[ Skill Use: Calorie Burn ]
[ Time Limit: 15 Minutes ]
The first thing I saw upon waking up in pain was a blue window message.
The name of the skill I used and the time limit.
And at the same time, I felt an overflowing power within my body.
[ Current Physical Specs: 175cm, 70kg ]
[ System: Due to the use of ‘Calorie Burn’, 40kg of weight will be consumed. The consumed weight will be converted into physical abilities due to traits. ]
[ System: The effect of ‘Calorie Burn’ greatly increases the amount of calories you can obtain from consumed food. ]
[ System: Within the 15-minute time limit, please consume food equivalent to your original weight. Failure to comply will result in Ken Feinstein’s death. ]
Feeling the malicious intent of the game developers, I looked at the status message.
I quickly understood what kind of skill it was.
Clenching my fists, I felt an incredible power I had never experienced before.
‘With this, I can take him down.’
I immediately launched myself in front of Emily.
“Get back!”
Using the dagger I had made the day before, I took down the [Albino One-Eyed Giant].
Monsters of the one-eyed giant type generally have their eyeballs as weak points. Attacking the eyeball immediately stuns them and they can’t move for a while.
Depending on whether my attack was effective or not, I planned to decide whether to flee with Emily or take him down outright. But contrary to my expectations, I split the giant in two with a single swing.
‘What an incredible effect… I’ve never seen a skill like this before…’
It was likely a setting that the game developers put in for fun.
They wouldn’t just include a skill that lets you become stronger by losing weight without a catch.
‘…The problem is.’
[ System: 13 Minutes remaining until weight recovery ]
‘Damn it, where am I supposed to find food in this forest?!’
Just then, a thought crossed my mind: Emily from when I was playing the game.
In the game, health recovery items only had a small effect and were almost not carried in the later stages, but there were definitely food items.
So, I immediately approached Emily and requested.
“…Food.”
“…Huh?”
“Do you have any leftover food? …I really need something, anything will do.”
Emily quickly pulled out some food at my request.
She seemed oddly kinder than usual?
Normally, she wouldn’t want to be within arm’s reach of me, and if our eyes met, she’d avoid looking at me like I was filth.
But that wasn’t important right now.
I had no idea how much food I needed to consume.
‘The sandwich…! It’s flowing into my body…!’
I started eating as best as I could.
Fortunately, Emily kept providing food to me as I devoured it greedily.
Today, she looked like an angel.
Is this how people see her for her good deeds?
[ System: Target weight calorie intake completed. Ending skill. ]
“Phew, thanks. I really almost got killed, but thanks to you, I survived.”
I could have died back there.
Patting my now rounded belly, I showed my gratitude to Emily… huh?
“…Huh?”
Emily’s expression became one of despair.
Why is she looking at me like that?
Oh right, I must have looked a bit gaunt until just recently due to the skill’s effects.
Anyone would be taken aback if they suddenly gained weight.
I needed to explain the skill properly…
“No, it’s not… it’s not…”
But then Emily’s dazed expression shifted, and shadows danced across her face as she murmured something.
“…That… my first love…”
“Hmm? Oh, you don’t have to thank me. We helped each other…”
“No! No, no…! Nooo!!”
Is she desperate to express her gratitude?
Emily vehemently denied my response.
Then, she suddenly sprang up.
Huh? Didn’t she say her legs hurt?
“……”
She looked at me sitting there.
Her gaze was no longer the angelic twinkle from earlier or the usual disdainful glare.
It was a gaze mixed with shame and anger, tears welling in her eyes.
She seemed about to explode with that energy and then…
“Nooooooo━!!”
Emily turned and ran away.
“……What’s wrong with her?”
Well, whatever, at least I survived, right?
Everything worked out great!
After Emily left, I got right to work.
I achieved unexpected results.
‘That Emily, she took off suddenly and surprised me… but thanks to that, it’s all mine now.’
I couldn’t help but hum to myself.
I picked up the knife I made yesterday and started gathering bits from the [Albino One-Eyed Giant].
“Whoa! This guy’s even carrying jewels! Super lucky!”
Jewels in this world have a value greater than money.
