/
Of course, even I only barely knew of this [Doppelganger Curse] existence; I haven’t actually learned it.
I was a mage that specialized in destructive skills or area of effect skills. I had no interest nor talent for curses, so I only had knowledge of the few famous ones.
‘However, wouldn’t I be able to succeed at an imitation?’
Using the Doppelganger curse, if I were to attack Choi Lee-kyung, I would injure myself in the same location as the attack.
The issue, though, still stood; even if I were not to attack Choi Lee-kyung, his blood and injuries alone were enough to paralyze my reason.
However, I couldn’t transfer all the changes made to Choi Lee-kyung to me; it was impossible to account for such a wide range of conditions. I could reduce that range, but if I did there would be many holes when the skill initiated. The result might be just the same as if nothing had been done.
‘Above all, it’s not good to do that–I could go mental in a different way…’
I’d feel the pain that occured in someone else’s body. Of course, if this skill was successful, it would be fatal to my mental health. I may become sensitive to sudden pain and try, eventually, to completely control Choi Lee-kyung. Who knows, maybe I’d imprison him or do something worse. There was no lower bar I could expect from my personality.
‘I’ll have to endure as much as I can.’
For a plan to succeed, one needed to know their subject well. So, throwing away thoughts of the [Doppelganger curse] and other such curses, I began to apply the basic protection skills on Choi Lee-kyung’s body.
In addition, I placed restrictions on myself according to the degree of Choi Lee-kyung’s potential injuries. Experience has shown that the allure of a small amount of blood could be resisted. The sudden and horrible impulses were accompanied by a conscious thought, ‘this isn’t a normal way of thinking.’
So, if Choi Lee-kyung were to get such an injury, I should also do my best to save him. So that it wouldn’t get worse.
“……Next, for spells that would initiate on some command words: [Super Armor], [Teleport], [Shield]…..” Pressing Choi Lee-kyung’s forehead with my fingertips, I slowly adjusted the skills to activate according to my specified conditions.
As soon as I touched Choi Lee-kyung, the skeleton underneath the bed immediately popped out. It didn’t dare approach anymore–simply restlessly observing us to make sure I wouldn’t do anything harmful to its owner.
The golden color of the skill slowly filled the narrow room, twinkling like lights on the surface of the river. Choi Lee-kyung was wrapped with that golden effect; I quietly pulled away from him.
Soon afterwards, I placed my hand on my chest.
Now, it was time to use skills that would impose restrictions on me. This self-imposed limit was prepared in case Choi Lee-kyung bled profusely or was on the verge of death. With this active, even if I were to attack Choi Lee-kyung, the skill would activate the moment he was seriously injured, protecting him.
‘Thinking about it, my death would only subject us to a minor penalty: the inability to summon for a certain period of time. I wouldn’t be truly dead, though; that skeleton was completely trashed, and now it’s back.’
Actually, this idea came to mind when I saw that skeleton. I would revive 24 hours after ‘death.’ Additionally, I speculated that if Choi Lee-kyung were to be injured so badly, then the situation wouldn’t be an ordinary one. Perhaps we fell into a trap, or there may be enemies still left around. Once Choi Lee-kyung became incapacitated, I would need to initiate automatic navigation.
‘Anything moving around a seriously injured Choi Lee-kyung should be considered an enemy. By then I might have gone crazy, so simple guidelines may work.’
After much consideration, I set the [Mind Control] keyword.
‘If an enemy is found through [Search], I will proceed by overlapping the [Haste] and the [High Speed Sprint] skills during that battle. I’ll need to alter the specifications to use all the skills stored in [Memorize] simultaneously.’
With that, I could temporarily obtain powerful strength. In theory, buffs like [High Speed Sprint], which temporarily amplified all strengths when versing enemies, could overlap and be applied several times.
Though, once the buff subsided, the person might lose their life due to the accumulated burden on their body, so I hadn’t used that strategy. Even without overlapping these buffs, as soon as they exited the dungeon, the person would suffer enough pain to be wheeled to the hospital. That was why Bard’s and Priests’ side-effect-less buffs were so popular.
However, as an undead, I won’t die. When [High Speed Sprint] ends, I’ll be in great pain; at that point, my rationality should return.
