Terraforming - A Break Sweeter Than Lunch

After lunch. A one-hour break even sweeter than the meal itself welcomed me.

Why wait until the end of mealtime? I could just return to Earth and rest as much as I want, right? Sure, that's true. But...

'Once laziness takes root in your body, how agonizing it is to uproot it...'

A chill ran down my spine at the memory from a few years back—a trial utterly different from physical hardship. Do it all over again? I'd rather double this hellish training period.

For me, sloth is as dangerous as a former smoker picking up a cigarette again ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠after quitting. I know that terror all too well, so I hold myself to strict standards.

Besides, too many breaks in between ruin the training. Since I can't avoid it anyway, isn't it better to squeeze out every last gain? I only slipped back to Earth when it got truly unbearable—and even then, just for short rests under thirty minutes.

Thanks to my trait, simple physical fatigue fully recovers in half that time anyway. Anything more? That's sloth creeping in.

"Status window."

Brack seemed to have energy to spare even after the same training I did. Just like yesterday and the day before, he said he was heading to the training camp for some post-meal exercise. No hesitation, then, in pulling up my status window.

Finally, my karma had broken past 5,000. Even after spending that much, I'd have enough left for emergencies. For most crises, the karma to buy fourteen low-grade potions would suffice.

Time to unlock the Hard Mode Quests.

I flicked my finger to manipulate the shop window.

No second thoughts now. I hit the purchase button and unlocked the feature.

One more reason I unlocked this without hesitation: I was sure at least one Hard Mode Quest would trigger during the first chapter event of this novel, coming up soon.

Baby Angel mentioned the system had an AI. A major incident around me? Perfect setup for it to hand out a Hard Mode Quest.

Still, days remained until the event. A Hard Mode Quest in the meantime would be nice, but unlikely.

My prediction? Gloriously off-base.

"What the hell is this..."

Forced acceptance? Shit.

From what I knew, no new quests until this one cleared. Fail to finish before the chapter starts, and I'd blow my shot at more Hard Mode ones!

"Damn it, gotta check the details first... Huh?"

Reading it over, things looked dire. A simple "have sex with someone" I might pull off. But lose my virginity? Impossible.

I'm not a virgin anymore. Mentally or physically.

"What... how does this even...?"

"...??"

The quest popped up, auto-accepted itself, then auto-completed. And the reward? Absurd. A 25% boost to all normal quest rewards... permanently?

"Ha... already worth more than the 5,000 karma..."

Still, something felt off. Sure, I'm no virgin, so auto-clear made sense—but was this a bug? I knew Heaven's system wasn't airtight. Buggy as an indie game from a small studio.

"Angel. You listening? Come out for a sec."

- and I↗ will always love you↗↗

"You called for me, Chanyoung-nim???"

The Baby Angel appeared, her song audible only to me. Felt like ages since I'd seen her—nice, but I cut straight to business.

"...This happened. Any issues?"

"Hmm... Should be fine. Probably the system AI handled the clear."

Good. I'd been worried about some hidden glitch.

"Oh yeah, handover almost done?"

"Yes! Nearly finished! Soon I'll be staying at your place with Senior too!"

"Uh... right?"

"...You usually keep a great poker face, so why the obvious disgust at me coming over...?"

"Your imagination."

"Hng... You don't act like that with Senior, why just me..."

Tell her it's fun teasing her? She'd blow up. The thrill was in the exaggerated faces. Plus, one apology and she forgave easily.

...Realizing this, I felt like trash.

"You should be grateful for your luck, Chanyoung-nim! Having two elites like me and Senior caring for you!"

"What? Elites? Who and who?"

"Me!! Me and Senior!"

That... right? My face froze like I'd heard something impossible.

"...For real?"

"If we weren't top-tier, Upper Management wouldn't entrust us with building the system! Me and Senior are Heaven's famous powerhouse duo!"

"Huh... Heaven must be suffering a brutal talent shortage..."

"Eeeeek!!"

The Baby Angel couldn't hold back her frustration. Ah... watching her, I knew I should stop but teased more.

"Remember your fluster on day one? That first impression's etched deep."

"Th-that was... too chaotic then! Your wish—body swap beyond my prep list, memory supplements for daily life without infringing heavenly human rights laws, plus fitting my schedule around my duties..."

She rattled off excuses in a panic. I let her ramble; the flustered show was entertaining.

"...That's what happened! Get it? Sure, I messed up a bit, but that's not my usual self!"

Self-proclaimed elite Baby Angel. Counterpoints galore. Anzelli called her error-prone... and look at me toying with her now.

"Sure? Then show top-tier from now on?"

"Of course!"

"Good! Any slip-ups, you own them fully? I trust you?"

"Yes! Leave it to me! ...Huh? That's not the same thing, is it...?"

Perfect. Future screw-ups? Extract heavenly compensation and debt from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her. Long live elite angels.

"Eeng? Wait... that sounded off..."

"Hold up, got a question."

"Uh... sure... ask away."

No backing down. I did have something real to ask—important to me.

"When I visited Heaven, no female angels, all guys... special reason?"

"Ah! That! Well, you've been there, so it's fine to tell you... right?"

"...Asking me...?"

Ahem!

"Last time, I said I don't have a name or gender yet? Low-rank angels pick their name and gender upon promotion to mid-rank."

"You're low-rank, Anzelli mid?"

"Yes! Mid-ranks and above, like Senior, chose theirs."

"What? So they all picked male? Why the imbalance?"

If asked, I'd pick male without hesitation. Gotta roll with women. Love 'em, but becoming one? Hard pass.

"Well... unlike men, women get... condition swings? For days at a time..."

"Angels menstruate?"

"Eek! I beat around the bush on purpose—don't make me spell it out!"

Oh. Juicy info.

Menstruation means... angels have genitals. Female ones could get pregnant? Species difference with humans unknown, but physically possible.

Good—no "angels conceive via holy spirit, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no genitals!" disaster later with Anzelli. Kimchi soup overdone, maybe...

"Why'd Anzelli pick female? Better for me, sure, but inconvenient for her."

"Senior wants to be a Valkyrie. Ah! Valkyries are..."

"War virgins, right?"

"Yes! God's sharpest blade, white flowers blooming in blood-soaked fields, unbreakable barrier on dimensional frontiers—noble souls with countless titles! Haa... so cool, right?"

Baby Angel recited with starry-eyed longing. Clearly Anzelli's influence.

Hm... "virgin" warriors... Non-virgins disqualified? Too vulgar to ask.

"You've always wanted to be like Senior? So you picked female already?"

"Yes! Female, to follow her path! We promised— she'll become Valkyrie first, then me!"

Oh ho? So this teaseable angel turns into an Anzelli-level beauty later?