After Story (7)
Starting from Friday night and stretching through the entire day on Saturday, Hwayeon and Yeongeun, who hadn't seen each other in a while, poured out every ounce of the pent-up desire they had been holding back. They never left each other's side for even a moment, indulging in a wild, carnal festival of their bodies.
Although they had managed to ease some of the tension with their mouths during the verification test, it was nothing compared to the full, passionate union they were about to share—mere fireflies before the sun.
They used every drop of their phase power for Yeongeun's class ascension, but even the massive manhood they focused through their Mana Sieve was more than enough to satisfy Franc and Hwayeon. They spent the time of their lust in waves of moans and screams.
The surprising part was that Yeongeun had a masochistic streak, yet she actually preferred ordinary blowjobs and penetrations. It turned out her true taste leaned toward SM play, to the point where she enjoyed Franc teasing her ass with aphrodisiacs. Hwayeon was the type who said anything I wanted was perfectly fine.
And at every meal, the three women cooked the food themselves while chatting away. It was surprising to discover that Yeongeun's cooking skills were top-notch. Just in terms of cooking alone, she surpassed Franc and overwhelmed Hwayeon.
“Heh. It's for my man, after all. Cooking is nothing. Just read a book and learn!”
“... I should learn by reading a book too.”
Watching the spirited Yeongeun, Hwayeon burned with rivalry.
“This time's total revenue, including the distribution profits from the phase stones, comes to around 680 billion. It exceeded expectations by about 180 billion. Part of that increase came from the rare poison fetching an unexpectedly high price at auction, and the high-grade phase stones you first obtained are why overseas conglomerates are paying premium prices—they see them as the first high-tier phase stone from a Special Type mixed-ability user.
“Why would the wealthy buy those things?”
“It's symbolic. It's the first high-tier phase stone from the world's first Special Type mixed-ability user. They bought it at 1.3 times the normal high-grade price, but they expect its value to keep rising as you become more famous.
“... They think of everything.”
Hwayeon chuckled softly and ruffled my bangs as I muttered that I didn't understand.
“Souvenirs are like that. Napoleon's hat, Cleopatra's comb, Galileo's telescope—things like that.
“Are those all still around?”
“Collectors hide them away, they say.
“... I can't figure out why anyone would collect things like that, even if paintings have preservation value.
“And of the revenue from this verification, 30% will be spent. Of that, 20% goes to taxes and 10% to government and ability-user association mobilization costs and consumables.
I watched Franc and Yeongeun, who had fallen asleep in each other's arms after their bodies went limp. I laid Hwayeon down on the porcelain-like nakedness of her skin and nestled my face between her breasts, which were slightly smaller than my head, and asked,
“So does that mean around 470 billion will be in my hands?”
“Around 480 billion. And... it's still in the planning stage, but the probability of Time River and Hwarang merging is high.
“Huh? That's fine? Time River is the raid team Hwayeon founded. If they merge, won't it disappear?”
Three years of hard work by Deputy Leader Cha Soyoung, Deputy Head Sophia, Director Lee Hyeryeong, and my sister-in-law had built this company. What were they thinking, merging it?
Hwayeon smiled softly and stroked my head, which was buried in her chest, as she answered.
“Originally, I chose to found the raid team to surpass her, the woman I thought was my mother, and to receive her recognition. It took a slightly different path, but I proved I surpassed her in the ability-user world and that my raid team was superior to hers. I'm satisfied now. I've also reached an equal position with her. My purpose is achieved. And since something even more precious has appeared, there's no reason to feel regret about the company merging.
She gave me a faint smile and gently tugged my nose. Looking at her loving gaze, I wondered what that precious thing was.
“That doesn't mean I have no affection. I'll work toward merging Time River to absorb Hwarang. It gives me an advantage that you're part of Time River.
“I'll do my best to help. When you think about it... if Time River and Hwarang merge, the shortage of ability users will be filled and the scale will grow much larger. The ranking will rise too.
“The announcement on Friday already has the Ability-User Association ranking Time River as South Korea's top raid team. The world ranking will jump from 21st to 12th. But remember this: the reason for merging Time River and Hwarang is to create an environment where I can fully utilize my abilities. You being the core is most important.
“I, the core... I have to show my overwhelming power and capture the masses with strength?”