In other words, I was aiming for that ‘side-effect.’ I could save Choi Lee-kyung’s life, and the pain from stacking the buffs would increase the probability that I’d return to my senses.
Even if I couldn’t return to my senses, I may not be able to stand the side-effects of [High Speed Sprint] and be reverse summoned–that result wouldn’t be too bad either. The 24-hour gap after reverse summoning where I wouldn’t be able to see Choi Lee-kyung would be a problem, but I could expect him to survive through the protective skills and [First Aid]. He would only need to endure one day of surviving alone.
I did as much as I could under the current circumstances–I was satisfied with that much. After programming the skills, I reopened my eyes.
Unlike before I closed my eyes, the skeleton was closer to the bed. Though it was visibly scared and trembled when I stared at it–but, it still looked ready to put itself in harms way. When I saw its pitiful appearance, my mouth started moving before I was consciously aware, “I’m not trying to do anything wicked to Choi Lee-kyung… I just applied some protection skills.”
[……]
So, I kindly explained this unexpected situation to the skeleton, but, perhaps because it was merely an undead, it didn’t seem to understand my words.
It didn’t even make the effort to pretend to listen to me; it simply looked only at its master. In that case, the desire to bully the skeleton rose within me. So, I very slightly pinched Choi Lee-kyung’s soft and squishy cheeks. The dumb skeleton straightened up and stared at me.
“What? You wanna try it too?”
[……]
The skeleton’s red eyes became narrowed in dissatisfaction. Perhaps I thought it resembled its master, I had thought if I poked at it a little longer, I’d be able to draw out a response. Unfortunately, the installation of the programmed skills was soon over, and the golden effect that filled the room slowly faded.
I rose from the bed after confirming that the skills I had given to Choi Lee-kyung were working as intended. Immediately afterwards, the skeleton jumped and climbed onto Choi lee-kyung’s chest. It was only when the skeleton placed its ear to its master’s heart that it wriggled its toes in reassurance.
“Cough!”
However, no matter how small the skeleton may be, Choi Lee-kyung must have the weight of a small child jumping on his chest; he woke up with a cough. The skeleton, paying no heed to how it was suffocating its master, looked up at Choi Lee-kyung as if it were so happy it could die.
Choi Lee-kyung, who finally came to his senses, finally locked eyes with me. His stare pierced me in several places; I closed my eyes, smiled, and said, “Slept well?”
* * *
‘We talked about increasing our synchronization with spending more time intimately with each other. No way, has he kissed others in this kind of transactional context before……?’ My thoughts, after my first kiss, were kind of moody and gloomy.
After all, Seo Dawon doesn’t like me… No matter how much I racked my brains, I couldn’t understand why he would choose to engage in this kind of behavior with me.
To be honest, I had also responded impulsively, but Seo Dawon doesn’t even like men… He even preposterously claimed that he would date me if I had ordered it from him… After leaving well enough alone, why now? Was it simply curiosity?
“……”
“……” I was so utterly curious about his motive, but it felt weird to ask. To be precise, I was afraid that this atmosphere would be broken as soon as I asked the question.
After the kiss, I continued to sit in Seo Dawon’s lap; he kept stroking the back of my head with one hand.
However, I couldn’t be reassured by this fluffy atmosphere–if I were to ask why he kissed me, I might not receive a refreshing answer and instead hear something similar to, ‘It’s not as if I did it because I liked you.’ Even if I expected to some extent to hear something like that, such an answer would hurt my heart…
I hesitated for a long while; Seo Dawon patiently stared at me squirming in his lap.
“S-So…about intimacy…”
At that moment, Seo Dawon’s hands paused for a moment. Involuntarily, words started flooding out of my mouth.
I felt my subconscious opened my mouth as if to say ‘if you’re going to get hit, let’s get it over with early.’ Rather than hear the expected lines from Seo Dawon, I wanted to take the initiative and say ‘this is just business…’–to make a preemptive attack on the player in this game. I guess I wanted to protect my self-esteem, no matter how low it may be…
However, Seo Dawon didn’t even listen to all of my words. “You aren’t, perhaps, suggesting that I sucked your tongue in order to increase our intimacy?”
“Ah, no…um…nghhh…”
“Yeah, it’s not that. You want to claim that there’s nothing there?”
“……”