Chapter 76
Chapter 76
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: Fellow Bachinum
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<76>
“Huh???”
“???”
Prim's eyes went wide as she stared at the suddenly changed Dun.
“Something's up! You, you!! What, what are you??! Wait, this is Dun, right?”
“Y-Yeah......”
Dun gave an awkward reply.
Her elongated hair now brushed the floor.
Her height had grown to a suitable level, and with the baby fat gone, she had a sleeker look. It was an ambiguous beauty—cute yet handsome.
Dun had always been skinny with plenty of lean muscle, but now that she'd grown, it stood out even more sharply.
“Why did I change?”
“How should I know? Don't tell me...... Are you a Bachinum?”
“I-I don't know, me neither. What am I?”
“How would I know your identity? What are you?”
“How would I know that? What kind of person am I? Wait, am I even a person?”
Flustered, Dun tried to calm her racing heart and assess the situation.
“......Yeah. F-First. Let's, let's go back to normal. How do I undo this?”
“......Well. Just imagine the dirt leaving your body.”
To demonstrate, Prim released the adult form she'd taken earlier. Dirt filled her hands as she reverted to her girl form.
Dun, still dazed, followed Prim's lead and imagined the dirt draining from her body.
[Vachinum (Omitted) Body Transformation is released.]
“......”
The system window nailed down her identity. Dun stared blankly at the dirt filling her hands.
“......Am I a Bachinum?”
“It's my first time seeing another of my kind, so I can't say for sure, but... yeah. It seems like it.”
Dun and Prim held dirt in their hands, exchanging long glances. Their pupils shook like there was an earthquake.
Suddenly, a bit of trivia from a book on Bachinums came to mind. One per world, one per generation.
“Two Bachinums can coexist?”
“Not that I know of. If it were possible, my autobiography wouldn't have communicated with the previous generation's Bachinum.”
Ha, hold on. Dun could be one of my kind. My first fellow Bachinum could be Dun.
Prim muttered to herself as she yanked open a drawer and started rummaging through Bachinum autobiographies and books.
Dun had to be her kin. It would be great if she were. Kin meant family, right? Blood-related, even?
Prim's head spun as she flipped through the autobiography, searching for relevant info.
Meanwhile, Dun checked her skill window to review the details of her new skill. Maybe there'd be some extra explanation in the description.
[Vachinum (Omitted) Body Transformation lv.1]
Description: A highly refined body control ability usable only by Bachinums. Cannot transform into objects other than oneself. Consumes no mana.
*Duration: 8 hours (Increases with level.)
*Skill Activation Condition: Hold a certain amount of dirt.
Usable only by Bachinums. Only by Bachinums.
The skill description hammered home Dun's identity even more firmly.
A truly unimaginable truth. Really.
“Hey, hey. I think I'm definitely a Bachinum.”
She'd been shocked enough already. Somewhat composed now, Dun tapped the shoulder of Prim, who was anxiously flipping through the autobiography.
“It seems so. You're a Bachinum too. No precedent, but the ability you just used is unique to Bachinums. You have to be one. You are a Bachinum, my kin.”
“You don't need to brainwash me like that.”
“Haha, sister! My little sis!”
Prim rushed at Dun with the happiest expression in the world. Feeling a bit burdened, Dun lightly dodged.
“Sisters, hug! It's a sister reunion, isn't it? I'm the older one, by the way. Call me big sis Prim. This must be fate. No wonder you kept sticking in my mind.”
“If kin makes us sisters, then all humans are siblings?”
“Y-You. Don't go logical on me.”
Prim narrowed her eyes and pointed at Dun in response to her cold reply.
Still, what on earth was going on?
According to the Illitiia Oracle Records, only one Bachinum per world, per generation—for the sake of overall power balance.
Then Prim suddenly remembered she was the weakest Bachinum.
“I've got a plausible theory about two Bachinums.”
“What is it?”
“Monsters are rampant, on the verge of conquering the world, and right then I get my power stolen and end up the weakest. So they sent the next generation's Bachinum early—to take down the monsters together.”
“Hmm......”
It was a pretty convincing theory.
But Dun suddenly thought of the Dabok World that had been thrust upon her. One per world. One per generation.
Was she truly the next generation after Prim, or the Bachinum of Dabok?
Dun leaned toward the latter hypothesis.
“Analyzing something that'll stay a hypothesis forever—what's the point? Ah, my head hurts.”
“Fine. No more debate. You're my hidden little sister.”
“Head hurts more.”
