Chapter 166: The Friend Zone is Closing

First, <Cryofication>.

Looking around, I hurried out to the veranda and pulled an orange from the box.

After peeling it, I took one segment and silently chanted <Cryofication> in my mind.

After a moment, a layer of frost appeared on the orange segment.

I popped it into my mouth and chewed, delighting in the crunchy texture.

“Mmm, tasty.”

After enjoying the frozen orange, I froze a couple more and finished them off as a snack.

To be honest, since <Cryofication> only lasted about three seconds in combat, it was a rather impractical skill for battle, but it seemed perfect for making quick treats like this.

I had successfully acquired one new skill, and now it was time to check out <Wondrous Perception>.

‘This feels like a higher version of <Let Me See Your Back> or <Perception>. Since it’s not a passive skill, it means I can choose to see through someone whenever I want. Let’s see…’

With no one around, I decided to test it on an object.

I stared at the bag rolling under the sofa, and faintly glimpsed the receipt trash and empty snack wrappers inside.

Then I saw into the bag’s inner pocket before the skill wore off.

No system message popped up.

‘Oh, so it’s a little different from the back-skimming skill. If I use it on an object, I can see what’s inside? Then if I use it on a person…? I wonder if I’ll see their organs or something? I’ll have to try it on Theresa-sunbae later.’

Now, I’d succeeded in making all the skills I’d stolen from Abellus my own.

Finally, I checked the changes in my State Window.

LV.57 Chastity Belt Hanger

[Skills Owned]
Alarm LV.25
Speed of Light Running LV.10
Stealth LV.10
Doppelganger LV.7
Beastification LV.1
Cryofication LV.1

Wondrous Perception LV.1

<Ancient Chastity Belt>
Shed Fur through Shield LV.13

Light-Speed Spring LV.8

Let Me See Your Back LV.17
Sturdy Spider Web LV.12
Burning Groin LV.11
Ecstatic Song of the Chastity Belt LV.4

<Ancient Bracelet>
Whip Swing LV.15

Let Me See Your Back LV.17

Pincer Attack LV.13

Fit in the Pocket LV.12

[Mental Skills]
Complete Delusion LV.1

[Support Skills]
Rainbow Repayment Sprayer LV.11

Cursed Light Sprayer LV.11

[Special Skills]
Smash the Skull

Perception

[Status]
Joyful / Hungry / Slightly Tired

‘I’m totally loaded with skills now. The scroll bar won’t stop.’

Iris swept through the State Window packed with skills, a proud smile on her lips.

And it wasn’t just the skills—if she leveled up just three more times, she’d hit level 60.

She could feel the rewards of spending hot nights with various villains.

Having enjoyed herself with handsome, fit villains, she’d gained power and given them a taste of their own medicine. It was a win-win, like catching crawfish while digging a ditch.

As Iris chuckled to herself, her gaze turned serious.

It was great having so many skills, but from now on, it seemed wiser to focus on honing the useful ones rather than just collecting more.

‘Phew, now the looting phase is over… Hm, but there’s still no change in the mirror.’

After closing the State Window, she looked at herself in the mirror and let out a deep sigh.

Why was there no reaction from the necklace?

It puzzled her, but since worrying wouldn’t solve anything, she decided to let it go for now and headed to the sofa to check her phone in her bag.

There was a message from Abellus in her inbox.

“Did you get home safely?”

“Yes. I just woke up from a good sleep.”

She started to type a reply but hesitated.

Come to think of it, now that she’d successfully gotten the necklace, did she really need to keep in touch with Abellus? Continuing contact was awkward in a lot of ways…

‘Still, cutting off contact right away would be a bit much. He gave me the necklace, after all. If I blocked him immediately, he might report me as a necklace thief.’

After thinking it over, she typed again with nimble fingers.

“Yes. I slept well. How about you, Abellus?”

“I’m at the laboratory as usual.”

Of course he was.

It was really a shame she couldn’t snatch his <Tamer> skill. If she had, Abellus would have realized he’d lost his powers and been seriously flustered.

‘Since research is his main job, maybe he doesn’t use his skill that often. It might take him a while to notice.’

