Chương 10: Chapter 3 : The Price of Becoming a Witch(Part 1)

No matter how many times I looked, it wasn't there. The thing that should have been between my legs was gone. The future body displayed before me was, frankly, hideous. Calling it ugly would be putting it kindly. It looked more like some kind of monster than a human being. That was going to become a problem later. The offering quota was still only fifty percent complete, but before continuing, there were things I needed answers to.

"I have questions. Why did I become female? What happens to my body after I take the class? I'm not going to drop dead immediately, right? And can my abilities still grow?" The voice responded without hesitation.

"The class designation Witch altered your biological sex. We do not possess a concept equivalent to gender, therefore the reason for this modification is unknown. Hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes remain present. Reproductive activity is possible. However, because reproductive capability was offered as a sacrifice, reproduction itself is impossible. You have offered time. After class acquisition, no external changes will occur to your body. This includes alterations caused by outside influences.

Should damage or loss occur, the individual will automatically revert to its original completed state. Rollback is instantaneous, though recovery time varies depending on the extent of damage. We do not possess a concept equivalent to death. Through dialogue and knowledge acquisition, death has been provisionally interpreted as a dormant state. Therefore, your active lifespan has been changed to unlimited. This adjustment also applies to the mind and soul. Growth and acquisition of abilities remain possible.

However, abilities that alter physical appearance cannot be learned, as they would constitute a bodily change." I rubbed my forehead. So they'd learned that witches were female and simply applied that rule. Of course. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. These things barely understood living creatures to begin with. To them, gender didn't matter. They saw the character "woman" in the word "witch" and made me female. That was all.

As for everything else... Judging from what they had told me, I was effectively immortal. An endlessly regenerating immortal. If my appearance had become inhuman, then my body probably had as well. Still, there was one problem. My appearance would no longer age. But my internal processes? Those hadn't been sacrificed. Meaning my body's insides would continue to age forever. An endless battle against senescence. My greatest enemy would become myself.

Still, if concepts could be sacrificed just as easily as physical objects, then there were ways around that.

"I offer the aging of my internal body as well." I paused.

"Leave my five senses intact. And whatever counts as a sixth sense. Those are important. As for appearance... improve the texture and flexibility a little. Don't make me paper-thin. And all future growth? Store it inside my body. If it's empty, there should be room for anything."

"Assessment complete. Offering completion has reached eighty-nine percent. Definition of 'sixth sense' unknown. Adaptation performed using class data. Any future offerings exceeding one hundred percent will be returned. Return methods include negotiation and designated compensation." Only eleven percent remained. No. If I wanted to fix that monstrous appearance, I'd need even more. The optimal choice would probably be offering biological progression itself rather than aging.

But if I sacrificed growth entirely, I might become permanently locked at my starting state. That sounded even worse. There was one thing left. One final concept. A sacrifice that countless stories warned against. A sacrifice that isolated people from the rest of existence. A concept shared equally by all living beings. The ultimate destination. Death.

"I offer death itself. I offer my ending. As long as I remain active, I'll continue cleaning as much as possible. And in return, I'll give you my knowledge. The meaning behind humanity. The meaning behind this planet. Copy everything. Learn from it. And if I exceed the required value, prioritize changing my appearance. Also... If possible, let me spend one day in my original form after class acquisition." Gender change was probably unavoidable.

The class system seemed to possess authority far beyond anything I understood. Still... If I had to live forever, I'd rather not do it looking like a white orangutan. More importantly, I didn't want the transformation happening immediately. I was the first human to enter this Gate. If I emerged looking completely different, explaining things would become a nightmare. Far better to transform outside, where everyone could witness it happen. At least then nobody could accuse me of hiding anything.

Not that romance mattered anymore. I was already married.

"Assessment complete. Offering threshold exceeded. Excess value will be converted according to priority requests. Knowledge acquired. Meaning acquired. Unknown social structures learned. To improve cleaning efficiency, safe zones, water sources, vegetation, and food production have been established within the Waste Bin. Multiple layers exist. Explore them. Do you have any further requests regarding compensation?" My body began glowing. Probably for the last time.

When the light faded, my perspective had risen noticeably higher. The grace period remained, but the body awaiting me after class acquisition possessed everything wealthy people dreamed of: Agelessness. Immortality. Perfect health. And based on everything I'd learned, the Three-Eyed creature frozen nearby wouldn't be killing me anytime soon.

"For now, the body's proportions are terrible. Can that be fixed? Also... I sacrificed my internal functions. Can I still speak?"

"Definition of optimal proportions unavailable. Proposal: construct body according to the Golden Ratio based on acquired human knowledge. Executing. Vocal communication remains necessary for interaction. Speech capability retained. Human activity remains possible. Functions directly sacrificed remain unavailable."