Change 10 : The Pervert and the Crayfish

“Does it have to be a woman? Might be a pervert. Who in their right mind installs a machine inside a skirt? Whether they’re a hero or a villain, it’s hard to judge based on just their words.”

“A pervert, huh? You’re one to talk—you collect the blood of ability users.”

Laika lifted his chin with his eyes lowered.

He had just been insulted as “nothing special,” so his sharp retort came flying out.

With the ultimate pervert who collects blood and makes bizarre chimeras standing right in front of him, he wasn’t surprised by anyone else, whether they wore skirts or bras.

In response, Abelus pushed up his glasses without changing his expression.

Pressing the bridge of his glasses with a middle finger, as if to show Laika, he calmly spoke in a deep voice.

“Then would you help me out? There’s a high-level ability user right in front of me, and it’s a shame I can’t collect their blood.”

“Shut up before I blow up the lab.”

Laika spoke coldly and slammed the door as he left.

If not for their mutual interests, he wouldn’t have spent a second near him.

Left alone, Abelus licked his lips and muttered.

“A mechanical human, huh? Who could it be… I feel like a perfect addition to my collection has just appeared.”

**”

The next day, Iris met up with Teresa and headed to the river in District 2.

Having never left the part of Dialogue City where she lived, Iris was overwhelmed.

As they drove past residential areas, the road turned unpaved.

Along the roadside were broken buildings and signs of fires.

That was fine, but then she saw bald thugs with mohawks squatting and licking their lips.

One of them even licked a knife while making eye contact with her, causing Iris to quickly turn her head.

“Ugh!”

Then she looked ahead—and gasped again.

A house was on fire.

Literally in flames.

Right next to it, a biker thug was snatching a woman’s purse.

While Iris panicked, Teresa casually rolled down the window and fired her gun.

The thug screamed and grabbed his arm.

The woman briefly thanked Teresa—then pulled out a rifle and bang bang!

‘I guess where I lived was truly a safe zone. Even residential areas aren’t this bad.’

Teresa rolled the window back up.

Soon, gunfire rang out from behind them.

Looking back, Iris saw a gang of bikers chasing after them.

But Teresa’s car sped off like a racecar, unfazed by the chaos.

Her calm driving impressed Iris—it was no wonder she survived this city.

“Even in the residential areas, riots and crimes happen daily. Compared to here, your area was heaven.”

“It looks dangerous, but maybe it’s not? There are just a lot of petty thieves, huh?”

“Exactly. There’s nothing valuable to destroy here, so real villains don’t even bother showing up.”

“Ah…”

So it looked dangerous, but it wasn’t really.

Iris sighed in relief once she confirmed the gang had given up.

Teresa kept driving with the same relaxed face.

“As long as you don’t show off wealth here, you’ll be fine.”

That’s why Teresa had brought out her beat-up old car.

After several minor obstacles, the two reached the river in District 2 and transformed.

The water was dirty, but not too bad to approach.

Black crayfish crawled near rocks and concrete walls.

While Teresa checked the car, Iris used her detection skill to analyze the crayfish.

[Scan Result]

Black Crayfish LV.5

[Skills]

Pincer Attack LV.3

Scurry Quickly LV.7

Body Slam LV.6

Water Bounce LV.5

[Status]

Startled / Survival Instinct / Poisonous

‘Even crayfish have skills and statuses, like humans.’

Just like with the thug earlier, she could see the crayfish’s level, skills, and status.

This was different from when she scanned inanimate objects like her bed.

It seemed that all living beings gave detailed results.

‘Level 5? Pretty high. But it’s small… Would it even be a match for me? Still, underestimating it could be dangerous.’

Your proficiency has increased.

Skill upgraded: LV.2 → LV.3.

Faster, more precise scanning is now possible.

‘Nice! Just like a whip, this skill levels up with use. I should keep using it whenever I can.’

Of course, the skill’s appearance was… a bit awkward.

Using it in front of others would be socially suicidal. She didn’t want to ruin her life just for some skill points.

You can now grope targets for a more detailed scan.

A deep desire to grope is required.

‘Wait—this again?’

It was the same message she saw when scanning the thug.

While she couldn’t imagine having a strong desire to grope a thug, a crayfish was… fine?

This time, Iris decided to follow the message.

She glared with determination, focused on her desire to grope the crayfish.

Chains emerged and wrapped tightly around the black shell.

After thoroughly exploring every inch with her feelers…

Skill successfully identified.

One skill can be learned.

Please choose.

‘What?! This is amazing!’

She’d thought it was just a pervy skill, but it actually let her learn the target’s abilities!

Excited, Iris rechecked the crayfish’s skill list.

Nothing looked super useful, but she was thrilled nonetheless.

If she could use this on an ability user…

That meant she could gain powerful skills.

‘Let’s see… Not much to pick from… Maybe I can learn Pincer Attack even without claws?’

Skill learned: Pincer Attack LV.1

Use it in practice soon to make it your own.

‘Wow, I really learned it!’

Excited, she opened her status screen.

LV.1 Iris the Chaste

[Skills]

Alarm LV.12

Sprint LV.10

Whip Strike LV.2

“Lemme see that back!” LV.3

Pincer Attack LV.1 (new!)

Skull Bashing Combo

[Status]

Excited / Happy

‘This is insane. I thought it was just a creepy skill—but I can learn things with it!’

If she used this skill on a strong ability user, she could gain incredible powers.

‘I should try it on the crayfish now before I forget how it works.’

But then… she felt an odd gaze. Was it her imagination?

As Iris retracted the chains, she flinched and turned around.

Teresa, long finished with the car check, had been staring blankly at the chains crawling under Iris’s skirt.

She quickly put on a neutral expression.

“Let’s try catching that black crayfish.”

“I… I’m trying to get used to it too.”

“Yeah, you should. I remember being embarrassed doing eagle poses at first. Great power always comes with pain.”

Teresa was a true adult.

She had avoided mentioning the chains going under Iris’s skirt out of kindness.

She didn’t even ask what kind of skill Iris had just used.

Like she said before—no need to share everything with others.

Thanks to Teresa’s words, Iris felt a bit less embarrassed.

Yes—great power comes with pain.

No matter how weird this skill looked, she had no intention of giving it up.

‘I’ll get used to it. Like they say: if you can’t avoid it, enjoy it. I can’t keep being embarrassed forever.’

Resolved, Iris stood beside Teresa, who was looking down at the river.

“That black crayfish… It’s stronger than I expected.”

“No matter how strong it is, it’s still a crayfish. Let’s catch it.”

Teresa used her feather skill to attack.

A flurry of feathers shot out, and the black crayfish shuddered atop a rock before collapsing.

‘Whoa, she took it out in one shot. Well, yeah, it’s still just a crayfish. High level doesn’t mean everything.’

Species difference mattered.

Feeling reassured, Iris struck with her whip skill.

The crayfish leapt toward her, but was sent flying with one hit.