[Skill Activated: Calorie Burn]

[Time Limit: 15 Minutes]

As I opened my eyes, pain coursing through me, a blue window popped up in front of me.
It displayed the name of the skill I’d just activated, along with the time limit.
At the same time, I felt an incredible surge of strength within my body.

[Current Physical Specs: 175cm, 70kg]
[System: Due to the use of the skill ‘Calorie Burn,’ 40kg of body weight has been consumed. The consumed weight is converted into physical strength due to the trait’s effect.]
[System: The effect of ‘Calorie Burn’ drastically increases the number of calories that can be absorbed from consumed food.]
[System: Within the 15-minute time limit, consume enough food to return to your original weight. Failure to do so will result in the death of Ken Feinstein.]

I stared at the status messages, feeling the malicious intent of the game developers.
I quickly understood what kind of skill this was.
Clenching my fist, I could feel a strength I’d never experienced before.

‘With this, I can beat it.’

I immediately leaped in front of Emily to shield her.

“Stand back!”

Using the dagger I had crafted the previous day, I attacked the [Albino Cyclops].
Cyclopes typically have one major weak point—their eye. Striking it would stun the creature and render it immobile for a time.
I initially thought I’d have to assess whether my attacks were effective enough to decide whether to escape with Emily or take down the monster.
However, to my surprise, I split the cyclops in two with a single strike.

‘This skill is incredible… I’ve never seen anything like this before.’

It must’ve been some sort of joke or challenge added by the game developers.
There’s no other reason they would include a skill that instantly burns weight to increase power.

‘…The problem is...’

[System: Time remaining to restore weight—13 minutes]

‘Damn it, where am I supposed to find food in the middle of this forest?!’

Then, it hit me—Emily.
In the game, there were food items, though they weren’t much use for healing in the later stages.
Still, they existed.
I quickly approached Emily and asked.

“...Food.”

“...Huh?”

“Do you have any food left? I need something, anything.”

Emily immediately pulled out food.
She seemed... kinder than usual.
Normally, she wouldn’t want to be near me, much less touch me. She’d usually avert her gaze as if looking at trash.
But now wasn’t the time to dwell on that.
I didn’t know how much food I needed to eat.

‘The sandwich... it's absorbing into my body...!’

I began devouring the food as quickly as I could.
Luckily, Emily kept providing me with more food without hesitation.
For some reason, she seemed like an angel today.
Is this how the people who usually benefited from her kindness saw her?

[System: Target calorie intake reached. Skill has been deactivated.]

“Phew, thanks. I was really in trouble, but you saved me.”

I almost died.
I patted my now full stomach and thanked Emily... Wait, what?

“...Huh?”

Emily’s voice sounded hollow.
Why was she looking at me like that?
Oh, right. Thanks to the skill, I’d slimmed down for a bit.
Anyone would be shocked to see me suddenly gain weight again like this.
I should explain...

“N-no, no....”

But Emily, still in a daze, began muttering under her breath, her face darkening.

“...That’s... my first love...”

“Um? Oh, no need to thank me. We helped each other out—”

“No... no, no, no! NO!!”

Was she really that desperate to thank me?
Even though I told her it was fine, she stubbornly denied it.
Then, suddenly, she shot to her feet.
Wait—weren’t her legs supposed to be hurt?

“......”

She stared down at me.
But her eyes weren’t shining like an angel’s, nor were they filled with disgust like usual.
Instead, they were filled with shame and fury, and her tearful eyes looked like they could explode at any moment.

“Noooooo!!”

With that scream, Emily turned and ran away.

"...What the hell was that about?"

Well, at least she’s alive, right?
Everything worked out in the end!

With Emily gone, I immediately got to work.
Unexpectedly, things had turned out better than I’d hoped.

‘Emily left in such a rush... but that means all of this is mine.’

Humming to myself, I pulled out the knife I had made and began harvesting the materials from the [Albino Cyclops’s] body.

“Woohoo! This guy’s even carrying gems! Super lucky!”

