Past Life Recall (3)
With the sound of my back sizzling, heat surged from my palm, startling me so much that I yanked off my T-shirt to check. My back and stomach were charred black—ruined beyond repair, no way to even mend it.
"Whoa. Eye candy for sure... Huh? What's that tattoo on your stomach?"
"What?"
"Whoa~ Is this that uterus tattoo thing from adult comics or whatever?"
"What the hell is this?!"
I smacked the pervert's big dumb head as he gawked wide-eyed at my stomach and chest(...) in turns, then bolted to the bathroom. There, etched clearly on the spot where I'd felt the pain earlier, was a tattoo. Just like the creep said, it was a heart-shaped design straight out of some hentai, right below my navel.
Wait. Does that mean my back has one too?
No way in hell! I swept my hair forward over my back to check, and sure enough, between my shoulder blades was an inverted pentagram along with some unknown language and what looked like a magic circle? Geometric pattern?
Oh. Kinda cool... No, wait, why a tattoo? But given everything that's happened, this must be how the seal I chose got imprinted. I didn't realize it was physically branded like this. And this... whatever-you-call-it tattoo below my navel...
This is gonna be a nightmare to prove my innocence even if I could. People are gonna have preconceptions no matter what. What kind? You know, the stereotypes—if a guy or girl has excessive tattoos, they're a thug, gangster, or slut. Hell, there's even a term like "tattoo bitch."
Of course, I'm not even a "bitch" type; I got forcibly branded without wanting the damn thing. But others won't care—they'll judge anyway.
Goddamn it. Wait, wasn't the description just a normal mage? What kind of symbol is this...
"Argh. Sigh. My hand's burning like hell."
"Hey, who said you could follow me in?"
I was blushing and staring at the thing below my navel when the perv rubbed his head and trailed into the bathroom.
"Just curious, that's all."
"Bullshit—you're pretending to be curious so you can grope my chest."
Judging by that perv's face, no way he was just "curious." Not a chance.
"As if... Whoa~ Ooh, your back itches, huh?"
I covered my chest with my long hair, conveniently hiding my stomach too, leaving my back fully exposed. The criminal let out an impressed whistle, eyes gleaming.
"What do you think? Pretty badass, right?"
"It is kinda badass, but tattoo chicks aren't really my type..."
"That's a win for me, though."
"A win for me too... Wait, no. Hey, random thought—do me a favor."
"What favor?"
I eyed the guy warily as he claimed it was a sudden idea.
"Nothing big. We talked about my fake girlfriend yesterday, right?"
"Got it. End of discussion."
I could guess the rest without hearing it, so I secretly smirked at the guy who was now below my eye level.
"I don't listen to dwarves anymore."
"Ah, fuck. Just hear me out... Oof!"
"Hear what?"
I shoved his yapping mouth with my palm and left the bathroom. I grabbed a black boxy T-shirt from the rack, slipped it on, and picked up my phone to check the next tutorial.
"Hey, hey, hey. Since we're already in this mess, you're gonna go into YouTube or live streaming or something, right?"
"Do I have to?"
I'm the type who loves attention but not the type to seek it out. What do I mean? Like this: if I pull off some mad movie-level plays in games online and get gasps from viewers, or nail a comment drip on a YouTube vid and rack up lol's or hearts from the channel owner—dopamine rush. Especially in King of Fist, my main game where I upload clips regularly to YouTube; I was kinda named there, so I had some pride... or something like it.
But actually going live or showing my face? No courage for that. Just... that vibe. I suck at talking anyway, so my game vids had no voiceover. Editing? Barely; I just slapped on BGM that fit mad movies—super crude.
Me, mukbanging with my face out? It tempted me briefly earlier, but with my personality? Eh...
"Dude. So what're you gonna do now? Can you even work your part-time gig right away?"
"Ah..."
Oh shit. Now that I think about it, job's the immediate problem. Family—I can dodge them for now and scrape by—but money's key. My identity's all messed up, so sticking with the current job's iffy.
"Yeah."
"Right? So I've got some streaming chops. I'll push you till I enlist, stream together, then after military, we 'drift apart' and break up naturally. We go separate ways—perfect."
"That... breakup reason's kinda lame?"
"Just an example. What, say you wore shoes backwards?"
"Then I'm the idiot. How about you cheated and we broke up?"
"You psycho—that'd tank me. Plus, dumping a girlfriend with this killer looks for another? Prime 'scumbag' material, dude."
"Ahem. Yeah, kinda."
Even I thought it'd draw hate—ditching this insane beauty that outshines most girls? But possible excuses like "she's too tall," "tattoos suck," "personality's trash"... all point flaws at me?
"Pissing me off suddenly."
"Out of nowhere why?"
"Just die."
"You retard?"
I shoved my phone with the ongoing tutorial in the dwarf's baffled face.
"We'll find a way out finishing the tutorial. Worry later—finish it. Promised an easy life hack, so there must be countermeasures."
"Sigh... Fine, do you. I'm crashing."
"Alright. Thanks for the help."
Unlike me, he'd pulled an all-nighter till near lunch, so his face screamed exhaustion as he flopped into bed and passed out quick.
Hmm... Guess it's just me clearing the tutorial now?
All seals registered.
Welcome, aaa123. Tap here.
I tapped the spot, and a window like a game character profile popped up. But no stats like strength or intelligence—just Mana Level 1 and current mana at 100,000/100,000. And...
"What the...?"
When I chose it, it was just "Food God," right? Whatever, but no skill window, no stats—just a mana bar? Is this legit?
"Thought it'd be level up and assign points or something."
Status confirmed. Check the Shop of the God of Greed, Gold.
"Huh?"
Unlike the barebones status, the shop brimmed with items—everything from goods to what seemed like magic spells. But the top one caught my eye.
Current relatives with memories: 11 (Price scales with count. Overwrites existing ID; alters recognition for user, blood relatives, close kin.)
Whoa. 11 people for 1.1 billion? 100 mil each? Looks like family and relatives... Free first time, so price doesn't matter, but damn pricey. Essential for living issue-free in Korea, though. Human nature, right? Even if not needed now, wanna snag the pricier freebie. Logic screams ID, but my heart...
Free 100 billion Meteor! But that 10 mil mana req and Mana Level 5? I'm at 100k/100k, Level 1. Can't cast. Other flashy game/fantasy spells dazzled, but only usable essential? The ID.
"My Meteor dreams..."
Useless in modern times, shouldn't use it—but romance, y'know. Sigh. Had to click the ID.
Thank you for your purchase!
Like a mobile game or online shop—card/bank setup and all—I finished buying. Thanks popped up, and on my screen, something 3D-printed into existence.
"Whoa, so cool."
Phone sparkled as the ID formed—mesmerizing for minutes. Done, it plopped from the screen into my hand.
◈ Attach over your existing ID.
The card-sized paper said Perception Alteration ID in big letters. Per instructions, I stuck it on my resident ID.
"Huh?"
And my vision went black.