Chapter 23: A Changed Ryuk
Navigating through the ship, Ryuk soon came across a set of rooms, and without much deliberation, he chose one and entered.
It was a large room, tiled perfectly white, with a strange, cold air filling the space. A large, fulfilling-looking bed, a student desk with a chair, a wardrobe, a mirror reflecting his image, and a few other items furnished the place.
Right now, he couldn't wait to dig into the heavy book in his hands.
He was eager to learn as much as possible, and being viewed as a barbarian who knew nothing about the world he lived in wasn't a pleasant thought at all.
That feeling would most likely worsen once he officially arrived in Grade B, and he would very much love to avoid that.
But still, he had to wash up his body. At the thought of having a proper bath, his heart thumped loudly in his chest.
In Grade E, there wasn't much water available. In fact, Ryuk only bathed once a week. Water was a very expensive commodity, and even he being able to afford a weekly bath was something that was praise-worthy—most others barely bathed within a month.
It was common, after all. Grade E wasn't much of a fanciful place to be clean or anything like that. Although Ryuk had always despised the dirt, he had eventually come to accept it.
Dropping his bag on the floor and the two books on the study table, he immediately moved toward the side door, where a bathroom was already waiting for him.
Inside the bath, there was a glass enclosure with a few weird holographic panels. Ryuk quickly stepped in, getting asked to perform some actions such as taking off his clothes and selecting the intensity of the bath.
Such things weren't present in Grade E, but Ryuk simply followed along. When it came to the bath's intensity, he chose 100% before jumping into the tub and relaxing his body.
But then, he watched in surprise as glass covered the top of the tub, and water began to fill it entirely. Ryuk's eyes widened as he instinctively held his breath, but he soon realized the water wasn't entering his nose as he expected.
Immediately, a sensation of cold and heat hit his body, sending mild pain yet comfort at the same time. He felt hundreds of hands scrubbing hard yet gently around his body.
A peaceful massage accompanied the cleaning, and soon Ryuk descended into a helpless state, remaining motionless and simply enjoying the bath.
After exactly an hour, the water began draining from the tub, and the glass enclosure retreated. Ryuk slowly rose from the tub.
"That is one of the best baths I have ever had in my entire life..." Ryuk swore, feeling teary as he looked at his own arms, finding them extra and clean.
He had never felt so neat in his life.
He was about to put on the clothes he had worn before when he stopped himself, grabbed a towel from the rack, and walked outside, moving toward the cupboard.
Opening it up, he was surprised when a pleasant smell hit his nostrils. He saw the well-arranged clothes placed inside the cupboard.
"So many clothes... and so clean?"
"It's like they've never even been worn before..." Ryuk exclaimed as his hands moved into the cupboard, randomly picking clothes that seemed to match his size.
They seemed to be made from some type of cotton yet looked flexible and smooth, almost as if they were made of wool.
The clothes included a light, long-sleeved shirt reaching up to his wrists, pure and pristine white in color, and matching trousers reaching down to his ankles.
There was even a place for new underwear, as well as some strange neck wrap clothes—something Ryuk had only heard of from a drunken hunter narrating an exotic tale.
Quickly, he began dressing up. Once done, he moved to the mirror, and immediately, his jaw dropped to the floor as his hand touched his face, gently poking his hair.
"What the hell happened?"
Right now, Ryuk himself looked almost unrecognizable from the dirt-caked boy he had been just an hour ago.
His snow-white hair, now clean and cascading over his face like silken threads, gleamed under the faint light, framing his youthful yet strikingly refined features.
His alabaster skin, flawless and smooth, contrasted with the vibrant intensity of his eyes—his right eye a clear, beautiful ruby red, and his left a shining blue emitting a faint glow as if from an unfathomable depth.
High cheekbones and a sharp jawline, formerly covered in grime, now radiated a regal, almost ethereal quality. His full red lips, curved into a subtle enigmatic smile, could disarm even the coldest of hearts.
Now, he looked even younger than his age, his lean frame exuding a quiet confidence that made it impossible to look away. His clean white shirt and trousers complemented him perfectly, making him look completely transformed—an otherworldly beauty that made even Ryuk himself blush as he stared at his reflection.
"All this from a simple bath and new clothes. Just how poor was my life in Grade E?" Ryuk thought to himself with a sad smile.
Quickly, he stole a few more glances before moving to the study table.
Right now, he had about 11 hours or so left, and during that timeframe, he had to learn as much as he could about Grade B while also achieving the first cultivation plane of Apex Energy.