Chapter 287

Here is the English translation of the novel while adhering to the provided glossary:

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### Episode 287

Delphi, To Delphi #2

Daphne’s scream left my ears ringing.

Lately, I had forgotten, but it reminded me that Daphne was, by nature, a peculiar person—quick to anger and loud in voice.

Somewhere, I had heard it said that one of Daphne’s ancestors had nymph bl**d flowing through them, which was why her emotions ran so intensely.

Well, if nymph bl**d was mixed in, I suppose it made sense—sudden outbursts, wild delusions, and all that.

“Wh-what in the world is going on?!”

Still, Daphne seemed way too worked up. If this continued, everyone in the guild might start staring at me.

In fact, I could already see the armored guards nearby gripping their weapons, wondering what the commotion was.

I didn’t want to cause trouble before leaving for Delphi. So, while thinking of how to calm Daphne down, I pulled out a small, round object wrapped in paper from my pocket.

“Here, have this and settle down.”

“Wh-what is this round thing?! What are you trying to do by giving me this?!”

“It’s candy.”

“Ah, candy—”

At the word “candy,” Daphne accepted the round orb with surprising calmness. After carefully unwrapping it and popping it into her mouth, she finally quieted down.

It was candy I carried around for when Paranoi got noisy—who knew it’d come in handy like this? Then again, even with diluted bl**d, a nymph was still a nymph if candy could silence them.

In a much quieter voice, Daphne spoke.

“Multiple new blessings have been added! ‘Armor of Night,’ ‘Dark Eyes,’ ‘Scorched Skin’—what even are these?! According to records, the last person to receive this many blessings at once was Perseus!”

“Ah, is that so?”

Well, in this world, even a single blessing was enough to ensure you’d never starve.

And since blessings themselves placed a strain on the body, it was said that handling more than one was impossible.

The witch Nemea once said that those who held multiple blessings were either legendary heroes… or playthings of the gods.

Back then, I didn’t understand, but now I think I might be the latter. Given how these absurd beings kept approaching me, there couldn’t be a more fitting description. It’s become familiar by now.

But to Daphne, this was apparently shocking.

Not just her—the surrounding people muttered among themselves.

“He received multiple blessings alone?”

“In this age of silence, where the gods have gone quiet—?”

“What is this? How does one even receive blessings?”

Their bewildered voices rang vividly in my ears. Ah, now I understood why Daphne had been so stunned.

“And your strength stat has reached 15! Normally, stats should rise evenly—how is this possible?! What kind of training did you do?!”

“Well—”

Strength stat of 15? Seriously, is that even possible?

I thought 14 was the max! Even Hippolyte and Actaeon’s strength stats had been stuck at 14 for years!

And this weird-looking barbarian broke that limit?!

Murmur, murmur.

The crowd around me surged like waves.

Maybe now was the perfect time to shout about my predicament? But unlike my imagination, faced with the actual situation, all I wanted was to escape.

“What in the world did you do? It can’t be anything ordinary! What happened in those few days?!”

“Well… I don’t really know either. I’ve just been doing some volunteer work lately.”

So I brushed it off vaguely.

If I shouted Long live chaos!, strange letters would appear; if I gave massages or did special tasks, achievement stats would rise, and Luna’s totems could convert them into levels—no one would believe that.

And even if they did, it’d be a problem.

Some might try to dissect me and Luna to uncover this bizarre secret.

“Volunteer work… so you performed selfless acts?”

“Yeah, sure.”

At my answer, Daphne scribbled selfless acts into her notebook. She was originally the type to ask others for leveling secrets to train newcomers.

Volunteer work?

Selfless acts? Could karma rise from that?

Now that I think about it, I’ve heard of people doing good deeds to refine their spirit.

Does strengthening the mind also strengthen the body?

When I turned my head, the murmuring crowd stopped, then hurriedly scattered.

They seemed to believe I grew stronger through selfless service. Would this cold, bizarre city of Sodomora warm up a little starting tomorrow?

“What a racket. So it was you, Samaritan.”

Then, someone spoke from behind me. There was only one woman who could appear at my back without making a sound.

“Ah, Hippolyte.”

“I heard your strength stat surpassed 15.”

“Well—”

While I hesitated, Daphne slid the scroll with my stats toward Hippolyte. Her brow furrowed slightly as she examined it.

“Incredibly bizarre. But then again, you’ve shown plenty of strange things already, so it’s not surprising. Still, breaking 15 is impressive. Mind if I test your strength?”

She extended her palm as if for a handshake.

“Grip my hand as hard as you can. I want to feel the strength of 15 firsthand.”

Reluctantly, I took her hand. Unlike Antiope, whose palms were rough with calluses, Hippolyte’s were surprisingly smooth.

Who’d believe these hands belonged to a mighty warrior?

Crack—

But the force that suddenly crushed my hand felt like the bite of a crocodile. I couldn’t help but scream.

“GYAAAH—!”

What the hell?! It hurt so much I nearly teared up. My bones felt like they were turning to dust.

“Fight back with your own strength. Otherwise, you’ll just break.”

“Tch—!”

So I had no choice but to resist. I clenched back with all my might—and something unbelievable happened.

“Gh—! Tch—!”

Hippolyte, who had been pressing down on me with overwhelming force, suddenly clicked her tongue in pain.

Me? Overpowering Hippolyte with strength?

Is this real?

Shockingly, it was.

I made Hippolyte’s brow furrow! That meant I made her angry—no, it meant I manipulated her emotions and dominated her, right?

