Becoming a Beautiful Girl Sucks, But the Stats Are Pretty Damn Good

My fingers dug frantically between my legs, but there was nothing to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠grab.

It was as smooth as if it had been a flat plain since the dawn of time.

“Where the fuck did my dick gooooooooooo?!”

My scream echoed through the Poison Mist Forest.

The only reply was the ominous caw of a crow.

With trembling hands, I groped at my chest.

It wasn’t exactly heavy, but something was definitely sticking out.

Two lumps that definitely hadn’t been there moments ago now hung from my torso.

“Am I dreaming? Or is this some kind of hallucination?”

The neurotoxin in the purple mist must have fried my brain.

Either that, or this was a nightmare gifted to me by the Astaroth Labyrinth.

“God… please tell me this is just a dream!!!!”

I crawled toward a puddle of stagnant water and stared at my reflection.

“Holy… fuck…”

No matter how tightly I squeezed my eyes shut and reopened them, the image remained brutally clear.

Slender fingers. Pale skin. Equipment sliding off a body far too small to wear it.

Nyx Grave.

A fifteen-year veteran D-rank explorer.

As of today, I had become a dickless beautiful girl.

What kind of bullshit situation was this?

“…I can’t just sit here. I need to get out of this place.”

Even as I spoke, I kept startling myself.

Where had my deep, gravelly, sexy voice gone?

What reached my ears now was a clear, refined tone that belonged to some noble young lady.

“Fuck!”

Anyway, this was the second stratum of the labyrinth.

There was no telling when another pack of Poison Hounds might swarm me.

I gathered the equipment scattered across the ground.

I needed to adjust it to fit my shrunken body… but even after pulling the belt as tight as it would go, it still wouldn’t stay on my hips.

The shoulder guards kept sliding sideways.

The gloves left my fingers swimming inside them.

My feet rattled around loose inside the boots.

The gear I’d worn to survive was now only getting in my way.

There was no way I could escape wearing all this cumbersome junk.

But I couldn’t exactly carry it either.

It was heavy, damn it.

“Goddammit! Do you know how much this cost?!”

In the end, I boldly tossed aside the bulky plate armor.

I cinched the leather jacket as tightly as possible to cover myself.

Figuring out why my body had changed like this would have to wait until I got outside.

Whether it was Astaroth's Blessing or a curse, the same went for this mysterious power.

Spacing out inside the labyrinth was basically suicide.

I turned toward the path leading to the first stratum.

I had to confirm it with my own eyes.

Whether I was still really Nyx Grave.

The route from the second stratum to the first was brutal.

Monsters that could pop out at any moment.

Rugged, uneven terrain.

One wrong ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠step?

You could say goodbye to the world of the living.

But today was different.

“…Why is my body so light?”

Was it because I’d gotten younger?

No, this level of movement couldn’t be explained by simply becoming younger.

My joints were incredibly flexible, and the elasticity of my muscles was astonishing.

“Kiiiit!!”

A single Poison Rat burst out from the underbrush.

Normally I would have been backpedaling before I could even swing my sword.

“…It’s so slow?”

I merely tilted my head, easily dodging its charge.

The dagger in my right hand reflexively slashed across its throat.

Slice!

The sensation felt surprisingly good.

The Poison Rat sprayed blood as it became minced meat in mid-air.

“…This body is incredible.”

And so I reached the first stratum.

When I arrived at Sector 5, I stomped on the small slimes that lunged at me.

I swatted the carnivorous insects out of the air and crushed them in my palm before they could even reach me.

My reaction speed was easily three times faster than before.

The mana inside my body was so abundant it felt uncontrollable.

“Is this body actually broken?”

Was it because of the Warrior's Crest?

Or had my body been reconstructed and the mana vessel itself completely remade?

I didn’t know the reason, but the performance was undeniably top-tier.

Then, as I neared Sector 4 of the first stratum, I heard it.

“No! Don’t push me!”

“Fall back while attacking! Aim for the core!”

Sharp screams. The clatter of equipment and weapons.

I turned my gaze toward the source of the noise.

“That’s… a King Slime.”

The situation was obvious.

A reckless rookie party had poked a monster far beyond their league.

King Slime.

A C-rank monster.

The de facto ruler of the first stratum.

A creature the size of a house that shrugged off most physical attacks.

Four rookies were holding up shields and weapons, but they were clearly outmatched.

If left alone, they’d be turned into ground meat within a minute.

“…Normally I would’ve run away immediately.”

But things were different now.

I wanted to test the limits of this body.

And there was one more thing I needed to confirm.

The trash skill that had ruined my life.

In theory it was the strongest, but it had been completely useless because I never had enough mana to use the skills I copied.