Curious if he’d realized his powers were gone, she decided to probe a bit further.

“Are you researching monsters like last time?”

“No, I left that to my assistant today. I’m processing important documents.”

If he was buried in paperwork, there was no reason for him to use his skills, so naturally he wouldn’t realize they were gone.

Feeling a bit more at ease, Iris typed to end the conversation.

“I see. Work hard, fighting!”

“When will we meet next? ^^”

But contrary to her expectations that the conversation would end there, Abellus sent another message right away.

Since he’d given her the necklace as a gift, she couldn’t just block or ignore him.

After some thought, she sent a suitably vague excuse.

“Well… I’m a bit busy these days…”

“I see. That’s unfortunate, but I’m sure we’ll meet again if I wait, right?”

“Yesㅎㅎ That’s right.”

After a while, the trivial chatting finally came to an end.

Iris pursed her lips as she looked at Abellus’s messages.

‘What’s this. He’s really jumping the gun… It’s not like we’ll see each other again or anything. Hm, guess I must have made an impression. Well, he did just give me that necklace as a present…’

She couldn’t say she didn’t understand how he felt.

From his perspective, he’d given her a necklace that was his mother’s keepsake, so of course he’d be hoping for something.

Still, why did it feel so burdensome, and leave her with an odd, chilly sense?

It was way too suspicious for Abellus to flirt with her like some ordinary guy.

Was it too paranoid to think he was hiding some other motive?

‘Whatever he’s thinking, it’s making me uncomfortable. Has he really fallen for me? Sigh, whenever he tries to set up a meeting, I’ll have to gently decline. This is exhausting.’

Iris let out a sigh as she rubbed her throbbing temple, then stopped as she scrolled through her contacts.

Johannes’s profile caught her eye.

Now that she thought about it, she’d promised to visit Johannes’s house on their last date.

They hadn’t set a specific date, but she remembered him saying she could come by whenever she wanted.

‘Come to think of it, Johannes is a villain too, so I have to deal with him eventually…’

Johannes was one of the main villains in the comic, but he’d also been Iris’s classmate from elementary through high school.

And now, they’d become friends.

No matter how fiercely she told herself to treat him just as a villain, she always found herself going soft when she thought about him.

Maybe it was because Johannes seemed so gentle, or because she hadn’t seen him do anything villainous with her own eyes yet.

‘Sigh, but a villain’s a villain for a reason, right? I have to stay tough. I don’t need any more skills, but I do need to take away his powers. For the peace of Gyodam City.’

With Abellus now taken care of, it was Johannes’s turn.

Steeling herself, she tapped out a message on her phone.

“Johannes, what are you up to?”

“N-nothing r-right now”

His reply came back immediately, with typos sprinkled in, and before she could even answer, more messages followed.

“What about you? I’m just chilling at home.”

“You can come over now.”

‘Now? That’s pretty sudden. But whatever, since it came up, I could just hang out right away. What was I planning to do today again?’

She rolled her eyes, trying to recall her plans for the day.

Besides wanting to use <Wondrous Perception> on Teresa if she happened to see her outside, she had nothing set.

It felt a bit abrupt, but there was no reason to delay. Plus, it looked like Johannes was free now, too.

A smile crept onto Iris’s lips as she stared at Johannes’s messages.

He really must have been bored. Not only had he replied instantly, but he kept emphasizing how available he was.

Had he just been hanging around at home? She imagined Johannes lying on his sofa, watching his phone, replying the second her message popped up, and couldn’t help but laugh.

‘Is he really unemployed? Looks like he doesn’t do anything except go to church on weekends. I mean, I’m a hero disguised as a jobseeker, so other than hero missions and meeting villains, I don’t really do anything, but as for him… Well, if you think about it, his job is villain. Plus, he’s rich, so he doesn’t have to work or take part-time jobs.’

As she briefly considered her plan of attack as a hero, Iris rubbed her slightly flushed cheeks.

To strip a villain of their powers, she almost always had to spend the night with them.

But unlike Raika or Abellus, whom she’d approached with that purpose in mind, Johannes was someone she already knew—and she’d never once considered him that way before.

The thought of having sex with him for the mission left her feeling strangely conflicted.