Baek Hamin's Downfall

Among the countless classmates and seniors at the university, few hadn't shared a meal with Baek Hamin. Not just the teaching assistants—even the professors. Most people held goodwill toward him, and even those not particularly close knew of his presence. He was always at every gathering. No, in eight or nine out of ten cases, Baek Hamin was the one leading it.

That was why the campus was in an uproar.

The polite words and behavior he'd shown until now had been just a facade. Word had spread that he was, in truth, an utterly vile person.

"So... that's all true?"

"Yeah... He seems completely different now..."

"..."

Baek Hamin's change had been sudden. It was as if he'd become a different person starting from the day he began dating Go Dayeon.

His close friends refused to believe the shocking news. They wanted to confirm the truth with their own eyes.

Verifying the facts was easy. There was too much evidence for it to be fabricated.

Once it was confirmed that he had indeed changed, half his friends abandoned him.

The ones who stayed assumed there must be a reason for his transformation. Maybe a family bereavement, or a fight with a close friend. If they could resolve that cause or help him back on his feet, surely Baek Hamin would return to normal.

But that wasn't the case either.

Testimonies from a few people truly close to him revealed... he had no family connected by blood.

Moreover, Baek Hamin had always posted his daily life on SNS down to the hour. Tracing his past actions was a breeze. There were no fights with anyone, no secret lover he'd broken up with, not even impending military enlistment.

No one could guess the reason.

Or rather, there was no reason.

Half of his remaining friends left. The survivors turned to Go Dayeon.

Since he'd changed the day he started dating her, they thought she might know something. If the rumors were true, they'd be doing something unforgivable to her... but they took his change that seriously. They had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to confirm it, even if it meant facing her wrath.

"...I have nothing to say. Even thinking about that time..."

"Was... the rumor true?"

"..."

A nod.

Go Dayeon nodded stiffly. She didn't seem to know anything. On the contrary, her demeanor made it clear she was a victim of Baek Hamin's actions.

They'd confirmed the most unbelievable, unwanted rumor as fact.

Most of the rest left his side. Even the few diehards didn't last.

They tried to change him. Tried talking. But all they got back was mocking sarcasm laced with personal attacks.

One by one, two by two, they grew weary and departed.

On university community sites like Ani Time, SNS, group chats, big and small gatherings... Baek Hamin's name was everywhere.

The rumors about him were, without doubt, the hottest topic of the semester.

...Which was why no one noticed.

A short, 155cm loner suddenly shot up to 165cm, skipped university for a week, then reappeared at 180cm.

Park Chanyoung's decision to stay away from campus for that week—to avoid any potential issues—had been spot on. People ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who passed him just thought, Oh, a returning student familiarizing himself with campus.

No one connected that man to the loner Park Chanyoung.

Discussing Baek Hamin was far more entertaining than dwelling on it.

It had been a little over a month since Baek Hamin and Park Chanyoung swapped bodies.

Of the over 500 friends he'd once had, not a single one remained by his side.

*

"Guess I can't go into White Whale's Footsteps starting tomorrow."

In White Whale's Footsteps, the protagonist arrives in the village after three weeks. So I had no choice but to stop training there.

I'd already been training for nearly three weeks.

"For now, this seems like the max I can do to build Thousand Fists One Kick proficiency..."

Whether in Terraforming or on Earth, proficiency doesn't build smoothly. Pushing further here would only net tiny gains anyway.

And I wouldn't be able to enter the White Whale's Footsteps world for a while.

"Whoa... still needs a ton..."

The amazing part? This was already more than half shaved off. It had originally required a whopping 50,000 karma.

50,000 karma just to go from 0Lv to 1Lv?

"That's ridiculous."

How much more for 1Lv to 2Lv? And after that?

...I was starting to feel overwhelmed.

Still, I decided to level up Thousand Fists One Kick.

