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“How are you feeling? You look as white as a board.”
“I’m not doing that good. I think I’ll go home after I’m done grilling this.”
“It’s my first time seeing you this out of the weather, Senior.”
“It happens from time to time. The fatigue that I’ve been building up over the recent years just decided to manifest. It messes with my stomach… I’m left completely drained after several rounds of terrible diarrhea and fever… I usually just sleep through it.”

“How about we try this?”
“Huh? Try what?”
“Chi. Let me try injecting some Chi.”
“Huh? Will that even change anything?”
“Beats me. It’s my first time trying it, so I have no clue. But I know how it’s supposed to go, so don’t worry. This is interesting! Senior, your Chi’s color is slowly turning into my color.”

“Huh? That’s creepy… Wait, you can see its color?”
“Yeah. Did I forget to tell you? Yours is green, and mine’s orange. It’s almost completely dyed orange! It’s the same as mine now. So? Do you feel different?”
“Hmm. My body feels warm. The area around my body feels warmer. Like I’ve soaked into warm water. Let me try moving. Yep. It moves nicely. It still feels like it’s about to give in at any moment, but I don’t feel bad when moving normally. What a strange feeling.”

“Don’t push yourself just because you can move. It’s not like your body has recovered. You can say I’ve simply given it some extra juice. Like an extra tank of gas. So just go home and rest now.”
“What a strange feeling. I feel like I can run normally, or even stay up at night if I want to!”
“You probably could. But if the reserve tank is depleted, you’ll collapse again. What you should do right now is use the energy I’ve now given you to recover and repair your body.”
“I understand. I’ll be heading home then.”

“Also, before you rest, you should try and use the Earth Chi I taught you last time. Do you remember how to do it?”
“Yeah. You start from the armpits, then let it dissolve between them and the chest. After you gather some more, starting with the armpits, gather it in your chest and immediately send it down right below your navel, where you let it rest.”

“After, don’t forget to take the accumulated Chi and store it in your bones. The femur is the thickest bone in the body, so you can store as much Chi as you want there. Imagine pouring red, almost magma-like Chi into the femur to warm and color it. It’s almost as if you’re heating iron. The red Chi helps warm and energize your body.”

“So different Chi colors have different effects?”
“I’m not that deep into it myself, but I’ve heard that pure Chi has no color. My teacher told me that the Mountain Chi, unlike the Earth one, is cold and cools the body. He said it’s good for cooling your head. But if you go at it without being prepared, it can also chill your head. It’s similar to the pain you get when you eat a lot of shaved ice. So be careful with that. Want to try it sometime, Senior?”

“No way! I’ll probably die if I try it now!”
“It’s fine! If that happens, we’ll just try something else!!!”
“I get it! I finally get it! You’re using me as a guinea pig, aren’t you?! You’re scary!!!”

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The equipment I wore today was different from what I usually used.

It was a key item for an Errand Quest from an Event, where I had to carry clothes to the village head’s granddaughter from his house. I still had the item because I ditched and forgot about the quest halfway through.

The Village Girl’s Everyday Clothes consisted of a simple one-piece dress. The neck area had a slit at the front to make it easier to put one’s head through it.

The dress draped straight down, its skirt falling just below the knees. The sleeves were long, extending just past my elbows. Predominantly light yellow, the dress featured thick orange lines bordering the sleeves, skirt hem, and neckline.

A long white sash encircled my waist, tied on the right side with the excess fabric cascading down. It resembled a Mongolian deel, though it was notably shorter and had shorter sleeves.

As such, this equipment’s Defense and Attack Power stats were at 0.

From the side, I appeared to be just an ordinary village girl. And, by the way, I wasn’t wearing anything underneath. In other words, that area was off-limits!

You’re probably why I wasn’t wearing anything, and that’s because I’d just washed them.

Since I don’t have a change of clothes, I usually wash and dry my garments before bed. I can’t afford not to, as they get dirty from daily travel. However, last night I was more preoccupied than usual and skipped washing them. I’d rather not divulge what distracted me.

Regardless, my washed underwear was now safely tucked into my Inventory. I didn’t want to wear wet underwear, but I also couldn’t leave it out to dry and go about my day. So, I planned to hang it up to dry at a suitable location later.

That being said, I quite enjoyed the current state I was in.

“This cool sensation is great! There’s nothing constricting me when I run. The feeling of freedom and uneasiness is different from what men experience. I’m not wearing anything underneath, and my breasts are swaying freely! But it’s rubbing when I move… If I move too much, I might have to stop for a bit…”

But that probably wouldn’t be a problem.

