– Summoner Lee Yeon-hee briefly steps into the path.
‘Uh?’
After a message pops up, something the size of A4 paper swiftly flashes through my mind.
A shredded, fragmented film of memory.
The little pieces that started when Yeon-hee began to walk took a long time to come together into the image I remember.
There were moments when I would freeze on certain scenes, and they were clearly the most painful memories of her life.
Even now, looking from Yeon-hee’s perspective, it feels vivid as if it were happening right in front of me.
The memory of my dad drunkenly throwing punches in a boxing stance at my mom.
I scream until my throat tears, begging him to stop, but the man called Dad pretended not to hear.
– Trait [Calm] activates!
– Resistance fails!
– Status ailments [Chaos][Fear][Madness][Mental Collapse][Paralysis][Debuff][Vulnerability][Stagnation]······ enshrouds me.
The world is going insane. Unending anger, sadness, and helplessness pull me into darkness.
Monsters, gooey like mud, on the floor hold me down, pulling me lower and lower. As if I must become one of them.
The moment I emerged from that dark, damp swamp of memories, it was when I summoned the utterly unimpressive Skeleton Soldier.
‘That was the initial me…’
It was just a short while ago, but it was heavily imbued with the undead’s damp and dark aura.
‘…… I was quite down back then.’
I suddenly turned to reflect on myself.
“Clap, Clap, Clap!
I returned to Yeon-hee’s perspective.
The Skeleton’s clap almost made me burst into laughter. I quickly fixed my upturned mouth and gently lifted my head off the pillow to say.
“Wow··· I never thought it would actually work··· No, of course it should work since it’s my ability. Still··· it’s just so amazing!”
This was the first ability to manifest after my second awakening. A great success!
The summoned Skeleton Soldier was surprisingly smart. It even knew how to give itself a name.
A monster reading? Absurd!
The skeleton was busy tilting its head as it looked around.
Though I didn’t know where it came from, it felt like I had created it.
That Skeleton Soldier is wholly mine. My complete possession… Its name is Il-wol.
How long has it been since I repeatedly viewed myself from Yeon-hee’s perspective?
After meeting me, I was relieved as the light emitted from the fragments of memory gradually brightened.
‘……!’
I finally managed to regain my senses.
‘Hah― hah― Please tell me… I won’t have to experience this every time I transform, right?’
Once I had endured it without knowing anything, but thinking of going through it again sends chills down my spine.
“……”
While I was dazed, trying to gather my wits in the changed perspective, a familiar voice permeated my ears.
“Kyah――!”
‘What, what is this?! An enemy?!’
Instinctively deploying my senses, I felt something odd.
“Ah?”
“Ah…?! Did you just make a sound!! Kyah! Il-wol? Do you recognize me? Can you make a sound? Huh? Quickly, say something!”
‘…… Uh… Did I really transform into Yeon-hee?’
Slowly, I moved my hands within the rounded perspective I had not seen before. It was hard to believe before seeing it, but I was beginning to realize that my form, which was caught by my senses, was already human.
A small, precious, lovely silhouette. I had really turned into Yeon-hee.
– Transformation into Summoner Lee Yeon-hee makes [Transformation] successful.
– All attributes except senses decreased by 50.
– Remaining time <00:29:48>
– Currently identified a malevolent group nearby. I will track their location until the time is up.
That’s right. This special ability existed.
‘Malevolent group… Blue-eyed.’
A square map formed in my mind. I could see a red dot marked there. That must be the malevolent group closest to me.
‘That’s closer than I thought? It looks like it’s less than 200m away?’
At this distance, I could slip out for a moment without issue. Given the high concentration of one-room places here, they might be in a similar nest.
“Il-wol?”
“Ah?”
“Kyah! You said it again! Amazing! Quickly say something else, okay?”
‘Ah, right.’
I momentarily lost myself in the new ability. I glanced at my hands again.
