A Day That Hurts Too Much!

A person needs sleep.

Without it, the nerves go taut and you get that much more irritable.

Which meant that right now, I was about halfway to losing my mind.

"Fuck…!"

My whole body hurt like it was about to tear apart.

What the hell was this?

I'd barely ever gotten sick a day in my life, so the pain I was feeling now was completely unfamiliar.

"What kind of bullshit is this…!"

It hurt so badly I genuinely thought I might die. I hadn't managed a single proper hour of sleep all night.

Lying there moaning and groaning, I even found myself thinking back to the qi deviation I'd gone through not long ago.

But this felt nothing like that. For one thing, the Magi inside me was as quiet as could be.

Then… was it…?

Was this the aftereffect of yesterday's spar?

My hands trembling, I carefully prodded a spot that was throbbing with pain.

"Hyaang!"

Son of a—

Hyaang, my ass…

I just touched it and that sound came out of me?

That a feminine little moan had just burst from my own mouth.

"Come to think of it, getting beaten this thoroughly is a first for me in my entire life…"

But—

"It didn't hurt yesterday…!"

Hadn't Seonghwa said she'd treated me? And when I'd come to, I hadn't felt any pain at all.

So I activated my skill, intending to go see the one person who would know exactly what was going on.

"You have got to be kidding me!"

They hadn't rounded the skill cooldown to a full calendar day—they'd split it into a precise twenty-four hours. Thanks to that, I had to sit there in agony for another four hours and thirty-six minutes.

I tried to kill time and tough it out, but eventually I dragged my quivering body up and started pulling out some underwear to put on.

"Damn it…!"

My chest hurt so much. When I'd been defending myself, I hadn't been able to fully cover everything, and my chest had kept sticking out—my guard had broken open at every interval, and through those gaps I'd taken a relentless beating.

So now, without a bra on, every tiny movement felt like the flesh was about to tear free. Shame came second to the pain.

I pulled out the bra Mom's taste had been all over—the one I'd sworn I'd never wear after she bought it for me at the department store.

"This is the only option I've got…!"

Everything else was a sports bra designed to crush my chest flat. If I put one of those on right now, I'd pass out from the pain. This was literally all I could choose.

I tried to put it on, fumbling and adjusting for the first time.

"Ugh, I can't even see the clasp…!"

Even though the hooks were in the front for easier sizing, my huge chest blocked the view. After a lot of awkward wriggling, I finally got it on.

"Hoo—"

I had to admit, it was at least more comfortable. Design aside.

"Ugh, I might actually live…"

With my chest gently held in place, the pain eased a little.

"There's really no spot that didn't get hit…"

So many places that hurt. I appreciated that they hadn't gone easy on me just because I was a woman—but yesterday the adrenaline and endorphins had carried me through. Feeling the pain in real time now made living feel like something else entirely.

I checked the remaining cooldown.

"Two more hours…"

Even if I got into the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons, would that actually fix everything?

"If that quack had just treated me properly…!"

I'd trusted her because she was a holy relic… If she hadn't treated me at all, I at least would have gone to a hospital.

I collapsed back down and endured the remaining time. After barely scraping through those two hours—

"Cooldown's over…!"

I immediately used the skill and crossed over into the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons.

"What is that…?"

Inside the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons, Seonghwa woke to a voice ringing through the whole place.

"Seonghwa! Nngh—Seonghwa, where are you!"

Depending on how you listened, the voice calling her name had a distinctly suggestive little whimper mixed into it. She manifested herself and headed toward the sound.

What she found when she arrived was the Eleventh Heavenly Demon, standing there in nothing but underwear, curled around herself in a bizarre pose.

"What's wrong, Eleventh? Hollering for a holy relic in that getup."

"Hic—you little—!"

Confirming that Hyeondo had not brought any of the food she'd been hoping for, Seonghwa asked what the matter was, her expression thoroughly unimpressed.

Hyeondo snapped right back at her. Hadn't she treated them yesterday? Then what the hell was this pain?

Getting chewed out out of nowhere put Seonghwa in a contrary mood. Curious just how bad the pain really was, she gave Hyeondo's body a firm prod.

"Eyaah! You crazy bitch!! Are you trying to kill me!"

Hyeondo recoiled in pure horror, thrashing and practically foaming at the mouth from the pain.

