Their gazes burn themselves through my very soul. Their numbers easily go over 10, which just makes it even more uncomfortable to stand here in a skirt.

Their dirty appearance makes it look like the apocalypse has been going on for more than a month, rather than a day. Surviving isn't easy at first, especially if they have inner turmoil in their group.

"Don't you guys rather want to ask who we are, and why I'm able to uppercut that bitch into oblivion?" (Me)

The refugees look at each other for one second.

"No, not really. We'd rather want to know why you're wearing a sk-" (???)

"Glad you changed your question! Wise choice!" (Me)

My eyes sway to Jess, who already knows that something bad is about to happen to her. She tries to distance herself from me, slowly but surely, looking around for anything metallic that could help her.

I wrap my arm around her hip and pull her closer, her struggle barely noticeable by me until both of us clearly invade our private space. It's been some time since I've felt some kind of human warmth in a cozy atmosphere, so I don't really mind.

'You instigated it.'

'Now that I look at her, she's actually quite a looker.'

From her vibrant white skin to her brown eyes, which are in the process of getting a metallic color inside them, everything seems to fit perfectly on her face and body.

She's got healthy hips-

'She got a phat ass.'

'A bit more class, please.'

-and a still blooming bossom-

'Small, but cute titties.'

'Class, please.'

'SHE THICC AS FUCK YO!'

'Alright, on the naughty stool you go.'

'NOOOOOOOOO!'

Even with Trick's incessant begging and pleading, I send her to the deepest corner of my mind, my eyes continuing to study Jess from top to bottom. The silver tips on her hair progressed even further to the point that they already occupy half of the formerly blonde hair.

"Well, we are Nith and Jess!" (Me)

Their eyes are still fixated on my skirt, which I do not appreciate. Who am I doing this whole show for if a skirt steals all of their attention?

"And we are a couple, who's madly in love with each other!" (Me)

"I BEG YOUR-" (Jess)

I get my mouth as close to her ear as I possibly can without giving her a wet willy.

'...you know what? I might as well.'

I give her a wet willy while I'm at it, which she slaps away in disgust.

"You literally just said that you owe me a fucking favor. So you better act like I'm the love of your fucking life." (Me)

"..." (Jess)

It takes her a few seconds to come to terms with the fate she sealed herself. She didn't even have to ask me for a favor since I won't let a chance pass by to be the center of attention, but the contract has already been made.

Her unoccupied hand embraces me and she puts one foot up in the air.

"Aww, you don't have to brag so much... Nithy!" (Jess)

'PFFFFF, NITHY!'

'So she still wants to act rebellious, huh?'

I tap my cheeks a bit.

"Your hubby wants a little kissy!" (Me)

I hear her mumble under her breath.

"...fuck me, what did I get myself into?" (Jess)

She closes her eyes and her pink lips approach my face with clear hesitation. Her survival really must mean much to her, as she's willing to offer something as precious as her darling first kiss to a person like me.

I'm assuming it's her first kiss. The youth of today is unpredictable.

I, of course, won't just steal one of her most precious memories from her like that. Consent is key.

'Didn't have much consent when taking my body?'

'Only counts for real humans. Bodyless voices are exempt.'

'I'm about to scream.'

Just as I'm about to show mercy in my endless grace, someone very charismatic decides to interrupt. Uncalled for, I might add.

"Come on, why would a beauty like you be with such a wimpy guy?!" (???)

From the back rows of the circle, the jockey, who sacrificed the mother and child before, appears with a smug smile on his face. I can practically smell the cliché on him, as he swaggers his way towards us.

I'm not someone who judges a book by its cover but I can confidently say that he did not make a good first impression.

"Think fast!" (Me)

With a swift kick, I catapult one of the shoes I've been wearing for the whole time since I merged with Trick towards his right leg. I won't really miss the shoe since it was a few sizes too small for me anyway.

With my heightened strength stat, my old-fashioned footwear flies towards him with the speed of a professional fastball, landing in a spot I definitely did not aim for.

His nuts.

I shot a cannonball at his nuts.

'I did aim for them. I'll be honest. You got me.'

'A kick in the balls is always funny.'

He drops to the floor, gasping for breath. Pain should be radiating towards his stomach at this moment, slowly getting worse over time.

As I wonder which nut I hit, my gaze fixes back to the crowd of people watching us. By now, the child that was still only buried in her mother's chest a moment ago has started to cry her eyes out in shock. A girl her age really shouldn't get into life-threatening situations like that, not to mention getting thrown into one.