Creeeak—
‘It’s Yeon-hee’s hand. Small and white.’
I fumbled around to touch my face. It was also Yeon-hee’s face. I could tell because I had touched it a few times while she was leaning on me and asleep.
‘Thank goodness I’m not naked.’
I’m wearing blue dolphin shorts and a white t-shirt. It’s the outfit Yeon-hee often wears at home.
‘Hmm…’
I felt like I must also be wearing some underwear. I can’t bear to check right now…
I briefly lowered my gaze. Then, I saw two ample, round shapes that men can’t view right in front of me.
And the valley between them…
‘… Right. I heard there are restrictions when talking.’
I couldn’t immediately recall the mechanism behind producing sounds, but I gathered my courage to try and spoke up.
“…Ah… Wow-?”
‘What is this? Babbling?’
“Kyah! So cute! Do it again! More!”
‘… This, this isn’t right. This is beyond any restriction! Damn! If I can’t change, what’s the point of this form?!’
Not expecting restrictions to be this much, I was thoroughly flustered when Yeon-hee, who had been repeatedly saying she found me cute, unexpectedly dashed over and tightly hugged me.
‘?!’
“Ugh-”
“This is mine. My cute Il-wol-! Wuwu!”
Squish—
Buried deep in her cleavage, I felt a momentary suffocation.
Of course, it was just an imagined sense based on my memory, and I wasn’t actually suffocating.
“Haah-”
Even though I was breathing, this was merely a deceitful act stemming from [Transformation], striving to become as real as possible. I wasn’t even conscious of that, so my breath stopped.
‘Breathing practice is also needed.’
But that wasn’t important right now.
“Ahuw!”
“Hehe- So cute.”
‘Damn it! But if I practice, will it get better? Please let it be so.’
And there was another difficulty.
‘Uncomfortable.’
The chest structure, which was entirely different from a man’s, was extremely uncomfortable.
‘How did she manage to move with something this large?’
In a way, I even found respect for Yeon-hee.
I instinctively felt that adapting to Yeon-hee’s body would be quite challenging.
Even now, just by hugging her, I felt tightness in my chest.
Squish-squish—
‘Aah… N-not that…’
The two large masses bumping against each other while being hugged was extraordinarily uncomfortable, yet I felt my face blush strangely.
“Hehe… Sniff-sniff- I think the smell has changed a little. Am I also copying my scent? Sniff- Does my body emit such a fragrance? Sniff-”
“Ugh…”
‘Stop that… Don’t get so close to me to sniff…’
I felt drawn into a mysterious sensation I had never experienced since becoming a skeleton.
‘… This is bad. My physical senses are remarkably better than when I was a skeleton; it’s making me feel weird.’
Though Yeon-hee remained quiet and passive outside, when we were alone at home, she transformed into someone entirely different. And today, the gap was more significant than ever.
“Whoosh- Haah- So, Il-wol, can you say my name one more time? We need to keep practicing. Not just for me. Haah- Come on.”
Yeon-hee’s face was flushed red and even her breathing had become extremely rough.
‘That’s a little disappointing. So, being human is better than being a skeleton.’
Somehow, my mood soured. I prefer being a skeleton. So, does she just like being human?
‘… Well, I guess it’s only natural for her.’
Wanting to respond to her expectation of speaking more, I attempted a few more tries, but speaking was not easy. Babbling at this age is sigh…
‘I guess I’ve been living like a skeleton, and now that it’s hard to talk, I feel awkward…’
“Eugh, Erni!”
“Kuh… Aah- So cute!”
Bam-!
Yeon-hee resumed attacking me with her chest. I could do nothing but surrender to the waves that rocked me around in her embrace.
I thought she’d be embarrassed upon seeing her own form, but could anyone really dislike a beauty of this level? I wouldn’t know.
After that, we spent about ten minutes with me speaking while she cheered and hugged me repeatedly.
Stretch—
“Oh, wow- Il-wol’s cheeks are getting really big!”