In this world, gems hold value beyond mere money.
Starting with magic stones that contain mana, there are also four elemental gems, each imbued with the power of their corresponding element.
The gem I found on the [Albino Cyclops] was green.
That meant it held the power of wind.

‘Judging by the size, it’s not a high rank.’

In the game, items would be automatically labeled with their rank, but in this reality, I had to estimate based on size.
It seemed to be about a D-rank.
Still, even a D-rank gem could be used to imbue weapons or armor with elemental attributes, making it a great find.
I placed the gem in my new spatial pouch.
I couldn’t feel its weight, but knowing it was there made my heart race with excitement.
Additionally, the [Albino Cyclops’s] hide was extremely rare, thanks to its albino title.
The hide of a giant-type monster was thick and tough, perfect for crafting armor or selling at a high price.
Then there were the bones.
Sure, the process of cutting through the skin and extracting the bones was stomach-churning, but it was necessary.

‘There’s even a thing like the “Bone Sword.” I should give it a shot.’

Materials from boss-level monsters were valuable, especially in the early stages of the game.

‘Too bad I can’t use this.’

In the game, even if you targeted the weak point, you could still use the cyclops’s eye as a crafting material.
But in reality, the eye had been completely destroyed by my knife.
It was disappointing, but there was nothing I could do.
I placed all the materials into my spatial pouch.
Even with all the cyclops’s materials inside, it didn’t feel any heavier.

“I knew getting this pouch was the right choice.”

The spatial pouch had made a huge difference in my life.
Satisfied with the results of my little adventure, I returned to the dormitory.

Emily Epiris locked herself in her room after her dangerous adventure.

‘No, no, this isn’t happening.’

She pulled her blanket over her head, replaying the events of the day in her mind.
Her life had been in danger.
A one-eyed monster.
Then, a dashing prince appeared to save her.
But that prince was... eaten by a pig.
The prince had suddenly turned into a pig wearing a prince’s skin.

‘It can’t be... He was my first love....’

Back when she had been saved by the knight from the noble, she hadn’t fully understood the feeling of love.
After entering the academy and chatting with her peers, including handsome male friends like Adrian, she had slowly started becoming aware of such feelings.
But Ken Feinstein?
The more she thought about it, the more confusing it became.

‘What am I thinking...?!’

Emily despised fat men. No, she hated them.
Every time she saw one, it reminded her of the noble who had tried to take her.
That noble had looked at her with lustful, lecherous eyes.
Remembering it made her skin crawl.
That’s why she was so conflicted now.
She had felt her heart race when Ken saved her, despite her deep-rooted hatred.
Her trauma was denying him, but her heart kept telling her otherwise.

‘...But he really was cool.’

She couldn’t help but think back to the moment he saved her.

‘Why won’t that pig just lose some weight!’

Then she remembered the way he had patted his bloated stomach.
Emily resented him for it.
If he was going to lose weight and look handsome, why didn’t he do it sooner?
None of this would’ve happened.
She wouldn’t have treated him with such disdain, nor sneered at him every time they crossed paths.
Everything could have been different.

“No,” she muttered, wrapping herself tighter in her blanket.

“Yes, none of this ever happened.”

Lost in a swirl of trauma and first love, Emily made up her mind.
She chose denial.

“I never had a crush on that guy.”

It was a denial of reality.

“None of that ever happened.”

And that denial...

“Hey, pig. Didn’t I tell you to be here in ten minutes?”

“Kyaah! Emily, you’re so mean. Look at the pig, he’s panting!”

“That’s what he gets for not losing weight. When Emily calls, he should come running.”

A few days later, on a rainy day, Emily had her foot planted firmly on Ken Feinstein’s head.

‘Right... I never had a crush on someone like him...’

As if trying to prove her point to herself, Emily joined in with the group she despised and tormented Ken Feinstein.
And Ken, who was used to being bullied by them, lay there with his head pressed under her foot, thinking:

‘...Didn’t I just save her a few days ago?’

More than the physical pain, Ken was overwhelmed by the unfairness and confusion of the situation.

[System: Emily Epiris’s sexual arousal is rising.]

“...Hehe.”

Ken’s mind grew even more bewildered as the status message flashed before his eyes.