"…"

Something was off. This was the same Eleventh who hadn't so much as flinched after getting tossed around every which way by the Tenth.

Seonghwa's face hardened as the seriousness of the situation hit her.

"Hmm—the technique definitely took hold properly."

She had used the Rapid Healing Art; she'd watched the wounds all over the body close in real time. So why was Hyeondo in this much pain?

Then, from under the surface of her memory, knowledge belonging to the shrine maiden whose form she had assumed floated up.

"Ah…!"

The Rapid Healing Art was exactly what it sounded like—a technique for swift recovery. The effect was excellent, but even the faithful had avoided it. It came with one fatal side effect.

A day later, the treated areas would be hit with pain several times more severe. In practice, it was a last resort used only on people standing at the brink of life and death in the middle of a fight.

So of course Hyeondo was furious.

"…Right."

This was something she should have anticipated and handled in advance. Only then did Seonghwa realize she had made a serious mistake as a helper. She bowed her head.

"Sorry."

That bratty Seonghwa bowed her head on the spot.

"You think a 'sorry' is the end of it? That's what cops and laws are for!"

With the pain having scrambled my brain, I was in no state to let a single apology slide.

Then Seonghwa stretched a hand toward me. I flinched and tried to pull away—but a faint energy flowed from her palm and began easing the pain, bit by bit.

"My mistake. I only thought about fixing you and never considered what came after."

She said the pain would keep fading from here. As it gradually subsided, a sigh of relief slipped out of me before I could stop it.

I stayed under her treatment for a long while. Once the pain was mostly gone, I started to feel embarrassed about how much of a scene I'd made. This body had once ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠been a man's, even if it wasn't now. Getting that childishly snappish over it felt a little pathetic.

"W-well, anyway, just… treat me properly next time. It hurt, so I got cranky."

But it really had hurt enough to kill me. Whining like a girl was mortifying, but I genuinely hadn't had a choice.

Seonghwa apologized again.

"I'm sorry. I only thought about the technique's benefits and failed to account for the side effects…"

She admitted she'd made a major blunder as a helper, and said she would give me one form of compensation.

"Compensation?"

"Yeah. You'll probably like it."

It wasn't that the word "compensation" had me hooked or anything. The pain had already mostly settled, and I figured I should at least hear what it was.

"What kind of compensation?"

Seonghwa ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠clapped her palms once, and my field of vision shifted.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Well?"

What the…?

I was stunned. Training equipment stretched all the way to the horizon, packed tight as far as the eye could see.

"Those are…?"

My strength had gotten so ridiculous that even my private gym had started feeling unsatisfying. And these machines—what were they?

"No way. Those can handle that kind of weight?"

My jaw dropped at the sight of what looked like a single thin wire holding up a boulder that had to weigh thousands of kilos.

Seonghwa explained that every piece of equipment had techniques applied to it—preserving durability while amplifying the weight without limit.

"Perfect…"

A training hall this magnificent.

"That's not all."

She was already at the wall, pressing a button.

"Ghk!"

Gravity suddenly sank into my body.

"What the hell is this…!"

"Like it?"

Don't tell me the gravity was adjustable?

"I can't give you this part for free, though."

She said maintenance cost money, and a usage fee appeared in front of my eyes.

"One shichen is two hours, right…?"

If the wuxia novels I'd read were anything to go by, a shichen was two hours. So fifty points for two hours. I'd use it about four hours a day—that was a hundred points.

…Times three hundred sixty-five days…

Thirty-six thousand five hundred points!?

"Wait…!"

"What?"

"Give me a discount, just a little!"

This was a training hall I'd be using for the rest of my life. If there was a chance to haggle, it had to be now.

"Hmm…"

Seonghwa looked conflicted and asked me,

"How much?"

"Twenty-five! Half off!"

When you negotiate, you start high. That was the bald pawnshop uncle's negotiation skill.

My attempt to slash the price in half on the first offer made her brow tighten.

"No. Forty."

"Then twenty-seven!"

"Thirty-five."

"Twenty-eight!"

Seonghwa thought for a long moment, then held up three fingers.

"Thirty points. That's as low as I go."

That was enough. No point pushing further and risking her changing her mind. Thirty points was practically half. Sixty points a day—forty points saved compared to the original rate.

"Deal. Thanks!"

I accepted ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on the spot and backed off, thoroughly satisfied.