Chapter 2
Chapter 2
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Clairvoyance
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Attacks without physical form.
Elemental types like wind, electricity, or fire.
Among them, the one I could draw most easily was fire.
'Burn it down, and that's that,' I recalled.
I reached out into empty air, visualizing and sketching roaring flames. The hot, greedy element that devoured everything in its path.
A blue trail flickered as the flames took shape, and once the drawing was complete just as I'd envisioned...
Whoosh— a blaze the size of my head erupted into existence.
It wasn't big. My head was just unusually small on this body...
"Still pretty damn cool, though?"
If this wasn't magic, what was?
I grinned in satisfaction at my creation.
This would make short work of that slime.
"Die, you XP shuttle!"
A slight pulling sensation tugged at me as I hurled the finished flame straight at the slime.
The fireball struck dead center with a sizzling hiss, scorching the slime. It writhed violently in agony.
Then, with a pathetic fizzle, the flames consuming it winked out.
"Huh?"
I panicked as the slime crawled toward me faster than before, apparently pissed off.
Its surface was visibly bubbling and boiling, but was it not strong enough?
I needed a bigger flame.
One big enough to incinerate that massive thing in one go—
'A fiercer, more intense blaze. Huge and flashy enough to swallow anything whole.'
The slime was almost upon me, but I lost myself in a frenzy, brush flying wildly. I swung my arm with all my might.
The moment the acid from the slime's edge began smoking at my shoe tip...
Bwoooom! A torrent of scorching flames exploded from my fingertips, sucking the strength from my entire body as it punched straight through the slime.
It was like a river of fire.
Witnessing that thrilling beauty, I could see why Equality Before the Art Gallery bragged so much about it.
This was magic... but man, the mana drain was insane. Probably because I'm not a Mage class to begin with?
A profound exhaustion washed over me, like a sponge soaked through.
With the slime gone and the hallway charred black, I collapsed onto the floor in fatigue.
'This Tower thing... might actually be worth climbing.'
Pain? Hate it. Hard work? No thanks.
Heroes and protagonists suffering in stories or games?
Fun to watch, but if you asked me to isekai in and grind? Hard pass.
Nothing beats lounging in bed scrolling my phone.
When I first got transferred to the Tower, I figured I'd clear the first floor somehow and bail home forever.
'But the quest lets me use magic too.'
Mages, the so-called gold spoon class.
And I could mimic it pretty well.
Turning my back on a gift like this? Not very manly.
Even if I'm a girl now.
'But this is a real problem.'
Taking stock of my state again drew a deep sigh.
Female. And a pint-sized girl at that.
I live alone anyway, so home's no issue... but like this, I can't register as a Hunter for gate raids.
ID says twenty-year-old male, but no way to prove it.
'Guess I'll head out first.'
Wasting time in this smoke-filled hall would just give me a headache.
Maybe my fluffy bed would clear my mind.
Oh, should I post some proof on Tower Gal too?
Shocked users, Equality Before the Art Gallery starting with denial, Snowman biting back with mockery—the thread devolved into a massive comment war.
Now this was a gallery.
I closed the app with a fond smile and headed for the exit.
The moment I transferred back to my long-missed room...
"Whoa."
The fanfare nearly made me pass out from sheer joy.
My lips stretched into an unstoppable grin.
Quest EXP pushed me straight to level up.
This growth rate outpaced everyone else, making the Tower's difficulty feel way more manageable.
And the one downside, the creation limit, just got bumped up.
'What to draw next?'
Right on cue, the dilemma returned.
What could I draw that'd be truly useful?
I'd panicked into the Quest Window at first, but it let me wield magic, so no regrets.
'Should I sign up for art classes?'
I could draw decently, but I still felt lacking.
Details, composition, expression?
Even if I knew what I wanted, failing to render it right might spit out something useless.
Like aiming for a water bomb but getting a slime instead?
Mana wasted, trash result. Disaster.
'Think on it later. Rest first!'
Ah, my beloved bed—
I flopped onto it, but my light body bounced right off.
Being small had perks. This single bed felt queen-sized now.
But I needed new clothes first?
My shorts sagged like baggy pants, and the stretched tee draped off my shoulders like oversized streetwear.
Time for online shopping.
Small size should do... wait, where's my phone?
"...Oh, I left it..."
The sky came crashing down.
I'd pulled it out in the Tower lounge to browse, got sucked into Tower Gal, and totally forgot.
Aaah!
What was I without my phone?
How do I even prove I exist?
Computer works, but lounging is the vibe! Plus, payments and passwords are all auto-saved on it. Crisis.
'Just grab some basics for now.'
I hunted down a women's clothing site, painstakingly punched in my card details, and checked out.
But... could I not revert to normal?
Stuck TS'd for life?
Quick searches turned up zilch.
Rumor had it clearing the Tower granted a wish... but no one knew the top, and Equality Before the Art Gallery was at 42. Miles away for me after floor 1.
'Whatever. Sleep and think tomorrow.'
Too much happened today.
Plus, magic backlash left me drained.
Level ups usually full-heal, right? Stingy system.
"Yawwwn—"
Youth meant sleep hit fast and hard.
Strangely, the world under the bright sky felt saturated with paint, too.
Like smearing my hand through the air would leave it smeared in blue pigment.
That was the power of Clairvoyance as an Artist, a painter.
Apart from that, hustling since morning had worn me out.
"Ugh, tired."
The weekend after clearing the Tower, I threw on something that half-fit and signed up at a nearby art academy.
Iroha.
I'd hated my androgynous name as a kid, but now it fit perfectly without changes. Lucky.
Getting called "Miss Iroha" felt super awkward, though.
After fielding questions about my parents and coming alone, I wrapped up registration and headed home.
The direction that'd been cordoned off as a gate site earlier now buzzed with a crowd.
I'd have ignored it before, but as a Hunter now, gates piqued my curiosity.
Why were even civilians swarming?
I wormed through the throng to the front.
The empty lot where the gate had been hosted grim-faced, fully geared Hunters.
Gate cleared, apparently... so why the tension?
Looking closer, someone lay at their feet, the center of attention.
Blood gushing from her abdomen in spurts.
"Damn it, where's the ambulance?"
"Roads are jammed; entry's delayed!"
A paramedic pressed cloth to the wound, staunching desperately, but it seemed futile.
Red blood.
Spraying between the paramedic's fingers, it overlaid my vision with something unreal.
Like red paint bursting forth—
The female Hunter's wound looked like a surreal painting.
Emergency Rescue (Reward: Skill)