While I pondered what the core position required, Hwayeon fiddled with my ear and said,
“If the two raid teams merge, South Korea will gain a high-tier aberrant specialist raid team. The biggest reason Her Highness is pushing the integration with strong will is for you, but there's also the fact that Korea will house this high-tier aberrant specialist raid team.
“How many such teams are there in the world?”
“Very few. Only Russia and China among Asian countries, and the Western world has none except the United States, Britain, and Germany.
“Surprising. I thought Brazil, which has A-Class users, would have one.
“Brazil can't stably manage aberrants because of the dense jungles in its territory. As a result, not only security but also the economy is deteriorating, and the concentration of wealth among the rich is deepening, so the entire country is sliding into slum conditions. A high-tier aberrant specialist raid team isn't possible just because there are many strong ability users...
I listened to the explanation of why Brazil, despite having A-Class users, was falling into ruin, but since it was outside my interest, I nodded vaguely.
In other words, the merger Hwayeon spoke of meant expanding by absorbing Hwarang to increase the pool of ability users and create a stable, periodic system for hunting high-tier aberrants centered on me.
Even now, experts evaluate that my single combat power outstrips most raid teams. With proper support, high-tier aberrants can be handled.
A one-man team centered on me... What position will Hwayeon take? A raid team with two bosses and one support.
Since I showed no interest in Brazil's situation, Hwayeon stopped explaining and shifted the topic to the merger of Time River and Hwarang.
“Of course, merging isn't simple. Even a lightly planned merger with department heads takes a year to complete.
The merger sequence would be like this:
1. Deputy Heads Lee Hyeryeong and Kim Pyochung hold a signing ceremony with Hwarang's business department heads.
2. They gather at one place to reorganize organizations related to business and divide tasks.
3. Along with a meeting of Time River and Hwarang ability users, ability-user team reorganization occurs,
4. Followed by a joint meeting of ability users and staff from each raid team at year's end.
5. Formal launch of the Time River & Hwarang Raid Team under the provisional name.
6. The two separated buildings are combined.
The words were simple, but merging two well-running organizations into a 3,000-member raid team was no small matter. There would be endless noise as two places that were functioning smoothly came together.
“It seems like everything happens because of me.
Feeling a bit burdened, I frowned, and Hwayeon raised a finger and gently pressed my forehead as she spoke.
“Heh. Because you are the core point, South Korea's second and fifth raid teams are merging. You need to have a little more confidence in yourself.
Holding her legs apart like a frog and spreading them wide, I said,
“Confidence... I don't know what it means to have confidence, but I'll live as myself. I'll beat anyone who picks a fight with me while doing good things and avoiding bad ones.
With my arms firmly holding her legs so she couldn't close them in an M-shape, I looked down at Hwayeon. Her cheeks flushed slightly as she looked up at me.
Her soft breasts pressed against my body, and I bit her pink nipple with my teeth, eliciting a weak moan and writhing my hips.
“And like now, the four of us living happily in the same nest.
“... That would be nice too. Raising women and making a nest is also an expression of confidence.
With that said, Hwayeon slid her hand down and grabbed my pillar, guiding it to her already wet center.
With a single thrust, I pierced her center, making Hwayeon's head arch back in shock, and she answered,
“See?”
After spending the weekend indulging in lust while injecting TP into Yeongeun's body, on Sunday afternoon, Yeongeun lost consciousness the moment her phase power reached 3.5 million.
It wasn't a natural collapse. While passionately grinding on top of me, expressing overflowing sensuality with her entire body, without warning she suddenly collapsed with a dull thud.
When I rushed to check on Yeongeun's condition, strange symptoms began appearing on her body. Joints popped and cracked one by one, and her entire muscles twitched like earthworms under the skin, causing a physiological revulsion.
Crack. Thud. Zzzzt.
“Is this what happens when you go from C-Class to B-Class?”
“For me, it was just that my body felt a little more energetic. I didn't experience anything like my body twisting like that.
“S-Seoha. What should we do?”
Even Franc asked the same, so it seemed neither of them had heard of this phenomenon. I calmed the two of them down and used spatial perception to scan Yeongeun's body in real time with fine detail.
First, Yeongeun felt no pain at all. If her body was twisting like that, it should have been excruciating, yet she remained unconscious with her eyes closed.
And something... it felt like her body wasn't breaking but rather optimizing her skeletal structure.
“Now that I think about it... in biology research, the optimal physique is said to belong to an A-Class physical reinforcement ability user, and the virtual sample displayed there looks similar to the changes inside Yeongeun's body right now.