From the basic magical stone imbued with basic mana to the four elemental gems, each of the four colors contains the power of their respective spirits.
The color of the gem the [Albino One-Eyed Giant] had was green.
Which means it’s an item imbued with the power of wind.
‘It doesn’t look like a high grade by its size…’
In the game, you could see the grade of an item right away, but since this is reality, I had no choice but to gauge it by size.
It should be around D grade.
But even this is really good since you can imbue properties into weapons or armor.
I dropped the gem into my subspace pocket.
I didn’t feel any weight, but the sensation of the material filling it made my heart race.
Moreover, the skin of the [Albino One-Eyed Giant] was unusually rare since it had the albino title.
The hide of giant-type monsters is thick and tough, making it excellent for armor or selling.
And the giant’s bones.
Honestly, the thought of slicing through the skin and pulling out the bones made me want to throw up, but it was necessary.
‘…There was a sword like this too. Should I give it a try?’
The materials from boss-level monsters are all very useful.
Especially at this early point in the game, everything is rare.
‘Can’t use this.’
Usually, in the game, I could get eyeball materials by attacking the weak point, but…
In reality, it was smashed and warped by the knife.
It’s a shame it could’ve been used for alchemy, but it’s no use now.
I stuffed all those materials into a fist-sized subspace pocket.
The weight felt nearly the same as before.
Most of the giant’s materials went in without me even feeling a thing.
“Definitely glad I got this first.”
The existence of the subspace pocket really changed a lot.
Satisfied with my haul, I headed back to the dormitory.
Emily Epiris had locked herself away in her room after her dangerous adventure.
‘…No, …no, this can’t be.’
She covered her face with her blanket and thought about what had happened earlier.
Her perilous situation. The one-eyed monster.
And the stunning prince who appeared to save her.
Only for that prince to be eaten by some pig.
Suddenly, that prince turned into a pig wearing his skin.
‘This can’t be, …he was my first love.’
While she received help from a knight when she was being taken away by a nobleman, she didn’t really understand love back then.
After enrolling in the academy and having conversations with peers, she slowly started to awaken to feelings for guys like Adrian.
So, she slowly developed feelings for someone.
That someone was Ken Feinstein.
‘And that’s …Ken Feinstein.’
Looking back, he somehow seemed a bit cute…
‘Am I crazy?! What am I thinking…!’
Emily disliked fat men. No, she might even say she hated them.
Whenever she saw a man with that physique, she recalled the nobleman who had tried to drag her away.
Those eyes full of desire staring at her made her feel utterly repulsed.
Recollecting that sent chills down her spine.
Because of this, she became confused.
Even knowing that the handsome prince was Ken Feinstein, her heart had already fluttered.
Her trauma rejected him, but her heart kept trying to affirm him.
‘…He really was handsome.’
She recalled how he looked saving her.
‘Why doesn’t that pig go on a diet!’
And then there was also that round belly she remembered.
Emily felt resentful towards him.
If he’d just lost weight and looked good, none of this would have happened.
She wouldn’t have to treat him coldly or scowl and click her tongue whenever their eyes met.
Everything would have turned out better.
“……No.”
Emily muttered, wrapping herself in the blanket.
“Right, this never happened.”
In the chaotic blend of trauma and first love, she found her answer.
It was denial.
“I never had feelings for him.”
A reality denial.
“That never happened.”
And that denial…
“Hey, pig. Didn’t I tell you to get over here in 10 minutes?”
“Gahh, Emily is so mean. Look at that pig panting.”
“Seriously, you should lose some weight. When Emily calls, you should come running right away.”
A few days later, on a rainy day.
Emily had her foot on Ken Feinstein’s head.
‘That’s right… I’ve never liked this guy….’
As if trying to prove her mindset, she began tormenting Ken Feinstein, whom she had loathed.
And if he didn’t comply, he would get beaten up by the others, and Ken, with his head pressed to the ground by Emily’s foot, thought.
‘……Didn’t I save this jerk a few days ago?’
His head was buzzing with confusion and injustice more than the pain in his body.
[ System: Emily Epiris’s sexual excitement level rises. ]
“…Whoohoo.”
And the status window before him only added to his mental chaos.
