Chapter 3

Posted by Kuze, ? Views, Released on April 4, 2025

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“It’s fortunate. In that case, I can file an application for re-enrollment and retake the semester.”

“But, can you really go back to school?”

“Is there any reason I couldn’t? At the very least, I should graduate considering how much tuition I’ve already paid.”

As we were talking about university, I could feel someone looking at me strangely. It was my younger sister.

“What.”

“It’s just… I thought you had a lot of guts to be thinking about such things.”

“What, again?”

“To be honest, you’re probably the only one who would think about school right after waking up with a transformed body.”

“Well then, what else should I be worried about other than university?”

“Is there any guarantee that university life will go smoothly? As a mutant, just catching people’s eyes could lead to some really intense stares.”

Hearing her supposedly worried comment, I could only find it funny.

“Hey. That won’t last long. If I don’t do anything unusual and just attend classes quietly, the reactions will eventually fade away. Besides, I’m kind of an introvert, so I don’t even have many close friends in my department. Who would bother me anyway?”

“Tsk. You’re supposed to be my older brother, right? No, wait… are you now my older sister? Anyway, that might have been possible if you were still a man, but now that your face has changed, aren’t men going to start flocking around you?”

She did have a point there…

Now that I think about it, my current appearance could easily be called mesmerizing… and naturally, there was no way men wouldn’t flock to me.

Of course, not everyone would act this way, but the antics of a few obsessed individuals have been well-documented on university community boards.

Eew, how disturbing.

Just imagining it was enough to make me jump. The thought of some random guy following me around claiming “he likes me”? Ugh… I’m not that open-minded, so seeing that would probably give me the creeps.

“Ugh, gives me chills. Still, I think I’ll be fine.”

“What’s fine?”

“If they get too annoying, I can just show them a trick.”

“Trick?”

“Yeah. A trick where a coin can fold in half.”

“…”

“But if I show that, I doubt anyone would dare approach me easily, right?”

Confused as she was, my younger sister stared at me. I smiled mischievously, finding the whole idea amusing.

“Seeing how peaceful you are makes me feel relieved, daughter.”

“Can we just call me a son? I’m not used to this yet.”

“Calling you this way will help you adapt faster. Are you alright with this?”

“As for me… it doesn’t really matter. Whether I’m called a son or a daughter, it’s all fine. But, I do feel a little wronged.”

“What about?”

“If only I’d been like this when I was in my first year, I wouldn’t have had to go to the military. Thankfully, I’ll at least avoid the reserves.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yes. It seems like there’s a precedent. They’ve said I can skip the reserves…”

We continued exchanging small talk like this for some time.

Given how I had essentially died and come back to life, my parents had clearly been deeply concerned about me.

Of course, not my younger sister though.

Also, seeing how calm I was, they seemed reassured that things might not be that bad after all. During the three months that I had been unconscious, our family must have observed and heard how the world was changing with the advent of mutants. They probably understand better than me how mutants are perceived — both the inherent dangers and other aspects. Without observing any such risks from me, they naturally felt more at ease.

Once the family left, Doctor came by my room briefly.

Just in the nick of time as I had something to ask.

“Excuse me, Doctor?”

“Yes. Is there something you need?”

“When will I be allowed to be discharged? I don’t feel any pain or abnormalities… and I think it’s better for me to be discharged and visit regularly for follow-ups.”

“Do you want it to be that way?”

“Yes?”

“I heard from the Agent earlier that you’re already doing a good job controlling your powers. Since we can’t find anything unusual in the medical check-up either, it seems fine to follow up with periodic visits on a schedule, as your friend Seo-Hyun pointed out.”

“Oh. Then let’s do that.”

“As it’s late, you can rest in the room for now. We’ll go through the discharge procedures tomorrow, and let your family know.”

“Yes sir.”

Inside the room, with nothing else to do, I spent time flicking through the Internet on my smartphone.

Mutant discussions were all over the web now, with even dedicated community boards for mutants popping up.

As I scrolled through, I found some of it strangely entertaining.

[Damn!]

I planted a tree, and it grew so fast that it broke through the building’s roof!

What should I do?

-? Why plant a tree in the first place?

-Apparently, he’s an elf…

– ㅋㅋㅋ Elf?

-;; Yeah, the air quality without trees became unbearable, and I got tired fast.

– How are you going to pay for the building repairs?

– I don’t know, I’ll have to figure it out somehow… but why is it growing so fast?

– Isn’t that an elf’s trait?

– Even if it is, still…

– Maybe you should work at a botanical garden? You can earn some good money maintaining the grounds.

– Oh, good idea…

[Vampire Struggles]

I’m finding it so hard to get enough blood packs…

Please, all of you, go and donate blood…

Pig blood tastes so awful though.

-What flavor can vampires actually taste in the blood?

-It just tastes like blood… but it’s extremely delicious.

-Crackers for pig blood?

-Yes, I used to hate liver pudding because of its strong smell, but these days I live on just that…

There were reports of presumed elves and vampires among the mutants as well as a mutant who had fully transformed into a harpy, growing wings.

It really felt like the realm of fantasy was stepping into reality.

Of course, it wasn’t all easy or pleasant.

[Argggggg What’s Up With This Guy?!]

If only he could control himself and just live quietly…

Why make so much trouble in the street? It’s already hard enough being a mutant without adding unnecessary drama.

