Why Does My Ability Have to Be Like This?!
"Let's see what this ability actually is."
"...No, why does my ability have to be like this of all things!!!!"
My desperate scream echoed miserably against the bathroom walls.
The user's emotional state is fluctuating wildly. Stabilization is required.
"Stabilization my ass!!!"
I grabbed the mirror and glared at my reflection again. Pink hair. Heart-shaped pupils. An unnaturally perfect, voluptuous figure.
"What the hell is this amazing body!"
This is a body optimized for the ability Ya-eum.
"Oh, is that so!? Well I'm not calming down one bit!!"
There was still black liquid all over me, so I decided to wash it off first. I shut the bathroom door and hurriedly turned on the shower. The moment the hot water poured down, the black liquid began sliding slowly along my skin. It gathered near the drain and spread out in an oddly cloudy color. The stuff was sticky, faintly warm, and above all, it stank.
"Ugh... what is this, seriously..."
Response. These are waste materials no longer needed by the optimized body and have been expelled.
"...Waste?"
My expression froze. "Wait. All of that... was inside my body?"
Correct. We have collectively removed impurities, toxins, deteriorated cells, excess fat, and functionally inefficient tissue from the previous body. They are simple waste.
"...Does the human body even produce this much waste?"
The smell I caught earlier flashed through my mind—an intense stench like rotten food mixed with chemicals. My face scrunched up on its own. "Ugh... just thinking about it makes me want to throw up..."
I used up almost an entire bottle of shampoo and body wash, but it still didn't feel like enough, so I washed again. The foam piled up thickly, yet I still felt dirty. One round of washing clearly wasn't going to cut it.
The bathroom floor was covered in a mountain of white foam. The strong scent of body wash filled the entire room.
"It should be clean now, right?" I muttered to myself.
At that moment—
Ding!
My shoulders flinched. "...Ah."
I'd completely forgotten while scrubbing myself raw over and over.
"Status window," I said quietly.
A translucent window floated in the air.
Name:Moon Eun-ran
Gender:Female
Ability:Ya-eum
Current Points:0
Held Skills:Optimized Body, Extreme Flexibility, Perfect Beauty, Keyword Draw
Keyword Slot:---
"Skill explanation," I murmured carefully. The first entry glowed softly.
Optimized Body: The body is constantly maintained in peak condition. Regular hygiene management is not essential. Unnecessary substances, toxins, waste, and damaged tissue are automatically removed. Resistance to external contamination and disease is greatly increased. Metabolic efficiency is abnormally enhanced, allowing normal activity with far less food, water, and sleep than the average person. Functional decline is minimized even during extended activity, overwork, or sleep deprivation. High strength, endurance, and durability can be exerted without visible external changes.
"Always?" My eyes slowly widened. I read it again.
The body is constantly maintained in optimal condition. Regular hygiene management is not essential.
"...What?"
I looked down at my foam-covered body. I'd already washed five times. "Am I doing something completely pointless right now?"
Inefficient.
"Why didn't you say that earlier?"
You did not ask.
Still, I was already covered in bubbles. I let out a heavy sigh. "Whatever. I'll just finish washing."
User choice is respected.
I glared at the rest of the skill list. "These had better not be weird too." I was suddenly anxious. "Explanation."
The second entry glowed softly.
Extreme Flexibility: Maximizes the range of motion for the user's joints, muscles, and ligaments. Postures and movements that surpass human limits are possible without damaging the body. Joint structure is readjusted to secure both flexibility and stability at the same time. Extreme bending or rotational movements will not cause pain or tearing. Balance, spatial awareness, and reflexes are also strengthened, allowing free movement without falling even in unstable postures. Joint dislocation can be performed consciously, and the process causes neither pain nor permanent damage. The user can pass through narrow spaces, maintain abnormal postures, and make sudden direction changes that would normally be impossible.
"That's way too long. Summarize."
The body can bend and twist freely without damage. Postures and movements beyond human limits are possible, and joints can be dislocated and reset without pain. Agility and evasion capabilities are greatly enhanced.
"Like a gymnast or something?"
I carefully lifted one leg. Even though I barely exercised and spent most of my time watching Polarity videos, my leg rose easily to a height that would've been impossible before. There was no pain. No stiffness. "Oh?"
