Rowena stamped both forms, hard, the desk shaked a bit. Then she shoved them to the side like she couldn't be bothered anymore.
She yawned, covering half her face with her hand. "Right then. Welcome to the bloody guild," she said, her voice flat, bored, like she just wanted her bed.
She turned and walked into the room behind the desk.
Liu Yang's foot tapped faster on the floor. His head was yelling inside.
"Tick tick tick… damn it, why she moving like snail when my boobs got a bloody timer on them?!"
She leaned close, whispering soft, "Master… patience…"
"Patience, my ass," he muttered, gripping his skirt like he was gonna rip it.
After what felt forever, Rowena came back with two cards in her hand. She dropped them on the desk.
"There. Adventure cards. Magic. Official. Proof you're in the guild now. Don't lose it."
Liu Yang's eyes lit up. He snatched his card quick, not even waiting for her to finish.
"Yes, yes, thank you, bye now!"
He grabbed her wrist and dragged her to the door in a rush.
Rowena blinked, then just shook her head. "Rude little sods," she mumbled, yawning again.
Liu Yang's brain was on fire as he ran out, his boobs bouncing with every step.
"Hold, damn it… just a few more minutes… don't poof now, not inside the guild…"
Liu Yang pushed the guild door open hard with one hand, the wood hitting the wall with a bang. With the other hand he was dragging Blah Blah outside, fast.
His chest was pounding, his head hot. He muttered low, "Just a bit more, just a bit more, at least outside the guild—"
Then the System screen popped in front of his eyes.
[Time's Up]
[Charm Morph — Deactivated]
Poof.
In one blink his body twisted back. The skirt was gone, the chest was gone, horns came out, white hair fell down, his jaw sharp, his red eyes glowing again.
He looked down at himself. His boobs were gone. His skirt gone too. His chest flat, body slim, sharp jaw back in place. White hair falling messy, and those two small horns poking out again.
His jaw dropped open.
"Ohhh no. Ohhh crap. Why outside the guild door?!"
He slapped his forehead, bent forward like he was about to faint.
"If this happened one step earlier, Rowena would've chopped my head clean off and tossed me in the bin!"
She was holding her guild card with both hands, her eyes big and shiny.
"Master, you look cool again… like scary cool. Demon lord cool."
Liu Yang dragged his palm down his face, groaning loud.
"Cool? COOL?! If anyone sees me like this, I'll be demon kebab before morning breakfast!"
Liu Yang didn't waste a second. He pulled his hand over his head, covering the horns, and dashed down the street. Before it was boobs he had to hold, now it was his damn horns. His steps loud, his hair flying.
She followed behind, calm like nothing. Still in her human girl form, no sweat, no panic. Her level made it easy for her. She just jogged like a stroll in the park.
After running for a bit, Liu Yang's eyes caught a narrow gap between two houses. An alley, dark and quiet. He stopped, panting, chest rising hard. He looked up.
Two chimneys. No smoke. No light from the windows. Both houses looked dead. Empty.
He nodded quick. "Good. No one lives here."
He grabbed her wrist and pulled her inside.
"Let's go inside the alley."
He bent low, his back against the wall, crouching under the shadow where no light reached. His hands still holding his horns down tight. His breath rough.
"Crouch down," he hissed, waving his hand at her. She tilted her head but followed, lowering herself beside him, her long hair falling over her shoulders.
Inside his head he whispered, serious.
"System… status. How long till my MP fills up again?"
The System screen blinked open in front of his eyes.
[Current MP: 80 / 780]
[Estimated recovery: 15 minutes, 32 seconds.].
Liu Yang let out the breath he was holding.
"Okay… fifteen minutes. That's not bad. Just hide here like some rat in an alley. Then bolt back to the forest."
He crouched low, hands covering his horns, eyes darting left and right. His chest rose and fell heavy.
And then his brain slapped him.
His eyes shot wide, his face pale. His jaw dropped open like the ground just fell under him.
"…Wait. No. No no no. Noooooo."
He smacked his forehead hard, his voice breaking.
"I didn't pick a quest! I went through all that pain, humiliation, skirt-flashing marathon, the boob-bounce Olympics—and I walked out without a bloody quest?!"
He froze.
His lips twitched.
"…Bloody?"
His head turned slow, like gears squeaking.
"Wait a second… did I just… say bloody?"
He clutched his chest, looking like someone stabbed him.
"Oh gods no… I've caught it. That damn Rowena virus. She infected me!"
His shoulders dropped, his face blank.
"What's next? Tea and biscuits? Do I start calling people love and darling too?!"
He fell back against the wall, eyes empty.
"…What the hell am I even doing with my life…"
The sky was changing. Dark blue breaking. The sun was crawling up slow, and the first thin ray of light cut through, falling across the roofs and chimneys. It wasn't bright yet, just a faint glow, like the world was waking up.
At the same time, the screen flickered in front of his eyes.
[MP: 780 / 780]
His lips stretched wide. Full. Finally.
He didn't waste a second.
"Alright… let's do this."
He shut his eyes, thought hard.
[Charm Morph – Female]
His body changed in a blink. Chest heavy, skirt hugging his legs, hair long brushing his shoulders. He groaned inside, but no time to cry about it.
His feet kicked the dirt, and he ran. Fast. Faster. Like a bear breathing down his neck. His boobs bounced wild with every step, his skirt flying up as he dashed down the empty street.
The guild door smacked open loud when he pushed it with all his strength, slamming the wall so hard the echo ran wild through the hall.
He rushed inside, and he was breathing hard, his chest moving up and down as he tried to catch his breath, and at the same time his eyes were moving around like he was searching for something.
Then he noticed the quest board on the left side of the hall, and once he saw it, he kept staring at it really hard, and his legs just kept moving on their own until finally he was standing right in front of it.
Papers were all over the board, some of them nailed down, some pinned with little pins, and a few were straight like someone actually took their time.
But most of them were crooked, stuck there in a rush like whoever did it didn't really care how it looked.
Each paper had the same little writing at the top Rank, Party Required, Solo and he looked hard at them checking every quest from left to right top to bottom his head tilting trying to make sense of the letters F... E... D... all the way up to C.