The Examination

"Hunter Kang Jia, you may come in now."

"Yes."

She stepped inside, and a massive orb occupied the space before her. People tended to assume that anything called an Ability Verification Orb would be a small thing, but this was a full meter across — a piece of high-end equipment so expensive that only national facilities and major guilds possessed one. It was perfectly transparent. You could see straight through to the other side.

The procedure was simple enough. You stood before the orb, wrapped your arms around it as if hugging it, and waited about a minute. The names of every ability you possessed would then appear. Equipment abilities showed up as well, so people generally used it with all their gear removed. The whole process felt uncannily like going in for a health checkup and getting a chest X-ray.

The attendant checked his clipboard, then spoke.

"You've used this before, yes? Please go around to the other side and get into a comfortable position."

"Yes."

Unfortunately for Jia, the attendant was a man.

She did as she was told, walking around to the far side of the orb and turning to face him. Two people, a man and a woman, standing opposite each other with nothing but a sheet of transparent crystal between them.

"...Alright. I'll begin now, so please just hold the orb however's comfortable."

He had only now gotten a proper look at her, and he flinched — but he kept his voice to the same professional register he used for every examination.

Jia spread her arms to embrace the giant orb, and the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠long-sleeved shirt that had been supporting her chest slid down at once, as if it had been waiting for exactly that. It had never been tied with the expectation that she would need to stretch her arms out. The result was as natural as it was inevitable.

"Nh—"

She hunched in a panic, trying to catch her breasts, but the shirt had already slipped, and those massive things, robbed of their support, swayed and dropped inside her clothes with a heavy bounce. At least it was an oversized t-shirt — they didn't spill out into the open. But the sheer destructive force of that bounce, felt from the inside, was a humiliation so acute it made her want to disappear.

Her face burned so hot it felt like it might burst. The examination had already started, though, and she told herself she had to get through this first. She ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wrapped her arms around the orb.

With nothing but the oversized t-shirt between them, her enormous breasts were crushed flat against the crystal, squashed into the space between her body and the glass.

"Hah—"

The long-sleeved shirt dropped from beneath the oversized tee with a soft, distinct flop.

The attendant heard it, glanced down on instinct — and flinched. A loop of t-shirt, or some kind of cloth, sat in a bunched circle around her standing legs. Apparently something had fallen out from inside her clothes.

He pretended he hadn't seen it. He said nothing, and simply continued the exam.

Why would she put something like that on her chest...

An awkward silence settled over them, the kind that exists only when both people know something is off and both have decided to endure it anyway.

Even just running out to the convenience store in front of her house, Jia had always worn a bra. Stepping outside without one was mortifying all by itself. And these weren't even her usual breasts — they were these obscenely, impossibly massive things. She could brainwash herself all she wanted that they weren't really hers. To anyone looking, they were simply her chest. Especially anyone who had never seen what she used to look like. They would have no idea the whole thing was fake.

The attendant had managed to ignore the fallen shirt. Operating the orb and checking the results, however, meant he had no choice but to look through from the other side — which meant he had a perfectly natural, perfectly unavoidable view of the way her breasts were crushed against the glass.

Are those actually real? Don't tell me those are... nipples?

He could barely believe his own eyes, but he kept it off his face by the thinnest of margins. The world was full of hunters, and hunters came in every temperament imaginable. Standing out for the wrong reason — and ending up on someone's bad side — was not a risk worth taking.

They watched each other out of the corners of their eyes. The silence stretched. From inside the orb came a low, resonant hum, as if the thing itself were telling them both to hold on a little longer.

The minute felt endless. When it finally passed, the attendant spoke.

"Alright. That's done. You can relax now."

The instant the words left his mouth, she snatched up the fallen shirt. Making a substitute bra to support this chest by herself, though, looked hopeless, so she just stood there holding it, trying to look natural.

It was not natural at all.

"The results are in, but... you're currently not wearing any equipment, correct?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Hmm. Three abilities are showing up. You haven't forgotten any equipped gear, or an accessory you meant to take off?"

Relieved that the scan was coming out the way she'd expected, she answered.

"No. That's actually why I'm here getting tested in the first place. I'm in a situation where I can use additional abilities without occupying the basic equipment slots. If you'd like, I can put on all the temporary examination accessories and equipment and we can scan again."

It was a hassle for everyone involved — the person being tested and the person running the test — but it was the surest method available. Fill every equipment slot and every accessory slot, scan again, and any extra abilities would show up cleanly. In a situation this extraordinary, a second pass was the only responsible call.

"Ah — so that's what I heard about earlier. It's just so hard to believe... Anyway, Water Spirit, Troll's Recovery, and 3× Stamina. That's three. Even one of these would be an incredible ability."

She could hear the envy in his voice. She nodded, awkwardly, and left it at that.