I can control others’ emotions!

Just as I reveled in that thought, my vision swayed, and the next moment, I was rolling on the ground. Hippolyte’s greave pressed down on my neck, pinning me like a rock on Sun Wukong.

“Ghk—!”

Huh? Wasn’t I winning just a second ago? Now I was being subdued like a rioter.

“Ah, my bad. I used a technique without thinking. Being overpowered in strength—I panicked since that shouldn’t happen.”

Hippolyte herself seemed flustered as she helped me up.

So I still couldn’t beat her, huh?

But for a moment, didn’t it seem like I pushed her back? Hippolyte, frowning from being overpowered—I’ve never seen that before.

To the Nymph Relief Foundation! They’re recruiting volunteers! Let’s perform good deeds and receive the gods’ blessings!

The reactions around us varied. As I dusted myself off, Hippolyte examined her palm and spoke.

“That was incredible strength. It reminds me of a Samaritan I met long ago.”

“The woman with the club?”

“Yes. She must’ve had a strength stat of 15 too. Samaritan strength is truly something else.”

I imagined the Samaritan woman who had given Hippolyte her first defeat. If she was strong, she must’ve looked like a gorilla.

As my imagination ran wild, Hippolyte spoke again.

“You’re here to leave for Delphi, right? Is there room on the carriage for one more?”

“You’re leaving the city too?”

“Yes. After destroying the dungeon Entrance of Fall, I learned something new—why the goddess Ceres was enraged. I must report it to the high mountain, Hypos.”

I see.

So the last seat goes to Hippolyte. But I wondered—was it alright for a Gold Tier adventurer like her to leave the city?

A Gold Tier’s presence alone boosted the city’s defenses, the morale of soldiers and adventurers, and the peace of mind of its residents.

As if reading my thoughts, Hippolyte said:

“Actaeon, Antiope, and Vice Vein are still here. Even if I’m gone for a month, nothing major will happen.”

“I see.”

“We leave tomorrow morning?”

“Most likely.”

“Who’s in the party?”

I briefly explained the members. After listening, Hippolyte slowly nodded, her slender eyes narrowing.

“It’s going to be a noisy journey.”

“Aaah, Sir Hassan—! The sea, the sea is in sight—! We’ve finally arrived at Delphi—! What a long, long journey it’s been—!”

Paranoi shrieked loudly.

She must’ve been looking through the carriage’s makeshift window. Her crimson eyes reflected the shimmering blue waters.

The vast waterway roared with crashing waves—so blue it was hard to tell where the sky ended and the water began.

But Paranoi was wrong.

“Nymph of the Hearth, that’s not the sea. It’s the Menos River near Sodomora. And we haven’t even been traveling for a full day yet. There’s still a long way to go.”

Hippolyte, who had been dozing quietly, answered in her stead. Paranoi’s face stiffened in shock.

“Th-then what was my month-long journey about…? I definitely traveled for a month…! We stopped at Toran Village, met the sea nymphs…!”

“Paranoi, quiet!”

Luna’s sharp reprimand silenced her.

For me, sitting right next to her, it was a relief. We hadn’t even been gone a day, and I already wanted to turn back.

“But… it really felt like a month-long journey…”

Still, seeing Paranoi so dejected was a little sad.

I spoke up.

“You were dreaming. You dozed off for a few hours earlier.”

“So… all of that was a dream…?”

“Yeah, a long dream. It seemed like a good one, so I didn’t wake you. Not like there’s much else to do in the carriage.”

“Then… Toli, the Sisters of Oceanus… they were all just dreams…?”

I didn’t understand what she was saying, but Paranoi had been spouting nonsense since waking up. She must’ve confused dreams with reality.

“Yeah, just a dream.”

“But it felt so real…! Fighting those horrific monsters, Sir Hassan playing with beautiful women—all just a dream…?”

What kind of dream was that?

Curious, I was about to ask what exactly she dreamed when Luna, who had been whittling wood with her dagger, spoke.

“Maybe it was a prophetic dream! The God of Light favors nymphs—sometimes, He slips prophecies into their dreams. So, what did you dream?”

“Ah—? But I forgot most of it… Guess it really was just a dream…!”

See? I knew listening to Paranoi was a mistake.

In reality, only Luna and I reacted to her rambling. Hippolyte and Elpride sat with their arms crossed, dozing lightly.

Sleeping amid the carriage’s rattling, the nymph’s chatter—were their nerves that thick? Truly veteran adventurers.

I turned away from Paranoi and looked out the carriage’s window. The majestic river flowed gracefully.

Who’d have thought I’d have the leisure to admire scenery? The past, busy with arson cases and other troubles, now felt like ancient history.

Now begins the long journey.

Delphi—I’d been meaning to go for so long, but things kept delaying me.

The man in white robes, Jupiter, had prepared a gift for me and told me to go to Delphi.

What could be waiting there?

Will Antiope remember to feed Keng Keng while I’m gone?

More importantly, why was everyone so eager to go to Delphi?

It’s silly, but my heart races a little.

Lost in thought, I gazed at the Menos River. Just as I was feeling sentimental, Paranoi suddenly shouted:

“Ah—! In the dream, I saw another Samaritan in a vast field…!”

[Author’s Note]

Over 200 episodes in Sodomora, so many events… Finally, Hassan leaves the city to travel…!!! I’m going on a journey I can’t even take… Kinda jealous…!*

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This translation strictly follows the provided glossary for character and term consistency while maintaining natural English flow. Let me know if you’d like any refinements!

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