The Senior's Reward
As I stepped out of the tower, a wave of blue mana rippled past, accompanied by a deafening clamor that battered my eardrums.
"Hey, hey! No tanks here?! Looking for a sturdy turtle beast-kin to draw aggro!"
"Any third-years looking for a party? I'm an Enchantress with some seriously insane mana!"
"A bear bastard claiming to be an Enchantress with insane mana... pull the other one."
"No, seriously, fuck you! I really do have insane mana!"
Before I knew it, the plaza in front of the Magic Tower had become a sea of beast-kin gathered to conquer the tower. Everyone was busy in their own worlds, either forming parties or checking their gear.
...Fortunately, there's a huge crowd. I should blend in and slip away quietly.
To reiterate, I had heard that Humans emit a lethally sweet scent to beast-kin. Given the lore of this world, the unique body odor of a human was probably no different from an irresistible aphrodisiac to these beasts. Now that I was covered in sweat from my intense exertion inside the tower, I had to keep an extremely low profile. Drawing unnecessary attention would only lead to a massive headache.
Keeping my head low to avoid anyone's gaze, I tried to flow naturally through the bustling crowd toward the dormitory.
“...Sniff, sniff. Huh?”
A wolf beast-kin passing by me froze, his nostrils flaring conspicuously.
“Hey, do you guys smell that? Why is it so sweet...?”
“Yeah. It's like there's a faint scent of blood mixed in, but it's making my mouth water... Doesn't it smell exactly like the legendary 'Heavenly Peach'? Why is such an insane scent drifting around the middle of the plaza?”
Heavenly Peach? What the fuck is that...? A cold sweat trickled down my spine. Wolves, foxes, and even the usually dull bear beast-kin all sniffed the air in unison, turning their heads in my direction. The keen olfactory senses of these predators had instinctively reacted to my body odor, which had grown much stronger after my climb up the tower.
“Hey. You there, Masked Clan.”
A wolf beast-kin as massive as a house suddenly blocked my path, growling. In an instant, five or six beasts closed in from all sides, trapping me. The eyes they trained on me were filled with a mixture of glinting greed and deep suspicion.
“Is that scent coming from you? I've never heard of a member of the Masked Clan smelling this sweet...”
How do I get out of this? Should I slap his filthy paw away and tell him to back off? In that brief split second, his thick hand reached toward me.
“Are you really a member of the Masked Clan...?”
It was a touch-and-go situation where his rough grip was about to forcibly rip off my mask.
—Ah, seriously... What are you doing here, Baekya?
Though laced with a hint of annoyance, a soft, clear voice tickled my ear. I didn't even have time to turn my head. Silver hair fluttering, the fox beast-kin, Arin, swept in and grabbed my arm, pulling it tightly against her.
The moment she locked her arms around mine, a soft yet heavy sensation pressed explicitly against my forearm. A violent volume that asserted itself fiercely through the thin, breezy academy shirt characteristic of fox beast-kin. The cozy pressure was enough to make my brain short-circuit for a second, causing my shoulders to flinch involuntarily.
“Huh...? That silver hair, that tail...”
“Wh-What the hell... That's Senior Arin from the fifth year...!”
The menacing, tooth-baring beasts instantly shrank back.
This woman must be incredibly famous...
Recognizing Arin, the wolf flinched and pulled his hand back as if he had been burned.
“S-Senior Arin. Wh-What brings you here? And...”
He asked, his eyes darting between Arin and me with a mix of bewilderment and suspicion.
“Who on earth is this suspicious Masked Clan member next to you? His body odor is bizarre, too...”
At his question, Arin pressed her chest even more snugly against my arm, letting out a seductive, eye-curving smile.
“Who else? He's my cute little junior whom I cherish dearly. Hehe.”
As her lips curved into a sweet, lingering smile, the crowd fell dead silent.
“Now, would you stray mutts in heat, who gathered here because of my cute junior's perfume, kindly get out of the way? Before I burn your tails off entirely.”
“Ah, ah! We're sorry! S-Senior!”
At the silver-haired fox's chilling warning, the pack let out a collective gasp and parted like the Red Sea. Humming leisurely, she led me out of the crowd, her arm still linked with mine.
Only when we had completely escaped the commotion in front of the Magic Tower and entered a deserted path behind the dormitories did I finally exhale the breath I had been holding and speak.
“...I believe you can let go of me now.”
At my remark, Arin abruptly released my arm, only to cross her own huffily.
“Oh my? I save you with impeccable timing, and this is how you repay my kindness? If it weren't for me, those idiots would have ripped your mask off by now.”
It was an undeniable fact. No, worse than that, I would have died instantly from the system's penalty, or been torn to shreds by a mob of frenzied beasts.
“Hmm~?”
Her eyes curving into crescent moons of amusement, Arin suddenly leaned her face right up to my mask.
“My dear junior, you're quite shy despite your massive build, aren't you? How cute.”
“Who said I was shy? Besides, my face is completely covered by this mask, so how could you possibly know my expression...?”
“Heh? Because it's glaringly obvious.”
Giggling, Arin tilted her head.
“Your body odor is telling me everything. That 'Heavenly Peach' scent or whatever from earlier is currently laced with a heavy dose of fluster, you know? It's smelling incredibly sweet.”
“...I have no idea what scent you are talking about.”
“Hmm~?”
Arin narrowed her eyes, staring at me intently before letting out a soft chuckle.
“Whatever. Anyway... it seems you jumped straight into conquering the Magic Tower the moment you enrolled. Is that confidence born from smashing the training Iron Body to pieces? How does it feel to clear the first floor?”
I replied bluntly to her question.
“...It was difficult.”