Thanks to the Prum buff boosting stat growth, my stats were still rising smoothly. I'd bought every worthwhile passive too.

Martial arts didn't use mana, so there were no ultra-expensive skills. I'd cleared out the entire skill shop.

"Level up Thousand Fists One Kick, then use the leftovers to fix my looks? Starting to have some leeway now."

With my sudden height spurt, the fat had distributed more evenly. I no longer looked outright fat. If someone called me fat, I could brush it off laughing.

Body mass index was still low, so muscles only showed outlines, but with fat and muscle combined, I had a sturdy build. Plus the 180cm height helped.

"But the height growth brought new problems..."

Most urgent: sagging skin from rapid fat loss. Height growth pulled it some, but anyone seeing me naked would grimace. It was honestly gross.

I'd timed baths alone so far, but that couldn't last forever. Skin first.

No big worries. If the system's Appearance Edit—which could change eye color—couldn't handle skin tightening, what could?

Second: leg-to-torso imbalance from the height potion's side effect. Barely noticeable at 170cm, but at 180cm, short legs stood out.

The potion grew upper and lower body 1:1. Training clothes were baggy for mobility, hiding it—lucky.

Messed-up skull shape, scarred skin, uneven teeth, even maple leaf hands. Plenty of minor fixes, but not urgent. The top two were.

Anyway, Thousand Fists One Kick level-up was set. No hesitation—I upgraded.

New info bloomed in my mind.

Double Shaking Bow (Ssangyogung). The new technique from the level-up.

"Now it has a cooldown..."

Double Shaking Bow had a one-minute cooldown. And tricky activation: not just thrusting like One Proper Fist, but striking the opponent's body once each with left and right hands.

But the payoff? Immense power.

Skin toughness didn't matter. One hand injects mana, the other shakes it up. Turns the insides to mush.

Better for non-humans than humans.

It would shine against thick-skinned monsters with hides, shells, or scales. Humans wouldn't survive a direct hit either.

Couldn't test the full extent, but average mental fortitude wouldn't stay standing.

"Can't test on wooden posts since it's for living targets..."

Had to hold off for now.

Remaining karma...

"Status window."

Plenty left.

8,000 karma should cover the urgent fires. I started adjusting my body with Appearance Edit.

First, torso-to-leg ratio.

Not height increase, but adjusting existing leg length—cheap. Negligible cost.

Made sense. Height potion's edge was cost-efficiency over raw height karma. If leg tweaks cost a fortune, better use leg-specific karma for height. Potion would be pointless.

Like a 3,000 won game with a 50,000 won expansion...

Obvious design.

I felt my body shift. Wanted to check a mirror, but none here.

Since editing anyway, I'd finish all changes then check on Earth. Appearance Edit showed a 3D model regardless.

Next, sagging skin.

Unlike ratio tweak, this needed precision. Not just belly—arms, thighs, even butt skin hung loose. Ugly, so quick work.

"Fuck... why's karma spiking like this?"

Each peel jacked up the cost. But couldn't stop. Still manageable.

Meticulous on face and jaw too. From elderly sag to ideal taut skin—about 5,000 karma. Not bad.

No hesitation—accepted.

Smooth...

Hearing the sound, I yanked up my training top to check my abs.

"Oh! It worked!"

Firm, taut belly greeted me. No more gross jiggle during intense movement.

Remaining karma: 3,050.

Used it to refine skull shape. Bad bone structure dooms handsome faces. Skull forms the base for features—fundamentals.

Started low-key: forehead, occiput, parietal—not super noticeable under bushy hair. Sudden change wouldn't raise flags.

But trim hair after? Perfect image overhaul, suspicion-free.

That's why no haircut till now.

Planned more if karma left, but costs killed that idea.

Left under 400 karma. No more edits.

Had to check next Thousand Fists One Kick level cost.

"...Fine, first level-up was 50,000. Accepted."

The number stayed at 50,000 karma. No increase.