Ska Rate (3): The Healer's Insatiable Hunger
In an era where a person's worth was measured by how much they contributed to slaying monsters, Ia Ris was abandoned by her parents. It was a tough time for everyone, and no one had the bandwidth to care for an orphan like her. And so, she grew up as a beggar orphan in the slums. With a frail body, no guardian, and being so young, even the slum dwellers clicked their tongues and called her a beggar's spawn—she lived in utter destitution. She was so severely malnourished that she looked like nothing but skin and bones. The slum folk all agreed she'd end up as just another corpse from starvation or a gate outbreak, one of the countless bodies littering the streets.
But for some reason, she didn't die. Even with death staring her in the face, she kept breathing and greeted the next day. Unaware that this was the precursor to her latent ability, the slum dwellers shunned her as ominous. Having started life abandoned, she was now rejected even by those at the very bottom of society, left utterly alone.
Yet even alone, she didn't die. She survived by any means necessary, clinging to life. When she finally reached an age where she could think and act for herself, she happened to discover that her recovery speed was far faster than others'. Living in the slums, it took her a bit longer to realize that being different in this era was a blessing.
Feeling cheated by this revelation, she cried herself to sleep that night. The next day, still in her beggar rags, she headed to the awakener registry office she'd heard rumors about. There, she was welcomed with open arms and became an awakener affiliated with the association. From that point on began the legend of Ia Ris, the self-made icon, the S-rank hero everyone knows.
If that were the end, it really would be a dramatic rags-to-riches story. But reality isn't so kind. For Ia Ris, those slum days were a nightmare that left a profound scar. On the flip side of the self-made icon, the idol of all awakeners, the ultimate symbol of independence, it carved an insatiable void that could never be filled.
She poured every penny earned from awakener work into buying high-value items. No haggling, no matter if she got ripped off—she paid the seller's price in full, cash on the spot. It was all to erase her slum days through extreme luxury. Merchants who initially rejoiced at landing a huge sucker soon grew terrified by her maniacal spending. As her fame rose, fewer markets could even handle her.
Having bought up everything money could buy, she turned her eyes to what money couldn't. And where her gaze landed was honor. In this chaotic era, "honor" universally meant conquering dungeons and gates from other worlds. Among them, those with the greatest honor were called S-rank awakeners, and the guild housing the most renowned among them was the eternal powerhouse, Liar's Trap.
Judging that joining Liar's Trap and making her mark there would grant her the honor money couldn't buy, Ia Ris immediately declared her intent to transfer that very day. Three months after joining Liar's Trap, she quit her lavish spending. Not content with that, she sold or discarded her luxury goods at rock-bottom prices. Her home was left with nothing but empty display cases.
It wasn't that she'd overcome her inner void—no. It was because she'd discovered something far greater than any jewel or treasure she'd ever held.
Ska Rate: the top contributor to elevating Liar's Trap to the world's number one guild, the monster ranked second among all global awakeners. The woman who possessed the pinnacle of honor that Ia Ris so desperately craved... was after one man, willing to give everything for him. That man was F-rank awakener Paster of Liar's Trap.
The man Ska Rate loved wouldn't accept her heart. How ecstatic would it feel to claim a man even Ska Rate couldn't have? It'd be like owning the whole world, right? The moment Ia Ris imagined standing before Ska Rate, holding Paster's leash... a maddening thrill pierced straight through her lower abdomen.
Right then, she resolved herself. She would make Paster hers.
2. When using the Hypnosis App to spend time with Ska Rate or other S-rank awakeners, I always used a top-security private hotel. I didn't want these bitches in my house. To me, home was my sanctuary, the one place I could truly relax. Bringing in destroyers of peace? Even hypnotized, no fucking way. And now that I knew the hypnosis was all fake bullshit, I wanted them in my space even less.
"...So why the hell is she sleeping next to me?"
But as always, my wishes went out like a candle in a typhoon. I opened my eyes to find Ska Rate asleep beside me. The unthinkable had happened.
At first, I couldn't process it, but then a headache hit, and memories from before I collapsed flooded back. Ska Rate had passed out, I'd gotten drunk, dragged her home, and crashed. Guess I wasn't thinking straight from the booze. Out of my mind, I'd let this insane peace-ruiner into my house.
Fuck, I should've just dumped her on the roadside and come home alone. I pressed my forehead with my right hand, regretting it from the bottom of my soul.
But regrets don't undo what's done. Better to figure out what to do next than sit here moping.
First, wake Ska Rate and flash the Hypnosis App while she's still groggy. She'd pretend to be hypnotized like always, right? Then command her to go home. Would she actually leave? Not bad for a snap idea.
Decision made, time to move. I sat up and pulled my smartphone from my pocket.
"...Fuck."
The screen was dead—battery drained. No phone, no app. Plan scrapped.
Why was it dead, though? I checked the clock: barely 4 p.m. Not that much time had passed. I'd collapsed in the morning and woken in the afternoon. What the hell?
I racked my brain. Full battery when I got to work, immediately nabbed by Ska Rate, got one-sidedly toyed with for about five minutes—not toyed with, we tussled evenly until I gave up and drank, somehow wrecked her, then headed home on the verge of collapse.
...That's it. No clue. The battery drain remained a mystery.
Whatever. Not the priority. The red time bomb named Ska Rate—how to send her packing so my house and I could return to peace?
Charge the phone first. Super-fast charging means it's ready in seconds. Solid. Plan intact.
As I thought that and moved to stand, my eyes caught Ska Rate, turned toward me in sleep. Her usual feral vibe gone, eyes closed, breathing soft and steady—she was stunningly beautiful. If even I, after all her torment, thought so... how gorgeous must she seem to others?
Distracted by her beauty, I muttered something I'd never say aloud.
"She's so pretty when she's asleep. If only she wasn't such a violent bitch, she'd be perfect."
But Ska Rate was born a monster of destruction. As a kid, the Rate family maid told me that on the day Ska Rate was born, her mana-charged cry shattered every window on the floor. That evening, my arm got broken by her.
Remembering made me shudder. Fuck, no good memories with this one. She's violence incarnate in human form, right?
I shook my head and tried to stand—then noticed a faint blush on her cheeks. Probably from her hot-blooded nature. On her already pretty face, it made her even more alluring. Hadn't thought her this pretty in ages.
A woman this beautiful and talented liking me... Still couldn't wrap my head around it. Not that it'd spark feelings—too much trauma, too much grudge. Couldn't like her if I tried.
Still, thinking she liked me made her seem kinda cute.
With that thought, I got off the bed and plugged in my phone. Thirty seconds later, it powered on.
"Oh, super-fast charging lives up to the hype..."
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!
"The fuck?"
A deafening vibration cut me off. The screen flooded with endless texts and missed calls. What... the actual... fuck?
Stunned by the freak show on my phone, I felt Ska Rate rest her chin on my shoulder from behind, whispering in my ear.
"Which bitch is it?"
Her warm body heat enveloped me, but I still shivered in bone-chilling cold. Cute? Yeah, scratch that.