The skill has been transferred to the [Bracelet].
You can now use the skill through the [Bracelet].
“It worked! Whew, finally got one down.”
It was a relief, like a rotten tooth had finally been pulled.
Iris smiled in satisfaction and glanced around.
She was eager to test the exploration skill that had just been transferred to her bracelet.
“Can I explore rocks too?”
Since the skill allowed for exploration of objects, rocks should count.
Iris extended her hand, wearing the bracelet, toward a small rock next to her.
But nothing happened.
Was the chain not coming out?
Tilting her head in confusion, she touched the rock.
That seemed to be the answer, because the exploration results soon appeared.
[Exploration Result]
Small Rock Behind the Bakery Café
[Condition]
A rock embedded in the ground long before the bakery café was built.
Worn smooth over many years.
Recently peed on by two stray dogs and one drunkard.
[Durability]
50,000 It’ll only break if you bite it with your teeth. The rock is sturdy.
“So you have to touch it. Hmm…”
Iris looked at her palm with a conflicted expression.
She was questioning whether transferring the skill to the bracelet had been the right choice.
“Should I be happy about this or not…? The chain was grotesque, but at least it let me explore from a distance.”
Now that the skill had been transferred, she couldn’t cancel it.
She’d wanted to get rid of the grotesque chain quickly, but now that she had to touch things directly to explore them, she regretted it.
She could no longer explore from afar.
It would’ve been great if she could use the skill with both the bracelet and the chastity belt.
That way, she could explore monsters from a distance and sneakily tap people’s backs to explore them too.
Iris, just in case, focused all her attention on her groin area and silently muttered “Explore.” Soon, a message appeared, easing her disappointment:
You cannot use the skill through the [Chastity Belt] yet.
To use it together with [Bracelet], the skill’s proficiency must be increased.
“Huh? So that means… If I level up the skill, I can use it with both the bracelet and the chastity belt!”
Iris’s eyes lit up again.
She thought she should use the skill more often to level it up.
It hadn’t leveled up while she was catching black crayfish, and progress had been slow.
But when she pushed herself to defeat stronger monsters, both the chastity belt and the skill leveled up at once.
“Maybe the black crayfish were too weak to give any experience. I must’ve still gotten some hidden EXP bit by bit, but this time, I leveled up all at once because the monsters were much stronger.”
Iris opened her status window again to check her other skills.
But the window had changed.
“Huh?”
LV.4 Chastity Belt Girl
[Skills]
Alarm LV.13
Running LV.12
[Ancient Chastity Belt]
Whip Swing LV.4
Claw Attack LV.3
Shield LV.1
Into the Pouch LV.1
[Ancient Bracelet]
Show Me Your Back LV.4
[Special Skill]
Bash the Skull In
[Status]
Excited / Happy / Curious
“So the skills I can use with the bracelet and the chastity belt are shown separately now?”
It was convenient to view them this way.
Below that was a new [Special Skill] section.
From the look of it, these seemed to be skills that activated under specific conditions.
Since it was categorized separately, she figured she’d be able to learn more special skills in the future.
Now it was time to try out the new skills.
Iris closed the status window, bent down, and pulled out a weed.
She whispered, “I want to store this.” Suddenly, a chain shot out from under her skirt and grew into a wide, long sack-like form.
A metallic pouch attached to her groin—at a glance, it looked like she had a huge lump…
She had to endure it.
Iris steeled herself and threw the weed into the pouch.
The pouch opened wide, swallowed the weed, and retracted back into chain form, slithering between her legs.
“Weed” has been stored in your pouch.
“Okay. So this is how I store items… Now, retrieve it.”
As soon as she spoke, the chain emerged again, formed a pouch, and spit the weed back out. Literally spit it out.
The way it spat—like hocking a loogie—was repulsively grotesque.
Whether storing or retrieving items, it was definitely not a skill she wanted others to witness.
It’s fine.
It’s a good skill.
That’s all that matters.
Iris wiped the cold sweat from her brow and activated another skill.
When she mentally shouted “Shield,” a chain burst from her skirt and formed a tight iron mesh as tall as she was.
“This one’s not bad. Just the right size. Very nice.”
She’d gained a lot of good skills this time.
Feeling proud, Iris dismissed the shield.
Now that the checks were complete, she released her transformation.
Just as she was about to step out from behind the building, voices reached her ears.
“Oh no, my café!”
“It’s completely trashed.”
“Why did the monsters come here?”
The bakery café owner and staff had returned now that the chaos was over.
The owner wailed in despair at the wrecked café, while the employees quietly cleaned up the debris, watching the boss’s mood.
Then, with a screech, several black cars pulled up to the entrance, and a swarm of people spilled out—holding cameras and microphones.
Reporters had arrived late to cover the incident.
“Should I leave or not…?”
As she hesitated, Iris turned her head—and flinched.
From the back of the building, Laika was casually walking out.
He had a phone to his ear, as if he wasn’t concerned at all about the commotion.
Iris tried to hide, but accidentally locked eyes with him.
She forced a nervous laugh.
“Ha…ha…”
“Ah.”
A strange gleam flickered in his upturned blue eyes.
Laika slipped his phone into his pocket and slowly approached her.
His gaze shifted between the noisy garden and Iris.
Unlike before, he wasn’t even pretending to smile.
Iris swallowed hard.
“Don’t tell me… he saw me fight the monster and transform back…?”
She had made sure no one was around before releasing her transformation, but it seemed she’d messed up.
Laika stopped in front of her and leaned in.
As Iris stepped back warily, he brought his lips close to her ear.
“I thought you’d run off, but you’re still here, huh.”
“W-Weren’t you the one who ran off, Mr. Laika…?”
At her response, Laika paused, then spoke again.
A cold, soulless voice crept into her ear.
A chilling, sticky presence seeped through her eardrum and down into her brain.
Her vision dimmed as the unknown energy spread through her mind like smoke.
“Forget everything. I saved you from danger. Got it?”
“…Yes… understood.”
It was one of Laika’s skills—Memory Rewrite.
It manipulated the target’s short-term memory.
The weaker the target, the stronger the effect.
While dazed, the subject would obey commands.
As Iris’s eyes glazed over, Laika smirked slightly.
“Father’s election day is near. Can’t have rumors spreading that I ran away…”
He liked the vacant look in Iris’s eyes.
He patted her shoulder and gave a friendly smile.
At that moment, the skill’s side effect hit her like a truck.
Iris was suddenly struck with an intense headache.
Invisible fists pounded her head from all directions.
“Ugh, ngh, aaargh!”
“What the—did it work too well? I knew something was off… she looked too fragile for this.”
“Urgh…”
As Iris writhed like a squid on a grill, screaming in pain, a flicker of panic crossed Laika’s face.
He’d rarely used this skill on regular civilians or non-combatants.
Apparently, the tiny girl with glasses was too weak to withstand it.
“Does this have side effects? She can’t lose her mind from this…”