Chapter 26: Rewards and the Exploit Warning
[You died.]
[Simulation End]
[Evaluation: Excellent]
[You have changed significantly. You displayed courage and sincerity. You controlled your anger and refrained from taking it out on others. Your actions were admirable—something most people could never achieve. However, it was not enough. She did not truly become independent and strong; you merely gave her an object to rely on. This is not true salvation.]
[Furthermore, is one-sided sacrifice truly what normal love looks like?]
[Judging by the result, do you consider this a Perfect ending?]
[First time achieving a positive evaluation. Unlocking Notification Feature.]
[Reminder: For each simulation, rewards for each specific evaluation rank can only be claimed once. You cannot repeatedly farm rewards.]
[Rewards: Partial Physical Attributes Enhancement, High School Knowledge (Max), Partial Memory Fragments from the Simulation, Talent Selection Rights (x2).]
***
In reality.
The change began.
Haruka felt the muscle fibers throughout his body slowly writhing and tightening, quietly strengthening. Knowledge that he previously couldn't grasp in his mind was now being solved effortlessly, as if he had suddenly gained enlightenment.
At the same time.
Fragments of memory flashed through his mind.
There were scenes from the Cultural Festival stage, memories of fighting for first place in exams, getting into Meiji University, negotiating business deals, opening the company, practicing countless songs...
Most of the glorious moments from the life in the simulation were present in these fragments.
Aside from these, inevitably, Shoko was always present in the memories. She was there on the stage, she was there resting after exams...
She was in every single memory.
"..."
Haruka closed his eyes, his breathing shifting from heavy to rhythmic.
It was a long time before he opened his eyes again.
"I didn't expect this simulation to feel so long."
Unlike the first two times, this simulation had spanned a significant amount of time. However, on the flip side, the evaluation had finally broken through, reaching "Excellent," second only to "Perfect."
The rewards obtained were also far superior to those from the "Extremely Poor" and "Bad" ratings.
At the very least, right now, he felt his body was abnormally strong. Without using any technique, relying solely on brute strength, he felt he could knock down several grown men.
And then there was the knowledge. He had now mastered all high school knowledge. He didn't even need to think when looking at a problem; the answer would appear directly. If he were to take the exam now, he absolutely wouldn't struggle like he did in the simulation just to barely scrape into Meiji University.
Most importantly, the memories. They contained a vast amount of experience in running a company, dealing with people, and understanding the development of current events. If he could obtain all of it, it would be like suddenly gaining the instincts of someone far older and more experienced—someone who already knew how the world would unfold. With that kind of insight, he could completely turn his life around.
(Though he wouldn't let that happen; it was too easy to fall into the philosophical trap of identity crises.)
Unfortunately, because the lifespan in the simulation was so vast, these memories were very fragmented. Their only real function was to give him a bit more experience in various professions.
Musician, athlete, capitalist...
Moreover, there were side effects. He needed to take a moment to recover. For a split second just now, he really thought he had a scar on his heart named Shoko.
But now, he could view these memories calmly.
He could no longer resonate with the tragic emotions of the simulation. It was like watching a movie.
"This simulation was worth it. However, my natural talent really isn't that great. Even with hard work and the foundation from the first simulation, I barely managed to get into Meiji University."
Haruka lamented the gap between a genius and an ordinary person.
In fact, although this society was extremely stratified, there were other paths, such as becoming a novelist.
Or a manga artist.
Etc.
But it was actually hard to stand out in those fields. Countless novels and anime were axed every year. Even if he brought works from his past life, they would need localization, and there was no guarantee they would become hits. Furthermore, in terms of social status, there wouldn't be a substantial change.
All in all, education was the only consistent ladder to the top here.
That was why Haruka was grinding so hard at it.
"I wonder if I can eventually reach the peak of human potential through simulations… or even surpass it."
Looking at the reminder text, Haruka felt the difficulty would be immense.
There were six types of simulation evaluations: Extremely Poor, Poor, Bad, Good, Excellent, Perfect.
In Shoko Nishimiya's simulation, he had already triggered Extremely Poor, Bad, and Excellent.
In other words, there were at most three chances left to get rewards from her.
Poor, Good, and Perfect.
"It's not letting me use an exploit."
He originally planned to run a simulation every day, looping nonstop to strengthen himself until he reached a godlike level.
Now it seemed...
Exploits weren't that easy to abuse.
"It's fine. What I've gotten from the simulation so far is already pretty good. I just need to keep working hard."
After comforting himself, a slightly depressed Haruka began to study the new items in the rewards.
[Talent Selection Rights (x2)]
He focused on the panel.
An explanation appeared.
[In the next simulation, you can use this privilege to select one talent from ten randomly appearing talents to bring into the simulation. You may also use the second right to select an additional talent.]
"Talent?"
This feature, which should've been standard for a simulation system, hadn't appeared even once in Haruka's previous three runs. He didn't expect that it would only be granted after achieving a positive evaluation.
And looking at the description, it was gone after use?
A one-time consumable?
Trash!
"There is definitely something wrong with this Love Simulator!"
***
Early morning.
Haruka prepared breakfast for Sora. He looked at Sora, who had just walked out of her bedroom. "Sora, hurry up and eat. You're going to be late for school!"
"Mm, mm, mm..."
Sora was wearing white pajamas, dragging a plush rabbit toy in her hand as she sat down at the table in a daze.
Because the pajamas were too loose, half of her shoulder was exposed.
Sora didn't seem to notice.
Haruka's mouth twitched.
If it were before, he wouldn't have even looked, as he was used to it. Even knowing the plot of the work from his past life wouldn't have caused any emotional fluctuation. But now...
After watching last night's simulation...
He knew what his twin sister would do in the future. Looking at her now...
His heart was suddenly a little unsettled.
Haruka could only lower his head slightly.
He quickly finished his breakfast.
Opposite him, Sora's movements paused slightly.
Breakfast was finished.
"I'm leaving."
"Bye-bye, Onii-chan!"
Because they didn't attend the same school, they didn't walk together in the morning.
Walking to the street corner, Sora suddenly turned back to look at Haruka.
In her clear, dark eyes, there was a trace of confusion and hidden joy.
***
Arriving at school.
Haruka set his plan for the day.
First.
In a little while, he would take down those guys trying to bully Shoko Nishimiya.
Then, he would take Shoko to find the Service Club.
Yukino Yukinoshita and Yumiko Miura—these were qualified friends who had passed the test of the Simulator. They would be helpful to Shoko Nishimiya.
As for what came after that?
Haruka didn't have any specific thoughts. He planned to let nature take its course.
The simulation was the simulation, and reality was reality. He was very clear on this point.
Therefore, he wouldn't project the emotions from the simulation onto the real Shoko Nishimiya.
Of course, he would still look after her a bit.
That wasn't a conflict of interest.
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