Outside the window was a modern nightscape, with neon lights and the hum of engines. Yuu took off his helmet, sat up from the bed, and pondered for a few seconds with his hand on his chin.
Suddenly, he grabbed his phone beside him, opened the messaging app, confirmed Asuna hadn't sent him any messages, and then opened the chat with Kouichirou.
Before logging out, Asuna hadn't accessed the system menu. She even seemed eager to hatch the egg with him, which proved she didn't log out voluntarily. There were two main reasons for a forced disconnection: first, a device or network issue; second, someone unplugging the power or NERvGEAR.
Though just a guess, it was highly likely that Asuna's secret gaming had been discovered by her mother, leading to her being forcibly logged out. It was like a boy turning off the lights to watch adult films, only to turn around and find his mother standing at the bedroom door.
Yuu instinctively glanced at his door—thankfully, he always locked it while gaming, so no one could barge in. His phone was also linked to his virtual helmet, so if Sora needed him, he'd know from within the game.
Shifting his gaze, he sent a message to Kouichirou.
Right now, he absolutely couldn't message or call Asuna directly. Given her home situation, it was easy to imagine what would happen if she was caught playing games secretly—a family meeting was likely unavoidable. At this moment, either she couldn't check her messages, or her mother might see them, complicating things further.
Yuu wouldn't recklessly turn her attention into something negative. So, the fastest way to understand the situation was, of course, to ask his brother-in-law… Tch, to ask Kouichirou, who loved selling out his little sister.
Yuu: {Kou-nii, are you at home right now?}
Not long after, Kouichirou, who seemed perpetually online, replied.
Kouichirou: {I'm back at campus, living in the dorm now. Not to brag, but it feels amazing not being controlled by parents!}
Yuu: {…Heh, good for you then.}
Kouichirou: {By the way, why're you looking for me?}
Yuu: {Your sister got caught gaming by your mom, just got forced offline. I'm a bit worried about her.}
Kouichirou: {??? What happened?}
Kouichirou: {Wait, my mom's calling me. Talk later.}
The conversation cut off there. Yuu could only set his phone down for now, think briefly, and then open the system panel to check. Recalling something, he muttered to himself, "Is this the path to the story's end…?"
As his relationship with Asuna deepened, the rewards on the system panel grew more numerous and varied. Not to mention, his physical stats kept improving, nearly reaching the level of a professional athlete.
Though no new permanent statuses appeared, there were four one-time-use statuses: You must taunt the servant first, Early Prediction, Smooth Talk, and Gender Swap.
Unlike previous missions, Yuu was too lazy to figure them out and directly asked the damned system to explain these statuses. If it could talk but not act cute, it should at least be useful for something, right?
[Host can click the text description.]
Facing his request, the system responded coldly. Yuu chuckled, "My eyes are temporarily blind. Ask the system to explain, and they'll recover once it's done."
[…]
For some reason, though the AI system lacked emotions, there was a faint sense of exasperation. After that, Yuu got detailed information about the statuses from the defeated damned system.
The first three were straightforward: one for protection, two for prediction, three for communication. The fourth was weirder—it allowed him to change his gender at will for a day, seemingly fine for more intimate actions too. Absolutely insane.
Without hesitation, Yuu kept the second one, tossing the other three into the synthesis pool. Early Prediction was different from regular statuses; it couldn't be actively used but would trigger automatically at specific times, allowing him to foresee danger and likely avoid it successfully.
A life-saving item like this—only a fool would synthesize it. Even if it was a one-time use, it was invaluable. And the permanent status he got after synthesis surprised him.
[Spotlight (Permanent): Select one action, and all beings aware of it will unconsciously focus their attention on you, amplifying the emotions it evokes.]
"Is this an evolution of taunt…? Good thing it's controllable."
Yuu sighed in relief. If it couldn't be controlled, constantly being the center of attention for every action would be unbearable. He'd experienced a similar effect before—when he played the Perfect Lullaby at the subway station, nearly everyone who heard the piano crowded around him. Though most closed their eyes to enjoy the music, it undeniably drew all nearby attention.
While he didn't love the feeling of being a spectacle, this status could be useful in certain situations.
"As expected, I'm super lucky with status synthesis…"
Smiling with a hint of pride, Yuu turned his attention to the one-time-use skills. From the start of the mission until now, he'd collected six one-time skills, more than the statuses—unfortunately, all were proficient-level. Finding none worth keeping, he synthesized two permanent skills.
Soccer (Proficient Level) and Basketball (Proficient Level).
"Will this make me a ball master…?"
Grumbling resignedly, Yuu looked at all the skills on his panel. Billiards, table tennis, tennis, baseball, soccer, basketball… Just four more ball-related skills, and he'd achieve the Ten Ball Mastery accomplishment. This damned system was doing this on purpose, wasn't it?
An idea flashed through his mind, and he suddenly recalled the summer when he went through the Six Trials with Haruno at the sports center. If the system hadn't perfectly timed each skill and status, gradually letting him reach or surpass Haruno's level, he wouldn't have so smoothly changed Haruno's view of him, drastically closing the gap with someone so complex and troublesome.
Thinking it over carefully, Yuu was even shocked to realize that if he'd proposed those skills at the Service Club, his success rate would've skyrocketed… No, it would've been a guaranteed hit!
If the system was really behind this, did the upcoming Autumn Club Exhibition have something to do with Asuna's desires?
"Damned system, you…"
Yuu frowned suspiciously, but before he could question the system, his phone suddenly chimed with a ding-dong, and the screen lit up. It was a message from Kouichirou.
Kouichirou: {As you guessed, Asuna got caught gaming by my mom. Since it's my helmet, I got chewed out too…}
Kouichirou: {Haaa, anyway, I tried taking as much blame as I could. She can't really do much to me from far away. The important thing is Asuna… Thankfully, my mom's super rational. Her words might be harsh and cutting, but she won't yell or hit, so no need to worry too much about Asuna being in trouble.}
Kouichirou: {But she probably won't be able to play.}
Kouichirou: {By the way, if you can't meet online, why not just meet in the real world? Don't overthink it—online-to-real-world meetups are totally normal~}
Pausing the system issue for now, Yuu rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he read the messages.
"No more meeting online…?"
That meant if he wanted to achieve his goal, he'd need to start approaching Asuna now—the girl who loved splashing in artificial pools. His temporary virtual wife, the rapier-wielding, brown-haired swordmaster with a smile as beautiful as a flower, her post-bath scent more fragrant than an entire garden, who once lay under the same blanket as him—Asuna.
Perhaps from now on, there'd be no more chances to meet her…
Yuu let out a soft sigh, then shook his head, brushing off the faint sense of regret and loss. How to approach Asuna and what to do after that—he hadn't figured it out yet.
But what he could do now, Yuu already knew. He glanced at the clock, thinking hard about each step to take next, his fingers moving to type a message in the chat. In short, he still needed more information—more information about Asuna.
The cold light of the screen reflected on his face, the corner of his lips curling slightly in resignation as he sighed:
"My online girlfriend, now chasing me into the real world, huh…"