The group that's been watching Nine all this time is the same group that tried to scam Nine a few months ago, by framing Nine with sexual assault.
The leader of this group knew what the tiny box in Nine's waist was. This box is an artifact that can create all types of paper that Nine has used before.
When Nine started his study in the library, he had forgotten to bring a pen and paper and it was this artifact that allowed him to start learning. When Nine brought this back then, he had to pay 3 gold coins for it.
And when this group took his quest to take all his gold coins, the leader tried to use this artifact. Nine, being kind, let him use it and told him that he needed to put Mana on it to make it start.
"I remember that thing. When I made use of it, it brought a painful stinging all over my body." Hearing his words, the human woman of the group said:
"Want me to appraise it?" Pointing at Nine sending mana to it. The leader who wanted to know about it, nodded. Without wasting any time, the human lady then used her skill on the artifact.
[Skill: Item appraisal.
Item Name: School Learning Item Box.
Description: An item that contains five slots. Each slot can be stored with a school item. Each item will gain its own ability.
Each time you use this artifact, you'll feel great pain, as if your skin is being used to activate the skill within it.
School item Slots:
Slot 1: Paper creation — This slot allows you to create any paper that you have used before. Skill associated: PAPER CREATION.
Slot 2: Infinite ink pen — A pen that will never run out of ink and can never be broken. Skill associated: IMPRINT — allows you to imprint anything you want to the paper you created.
Slot 3: Empty. Slot 4: Empty. Slot 5: Empty ]
Looking at the details of the appraised item, the leader understands what he felt back then. "That explains why it hurt so much back then."
---
Putting mana into the artifact, Nine looked at the weakened Hill Slime before him and smiled.
"You should be weak enough in that state of yours!" Nine said to the slime.
With enough mana placed into the artifact, Nine activated the first slot's associated skill of the artifact creating tens of 1/4 paper, summoning the pen within the tiny box, Nine raised it towards the sky, and used the second associated skill: [Imprint].
Nine using the skill, imprinted the rune character of the [Rune of explosion] within them. Although Nine felt a great amount of pain using the artifact skills, he didn't mind it, after all, this would mean nothing if he could kill the Hill Slime before him.
"No way! Are those!? Rune of explosion?" The Elf lady said, looking at the mana-infused characters on the 1/4 paper flying in the air.
The Elf lady watching Nine raised his middle and index fingers towards the sky, realizing that this was his activation command to the runes.
As the floating papers with the rune character attached themselves to the weakened Hill Slime, the Elf lady began to move. With a smile on Nine's face, he made the rune go off, creating a large explosion that echoed within the forest.
"What!!!" The group screamed as they saw the sudden explosion before them. Opening their eyes, they found themselves protected by a barrier from the Elf lady's skill.
While Nine was still in the open area created by the explosion to attack Hill Slime, standing still in front of a crater, with his clothes worn off by the explosion.
[Level up] [Level up]
Two notifications appeared before Nine, after killing the Hill Slime. "Ouch!" He whispered, feeling the pain from the explosion he had made.
Looking at the center of the crater before him, he smiled. The Hill Slime core was in there. Moving towards it, he picked it up and raised it to the sky.
"What the hell is this quality?" Nine said, looking at the pearl-like slime core in his hand. Ignoring this, he placed it in the other slime core in his bracelet, then suddenly.
[You have obtained a new Title.]
"What!?" Before Nine could make another word, multiple windows appeared.
[You have successfully stripped the life of more than 100 slimes without taking any damage from them.
You have successfully obtained the title: Stripped.]
[Title: Stripped.
Allow you to use the command: strip.]
As Nine read the system window before him, the group slowly made their way to Nine.
At first, their plan in chasing after him was to scare him off by making him trip over mid-fight, using the spell: [Trip].
Then help him in the last second to have Nine feel indebted to them, in a sense, to bring back the pride they lost when they were beaten by Nine a few months ago.
Now, seeing everything that happened before them, this plan of theirs is off the table. Right now, they are moving towards Nine to heal him up with their skill.
As Nine was distracted with the window before him, the leader of the group tapped his shoulder and said: "Hey, are you good? We're here to heal you."
Nine, still not realizing that he was being touched by another person, activated the new command he got from his Title and said: "Strip."
The moment he said the command, both he and the leader's clothes were stripped away from their bodies. Making the two, go naked before the four women before them.
The leader seeing his clothes flying in the air, screamed: "Aaaah!!!" Embarrassed by being naked in the open area.
Looking towards them, Nine finally noticed them and said: "The scammer group?" Recalling how this is the very same group he had to deal with back then.
"Wait! Why do you still have underpants?" The leader said, pointing at Nine's lower body, which was covered by striped design underpants.
Hearing the question, Nine answered: "Oh, these underpants of mine have a rune on them."
The night after Nine obtained the Rune spell, he used the [Rune of effects] on all ten of his underpants and obtained the rune called:
[Attached], a rune that literally makes his underpants attached to his body like it's his skin, that can only be taken off if someone, or he, pulls them down.
There, before the five women of the group, Nine stood still with his underpants while the leader of the group hurried up to put his clothes back on.
*****
End of chapter 23