-Once he picks a fight, I’ll go beat him up.

-Really?

-Of course, no one’s going to pick a fight with him… that clearly is a Minotaur-type mutant. You’d be lucky not to get squashed!

-Still, the mutants who suddenly get short tempers are the most pitiable.

-If his control is that bad, how can he even behave like that? The proportion of mutants who don’t cause trouble is much higher.

-That’s also true. Above, the vampire controls himself, sticking with blood packs and liver.

[Seriously, all sorts of races are popping up!]

Reality has become pure fantasy!

Elves, dwarves, harpies, vampires, animal hybrids…

I’ve even heard about slimes.

Is there a dragon somewhere?

-Probably. But if there was, it’d cause chaos.

-And they breathe fire out of their mouths, right?

-I do remember hearing rumors in the hospital a while ago. They said that there was a mutant suspected of being a dragon.

-Really??

-Yeah, around the two-month mark, when I woke up. They said that there were still people who hadn’t finished transforming.

-Heyyyy, you’ve been a mutant for two months? That’s rare…

-Yeah, I’m an elf-type, but they say I’m not really like a regular elf.

-High Elf, maybe?

-Yeah.

-If dragons exist, wouldn’t they be scary…? It could cause a catastrophe.

-Not sure, but the doctor says the longer the transformation takes, the more mentally stable one becomes.

-Is that true?

-Yeah. Personally, I didn’t feel any mental disarray either.

-Interesting… What makes a High Elf different from a regular elf?

-Hey… I’ve never met an elf, so I don’t know really, but… I can hear plant voices.

-Minimal chat

As I scrolled through these posts, one about a “late mutation” possibly into a dragon resonated with me, since the possibility was high that it could be referring to me.

I didn’t expect my story might show up here.

Perhaps this “High Elf” they spoke about is the same person I saw at the hospital.

Afterward, I kept searching online for stories about mutants.

The more I read through the history of mutants, the more it felt that every possible bizarre incident had already occurred.

Well, with fantasy breaking into everyday life, if nothing happened, that would be stranger.

I chuckled at some of the lighter stories while taking the more serious ones into account, and eventually got ready to sleep.

When I woke up, the room was already bathed in morning light.

As I scratched my tousled hair absentmindedly, my hand brushed against the horns.

“…Ah.”

Hard, yet spiraling smooth, jet black horns.

It’s hard to get used to. Humans tend to feel curious enough to touch growths on their heads, but this is literally horns!

I kept touching the horn lightly, but no particular sensation came from it. Through touch, it feels like a solid, firm cow horn.

They mentioned I have wings and a tail, too, though I have no idea how to summon them. The wings are something I’d like to try out eventually… but maybe, they’ll appear when the moment comes.

I spaced out for a while, then remembered I needed to contact my family.

It was… 9 AM. This time is early enough that my mom should already be awake.

Lazily, I dialed her number.

“Huh? What’s the matter?”

“Mom, it seems I’m allowed to be discharged starting today.”

“Huh?”

“It’s because my condition is very stable, and I don’t need to practice controlling strength in daily life since I’m already doing fine. They said I can just be discharged and visit weekly for updates.”

“So what are you going to do? Go straight to your dorm?”

“Uh-huh. I plan to stay there for a while… By the way, is my dorm still available?”

“Ah, I forgot about this. But I canceled your dorm. Because of the maintenance costs… Plus, when no one was living there, it felt unnecessary, so as soon as the contract ended, I canceled it. Instead, I found a nice studio apartment where you and Seo-Ah can live together.”

“Ah.”

“Also, Seo-Ah and I discussed it, and since you’re no longer a man but a woman, you might need her help in some things. That’s why we decided this. Do you mind?”

“No, no. Living together is fine. Considering, we used to live together when we were young, anyway… Also, as you said, I’ll probably need her help sometimes.”

I wasn’t particularly sad but slightly nostalgic since Seo-Ah, with all her drama, had made us get separate dorms.

“Alright, where should I go? Send me the address. Also, I don’t have any clothes to wear right now… Is it possible for you to bring some basic ones?”

“Got it. I’ll come soon, so wait a bit. Let’s just shop for clothes this time since I don’t know your size well…”

About an hour later, my mom and my younger sister arrived.

“Have you been sleeping well?”

“You saw me yesterday. Why ask?”

“You know what I mean… Can you be discharged immediately?”

“Uh-huh. I’ve already packed everything… I can just leave. Um, did you bring a hoodie by any chance?”

“Seo-Ah took care of it. She said if you just walked out like that, it’d cause a commotion.”

“Ooooh, who’d have thought?”

“What, is that so surprising?”

“Would have expected you to forget.”

“Go die.”

“By the way, let’s find some underwear for you. Might as well go to the department store.”

“Oh, and can I also get some new outfits since we’re out? I don’t have enough summer clothes.”

“You have plenty of clothes.”

“Not ones that fit for these days.”

“Fine, sure. But you better help me pick something proper for your older brother.”

I was initially surprised that my sister came so obediently, but it seems she had her own agenda. She’s probably thinking about the upcoming summer, isn’t she? It’s obvious this was her excuse to buy summer clothes.

“Sure thing. But, how about sizing? Should I measure her?”

“You measure her? And scare off all the shop employees.”

“True enough, what?”