The following week settled into a comfortable, if monotonous, rhythm for Masao: school, diet, exercise repeat.
The only variable in his new routine was Jahy.
The demon had taken to visiting his school with increasing frequency, treating the campus as her personal snack bar. He could only watch her mooch with a sense of resigned amusement.
A part of him wanted to shake her and ask, What happened to gathering the mana stones and reviving the Demon Realm?
But he never voiced the thought. The fate of the Netherworld was, frankly, not his problem.
Beyond Jahy's culinary adventures, the week wasn't entirely without event.
The doujinshi he'd published through Sayuri Sawamura had begun to circulate, and after a week of quiet fermentation, its popularity exploded. It was a hit. The exquisite artwork and… stimulating… narrative had found a fervent audience.
Readers praised it in their forums and private chats, creating a buzz that rapidly drove up sales. The surge was especially pronounced over the weekend.
By Sunday night, the system's counter for Corruption Points was climbing at a dizzying speed.
—
Seated at his computer that evening, Masao stared at the system interface, a grin spreading across his face.
He much preferred this—viewing his status on a monitor—to having it projected directly into his skull.
The success of the doujinshi was undeniable. The initial print run of 10,000 copies had vanished. The bookstore, anticipating this based on the book's quality, had immediately commissioned a second run, bringing the total to 50,000.
Rumors were already circulating that this batch, too, was selling out, and plans were being drawn up for a third run to hit 100,000 copies.
These were staggering numbers, even for a mainstream commercial manga. For a doujinshi, it was unprecedented.
He knew this initial explosion was fueled by the marketing campaign and the shout out from Kashiwagi Eri; this velocity would inevitably slow.
But the store's analysis suggested that a work of this caliber had legs. Selling several hundred thousand copies was almost a certainty, with a genuine shot at the hallowed million-copy milestone.
The financial rewards were as sweet as he'd dreamed. After the first batch sold out, a royalty payment of 2 million yen (13000 USD) landed in his account. Another 8 million (32500 USD) was due in a week.
For the first time in his life, Masao could confidently say that he was financially independent.
But the money was only half the prize. The system's Corruption Points, which had languished near zero, now blazed a triumphant trail past 100,000, settling at a satisfying 123,456. He finally had the currency to browse the system's shop.
His eyes went straight to the two available items.
[Random Talent x1 | Price: 100,000 Corruption Points]
[Random Item x1 | Price: 10,000 Corruption Points]
His decision was instant. He purchased one Random Talent and two Random Items.
The talent was for his own growth; the items were an investment into the future… ventures.
[Ding. Obtained: Random Talent x1.]
[Ding. Obtained: Random Item x2.]
With the superstitious thrill of a gamer pulling for a top-tier SSR character, Masao moved his cursor and clicked on the Random Talent.
"Come on, gold. Don't fail me now."
[Ding. Congratulations, Host. You have obtained: Free Attribute Point x1.]
Masao blinked. "…What?"
'A Free Attribute Point? What was that supposed to be?'
He stared at the notification, his excitement giving way to confusion.
"System, explain. What is a 'Free Attribute Point'?"
[Free Attribute Point: An attribute point for the Host to use freely.]
Masao's eye twitched. "…"
"That's not an explanation, that's a tautology. What does it do?"
[Would the Host like to enable the Attribute Panel function?]
"The what? Since when was that a function?"
[This function was enabled after the Host obtained their first attribute point.]
"'Was enabled'? It just happened!?" he muttered, scrolling through the system menu. As if it had been there all along, a new "Personal Attributes" tab now sat neatly in the interface. "Could this thing be any more slapdash? A little fanfare wouldn't kill you."
With a sigh, he clicked the new tab.
—
—
[Name: Tanaka Masao]
[Gender: Male]
[Age: 18]
[Strength: 7]
[Agility: 3]
[Constitution: 7]
[Spirit: 8]
[Luck: 6]
[Charm: 2.5]
[Talent: [Tireless] (As long as you draw breath, your stamina is limitless.)]
[Free Attribute Points: 1]
—
—
A long silence descended upon his room.
He could just about stomach the Agility score of 3—it fit the image of a clumsy, overweight student. But the 2.5 Charm? That wasn't just a low score; it felt like a deliberate, calculated insult from the system.
Shaking off his indignation, he decided action was better than complaint.
That unsightly 2.5 was about to become history. He willed his single Free Attribute Point into the Charm stat.
[Ding. Allocation failed. Please select again.]
Masao's jaw tightened.
"…System," he said, his voice dangerously calm. "Explain this failure. Now."
[Ding. Increasing Charm via the system initiates minor physical adjustments to optimize the Host's appearance.]
[The system detects the Host is currently undergoing significant voluntary weight loss. Forcing a Charm increase now would trigger a rapid, non-volitional reduction in body mass.]
[This would cause acute physical stress and a corresponding decrease in Strength and Constitution.]
[For the Host's safety, the system has locked Charm allocation until body weight stabilizes.]
The explanation was logical. So, his bulk was the primary anchor dragging down his Charm score.
Using the point now would essentially melt the fat away unnaturally, making him weak and sickly in the process.
"…I see. So you do have my best interests at heart," he conceded, the fight draining out of him.
2.5 it would remain, for now. Health trumped vanity.
A new curiosity sparked.
"System, what's the target? What weight do I need to hit to get Charm upgrades?"
[Ding. Calculating…]
[The Host's physiologically optimal range is 70 kilograms (150 lbs).]
[Proximity to this range minimizes physical strain during system-assisted optimization.]
"Seventy kilos?" He did the quick math. "That's… over fifty pounds to lose."
It was a mountain of a goal, far off in the future.
Still, he wondered. Once the fat was gone, what would he find underneath?
"System, At 70 kilos, what would my base Charm be?"
[Ding. Calculating…]
[Under ideal morphological conditions, at 70 kilograms, the Host's Charm would be: 5.]
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