She clenches her mother's hem, the gentle hand of her mother stroking her hair in an attempt to console her. This doesn't mean that the mother is any more composed. It's just her job to be someone to rely on.

My memories are forced to resurface. Memories that I hoped I would never see again.

This scene really makes me wonder if the guy with the exploded testicle is a bad person.

"Hey, pal. I might-" (Me)

But I don't get to finish my sentence, as Jess decides to rudely interrupt me.

"He's supposed to be a wimp? You just tucked your tiny dick in between your legs and ran from a turtle, while still being enough of a cunt to sacrifice a child to save your sorry ass. My boyfriend here has way more balls than you do and isn't a total prick. " (Jess)

''Yeah, girl power!" (Me)

Her ears become a bit red, but that's all the reaction I get out of her. She must've already realized that I can control this situation way better than she ever could, but I won't stop her while she's on a roll.

"...Well, I actually wanted to make a joke about a nutcracker, but sure. What she said." (Me)

I'm sure the cunt in front of us would've had a bit more of a reaction if he didn't have to give himself a Urologist exam.

"I- I didn't really run. I just-" (Jockey)

Jess shows the prick her middle finger elegantly, although quite obscenely.

"Fuck off, you bloody wanker. You ran like the bitch that you are, and probably lost the last one of your stones while you were at it. Not to mention the mother and child you nearly murdered." (Jess)

Jess's sensitivity towards the crying pair in the group has only been enhanced by her own situation with her parents.

In the end, these words were enough to put the cunt over the edge. I notice how his fist tightens (still in between his legs) and seems to get enveloped in some kind of red, hot light.

He seems to be unaffected by the heat radiating off of it as even the stone floor below him starts to bubble.

"You're gonna regret having said those words to the leader of this group." (Jockey)

"Wait, are you really challenging me after seeing me fist the turtle-like in a sick porn flick? The turtle from which you ran from?" (Me)

He raises his glowing arm and starts running towards us, completely forgetting how I just sent his descendants prematurely to the afterlife.

"Oh, looky there. A stone." (Me)

Don't want to lose my other shoe now, do I? That's my kicking boot, after all.

The leveled-up "Orc's strength" now makes my kicks hit even harder. I gave him a chance to stay down but he wouldn't listen, so my foot kisses the pebble on the ground lightly and it shoots towards the lunatic with blond hair.

Flying in a beautiful straight line, it hits him right in the throat, making him stagger back and choke.

"This is the first and only time I'm gonna make a man choke." (Me)

'LOLOLOLOL'

He holds his throat in a mix of pain and anger while giving me a look full of contempt.

"You were mentioning that you were the leader of this group, right?" (Me)

"*CHOKE!*" (Jockey)

"Choke once for "Yes" and twice for "No"." (Me)

"*CHOKE!* *CHOKE!* *CHOKE!*" (Jockey)

"Listen, I don't think you get the concept... I'll just take that as a "Yes". Well, tough luck. Cause I'll be taking that rank for the remaining time that I'm here for." (Me)

"*CHOKE!*" (Jockey)

"Look at that, he even agreed." (Me)

He frantically shakes his head.

"Really does seem like he agreed." (Jess)

"You think so too?" (Me)

He starts to flail around, angrily.

"Look how happy he is." (Me)

"You're really a nice guy, Nithy!" (Jess)

She once more hugs me from the side, as if she was madly in love. As an enjoyer of the fine art of acting myself, I have to give her credit for her performance.

'I like this favor I chose.'

I ignore Jess's extremely quiet cursing and dedicate myself to our audience, who seems to be glad that the jockey is suffering.

"I has't thus been crown'd as thy new king! Thee shall serve me from anon on!" (Me)

Suddenly, they all kneel in front of me, without even me asking for it.

"YES! MY LORD!" (The whole fucking group)

'Euh... that's unexpected... and I need a fucking mecha and an eye power that can control people because of that answer lololololol.'

'LOL DAFUQ?! WHY ARE THEY KNEELING JUST LIKE THAT?!!'

'Well, merging can do weird shit to you! And you said jokes are useless.'

"NOW! MY SERVANTS! THOU SHALT BRING ME THE FOLLOWING THINGS! A SHARP KNIFE AND A HOOK!-" (Me)

One guy immediately starts to run off.

