A Harsh Lesson

In the end, we decided to withdraw from Gate 71 early.

Three of our members were injured, but more importantly, we had no idea what kind of monsters might appear next.

Of course, we had wiped out the Snow Spider’s main nest, but there was no telling what other creatures lurked in the gate.

After all, Snow Spiders weren’t supposed to come this far down in the first place. There was no guarantee other monsters wouldn’t do the same.

The gate’s low difficulty rating only applied to the area around the base camp; no one knew what monsters inhabited the deep mountain ranges.

It might have been a different story if we were a well-balanced team, but our party composition had thrown balance to the wind.

If I put my mind to it, I could turn the monsters’ main nest into a sea of fire in an instant, but the others would end up straight in a Snow Spider’s belly.

After tearing open the cocoons and sharing a brief moment of joyful reunion, I announced the decision.

There were no objections.

“Thank you… really.”

I was about to head back to my room to get some more sleep when Cheon Yu-hwa followed me.

“You should warm up. You were trapped in a cocoon.”

“I have homeostasis, so I’m fine. …I’m sorry about yesterday.”

“You are?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry for… not trusting you, for misunderstanding you… for a lot of things.”

“…”

“And for not approaching you with pure intentions—”

“Then,”

Something ‘came first.’

“Why don’t you try approaching me with pure intentions?”

It felt as if something had ‘led’ me before my desire could trigger my defense mechanism. Was it not desire?

[Trait Unlocked: One Soul, Two Minds, Two Bodies]

In any case, it seemed I had found a breakthrough for my ‘defense mechanism.’

“Can I… warm up a little?”

Her face flushed red.

*

“By the way, I think Kim Ji-yeon has some kind of misunderstanding about me.”

“Ji-yeon?”

Lying with her head on my arm, she turned to look at me.

“Yeah. She seems to think I coerced you into it. The reason she left was to confront me about it.”

“Coerced? I didn’t say anything… She must have read my expression. Anyway, I’m sorry about that. Ji-yeon’s still young.”

“It’s not something you need to apologize for… and she’s the same age as me.”

“But you’re strong. Ji-yeon isn’t a high-rank Awakener. One wrong move and she could die. You’re a good person, so you let it slide, but another Awakener might not. They could kill her and just say it was an accident.”

“…Is that really how it is? I don’t have much experience yet.”

“It is in mid-to-low-tier guilds. Those places get mercenaries and Awakeners with shady backgrounds.”

“I see… But why did you have that look on your face?”

“I told you. I felt bad for misunderstanding you, hngh, I said I’m sorry, haah, heugh…!”

“Come to think of it, I don’t believe I ever forgave you. I’ll accept your apology with your body.”

“Wait, hngh, hahk, heu—”

*

“Good work, everyone.”

“Good work.” “Thank you!” “Great job!” “Thanks, Team Leader!”

Unfortunately, an early withdrawal didn’t count as a complete gate clear.

However, considering that everyone returned safely despite the unexpected Snow Spider attack, that we had obtained the Queen Snow Spider’s magic stone, and that we had located their main nest, the evaluation of our expedition was quite positive.

“With this, taking down the queen must have been a breeze. Would you like to sell this magic stone privately, or shall we at the Expedition guild put it up for auction? There will be a commission fee if we auction it.”

“Please put it up for auction.”

The appraisal revealed it was a rather high-grade magic stone.

For something like this, it was safer and more convenient to auction it under the ‘Expedition’ guild’s name, even with the commission fee.

Normally, the money earned would be split with the team, but this magic stone was all mine. After all, no one else had contributed in the slightest.

As I left the guild building, I saw someone waiting for me.

“Ms. Kim Ji-yeon?”

“…I came to apologize. About the misunderstanding. I heard from Yu-hwa unni.”

Biting her lower lip, she wore an expression that was clearly anything but apologetic. It seemed Cheon Yu-hwa had forced her to come.

“Ah… I see.”

“I’m sorry I misunderstood, but if it was a misunderstanding, shouldn’t you have cleared it up? I didn’t know, and I—”

“Hold on. Let’s talk somewhere else.”

I led Kim Ji-yeon, who seemed more filled with anger than remorse, to a quiet place.

Leaving the sounds of her grinding teeth and stomping feet behind me, I found a suitably deserted spot.

“Well, this should be good enough. So, what’s the matter?”

