The Troublesome Client

He slowly approached the Witch, who sat on her icy throne, chin propped on her hand, as if daring him to begin.

“Then, I’ll gently begin with effleurage,” he announced. “Typically, starting from the extremities, farthest from the heart, helps with blood circulation—”

“Enough with the explanations.”

“Ah, yes, ma’am.”

He would begin with her feet.

Kneeling before the Witch, he carefully lifted one of her pristine white feet.

“Then, I shall begin.”

First, he needed to gently stroke the muscles with effleurage, to loosen them and assess their condition.

Just as he was about to lay his hands upon her—

‘Oh, right.’

‘I almost forgot that crucial step.’

To survive this deadly massage, he had to employ every trick in his arsenal.

Gazing at the Witch’s pale foot, resting on his knee, he declared with gusto:

“Let me touch you all over!”

[Skill activated.]

[The recipient feels no repulsion from the caster’s touch.]

[Skill ‘Ah, Just Let Me Touch It All You Want!’ is active. Upon contact with the caster’s hand, the target experiences a slight pleasant sensation.]

He began the massage, doing his utmost to appear unfazed.

His movements were fluid and natural, as if this were merely a routine performed before every massage.

Yet, a persistent prickling sensation on the crown of his head compelled him to glance upward.

“……”

His eyes met the Witch’s, which regarded him with the genuine disdain one might reserve for an insect.

What good was eliminating repulsion from his touch when the skill’s very name was repulsive?

Cold sweat trickled down his back.

‘Why, of all things, such a skill name?’

“Ahahaha… that’s just a little ritual of mine before starting a massage…”

He stammered out the excuse, then, fearing a block of ice might come flying his way, swiftly resumed the massage.

****

An hour had passed since the Baekje Guild entered the Witch of Bitter Cold’s domain.

“Stay alert! One wrong move and you’ll be devoured!”

The Awakeners who entered the domain were elite, handpicked from both the Baekje Guild and neighboring guilds. Yet, maintaining their composure in the brutal blizzard, where even keeping their eyes open was a struggle, proved incredibly difficult.

“Never let go of the torch!”

They had scoured every available resource for items that boosted cold resistance, but having procured them in haste, few were truly effective. Among the meager collection, the most valuable item was the ‘Torch of Resistance,’ owned by the Busan Guild.

This item, which boosted cold resistance by an impressive 20 but offered no other benefits, had been relegated to the warehouse, a useless treasure. Without it, they wouldn’t have dared to even contemplate entering.

“Any word from the rescue team?”

“They’re still searching! We haven’t received any reports of survivors yet!”

‘That’s hardly surprising,’ he thought.

This bitter cold was no ordinary chill. It was an artificial, magic-infused frost, generated by the transcended being’s immense power.

Even Awakeners, with their enhanced bodies, could barely endure and press forward. How could an ordinary person possibly withstand such an onslaught?

Moreover, the closer they drew to the source, the more the temperature plummeted, and the wind bit with the sharpness of a blade.

Inevitably, even among the elites of the Baekje Guild, some began to falter and fall behind.

“It’s so cold…”

“…Wh-what…?”

The relentless bitter cold chipped away at their minds, and through the fissures in their resolve, the cold surged in.

The moment they surrendered themselves to the chill—

“H-hey!”

“Healer! Where’s the healer!”

In a terrifying instant, their bodies froze from the bones outward, transforming them into solid blocks of ice.

“…This is hell…”

It wasn’t the first time they had witnessed someone frozen in such a manner. On the contrary, they had seen countless such victims, passing them by.

Every resident they had encountered lay frozen to death in this very state. And now, the same casualties were occurring among the elites of the Baekje Guild.

It was enough to shatter the carefully suppressed terror within them. To make matters worse, the worst-case scenario, one they hadn’t dared to imagine, had now unfolded.

“M-Monsters!”

Whether they were born from the bitter cold itself, or had been hidden deep within some undiscovered dungeon, cold-attributed monsters surged forth in droves.

“Maintain formation! Never let go of the torch!”

Under normal circumstances, these monsters would have been easily dispatched. However, they were now strengthened by the bitter cold, while the Awakeners themselves struggled just to endure the environment.

Though the monsters were eventually repelled, a significant number of casualties were sustained.

“We’ll… deal with the aftermath later. Conserve even a little bit of your stamina. There will be more monsters.”

Cha Yeongho’s words were uttered slowly, as if he were grinding each one between his teeth. Though anticipated, the damage was immense. And this was just the first battle.

If this was how they fared against common monsters, he couldn’t even begin to fathom what facing the transcended being known as the Witch of Bitter Cold would entail.

‘Of all times, this had to happen when the Guild Master went to Seoul…’

If only their Guild Master, a High-Ranker of Baekje, had been present, they wouldn’t be suffering such severe losses right now.

‘No, I must think positively. If the Guild Master can return with the Rankers from Seoul…!’

Even a transcended being could be fought. For High-Rankers were truly monsters who could shake the earth and cleave the sky.

With renewed resolve, Cha Yeongho took heavy steps toward the heart of the bitter cold and shouted:

“One hour! Just one hour, and the Guild Master will arrive, leading the High-Rankers from Seoul! Our role until then is to assess the situation and clear a path! Endure! Survive with all your might!”

“…Yes!”

****

Only after confirming a faint smile gracing the Witch’s lips could he finally relax somewhat.

He had begun with an unimaginable tension, dozens of times greater than the overwhelming nervousness he felt when receiving his first client after starting his work. Fortunately, his body, accustomed to years of practice, moved adeptly.

‘Still, what a truly perfect body.’

The Witch’s physique, which he had assessed during the massage, was nothing short of flawless. Her skin was so soft it felt as though his hands might melt, and her musculature was exquisitely firm.