After all, this time I’d camped about 20 kilometers from the edge of the forest.

If I wanted to reach a human village, I knew I had to follow the river. As such, I was currently heading south from the waterfall, following the water.

With the mobility I had, I could have made it to the village quickly, but a lot of preparation was still necessary—especially mentally.

I also needed to keep my combat power in check. I didn’t want to accidentally leave a city in ruins again. Destroying the mountain range had already been traumatic enough for me.

I was still quite nervous about it.

Additionally, I was a bit anxious about suddenly interacting with people from a world I didn’t know while in this body.

The truth was, deep down, I desperately longed for a human-like life, craving food, ingredients, and more food—but for various reasons, I kept delaying it.

For now, I was exploring the surroundings, making my way south.

“I doubt that in this state my armor can be used as a weapon. So, let me just find something suitable and start testing.”

I was in a good mood, even moving with a skip in my step. With my current get-up, one might even think I was just a girl preparing for a picnic.

As I was skipping without a care in the world, a small animal suddenly appeared ahead of me.

Hmm? A rabbit? It’s coming at me despite being a herbivore. Alright then. Bring it on! I’ll accept any challenger!

The rabbit quickly closed the 10-meter gap between us, and when it was just 5 meters away, it leaped straight at me like a cannonball but ended up bouncing off my chest.

“Haha! They bounced just now! They bounced! Hahaha!”

Even I couldn’t understand why I was this happy.

The rabbit, undeterred, landed on its feet and lunged again. It kept attacking, bouncing off my stomach, sides, waist, back, and even my buttocks. Each time, I took no damage.

(It must be the level difference. But still, I’m not even fighting back…)

But then, suddenly, a sharp sound echoed from my side.

“Huh?! Damage? Oh, it healed instantly. Did I take 1 point of damage? Still, this is my first time taking damage!”

I looked down and noticed my clothes had torn from just under my breasts to my armpit, exposing some skin.

“Did it land a critical hit? To think that I could only take 1 point of damage from a critical hit. The level difference must be huge. That aside, its Critical Rate must be significant. I can’t believe it managed to land a critical hit on me with this level difference.”

I targeted the rabbit again.

A Snuff Rabbit? Some kind of assassin rabbit? Ah! I see! Those long front teeth. It’s probably planning on biting my carotid artery, aiming for a critical hit. This creature is dangerous!

If I were an ordinary human, I would’ve been decapitated the moment we crossed paths. It wasn’t particularly strong, but it was annoying.

“You annoying thing! Eat this!”

With a swift motion, I gave the rabbit a light chop just as it was about to strike me. The rabbit was knocked to the ground, instantly becoming just a stain on the earth.

“Hmph. It looked like a harmless white rabbit, but it turned out to be a vicious beast. I’m sure the locals call these creatures ‘White Devils’ or something like that,” I said, jokingly giving it a nickname.

“Oh no, I ripped my clothes… I think this is the first time my equipment has been damaged. Wait… My sideboob can be seen from this tear. It looks kind of sexy.”

I slid my fingers into the crevice of the tear, curiously exploring inside.

“Ah… I touched the tip… Ah… I think I got a bit wet… Hihi.”

(What am I hiding for?! Now’s not the time for this!)

I then noticed several Mobs heading my way.

(Three of them? Are they working together? They’re too few to be a herd. Maybe a group?)

After a short while, I could make them out through the trees.

The three were all walking on two legs, clad in dirty leather or cloth around their waists, each wielding either a rusty sword, a misshapen club, or an axe-like weapon with a large chipped blade.

Their skin was pale, almost bloated-looking, and their faces were unmistakably pig-like. Evil-looking pigs with a nasty gleam in their eyes. They were about 160 cm tall, not particularly large.

“Orcs… They’re completely different from the Orcs I know. This really is a different world,” I muttered, feeling somewhat bored.

The orcs, on the other hand, were excited, sniffing the air as they approached. Soon enough, they caught wind of my scent, their noses twitching wildly as they focused their attention on me.

“What the—! These jerks! They’re laughing and staring at me! Why are they so excited? And what’s with their loincloths puffing up like that? Don’t point at me! Ew! They started shaking their hips! EWW! What’s with that stain on their crotch?! They’re coming towards me! Don’t come! Stay away! Those won’t fit!”

I suddenly became defensive, clutching the top of my skirt between my legs, trying to protect myself.