Even the Third-Generation Chaebol Can't Stand This (3)

The orb slipped straight into Hyeon-seo's mouth.

The change was instantaneous.

"...Uh, uhh?"

Hyeon-seo stammered in confusion as her body began its violent transformation. Golden hair darkened to jet black. The brown eyes now flickered with a crimson glow, and...

Why is a chest forming?

Her previously slender, almost androgynous chest swelled outward. It was clearly shifting into the form of the ghost who had possessed her—Baekri-hyang.

My gaze drifted lower.

No way...

I didn't activate Dragon Eyes, but still. There was a distinct absence of anything that should have been protruding. Had that changed too? Was this a body that would require sitting down to pee from now on?

Good thing I didn't eat it myself.

I breathed a quiet sigh of relief and simply watched the transformation unfold.

It ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠took no more than ten seconds for her to fully become the level 999 ghost, Baekri-hyang.

She blinked rapidly.

"W-what manner of sorcery is this..."

Hyeon-seo—no, Baekri-hyang—looked around in a panic. The strange language that had once sounded like anything but Chinese had now settled into perfectly clear Korean.

I greeted her warmly.

"It's been a while."

"...My lord? What is that ridiculous voice?"

"......"

Wow. First words out of her mouth after possession and she's already insulting me. Was my nasal tone really that bad?

And what's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with calling me a god?

It was a little annoying, but I could worry about that later. The most important thing right now was to establish the rules before her possession ended.

"I'll explain quickly. Your soul orb was..."

I laid it out fast. You got eaten. From now on you listen to that kid. In summary, that was it.

Baekri-hyang's reaction?

"Was the child causing such a ruckus inside this young girl actually my lord's faithful servant?"

"Huh?"

"This young girl's soul orb must be a priceless treasure in this lofty tower. Moreover, the child's talent is rather impressive. I merely wondered if you had taken her as a disciple."

"Uh..."

Instead of outrage, her eyes were sparkling with expectation.

Should I tell her the truth? I hesitated for a moment.

Then she froze.

"...You bought this young girl's soul orb?!"

She suddenly recoiled in horror. It seemed Hyeon-seo's consciousness remained even during possession. She was frantically explaining that it wasn't like that, while Baekri-hyang grew furious at the fact she'd been sold.

"One trillion won?! To value this young girl at such a pittance is utterly outrageous!!"

"...Excuse me?"

"If you were to possess this young girl's soul orb, you should have offered an entire nation along with that Cheonghwa or whatever it is!!"

...Correction. Her ego was so massive she apparently thought one trillion won was pocket change.

This was going to drive me insane.

Guess I need to sort this out.

"Huu..."

I secretly reached behind me. The Moonlight Sword I had used to slice through the dimensional wall and then stashed in my inventory—I drew it out.

Srrrng—!

The blade that had once been hers was now pointed at its former master.

"That's enough of the dramatics."

"My lord!! Please hear this young girl out. This is truly—"

"I said be quiet."

I glared at her. I wasn't entirely sure, but since Baekri-hyang seemed to obey me after I had defeated her, I figured a little intimidation with the sword would set the hierarchy straight.

The effect was excellent.

"...If that is my lord's will, this young girl will speak no more."

"From now on, you will obey that child without question. If you cause any trouble during possession—"

"I have already ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠offered everything I am. How could I possibly defy my lord's wishes? This young girl shall follow until the last flicker of my soul fades away."

"Okay."

Traffic control complete.

Now then. Might as well test her skills.

I tossed the sword lightly.

"Take it."

She caught the Moonlight Sword with both hands. I pulled out a rare-grade blade of my own.

"Let's spar. Hyeon-seo needs to see exactly how strong you are."

A quick test of power. I added a special rule.

"If our swords clash, the one who attacked loses."

Her eyes sparkled. Her face flushed with excitement.

"To witness my lord's swordplay is an honor beyond words!"

"Yeah, sure. So you'll attack first three times. I won't even hold a sword."

"My level is insignificant compared to my lord's. I gratefully accept these three moves."

She leveled the blade at me. I let mine hang loosely at my side.

Our eyes met.

"Then here I come!!!"

She shot forward like an arrow.

The mysterious footwork I'd seen on the twenty-ninth floor—the butterfly-like movements that had once made me panic—came rushing toward me. And I wasn't even allowed to hold a sword.

It looked like the match would end instantly, but...

"......"

She's slow.

My level had been just under seven hundred back then, and I'd still beaten her. Now?

I was well over nine hundred. Factoring in the all-stats-plus-fifty title, I comfortably outclassed her specs.

And above all...

I had swapped in the upgraded trait earlier. Her sword paths were completely transparent to me. Dodging something like this was child's play.

"Upsie daisy."

"...!!!"

I twisted my body lightly. The thrust that had pretended to aim for my chest suddenly changed trajectory toward my leg. I spun along its path in a fluid circle. Combined with Baekri-hyang's own footwork, her blade couldn't even graze my clothes.

"...?! H-how is this possible? That was my sure-kill strike..."

"Two more times~"

"...This time will be different!!!"

Maybe it was frustration. She swung twice in near-simultaneous arcs, sword energy flying from the tips.

Coincidentally, they were similar to the attacks I'd used on the twenty-ninth floor.

Of course, the result was completely different.

