"Ugh... my head hurts."
Was it the hangover from all the booze I drank yesterday?
My head throbbed like mad.
'But did I... sleep on the floor?'
The cold sensation against my back made me crack my eyes open just a sliver.
"Where... is this?"
A filthy alley.
It looked like a perfectly ordinary back alley,
yet for some reason, the path seemed oddly labyrinthine.
"Is this really Korea...?"
There wasn't a single sign you'd expect to see in a typical Korean back alley.
Eerie, no signs anywhere... not even a hint of another soul around.
"Why does my voice sound like this...?"
My voice was strangely thin and delicate.
And down below... breasts, like I was wearing a swimsuit...?!
I hurriedly groped at my crotch. My precious little buddy was gone. Nothing there at all—just the smooth, slick feel of the swimsuit fabric.
'Wha... what the hell is this?!'
A scream of shock nearly escaped my lips, but instinct made me clap a hand over my mouth.
The creepy back alley had me on edge already, and now an overwhelming wave of dread was crashing over me.
The feeling that someone was watching me from behind.
'What's going on? What the...?!'
From the circumstances, it seemed I'd been gender swapped.
My voice was all soft and girly, my skin silky smooth, and my breasts were huge.
When I'd touched my groin earlier, I'd felt hips that were perfectly shaped—ideal for childbirth, the whole package.
'Someone... anyone... explain this to me!'
But that gaze prickling my back kept me from uttering a single word.
A sticky, obsessive stare.
They say when you encounter a tiger in the wild, its gaze alone can overwhelm you.
I could feel the eyes of an apex predator—like a tiger—raking over my back with horrifying persistence.
"Ugh... please... someone... help..."
My body was starting to go limp.
Logically, I knew getting up and backing away would give me the best shot at escape,
but instinct was overriding everything, leaving me on the verge of collapse, defenseless.
"...Status Window...! Rulebook! Guide!"
I suddenly remembered the genre of that webnovel I'd been reading before passing out drunk.
It was a survival story against monstrosities, the kind where rulebooks or status windows popped up.
'Please... dumped into this mess out of nowhere—if there's not even something like this, I'm done for.'
⚔ STATUS WINDOW ⚔
📊 Current Status: Chills, Fear Reading the Rulebook will free you from the Fear status. Would you like to read the Rulebook?
"Yes!"
By some miracle, both appeared.
I had a million questions—why was I here instead of my bed after crashing drunk last night, why in this body—but this wasn't the time to dwell on it.
Because... that gaze from behind felt like it was slowly drawing closer.
⚙ RULEBOOK ⚙
Current Nearby Monstrosity: Alleyway Stalker
Never look behind you.
1-1. Never look at the monstrosity's face. The moment you do, you become 'subjugated' by that entity.
1-2. Subjugated humans lose all right to refuse the monstrosity's actions.
Never reveal your real name. The moment it learns your name, it will appear not just behind you, but in front as well.
If the entity touches you, ensure it doesn't last 3 minutes or longer unless you're in motion.
3-1. Allowing it to touch for 3 minutes or more will be interpreted as 'permission,' leading to full sexual activity.
3-2. It doesn't matter if you're moving.
If the entity makes a 'request,' positively consider or accept everything except direct sexual acts.
4-1. The monstrosity must give a reward to humans who accept its requests.
4-2. Rewards are usually useful powers or aids to overcome the current ordeal.
4-3. 'Direct sexual acts' refer to penetration.
If the distance to the entity widens, stand in place and close the gap with it.
5-1. If you move more than 10m away, it will randomly appear within 10m nearby.
5-2. It usually appears to the side or behind, but there's a very low chance of it appearing in front.
If you reach a dead end, place your hands on the wall and stick out your hips.
6-1. Taking this pose will subject you to a 5-minute 'punishment.'
6-2. There are 3 punishment options; you must choose one.
6-3. Once the punishment ends, the wall will disappear.
This entity fully adheres to the Monstrosity's Three Great Laws.
7-1. The Three Great Laws are: [It does not lie, It does not begin before the Rulebook is read, It does not use violence not specified in the Rulebook.]