Franc stopped panicking and stared at Yeongeun with wonder.
“It does seem so. The bones are contracting and then expanding while absorbing surrounding phase power. Are they hardening the bones?
“The muscles seem to be becoming very tough, like synthetic artificial nerve fibers, by absorbing phase power from inside the body.
“The heart was beating roughly, circulating blood quickly, but now I see the phase power inside the body continuously decreasing.
“... Huh. The phase power keeps decreasing and isn't being replenished.
“What?! T-That's dangerous, right?!”
Even Hwayeon, after hearing the explanation, approached Yeongeun and began looking down at her with concern.
“... I need to keep injecting TP. Do you have any phase stones?
Most of the TP had already been injected into Yeongeun's body, leaving none left in mine. If I had a phase stone, I could absorb the TP inside it and give it to Yeongeun, so I asked Hwayeon for one, but she shook her head.
“I know there are a few phase stones in the underground training facility's safe, but I don't know the password to open it.
She stood up and started putting on her clothes.
“I'll go to the Time River building quickly and come back.
“You might be late! Seoha? Use the TP stored in your soul stone. TP can be charged and consumed at any time.
“... Okay.
I took out the soul stone from the pendant and extracted 300,000 TP, filling my body and injecting it directly into Yeongeun's body in the amount she was consuming.
“T-This is a new feeling... Haaah!”
Franc, who had fallen sideways limply, sent me a signal that she was fine while continuing, telling me not to worry.
Even in the midst of this, Yeongeun's phase power continued to decrease. When I went beyond the second and third times, periodically extracting TP from the soul stone, and the remaining amount in the soul stone had dropped to about half, I began to feel uneasy.
Ability users who use more phase power than they possess experience symptoms similar to excessive bleeding, leading to unconsciousness, consciousness disorders, shock, and eventually death.
What if the situation came where I had to use all the TP from Franc's soul stone? What if even after using all the TP from the soul stone, Yeongeun's body condition didn't return to normal?
Should I have sent Hwayeon to get the phase stones? Should I break the safe in the basement and take the phase stones? As I grew tense, my heart began beating faster.
During this worry, when the TP I had injected into Yeongeun's body exceeded 1.76 million, the contraction and expansion of the bones stopped, and the phenomenon of the body absorbing phase power from inside also ceased.
I saw Yeongeun's phase power inside rotating gradually faster while slowly absorbing surrounding phase power into her body, and I let out a huge sigh of relief.
“Whew... It seems it's over now.
I was truly terrified. Neither Franc nor Yeongeun could give up, so if the moment of choice had come...
Feeling my heart cool, I let out a deep sigh again, and Hwayeon looked down at Yeongeun with a stiff face and muttered,
“If Franc's soul stone hadn't existed... what would have happened...
“... There's no need to deliberately imagine a horrific outcome over something that hasn't happened. Let's stop thinking about it.
“Yeah.
Still with a calm face, I looked at Yeongeun who was sleeping peacefully, then turned to Franc, whose face was slightly flushed, and asked,
“How is Franc? Although TP has been injected, no one has taken it out, so is there anything abnormal in the body?
“When the TP was withdrawn, I felt a very... embarrassing sensation, but now I'm fine.
“Really? I'll recharge what was used today later.
“Okay.
Hwayeon, still half-dressed, approached Yeongeun and pressed various parts of her body.
“The only thing I can be sure of is that I have to wake her to know for sure, but it seems she's definitely reached B-Class. Her skeletal strength has changed.
“Yeah. The phase power inside my body is exactly 3.5 million. The movement of the phase power has also stabilized.
After that, Yeongeun slept soundly for four hours before waking. When she woke, she sat there blankly staring at us, then staggered to her feet and looked down at her own body.
“... Is this my body?
My skin looked smoother and more toned than yesterday.
Hwayeon stood beside Yeongeun with a stunned expression. In other words... from her face to the sheen on her skin, the curves of her body, the size and shape of her breasts, the fullness of her hips, the length of her limbs and their appearance.
Excluding the slight differences in muscle mass and hairstyle, it looked like she had been copied and pasted.
“Do you feel something has changed?
After a moment of examining the differences in their appearances, I asked. Yeongeun clenched her fists and took a deep breath with a pounding heart.
“My whole body feels full of strength? Hwayeon, I think I can beat that too!
