Someone's Selling My Hair
There was an item in my Inventory that I didn't recognize.
"Wh-what the hell is this...?"
Chills ran down my spine first thing in the morning.
I'd woken up with a clear head for once and checked the gallery, only to stumble on this monstrosity.
My hair?
Why the hell did they pick it up??
And why are they selling it???
Is there seriously demand for that crap?
Why...?
Ugh-
Sleep vanished in an instant.
Truly, all kinds of weirdos out there.
And here I am, knowing that, yet compulsively clicking anyway—starting to feel like I'm turning into one of them.
But... what's this post?
Received a gift from me?
Couldn't not click.
A snicker escaped me.
This one was pretty funny.
The title had me tense, but once I read it, the whole situation clicked.
I'd know it inside out—it's my NPC, after all.
I'm not the type to let debts slide, looks like.
Debts bug me, tank my efficiency with all the mental overhead, so I pay 'em off when I can. And those guys? They saved my ass, like it or not.
Couldn't ignore someone throwing "favor" in my face.
Hence, the hoodie.
The debt was light, but with nothing else to my name worth giving, that was the hasty compromise.
Trash disposal, basically.
Which means that guy's affinity? Torched.
Just like the comments said—burned it all for worthless junk.
Fun.
Gallery scrolling's way more entertaining than before.
Sure, the creepy posts pop up sometimes, but even those are starting to feel... enjoyable? Getting used to it.
All this attention pouring in on my hidden self.
Why do I keep coming back?
Maybe this is my calling.
Phew~
I stretched.
Gallery time's over for today.
Time to train.
My goal: get stronger.
Most of the crap I've faced so far? Overcome with raw power.
Can't slack on the R&D.
Time to test yesterday's notes.
Off to the Back Mountain.
"Radius 35m. The range keeps expanding as I get the hang of sensing it."
Inventory ability growth.
Is this me leveling up? Or just finally using it right?
Probably both.
The more familiar I got with manipulating it, the more potential I could squeeze out. Proof: storage range up to 35m now.
But training alone didn't do it.
Fun part: that failed A-rank Inventory shard from gacha? Merged into mine and bumped ejection range by 5m instantly.
Not a total dud after all.
Alright, test time.
"Question: Does kinetic energy preserve when storing moving objects?"
Whoosh!~
Threw a rock, stored it mid-flight.
About 30 seconds later, ejected it—whoosh~ it flew off.
Conclusion.
"Probably... no air resistance inside Inventory."
In other words, preserved.
The kinetic energy got stored with the object—no loss inside.
Next item.
"Ejection vector. Can I control the direction of the kinetic energy?"
Boom!
The summoned rock shot forward.
Dropped from the sky, pre-stored in Inventory, but ejected ahead.
"Inventory's like a plane. Change the ejection plane, redirect the energy."
Scribble scribble.
Jotted down Inventory traits one by one.
Actually, all old tests from F-rank days.
But.
"Results are totally different..."
F-rank wiped kinetic energy on store, ejected stationary.
At this point, I gotta wonder...
What about other people's Inventories?
Is mine the only one that stores kinetic energy with the object?
What's the difference?
"Differentiation."
I get it.
My Inventory differentiates matter.
Like, normal: store a pencil as one unit. Me? I can store half.
No object boundaries.
Split it down to tiny bits—air, kinetic energy, everything.
Wait, no.
Even simpler: stores the space itself.
Though living things touching it fizzle out—big downside.
Not bad. With this Inventory, just shift perspective and it's busted.
Like this.
Flash! Flash!~
Drop rock from height, store right before ground. Repeat twice with gravity acceleration.
KABOOM!!!
Eject upward—it plummeted at insane speed, cratering the ground.
Kinetic preservation attack.
Insanely powerful.
Max out acceleration before rock wears? Or craft massive iron ball, amp mass and speed.
Meteor, basically.
Could do that.
"Yeah... I'd be in danger too."
Shelve it.
Backlash alone would obliterate me.
Without fixing my fragile body, overkill firepower's poison.
Inefficient technique.
Unless smashing clustered armies from afar—niche use.
I'm already glass cannon.
Firepower overflows.
No need for riskier "stronger."
Meteor: banned.
Vertical ejection though?
Shoot rock straight like Rock Railgun—clean single-target nuke.
No AoE, but perfect for big singles.
Unlike Air Explosion, safe at 1m range. Blocks close approaches easy unless swarmed. Prevents Champion Goblin repeats.
Perspective shift.
Inefficient, but cool as hell.
"Cool" over efficiency—powerful, flashy.
Can't use that?
For intimidation: "Mess with me, you die."
Just imagining it—already badass.
They'd shit bricks.
Nod nod.
Pretty good.
No fancy control needed—minimal practice.
Prep accelerated rocks, done.
Stock up multiples now.
Inventory's item crutch.
Weapon of the prepared.
Flash~
Climbed and descended the mountain, hoarding rocks. Back Mountain's scraped bare—not my problem.
Found an issue though.
Inventory senses dulling.
Stuffing randomly—hard to tell what's what.
Passive skill.
Semi-sensory.
Normally, focus and feel contents. Now? All buried lumps. Too much dirt from tunneling.
Piling rocks on top.
"Not efficient."
Distinguishing items gets harder.
Even Floor 1 goblin gear's fuzzy.
Eject wrong one?
Game over.
One-shot life—one mistake fatal.
Need to organize Inventory.
Flash!
Dumped the dirt pile.
Might as well empty it all up here.
Inventory cleanup—like soldier polishing gun. Prep to minimize combat loss.
Organize properly from now.
Flash, flash!~
Scattered dirt while walking.
How much time passed?
Mountain probably a few cm taller now.
"Hm?"
Sensed anomaly in Inventory.
Near weapon storage: unknown junk.
No memory of storing.
Items blurred by dirt.
What the?
No recall of putting this in.
Curious, summoned a small round thing to my palm.
"A ring?"
Tiny gem-encrusted ring.
Gleaming pretty red jewel in setting—looks pricey at a glance.
Why do I have this?
Bzzz!~
Phone buzzed short.
2EE's message—she'd just cleared Nightmare Floor 7.
Fishy, but reply first.
"Huh...?"
What? She actually gave an item?
And I accepted it??
No way.
Hold up—ring?
Swipe.
Opened my palm, looked down.
Mystery ring from Inventory.
"Eh?"
Blink blink.
Am I seeing things?
Why's 2EE's presumed ring here?
Hmm.
Hmmm...
Ah... hehehe?
That's it.
It happened.
Answer's staring me in the face.
Smooth~
Eyes crinkled thin after ages.
Situation clicked naturally.
Timing too perfect.
Even an idiot couldn't miss it—grinned wide at the ring.
Thought it impossible, sure.
But can't dismiss as overthinking.
Evidence right here—can't deny.
"Hehe... for real."
This.
It's my NPC's item.