Tanaka Kazumi was quite conflicted.
"Although Yukino's conditions are a bit lacking, I prefer Yukino's personality.
That girl named Fujiwara seems like a very outgoing girl. Girls like her are generally very popular and have good social connections.
Masao, this boy, won't be able to handle it."
Although Fujiwara Chika seemed very likable, and Tanaka Kazumi liked her a lot, she felt that Fujiwara would be more difficult to deal with than Yukinoshita Yukino.
"Damn you, Masao, why are you attracting so many girls? You're making it so I don't know what to do."
Tanaka Masao: You used to worry about me not finding a girlfriend, but now that I'm popular with women, you're starting to worry again, Mom.
Tanaka Kazumi pinched her chin and began to analyze.
"Just now, Masao called another girl to go out while Yukino was present, but Yukino didn't seem to care at all. This is not a good thing.
This indicates that Yukino's feelings for Masao haven't reached the level of love yet. I don't know much about the other girl…
But never mind, let Masao worry about such things himself."
Tanaka Kazumi gave up thinking and decided to let Tanaka Masao choose for himself.
Anyway, both girls seemed excellent, so no matter which one Tanaka Masao got, it would be like eating swan meat, a pure profit.
"But why can Masao, this boy, get to know so many beautiful women? What right does he have?
Is it just because he's my son, Tanaka Kazumi?"
…
After dinner that evening, Tanaka Masao walked Yukinoshita Yukino home.
This time, because he helped Yukinoshita Yukino carry a lot of things, Tanaka Masao got the chance to enter Yukinoshita Yukino's house.
This was his first time entering her home.
As soon as he entered, Tanaka Masao began to look around, appearing very curious about every place.
Yukinoshita Yukino walked ahead and said,
"Tanaka-kin, please don't look around."
Tanaka Masao glanced at Yukinoshita Yukino, who had her back to him.
"How did she know I was looking around? Which eye saw me?"
Although only one person lived there, the Apartment where Yukinoshita Yukino lived was quite large.
Looking at the decor, simplicity revealed a touch of cuteness, just like her personality.
Tanaka Masao came to the living room and looked around, feeling a bit disappointed.
Yukinoshita Yukino was a very disciplined and diligent person; there were no clothes thrown around in the living room, which was truly a pity.
He then looked towards the innermost door.
"That should be the bedroom, right? Yukinoshita Yukino's private room. What would the room of a beautiful girl be like?"
Looking at Tanaka Masao, who had sat directly in the living room, Yukinoshita Yukino asked, somewhat puzzled,
"Aren't you going back this late?"
"Xuezhixia Classmate, are you already rushing me away? I worked so hard; won't you offer me some hospitality and let me rest a bit before going back?"
Yukinoshita Yukino let out a soft sigh.
"Which do you want, milk or plain water?"
"Milk and plain water."
"Okay."
Sipping the diluted milk, Tanaka Masao looked out the window and said,
"The sky outside is so dark. I don't know if it's safe for me to go back alone, Xuezhixia Classmate. Can I stay overnight…"
…
Tanaka Masao looked at the tightly closed door in front of him and really wanted to shout.
"Let me in!"
But he still restrained his impulse.
"Well, Xuezhixia Classmate, I'll head back now. If you miss me, you can call anytime."
Listening to the receding footsteps, Yukinoshita Yukino, standing at the entrance, was a bit speechless.
Who would miss you?
…
Tanaka Masao returned home and was encouraged by Tanaka Kazumi.
She told him to work hard and also to be careful.
This left Tanaka Masao a bit confused. After thinking for a moment, he figured she might be telling him to work hard on losing weight and be careful not to get hurt.
So he nodded in agreement.
Back in his room, Tanaka Masao, for the first time in a while, checked the system.
Because he didn't rely much on the system, he almost always only checked it once a week when he had time.
Another reason was that even if he checked often, it was useless without degeneracy points to buy things, and would only waste his time.
"Let me see how many degeneracy points I have."
Tanaka Masao still used his computer to check the system; this was his most habitual and preferred method.
"Oh, my God, I can't believe what my eyes are seeing."
Tanaka Masao looked at his degeneracy points column, rubbed his eyes, and confirmed that he hadn't misread the decimal point.
"Over nine hundred thousand."
He had heard from Sawamura Sayuri that due to his increased fame, this week's book sales had significantly increased.
Book sales are like a parabola; there's a peak period in the middle.
However, Tanaka Masao felt that besides the increase in sales, there was another reason for so many degeneracy points.
"Thank you, my readers. They must have put a lot of effort into my work."
Tanaka Masao briefly worried about his readers' health, hoping they would eat more nutritious food to replenish themselves.
So they could provide him with more degeneracy points.
With the degeneracy points, Tanaka Masao's smile was harder to suppress than an AK.
"So many degeneracy points, I can draw cards again! But why is it over nine hundred thousand? Just a little more and I'd have enough for a ten-pull."
Fortunately, the system was quite user-friendly, allowing him to freely choose the number of single card draws.
He called out certain games here for criticism: if you couldn't gather enough for a ten-pull, you could only draw one by one, which was too troublesome.
As Tanaka Masao clicked the mouse button, the system notification sounded.
Congratulations, Host, you have obtained Random Talent x9.
Congratulations, Host, you have obtained Skill [Painting] LV1 (Skill is unique, cannot be obtained repeatedly).
Congratulations, Host, you have obtained [Skill Experience Card] x5, [Talent Experience Card] x2, [Free Attribute Point] x1.
[Skill Experience Card and Talent Experience Card have been simultaneously launched in the System Shop. Please check them, Host.]
Oh, new things again.
Tanaka Masao checked his newly acquired Skill.
[Painting] LV1 (Skill Experience Card x1 required for upgrade).
You have initially mastered the basic techniques of Painting, but you are only a beginner.
"System, what is the total number of levels for this Skill, and what are their approximate proficiency levels?"
[Skills are divided into five levels in total. From LV1 to LV5, they correspond to:
Beginner, Proficient, Accomplished, Masterful, and Peak.]
Looking at the five [Skill Experience Card] he had obtained, Tanaka Masao seemed to be deep in thought.
He first took out a piece of paper and casually drew a panda emoji.
Then he used one [Skill Experience Card].
[Ding, congratulations, Host, Painting LV1 → LV2 (Skill Experience Card x3 required for upgrade).]
After the Skill upgrade, Tanaka Masao felt his fingers suddenly become much more flexible, and using the pen in his hand became even more effortless.
He drew another panda emoji next to the one he had just drawn for comparison.
It was like when playing a game, every time a Skill leveled up, he had to find a monster to test how much his damage had increased.