35 STR
"It says on the contract." As Randolph spoke, he pulled out a pre-prepared sharp needle from his inner pocket, handing it to the college student. "Here."
"Err… You want me to sign in blood?" Raising an eyebrow, Arnold felt the urge to laugh. "This doesn't seem very professional."
"It's a lot more trustworthy than your writing in ink. Just sign it and let's get this over with. Prick your thumb lightly, just a drop will do. Don't worry, the needle was sanitized before this."
"That's counterintuitive, but alright."
Following Randolph's instructions, the man frowned as he lightly prodded his thumb with the needle. Directly afterwards, he stamped his thumb down on the sheet of paper.
Randolph could only shake his head as he noticed the man rub his thumb around, as if to smudge the fingerprint.
"Now, where's the money?" Handing the contract back to Randolph, Arnold squared up as he glared at the former.
He straightened his back and flexed his shoulders, as if to intimidate the man with his muscles. Randolph only rubbed his chin indifferently at the sight, reaching into his pocket and pulling out three stacks of neatly tied bills.
"Count the money."
He had already confirmed the amount beforehand, and he didn't think the system would care about Arnold's agreement as long as it was the confirmed amount, but it never hurt to double check.
Arnold excitedly sifted through the bills upon receiving them. It was thirty seconds later, after three repeated checks, did he nod his head in confirmation.
"Yeah… this is it. This better not be counterfeit, or I'll take it as a breach of the contract."
"Sure, sure. Whatever. Now, it's your turn to uphold your end of the contract." Randolph's gaze remained indifferent as he observed the man in front of him.
"Fine. A drug, right? Just gimme the pill and I'll leave. You know where to find me for…" He only managed to get the first part of his sentence out before his words faltered. "What the hell?"
An intense feeling of weakness overcame Arnold's body immediately afterwards. The feeling came swiftly, sucking him of even the strength to properly breathe.
"Gah!" Gasping for air, the college student held his hands up, looking at them in shock.
As he turned them over, the parts of his skin and flesh that showed from his clothes were completely wrinkled. He didn't know when or how it happened, but it seemed as if they had appeared there randomly.
While he didn't see though, Randolph did. The wrinkles had formed while he had been talking, and they had deepened a ridiculous amount. They were even more exaggerated than an old man's, appearing more like tree bark than skin.
"Help me…" The plea barely managed to force its way out of Arnold's mouth as his knees buckled, his body thudding to the floor shortly afterwards.
He lay in a prone position as his head faced towards the sky. His body almost seemed to be deflating at a visible rate, his cheeks sinking in as his frame turned thin and lanky under his clothes, as if the muscles had the air escaping from them.
From his prone position, he could see Randolph walk up to him. His arms were clutched behind his back as he leaned forward over the gasping man.
Arnold could see his throat move, as if he was gulping down saliva at the sight – as if he was made uncomfortable by what was happening in front of him. But his gaze and his demeanor – merely watching Arnold struggle on the ground – spoke of a cold indifference, as if he was forcing the feelings back.
"You… What are you…?"
It was only now that Arnold realized that he was in way over his head. He hadn't ingested 1anything and his body had become like this. No technology was capable of producing such a feat.
A demon…
The thought flashed through Arnold's mind as his pupils dilated in terror, staring at the man looming over him from above.
Arnold, stripped of the only thing that had given him confidence – his muscles – lay on the floor helpless. He felt defenseless, weak, and small, and the freak that stood in front of him overshadowed him like a giant in front of an ant.
The only thing that gave him solace was the hint of emotion in Randolph's eyes, as if speaking that he was still human, for the moment.
But terror overwhelmed him once again as a drop of blood splattered onto his face.
Surprised, Randolph lurched backwards.
An intense soreness overcame his entire body. By entire body, he meant entire body. He could acutely2 tell that every single muscle in his body was feeling a dull, throbbing pain. His arms, legs, chest, hands, and thighs. Even his more minute muscles, such as the ones that focused on his eyes, face, fingers, glutes, forearm, ribcage, lower legs, and even his jaw.
The pain in itself was entirely tolerable, but when focused throughout his entire body, it overloaded his mind.
His nose still dripping blood, the young man staggered and almost fell to the ground, only managing to stabilize his balance at the last second.
It was ten seconds later that the feeling disappeared as soon as it had come. Randolph furrowed his brows slightly, slowly moving his hands around as he watched them carefully.
The veins in his arms, along with his entire body, were bulging out. They were strong and full of vitality, steadily pumping blood throughout his body.
It looks like I've injected my arms with horse piss or something.
A few seconds later they calmed down. Randolph watched as they disappeared back underneath his skin.
[STR Conversion Successful – Rate (7) > (5)]
The glowing orange screen popped up in front of Randolph, displaying the small line of text. He stared at it, trying to make sense out of it until a groan interrupted his train of thought.
"You aren't human, are you…?" The question was asked weakly, both because of hesitation and apparent exhaustion.
Arnold was still lying on the floor, but he had regained enough strength to raise his head.
His body had lost its shrivelled appearance, his skin regaining the firmness of youth. Though the difference between his current appearance and his last one were leagues apart.
His muscles had all but disappeared, and his cheeks were slightly sunken in and hollow. His arms and legs were thin, and while his chest still had its broadness, it seemed artificial. The loss was so exaggerated that it almost appeared as if he had lost some height. He looked like a shell of his former self.
"What gave you that conclusion?"
"…"
"Well, it doesn't matter. Just keep what happened just now in mind for later, if you ever think of breaking the contract."