“Heh...? You walked out looking far too fine for it to have been difficult. And you did it on Extreme difficulty, all by yourself, no less.”
She knew everything? Guarded, I asked her.
“...How do you know that?”
At my question, Arin took a step closer, her luscious silver hair swaying. In the dim path behind the dormitory, under the faint light filtering through the deep shadows, her captivating golden eyes curved with mischief.
“How did I know? Hmm, my silly junior. A system announcement blared across the entire Magic Tower earlier, declaring that the first floor's 'Extreme' difficulty had been conquered. Right now, those idiots idling in the plaza are gossiping about which crazy third-year senior it could be, but...”
Arin extended a slender index finger and lightly tapped my firm chest.
“I just made a reasonable deduction. An out-of-bounds monster freshman who sliced a training Iron Body in half on entrance day would be exactly the type to pull off such a crazy stunt on the first floor the moment he enrolled.”
Is she just incredibly sharp? Regardless, as long as I didn't show it, I'd be fine. I stood there in silence.
“...Eh? Exercising your right to remain silent?”
Arin casually wagged her finger in the air.
“But, Baekya-kun. Looking at you, a certain race comes to mind. You know, the one from the legends. Even now, that rich body odor of yours that just bewitched those beasts in heat... that seems to be the most definitive proof. Are you really a member of the Masked Clan?”
...Without a doubt, this sly fox has formed a very strong suspicion about me. But all I had to do was play dumb.
“...My natural body odor is simply unusual.”
“Hmm. I wonder if that's really the case~?”
Arin lightly stood on her tiptoes, bringing her red lips close to my ear. Her sweet breath tickled my earlobe.
“This insanely sweet scent of the 'Heavenly Peach' that ruthlessly stirs up the predatory instincts of beast-kin... According to legend, this aphrodisiac-like scent only comes from a very fragile, and terribly delicious, specific race.”
As she whispered in my ear, her golden pupils slit vertically, emitting the flashing glare of a true predator.
“For example, a target that shouldn't exist in this world... a Human.”
In an instant, my heart felt like it was plummeting straight down into my boots.
RULE 1
If your identity as a Human is discovered by the beast-kin of this world, you will be executed immediately.
The blood-red system warning window dominated my vision. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. My mind raced, debating whether I should pull my wooden sword from my inventory right now and slash her slender throat. At this ultra-close range, no matter how powerful a fifth-year beast-kin she was, she wouldn't be able to dodge my lethal thrust.
But just as I was about to unleash my tense killing intent, Arin burst into a soft giggle and lightly stepped back.
“Ahaha! Why did you freeze up like a statue? It's a joke, a joke! There's no way my cute Masked Clan junior could actually be a legendary Human, right?”
“...That was a terrifyingly realistic joke.”
“But your reaction was just too fun.”
Smiling with her eyes, Arin had already returned to her usual sly, playful fox senior persona. But I could feel it in my bones—this fox had just thoroughly tested me. And she definitely hadn't missed my split-second stiffness and the shaking of my pupils.
“Well, whether you're a monster who smashed the first floor's Extreme difficulty or some hidden rare race, it's none of my business. I have no interest in forcing off that stuffy mask of yours anyway.”
Arin pulled a small glass bottle from her bosom, tossing it lightly in the air and catching it.
“Here, catch. It's a present.”
Her red lips curved into a deep smile. The small perfume bottle she was playing with flew toward my chest in a gentle arc.
Thud.
“...What is this?”
“A magical Peppermint Perfume to completely mask that dangerous scent of yours. If you spray this, your unique body odor will be perfectly hidden.”
Why on earth is she giving me this...? The more I tried to figure her out, the more incomprehensible she became. I furrowed my brows and asked quietly.
“Why are you giving this to me?”
“Just because.”
Turning around without a hint of lingering attachment, Arin swayed her luscious silver tail.
“Consider it a kind senior's advance investment and reward, so you don't die a pathetic death in this godforsaken Magic Tower and keep working hard instead.”
“A reward...?”
“Of course. You proudly cleared the first floor's Extreme difficulty all by yourself, didn't you? With that kind of grit, I figured you'd provide plenty of entertainment for my boring daily life. So make sure to spray that sweet, dangerous scent of yours generously so your head doesn't get chopped off in some pathetic way.”
Waving her hand coolly behind her back, she began to drift away into the dark alley, humming a tune.
“Oh, by the way, one spray lasts for three days, so use it sparingly! When you run out, come find your big sister again!”
Staring at her seductive figure as she walked away, I toyed with the cold glass bottle in my hand. Only after she had completely vanished into the deep darkness did I let out a long, held-in sigh.
“...She really is an audacious fox senior whose thoughts are impossible to read.”
However, one thing became clear from this brief encounter. Even though that fox senior had a strong suspicion about my identity, she had absolutely no intention of selling me out to the system or the crowd right now. Rather, she was closer to a spectator who wanted to grab some popcorn and watch my tightrope walk of survival with amusement.
“Well, I've secured my life for now and saved money on expensive perfume, so it's not a bad deal.”
I shoved the peppermint perfume bottle into my inventory and dragged my heavy feet toward the dormitory once more. Today's long, eventful day seemed to have finally come to a close.
The only homework left was to investigate the mysterious system messages I had witnessed in the Magic Tower. One was the lore about the 'Will of Asteria' or whatever, and the other was the unidentified skill book. To take a step closer to the truth of this godforsaken world, I needed to crash on my bed, get some shut-eye, and then ask the Gallery users for advice.
Ah, I'm so fucking tired. I didn't care if it was a musty, mold-infested bed; I just wanted to throw myself onto it and pass out immediately.