Watching the witch teacher head back to the rear kitchen, Bai Tang stared up at the ceiling, her gaze a little unfocused.
“Oh, right, that…”
As if something had suddenly occurred to her, she concentrated her thoughts. The Eye of Breaking Delusions slowly displayed her personal status panel.
[Name: Bai Tang]
[Race: Human]
[Age: 18]
[Level: LV4 (Wandering Soul Level 1~10)]
[Strength: 4 (Human average 5, max 10)]
[Agility: 5 (Human average 5, max 10)]
[Constitution: 3 (Human average 5, max 10)]
[Intelligence: 8 (Human average 5, max 10)]
[Charm: 9 (Human average 5, max 10)]
[Possessions: Demon Hunter Revolver (0/6), Empty Potion Bottles ×2, Ghost Coins ×250]
[Reputation: Clerk at the General Store at No. 111 Undead Street. Though still largely unknown, thanks to the madness she has displayed in recent days, she has inevitably caught the attention of gazes lurking in the shadows of Undead Street.]
The status panel given by the Eye of Breaking Delusions had changed. In game terms, she had leveled up. Aside from Intelligence and Charm, every other attribute had seen a slight increase.
As for why she did not feel any obvious difference, Bai Tang guessed it was probably because she was still burdened with a pile of injury-related negative status effects.
If Levels 1 through 10 corresponded to the Wandering Soul Level of creatures like ghouls, then once she broke through Level 10, would her body undergo a transformation and grant her the strength of a Fierce Ghost Level bizarre creature?
Something like mastering supernatural power.
Actually, Bai Tang had already noticed earlier that even without quests, the experience bar shown by the Eye of Breaking Delusions would slowly fill based on the things she did. For example, during her fight with the ghouls, the growth had been so slow it was almost negligible, but it still felt like an accumulation of combat experience.
If things continued at this pace, breaking through to Level 10 would not take long at all. She was actually a little excited about it.
“Can you sit up by yourself?”
The sudden voice pulled the girl out of her thoughts. The witch teacher entered the room carrying a round bowl filled with transparent ointment and looked at Bai Tang.
“It’s time to apply the medicine.”
Bai Tang tried to sit up without using her hands for support and, unsurprisingly, failed. She shook her head.
“Sorry, Teacher. I don’t think I can…”
“Tch. So high-maintenance.”
Claire grumbled, but then reminded herself that Bai Tang had at least made it back to the general store on her own. If she died now, it would be her teacher’s problem.
She decided not to say anything more.
Setting the bowl of ointment on the bedside table, she slid one arm under Bai Tang’s neck, supported her back, and gently helped the girl sit up.
“Hiss—!”
“Bear with it.”
Claire looked her up and down. The cute, youthful face was now deathly pale from the pain, which only made her look more fragile and stirred a protective instinct in others.
“Shall I help you take these off?”
“Mm… Teacher, you… what!”
Bai Tang’s mind went blank for a second. What did she mean by “help you take these off”? Take what off? Her clothes?
“What’s wrong? Your whole body is covered in wounds. Of course the topical medicine has to be applied directly to your skin, so the clothes need to come off. Do you have a problem with that?”
“If your hands could still move, I wouldn’t have to help, but unfortunately~”
The witch teacher gave a sympathetic glance at Bai Tang’s arms hanging limply at her sides. After the revolver’s bullets had run out, she had been forced to fight the charging ghouls hand-to-hand. The once fair, delicate skin was now covered in deep, bone-revealing wounds that were beginning to fester under the effects of bacteria and toxins.
“Teacher… isn’t there any oral medicine?” Bai Tang still tried to stall.
“The kind I gave you during White Day? That takes too long to make. If we wait any longer, we’ll have to amputate.”
Bai Tang fell silent.
Reason told her that compared to the importance of her life, being seen naked was really no big deal.
But… it was still embarrassing.
Never mind. No matter how she thought about it, staying alive was more important!
“Cough, cough. Please, Teacher…”
“We’re both girls. Is it really necessary to react like this? How strange.”
Claire rolled her eyes, speechless.
This was probably what they called a difference in perception. Even after transmigrating, Bai Tang—who had lived on Earth not long ago—still subconsciously clung to Earth’s sense of propriety and shame. When it came to matters like this, she behaved with the reserved modesty typical of people from Earth.
Yet in the eyes of hell-world creatures, the same situation was viewed completely differently.
The entire Hell World was essentially chaotic.
It was a world of survival of the fittest with no laws or bottom lines, so behavior, thoughts, and actions tended to be far more honest and unrestrained.
That much had been clear the night Claire discovered Bai Tang “rewarding herself” and felt absolutely nothing wrong with it.
The witch teacher began removing the obstructing clothes from her student Bai Tang, starting with the khaki everyday jacket that had been torn to shreds by the ghouls’ claws and fangs.
She tossed it onto the floor like a rag.
Without the jacket holding her up, Bai Tang’s petite and slender figure became even more apparent—indistinguishable from an ordinary high-school girl.
If she walked down the street, no matter how cute she looked, no one would dare approach her for fear of ending up behind bars.
After the everyday jacket came off, the next layer was a fine-checkered white short-sleeved shirt. The fabric over her collarbones and around her waist had been torn open, and blood from the wounds beneath had soaked large patches of the material.
She looked frail and sickly.
Claire’s fingers brushed the skin at Bai Tang’s collarbone—cool to the touch—as she unbuttoned the shirt one by one, revealing the jade-like fair, delicate skin underneath.
Compared to the upper body, the lower body was much simpler.
She only needed to lift the skirt to waist level to expose the wounds on those beautiful legs that needed treatment.
“Mmm…”
Until only one final thin white undergarment remained, preserving the girl’s last bit of modesty over her modestly developed chest.
Bai Tang’s face had already flushed as hot as a branding iron.
This was wrong!
Even when facing bizarre creatures filled with malice—knowing she could be eaten alive the next second—Bai Tang could still keep a straight face.
So why, at a time like this, did she suddenly lose all composure!
Her breathing switched from automatic to manual. Her mind began to wander uncontrollably, and she felt so embarrassed she wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.
“Uh… are you okay?”
Claire raised an eyebrow in surprise. She had not even started yet—why was the girl already in such a panic?
Were all humans this pure-hearted?
Claire picked up the bowl of ointment, scooped out a large dollop with her fingers, and spread it evenly over her hand as she reminded her.
“When I apply the medicine later, it might feel a little strange. Just bear with it. If it hurts or feels uncomfortable, tell me.”
With that, Claire’s gaze lingered on the girl’s chest and thighs.
“So, you decide—should I start with the top or the bottom?”