Quitting the Job
"Hm."
Some of the pieces were useless as abilities. Others were useless as bodies. Taken together, though, the theme was unmistakable: a thick streak of malice aimed at turning her into something filthy. A walking rag.
What anyone planned to do with a virgin built to look like that, he had no idea. A search had at least told him what the aesthetic was called — kuso gyaru. It wasn't a word you heard much in Korea, and it sat awkwardly on the tongue.
The one stroke of luck was that he'd already equipped her with a piece last night. Because the system had recognized gear on her body, he could mount another one today. Better still, a single click from range was enough to snap it into place.
He set himself a target: pick one of the ten recipes, craft it today, and get it onto her before the day was out. It was still daylight. Time enough. Ideally, he'd finish the job before she left for the guild.
He kept turning the recipes over, hunting for the worst possible option.
The breasts and the ass would add a lot of volume, but the abilities that came with them were far too good. The truly vicious ones were the love-juice change and the anus — except the ones he could safely throw out at a glance were the armpit hair, the clit, the inner labia, the hair, the nipples, and the outer labia.
Looking at it longer, the ass would probably be no problem for her either. She'd tank it. And the ability it granted was excellent. Too comfortable a deal for her, so that went on the discard pile too.
That left the breasts, the pussy, or the anus. The pussy and the anus looked tempting, but both had traps. There was no way to know how small a shock it took to punch a fart out of her, and nobody in a situation this frantic and humiliating was actually going to get sexually aroused. He also had no idea how sensitive Heightened Senses would really make her.
What could become a problem for her right now was the chest. An L-cup was enormous by anyone's measure. He honestly wondered whether an L-cup even existed as a real size. The first time he'd seen it, he'd assumed he'd misread the letter.
Breasts it is, then.
He tapped the recipe to check the details.
◈ Materials: 1 L Milk-Cow Tauren Milk, 1 Low-Grade Mana Stone
What the hell is this now.
At least with listed materials he could look up the prices ahead of time. He ran a search. He'd already confirmed that buying from the shop usually ran about ten times market rate — not necessarily true of every ingredient, but a working rule.
Then he saw the numbers, and sighed.
One liter of Milk-Cow Tauren milk: 15 silver. A low-grade mana stone: 1 silver. Call it 160 silver to buy the lot from the shop.
Selling off everything he'd crafted yesterday would net him 195 silver and 700 copper. Doable, at least on paper.
Then he hit the catch.
Wait. If I take the milk out of the inventory it just sloshes out as liquid? So I need a container to put it in — and if I don't buy the dedicated one, they can't guarantee the material's freshness or condition?
He looked it up. The container was 3 silver. Name: Liquid Freshness Preservation Vessel.
"Nngh."
It made his stomach hurt, but he had to move. If he hesitated, she'd be on her way to the guild.
He walked the stretch where the Material Shop appeared, doing his best to look like a man with nowhere in particular to be. This was already his third time heading out since last night, and the thought that someone might notice sat in the back of his mind — but nobody who actually lived in the neighborhood was going to care that some guy had walked down his own alley a few times.
He sold the Unique Equipment he'd brought with him, checked the total, and let out a long breath. Then he searched the material names. Twenty million won in a single day. He decided to focus on that and nothing else. It was money he could make again.
Watching fifteen million won about to walk out the door, his hands actually trembled. He told himself it was money he hadn't had yesterday anyway, and bought it fast. The milk dropped into an inventory that the equipment sale had left empty.
The idea that anyone would torch fifteen million on a single jug of milk was astonishing enough. Even at 1.5 million on the exchange it didn't make sense. The fact that the anyone in question was him was the part that left him speechless.
He searched the rest of the materials. Prices populated immediately.
His hands shook all over again at the thought of paying that much for a jug. It killed him, but there was no other way. He bought it.
He sighed. In an instant, 190 silver was gone. Five silver and 700 copper stared back at him.
