The Dark Merchant (3)

I stared silently at the number glowing on the screen, feeling the vibration buzzing against my palm.

“...Who the hell is this?”

Should I pick up? Or not?

In that brief second, my accelerated thoughts rapidly processed every scrap of information.

Why was I lying in my room? What exactly had happened during the gaps in my memory from last night?

No matter how hard I dug through my mind, nothing came up.

“Ugh...”

What should I do? My head knew I should answer, but my hand refused to move.

“There weren’t any CCTV cameras, right...”

That must’ve been why those bastards chose that spot for the meeting. So the fact that I’d massacred them there... no one should know about it.

These were absurdly high stats for someone who had just reached the second floor. The biggest factor was probably the twenty-point boost to every stat I got as the first-rank reward.

But...

That wasn’t what mattered right now.

The Heavenly Martial Body granted complete immunity to all mental effects. Yet I had still lost consciousness. My stamina hadn’t been drained enough to pass out from exhaustion, either.

It was possible someone had attacked me and knocked me out... but waking up safe at home made that scenario pretty unlikely.

If that had happened, I would’ve woken up somewhere else entirely.

Then...

I pressed down hard on the new skill with my finger.

“Ugh...”

Just reading the description told me everything I needed to know. This was a dangerous power. One I absolutely shouldn’t abuse.

“...Seriously? They just shoved this into my pocket? Couldn’t they at least give me a chance to refuse?”

Of course, even if they had offered me the chance, I probably would’ve taken it anyway...

While I was still lost in that confusion, the vibration from my phone suddenly cut off.

“...”

My head was killing me. I yanked off the mask and the Mask of Severance that had been covering my face and hurled them across the room.

How the hell had I fallen asleep while still wearing this thing?

I could barely even breathe properly.

“Ugh, I’m all sweaty. It’s so sticky.”

Showering came first. I stripped off every piece of clothing and dashed into the bathroom.

I could figure out what to do next after that.

**

The bathroom was filled with thick, hazy steam.

Click.

The stream of water pouring from the showerhead stopped.

“Haa...”

I stepped out of the tub and stood in front of the mirror, staring at it.

Reflected in the glass was a completely naked girl, water droplets sliding down her skin. She stared back at me with an expressionless face.

Her flawless, snow-white skin seemed to sparkle as it caught the light. Honestly, I still couldn’t fully accept that this was me.

...Because she was way too beautiful.

I raised a hand and slowly traced my collarbone. The skin felt as smooth as glass. Even though it was my own hand, it felt like I was touching someone else.

My fingertips slid down my arm, carrying the lingering moisture and warmth. Every single sensation felt strangely foreign.

Those fingers began to drift slowly downward, following the line of my collarbone.

My fingertips trembled ominously as they hovered in the air before finally moving toward the two soft, rounded curves.

The faster my heart pounded, the more clearly I could feel it.

And just before my fingertips touched those large, plush mounds of flesh—

“...!”

My nearly lost sense of reason snapped back into place. I let out a sigh of relief and clutched my chest.

“...I almost lost ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠another three hours there.”

The memory of the day I first received this body flashed through my mind.

Back then, I’d been trying to properly understand my changed body... and completely lost myself in it. I think I spent about three hours?

I couldn’t afford to do that now. There were more important things to deal with.

Recommended: 23 | Not Recommended: 3

“...”

With one hand I vigorously towel-dried my silver-white hair, while the other scrolled through the Climber Gallery posts on my phone.

- Chicken vs Pizza (13)

- Next Life: Man vs Woman? (41)

- IWantToAwakenIWantToAwaken

- If you could choose, would you join Hwarang or Cheonhwa? (24)

“What the...? Why...”

There was no way the gallery wouldn’t be buzzing with rumors about what happened yesterday. Had it still not come out yet?

That didn’t make sense.

It had just been early dawn so there weren’t many people around, but that path got plenty of foot traffic in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the morning. If it had been left alone, someone definitely would’ve found it.

Which meant someone had covered it up.

“...”

After thinking for a moment, I reached a conclusion.

“The Ares Guild might have hidden it so the Association wouldn’t launch an investigation.”

Well... if that’s what they did, then thanks a lot.

“I was a little worried, but I guess I can relax now.”

I didn’t cause any accidents on the way back either.

...Good thing. I was seriously scared I’d end up doing prison time just like my dad.

I tossed the soaked towel into the laundry basket and grabbed a second one to finish drying my hair.

Being pretty was nice, but the time it took to wash my hair had increased nearly twentyfold.

Once I’d wiped away most of the moisture, I turned on the hair dryer and began carefully drying my hair.

I moved gently, afraid of damaging these beautiful strands.

The hot air blasted against my heavy, waterlogged hair, slowly evaporating the moisture. It took a full hour for my hair to become fluffy and dry again.

In total, the whole shower process had taken three hours.

“...Should I just cut it? A bob would probably look good too.”

Come to think of it, there was a balance game post going around the gallery. Perfect timing.

The moment I posted it, comments started flooding in instantly.

Then one comment in particular caught my eye.

“...Hmm.”

“...Is that so?”

And then, the very next comment came from a very familiar username.

Silver Flash. It was the main account of Cheon Hwaryen, the guild leader of the Cheonhwa Guild.

This ajumma is persistent as hell.

Looks like negotiations have broken down since she stopped replying.

Anyway...

I had set my goal.

I would go to the second floor of the Tower and obtain water magic.

I couldn’t keep wasting several hours every single morning like this.

I turned off my phone and started to walk out of the bathroom. Or at least, I tried to.

Until I stepped on the wet floor, slipped, and lost my balance.

“Kyaa?!”

I let out a high-pitched shriek without meaning to. If I braced myself against the floor with my hand, I could get back up. But the moment I saw the phone in my left hand...

I instinctively lifted my left arm as far from the floor as possible. And as the price for protecting ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my phone...

CRACK!

I slammed flat onto the bathroom floor. When I turned my head slightly, I saw that the tile where my head had hit was completely shattered.

“...Ah.”

Good thing no one was around to see that.

Really.