After a few hours of snuggling and suffering through Nyxara's endless teasing, I eventually found myself back in the familiar room again.
Lying there, I muttered a string of gibberish in my head.
"Status. Profile. Reveal myself. Abracadabra. Open up."
…Nothing.
No glowing screen, no mystical chime. Just silence.
And then—
[Fufu~ Hahaha! Oh, Host, what *are* you even doing? This is too adorable to pass up!]
Her laughter rang in my mind like silver bells, cutting straight into my pride.
"Hah! Nyxara, why are you laughing at me?" I demanded.
[Because watching you, a supposed 'grown man,' chant incantations like a baby wizard gone wrong is the funniest thing I've seen in ages. Really, Host, did you think yelling *Abracadabra* would summon your powers? Hahaha~]
My face heated—or at least it felt like it did, even if this baby body wasn't great at showing it. As embarrassment crashed down on me, I decided to change the subject before she laughed me to death.
I cleared my throat—or well, imagined doing so—and asked with all the seriousness of a philosopher pondering the universe, or perhaps… the universal law of pandas.
"Hey, Nyxara! You're a system, right? So you must know I should be having a status screen appear in front of me, showing my stats and skills! And also—you're a goddamn system! So you should have some broken abilities as well, right?!"
I puffed up in righteous indignation. If every other cliché protagonist got a menu screen, then so would I.
Nyxara's silence lingered for a moment… and then I felt the wave of laughter coming.
[Hahahahaha~ Wait, wait—wh-who told you that doing this 'abracadabra' thing would give you a status window? Ahahaha~!]
Her laughter was relentless, echoing in my mind like a chorus of bells made purely to torment me.
I felt my face heat up. Gone was the proud, serious demeanor I had tried so hard to maintain. What remained was a face so red it could probably be mistaken for a beetroot.
"I swear…" I muttered in my mind, but the words came out broken, buried under the weight of humiliation.
Unable to take it any longer, I buried my head deeper into the blanket, as if it could shield me from the cruel, melodic laughter ringing in the back of my head.
[Fufu~ oh, Host, you're killing me here! A mighty soul reborn… reduced to muttering spells like a baby wizard. This is priceless~]
"Shut up, Nyxara…" I groaned.
Her laughter finally simmered down into a low chuckle.
[Fufu~ Not at all, Host. Say the magic words, and I'll show you a glimpse of your power.]
I buried my face deeper into the blanket, wishing the world would just end. Dignity or answers—why did it always have to be a trade-off?
After a long silence, I peeked out from under the blanket. My ridiculous panda suit ears drooped pitifully, as if mocking me. My cheeks burned so much I thought steam might burst out of my tiny face.
And then, against every fiber of my pride, I whispered:
"P-please, Nyxara… show your adorable little p-panda his status window…"
For a heartbeat, there was silence. Then—
[Hahahahahahahaha~!!! Oh heavens, I can't breathe! My adorable Host actually said it! A tiny panda begging for his status—priceless~!]
I immediately ducked back under the blanket, my face redder than a boiled lobster. Damn it! Why did I add that adorable panda part!?
But even as her laughter rang like silver bells in my mind, a soft chime echoed—clear and undeniable.
[Status Unlocked]
Glowing words flickered before my eyes, forcing me to peek out again despite wanting to vanish into thin air.
It was real.