Defying the World's Will
“......” Karen's eyes, fixed on me, slowly began scanning downward. And the lower they went, the more violently her pupils trembled.
“Th-this…”
I closed my eyes and tensed my abs, roughly guessing what kind of future was about to unfold.
“You… pervert bastard!!”
Yeah, knew it. No clue why I end up the pervert when she hugged me.
“Guhk!”
Kicked clean by Karen, I tumbled right off the bed. It hurt like hell. Even for a protagonist, that kick packed way too much power.
“Tch… Gonna die from the pain.”
“No. Wait, so why—why why why am I the one holding you? D-don’t tell me. We… we did that…?”
“Didn’t happen. At least not in my memory.”
“Th-then what the hell is this situation…!”
Karen peeked down at me from the bed, her voice trembling. I’m no mind reader, but even I could tell she was extremely confused right now. Her reaction was hilarious, but she was clearly struggling, so maybe I should ease the mood a bit.
“Beats me. Woke up and there you were, hugging me. Only one guess for why… Hmm, yeah, just one.”
“Wh-what is it?”
“You’re so damn attractive I can’t sleep without holding you. So you did it in your sleep.”
Of course, of course. I’m not your average handsome guy, I muttered to myself, nodding. Karen just stared at me in silence.
Then.
“…What a load of bullshit.”
She spat the curse refreshingly and climbed out of bed. Then stomped off to the bathroom without another word.
“…Hope it’s not bruised.”
I painfully hauled myself up, muttering as I checked the spot she’d kicked.
After that, no more drama. We freshened up quick and checked out at 10 a.m.—not too early, not too late.
“Enjoy your night?”
The innkeeper smirked slyly as he handed back the key, but I mumbled something vague and bolted.
From there, right on schedule, we hopped the bus back to central Providence, wrapping up our dungeon run with Karen.
“I’m getting off here. Good work yesterday and today.”
I stood from the bus seat, tapped my card, and waited for it to stop. As the doors hissed open, I stepped right off—
Thud.
Something yanked my sleeve hard. Glancing back, Karen had grabbed it. She looked shocked at her own action, eyes wide as she quickly let go.
“What? Got something to say?”
She fidgeted with her fingers for a second.
“…S-sorry about this morning. A little.”
Her apology came out tiny, like an ant crawling by. I couldn’t help but chuckle as I fully stepped off the bus, replying,
“You could go pro in soccer. That wasn’t an amateur kick.”
“You—!”
Her face twisted in an instant, like she was about to fire back, but—
Hiss.
Too bad—the doors slammed shut. I could see her mouthing something through the window. Probably “take care,” right?
“Don’t skip lunch.”
I waved with a grin as her figure faded into the distance.
“Haa.”
Back home, I showered and slipped into fresh clothes. The clean, dust-free fabric against my skin felt amazing. Then I pulled the 15% short curry I’d made two days ago from the fridge, warmed it up, and scarfed it down for brunch.
“Whew.”
Perched on the bed, I let out a small sigh. Tense times.
Who wouldn’t be? The moment I’d been waiting for was finally here.
The Limit Break blocking my growth. Last time, my specs weren’t enough to clear it. But now, with a new skill in hand, things were different.
Designate one owned skill and forcibly promote it.
Promotion lasts 5 minutes. After, the promoted skill is unusable for 1 hour.
Not a direct power-up for me. My skills? Just Consciousness Synchronization, Shop, yesterday’s Worn Spirit, and Forced Promotion.
Promoting sync wouldn’t change much. Even boosted, 3-star odds are slim. And forcing it might not even skip the Limit Break.
But this one’s different.
I wasn’t promoting Consciousness Synchronization. The Shop skill.
Shop has a clear LV—grade system. Boost it, and the shop levels up naturally. Then the one-time limited purchase changes too.
Was a 2-star consciousness random acquisition ticket before.
An upgraded shop’s limited deal? High chance for a 3-star random ticket.
Score a 3-star consciousness via shop. Clear the trial meant for 2-star with 3-star power.
Some might call it cheating. Whatever—who cares? No one’s watching anyway.
Alright then.
“Let’s do this.”
I exhaled shortly and opened the shop window. Looked the same as always. Staring at it, I activated Forced Promotion on the shop.
Sparks flew!
○ 3-st#r R#ndom #cquisit#on T#cket (1-time purch#se) (700 F#te → 400 F#te)
○ B#sic St#m#na Rec#very P#t#on (50 F#te → 30 F#te)
○ Bottled W#ter – 1 F#te
○ B#sic M#st#rd Sw#rd – 100 F#te
○ M#g#c Bre#d – 2 F#te
…
But something was off. Letters corrupted like a virus-hit computer file. Constant glitches flickering.
Right as I sensed trouble—
The world protests to the sage.
Sage, this is a contract violation.
Even a seed cannot defy the natural order—
[CENSORED]
Unauthorized information.
Message blocked.
A flood of messages hit me nonstop.
World. Sage. Contract. Seed.
Sentences packed with words I didn’t understand.
But instinct kicked in. These tied to the divine existence that breathed new life into me in this world.
That’s all, though—couldn’t grasp deeper details. Context? My action violated some contract.
What’d I do wrong? Never even made a contract—don’t even know what it is.
What the hell’s going on?
…Error corrected by the world's will.
Promoted shop will close in 10 seconds.
[10]
[9]
What?! Shop closing? I frantically scanned the window.
Had to buy before it shut.
○ 3-st#r R#ndom #cquisit#on T#cket (1-time purch#se)
[4]
[3]
I spotted the item amid the garbled text and bought it instantly.
[2]
[1]
One second after purchase, the shop window drowned in glitches and collapsed.
“Phew. That was close.”
Narrow escape. As I sighed in relief—
From this moment, Forced Promotion on the Shop skill is FORBIDDEN.
A message pinpointed right at me.
Seemed like the world and the sage bickered behind the scenes, landing on that verdict.
“Who do I even thank? Geez.”
World blocked me, so the opposing sage is my ally? Not sure “ally” fits, but maybe that sage is the one who dropped me in this world.
Pure speculation, though. No solid clues beyond that message skirmish, so hard to say for sure.
And no need to. Whatever they are, my situation hasn’t changed.
The quest promised: when the time comes, all truths revealed.
No point wasting time on unsolvable riddles now.
Better focus: Forced Promotion on shop banned from here on.
“What a shame.”
Planned to cheese every trial this way, but no dice.
Guess exploits only work once.
Still, positive spin: means I can exploit this time.
Think positive.
“3-star.”
Eyes closed, I murmured softly. A 3-star consciousness had to be leagues beyond 2-star.
Here’s hoping it’s perfect for clearing the trial.
“Let’s go.”
I activated the hard-won 3-star consciousness random acquisition ticket.