By the second morning, everyone’s appearance had completely shifted into that of their characters. For Jin, this was more of an inconvenience than anything else. His miner’s body was enormous, with exaggerated muscles that made him look like he’d been sculpted out of stone. Everything around him felt absurdly light, and the slightest movement required far more restraint than he was used to. To make matters worse, a peculiar crest had appeared on his stomach—an unwelcome reminder of the time he’d been pregnant in-game.
Rei, however, seemed thrilled. Watching his body transform into that of his elven huntress seemed to ignite some bizarre joy within him. He grinned broadly as he eagerly grabbed at his chest.
“Guys! They’re real! Look at this—I’m actually a woman!”
The rest of the group swarmed around Rei like moths to a flame. Haruto smirked, waggling his eyebrows.
“Can I touch them?”
Jin rolled his eyes as his frienemies grouped around Rei, acting like a pack of famished dogs. Haruto making grabbing motions towards Rei
“Can I touch them?”
“Yeah man! Oh shit! I think I have a v……! Hold on, let me see! Holy shit!”
Jin felt even more disgusted as Rei slipped down the skimpy leather skirt armour his character wore. Sitting there with his legs spread, Rei grinned proudly
“Shit yeah! Oh, man! Look at this! Hey, Jin! What are you doing, man! Check this out!”
Jin wasn’t having it. After years of listening to these idiots throw around the word “gay” like it was the punchline to every joke, he wasn’t about to let this nonsense slide. If he’d ever come out to them back in the real world, he’d have been endlessly mocked. He took a deep breath, deciding this was the perfect moment to kill their mood.
Folding his arms, he raised an eyebrow and gave Rei a long, unimpressed look.
“Why would I want to do something that weird? Sure, you might look like a woman now, but you’re still you under all that. And, what—are you planning to be a lesbian now? Because if you’re not, you’re gonna have to deal with some guy putting it in. You’re stuck being the one on the receiving end. Better hope that doesn’t happen, or else you might actually end up liking it.”
The effect was immediate. Rei’s face turned crimson, and he slammed his legs together in an instant.
“I—I’m not going to… What do I do?”
Yuto, ever the unhelpful one, patted Rei on the shoulder with a shrug.
“There’s a potion for that, I think. Pretty sure you can find one at a vendor.”
The group turned to Jin, knowing he was far more familiar with the game mechanics than the rest of them. Rei, now looking panicked, asked,
“Do you know how much it costs?”
Jin could’ve told them outright or even offered to help, but why waste his resources? Instead, he feigned a sympathetic tone.
“Fifty thousand gold. Low-level dungeons give around 250 gold, and that’s split between everyone in the party. At your pace, you’re looking at months of grinding unless you want to starve.”
Rei groaned loudly, practically pulling at his hair.
“This sucks! I don’t want to live like this! I want my junk back!”
Jin ignored the outburst, taking the opportunity to explore his own inventory instead. He noticed new tabs labeled “Wardrobe” and “Gear,” sparking some curiosity. Opening the wardrobe tab, he found an old cosmetic set—his first mining outfit. It was a pair of worn boots and faded blue overalls, something he’d kept for sentimental reasons despite the ridicule from his former guildmates. Equipping them caused his absurd muscles to relax into something more manageable, though he still towered over the others.
Satisfied with his changes, he checked his gold balance: 200,000. Finally, something was going his way.
Meanwhile, Seiichiro, now in his towering wolfman form, was standing ominously over Rei, his black-on-black attire matching his grim demeanor. Jin stole a glance at him, grudgingly acknowledging that Seiichiro’s new look was dangerously attractive. Tall, broad, and dripping with confidence, he looked like someone who could toss a lover over his shoulder with ease. That was reason enough for Jin to keep him at arm’s length.
Shin’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
“Hey, Jin, can’t we get that potion cheaper? Like, at the Mage Tower or something?”
Jin sighed. Testing out the potions could prove useful. Besides, it would give him an excuse to confront Acshellis for ignoring him this whole time. He folded his arms, nodding reluctantly.
“If the Mage Tower has stock, I can probably get it at a discount—maybe 5,000 off. No promises, though.”
Rei’s face lit up with hope while Haruto gave a firm nod.
“Then it’s settled, right, Shin?”
Shin got up, trying to make himself taller and more prominent, though failing. In less than a moment he’d had his pride smacked twice. Haruto had made a decision and now he was the shortest in the group
“We’ll go. We’ve been locked up here for hours with nothing else to do, and we haven’t got any gold. Maybe we can get some from them? I’ll ask them”
***
Leaving the guild space to head into town with the five little idiots, Rei trailed behind the group, hunched over like a frightened quail. He clutched his bow with both hands, shrinking away from the male NPCs, as if that would actually protect him. Jin glanced at the pitiful sight and sighed heavily, thoroughly ashamed to share the same space as these morons.