“You didn’t even think to clear up the misunderstanding! Seducing a woman who has a boyfriend!”

“Shh.”

[One Soul, Two Minds, Two Bodies: Two different bodies with two different minds are connected by a single soul. Some skills usable by one form can be used by the other in a modified state.]

“I am your boyfriend.”

A variation of the succubus’s ‘Devil’s Whisper’…

‘Word of Power.’

“Tae… Tae-young? Babe?”

“Yeah. It’s me, Ji-yeon. Did the expedition go well?”

Come to think of it, I don’t think I ever forgave you.

*

“Babe, I had a really, really hard time.”

“Oh? How so?”

“Shoveling snow was physically exhausting, and I made a little mistake, so I was stressed out.”

“Oh, dear…”

So that was just a ‘little’ mistake, was it?

Looks like I’ll have to help you make a big one.

“And that bastard team leader is so annoying. Ugh, just thinking about him pisses me off.”

Damn, this ‘Word of Power’ works really well.

Is her mental resistance that low? Then again, I guess someone who misunderstands things so easily and can’t control her emotions wouldn’t have high mental resistance.

“You worked hard, having to clear a gate with such an annoying team leader. So, since it’s been so long since we’ve seen each other… you wanna?”

Her face flushed red as she buried herself in my arms.

“You’re so horny. Were you that desperate to do it with me?”

“Yeah. So, you don’t want to?”

“…Of course I do. I wanted to see your dick too, babe.”

*

Inside Kim Ji-yeon’s studio apartment.

“Is it good? You’re sucking it so hard.”

“Yeah. But is it because you held it in for so long? Your dick feels bigger than before.”

“You think so? It’s probably because I missed you so much, my Ji-yeon, my baby.”

I called her ‘babe’ with the patience of a man plotting his revenge.

Right, let’s see how far this goes.

“Babe… you’re so cute… What would you do without me?”

“…I know, right? Now, get on the bed.”

“Okay. Just a sec, ah, here. A condom.”

“A condom?”

“Yeah. Of course we have to use a condom. You know I don’t do it without one.”

You didn’t use a condom when you did it with that ‘fucking bastard of a team leader,’ though.

“Do we have to use one? You have birth control pills, don’t you?”

“Those make my skin break out. Do you want to see my skin get bad? You always used condoms before, so why not today?”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just that I had a dream the day before yesterday.”

“A dream?”

“Yeah. It’s a little weird to say this, but… I dreamed you were sleeping with another man.”

“What?”

Kim Ji-yeon looked completely flustered.

“Wh-what does that—”

“Hey, it was just a dream. But that man… he came inside you without a condom. I saw it and got so jealous. I guess that’s how much… I cherish you.”

“R-really? What a… strange dream.”

“Right? There’s no way my baby would be with another man behind my back.”

“O-of course not! Don’t be silly.”

“But I was so, so jealous of him doing it with you without a condom… Is there any way? I don’t want anything to be between you and me.”

“Alright. Just this once, I’ll m-make a special exception and let you do it raw. Happy now?”

“Thank you.”

“Th-then… please put it in Ji-yeon’s pussy…”

She climbed onto the bed and spread her legs like a frog, her fingers pulling the slit wide open—

“Hmm?”

“J-Ji-yeon… wants Tae-young’s dick inside her pussy…”

The hole, spread open by her fingers, quivered.

I slid two fingers into that hole, then pulled them out.

A smirk crept onto my face.

“Is this the hole that took that man’s cum?”

“Huh? N-no…! I told you, that was a dream—”

“Don’t lie to me. My baby, are you a slut? Why do you go around spreading your legs for anyone? You tell me to use a condom, but you let other guys come inside you.”

“Wh-what are you talking about? That’s not true…!”

“Is it really not true?”

“…Th—”

“You took too long to answer, babe. If it’s not true, it’s not true. Why can’t you just say it? So it really happened? Were you that desperate for dick? Desperate enough to cheat on your boyfriend with some other guy?”

“N-no… That was because I made a mistake…”

“You made a mistake, so you paid for it with your body? That’s what a slut is. My baby, you really were a slut, weren’t you?”

“No! It was that annoying bastard of a team leader, he— Forgive me. I’m sorry.”

Why is she so weak when it comes to her boyfriend?

“Look at you. When you make a mistake with him, you pay with your body, but with me, you just apologize with words.”