In the inventory, the moment he thought about pouring the milk into the vessel, the item name changed: 1 L Milk-Cow Tauren Milk, sealed in a Freshness Preservation Vessel. The vessel itself could apparently be reused, which was something. At least he wouldn't have to keep throwing this kind of money at a jug.
Going out, buying the materials, and getting back to the goshiwon took barely twenty minutes. He'd moved as fast as he could, and she had already gotten in touch about visiting the guild.
She wasn't speaking to the guild master directly. She was on the phone with the staffer who handled internal facility use — the Changwoon Guild Manager.
"Yes, yes. I'm so glad you have an opening at four this afternoon. So just to confirm — I can use the Status Window Inspector and the Ability Verification Orb for about thirty minutes, right? Yes. That should be plenty. Thank you. Yes, that's right. Mm-hmm, exactly. No, it's not that — I've just ended up with a reason I need to climb the tower as fast as I can. I'll show you my abilities first, and if possible I'll explain it to the guild master in person. Yes, yes. Yes. Thank you so much."
The model of her, which had been talking animatedly with the phone pressed to her ear, sat down on the chair with a faintly exhausted look. The prickling hairs must have been stinging; she had her legs slightly apart. He stripped the clothes off the model on instinct and spent a moment watching her sitting there naked, thighs open. That, at least, put a little life back into him.
If she's going at four, I should snap it on right before she leaves.
The problem was his shift at the convenience store. Two to ten. Two o'clock was coming up fast. He'd slept through lunch, and if he went in he'd miss the window that actually mattered.
Having an ability like this and blowing the chance because of a part-time job was insane. He picked up the phone and called the convenience store owner.
"Boss, it's Minwoo."
"So, what's going on?"
"I'm really sorry, but I don't think I can come in today."
"Why? You sick? You feeling that bad?"
The genuine worry in the man's voice needled his conscience, but he told himself he'd make it up once he was earning real money, and pushed through.
He might be quitting soon anyway.
"Yes. I'm sorry. I think it's gastroenteritis — the body aches are brutal, and I keep having to run to the bathroom. I don't think I can work. I'm really sorry."
"Well, can't be helped if you're sick. You've never missed a shift over something like this, Minwoo. You've always been a hard worker. Make sure you see a doctor, though — and you know that since it's hourly, your paycheck's gonna come out a little light for the time you miss, right?"
"…Yes. It's my fault for dropping out last-minute, so I understand."
"Appreciate you understanding. Tomorrow was your day off anyway, so take two days and rest up. Just make sure you go to the hospital, then show up Sunday in one piece, yeah? Don't just sit at home trying to save money. Taking care of your body is part of being a professional."
"Okay."
"Plus, since you dropped out last-minute, I might have to pay the guy covering for you extra, so there could be a little more coming out of your hourly. That's alright with you?"
"…Yes."
"And it might've been from eating the expired stuff, so don't take that home anymore. Also, the kid who takes over from you has been having a rough time lately — from now on, come in ten minutes earlier. You know that's just good work etiquette, right? I'm only saying this because I care."
"…"
He'd called in sick to scrape together a single day off. What came out of his mouth instead was an impulse.
"Actually… I think I need to quit the store. Something came up and I have to head down to the countryside all of a sudden. I'm sorry."
"…What? You don't just spring that on someone. That sick story wasn't you faking it, was it?"
"…No, it wasn't."
"You should at least quit to my face. That's basic respect. And if you walk off one-sided like this, it might be hard to get you this month's wages properly."
"It'd be hard to pay me?"
"That's right. You fine with not getting paid this month? You worked ten days. So why don't you rest up, come in Sunday, and we look each other in the eye first? Wouldn't that be better for both of us?"
"I won't take this month's wages. Thank you for everything, boss."
"Wait. Wait, Minwoo! I have your address and your number — you hang up on me and I'll come find you! Don't you hang up!"
"…"