I went to the gym, and after changing into my workout clothes, I headed straight back to the treadmill. At this point, it was starting to feel like my personal territory. Not because I loved running or anything, but because it was the easiest way to game the system a little.
I was basically trying to cheat my way through things by stacking two mini-quests at the same time. If efficiency had a face, it would probably look like me abusing a treadmill.
Two hours later, I managed to pull it off again.
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⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
COMPLETED!
*Spend 2 hours in the gym
Reward: 10+ STRENGTH, 5+ STAMINA
*Run at least 10 miles
Reward: 10+ STAMINA
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
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⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
Leon:
STATUS:
STRENGTH: 100
STAMINA: 115
AGILITY: 60
INTELLIGENCE: 120
LOOKS: 75
S-SKILL: 60
CHARISMA: 15
COMMUNICATION: 56
LUCK: 60
REPUTATION: 6
INFAMY: 88
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
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Looking at my stats like that felt… satisfying.
Like watching numbers go up in a game you've been grinding for hours.
Slow progress, but real progress.
I leaned back for a bit and took a break, letting my breathing settle.
Two hours on a treadmill was no joke, even if I made it look like I had things under control.
While resting, I noticed the gym girl again.
She had been glancing at me earlier.
Not in a creepy way or anything, just quick looks here and there.
When our eyes met, she quickly looked away.
Nice save. Totally not obvious at all.
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⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
Lisa
Affection: 10♥︎
Mood: 60♥︎
Lust: 40♥︎
Status: Curious
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
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Curious, huh.
That was new.
I hadn't really seen that kind of status before. It wasn't negative, but it wasn't exactly positive either. More like… she was trying to figure me out.
While I was still thinking about that, the system popped up again.
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⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
NEW QUEST!
Lisa seems curious about you. Why don't you ask for her number?
Reward: 10♥︎ Affection
Requirement: 50 COMMUNICATION
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
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I didn't expect a quest involving her this early, but at the same time, this was exactly how the system worked. It didn't really wait for the "right moment." It just threw opportunities at you and expected you to act.
Still, there wasn't much downside to trying. I already met the requirement, so it wasn't like I'd fail instantly or anything.
So instead of overthinking it, I stood up and walked toward her.
The moment I got close, she immediately looked down at her phone, like she was suddenly very interested in whatever was on her screen.
Right. Because that totally wasn't obvious.
Now the question was how to actually start this without making it weird.
I figured I should just keep it simple. And there was no need for some over-the-top approach. If anything, trying too hard would just make me look like a creep.
Maybe just go straight into it.
"Hello, can I ask you something?"
She looked up at me, a bit surprised.
"Yes? What is it?"
"Can I ask for your number?"
Just straight to the point. It felt a bit blunt, but at least it was honest.
"You want my number?"
"Yes. Is that okay?"
I kept my tone calm, like this wasn't some big deal.
"It's fine, but… what are you planning to do with it?" she asked. "You don't seem like the type who just walks around asking girls for their numbers randomly."
Fair enough. That was a reasonable question.
I paused for a second, then gave the most straightforward answer I could.
"Well, I'm… possibly interested in talking with you, I guess."
"Interested? As in you're attracted to me?"
"Yeah… you could say that."
She stared at me for a moment, like she was trying to read whether I was serious or just saying that for the sake of it.
"Hmm… okay," she said eventually. "But I want to ask you something first."
"What is it?"
"You're not taking any medication to build muscle faster, are you?" she asked.
That caught me off guard a bit.
Medication?
"I'm not," I said.
"Are you sure?" she pressed. "Can you lift your shirt for a moment?"
That was… unexpected.
I didn't really understand why she wanted that, but I didn't see any reason to refuse either. My body had improved enough that it wasn't embarrassing to show anymore.
So I lifted my shirt slightly.
She leaned in a bit, looking more closely. Her expression shifted from neutral to something more curious.
"Have you worked out before? Or like do biking or anything like that?"
"Yeah, a bit. Not very often though."
"I see… that explains it. You're lean. You don't have big, bulky muscles, but your body is still well-defined. It just doesn't look like someone who's using anything artificial."
Then, without thinking too much about it, she reached out and touched my stomach. Her fingers brushed lightly against it, like she was checking for herself.
A second later, she froze.
Then she quickly pulled her hand back.
"S-Sorry… that was a bit weird."
"It's fine," I said, lowering my shirt again.
She looked slightly embarrassed now, her gaze shifting away from me.
"Well… if you're interested, then I guess I can give you my number," she said.
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⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
COMPLETED
Lisa seems curious about you. Why don't you ask for her number?
Reward: 10♥︎ Affection
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
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"I think having some kind of communication between me and customers is a good thing," she added, trying to sound casual again.