I slipped through the two blades of energy that surged forward in unavoidable wave-like arcs.

It was the perfect fusion of Sword God, Dragon Eyes+, and footwork.

The sword energy slammed into the safe-zone wall with a deafening crash.

"Afterimage substitution?!"

"I don't know what that is. I just moved fast."

"But how has your inner energy grown so much?! When this young girl first met you..."

"Ah, don't say anything related to me. What floor we met on, anything like that—it's all top secret."

I took the chance to muzzle her as well.

I gripped the sword I'd been letting hang loose.

This level of display wouldn't be enough to impress a third-generation chaebol. Time to show a bit more.

We began exchanging blows without taking a single step.

The sharp ring of blades slicing through air filled the space.

This is actually harder than a normal spar.

I couldn't let our swords touch. I had to find gaps and slip through them, which was easier said than done. My movements naturally converged on concise thrusts, but...

I can't afford to lose.

My sword strikes had already claimed the entire front. It wasn't lines—it was a surface. An overwhelming web of defense created by superior skill and stats. To Baekri-hyang it must have felt like an iron wall.

"Huk, huuk...!!"

Her sword sped up even more. The sound of it piercing the air grew sharper.

It sounded like a stone grandfather statue cursing in dialect, but anyway.

I glanced at the timer.

Time's almost up.

By now Hyeon-seo should understand. Her swordsmanship was unmatched in the modern era. Add the physical stats of a level 999 being, and she could easily tear through a fourth-floor boss.

Let's wrap up this little playdate.

"Hup!"

I cut off the path of the blade aiming for my side and immediately counterattacked. A gap I had seen hundreds of times but deliberately ignored until now—the real weakness, not one she had offered on purpose.

"Hup?!"

Baekri-hyang tried to block in panic, but...

Unfortunately for her, my sword reached the side of her neck first.

"Checkmate."

"Haa, haa... You are incredible..."

I withdrew the blade. Baekri-hyang, drenched in sweat and utterly exhausted, finally collapsed to the floor.

I tossed her the jacket Hyeon-seo had been wearing.

"This young girl's body is not one to tire so easily, yet I overexerted myself in my eagerness to witness my lord's divine swordplay."

Only after she put the jacket back on did the sweat-soaked clothes become visible again.

The sight was... something else.

"This child was also shocked and awed by my lord's mysterious sword—wait, what are you doing in someone else's body?"

"......"

I knew the original was male, but still. That was a bit much.

"Put your clothes back on properly."

"...Ah, I apologize! This young girl was rude, wearing such a smelly body!"

At my single comment she hurriedly dressed again. By then the possession time was nearly over.

About one minute left. I had to finish quickly.

"No time, so I'll be brief. First, do not breathe a single word about information concerning me. Second, from now on obey whatever Hyeon-seo tells you."

"Understood!"

She answered without complaint, as if she could sense the time running out.

Then she raised a hand that had wiped away her sweat...

"Here. This young girl has placed a small piece of her soul within. With this, you will be able to exchange telepathic messages even from far away."

"...Oh?"

"After examining this child's memories, it seems she is the daughter of quite a respectable family. If there is anything you wish to order her to do, please speak at any time."

She had created a bead the size of a BB pellet and explained what it was. She spoke so quickly I couldn't catch everything, but the part about giving her any order I wanted sank in perfectly.

"Since the priority of possession lies with this young girl, she cannot possibly refuse... Oh, time is up. Please accept this first."

She flicked it toward me with her fingernail.

I caught it on reflex. After staring at it for a moment, I couldn't help but marvel inwardly.

Isn't this basically putting a leash on the third-generation chaebol?

Baekri-hyang, the ghost who had sworn loyalty to me, had now nested inside Hyeon-seo's body. The next-generation strongest of the Cheonghwa Guild would become my puppet for twenty minutes a day.

This is insanely good.

I was already in the superior position, but now I had become the absolute superior. Definitely a good call not eating it myself.

I'll take it!

I stored it instinctively. Baekri-hyang smiled happily when she saw it.

Well, it was no longer accurate to call her Baekri-hyang. Her hair had returned to a rich golden color and her chest had shrunk back to its flat state.

"Though it is a meat body that reeks of human waste, this young girl will take good care—"

After one final verbal jab, her body twitched.

The possession had ended.

"Th-this is..."

"So? You can cheese your way through the fourth floor now, right?"

"That is true, but... um, that is..."

Hyeon-seo, who had suddenly handed control of her body to me, asked the first thing that came to mind.

"Did... did it smell very bad? I used up all the perfume I had..."

"......"

Out of everything, that's what you're worried about? She's not even a middle-school girl. The inner world of a third-generation chaebol is truly profound.

"I'm not sure. I had a mask on, so I couldn't really tell."

I told a white lie, but...

"I-I'm so sorry..."

"Ah."

It didn't work at all.

Well, of course. After spending that much time in the body, she would know there was no way it didn't smell.

Time to change the subject.

"Ahem, ahem!!"

I cleared my throat loudly, hoping to spare her the embarrassment by bringing up something else.

"By the way, Hyeon-seo."

"...Yes?"

She was hugging the jacket tightly, face flushed red. Her eyes turned toward me.

Looking straight at her, I threw the fastball.

"You must have realized that I am Cheolgangmin."

"......!!!!?"

Shock spread across the third-generation chaebol's face.