​I arrived at a bitter yet liberating realization: All this time, I had been living inside a story invested in keeping its protagonist alive. Now, I was standing in a real world that didn’t care whether I breathed or died in the next second.

​Not cruel. Not kind. Just pure cause and effect.

​"Ah..."

​The fear that hadn’t surfaced earlier began to creep in. Not a fear of monsters, but the primal terror of realizing there was no longer a giant hand guiding the path. From now on, if I fall, I will truly hit the ground. There will be no coincidence to catch me.

​I turned toward Selene. She was still here. Bound to me not by written fate, but by choice—and perhaps our own shared foolishness. And strangely enough, that felt more precious than any scenario Agatha had ever offered.

​I stood up slowly. My knees trembled slightly—this time purely from muscle fatigue, not for dramatic effect.

​One awareness settled firmly in my mind: The old story ended because I closed the book myself.

​Whatever happens after this is no longer a continuation Chapter.

​This is life. Without a script.

Without a safety net to tend for.

My mind drifted back to the moment just before Valeria—or Agatha—vanished completely. In that instant, time and space seemed to fold within the palm of her hand.

"No, there’s no need for that," she had said, dismissing the stiff formalities of a goodbye.

"Just take this with you."

"What is this?" I asked.

With a flick of her magic, she offered something—a particle of light that sank into my chest. It didn’t feel like pain; it felt like data. As I processed the strange sensation, her voice echoed, resonating more inside my skull than in my ears.

"Both you and Selene... turn out to be quite fascinating," she remarked. "She received something similar."

She offered a faint smile—the smile of an author who had just inserted a last-minute plot twist. "You truly are anomalies, uninvited guests to an event that was supposed to be so neatly organized."

Now, in the silence of the Observatory, I finally felt the full weight of that ’gift.’

Something within my biological and spiritual makeup had been modified. It felt like a patch update being forced onto obsolete software.

On a whim, I closed my eyes and accessed the "Library of Mind." It had been a while since I’d paced these mental corridors, specifically the "Visualization" sub-sector I used back when I was still a ’student,’ before my life was cluttered with these problems.

"Let’s see... what items did she leave me?"

I hummed to myself cheerfully.

Sure enough, atop an imaginary bookshelf sat an item chest, glowing with an alluring aura. The label was unmistakable: "Adultery Elixir of Life."

My eyes widened. Beneath the name, a notification appeared:

[Spell Unlocked]

So, it wasn’t a one-time consumable. It was permanent. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"Well, this is interesting. I wonder what’s inside?"

Holographic symbols and text flooded my mind, displaying a meticulously detailed user manual—classic Valeria, the perfectionist.

[Effect: Allows the user to alter biological age and physical appearance, infused with a vitality draught for self-healing...]

[Duration: Infinite (dependent on available mana reserves)...]

[Side Effects: Nausea, dizziness, vertigo, or severe anemia leading to unconsciousness if usage exceeds mana capacity...]

[Additional Feature: Cancelable at any time...]

At a glance, it sounded like a VIP pass to any adult club or a foolproof way to forge an ID.

But it wasn’t the prospect of adulthood or the healing properties that made my eyes light up.

It was a tiny line tucked at the very bottom:

[Bonus: Exclusive Outfit Skin Included – Auto Equip]

"A free skin?!"

My gacha-addicted brain went into overdrive. It felt like pulling a top-tier SSR unit, complete with a limited-edition costume, without dropping a single cent. Valeria certainly knew exactly how to bribe me.

Without a second thought—ignoring Selene, who was still sprawled on the floor—I decided to test the feature. Curiosity had officially trumped empathy, at least for the next ten minutes.

I followed the instructions. My lips recited the incantation in an archaic Nordic tongue that felt unnervingly natural.

"Eilífðar form, breyttu mér..."

The change didn’t happen with a cartoonish puff of smoke. It was much more... biological. First, my body felt radiant—not a light visible to the eye, but a glow at the cellular level. I could feel my DNA strands vibrating, as if invisible hands were clipping and splicing my genetic code to fit a new algorithm.

An interface appeared in my vision:

[Kairi, please input age configuration by (...) hours...]

I did the math and input it instantly.

175,200 hours.

The product of twenty four times three six five times twenty

Slowly but surely, my bone structure shifted. Muscles densified and lengthened. There were no cheap TV drama visual effects; this was pure cellular regeneration accelerated a thousandfold. It felt strange—a tingling sensation mixed with a sharp, almost pleasant ache.

Then, the clothes appeared.

Not mere fabric, but a high-level illusion weave. No one would ever know they weren’t real.

I walked toward the large mirror in the corner of the observatory. My breath hitched.

In the reflection, Kairi the thirteen-year-old was gone. The figure standing there was elegant, mature, and... beautiful.

Long, snow-white hair cascaded down like silk, accented by golden floral ornaments and a ribbon on the left. A pair of slightly tapered ears—like an elf’s—lent the look a mystical edge.

Piercing sapphire-blue eyes stared back, framed by blue prism diamond earrings.

The gown was a pristine white, boasting intricate gold embroidery that radiated an air of untouchable nobility.

The skin of the shoulders was so flawless it looked as though it had never been touched by the dust of the world.

"Incredible," I whispered, marvelling at the sheer fidelity. "This is a Legendary tier skin."

But the euphoria was short-lived. The sound of hurried footsteps echoing from the hallway shattered my fantasy.

"Crap," I hissed.

I moved instantly to cancel the spell.

"Afturkalla."

My body shrank back down.

And I felt like I was going to puke.

Nausea slammed into my gut, accompanied by a dizzy spell that turned my vision blurry. The side effects were no joke. I staggered, reverting to my usual form just as the doors burst open...