“I’m sorry about that. It won’t happen again. I swear. Please believe me. From now on, I’ll take birth control pills so we don’t have to use condoms.”

This is starting to get boring… Maybe I should just wrap this up.

“No, don’t take birth control pills either.”

“H-huh?”

“I’ll let it slide this time. Take them today. But from now on, don’t. I think you need to be pregnant with my child to stop acting like a slut. Got it?”

Wow, aren’t I just the nicest guy?

I’m not even telling her to get pregnant with my child, but with her own boyfriend’s.

To be honest, I have no desire to continue this relationship with her either.

I don’t know who you are, Tae-young, but don’t let this woman go. Good luck to you.

“Okay…”

In any case, a straying woman ends up pregnant with her lover’s child. Isn’t that a pure love ending?

“Then, babe.”

“Yeah?”

“This is the last day we can have sex without any responsibility, isn’t it?”

“I… guess so?”

“Right. After we have sex next time, you’ll get pregnant. Won’t you?”

“You’re right…?”

“So what should we do? Shouldn’t we act like sluts one last time?”

As long as the ending is pure love, who cares!

*

A creampie dripped from between her legs. I scooped some of it onto my finger and pushed it into her slack mouth.

“Is it good?”

“Yeah… It’s even more delicious because it’s yours, babe.”

Right, as if there’s any difference in taste.

Anyway, it was time for us to part.

It’ll be awkward if we meet again, won’t it?

“That’s… all for today. You’ll forget everything that happened after 2 o’clock, except for the promise you made me, okay? In this state, your boyfriend was the one who was with you. Got it? Sleep well.”

Kim Ji-yeon’s eyelids slowly fluttered shut.

*

[Trait: One Soul, Two Minds, Two Bodies]
[Sub-trait: Optimal Physique]
[-Skill (A): Body Enhancement (Lv.1)]
[Sub-trait: Manifestation of Will]
[-Skill (A): Word of Power (Lv.1)]
[Sub-trait: Magic Mark]
[-Skill (A): Magic Mark – Enhancement ▶]
[-Skill (A): Magic Mark – Activation (-) (Lv.1)]

The trait ‘One Soul, Two Minds, Two Bodies.’

It probably means ‘One soul, two different minds, two different bodies.’

Some of the sub-traits and skills from my succubus form had been modified, making them usable even in my male form.

‘Optimal Physique’ was originally ‘Optimal Body,’ and ‘Body Enhancement’ was also originally ‘Body Enhancement.’

‘Manifestation of Will’ was ‘Devil’s Seduction,’ ‘Word of Power’ was ‘Devil’s Whisper,’ and the ‘Yin Mark’ had become the ‘Magic Mark.’

But honestly, even though the names had changed, their effects seemed almost identical.

Word of Power? It seemed to consume more resources than the original ‘Devil’s Whisper,’ but its effects were more wide-ranging.

More importantly, it was a solution, a breakthrough for my ‘defense mechanism.’

That truly absurd penalty, the ‘defense mechanism,’ which would instantly change me into a woman whenever my libido exploded.

Normally, it would force a transformation into a werewolf or something similar, but due to the nature of my ‘Transformation’ trait, I turned into a woman.

It was a system that, when emotions or personality traits that were supposed to be different due to ‘Polarization’ tried to become the same, would change the body itself rather than break down the polarization.

No matter how convenient and useful ‘Polarization’ was, it was ultimately a form of split personality.

Because the bodies were different, the choice was not to merge the two solidified egos, but to switch to the body that fit the dominant ego.

But after gaining this trait, ‘One Soul, Two Minds, Two Bodies,’

It felt like I had found some kind of ‘center.’

Before I got the trait, my pre- and post-transformation egos were different.

But now, that ‘center’ was my true self.

‘Seo A-gyeol’ and ‘Lee Han-gyeol’ felt… like masks? Or rather than masks… like roles played with extreme method acting.

But having that ‘center’ was a huge deal.

And it felt like the two were now connected.

Even with Kim Ji-yeon earlier, I had intended to keep it simple, but suddenly, the playfulness of my succubus self surfaced, and I…

Of course, if my libido exploded and I just tried to endure it, the defense mechanism would probably still activate.

But still, compared to before, I should be grateful.

Since I got out of the gate earlier than planned, I had some free time.

Me: What are you doing?

Me: Answer

Han Jin-seong: I rreally don’t have time right now