I lifted it higher. It really went higher. I stretched it straight up into a perfect vertical line. "Wait, wait, wait."
I quickly lowered my leg. "Are these even normal human joints?"
This is within the user's normal range.
"It doesn't feel normal at all?"
I copied a flexible pose I'd seen in an anime about hunting oni. My waist bent backward in a full circle until my head passed between my legs. I returned to normal, then twisted only my neck to look behind me. In the mirror it looked disturbingly unnatural, so I quickly snapped my head back into place. "Ugh... next skill explanation."
The third entry lit up.
Perfect Beauty: Automatic correction is constantly applied to maximize beauty. The user's appearance is maintained in the most attractive state according to both biological and psychological standards. Skin, body shape, and scent are automatically adjusted. Aging speed is significantly reduced. Changes from the user's original appearance are extremely minimal. Fat distribution is rearranged according to visual balance and preference, concentrating storage in the chest and hips. Body odor changes into a pleasant fragrance and amplifies hormonal signals to induce favorable reactions from surrounding individuals. This functions as a type of pheromone effect, increasing attention, favorability, and trust regardless of gender.
"You've been talking a lot since earlier. Summarize it in one line."
Maintains the appearance in its most attractive state and increases favorability and attention from surrounding targets.
"...Wait a second." I scrolled back up. "Where did it say the fat concentrates?"
The chest and hips.
"So that's why I look like this."
I stared blankly down at my own body. "Whoa."
After admiring it for a moment, I moved on to the last entry. Keyword Draw. I had no idea what this one even did. "...Explanation."
Keyword Draw: An auxiliary function that expands the effects of the ability Ya-eum. Points can be consumed to obtain random keywords. Acquired keywords change the form and usage of the ability. Points are automatically acquired upon satisfying special conditions.
"...Gacha?"
Similar.
"Random?"
Yes.
"So it could give me something good or something weird?"
Correct.
"Won't you show me the probabilities?"
Not disclosed.
"This is a trash game."
The empty slots displayed beneath the status window somehow looked even more ominous now. Keyword Slot: Empty.
"What if something weird comes out?"
Do not worry. It is random.
"That's not comforting at all?"
Every time I rubbed my skin, the texture felt strange. I looked at the back of my hand. The skin was unbelievably clean and smooth—almost slippery. "Wow, the skin texture..."
I slowly ran my hand down my arm. Just like the system described, it was elastic, perfectly smooth, and free of any blemishes. It was like someone had applied a beauty filter to real life.
I turned the showerhead toward my face, closed my eyes, and stood under the water for a long time before slowly opening them again. My vision was unnaturally clear. I could see the exact trajectory of every falling droplet. Even the tiny beads of water clinging to the tips of my eyelashes were perfectly sharp. "What is this? It's amazing."
When I lowered my head, wet strands of hair fell forward. They were pink. The color looked even deeper when wet. I grabbed a handful and stared at it. "This really is my hair..." It wasn't dyed and it wasn't a wig. The roots were exactly the same shade.
I finished rinsing my body and turned off the water. The bathroom was filled with steam. The mirror was completely fogged over. I dried myself with a towel and cautiously approached the mirror. I wiped away the condensation with my palm.
My reflection appeared.
It was so beautiful I couldn't speak. Wet pink hair clung to my shoulders. My skin was unnaturally white and smooth. And my eyes—those captivating, seductive heart-shaped pupils were clearly visible, sparkling strangely under the lights.
I slowly tilted my head. The person in the mirror copied the movement exactly. But she still didn't feel like me. Not much had actually changed, yet it felt like everything had. Just my eyes, hair color, figure, and skin texture... that was all. Yet the beautiful body in the mirror felt completely foreign.
Lost in the sight of my transformed self, I struck a few poses, only to accidentally knock the soap off the shelf. But—
Grab!
The instant I noticed it falling, my arm moved on its own and caught the soap just before it hit the floor.
"H-how did I do that? It definitely feels faster."
I flexed my arm. The muscle didn't bulge excessively, but I could clearly feel it hardening.
It has been adjusted to be suitable for using the ability Ya-eum.
"...So in the end."
I slowly raised my head. My eyes met the ones in the mirror.
"Everything is because of that ability?"
Affirmative.