Harem Online: My Party Is Full of Beautiful Celebrities-Chapter 79: Rapid Improvement

An hour later, Martin and Crimson Halo were in yet another battle.

By then, both of them had reached the dungeon’s cap of Level Five. Even so, the gap between players could still feel huge. Skill, habits, and the way a person handled pressure in PvE or PvP could change a fight just as much as levels did.

The more Martin watched Crimson Halo fight, the more he saw it. Beneath all that grace, her rhythm in battle was just as chaotic as her younger sister’s.

BANG!

Bracing his shield against three Wooden Bears far bigger than he was, Martin held the line. None of the monsters could get past him. That said, they could still come from other angles, and that was something he could not easily prevent.

Off to the side, another Wooden Bear peeled itself away from a huge trunk and charged toward Crimson Halo on all fours. Given her class, she had no way to outrun the beast. Yet Crimson Halo did not stumble back or break into a clumsy panic. She only raised her forearm, shoulders still poised, that soft smile staying on her lips as though she refused to let even a charging monster make her look inelegant.

As soon as the monster slammed its paw into the forearm she had raised to guard herself, heavy pressure crashed down on her body and turned it numb. It was a stun.

But half a second later, the beginner tome in her hand flashed with delayed light. It triggered one of her three beginner skills, Purify, stripping the stun and heaviness from her body.

The numbness vanished in a wash of pale light, and Crimson Halo drew one measured breath before sliding a foot back and resetting her posture almost at once.

Of course, it was not over. The monster pressed on and raised its other paw, striking at Crimson Halo again.

Or so it thought. Instead of taking away her Health Points, it crashed into the Shield Points granted by her skill, Barrier. A thin glow rippled over her like glass under strain, trembling but holding.

At that point, Crimson Halo had bought herself enough time. From the other side, Martin’s roar rang out.

"TAUNT!"

It hit the fourth Wooden Bear like a lash of lightning, forcing it to take its eyes off Crimson Halo and charge toward him.

He had already angled himself to catch all four monsters on his shield without leaving her exposed. Crimson Halo slipped behind him without wasting the opening. This time she did not hesitate or drift too far. She took the space his shield created for her almost at once, her eyes moving past his shoulder and into the forest with far more discipline than before.

She learns so fast. It’s only been an hour, and she’s already moving like an experienced player.

Martin had every reason to be impressed. At the start, Crimson Halo had not even realized the beginner tome in her inventory was something she was supposed to equip and use. When he had pointed it out, he had simply looked at her with deadpan silence while she kept that noble smile on her face and absorbed the blow to her pride. Maybe that was part of why she was improving so quickly now.

She did not crowd his back this time either. She stayed just far enough to keep a clean line of sight, then cast her heal the moment his shield took the heaviest impact.

"Better," Martin said at once. "Do it like that again."

As if to prove him right, Crimson Halo cast a heal on him.

Martin smiled.

The praise was brief, almost plain, yet Crimson Halo felt it more than she expected. She kept her smile soft and composed, refusing to show how pleasing it was to earn something from him rather than receive it automatically.

Yeah, she’s a great player. I hope I didn’t go too hard on her. Hopefully she won’t complain too much about me to Chaos.

Martin smiled before he even noticed. Around Crimson Halo, his guard kept dropping in stupid little ways like that.

Maybe it was because she was Chaos’s older sister. Maybe not. Either way, he never felt much urge to hide anything. He talked to her the same way he talked to his party, rough edge and all, and honesty kept coming out before he could bother stopping it.

It was not because she was beautiful.

It was because she was a healer.

Whenever Martin glanced at Crimson Halo, his mother’s old line about healers with wide hips drifted back into his head. He still did not fully understand it, but trying to hide things around her felt weirdly pointless.

Did it matter? Of course not.

Crimson Halo’s eyes lingered on him for a moment longer than they should have. They tracked not only his face, but the way he held the line, the way he corrected danger without fuss, and the way his attention snapped to every mistake without ever turning showy.

She was no longer only reading the battle. She was reading him.

I still have not seen even a hint of his real personality. He plays the part of an ordinary office worker who picked up this game simply to unwind far too well. I cannot say I am impressed. I am genuinely astounded. It seems there is quite a lot for me to learn as well.

"Let’s take a break," Martin said.

Crimson Halo nodded. "Indeed. It’s a good time for a break."

The monsters kept pouring in without pause, so they left the dungeon. Cool light from the Light Tree washed over them the moment they returned, carrying a brief sense of calm after the forest’s pressure. Martin noticed that Crimson Halo’s attention had not left him, not even after the danger was gone.

It lasted only a second. A certain player was already watching them.

He approached them, his eyes fixed on Martin.

"Emperoar," he said. "Fight me."

[Thorn’Shield Lv. 5]

The challenge had finally appeared before him.