Dun, focused hard, set aside the dirt she'd been clutching and plopped down on the ground.
Pushing aside the shocking facts for now, the key takeaway was she could transform into an adult form convincing enough to impersonate Third Army Vice Captain.
Glad she found an easy way.
Transformation magic could get caught by mana detectors and might wear off easily.
Dun grabbed the dirt again and tested the skill once more. The description said duration increased with level, so she'd need to use it often to level it up.
Before trying again, a crazy idea struck her.
‘Wonder if this works for the Yi Saebyeok version too.’
If she couldn't transform into anything but herself, didn't that mean free rein within her own identity?
But whether “herself” included her past life self was unclear. This time, Dun imagined her past face and activated the skill.
[[Vachinum (Omitted) Body Transformation] activates.]
[Conditions met: [Dun Package] [Bridge Between Two Worlds] package partially unlocked.]
[[Bridge Between Two Worlds], Paradox Penalty applied.]
[On first transformation, the remaining subject takes minor damage.]
* * *
“Urghhh!”
Yi Saebyeok, tossing in bed unable to sleep, suddenly felt nausea surge and bolted to the bathroom to vomit her guts out.
Seol Doyun, mid-shower and brushing her teeth, rushed in as Yi Saebyeok clung to the toilet and puked, patting her back.
* * *
“Wh-What now???”
Prim's eyes went round again at Dun's changed form.
Not just the appearance—the name above her head had changed too. From ‘NPC Dun’ to ‘Adventurer Yi Saebyeok’.
Dark maroon hair verging on black, red eyes.
“Y-You're still Dun, right? Why adventurer all of a sudden? My heart's weak—please stop the scares.”
“Wow, insane, this is nuts. It works too.”
Dun checked herself in the secret room's mirror and quickly opened her status window.
[Player Yi Saebyeok]
Level: 40(/999) [Adjustable]
Class: Vomit Master (Hidden) [Convertible]
Titles: [Motion Sickness King], [Skill Developer], [Lowest Level High Monster Killer], [Lowest Level Boss Killer]
Exactly the stats Yi Saebyeok had right before dying. She even remembered that trash class.
Just a moment as Yi Saebyeok, and her body suddenly felt incredibly heavy.
[Ability Utilization Rate: 2%]
Her power was already hard to control, and switching to a form that demanded even more restraint made it tougher.
Even transformed into level 40 Yi Saebyeok, her base was Dun, so power didn't vanish. But reverting to that pathetically weakened state made handling the power even harder.
[Duration: 1 hour]
And the duration had shrunk drastically. As it grew burdensome, Dun quickly shed the Yi Saebyeok form.
* * *
Yi Saebyeok, who'd been retching hard, suddenly felt her stomach settle.
“Whew, fuck. Thought I was dying.”
“Puke again, so brush your teeth. Your breath stinks.”
“Why the hell all of a sudden? You took the same dose and were fine.”
“Guess you're allergic or something.”
Seol Doyun, brushing her teeth, rinsed her mouth with water in a paper cup.
“You look urgent, but remember our deal this year? Respect each other's privacy. Pervert, at least knock.”
Seol Doyun glared at Yi Saebyeok, wrapped a towel around her waist, tousled her bangs, and left the bathroom.
“What's she on about, that total loser.”
* * *
A string of utterly incomprehensible events. Prim grabbed Dun's shoulders. Even Prim's head was starting to ache from all the sudden revelations.
Her pink pupils wavered as she gripped and shook Dun's shoulders.
“What's going on!!! How can you suddenly become an adventurer??”
Now there was even more to explain about her identity. She couldn't explain how she was a Bachinum, but she could explain turning into ‘Adventurer Yi Saebyeok’.
Dun hadn't expected it to work either, so she was amazed.
Dabok, regression, past life—all the absurd things happening to her might tie into her mysterious identity.
And since she could transform into her past self, Yi Saebyeok, it really felt like someone had scripted this.
“Hey, stop shaking me. Dizzy.”
“Fine. But explain.”
Dun readjusted the slipped camisole strap and pondered how to put it.
“Adventurer Yi Saebyeok? That was me.”
“How can that be you?! What the hell is your identity—cough, hack.”
Prim had yelled a lot today; her voice was getting hoarse. She conjured water with magic, drank to soothe her throat, and continued.
“How many identities do you have? Are you the alien here?”
“Calm down. Just Dun and Yi Saebyeok. Not sure if Bachinum counts separate.”
“Two is too many already. Explain from start to finish. Slowly, in detail.”