"-THE BIGGEST POT YOU CAN FIND AND FIREWOOD!-" (Me)

A woman runs off.

"-A MANNEQUIN IN MY SIZE! THAT MEANS ABOUT 1.80 METERS TALL!-" (Me)

Another woman runs off in a hurry.

"-AND LASTLY-" (Me)

I stop for a second and look at Jess.

"Do you still need something? Tampons? Diapers? Maybe some condoms for to-" (Me)

"No, thank you Nithy.~ You're all I need!~" (Jess)

'Tch...'

"THEN BRING ME... a diet coke. Kinda got thirsty. Don't wanna ruin my body, though." (Me)

The last one leaves us and only a few are left behind. I leave Jess for a second and go outside to retrieve the Orc's corpse.

Even though it stinks, it doesn't seem to have rotten in any way at all. The corpse is still fully intact, except for the facial structure of course. I could've used the teeth and additional bones but it would've been a tad bit more difficult to defeat it in any other way.

I put it on my shoulder with ease. The burly body of the Orc may seem fat, but it mainly consists of muscles, which developed over the years in the other world. The density makes the body heavier than a cow, which just shows how much of a difference the stat increase does. The boost alone wouldn't have been enough if it weren't for the already activated "Orc's strength" assisting me in any way possible.

The corpse is carried inside the mall in less than a few seconds, and I throw it into a random store.

Thanks to the people knowing their way around the mall, they already returned with the requested things in their arms. I prepare myself for the whole process I'm about to go through, trying to remember how to do it after millennia in hell.

Even if I'm the stud that I am, I still forget shit. Nobody is perfect.

"Thee has't done well! The reward shall beest gen'rous!" (Me)

"THANK YOU, MY LORD!" (Group of devout servants)

Satisfied with their unreasonable loyalty, I stick the hook into the ceiling and, once more, pick the Orc up. The head doesn't hold much value to me anymore so I hang him off of it.

"It's a piece of cake to bake a pretty cake~" (Me)

I stack a tower of firewood under the Orc's hanging corpse and put the huge pot on it. My newly acquired servants have done a good job as the pot would easily fit the whole corpse inside, but that's not really my goal right now.

"If the way is hazy~" (Me)

I pick up the knife and point it at the stomach of the Orc.

"You gotta do the cooking by the book~" (Me)

"What are you doing?" (Jess)

Just as the knifes tip pokes the hardened skin, refusing to get through, Jess interrupts me. We're alone in the store it seems, so she has her usual attitude.

"Hm? Isn't it obvious? I'm making some pants and maybe some gauntlets to boot." (Me)

"Are you taking the piss?" (Jess)

"Oh I'm sorry, let me explain it in a way your kind would understand." (Me)

I clear my throat. I've been neglecting my vocal practice these last few years so I'm quite nervous about my performance.

"Is obvious, innit? Ah need sum trousers-" (Me)

"That's not what I meant, dickhead. You're making pants by hanging a corpse from the ceiling like a bloody Piñata, and meanwhile singing a song from L*zy T*wn?" (Jess)

"That's what I said." (Me)

With a bit more force behind it, the knife finally pierces the Orc's stomach and blood starts flowing into the pot under him. His insides reek unbelievably, but, to me, it's a nostalgic smell.

"BLOODY HELL, THAT STINKS!" (Jess)

Guts and blood mix in the pot until every fluid left the Orc's body, spreading its nasty vapor through the whole room. I light a fire under the pot until the soup comes to a bare simmer.

"Care to have a sip?" (Me)

"You're not really drinking that, are you?" (Jess)

I stay silent.

"Please don't tell me you're drinking that." (Jess)

I pick up the knife, with which I've opened up the Orc, and start dismantling the corpse. As most of the mana has left the body with the blood, the skin became much more forgiving to cut through. My ordinary knife still only manages to barely rip apart the skin in a crude fashion but beggars can't be choosers.

"I need some answers or else I'm really starting to get concerned." (Jess)

I shed the corpse off its skin with trained precision, while Jess keeps persistently asking me what I'm about to do with the blood. It's a shame that I have the worst tools to prepare this corpse since I'm sure I could make quite the armor out of this one.

Soon, Jess stops her joking concern and starts to watch me dismantle the corpse, quietly.

