Chapter 50: Metamorphosis (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 50: Metamorphosis (3)
Straining, I slowly pushed myself up.
“Nngh.”
A dull ache radiated through my entire body.
Counting the last bottle I drank after realigning my joints, I’d chugged a total of seven, and this was the result?
I may have created it, but it was a truly vicious method.
So much so that it felt less like something for reconstructing the body and more like a tool for torture.
“Still, it feels good.”
I could feel it just by lightly clenching and unclenching my fist.
This was far beyond a change that could be described as simply ‘shedding a layer.’
“Status Window.”
[Status Window]
Name: Kim Do-jin
Sex: Male
Age: 20
Height/Weight: 172CM / 77.2KG
[Strength: 20] [Stamina: 25] [Agility: 15] [Mana: 5]
Traits:
Mutual Non-aggression [2022.06.09]~[2025.12.31]
Disclosure Prohibition [2022.06.09]~[2025.12.31]
I noticed a few changes from the status window I’d seen before using the secret art.
First, my overall stats had slightly increased.
Metamorphosis only breaks down and rebuilds what's already there; it doesn't instantly increase muscle mass.
The reason my stats still went up must be because the efficiency of the same amount of muscle had improved.
After all, 10 units of weak muscle in a pathetic body are completely different in density from 10 units of muscle in an ideal physique.
It might sound a bit cruel, but that's just how the world works.
An ordinary person? They can live well enough depending on their own effort.
It just stings a little that an extraordinary person can live far better with the exact same amount of effort.
My mana, which had been my highest stat, had plummeted to a single digit.
“Well… I can just gather it again.”
If I can get a body like this by investing 30 mana points, it's a profitable trade.
My height and weight had also changed quite a bit.
“Now I finally look somewhat presentable.”
Still short, though.
But at least I was no longer at a height where I'd have to helplessly expose the crown of my head to any woman in mercilessly high heels.
“…Or am I?”
Wasn't the average height of awakened women 170cm…?
Still cutting it close.
“Tsk.”
It was a shame, but it was fine.
My growth plates, which had reopened after my awakening, opened even wider after the Metamorphosis art.
On top of that, I’d also cast the Secret Art of Rapid Growth. With a little exaggeration, I might just shoot up 3 to 5 cm a month, like a bean sprout.
So my concern about my height wasn't about how tall I could get.
“I just hope I grow to a reasonable height.”
My growth plates had opened too wide.
I was worried that if I kept growing like this, I might surpass 2 meters.
“…I might have to retrieve the secret art on my growth plates at the right time.”
Rushing to a conclusion was a bad idea.
This was the height that would be on my profile for the rest of my life, so I had to be extremely careful.
I’ll wait and see for about a month before deciding.
I need to know if this is just a groundless fear or something I really need to worry about.
It won't be too late to decide after seeing how much I grow in a month.
“I’ve lost some weight, too…”
I looked down and checked the belly pooching out below my chest.
Now I could probably call it a cute little belly.
It seemed some of the fat on my body had melted away during the process of breaking and reshaping my muscles and bones.
Suddenly, I became unbearably curious about what I looked like now.
I went straight to the bathroom mirror to check my reflection.
My eyes were drawn to my distinctly different body, a result of the changes in my skeletal structure and muscle shape.
“Kuh, awesome!”
An exclamation of awe escaped my lips.
My once-small, rounded shoulders were now broad and flat like the Pacific Ocean. The chest, which had been puffier than most women's breasts due to late-stage gynecomastia, was gone, replaced by solid muscle.
It was the very model of what people call an inverted triangle physique.
I still had a bit of fat, but the visual impression was completely different.
Before, it felt like a soft marshmallow, like fat piled on top of fat. Now? It looked like a muscular body that had gained a little bit of weight from a brief lapse in maintenance.
It wasn't just my body that had changed.
My face had changed, too.
The countless layers of fat that had been spread across my face were gone.
My facial features, once buried within, had emerged, making my impression sharper by one level—no, by several levels.
My friendly eyes were likable enough to earn constant comments about my good impression, and my high-bridged nose was so sharp it looked like it could cut paper.
The thick fat under my chin, which had sat there like a toad's pouch, had vanished, revealing a sharp, defined jawline.
“Not bad…?”
A face that could definitely be called handsome, depending on the occasion.
Looking at it, I couldn't help but express my gratitude to Fake Si-woo once again.
“You really were like the Giving Tree, leaving everything behind, Real Do-jin… no, Mr. Fake Si-woo!”
The Metamorphosis art only affected my body from the neck down.
In other words, this face was Kim Do-jin's original.
He wasn't a bad-looking guy to begin with.