Yeongeun, wearing training clothes with full confidence, challenged Hwayeon in the underground training ground, but ten minutes later she was lying on the floor in a mess, herself defeated.
“Indeed, you've reached B-Class. You look sharper and faster than before. And it seems your form has changed from agility to balance.
With a thud, Yeongeun collapsed after receiving a sharp kick to the lower abdomen.
“Ugh... My internal organs feel like they're tearing... Uek.
“That's barely any mercy. Stand up.
“W-Wait.
Yeongeun, panicking, tried to crawl backward, but Hwayeon forced her to stand up. Seeing that, she tilted her head and muttered,
“When you forcibly raise the class by injecting TP, unlike natural ascension, do you need to replenish a certain amount of TP? If going from B-Class to A-Class, how much additional TP would be required?
“Isn't it the same amount of TP as injected? Seoha injected about 1.73 million, and even after that, 1.73 million was injected.
“I guess so. Then I need to secure at least 60 million phase power...
Thud. Bang!
“Uwaak, Kyaak!”
“Your guard is sloppy. Put more strength into your lower body and endure. You are not C-Class.
“It's not as easy as it sounds, Haaah!”
Crack! Whoosh—Kwang!
“If I overcap Seoha's phase power in a high-grade phase stone, wouldn't ten be more than enough?
“Ten? High-grade phase stones are said to be completely destroyed by being thrown into special smelters, so I won't even be able to get junk phase stones. What now.
Franc looked troubled, as if the same issue was on her mind, with no good ideas.
After thirty minutes of K.O.-ing Yeongeun, Hwayeon wiped the sweat from her body with a towel and approached.
“Her Highness has reached the limit of her aptitude. I'm worried that the metamorphosis she experienced might not have occurred if she hadn't reached the limit of her aptitude. To know my own aptitude limit, I have no choice but to catch Crystal Eater or a highest-tier aberrant, but that part is worrying.
“If there were known information, it would be helpful... There won't be many cases like this besides us, so there are a lot of things to worry about.
I muttered quietly, and Franc laughed, saying it was unavoidable.
“That's the pain a seer endures. The suffering of pioneering unknown territory with no traces of anyone else.
Honors as a seer were outside my interest. If it can be done comfortably, that's best, right?
“Anyway, when I first met Hwayeon, her phase power was 11.07 million, so using that as the minimum and securing double 28.93 million should be fine. It will be tough, but if I can get the high-tier aberrant phase stone that Franc mentioned to discard, I'll try to get it. If not, I'll have to grow until I can replenish my consumption with my own recovery.
“Okay. Not all high-grade phase stones are decomposed and used in phase power development plants, so I can find them if I look. I'll look for them with Her Highness.
Yeongeun, who had been lying there for a long time without joining our conversation, finally endured the pain and began to complain in a suppressed voice.
“U... Ugh. H-Hwayeon... Shamelessly... Attacking only my weak point. It's too much...?”
Even though she was still in pain, Yeongeun looked up at Hwayeon with teary eyes while curled up. Hwayeon answered as if it was natural.
“Do you think the aberrant will show mercy and attack? It started by thinking I was an aberrant and attacking, and I said I wouldn't show mercy either.
“Ugh...
“And since Seoha has recovery, there's no need to worry about that.
Hearing Hwayeon's calm words, I approached the pained Yeongeun. Although it was low-grade, she had regeneration ability along with B-Class physical reinforcement, yet she was suffering like this. Had she received a serious injury?
Feeling a bit worried, I used spatial perception to see beyond Yeongeun's hands, who was still unable to straighten her waist and clutching her lower abdomen. It seemed the impact had caused a crack in her pelvis and tears in her uterus and vagina.
“...
I was about to tell her, but decided against it because Yeongeun would really be angry at Hwayeon. I placed my hand on the lower part of her back and applied Healing Touch. Franc awkwardly smiled and patted Yeongeun's back.
“Ugh... Whew. While active in the Phase World, I've received many wounds, but this kind of unpleasant and horrific pain is the first time I've felt it.
Only then, as the pain subsided, Yeongeun raised her upper body that had been curled up and let out a deep sigh. It seemed she had really been in pain.
“Now that you've reached B-Class, train your body steadily from now on.
“Of course. Seoha worked hard to bring me to B-Class, so I can't just slack off and eat and sleep!
With a firm resolve, she challenged Hwayeon again, but the immediate counterattack sent her flying and knocked her out— that was the after story.