Chương 10: Drama

Riku sat in the cafeteria, zoned out not just in her own body but in Varek's too. After the excitement and adrenaline of having a second body faded, she was left with an existential crisis. She poked at her food with chopsticks.

"Ah," she leaned forward, banging her head on the table, drawing strange looks from around the cafeteria. As soon as she had possessed Varek, she started becoming influenced by his hormones—or was it his natural personality left over? She didn't know what it was, but it had thrown her off course. Maybe it was her starting to rebel against the life that was directed for her. Either way, she had become way too confident and forward. This was worse than going through puberty twice.

She'd heard that male bodies had less self-control, but Varek's body's influence on her was just downright reckless. Maybe it was the adrenaline from battling beasts. Yeah, yeah, that must have been it, she tried to convince herself. Ugh, she didn't even understand this weird flirting/fighting she was having with Tim, her professor. She dropped her chopsticks, pushed the food away, and laid her head down on the table. Where the hell do I look for advice?

How the hell do I say to someone: I have 2 bodies, 1 male, 1 female same as my professor but my male body finds my professor's female body attractive. Riku picked her bag up and trudged to her next business class. That's it—no more weird flirting/teasing with Tim or Lia. I've got to get my head in the game, or I will end up a delinquent. Riku sat in the following lectures barely paying attention as she concentrated more on Varek. Varek strolled out from the hotel.

God, this body feels confident, Riku thought as she walked through the city. The adrenaline, qi, and testosterone made her feel like a demigod. Hell, compared to ancient mythology, she was at the power of an earthly demigod. Here in the cultivation world, definitely not even close to one. Varek rubbed his ring, bringing up the interactive display. He opened the map to see where he was. His sect mission was in the south of this continent.

This continent was one of the smaller ones in the northern hemisphere of the planet. There were several sects located over the continent, but the entire eastern half was controlled by qi beasts. Varek's sect was the Flaming Saber Sect. Why did all these sects have such try-hard names, Riku thought. It was located towards the center of the northern section of the continent, while Lia's was towards the south in the mountain ranges beside the great beast forests.

The city he was currently in was called Bastion and was right beside the line of contact with the beasts. The Flaming Saber Sect had been commissioned to help thin the hordes of beasts that constantly attacked the walls of Bastion. With this mission completed, he would head back to the sect, which was a little to the north. First, though, Varek would go shopping for this hunk. While the original Varek cared not for clothes, Riku's feminine nature wouldn't let such a handsome man go poorly dressed.

A smile crept over Varek's face as the influence of mind and body wasn't just from Varek to Riku. Riku had gone through Varek's ring, and the oaf had been quite well off with over 400 spirit stones and 1000 gold pieces. The spirit stones were mainly used for cultivators, while the gold pieces were used as currency among the normal people. Varek spent over 300 gold pieces on lavish clothes and a haircut. The clothes cost more as they had to be sturdy enough for cultivators to wear.

This involved them being made from materials from the qi beasts. He strolled forth from the city looking like a supermodel from Earth. A woman's touch really did greatly change a man's appearance. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Riku stopped and looked at the giant walls of Bastion. Selfie time, she thought as she jumped onto the ledge of the wall overlooking the central beast plains.

Taking a photo as she looked over the plains, brooding about her mission of protection. She uploaded the picture. Now this should get me some fangirls, she thought with glee. Jumping off the wall, she headed towards the Flaming Saber Sect.

"Fuck, I am cool," she whispered to herself. Varek posted a new photo. Lia opened the display, expecting another ridiculous battle scene or beast corpse. Instead, her breath caught in her throat. Varek stood on the massive stone walls of Bastion, silhouetted against the setting sun with the endless Beast Plains stretching behind him. But it wasn't the dramatic backdrop that made Lia's eyes widen—it was Varek himself. Gone were the practical, rough-spun robes she remembered.

Instead, he wore fitted dark leather that showed off his muscular frame, with silver threading that caught the light. His hair had been styled perfectly, and the brooding expression as he gazed over the dangerous wilderness made him look like something out of a romance novel. The caption read: "Another successful mission protecting Bastion. The beasts may be endless, but so is our resolve. #FlamingSaberSect #BeastHunter #ProtectorOfThePeople" Lia stared at the image, her mouth slightly agape.

Dammit, Riku, this isn't some Korean drama. Riku was treating this like a game. But dammit, that was a cool outfit. Shit, I am going to have to get her to help style Tim out, Lia thought. She imagined Tim's slightly soft frame—while not small or fat, he wasn't exactly ripped either. Ah yeah, maybe give it a few months, she thought. Her ring buzzed again as comments flooded in:"Varek-sama, marry me! 😍""Holy ancestors, when did he get so handsome??"

"I volunteer to be protected 🥺""That jawline could cut spirit steel..." The notifications kept coming, dozens per minute. Lia watched in horrified fascination as Varek's follower count climbed steadily upward.

"What the actual hell?" she muttered, zooming in on the photo. Even she had to admit objectively speaking that Varek looked fucking hot. Riku was using her feminine eye for fashion and presentation to turn Varek into a cultivator heartthrob. Lia felt a strange twist in her stomach that she couldn't quite identify. Was it annoyance? Jealousy? She shook her head, trying to clear the confusing emotions. Why should she care how Varek looked or how many admirers he gained?

But the feeling persisted as she scrolled through more comments, each one more thirsty than the last. Without really thinking about it, she found herself typing a comment:"Trying a bit hard, aren't we?" She posted it before she could second-guess herself, then immediately regretted it. The comment looked petty and bitter among all the fawning praise. Within seconds, replies started flooding in:"OMG, is the Ice Queen jealous??"

"Lia noticed Varek! 💕""Are they fighting or flirting? I can't tell!"

"Plot twist: secret relationship revealed!" Lia's face burned with embarrassment as the comment section exploded into shipping wars between her and Varek. She quickly put her ring away, but not before seeing one final notification: Varek liked your comment.

"That smug bastard," she growled, flopping back onto her bed. Tim was beating her in the battle of wits on Earth, but damn, Varek was handing Lia her ass. She'd thought Riku was bad enough when she was just being a mischievous student—now she was apparently some kind of social media mastermind turning their other selves into internet celebrities.