Chapter 181: Desire Absorption (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 181: Desire Absorption (1)
“Gah!”
The short, deep cry of agony managed to reach her, piercing through the sound of the running water and her own pounding heart.
“…What was that sound?”
Puzzled, she turned off the water, peeked her head out of the shower door, and called out to Kim Do-jin.
“Do-jin, is something wrong?”
Even after a moment, no answer came.
“Do-jin…?”
A sense of anxiety began to creep into her heart. Yoon Ji-an quickly wiped herself down, threw on a robe over her naked body, and stepped out of the shower.
When she reached the bedroom, Kim Do-jin was lying there as if he were dead.
To say he was merely asleep, his limbs were splayed out in such an awkward way that he looked incredibly uncomfortable.
“D-Do-jin?”
Startled, she rushed over to check on him.
He was breathing, but completely unresponsive. It seemed he had fainted.
She immediately changed her clothes, hoisted Kim Do-jin onto her back, and headed for the emergency room of a nearby hospital.
Soon, a basic examination began to find the cause of his collapse, as there were no signs of external injury.
However, they couldn't find a clear cause.
“His bodily functions are mostly normal. No… in fact, you could say they're even better than normal.”
“Then why…”
“Hmm, well… aside from some accumulated fatigue throughout his body, there's nothing else that stands out. It's difficult to say for certain right now.”
“I see.”
“His vital signs are all stable, so he should wake up soon. I recommend you speak with him afterward, and if there's anything unusual, you should request a more detailed examination.”
“…Thank you.”
After the doctor left, she slumped down next to the soundly sleeping Kim Do-jin.
The tension that had been squeezing her heart finally eased at the news that there was nothing seriously wrong.
Still, she remained puzzled. What was the cause of that sharp scream she'd heard while she was in the shower?
“…Do-jin.”
If there was truly nothing wrong with his body, as the initial exam suggested, then perhaps he had fainted from overwork.
Unlike her, who had driven for three days and survived on catnaps while waiting for him, he had conquered more than ten dungeons a day. And hadn't he, out of consideration for her, occasionally taken the wheel himself?
He even found the time to flirt with her whenever he had a spare moment.
She hadn't realized it then, but looking back now, she understood. She understood just how grueling his schedule had been for the past three days.
Was it because of the petty jealousy she had shown yesterday that he had dragged his exhausted body to bring her to a hotel?
‘It's my fault.’
She was utterly ashamed of the fact that, blinded by her own desire, she hadn't paid the slightest bit of attention to his condition.
Besides, wasn't her role to take care of him?
And yet, she had only made him more tired. It was enough to make her doubt her own qualifications.
Overwhelmed by a crushing wave of depression and shame, she raised a hand and slapped her own cheek hard.
Slap—!
Sparks flashed in her mind.
“Get a grip.”
Everything was good. All the time she spent with him, especially the process of discovering the heat and intensity of the night—things she had never known before—was more exciting and enjoyable than anything she had ever learned.
To have that taken away from her now was unthinkable.
But she decided she would not forget the one thing that had to come first: Taking care of Kim Do-jin.
From now on, she vowed, she would not pursue anything personal unless his care was the top priority.
“Alright.”
Having collected herself, she headed straight for the bathroom.
“He must feel sticky since he didn't get to wash up.”
To help him feel a little more comfortable, she soaked a towel hanging on the wall, wrung it out, and returned to his side.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
She boldly reached out, but then, seized by a strange feeling, she pulled her hand back.
“Umm… this feels a bit…”
Trying to undress a sleeping man felt… strange.
It felt like she was about to do something she shouldn't.
At the same time, the image of his firm body, which she had seen not long ago, flashed through her mind.
A perfectly balanced, muscular physique that looked like it could cause a nosebleed just by looking at it.
“It was really amazing… Ah, no, that's not it!”
She slapped her cheek once more to drive out the tempting thoughts filling her head.
Then, breathing calmly, she began to unbutton his hospital gown one by one.
Just as his firm skin was slowly being revealed…
Crack!
A bizarre sound stopped her hand in its tracks.
“What was that sound just now…?”
Crack!
And again.
Her eyes widened and fixed on his partially exposed upper body.
“Did that strange sound just come from Do-jin's body…?”
While she was frozen in shock and confusion…
Kim Do-jin's body suddenly began to twist unnaturally.
CRACK!
“D-Do-jin!”
With an alarming sound, the bones throughout his body twisted, and his muscles bulged and receded repeatedly.
The body that had boasted such perfect form collapsed in an instant.
“W-what is suddenly happening…”
Yoon Ji-an was horrified by the bizarre sight, the likes of which she had never seen or heard of before.
She quickly came to her senses and was about to press the call button by his head to summon a doctor, but she stopped.
