The eyelids refused to budge, almost as if they were glued shut.
Only by sheer willpower could they slightly open, and even then, my vision was hazy and stinging.
But seeing ahead wasn’t really happening either.
Opening my eyes revealed only an endless, murky world.
It felt like I was submerged in a deep sea with no light, or in a universe filled only with darkness, void of stars and moon.
The colors were no different from when my eyes were closed.
Whether my eyes were closed or open, the world remained dark.
All information I could gather slipped through my fingers, and ultimately, the world remained just as dark.
However, seeing the darkness while my eyes were open felt even more unsettling.
Of course, even then, the powers tightly wrapped up in my spatial perception resumed normal function, turning me into something akin to a disability claimant.
In any case, I hadn’t opened my eyes since the first day I came to this world.
But now, I opened them.
As I lifted my buried face, intense red hues flooded my retina.
Red hair, teasing the tip of my nose, and underneath it, pale skin…
It was Hong Yeon-hwa. She was soundly asleep, cradling me in her arms.
Buried deep in that cozy embrace, I absorbed her warm body heat.
I blinked blankly.
Red and flesh… familiar colors.
I’m not a congenital blind person; I had seen these colors abundantly in my previous world.
Moreover, with my powers of observation, I could perceive the world with senses far superior to mere sight, pulling in and deciphering massive amounts of information.
In fact, the world seen through the eyes could be quite limited, frustrating, and might even be considered inferior.
However, seeing the world through my eyes felt different.
The sensations conveyed through mere information felt entirely different. It was a refreshing experience.
People are so foolish and dull that they only realize the value of something after they lose it.
I was one of those cases.
Having taken the preciousness of sight for granted, I only realized its importance after it was taken from me for a while.
‘…What is this.’
My eyes fluttered awkwardly as I struggled to blink.
I caressed around my eyelids with a peculiar expression.
Colors were registering in my retina. Red and flesh tones. Apart from that, nothing much else was visible.
I glanced away and saw a thick fog.
A dense fog that obscured even a step ahead.
I doubted whether anything existed on the other side.
Even when I shifted my gaze to the opposite side, it was still foggy.
No matter how I turned my eyes up and down, the fog filled every inch.
A quick glance around yielded nothing but fog.
The only exceptions were Hong Yeon-hwa and her minute surroundings.
In the dim gray haze, she was the only one bearing distinct colors.
‘…What?’
My expression turned a bit sour without my noticing.
Just yesterday… when I kissed Hong Yeon-hwa, my eyes spontaneously opened.
For the first time, I saw her face with my eyes. Although I had continuously recognized her through information, seeing her with my own eyes was so beautiful that my mind froze.
But her surroundings were obscured.
The fog-like stuff thickly blanketed my vision, completely blocking it.
‘How ridiculous.’
It was a truly absurd feeling.
I had no idea why my vision opened, but what I saw was barely more than half of what normally would be visible. My head was spinning…
And then…
“…Sniff.”
Suddenly, my nose twitched.
This had happened many times before. Although I couldn’t smell anything, it mostly happened when I was near people I disliked… or when I got closer to someone.
But now, I could smell something.
The overwhelmingly strong scent came from right in front of me.
As Hong Yeon-hwa breathed, the warm body bobbed right at my nose. It was her soft chest, which I had taken advantage of all night.
“……”
I lowered my head again, burying my face into the voluptuous chest.
My nose sank into her soft skin, the strongest scent filled my nostrils.
It smelled sweet and nutty. Very similar to warm milk.
The soft texture supporting my face, the warm body temperature, and the intoxicating scent of Hong Yeon-hwa…
My body melted away. My blissful mind was floating.
“Ah…”
[So happy]
[So happy]
[Love it]
[So happy…]
…
I was happy.
No room for contradiction. Happiness radiated from every part of me.
At that moment, I was the happiest person in the world.
I wanted this to continue.
I wanted to be cradled by Hong Yeon-hwa, indulging in her warmth and tenderness.
I wanted to keep it this way.
To do that… to live happily for a long while, threats must be eliminated.
Moreover, such threats generally won’t resolve themselves by staying still. I needed to take action to root them out.
For me, these threats were calamities that severely shake the world… the invasions of the towers.
Tower of Purgatory, Tower of Eternal Winter, Tower of Necromancy…
For a happy future, I had to stop the chaos brought by the towers.
‘This outing is for that purpose, after all.’
I left the Gop-hwa Clan and set out to find the dungeon, ‘Lake of Mana.’