He had massaged several famous celebrities and Awakeners, but none possessed such impeccable muscles and skin.

‘Now that her legs are done…’

It was time to move upward. On the Witch’s shoulder, a sparkling handprint gleamed enticingly. It was time to touch it.

Carefully lowering the Witch’s leg, he slowly rose.

“My Lady Witch, I will now perform a scalp, neck, and shoulder massage.”

The Witch, who had been enjoying the massage with her eyes closed, frowned sharply upon hearing his voice.

“Just do it as you see fit.”

“Understood.”

She was the quintessential demanding client.

As he moved behind the Witch, he realized a significant problem. Her icy throne rose considerably higher than her back, completely obscuring her from view when he stood behind it.

Yet, he couldn’t very well massage her while staring directly at her face. Thus, he had no choice but to speak again.

“Um… My Lady Witch, this chair needs to be…”

“Truly, you are more incompetent and useless than an insect.”

Though she punctuated her sentences with ‘insect,’ the Witch immediately complied with his request. The ice forming the backrest melted like wet cotton candy, reducing its height to about her lower back.

Thanks to this, the Witch’s pristine neck and shoulders were starkly revealed. And there it was—the sparkling handprint he needed to touch.

Feeling his Adam’s apple bob, he began the massage. His plan was to start with the scalp, move down the neck, and then to the shoulders.

‘For the scalp, I’ll begin with firm friction.’

He had learned during the leg massage that the Witch only offered a satisfied smile when he kneaded with all his might. Even her calf muscles, which would normally ache for any ordinary person, were no exception.

Therefore, he pressed firmly into her scalp with his fingers, using all his strength, gradually moving downward naturally. After massaging her scalp with the firm friction of his thumbs, he moved to her neck, employing the four-finger kneading technique—extending his four fingers, placing his palm on her neck, and gripping it as he massaged.

He couldn’t be certain, but he imagined this would satisfy her. He finished the neck massage more quickly than usual and moved down to her shoulders. It was incredibly difficult to ignore the sparkling hand shape, which seemed to beckon him to touch it.

‘Finally…!’

He placed his hands on the Witch’s shoulders. Touching this spot for five seconds would allow him to acquire one of the target’s random abilities. The System was absolute, so it wouldn’t be a lie.

Therefore, all he had to do was knead her shoulder for five seconds using the kneading technique that worked the muscles. He placed his hands directly over the sparkling shape and began to massage her shoulder.

‘Has five seconds… always been this long?’

Though it shouldn’t be, was the Witch somehow discerning his intentions? Perhaps it was the extreme tension he felt, as if he were doing something forbidden.

Each second felt like an hour.

Soon, the five seconds would be up—

“There.”

“Y-yes?”

Startled by the Witch’s sudden voice, he snatched his hands away.

‘Wh-what was that?’

‘Did she notice something?’

“That spot feels good. Focus on it.”

“Ah, yes, ma’am!”

‘I got scared for nothing, jumping to conclusions.’

“Then, I shall continue.”

He placed his hands back on the Witch’s shoulders and resumed the gentle massage. One second, two seconds… five seconds finally passed.

[Condition for Unique Trait ‘Stronger with Each Touch’ has been met.]

[Randomly replicating the abilities of Aria, the Witch of Bitter Cold.]

[Acquired Trait: ‘Endless Talent’.]

[Acquired Trait: ‘Mana Dominator’.]

[Acquired Skill: ‘Witch’s Eye (S)’.]

[Acquired Attribute: ‘Ice’.]

[Acquired Stat: ‘Mana’ +120.]

[Mana has broken through its limit.]

[Stat: ‘Mana’ ascends to D-Rank.]

‘What is all this…?’

He stared blankly into the air, dumbfounded by the unbelievable stream of messages scrolling before his eyes. As a result, his massaging hands seemed to have become a little lax.

“Insect, are you unwilling to continue?”

This demanding client was the kind who would kill him if his massage technique faltered even slightly.

“Ah, no! It is the honor and blessing of a lifetime, My Lady Witch!”

Regaining his composure, he resumed the massage. What good were skills or anything else if he wasn’t alive to use them? For now, he needed to focus on the massage.

‘…But has a stat ever increased so much at once?’

When one awakens, most stats typically begin at E or F-Rank. When a stat surpasses 100, it evolves to the next rank, and each rank-up is said to represent a completely different dimension of power.

Raising stats was notoriously difficult; it was generally known that one could only do so by purchasing them from the point shop or through painstakingly repetitive training. Yet, he had increased a stat by a whopping 120 points with just a single massage.

And it was the Mana stat, which was considered the most crucial.

Moreover, the name of the acquired skill was ominous. ‘Witch’s Eye,’ it said. And an S-rank? What was that even about?

‘Ah, I need to focus on the massage.’

If his massage became lax again due to wandering thoughts, this time an ice shard might truly pierce his heart.

Several minutes passed in this manner.

‘The shoulders are done; now I need to move to her lower back…’

If he was going to do it, he should do it properly. To do it properly, the Witch would need to lie prone.

The question was whether the Witch would comply with his request again.

‘She’s indulged my requests for the sake of the massage so far, so it should be fine this time too, right?’

He must have loosened his grip on his tension a little too much. After all, the Witch had consistently worn a satisfied expression since the massage began and had granted his requests.

Perhaps that was why.

“My Lady Witch, would you mind turning over and lying on your stomach?”

He spoke to the Witch without much thought, and immediately felt a colossal pressure that seemed to crush his entire body.

“Cough!”

He couldn’t breathe properly. His body convulsed uncontrollably, then he crumpled to the ground, collapsing as if struck.

…The troublesome client was angry.