A thought suddenly occurred to her. She felt that she shouldn't let anyone else see the strange phenomenon unfolding before her eyes.
‘What should I do?’
Even as she hesitated, Kim Do-jin's body continued to twist and return to its original shape over and over.
Watching him blankly, she finally pulled back the finger that had been hovering over the emergency call button.
“It's stabilizing…”
The body that had been twisting and breaking relentlessly began to gradually return to its original form.
No, to be precise, it was settling into a form even more perfect than before.
The entire process—the twisting, the breaking, and the reforming—took only ten minutes.
But to Yoon Ji-an, those ten minutes felt longer than any moment in her life.
“……”
As if nothing had happened, Kim Do-jin lay there, his body now more perfect than ever, breathing softly in his sleep.
A deep worry clouded Yoon Ji-an's eyes as she looked down at him.
* * *
My consciousness, which had been forcibly submerged by the pain, began to surface once more.
As my dormant senses gradually returned, the first thing I felt was a sense of unfamiliarity throughout my entire body.
I'm not quite sure how to describe it.
It feels like a perfect fit, as if my body has become even more my own.
But because of that, the disconnect from how it felt before is so great that it almost feels like it's not mine?
Well, it's not a big deal. The feeling of disconnect will resolve itself naturally over time.
“Ugh…”
I slowly lifted my heavy eyelids.
An unfamiliar ceiling and a stark white light. The sharp smell of antiseptic pricking my nose told me where I was.
“You're awake.”
Hearing Yoon Ji-an's voice from my side, I remembered an important fact I'd forgotten.
“Ah.”
Right, I passed out while waiting for her to get out of the shower.
When I turned my head, her eyes, filled to the brim with worry, were gazing intently at me.
“Ji-an…”
Ah, this is awkward. I passed out and woke up, but I have no idea what to tell her was the cause.
While I was wondering what to say to her…
“…I can't tell you how shocked I was to come out of the shower and find you collapsed. If you were that exhausted, you should have told me.”
“Ah…”
She gave me an excuse before I could make one myself.
“The doctor said it was from overwork. He said you need to rest for a few days.”
“…Is that so?”
The timing of her words was quite convenient.
There was an atmosphere around her that suggested she sensed something was off but was deliberately trying to cover for me.
I suddenly recalled how she had silently followed along for the past three days, even while watching my crazy antics.
Right. That's the kind of person Yoon Ji-an was. Tight-lipped, never jumping to her own conclusions, and always waiting for me to speak first.
But since I couldn't easily say anything right now, I just took her hands, which were resting demurely on her lap, and squeezed them apologetically.
“You must have been really worried because of me.”
“…Yes, I was. Very.”
The way she said it so directly, without beating around the bush, told me she'd been more anxious than I thought.
“You don't have to worry anymore. I just took a short nap, and now I feel fantastic.”
This wasn't just something I said to ease her worries.
In reality, my body felt much lighter than before I woke up.
Part of it was because I'd been forced to sleep and relieve my fatigue, but the biggest reason was that my body itself had changed.
[Body adaptation complete.]
[User's stat efficiency has been increased by 1.3x.]
[User's talent has been further enhanced.]
[Having partially met the conditions for ability usage, '○○' will be activated upon meeting specific criteria.]
[Upon reaching a certain level of Karma, the 'Bearer of Karma' trait will be further enhanced.]
Do you see it? The dazzling feast of messages that dominated my vision the moment I opened my eyes to the unfamiliar ceiling.
I'll have to take my time and examine the lower messages later, but the part I need to focus on right now is the second one.
1.3x stat efficiency.
Thanks to the increase in my stats from just a 0.1x boost, I'm overflowing with power.
With this kind of power, I feel like I could win a fight against even a top-tier active B-rank Hunter.
And if the matchup and strategy are right, I might even be able to land a solid blow on a low-tier A-rank Hunter.
Gently rubbing the back of her hand, I casually brought it up.
“So, how about we check out of the hospital and go back to where we were?”
My body, now filled with even greater vitality, was screaming at me to go all out with the woman in front of me.
I thought she would understand what I meant and go along with it, but what was this?
“I can't do that.”
“……”
She pulled her hand from mine and shook her head firmly.
“The doctor said you need to rest for a few days.”
“No, but that is rest for me…”
“Sex consumes a great deal of stamina, so it can in no way be considered rest.”
“So… you're not going to do it?”
“Yes. I will endure it.”
For a moment, I almost lost it.
“How can you possibly endure that…!”
To which she replied.
“Because it's for you, Do-jin.”
“…No.”
I could feel the firm affection she had for me in her resolute voice.
She says it's for my sake, so there's nothing I can do about it.
Why did this damn system have to start its calculations right then and make me pass out? Why?
Looking at her determined expression, it seemed no method would work on her right now.
Ah, I hate the world.