An Orphan Evolves into a Female Orphan (3)

“Ah. Ahhh? Aah!?”

No doubt about it. No matter how many times I tried, a woman's voice came out.

And when I glanced down, a massive pair of tits were blocking my view of my own feet.

“……”

My brain froze.

Why? How?

With trembling hands, I reached to confirm if the things hanging off my chest were real—

“Hup.”

Not the time for that.

I'd definitely fallen somewhere inside the gate. And this was still inside the gate too. Monsters could burst out and kill me at any second—no surprise there.

First things first—what's the layout of this place?

There were no other light sources, but the spring I'd emerged from was emitting a faint glow, enough to make out the structure.

It was a stone chamber, like someone had carved out a cave and squared off the floor and walls perfectly.

One wall was taken up by the spring I'd come from, and there were no other visible exits. Did that mean swimming back through the water was my only way out? Or was there a hidden passage somewhere?

If there's a space like this inside a gate…

It was a hundred percent guaranteed to hold some high-value item.

And sure enough.

One wall of the chamber had an altar, and atop it sat two objects.

One was a hand mirror. The other, a book.

I picked up the hand mirror first.

Reflected on its surface was a beauty more stunning than anyone I'd ever seen in my life.

“…Wow.”

My mouth fell open on its own. And the beauty in the mirror did the same.

Is this… me?

It was unbelievable. Even the girl group idols and actresses from before the gate incident couldn't hold a candle to this.

Pink hair and purple eyes even added a mystical vibe.

I'll be turning heads wherever I go.

If I didn't want attention, I'd have to pull up a hood. Throw on some sunglasses too.

Not that it'd help—my looks would probably leak through anyway.

She was that beautiful.

Still, faint traces of my old face seemed to linger. Mom would've recognized me. If she were still alive.

And yeah, looks like the disease is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gone too.

Seemed like it vanished along with the body swap.

…No pain.

Sure, plenty of guys would hate suddenly turning into a woman, no matter how hot. But I was over the moon just to be free of the pain.

Hell, if someone offered to turn me into an orc instead of a human, I might've jumped at it. I'd been backed into a corner, mentally and physically.

I set down the mirror and reached for the other item on the altar—the book.

The cover had eight Chinese characters. I flipped it open. More characters inside.

Huh.

Couldn't read a damn one.

A few familiar ones popped up here and there. Fire (火), hand (手)—basic stuff.

But most were gibberish.

I knew what it was, though.

A martial arts manual. Read it, learn the art.

“Urgh…”

With the Black Spot Disease gone, if I could just read this, I could learn martial arts… turn my life around…

Frustrated, I glanced back at the cover. That's when—

!!

I—

was in a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dark place without direction, end, or center.

A single woman whose face I couldn't see danced silently.

Every motion of her dance, every gesture, every glance held countless truths.

Just watching her dance would let me master every principle in the world.

Ahh. I get it now.

This place wasn't dark—it was black, absorbing all colors equally.

The woman wasn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠invisible—she was white, radiating all light without obstruction.

My heart beat to the rhythm of her dance. Fast when it quickened, slow when it slowed.

The woman looked my way.

Her gaze pierced the chaos, birthing me.

Black and white mixed into me. Finite me emerged from infinite space.

The woman raised a finger.

She touched it to my forehead.

To the center of my chest.

A bit above my navel, placing her hand there, she sang.

Her finger plunged into my gut. Yin and yang settled at my body's core.

"—Devour all light that can be devoured."

——————

TIP) Look at these idiots talking nonsense about Heart Image. It does exist, yeah. Not like what some say—no founder appearing or voices—but when you're super immersed in training, sometimes it feels like someone's guiding you. That's Heart Image. Don't overthink it.

TIP) On Heart Image seriously: Some never see it. Some glimpse it vaguely. Others dive in fully, buddy up with the founder, share drinks, and come back. Honestly, effort alone doesn't cut it… gotta be born with it to some degree.

——————

I snapped awake into a black-and-white world.

“Hah, haah, haah…!”

My body shook like a leaf. Soaked in sweat.

Something smelled sweet and sour—turns out it was me.

“Whoa. Whoaaa. Wooow…!”

So that's a Heart Image.

Saw it on Murim Gallery.

Push martial arts training to the limit, and you enter the art's inner world or mindset.

Without fail, you come out with skyrocketing comprehension.

Heart Image Reader, huh.

Must be the name of the perk I got on awakening.

And its effect? Lets me enter the Heart Image of any martial art at will.

Which means, once I get out of this gate and join any sect, I'll skyrocket in power.

Insane…!

Just escape the gate, and my life's set!

Wait. Can I read hanja now?

Full of hope, I reopened the manual. Still gibberish.

Guess proper training means studying hanja too.

Ugh. No helping it.

Murim Gallery said it gets easier over time, though.

I was decent at English in middle school. Maybe I've got a knack for languages? Please.

Suddenly, another weird message popped up. What now?

Enter True Murim Gallery?

True version of Murim Gallery? So the one I knew was fake?

Or maybe only special people here?

I picked Yes. Then—

A window popped up in front of my eyes like a hologram.

Post-gate, murim folks got status windows like this—holographic screens.

But this was a full-on gallery. Same familiar UI.

Check the nonsense posts first.

“What the hell is this?”

Unfiltered noise. Felt familiar…

“…Ah! Back gallery!”

Like the back galleries or gossip boards for specific galleries.

Guess I'll post some nonsense too.

Gallery rules are simple: don't be a dick. But for Murim Gallery's back? I could guess.

Control cursor with my mind… post.

But when I tried, a weird guide appeared.

Why search for that?

Epithet—murim folk's nickname, from achievements or arts.

…Seeing this here.

Hold up. It auto-searched my epithet?

Can I change it?

Checked—nope.

So every user here has their real epithet as their nick?

…Then?

I checked the authors of those ridiculous posts.

“!!”

BenevolentMysteryFairy was the epithet of Mani-pa's leader, a famed Daoist sect.

HeavenlySpiritCrane—leader of the evil Huiyeong-pa.

DivineSpear—famed figure from Buyeo family, one of the Seven Great Clans.

SummerShadowNun—top expert from all-female Myohyang-pa.

Crazy.

Crazy crazy crazy!! All of them absolute murim heavyweights!!

Recalled the entry message: Transcendent martial art acquired, access granted.

That was the qualification check?

So this back gallery is for the absolute elite of murim elites?

And I get full anonymity as Anonymous?

Dopamine flooded my brain.

Thump. Thump.

Heart pounding. Lips twitching into a grin.

Only one thing to do.

Post.

Submit.

Short pause.

…

…

Murim's top experts were going nuts, showering me with attention.