But with my current mana capacity?

I recalled a technique I had stolen from an A-rank explorer ten years ago.

Inferno Flame.

An A-rank fire magic spell.

The flames that day had looked like a scene from hell itself.

I slowly closed the distance toward the struggling party.

The rookies were already in a panic and didn’t even notice me.

I stretched out my slender right hand toward the King Slime.

“Will it work?”

I thought it wouldn’t.

In the past, just uttering the first syllable of the chant would make me cough up blood and collapse.

But at that moment, mana like flickering flames began to surge near my heart.

The closed mana circuits ignited, racing wildly throughout my body.

“…!”

The shock was so intense I couldn’t even scream.

All the mana inside me was being sucked toward my fingertips.

Yet there was none of the usual agonizing pain.

It actually felt refreshing.

A tiny spark bloomed at my fingertip, glowing with crimson light.

The spark instantly swelled, incinerating the surrounding trees.

I thrust my hand forward, aiming directly at the King Slime.

“Inferno.”

A massive pillar of fire erupted with a deafening roar.

The flames pierced straight through the King Slime’s body.

Before its gelatinous mass could even boil, it evaporated and vanished.

“Is this for real?”

When I came to my senses, the mountain-sized slime had been reduced to a handful of ash.

I had never imagined power like this.

The rookie party stared at me with completely dazed expressions.

The explorers who had been watching from the surroundings froze in place.

I, too, stared blankly down at my own hand.

Insane.

An A-rank skill had gone off.

Without a single penalty.

And more than half my mana still remained.

Turning into a woman was absolute dogshit, but I had become a monster beyond anything I had ever been before.

“U-um!”

The one who seemed to be the leader of the rookie party came running over in a panic.

He bowed so deeply it looked like he was trying to plant his head in the ground.

“Thank you for saving us! Thank you so much!”

“Uh… yeah, sure.”

My voice was so thin and delicate that it felt awkward even to me.

The explorers who had gathered nearby began to murmur.

“Did you see that spell just now?”

“She cast Inferno without a chant?”

“I’ve never seen that face before. A newcomer?”

“No way. A rookie with that kind of firepower? That was at least A-rank level!”

A-rank.

Until yesterday, they had been lofty beings I could only look up to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from below the clouds.

Yet now everyone was looking at me with those same eyes.

I’m screwed.

In this city, an unidentified power wasn’t a blessing.

It was the scent of fresh meat that would summon greedy hyenas.

Guilds, nobles, royalty.

Those bastards would never leave me alone.

And if they found out that I was actually the fifteen-year veteran D-rank Nyx, things would get even worse.

I’d either be dragged off as a test subject or enslaved for the rest of my life.

“I was just passing by. No need for thanks, so get out of here quickly.”

I spoke as coldly as I could and turned to leave.

The rookies shouted something after me, but I didn’t listen.

I pulled my hood down low and ran toward the exit.

When I stepped through the labyrinth’s black gate, the gray sky of Astaroth greeted me.

Countless wish notes still fluttered at the entrance to the black gate.

I crossed the plaza with quick steps and headed toward the city’s third district.

As I moved, the whispers of the people around me reached my ears.

“Look at her. That girl over there.”

“Look at her gear. She looks like she just crawled out of the labyrinth.”

“But her face is like a noble lady’s. Did she run away from home?”

Every time a gaze landed on my body, goosebumps rose on my skin.

Beyond simple curiosity, there was blatant desire.

In this city, a pretty girl with no clear identity became a ‘target’ in the worst possible way.

I can’t go to the guild. The Midas Financial Union is even worse.

If I showed up at the guild looking like this, I’d be caught immediately.

Forging an identity or securing a hiding place was impossible right now.

There was only one person in this entire city I could trust.

My balls-deep friend of fifteen years.

Well, since I no longer had balls, I guess she was just a friend now.

Come to think of it, she didn’t have balls either.

“…Anyway, the only ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one I can rely on right now is Mina.”

I headed for Mina’s house-slash-shop tucked away in a corner of the third district, where shops lined the streets.

Avoiding the stares of passing men, I dashed through the alleyways until I finally stood in front of a familiar wooden door.

Only then could I let out a deep sigh of relief.

Knock. Knock.

I rapped on the door.

A lazy voice came from inside.

“Ugh… who is it? At this hour…”

The door opened, revealing a familiar face.

I swallowed dryly.

Then I answered with as much weight as I could muster.

“It’s me.”

Mina’s brow furrowed.

“…You have a pretty voice, but why do you talk like that? Who the hell are you?”

“It’s me, damn it. Nyx. Nyx Grave, you idiot.”

Mina scrunched up her face in disbelief.

“……What?”