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⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
Lisa
Affection: 20♥︎
Mood: 60♥︎
Lust: 50♥︎
Status: Interested
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
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Her status changed.
From Curious to Interested.
Not bad. Actually, better than expected.
I couldn't help but think about how strange this whole system was. Things that normally wouldn't work out this smoothly somehow just… did.
Like everything was being nudged in my favor, just enough to make it work.
Honestly, I wasn't going to complain.
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⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
NEW QUEST!
Lisa might be interested in talking to you more. Why not invite her out for dinner?
Reward: 2♥︎
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
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Looks like the system was nudging me to take the lead here. It was basically throwing me the ball and expecting me to make a move. Well, not like I had anything urgent going on anyway. And 2♥︎ as a reward, even if it was small, wasn't exactly something I could just ignore. It wasn't huge, sure, but it wasn't useless either. In my current situation, even small gains mattered.
I could definitely use it to boost my funds. Right now, my finances were not exactly in a good place. I had around 5♥︎ saved up, and I was planning to use that for adding features to the internet cafe. That alone already felt like stretching things thin, so getting more ♥︎ on top of that was honestly a relief. More resources meant more breathing room, and I needed that.
"Hey, I was actually planning to grab dinner at the diner next to the gym. Do you want to come with me?" I asked her.
"Ah… I'm still working, though," she replied, looking a bit apologetic.
"I see…"
Well, that didn't go the way I thought it would.
For a moment there, I had this assumption that anything the system pushed me to do would automatically go my way. Like it was some kind of cheat code for life. Clearly, that wasn't the case. So it had limits. Or maybe it just guided instead of guaranteed.
"If you're willing to wait until my shift is over… then I'm okay with it."
Okay, so it didn't completely fail either.
That actually told me a lot.
I was starting to understand how this system really worked. It wasn't forcing outcomes, it was just opening doors. Whether things worked out or not still depended on the situation. AFFECTION seemed to be the key stat here. Everything else probably supported it, but AFFECTION was clearly the core. The rest, like mood and lust, felt more like conditions or bonuses depending on what you were trying to do.
At the end of the day, though, everything revolved around AFFECTION. And of course, whatever her current status toward me was.
I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if someone's affection reached 100♥︎.
Would something unlock? Would it trigger some special event? Or would it just sit there, maxed out, like a completed bar in a game?
Honestly, I had no idea.
I hadn't reached that point yet.
But I wanted to, eventually.
For now, I just stayed where I was and waited for Lisa to finish her shift. While she worked, I noticed that she kept glancing at me from time to time. And every time she did, there was this faint blush on her face.
That caught me off guard a bit.
Based on how she looked, I honestly thought she'd be more on the cold or slightly snobbish side. You know, the type who keeps things distant. But turns out, she had a softer, almost shy side to her.
It wasn't exaggerated or anything. Just small, natural reactions that made her seem more approachable.
Kind of cute, actually.
At this point, I had 7♥︎ in total.
I figured I might as well convert the 2♥︎ I just earned into credits.
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⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
Total credit: 22,876c
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
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Having actual money would probably be more useful in the long run. Still, I didn't convert everything. I kept some of it just in case. It felt smarter that way. You never know when you might need it for something unexpected.
After waiting for a while, she finally finished her shift and came out. She had changed into casual clothes, which made her look more relaxed compared to earlier.
"Sorry for the wait," she said.
For some reason, hearing that made it feel like we were about to go on a date.
I mean, technically, it kind of was one.
"It's fine. I didn't really wait that long," I said.
"You waited for two hours, though."
When she said it like that, it sounded a lot worse.
Still, I didn't regret it.
During that time, I had actually managed to increase my STRENGTH and STAMINA.
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⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
Leon:
STATUS:
STRENGTH: 110
STAMINA: 130
AGILITY: 60
INTELLIGENCE: 120
LOOKS: 75
S-SKILL: 60
CHARISMA: 15
COMMUNICATION: 56
LUCK: 60
REPUTATION: 6
INFAMY: 88
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
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The weird part was that it didn't even feel like I worked out that much.
Last night, my arms felt like they were about to fall off. It was that kind of soreness that makes you question your life choices. But now? Nothing. There was no pain, no stiffness, nothing at all.
It was like my body had already adapted.
Not that I was complaining.
"Shall we?" I asked, shifting the focus away from that.
· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·
We headed toward the restaurant near the gym.
It was only about a hundred meters away. Close enough that we could've just walked there without any issue.
But I still chose to take my motorcycle.
This was Dusk City. Leaving something like that out of sight felt like asking for trouble. I wasn't about to risk it getting stolen.
