I Was Scammed...(2)

The entity finally spoke, but its answer was even more absurd than I’d feared. “What the hell is the problem? I brought you back from the brink of death, so you should be thanking me instead! I fulfilled my end of the contract exactly as promised.”

“……”

I was speechless. Transforming an ordinary person into this and then acting like it had done me a favor? The sheer audacity left me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠unable to form a reply. Sensing my stunned silence, the creature grew even more smug, staring at me with open confidence. Anger flared hotter. I shook its body violently—only to catch sight of something in the corner of my vision.

The place where I had regained consciousness held a massive white cocoon. A small tear at its center suggested I had been inside until moments ago. The suspicious liquid seeping from the gap confirmed my suspicion. The cocoon was smooth and glossy, like a butterfly’s chrysalis. I dropped the creature without a second thought and walked toward it. Each step made a faint, sticky sound against the floor, but my attention was fixed on the cocoon.

As expected, the intact sections still held a proper shape. Its reflective surface mirrored the surroundings like a mirror. “Ah……”

One look at my reflection and a deep sigh escaped me. I had sensed the change the moment I noticed my altered body, yet seeing it directly hit with an entirely different weight. My features were completely different. The rough, heavy lines of my old face had softened into delicate, slender contours. My nose was smaller and straighter. Even a pair of cherry-like lips had appeared. My once-sharp eyes remained, but thicker lashes and longer corners made them unmistakably feminine. My body had shrunk dramatically, and what should have been hair now hung to my waist as a long, liquid mass.

The rugged man with sharp eyes was gone. In his place stood only a cute slime girl with a somewhat prim expression.

How had things come to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this? It felt unreal. I would have preferred someone telling me this was all a terrible nightmare. But the alien sensations still coursing through me and the creature sprawled in the corner staring back proved otherwise.

Most ordinary people would have lost their minds facing this. A regular civilian waking up as a monster—and with their gender flipped on top of it? Staying sane would have been the strange part. Yet I remained relatively composed. Years of hardship had toughened my mind, and the accumulated hatred toward people had exploded after the recent betrayal. Thanks to that, I managed to steady myself enough to confront the source of this nightmare.

“Fine. I’ll admit I’m grateful you saved what was basically a half-corpse. But you said you’d give me power. If I’d known I’d turn into this monster, I never would have accepted that half-baked contract! This isn’t living—it’s just existing! And why the hell did you change my gender?!”

I pointed at my small, ash-colored body and shouted. Turning a healthy person into the weakest kind of magical beast was bad enough, but erasing my “other half” without even using it once? That part needed to be addressed, if only for the sake of justice.

Once I regained my calm, I spoke in an icy tone. The creature answered as if it had been waiting for the question.

“Ah~ You mean that part? I suppose from your perspective it might seem that way. Still, instead of me explaining everything, it’ll be faster if you see it yourself! All the information about you should be recorded ‘there.’”

It emphasized a single word while watching me. At first I didn’t understand, but after a moment the meaning clicked. The unidentified power that had granted wealth and fame to some while bringing despair to others—an ability whose true nature remained unknown even years after the disaster. I had almost forgotten it existed; as a mere porter, the skill had been nothing but decoration anyway.

Every human alive possessed it equally, yet its contents were anything but fair. I quietly spoke its name.

“…Status Window.”

A translucent blue panel floated before my eyes. Just as I expected, it displayed my completely rewritten information. There was far more than one or two things that needed addressing.

My level remained at the default 10, unchanged like before. Everything else, however, had shifted. The name and age fields were garbled beyond recognition. Gender now read “Female” instead of “Male,” as if the system had confirmed the kill. Race had changed from Human to Slime, and Attribute had flipped from Neutral to Demonic. The main stats were also different. Strength, Defense, and Agility—the stats every normal person should have—were nowhere to be found. In their place sat unfamiliar values and mage-oriented traits.

The final blow came from the Title and Ability fields, which had been empty before. Now they brimmed with dizzying words that radiated overwhelming presence even among the crowded text. The phrases looked like something a grade-schooler had scribbled as a joke. The problem was that this joke was now my reality.

I must have gone deathly pale. I couldn’t see my own face, but it had to be white as paper—assuming a slime even had skin to pale.

The creature smiled innocently at my shock and horror.

“How about it? That’s the power I gave you! Abilities far beyond anything a weak human could compare to! And just like I promised in the contract, I made you a true hero of justice. A magical girl who saves the innocent! If that isn’t a hero, what is?”

Its voice carried not a trace of deceit. The confidence was so absolute that anyone unaware of the situation might have believed it.

“That’s why your body had to change too! A great and respected magical girl looking like some scary middle-aged man… that would’ve been weird, right? Hehe;;”

After its self-serving explanation, it finished with a solo attempt at justification. My blank expression gradually hardened into something cold and emotionless. My body moved before my mind caught up. Like a predator closing in on prey, I approached slowly, grabbed the creature with one hand, and slammed it against the cave wall.

“Kuek!”

Caught off guard, it let out a bizarre yelp as its movements were sealed in an instant. My eyes, fixed on it, burned with a mixture of icy fury and reason. I had no intention of letting this bizarre being string me along ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with word games any longer.

Regardless of the process, only the result remained before me. If anyone knew how to resolve this reality, it was the root cause itself.

“Enough with the ridiculous jokes. In this body, I can’t even leave the dungeon. I don’t know how you brought me back looking like this, but why ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠don’t you drop the act and tell me your real goal?”

I shot the words at it with a freezing smile. Stop the nonsense and state your true purpose. That was the core of everything I’d said.

Unlike before, my question was backed by clear reason. The creature stared into my eyes for a long moment. Our gazes clashed in the empty air. Then, as I held its gaze, a shiver ran through me. Its eyes were like a vast abyss. The small knot-hole-like orbs were alien in themselves and held a darkness so deep it seemed bottomless.

“Hee… You’re surprisingly strong-willed. Honestly, I thought you’d be panicking for a while. Well, accepting reality quickly is better for me anyway.”

When it spoke again, its entire atmosphere had changed. The chilling shift made my eyes widen. It felt like discovering a hidden side of someone previously masked.