripheral vision.

Realizing that the immediate danger had passed, Rachael quickly regained her composure, gently extricated herself from Adrian’s embrace, and stood beside Charlotte.

Looking at her tenderly, Adrian asked with concern.

"You alright?"

"B-better now. Huff~!"

Rachael took a deep breath, and Adrian nodded, once again shifting back to his serious self.

"Good, and you don’t have to worry about these bugs. Even if an army of them came, they wouldn’t be able to bypass me and harm you. Besides, Charlotte is stronger than me. So stay assured here, okay?"

"Yes."

Upon hearing Adrian’s reassurance that he wouldn’t let harm come to her, Rachael’s face flushed with happiness.

She nodded slowly and moved closer to Charlotte.

Nonetheless, it was not long later that her attention was once again drawn to the bag in her hand.

But before she could contemplate what to do with it or inquire further about its contents, Adrian spoke, as if he saw her concerns for the bag.

"Oh, if the bag’s too heavy and you’re having trouble carrying it, give it to Charlotte."

His words were all about caring for Rachael, but they subtly made her assume that if she couldn’t carry the bag, it was because it was heavy for her and Charlotte was better than her in it.

Using reverse psychology, Adrian effortlessly countered the idea Rachael might be having inside her head of giving up the bag.

’It’s just a bag. I can at least hold it. I can’t stand here uselessly and be a burden to him. He only brought me here for my own sake.’

Without realizing it, Rachael was led to think in such a way, and in the end, despite her strange feelings about the bag, she didn’t give it to Charlotte.

"No, no, it’s alright. It’s very light. I can carry it with ease."

"If you say so, just handle it with care."

"Yes."

Following their little chat, they once again moved inside the Dungeon.

"Kheek."

"Khek, khek."

Soon, multiple goblins, who were on high alert, jumped out of nowhere and blocked their path.

Rachael shivered instinctively and hid behind Charlotte.

While ignoring her, Adrian moved and slowly approached the goblins as they too rushed towards him.

"Kheeeek khek."

"Kiieek."

But the moment two goblins at the front came close to him, Adrian’s fist moved like lightning, and he punched the two guys on the bridge of their noses.

Bang! Bang!

Since he adjusted his strength, they merely had their bodies fly back like rockets as they lost their lives.

[You have killed two goblins.]

[You have leveled up.]

"There is more trash than I thought, and it’s really repulsive."

He spoke arrogantly with pride, as if looking down at goblins from a very high place.

It was the oppressive attitude of a Noble who was also the head of the Great Vaiself family of the Nexus World and the heir to a similar one on Earth.

"But it doesn’t matter. Sometimes we have to clean the trash ourselves."

"Kheek... khik."

"KHEEEK!!!"

The other shocked goblins also came to their senses.

Filled with anger, some rushed towards him with their knives and spears, while others tried to shoot him down with arrows.

Swoosh-!

Swoosh-!

Swoosh-!

However, Adrian gracefully and effortlessly dodged the knives and arrows of the angry goblins.

Then he raised his fist and once again repeated that simple action.

Punch!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Wow!"

Even the inexperienced Rachael couldn’t help but marvel at the sight.

She could feel it.

There were no frills in his actions.

It was just a feeling to her, but she could tell that there was no attack he could not avoid. As if he were completely devoid of any worries.

Looking at him, Rachael’s body subconsciously stopped trembling.

In that moment, it didn’t matter to her that Charlotte was stronger than Adrian.

For her, the only person who mattered was Adrian.

His upright neck, a shoulder that didn’t shrink in the slightest, and a wide, strong back that could support the world filled her with confidence.

’Let’s think positively. There’s nothing good about being nervous because of some monsters with him here.’

She thought so and calmed down.

The goblins there ended, and their journey inside the Dungeon became easier.

Nevertheless, no matter how much Rachael calmed down, she couldn’t stop her heart from beating erratically.

Because of Adrian and Charlotte’s presence, although she wasn’t afraid, as time passed, her expressions couldn’t help but become distorted.

Rachael understood that it wasn’t because of the monsters but because of the bag in her hand that she was feeling this.

’What the hell is in it? Why am I feeling so strange? Should I ask Adrian? No, he’s busy dealing with goblins. But I want to see inside.’

No matter how many times she looked at the bag, she felt a strange attraction toward it.

She felt tempted to open and take a look, but Adrian’s warning always stopped her.

Eventually, she could only act to not care, grit her teeth, and move on.

Not realizing how her grip on the bag had tightened considerably.

....

Humans were creatures of land but were made up of more than 60% water.

They could not survive in water, but they also could not stay away from it either. They are naturally drawn to it in one way or another.

It was more so in its absence.

Such as how, standing on a sandy desert shore under the scorching sun, the attraction of humans for water would surge indescribably.

Even if they had the bare minimum of water to survive, a human would still crave more.

But what if, in that moment, the human heard the sound of a waterfall?

Naturally, he would be attracted to it.

His attraction and desire for water would turn to temptation, growing to an indescribable craving and addiction as time flew by.

Eventually, even if he knew that there was a catch or even if someone told him that it was dangerous to go there, he would still go there.

’Humans are curious creatures after all.’

The same was the case for Rachael, who was, in a similar manner, tempted towards the bag.

Of course, since she hadn’t completely awakened yet, she could barely control her desire to some extent, but with each passing moment, it was becoming unbearable for her to control it anymore.

She needed just a trigger—a chance to satisfy her curiosity and craving—to let her give in to that temptation.

Unsurprisingly, the wait wasn’t long because that chance came earlier than expected, as Adrian ordered.

"Now only the boss monster is left. So before we defeat him, Charlotte, you go check for the Monster Cores of the Goblins we killed earlier while I check around here. Rachael, sit here and rest. You must be tired."

Following his orders, Charlotte rushed towards the entrance while Adrian roamed closely to Rachael, who sat on a bench, while he ripped the goblin with his sword to check for a monster core.

His back was facing Rachael, and Charlotte was not in sight.

Rachael’s heart beat quickened as she sat alone.

Her focus couldn’t help but be on the bag once again.

Gulp!

She subconsciously swallowed her dry saliva.

’Maybe just a look? A look wouldn’t kill, right?’

Finally, she couldn’t resist any longer and opened the bag, giving in to the temptation—not realizing that the outcome of such temptations was often not good.

Blissfully unaware, she secretly took a look inside, and the thing that had been calling out to her appeared in front of her eyes.

’Cube?’

It was a Rubix cube.

But the moment Rachael took a look at it—that one simple peek was enough to entrap Rachael, who was still, for the most part, a human.

Ba-dump!

Ba-dump!

Her heart pounded in her chest even more loudly, and in an instant, she was captivated, almost as if in a trance.

Without conscious thought, her hand moved. She reached out and picked up the cube, when all of a sudden...

Zing~!!!

"—AHHHHHHH!!!"

"RACHAEL--!!!!"

BOOOOM!!!!