Lisa got on behind me, and of course, she had to wear a helmet. Luckily, when I bought the motorcycle, it came with a spare one. Two helmets, just in case you had someone riding with you.
Convenient, honestly.
I thought she might hold onto me while we rode. You know, the usual thing. Arms around the waist, that kind of stuff.
But she hesitated.
Probably not comfortable wrapping her arms around someone she barely knew.
So instead, she held onto the sides.
Fair enough.
After parking, we went inside the restaurant.
It had a family-style vibe. Nothing too fancy and nothing overly decorated. It was just a simple, comfortable place where people could eat without feeling out of place.
And clearly, it was doing well.
Even though it was already nighttime, there were still quite a few customers inside. Definitely more lively than the restaurant I previously worked at.
After ordering our food, we took our seats.
"I'm sorry for not asking this earlier while we were talking, but… what's your name?" I asked.
Even though I already knew her name because of the system, she hadn't actually told me herself yet. Might as well do things properly.
"Ah, right… my name is Lisa. I'm a sports science major. How about you?"
"My name is Leon. I'm a business major."
"A business major?" she asked, raising her eyebrows slightly, like she genuinely didn't expect that answer. "That's honestly surprising. I thought for sure you'd end up in the same major as me. Or maybe something like Kinesiology or… I don't know, something along those lines."
I had absolutely no idea what kinesiology even was. It sounded important, though. Or at least complicated enough that I probably should've known it.
"So, where are you studying?" she continued, clearly curious now.
"At Burton University," I replied.
"Burton? That's… kind of far from here, isn't it?" she said, her tone shifting into something closer to disbelief. "I really thought you were studying somewhere nearby. I didn't expect you to be coming all the way from Burton. So why even bother coming here? Out of all places, you chose CoreNova?"
"Well, I was looking for a decent gym that wasn't too inconvenient to get to," I said. "Then I came across this place. It had pretty good ratings, so I figured I'd try it out."
"Wow… you're kind of picky, aren't you?" she said with a small smile. "But I guess that's not a bad thing. Some gyms lately have been doing some shady stuff anyway, so being careful makes sense."
"Yeah, exactly."
At some point, the conversation just started flowing more naturally.
It didn't feel forced anymore. It was like we'd known each other longer than we actually had.
"So?" she said after a moment, tilting her head slightly. "What made you suddenly decide to go for a gym with high ratings? Are you trying to impress someone or something? Like… building yourself up for a reason?"
And right when she asked that…
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⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
NEW QUEST!
Lisa is trying to learn more about your relationship status.
Tell her yes
Reward: -10♥︎ Affection, 20♥︎
Tell her no
Reward: 5♥︎ Affection
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
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The system popped up again, like it always did, completely uninvited.
I stared at the options for a second.
Honestly, I was leaning toward saying yes. That 20♥︎ reward was hard to ignore. It was way better than just getting 5♥︎ AFFECTION. Still, I couldn't help but think about the downside.
Losing 10♥︎ AFFECTION wasn't nothing.
But then again, I could just use the ♥︎ I gained to bring it back up, right? In theory, I'd still end up with extra.
Yeah… that sounded like a solid plan. Almost too solid, actually.
"Well… you could say that," I answered.
The moment the words left my mouth, she froze.
Then, just as quickly, she went back to normal, like nothing happened.
"I see…" she said.
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⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
COMPLETED
Lisa is trying to learn more about your relationship status.
Tell her yes
Reward: -10♥︎ Affection, 20♥︎
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
═══════════════════════
Just like that, I gained 20♥︎.
Compared to gaining a small amount of AFFECTION, this felt way more useful.
My plan here was simple. Use some of the ♥︎ to fix the drop in AFFECTION, and still keep the extra.
If I had picked the other option, I would've only gained 5♥︎ AFFECTION. So mathematically, this was clearly the better choice.
I was basically outplaying the system at this point.
Or at least, that's what I thought.
Because the moment I tried to put 10♥︎ back into her AFFECTION…
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⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
You can't use ♥︎ to increase AFFECTION at the moment.
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
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…Wait. What?
I just stared at it for a second.
This was new. Completely new.
This had never happened before.
"What the hell is this?" I muttered under my breath.
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⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
There are limits to how much ♥︎ you can use on AFFECTION.
You may only apply up to 10♥︎ within one week. After reaching that limit, you must wait before adding more.
AFFECTION cannot be adjusted as easily as other stats like LUST and MOOD. Unlike those, it has restrictions.
Additionally, if AFFECTION decreases, it cannot simply be restored using ♥︎. You must take actual actions to increase it again.
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
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So… there were actual rules to this?
Rules that the system conveniently never mentioned before.