"We'll need a cross-verification to be certain, so please put these on as well and we'll run the scan again."

"Yes. Of course."

She followed his directions into the changing room. A white desk waited inside, equipment laid out in a neat row. She started with the accessories, putting them on one by one. There wasn't any particular order to it.

"Once you've put on all the accessories and equipment here, please take your position in front of the orb the same as before."

"Yes, understood."

The attendant stepped out. Alone, she gave the gear a quick once-over.

Every piece of equipment and every accessory on that desk had the same ability attached: Skin Enhancement. "Enhancement" was a generous word. They weren't high-performance items by any stretch — all they really did was make your skin a little smoother.

She worked ten identical, ordinary silver rings onto her fingers, and a ring blossomed on every digit. It felt as awkward as wearing knuckle dusters.

Next came an ordinary black equipment set.

The basic equipment window had seven slots in total: hat, top, bottom, gloves, shoes, top underwear, and bottom underwear. Because gear was generated without any distinction between male and female, a woman might find herself in boxer briefs depending on an item's design, and a man might end up wearing a bra. Of course, people only put this stuff on right before entering the Tower. You just had to endure it for a little while inside.

That said, plenty of hunters used their equipment windows constantly even outside the Tower, simply because it was easier to manage — or easier to put on and take off. You couldn't just pick up a piece of gear and slot it in while wearing it. You had to send it to your inventory first, then equip it from there. Even so, it was vastly more convenient than changing in and out of ordinary clothes.

The biggest downside was this: if you were wearing equipped gear and accidentally moved it from the equipment window back to your inventory, you were stripped naked on the spot. If you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠equipped gear while already wearing regular clothes, the gear generated underneath them, as if it had formed directly out of your skin. Which meant that wearing equipment alone tended to put every curve of your body on display.

Jia knew all of this, so she applied the gear without taking off her oversized t-shirt or her sweatpants.

"Oh."

The moment she equipped the bra in the top underwear slot, it generated in a shape that actually fit these massive breasts. Her chest felt comfortable for the first time, and her hunched shoulders eased back a little.

She quickly sent a text to her parents, who had gone out looking for clothes.

She equipped a plain black bra and panties — no patterns, nothing fancy — then worked her way through the rest: a black tights top, matching bottoms, a black cap, sneakers, and gloves, one after another.

She could feel the equipment layered on underneath the oversized t-shirt. If she wore gear as clothing, she thought, she would be able to handle whatever changes came next.

Even so, the knowledge that the clothes she would be wearing from now on could auto-adjust was a genuine relief. She simply hadn't thought of it. She never went around in equipment in her daily life, so it had slipped her mind completely.

The difference a single properly fitted undergarment made was astonishing. Her mind at ease, she left the changing room with a stride that was far more natural than before.

"I've equipped everything. May we begin right away?"

"Of course. Just take your position and we'll start."

The attendant snuck another glance at her massive chest, then began the examination with a carefully constructed air of nonchalance. Whether it was because of her newfound composure, her breasts looked even bigger than before — his eyes couldn't help but go there.

And there it was, confirmed: the same three abilities as before, appearing exactly as they had, alongside a total of seventeen instances of Skin Enhancement.

"So it was real. What an incredible incident."

He was staring at the results in a daze. She pressed him, a hint of urgency creeping into her voice.

"Yes. But the ability itself has something of a time limit. I need to climb the Tower as much as possible — would that be alright?"

"What kind of time limit? You mean it disappears after a week, or something like that?"

"Something like that. I can't say I know the exact date it'll disappear, but I think if I climb the Tower as fast as possible, there might be a way to resolve it."

She told him only what she had discussed with her family — the time limit, and nothing else. The physical side effects, she left out entirely.

The attendant recorded Jia's answer in the documents, sent a message somewhere through his computer, then turned back to her.

"I've gone ahead and noted down what you told me as well. I'm sure you already know this, but it may prove helpful."

"Thank you."

When she thanked him, a smile came to his face without him quite meaning it to.

"The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Status Window Inspector is in the next room, so if you wait a moment... Hmm. Actually, it might be better if you go ahead and get the status window inspection first. I'm sorry about this, but it looks like you'll need to keep the equipment and accessories on while you move around. Will that be alright?"

"Yes. That's actually more comfortable — I'd prefer it."

"That's a relief. When you leave this room, the one immediately next door is labeled Status Window Inspection Room. Go in there and the attendant will proceed with the inspection."

"Yes."

Still holding the long-sleeved shirt in one hand, she left the room and headed next door.

The ability verification attendant watched her receding figure until she was gone, then clicked his tongue, a beat too late.

A hunter with a face like that, a chest like that, and on top of it all, abilities like those. It was genuinely absurd.

The world really isn't fair.