Chapter 136

While Victoria slept, I quietly sat still and gazed outside the tiny window.

Following the coastline, I could see ships far in the distance, so I wasn’t bored. After all, just because we’re on a ship doesn’t mean we’re headed to an island or another continent.

Victoria’s school and home are on the same continent. But between them lies an impenetrably dense jungle that can’t be easily crossed.

That’s why when Victoria goes from school to home, she has to either take a boat along the coast or make a long detour by train. She simply chose the easier and faster option since taking the train really takes too long.

Occasionally, flashes of light appear in the distant forest visible through the small window.

It looks like fire, but there’s no actual wildfire breaking out. It’s the glow from this world’s native creatures.

The jungle is filled with beasts that could be called monsters, making it a place where humans don’t venture. The jungle itself seems to repel people anyway.

Even as civilization advances, jungles often remain for a long time. Unless there’s some special resource worth extracting, the cost of clearing the jungle outweighs the benefits, even if the technology exists.

This is especially true in a world without magic or qi. In a world where such powers exist, the danger level skyrockets hundreds of times.

That’s why this world remains largely unexplored beyond its basic outline.

“Uh…uh? Who’s there?”

Victoria woke up groggily, startled to find me there. Clutching her blanket, she looked at me with wide eyes, still half-asleep.

“You’re still dreaming.”

I teased her, though my words held half-truths. Confused, she looked around the room.

“Technically, it’s still night.”

I pointed out the window. Though the small ship window couldn’t open, the starry night sky was clearly visible.

Blinking several times, Victoria swung her legs off the bed. Then she noticed her clothes and panicked.

“My clothes! What is this? I don’t remember changing!”

“I changed you using your travel bag. Now go clean yourself.”

Still groggy, Victoria looked around before getting up. Then she checked her underwear with an uneasy expression.

“Was it really necessary to change everything?”

“You’d get sick otherwise.”

“Do I look like your mother?”

Hygiene is important, especially in this world with its intermediate level of development. While magical and physical healing methods coexist, including injections of antibiotics, the latter is more common. Regrowing lost limbs is possible, but deadly plagues or pollution-related diseases remain challenging.

Though the world feels caught between stages of development, proper precautions within our means should suffice.

As I waited, Victoria called me from where she was cleaning herself.

“Hey! Can you come in?”

“Sure.”

Inside, I found Victoria floating in a giant water bubble, naked while looking at herself in the mirror – quite a surreal sight. The transparent water orb rotated around her body like a washing machine.

Her psychic abilities were impressive.

“Soaking in front of the mirror like that, I didn’t expect my hair color to turn completely purple. The pale skin is nice, but what’s going on?”

She asked frankly while examining herself.

“It happens when you make a contract with me. As long as you’re not dying, your hair turns purple, your skin becomes snow white, wounds heal, your body strengthens, your mind sharpens, and sometimes you gain abilities.”

Sometimes meaning when reality forces you to awaken them, but I kept that part to myself.

Victoria examined herself carefully before turning to me. Then the water split and came toward me, submerging me except for my head.

At first glance, it seemed like an attack, but it wasn’t. The water washed me thoroughly like a washing machine before separating and draining away, leaving me perfectly clean.

“Nice control over your abilities.”

“It feels natural, like moving my own limbs. Still annoying though. Anyway, if you’re not a god, what are you? This power doesn’t feel like something a regular person could have.”

Losing more than you gain…

But I didn’t say that aloud. Instead, I gave her a warning.

“Remember, the contract only works once. Don’t count on being healed again if you get injured later.”

“Being able to survive repeatedly would be terrifying. Anything else?”

Nothing else.

Or so I thought before stopping myself.

“There is one thing. If a creature near death makes a contract with me, their skin turns blue.”

“Blue? My skin does look a bit bluish…is that it?”

No, it’s just the paleness. I pointed to a bright blue painting on the bathroom wall.

“This color.”

Victoria was shocked.

“That’s corpse-like. People might think I’m a necromancer. But if it only happens once, doesn’t that make it irrelevant to me?”

For now.

But imagine having someone with miraculous healing abilities nearby when accidents strike unexpectedly, leaving scars for life.

Better to set boundaries early in case she blames me later.

“I’m not a god, just a simple monster. Keep that in mind.”

She nodded seriously, drained the water, and cleaned the area thoroughly.

Such powerful abilities…

I could imagine her drying people into jerky or manipulating blood like waterbending into bloodbending.

But instead of mentioning that, I said:

“Hurry and get dressed before catching a cold.”

She smiled wryly.

“You call me a monster after telling me not to lie…”

“I have principles.”

With that, I stepped out to wait.

When Victoria emerged, I noticed her hair was already completely dry thanks to her powers.

Impressive.

We sat facing each other in an awkward silence until the ship’s horn announced our arrival.

“We’re not getting off here. We’ll get off two stops later, remember that.”

Already knowing this due to the memories I gained from the harvester, I pretended to nod.

Victoria stared at me intently from head to toe.

“Now that I think about it, I asked you to choose a name earlier, right?”

By asking, she indicated she’d decided.

“Are you done procrastinating?”

“Yeah. Thinking too hard would take forever, so I decided to keep it simple.”

She waved her finger, lowering the room’s humidity while creating a water droplet in front of her to form letters.

“Bell.”

Simple enough. Fits me fine since it’s just a nickname anyway.

Considering her naming skills, I felt relieved.

The woman who named “Synthetic Edible Compound Structure Version 1.2” – which turned out to be popcorn – had chosen something surprisingly normal.

“Bell, huh? Does it suit my beautiful face?”

“Eh?”

Something caught in her voice as she avoided my gaze guiltily. Searching her memories revealed no previous “Bell” figure.

“What?”

“Please don’t be mad…”

“I won’t.”

Relieved, she slowly extended her hand toward empty air, summoning the monstrous form of my original body.

“Since this version was so horrifying, I went with the opposite approach…”

Indeed, it was an unforgettable face: milky white eyes, needle-sharp teeth, and features resembling a mix between a fish and human.

Beautiful by Daegon standards, though!

“You’re gonna get it!”

“I said I wouldn’t be mad!”

And I wasn’t.

Though naming someone after such an ugly form seems heartless, I understood the concept of calling something ugly “beautiful.”

“I’m hungry. Get me food. This body needs nourishment soon.”

“You talk strangely. Fine, let’s go to the dining hall.”

Victoria had the money.

Leaving our luggage behind, we headed to the dining area together.

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