‘That’s yours, right?’
“Aah…”
It was strangely exhausting. The expression “losing energy” must be used for moments like this. However, I felt my mouth opening up little by little. In a few days, I might be able to say simple words.
“Hehehe-”
She was sitting behind me, holding me tight. I didn’t expect her to enjoy being human this much… Tsk…
‘Well, it’s better than showing discomfort.’
Moreover, I only had half an hour each day. Maybe that’s why we cling to each other like this.
She touched my face, stared intently at me, and kept brushing my sides while touching my chest. I wish she would be a bit more careful.
“The expression still looks a little awkward, but do you think it will improve over time? He…”
“Ah?”
“Ah? That’s how it is! Hehehe- But don’t get the wrong idea; this isn’t me saying that I find my appearance cute at all! I’d say it looks like Il-wol’s expression overlaps with my usual sight. Hehehe-”
“Eh-”
“Hehehe- The sight of the real Il-wol trying to do something is so cute, since before, it was just teeth clashing!”
Hmm… Was that so? I think my reactions might have been a bit neglected. I will have to pay more attention to that moving forward.
Yeon-hee kept talking to me until the transformation time expired, like a mother would a babbling baby.
While I responded to her, I kept an eye on the mini-map in my head. It was just shy of 8 o’clock.
Thanks to Tanya, I had just identified the first malevolent presence I had tracked, and it hasn’t moved from its spot since.
No, it was moving, but it was stuck within a limited range of movement. Presumably, it’s functioning within this area, much like the space we’re in.
Since I was skilled in utilizing the wave of my senses, I constantly crossed and compared the mini-map distance and the waves to find my bearings quickly.
‘If I can’t pinpoint a location with this much info, then I’m the idiot here.’
North-northwest direction, 207 meters. It’s in a space 12.6 meters off the ground. It seems it’s on the 4th floor.
I nodded and said.
“Abu-!”
“Huh? Abu? What does that mean? So- Anyway, if you keep talking, maybe Yeon-su will understand. Even now, I’m struggling to resist the urge to touch Il-wol’s cheeks.”
Stretch- stretch—
‘You’re already touching, so what…’
She released the cheeks she was holding and gently swept my hair aside as she continued speaking.
“So, it’s only half an hour…? It’s a shame, but there’s nothing we can do. But will I really have to utilize this power? I’m not fishing like a Mimic.”
“Uwuu?”
“Transforming into another person haphazardly just to get into a dangerous situation would be a disaster. So, be careful when using it, ok?”
“Eh!”
“Yeah, yeah!”
I don’t know how long I’ll have to keep this talking up, but it certainly feels easier than communicating using the Skeleton’s claps.
Vroom—
“Ahh… time’s almost up.”
Watching my body fade like a ghost, her lips formed a little pout.
I wanted to do something to alleviate her apparent disappointment. I mustered all my strength to let out one final word.
“Yeon-i-”
“Ah…”
– [Transformation] has been released.
As soon as it was released, the pale skin that stuck to my bones scattered like dust and disappeared completely. What remained was my familiar, original, skeletal form.
“You just called my name at the end…”
“Clap, Clap, Clap!!”
“Hehe…”
She seemed surprisingly cheerful with that. Her beautiful smile was so captivating that for a moment, I forgot about what I needed to do.
‘Anything’s fine. As long as you’re smiling…’
Lost in those thoughts, contentedly smiling inside, Yeon-hee, who was behind me, slowly wrapped her arms around my neck again.
‘…Huh? What’s this for…’
Is she wanting to reminisce about when I was a person?
I thought that might be the case, so I quietly waited for her to release my neck. But a moment later, she unexpectedly spoke in a somewhat subdued voice.
“Il-wol… But I have one question…”
Chill――
In an instant, the living room felt frozen, as if the air had turned icy.
“Why… didn’t you transform into the first one… and instead became the second one?”
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