"Wow, you're not bad at this. Were you some kind of hunter before you came to hell?" (Jess)

"A hunter, huh? Sure. I've been a hunter before." (Me)

Several times. More than anyone could think of. And those lives have ended prematurely just as many times.

As soon as I took the skin off, I throw it into the soup of blood. It lets out a few bubbles but doesn't react in any other way. By now, the mana in the blood should slowly be seeping inside the skin.

I separate the muscle and tendons from the bones, leaving only the skeletal structure behind. Even without the whole rest of the body, the Orc still looks ridiculously big for a bipedal creature.

"I really wish I didn't destroy the tusks. I could've made some fine knuckles with them..." (Me)

'First world problems.'

Carefully, I put the tendons away and start processing the bones.

"Now, to continue my song. You know you can't be lazy~!" (Me)

I put my fist into my palm and start cracking my knuckles. The freshly healed hands that I love so much are about to take a beating again so I kiss them a final goodbye.

"Never use a messy recipe! Or the cake will end up crazy~!" (Me)

"What are you doing now?" (Jess)

"If you do the cooking by the book! Then you'll have a~" (Me)

I raise my fist.

"Break it down bitch! Let me see you back it up!" (Me)

I hammer down on the bones as fast as I can. The punches make my hands bleed again, but I've got no other choice. A normal hammer would probably break with a single hit.

Some weaker bones turn to dust, but some others persist. I put those harder bones to the side for further use.

The bone dust gets thrown into the stew as well.

"Now, I'll let this boil, until all the blood has vaporated, and then I can continue with making my armor!" (Me)

"How are you supposed to make an armor out of... that... thing?!" (Jess)

She points at the pot and the soup that seems to nearly be alive. In some worlds that I've been, this would've been considered a delicacy.

"After the blood has evaporated and the skin has taken some of its properties, it'll have assimilated the residue bone dust and become even sturdier. I'll place the hot leather around the mannequin to give it a fitting form and after that, I'll use my magic fingers to do a little spell of love on the armor." (Me)

'Wait, what? You weren't just throwing shit at the wall and hoped that it would stick?'

'I'm appalled at the bad impression you have of me.'

"Wait, what? You weren't just throwing shit at the wall and hoped that it would stick?" (Jess)

"You know what? Come outside, I want you to be nice to me again." (Me)

I drag her out of the... "kitchen" and enjoy her best attempts of being lovey-dovey with me, while the soup slowly reaches the state that I want.

*

---

*

A few hours later.

"Come on... Hubby Wubby, say "Ahhn"!" (Jess)

"Ahhhn!" (Me)

She puts a grape in my mouth, doing her best to force a smile on her face.

"The grapes you give me are just the sweetest, my love." (Me)

"Oh stop it. Shouldn't you already be looking after your stew, haha?" (Jess)

"Nah, it's still got time!" (Me)

"No, I really think you should. We wouldn't want your precious materials to go to waste, do we?" (Jess)

'Tch...'

"Alright, I'm going..." (Me)

Leaving the scene of my dreams behind me, I descend the escalator and go back into hell's kitchen, while Jess is following me. The blood has already completely evaporated, only leaving the skin behind and a few bits of rough, unassimilated bone dust and powdery residue blood. The organs are left as well, but those lost all their mana already and are hence useless to me.

"I really regret having given you a favor. I just had to feed you for 4 damn hours... is your stomach a black hole or something?!" (Jess)

I take the still hot leather outside of the kettle. It's still a wet, gooey mass and is admittedly not the nicest sight to look at.

"Hot potato!" (Me)

I pass Jess the blood dripping ball of skin tissue in my hands, which she dodges in a disgusted panic. It splashes on the ground, bursting its liquid around the room. Thanks to her, the nice kitchen we've spent our most precious moments in got a new paint job.

"Calm down. Feeding me won't be the worst thing you'll do for me in the future." (Me)

"Yeah, I will save my parents myself. Have a good life. Sayonara." (Jess)

"We both know you won't." (Me)

In this one day that I've known her, I've already deduced that she isn't the type to risk her life as long as there's a better option or the gains outweigh the risks.

In this case, I'm the better option.

Spreading the skin on the even floor, I start to cut the skin into rough shapes, approximating the main parts of my armor. The whole process of fabricating the armor isn't really something adventurous with my limited resources, as the next step is just poking holes into the now arranged armor pieces so the tendons can fit the whole construct together.