It's just that the excessive fat had buried his face, so much so that even the body's owner couldn't recognize it.
If he had paid just a little more attention to his body, if he had loved himself instead of blaming himself and wondering, ‘Why am I like this?’, things probably wouldn't have ended up this way.
“Hah… my conscience is pricking me.”
It stung, as if someone were poking my chest with a needle.
A fresh twenty-year-old body, genius-level talent, and handsome looks.
I received a body that had all three, but what I gave him in return was a body that had burned out long ago, now barely sustaining itself by scraping together the dregs and setting them alight again.
“I'm sorry, Mr. Fake Si-woo…. I'm so, so sorry…!”
I’m sorry.
Ah, I’m really sorry, but.
“Phuhuhuhu.”
Why can't I stop laughing?
I hope Mr. Fake Si-woo learns something from this.
“Life is the real deal, you little fucker…!”
That life is the real deal, and that some mistakes can never be undone.
“Phew!”
Amidst my joy, a small worry surfaced.
The Metamorphosis art had worked too well.
It worked so well that my body had changed far too much overnight.
If the ajumma or Shin Yu-jeong saw me now, how on earth would I explain this?
Knock, knock, knock!
Someone knocked on the door while I was deep in thought.
By now, I could tell who it was just from the force of the knock.
“Do-jin, are you in there…?”
Just as I thought.
It was the ajumma.
“Ah, what do I do?”
How am I supposed to explain this?
“Do-jin…?”
The ajumma's voice called out again.
“…Did he already leave?”
Through the thick, frosted glass, I saw the ajumma's silhouette gradually move away.
As I watched her go with a sense of regret, a thought suddenly occurred to me.
Do I really need to give her a long-winded explanation?
Frankly, it's not like I committed a crime. All I did was use my skills to work my ass off and build a better body.
Putting myself in her shoes, what if a woman I liked suddenly showed up with a sexier body?
I’d probably bow down in gratitude.
The ajumma wouldn't go that far… but she probably wouldn't interrogate me, either.
“Right, it's not like I can avoid her forever.”
I might be able to dodge other people like Shin Yu-jeong and Yoon Ji-an, but not the ajumma.
Unlike the others, she has a big influence on my daily life… no, more than that, I just don't want to avoid her.
Things are just starting to heat up, and now I'm supposed to be separated from her?
No way.
A person's heart can burn like a fire, but it cools quickly once the fuel runs out.
To keep it burning steadily, you have to keep feeding it firewood.
I immediately opened the door, went out, and grabbed the arm of the retreating ajumma, spinning her around.
“Oh my!”
Letting out a girlish scream, the ajumma turned and looked at me.
“Do-jin, you were home—”
Her cheerful voice trailed off, cut short mid-sentence.
At the same time, her pupils, fixed on me, began to tremble violently as if in an earthquake.
“W-Who are you…?”
Ah, what a thrill.
The person who's known me the longest and seen me the most is asking who I am.
Doesn't that just prove how dramatic my transformation has been?
“Who do you think?”
I said in my completely unchanged voice.
Recognizing it, the ajumma's eyes slowly began to widen.
“It's me, Ajumma.”
Finally, with her eyes wide enough to tear, the ajumma scrutinized me.
She even raised a hand and started touching my face all over.
“N-No, how is this…”
It hadn't even been 24 hours since she’d last seen me.
“Is it really you, Do-jin…?”
She asked again, as if she couldn't believe it.
Her eyes were filled with disbelief, but I didn't sense any displeasure.
No, judging by the blush on her face, she definitely liked it.
“I told you, it's me. How about it, should I prove it to you?”
“P-Prove it…? How…”
I took the flustered ajumma's hand and led her into the room.
Then I locked the door firmly, pressed her against it, and devoured her lips with a kiss.
“Ueup…!?”
She was startled by the bold move for only a moment.
Soon, the ajumma skillfully accepted my tongue.
There's a certain habit to how I move my tongue when I kiss.
Basically, I like to tangle my tongue intensely with the ajumma's.
After a rather long time of our tongues being intertwined, I pulled my lips away.
“Hah, haah…”
Watching the ajumma panting for breath at close range, I asked in a quiet voice,
“Now you know it's me, right?”
The ajumma looked up at me, her hands clasped over her chest.
Her eyes couldn't hide the raw desire within them.
After hesitating for a moment, she shook her head.
“N-Not yet… I'm still not sure…”
She blushed and averted her gaze.
This is that, isn't it?
Perfect timing.
I was curious, too.
How this changed body would affect sex.
“Then… I guess we'll have to do some more in-depth verification?”
I wrapped my arm around the ajumma's waist and led her deeper into the room.