Infinite Skill Devourer
Chapter 77: Skin Reactions Or Something Else III

Chapter 77: Skin Reactions Or Something Else III

"Uhm, okay."

Yurei cast him an annoyed glance, which melted off, followed by a heavy sigh. "Your stupid action actually wasn’t totally bad."

She admitted, even though from the start it wasn’t. She just couldn’t bring herself to say it.

And now she could because she finally found something... or someone she could easily stay around without feeling any skin issues.

Just thinking about it made her want to jump and hug him out of excitement, but she kept her head high.

"I still won’t forgive you for this, though. You took my first kiss, and that’s unforgivable."

Ryuen smirked. "Let me take the other, and then you can punish me."

"Die," she spat before exhaling again. "Well, you see..." She paused and dropped the blanket from her shoulder, revealing a white tank top and black shorts that stopped above her mid-thigh.

Unfortunately for Ryuen, he immediately got hit with a wave of shock.

For instance, he hadn’t paid attention to her curves when she fought him the first time.

He was only focused on defeating her and hadn’t noticed she had a perfect pear shape.

He even noticed when he held her that her waist was actually thin, but he didn’t let his hands roam.

Yurei didn’t miss the shift in his expression. His shock was actually visible, despite how much he tried to hide it.

"What’s wrong, Ryuen?" she asked teasingly, tilting her head. "You look like you’ve just seen a ghost."

Ryuen coughed lightly, trying to compose himself, but his eyes betrayed him.

Shifting from her face to the rest of her, he scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"You’re...uh...different than I imagined under all those wraps," he admitted, averting his gaze, much to her amusement.

"Oh, really?" Yurei raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, leaning her weight on one leg.

"And what exactly did you imagine?"

Ryuen shifted uncomfortably, still avoiding her gaze.

"I don’t know... something less..." He trailed off, realizing there was no way to end that sentence without making things worse.

"Less what?" she pressed, stepping closer and enjoying the rare sight of him flustered.

He exhaled, finally looking her in the eyes. "Less perfect, okay? Happy now?"

Her smirk widened, though a faint blush touched her cheeks at his unexpected compliment.

"Perfect, huh? Didn’t think you had it in you to say something so sweet."

"Don’t get used to it," Ryuen shot back, his usual smirk returning. "I was just caught off guard."

Yurei shook her head, still smirking. "Uh-huh. Sure."

She let her gaze linger on him for a moment, then sighed.

"Well, since you’ve already seen more of me than anyone else has in years, you might as well know why."

Ryuen straightened slightly, the teasing gleam in his eyes fading as he recognized the seriousness in her tone.

"I’m listening."

She hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"My body... reacts badly to direct contact. Skin-to-skin. It’s always been like that—burns, rashes, you name it. That’s why I keep myself covered."

Ryuen frowned, processing her words.

"But... you touched me earlier. And I touched you. Nothing happened."

"Exactly," Yurei said, her tone filled with disbelief.

She still couldn’t shake off the fact that Kaori was correct.

"That’s why I’m so surprised. You’re the first person I’ve been able to touch without... well, without pain."

The moment she spoke, silence fell, and Ryuen felt a strange mix of emotions—guilt for teasing her earlier, curiosity about why he was an exception, and something else he couldn’t quite place.

Yurei noticed his silence and scoffed. "Don’t look so serious. It’s not like I’m saying you’re special or anything."

"Right," Ryuen replied, though he couldn’t hide his faint smirk. "But I am the first, huh?"

"Don’t push it," she warned, though the corner of her lips twitched upward.

"This doesn’t change the fact that you’re insufferable."

Ryuen chuckled and leaned back against the wall.

"Fair enough. But for the record, I think it’s kind of nice not being treated like glass."

Yurei blinked, her teasing demeanor fading for a moment. "Glass?"

He shrugged.

"Yeah. People tiptoe around me because of... well, things they don’t understand."

"It’s annoying. But you? You treat me like a normal person, even when you’re threatening to kill me."

He paused to look at her expression and saw that she was confused, then a sigh escaped his lips.

"What I mean is, everyone is terrified of me because of what I did in the past, except those who don’t know."

Her gaze softened, and she looked away, a small smile playing on her lips. "I understand, but don’t get used to it."

"I’ll take my chances," Ryuen said with a grin.

Before Yurei could respond, a knock sounded at the door, and Erina called out, "Dinner’s ready!"

Yurei let out a sigh of relief, quickly grabbing the blanket and wrapping it around herself again.

"Saved by the bell," she uttered.

Ryuen chuckled and headed for the door.

"Come on, let’s not keep the others waiting. Besides, I’m curious to hear more about this city and the organization."

Yurei followed him, a small smile on her face as they made their way to the dining area.

---

The dining room was cool and inviting, giving off that joyful family vibe.

The group sat at the counter, side by side, while Kaori worked on the other side.

She wore an apron that had already been set in the kitchen and worked with all that was in the fridge.

Unfortunately for her, she hadn’t realized she would be preparing a feast, considering how much the group ate.

Especially Hwa and Yurei, since food was what gave them their energy.

Erina only needed meat and a few greens, while Daiki focused on eating healthy—just rice, meat, and some fruit were enough for him.

Ryuen, on the other hand, would eat anything as long as it tasted good and was prepared right.

Kaori, however, was a picky eater.

She would only have meat if it was cooked all the way and vegetables that had been lightly cooked.

Anything raw was seen as poison, but who could blame her?

As the long table was being set with an impressive spread of food.

Yurei took a seat farthest from the center, still wrapped in her blanket, while Ryuen sat casually next to her.

The guild members were already seated, except Hwa, who was standing before the television.

And Erina, who had gone into Ryuen’s room after he left with Yurei, waiting as he had told her to.

They began chatting about the city’s recent changes and the organization’s expectations for newcomers.

From the dungeon appearances, Ryuen’s case, and the mysterious Red Spire dungeons that wouldn’t go away.

No matter how much they tried, many killed the bosses, but nothing happened.

Others tried to lock the dungeons permanently; however, the dungeons would vanish and reappear in new locations.

"So," Ryuen began, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table.

"What’s the deal with this city? It feels... different."

Daiki simply shrugged as he picked up his chopsticks. "The new members are the reason it changed."

He cast Ryuen a glance and chuckled. "You’re not the only new member. Yurei over there is also a new member."

"Except she’s been with the Vanguard longer and was transferred to the sister organization because of her unique abilities."

Ryuen’s brows curved into a frown. "Her shadow-based abilities?"

Daiki shook his head and stabbed the meat on his plate.

"She does more than that. The day she fought with you, she was barely using twenty percent of her abilities."

"Am I right?"

All eyes shifted to Yurei, who was busy eating, until she stopped with a mouth full.

She quickly swallowed and straightened up. "I don’t think it’s anything special."

"Your beast-taming ability is not special? You can summon as well as control," Daiki refuted and scoffed.

"You keep saying it’s nothing until you actually use it during a war."

She shrugged. "I hope I never do. Remember what happened last time I did..."