The Lake of Mana was overflowing with pure mana, making it a perfect place for mana enhancement.
Despite being a rare dungeon that doesn’t produce many monsters to fend off external threats… in short, it was a treasure trove of a dungeon.
In the original story, finding and entering it was a bit troublesome, but with powers of observation and space at my disposal, it should be possible to enter with just a bit of time.
‘The proof of protection is right there too.’
Moreover, ‘Proof of Protection,’ an artificial arm-type artifact, exists at the Lake of Mana.
If I could be recognized as its owner, I could aim for both filling the void in my arm and boosting my power simultaneously.
However, Proof of Protection is picky about its owner. I remember it cares about personality traits.
If I’m not acknowledged as the owner… I might as well just sell it and take care of my arm replacement.
Until now, I had been stalling regeneration just in case I could wear it, but if I couldn’t use Proof of Protection, there was no need to keep my arm vacant.
Also, nearby the dungeon lay the base of forces that would trouble me in the future.
Since they hadn’t properly built up their size yet in the early stages, attacking and destroying them now would make things easier later on.
In short, I needed to move quickly.
“Ugh…”
With a feeling akin to swallowing tears of blood, I lifted my body.
As I did, Hong Yeon-hwa, who had been hugging me tightly, squeezed her arms.
She squirmed a bit and grabbed the large pillow beside her, giving it to me instead.
Having not slept well all night, she squirmed, her eyes fluttering, but soon fell back asleep, breathing evenly.
I got out of bed.
With my eyes barely open, I looked around, but all I saw was fog. Ultimately, I closed my eyes again.
First, I opened the refrigerator in the room and took out a drink.
Looking at the label, it seemed like orange juice. The glass bottle was rather elegant, so this must be a premium product.
‘The smell… still nothing.’
I popped the lid off to smell, but no hint of orange scent wafted through.
Instead, several other aromas came through.
One common factor? They all originated from Hong Yeon-hwa… her body scent.
I quirked my lips in a strange expression as I took a sip of the drink.
Refreshing.
I couldn’t taste anything. Last night, while indulging in Hong Yeon-hwa’s skin, I had definitely tasted something…
When my eyes opened yesterday, my sense of taste and smell returned.
Yet they returned in some awkward way.
And I had also started to talk.
“Ah─ Ugh…!”
– Ugh.
It returned in a clumsy manner.
The moment I spoke, a sharp pain sliced at the back of my neck. Having gotten somewhat accustomed to the pain, I didn’t roll on the floor like a fool.
Yesterday, I had spoken just fine, but now I was dealing with this mess.
I had a hunch about it.
‘……’
I returned to the bed.
Hong Yeon-hwa was still sleeping soundly.
I felt a twinge of guilt at the sight, for the reason she hadn’t slept well last night was due to accommodating my whims.
Pulling the disheveled blanket up to her chest, I cautiously spoke.
“Yeon, Hwa…”
My prediction proved correct.
Just like the previous instance, there was a pattern for my voice.
I could only speak when addressing ‘Hong Yeon-hwa.’
‘…What the hell.’
With only Hong Yeon-hwa visible to my eyes, only her scent detectable by my nose, and a strange tongue that could only taste her… and speech that only worked in her presence…
The sensory seals had been loosened. But not entirely.
The curse of silence had been broken, albeit somewhat awkwardly.
I hadn’t done a thing.
I hadn’t used the ‘Treasure of Haekju,’ nor the tower’s wish-granting token.
What in the world needed to be done for the mouth… to trigger a change in the curse?
I had a vague guess…
‘……’
With a deep sigh, I opened my eyes.
The fog was dense. Once Hong Yeon-hwa vanished from sight, there was nothing but fog.
The fog was so thick that I could barely see a step ahead, but…
[…? …!]
[…! … … …]
[… … … ….. ….]
In one corner of my vision, a small square-like thing flickered in the air.
As I turned my gaze, the square followed to the edge of my sight.
‘What the hell…’
What on earth was that?
Being accustomed to games… specifically the game called [Savior], I could deduce what it was.
So the curse of my tongue got some unwelcome company.
Grinding my teeth together, I wiped my face in annoyance.
‘Status window…’
The ultimate assistant in aiding a player’s growth.
‘That should’ve been there…’
A sense of desolation struck, and my knees buckled…
.
.
.
[Player Adjustment System: Affection Level]
Lee Ha-yul → Hong Yeon-hwa
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♡(90▷91/100)
“Affection,” “Milk,” “Burdensomeness,” “Gratitude,” “Warmth,” “Stability,” “Softness.”
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