[USER STATS
Name: Leo
Age: 18
Class: Lunar, Year 8
Affinity: Shadow
Skills: Nil
Proficiency: 0%
Strength: 7
Endurance: 5
Agility: 10
Intelligence: 23
Mana: 200/200
Charm (AFP): 100 (Limit of Human)
Available Points:
SP: 0
AFP: -0 (negative)
+0 (positive)]
Ah.
I think I overdid it.
[You think?]
"I never knew it would go this high! It was almost too easy!" I pressed my back against the building's wall, checking both directions before peeking around the corner. No enemies in sight. Not yet.
[Well, what's done is done.]
"But at this point, won't the heroines lose their minds?" I asked. Though I couldn't see my own face, I was certain it had become so handsome that the weak-willed would faint just from looking at me.
[Well... there will be some effect, but nothing major. They are heroines, after all, so naturally they have resistance to charm.]
Hmm.
But come to think of it, why don't I feel any changes in my body?
[That's because this isn't the real world. Your physical body is currently undergoing several changes to accommodate the charm.]
"So I look normal now?" I asked.
Something felt wrong about the building across from my hiding spot. It had a huge signboard that read SUPERMARKET in bold letters. Definitely a deathtrap. Just that name alone was flame to moths—the place was probably crawling with students waiting for the right chance to pounce on each other.
But that's actually a good place to earn points.
[You look just as you do in real life, so with every encounter, it will slowly be reflected there. However, the effects of charm might not be as intense as they would be in reality.]
"I see. Well, let's think about that some other time. For now, let's get me some points."
I gripped my spear firmly, then removed the hammer that was strapped to my belt and held it ready in my other hand.
Can't be too careful.
With that, I moved quietly toward the building. It was a four-story structure, pretty large too. This place would either be my only hope or the death of me.
---
"So he left?" asked the girl with violet hair as she gripped her sword, its blade coated with mana.
Unlike Leo, who had been completely absent-minded when the instructor was explaining things, Maria had paid attention. She knew that after spawning into this world, students could pick any weapon from their graphto watches. However, that could only happen once, and there would be no replacements in case of damage or loss.
"I think he did," replied Laren nervously as he trailed behind her.
At first, he had dismissed her earlier threat—making life hell for him and Leo if they failed to get the required points—as a bluff. But after watching her solo a high-tier mana beast alone, he was beginning to reconsider. This girl before him was dead serious.
If that was the case, then he was toast.
"That bastard," she said with clear annoyance as they made their way through the building they had spotted outside—the one with the signboard that read TZ MALL.
At the moment, they were both trying to locate the food department. That was probably what everyone would be gunning for right now. It was only logical. If you had to survive in a world for a whole week, wouldn't it make sense to first secure food and water to sustain yourself through the exam?
Suddenly, she sidestepped, then threw a horizontal slash.
KINK!
A metallic sound echoed in the quiet space before a deafening silence followed.
"Shit!" screamed Laren as he realized the arrow she'd just slashed had been headed straight for him.
"Tsk." Maria clicked her tongue as she searched for the culprit at the source of the fired arrow. There was nothing there.
"An affinity," she muttered to herself.
Affinities weren't forbidden in the exams, so it was only logical that people would try to use them. But what exactly was it?
She and Laren kept their eyes peeled for any other sneak attacks.
She felt something and turned to her right. There was nothing there—well, nothing to the naked eye.
Suddenly, lightning began crackling from both her sword and her body.
Then, in a fraction of a second, with what sounded like a thunderclap, she vanished.
She reappeared some distance away from Laren.
"Huh?" he mumbled in confusion.
What did he just see? That was definitely the power of a high ranker.
And then she slashed her sword.
Crimson liquid dripped from the blade and splattered on the tiled floor. Just like that, in what appeared to be the air itself, blood began gushing out. All of a sudden, a body materialized, slumping to the ground with a dull thud.
Its head was detached from its body.
In that moment, Laren's blood ran cold.
"Invisibility affinity."
That realization wasn't the problem. The problem was the fact that the person who just died wasn't the real wielder of the affinity.
They were in danger.