Chapter 1
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: A Bullshit Dream
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“What’s the most important thing in living life?”
As I came to my senses, some old man was asking me that.
A shabby robe and a beard white as snow. He looked like he’d just leaped straight out of a fantasy novel.
I had no clue where I was or who this old guy was. My memories refused to connect at all.
“People usually talk about convictions or willpower. But there’s something even more important than that.”
Before I knew it, he was right in my face. A thick herbal scent mixed with that unmistakable old-man stench hit me, making my brow crease on instinct.
What the hell was he beating around the bush for?
After the bizarre silence, the old man’s mouth slowly opened.
“Looks. The world puts appearance above everything else.”
“...?”
I thought it was a joke, but his eyes glittered like a lunatic’s.
“Especially young and adorable ones! If they’re soft and squishy too, it’s perfection!”
“Huh?”
A stupefied noise slipped out. But the old man pressed on, ignoring my reaction entirely.
“In front of a doggone… no, a cute face, don’t people eagerly offer up their goodwill? It’s not rational. It’s pure instinct. An absolute power that makes you forgive anything and want to grant any wish.”
Just a raving madman.
I clamped my mouth shut. You don’t waste words on that sort. God knows what misfortune mouthing off might bring.
“If you’ve got the looks, everything else takes a backseat. Diligence, wisdom, willpower… they only shine once you get the chance to show them.”
The old man halted abruptly and cocked his head at me.
“You agree?”
His eyes pressed for an answer. I nodded reluctantly.
“Knew it.”
A satisfied smile crossed his face as he pulled out a small glass vial. The cork popped open, releasing a sweet fruity aroma laced with a stinging herbal bite.
A chill of foreboding raised the hairs on my neck.
“W-wait…!”
I jerked away on reflex, but too late.
His hand clamped my jaw with vise-like strength no old fart should possess, prying my mouth open.
“My gift to you.”
The cold glass pressed my lips. The vial tilted, and some mystery liquid slicked my tongue.
“...Guh, guhk!”
Sweetness lingered briefly before it felt like a burning coal plunged down my throat into my chest.
“Gah, hack! You son of a…!”
My body wouldn’t obey. Bones twisted in agony as my vision dropped lower.
My heart thundered. I clutched my chest against the stabbing pain. But then.
“...Wh-what the hell?”
My fingers were freakishly short and slender. My T-shirt sleeve draped well past my elbow, and unfamiliar gray strands drifted into view.
“Hope it suits you, but tastes differ…”
“Fuck, you…!”
“If you want to revert, drink an Elixir. The legendary potion that cures all afflictions. Ingredients? Sun Branch, Storm Dragon’s Tear…”
His lips kept moving, but sound vanished. A metallic scrape rang in my ears.
Consciousness blurred. The lantern wick stretched long, vision slipped downward—
“...Hah!”
Familiar ceiling. The lamp left burning all night stabbed my eyes mercilessly, joined by the old AC’s hum.
“......”
I drew a slow breath. My throat burned like fire. As if that dream sludge still lingered.
“What kinda bullshit dream… was… that…”
Suddenly, my blood ran ice cold.
“...Huh?”
The voice was far too thin. Like a kid before puberty hit.
I snatched my smartphone from the bedside in a panic. And.
“......”
In that dead black screen, I saw it.
“Holy shit.”
Unfamiliar purple eyes staring blankly ahead.
A crisp breeze heralding summer’s end brushed my cheek. Midday heat still clung, filling streets with lightly clad crowds.
Amid them, I alone huddled under a thick hoodie pulled low.
Exposing skin felt… off, somehow.
“...Sigh.”
Thud. Thud.
A building scarred with cement craters like old wounds. A wall-mounted screen spilled news.
“...S-rank Hunter Mad Dog solo-cleared yesterday’s A-rank Gate in the Busan region. Swift initial response prevented civilian casualties…”
Behind the anchor’s voice, footage flashed of the hunter overwhelming a colossal beast.
Just two years. The world had reorganized around such monstrosities. They said society stabilized fast thanks to them.
But that had nothing to do with me. My gaze dropped back to the paper in hand.
Park Seha
Rank Measurement Result - F-rank
Physical, Magic Power Standards Not Met
Result as expected. Hell, hoping was a luxury. My once-tall frame had shrunk near ground level, solid muscles whittled to frail bones.
I barely stifled a bitter laugh during the strength test. Might’ve felt less pathetic as a non-Awakened…
Bam.
A heavy impact sent me staggering back limply.
Regaining my footing, I looked up into the glare of a massive, wall-like man.
Broad shoulders, thick forearms. Mirror of my old self from days ago.
“Whoops.”
No trace of apology—he scanned me like a bug on the pavement.
“Watch where you’re going, kiddo.”
‘Kiddo.’
No one had dared meet my eyes before. Now they treated me like a child outright.
“Ah… uh, I…”
I opened my mouth to snap back, but no sound came. Eye contact alone dropped my heart to my stomach, throat clogged tight.
I just ducked my head, staring at his shoe tips.
“Tch.”
A dismissive tongue-click, and he shoved off into the crowd.
Only after he vanished did I gulp down my held breath. Heart hammering, palms slick with cold sweat.
“...Fuck.”
A short sigh, eyes back to the paper.
F-rank. No hunter license here. Couldn’t even hit work tomorrow. Rent? Pitch black ahead.
But beyond practical woes, something nagged deeper.
I halted, staring into empty air.
Focusing intent, the semi-transparent pane I’d checked obsessively reappeared before my eyes.
[Alchemy Gallery]
‘What the fuck is this thing?’
Mana reaction test. The moment the device’s faint mana brushed my body, it popped up. Yet the machine detected zilch. So did the staff.
[A gallery for sharing alchemy information.]
I pressed my throbbing temple.
Freaky dream, overnight body swap, mystery gallery.
“Fuck it, who cares.”
I muttered, crushing the paper carelessly.
“Head home and crash.”
Less than three hours of sleep last night. No wonder my brain was mush.
Sleep it off, and maybe it’d sort itself.
Tap, tap-tap—
Thick blackout curtains shrouded the room in timeless gloom. Keyboard clacks, humming PC, and musty dust choked the air.
Floor buried under trash: half-eaten cup ramen, snack wrappers everywhere.
At center: me, ears sealed by headset, glued to the screen.
[Pong!]
[+15 Gold]
Main monitor left: casual 2D RPG. Sub right: stream from a VTuber with ornate horns.
[“Anonymous Yongyong’s 50,000 tomato tribute—! Kekemawang! Kekemawang!”]
“Kekemawang~.”
I mindlessly echoed her cutesy tone, hands on autopilot with keys and mouse.
Jump, skill, move.
Jump, skill, move.
Left on keyboard, right on mouse, senses locked on her stream.
Laugh at her jokes, smirk at troll donations.
Didn’t feel this way right after the change, but apathy crept in over time.
Sleep when drowsy, ramen when hungry.
Awake hours: grind scraps for cash, kill time with VTuber antics.
No messy relationships, no headaches.
Staying holed up felt too damn comfy.
How many more hours slipped by?
[Yongyongies! Time to byeong!]
Her final wave, and the screen went dark.
The room’s lone spark died. Just dull game BGM left.
I glanced at the blank stream monitor.
“......”
In that black reflection: a ditzy beauty with a vacant stare.
Tousled gray locks, pallid lifeless skin. Purple eyes loosely grinning, joy not yet faded.
Gaze drifted.
Sunless room, dust dancing in monitor glow, trash heaps looming.
Then, taskbar date caught my eye.
“...Huh.”
A month had passed since the change.
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