"Don't try me." (Jess)

"I'll do more than just try you. This is your last chance to escape this eternally binding contract.~" (Me)

From the previous sentence on, she already had one foot outside the door. Following my last sentence, she stops abruptly.

My crippling abandonment anxiety kicks in but she doesn't need to know that. I still have the gooey, soft center in my hard outer shell, after all...

I connect the last tendon to the last armor joint. Normally, tendons alone wouldn't really hold the whole composition together, but the Orc's tendons are unnaturally sturdy. I couldn't even rip them apart without strengthening myself. Especially after they dry out and tighten.

Just as I finished my first armor in this world, Jess has made her decision. Whether it's out of pure curiosity or the fact that she's admitting defeat, she returned to my side.

"Hello there, love!" (Me)

"...hi." (Jess)

 

"FINALLY! SOME FUCKING PANTS THAT I CAN WEAR!" (Me)

Joy courses through me like it never has before. Finally, I can say "Bye Bye" to the fucking draft bet-

"Wait, can I take a look at it?" (Jess)

"Fuck off. I will defend my pants with my life." (Me)

"Just give them to me..." (Jess)

She holds her hand out. It's the first time that she's seen someone craft something in this world which piqued her curiosity. Tell me, who am I to deny the future of tomorrow of their salvation in their unquenchable thirst for knowledge?

"Tough crowd... Alright, I'm just gonna keep the gauntlets. I still need to tweak them a bit." (Me)

I hand her the armor. She, of course, immediately reacts beca-

"EXCUSE ME?! YOU'RE GETTING TRIPPLE THE STRENGTH THAT I CURRENTLY HAVE?!" (Jess)

-because of that.

"Now then, time to decide something." (Me)

'Trick?'

'Yes, dear?'

'Do you consider yourself a masochist or sadist?'

'Sadist.'

'You could at least do me the favor and blush...'

' *Blush* '

'Too late, you ruined the moment.'

I look at the pile of skinless meat lying around and dig deep into it. My hand wriggles around the innards mixed into the flesh, searching for the most precious material of the whole monster.

Trying to sense the object of my desires with my mana sense, I finally grab ahold of it. A tiny marble, the size of... well... a marble, radiating with a blueish hue. The energy it gives off is the accumulative force the Orc collected during his lifetime.

"Let me take a guess. That's a monster core of some kind? And you're going to make your weapon with it?" (Jess)

"That was supposed to be my part. You steal my line one more time, we're gonna have a problem, young lady." (Me)

I take a few of the sturdier bones I set aside previously and put them next to the gauntlets, right with the monster core. Ingredients like these should work wonders with their unique properties.

"Alright, time to actively use mana for the first time." (Me)

Taking the mana core in one hand, I let my mana get in contact with it and I continue to do the same with the gauntlets on the other side, together with the bones.

The foreign mana of this new body that I'm still not accustomed to moves quickly, thanks to my expertise, into the nucleus of the monster. With my limited mana pool, it really starts to suck me dry-

'Kinky, isn't it?'

'Hot.'

-as its own essence activates in a turbulent outlash. At this point, most artificers fail as they can't control the essence of a monster with strong willpower.

If the Orc had been stronger, this process would've been much more complicated. The essence of the monster flows through me, rampaging to the best of its remaining abilities. Pure rage tries to tug at my sanity, but I wouldn't be me if I didn't know my way around it.

'Oi, calm down, ye dickhead.'

The gauntlets merge with the bones, emitting light in the same radiance that I saw before from the mana core.

"You have to do this in front of me so you can brag about it, don't you?" (Jess)

"Art should be appreciated." (Me)

A constant flow of essence goes through me, and after a few minutes, I get a message.

 

The normal gauntlets merged with the bones, resulting in a pair of spiked, plated knuckles. The previously greenish gauntlets, influenced by the Orc's original body color, turned a pale white, adapting to the integrated bones.

"And now give me those fucking pants." (Me)

I snatch the leather pants from her hands and take off the skirt.

"You could at least wait until I'm gone." (Jess)

"Only the first time is free, you know? Even you have to pay next time." (Me)

I slide one leg inside them.

My leg gets engulfed by a comforting, nearly motherly warmth.

My other leg goes inside them. It feels amazing.

I put them completely on, and my nether regions feel like they're cradled by Mother Mary.

"JESUS! PANTS FEEL GOOD!" (Me)

"Can we go and save my parents now?" (Jess)

"No." (Me)