Chapter 26: new skill unlocked

The crazy laugh stopped as the fog and dust slowly began to clear out of the room. The wind from the door blew the remaining magic smoke out the open window, leaving the room bright and completely open to the morning sun.

As the air cleared, the outline in the middle of the room became perfectly visible. Standing right there was a young man, exactly six feet tall, with a lean, highly toned, and muscular frame. The dark, matte-black scale patterns running across my shoulders and wrists looked like sleek tattoos, making my arms look incredibly powerful. My long hair fell loosely around My face with piercing yellow eyes. It was a flawless human form.

But There was only one tiny operational issue.

I didn’t have a single stitch of clothing on.

The silence that hit the room was completely different from the terror of a moment ago. The five royal guards, who had been scrambling backward on their knees, stopped moving entirely. Their jaws dropped as they stared right at the center of the room.

Down on the floor, Suzy’s stared at me . Her face instantly turned little red that spread all the way down to her neck. She quickly spun her head away, staring hard at the far wall, pretending to be deeply not look at me . But her eyes kept trying to come back toward me, her breathing still fast and erratic.

The lead guard, who was sitting right next to the Inspector, blinked a few times. He looked at me, then slowly looked down between my legs where a massive, asset was dangling like an oversized black python. Then, he slowly turned his head to look at his boss.

"Inspector..." the guard whispered, his voice cracking loudly in the quiet room. "He has... it is significantly bigger and harder than yours, sir."

The Inspector’s face went from scratched and bloody to a strange, sickly shade of purple. He stepped backward in pure shock, his sword slipping from his fingers as his eyes locked onto the floor between my thighs.

"How... how just how does a common reptile have something that large?" he stammered, his voice trembling with a mix of professional insult and absolute disbelief.

I looked down at my new human hands, wiggling my thumbs with a huge smile. ’Thumbs! I finally have thumbs!’

Then, I felt a sudden, cool air hit my body. I looked down, tracking the guards’ gazes, and my eyes went wide as I realized I was standing completely naked in front of a full royal audit team and Suzy.

"Holy crap!" I barked out loud, my new human voice sounding deep and completely clear. I instantly jumped backward, crossing my hands over my front side in a total panic. "System! Where is the ’Corporate Dress Code’ skill?! Why am I completely out of uniform?!"

[System: Asset integration incomplete, you stupid snake! The clothing skill requires ten seconds of rest to compile the fabric matrix! You rushed the deployment! You’re currently running on a completely bare operating system!]

Down by the wall, another guard suddenly frowned, looking at the soldier who had just spoken. "W-Wait a minute... how do you even know the Inspector has a small one? Why are you checking the audit logs on that?"

The first guard froze, his face turning entirely pale under his helmet as the rest of the squad slowly turned their heads to look at him with deep suspicion.

"I... I was just making a rough estimate based on company standards!" the guard panicked, waving his hands.

"Shut up! All of you, shut up!" the Inspector screamed trying to change the topic, his voice cracking as he tried to pull his dignity together. He adjusted his torn cloak, coughing loudly to look serious again, though his face was still burning with embarrassment. He pointed his finger straight at my face. "He is an unregistered shape-shifter! He is completely unarmed and naked! Guards, execute the order! Catch him right now!"

I didn’t wait for them to move. Now that I had legs and thumbs, my system panel finally updated, flashing a row of brand-new, broken human techniques straight onto my vision.

[Human protocol form activate]

[New Skill Unlocked: ’Non-Compete Clause’ (Passive) — Grants a 20% speed and defense boost to any ally standing within ten feet.]

[New Skill Unlocked: ’The Customer Is Always Wrong’ (Active) — Your human voice carries absolute corporate authority. Interrupting an enemy spell or command completely freezes their action for three seconds.]

Using my new speed, I didn’t even slide—I ran forward on two human feet like a sprinter, completely invisible to their reaction times. I bypassed the first two guards, reached down toward the soldier who was still unconscious on the floor from the light blast, and rapidly stripped his outer tunic and trousers right off his body.

With a few quick, smooth movements of my new hands, I threw the clothes on, tying the belt tight. The fabric was a bit scratchy, but it was a million times better than standing there like a biological anomaly.

I turned around. My snake-like eyes shined through my black hair. The last four guards took out their swords and came closer to surround me.

"Your audit is officially rejected, gentlemen," I said, a human smile forming on my face as I stepped right in front of Bae Suzy, my Non-Compete aura instantly making her broken daggers hum with a dark energy.