Before leaving, he’d taken an item out of his inventory labeled “Not So Useless Lump.” The display image had looked like a rock, so Jin figured it might be handy. Quietly, he’d tossed it onto the guild space floor. The lump had splattered like wet clay, sprouting eight lazy eyes that blinked once before closing again as if going back to sleep. The item created a teleportation point, which was highly tempting to use right now—anything to escape Rei’s slutty armor problems.
As Rei stumbled for the third time, Jin sighed again.
“If you keep walking hunched over like that, more of your arse is going to show. Your skirt’s riding up in the back.”
Rei straightened with a jolt, misery written all over his face as he yanked the front of his skirt down and held it there.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?! I don’t want to be a bottom! I won’t let them touch me. You won’t let them touch me, right?”
Jin gritted his teeth, barely resisting the urge to kick Rei into the arms of the nearest male NPC. First, because it’d be hilarious. Second, because it’d be a good opportunity to observe how NPCs reacted in situations like that. But no—the potion tests needed to come first. They could experiment with NPC reactions later.
As they walked, Rei grabbed Jin’s hand. Looking up at him, he batted his eyelashes as if he were actually a woman.
“You won’t let them, will you? No one would dare mess with me when you’ve got all these muscles.”
Jin gave his arm what he thought was a light shake. Rei, however, was lifted clean off his feet, his entire body rattling violently until Jin stopped. Whoops. Oh well.
“Don’t cling to me. I’m not like you.”
Rei landed back on his feet and straightened himself out, clearly aggrieved.
“You didn’t need to be so forceful.”
Jin shrugged. Why should he have to hide his strength? No one ever asked Adonis to tone it down. Besides, he wasn’t about to admit it had been an accident.
“I wasn’t. You’re just too weak.”
Rei blinked. Then blinked again. His body wasn’t the only thing womanly about him now—there were even tears forming in his eyes.
“You… you… Guys, I’m not weak, right?”
Shin snapped at him, fed up.
“Stop it. We already said we’d get the potion for you, so quit making a scene. You’re making us all look lame. And Jin, can’t you make your character smaller or something? Why’d you give it so many muscles? It’s gross.”
Pfft. Whatever. Jin could snap Shin’s neck with one hand, and Shin was clearly jealous.
“I didn’t. Everyone starts the same. I think it’s because I maxed out my mining skill. If you max something, your character changes too.”
Shin scoffed, his tone sharp.
“I thought you said you didn’t have any maxed skills. Does that mean you could’ve cooked this whole time?”
The five little idiots had burned through all their money on food and booze, forcing Jin to sacrifice his own precious silver to bail them out.
“No. My cooking skill isn’t leveled. This guy’s a miner. All I did was mine on him.”
Shin stalked forward, puffing himself up like the self-proclaimed leader he thought he was.
“That’s lame. I thought you’d be more useful. Don’t forget your place—I’m the group leader here.”
Jin mentally rolled his eyes. Months of playtime without leveling a single skill? Now that was lame.
Yuto, oblivious as always, rasped out,
“I wonder if the Mage Tower can do anything about my teeth. They hurt when I talk.”
Jin nodded, steering the conversation somewhere useful.
“That’s another potion—a race change. You can check the price at the tower.”
Rei grabbed Shin’s arm, his panic on full display.
“Hey, my potion comes first! We all agreed, right? My potion comes first?”
Shin paused, turning to look at the group. Snorting, he shook his head.
“Yeah, Rei’s potion comes first. I can’t stand looking at him like this—he’s a lying little bastard, but a hot lying little bastard. We’ll do his quest first.”
Jin felt a strange heat bloom on the inside of his wrist. Lifting it, he saw a shimmering gold “1” hovering over his skin. Opening his inventory window, he found the number corresponded with the previously greyed-out quest section. Of course. He already knew what it would say, but he read it anyway:
Raizing a Small Mushroom
Find a solution to Jigglypapi’s dilemma. What to do when a mound wants a mushroom?
Reward: 5 gold pieces
Cooldown after completion: 1 week. Healing decreased by 10% for the duration.
Note: Gender can be changed once per week. Potion price will increase by 200% with each use. Class will not change.
Their first official quest—and it was for Rei. At least the system had finally developed a sense of humor. A small mushroom? “Raising” was clearly a jab at their guild name. That was hilarious. It must’ve triggered because Shin had called it a quest out loud. Interesting. Jin mentally filed the detail away for later. A plan was beginning to take shape. If he could manipulate the five little idiots just right, he might finally solve one of his bigger problems.
Haruto pointed ahead, his excitement plain.
“Guys, look! It’s the Mage Tower! Let’s pick up the pace—I want to see what it’s like inside.”
Inwardly, Jin grinned like an idiot. Soon, he’d have them all exactly where he wanted them—wrapped around his little finger.
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