[System Card]
[Theme: Enough with the Romantic Comedies]
[Drawn 15 Points (Pseudo). You may freely combine options from the list below.
Positive buffs deduct points; selecting negative effects increases points.
Note: Please make a decision within twenty-four hours.
All option effects will last for one month.]
——Positive——
-6:
[Gentleness Aura], [My Superman], [Lucky Lecher]
-4:
[Flag Raising], [Bond], [Trigger], [Assist]
-3:
[Initiative], [Dullness], [Attraction]
——Negative——
+3:
[Brother Cheng's Blessing], [Orthopedics' Blessing], [Whiteology's Blessing]
+2:
[Vulgarity], [Sea King], [Irresponsibility]
+1:
[Timidity], [Missed Opportunity], [Oblivion]
——
Ryu looked seriously at the entries generated by the System Card this time, feeling quite disappointed in his heart.
Although he knew this thing had high randomness—it wouldn't hit the theme he needed every time, nor would it necessarily contain abilities suitable for him—it was just like gacha; one was always full of anticipation before the results came out.
"Romantic comedy, huh... bringing this up now?" Ryu curled his lips.
Leaving aside his complete lack of interest in this theme, even if he changed his nature one day and decided to throw himself into a gentle embrace, he absolutely didn't need these entries to lower the difficulty of his conquest.
However, since it had already spawned and there wouldn't be another System Card this cycle, he might as well try to study it. Maybe he could find something useful?
"[Flag Raising]... I see, it acts as a prompt after an event occurs indicating that a capture route is available... [Dullness]? What the hell... pretending not to understand when someone confesses, so others just think you're dense and affection points won't drop... I have no intention of being a herbivore protagonist!"
After pondering for a while in his room—since these weren't the combat-oriented entries he cared about—he quickly made a decision.
He chose one negative entry to scrape together eighteen points, then used seventeen of those points to redeem four positive entries.
Negative:
[Orthopedics' Blessing]
Positive:
[My Superman]
[Bond], [Assist]
[Initiative]
——
Among them, [My Superman] was an option with unclear specific effects, yet it tempted Ryu quite a bit.
If it performed well over the next month, Ryu felt he might even buy it outright.
Its description was rather vague. Simply put, when an "important person" falls into a predicament, once one determines to take action, their deeds will be "divinely aided"!
There were no specific numerical values, nor did it state the probability of success, but connecting it to various classic romantic comedy tropes, it likely referred to something akin to luck or idealistic willpower.
After all, the upper and lower limits of such works are extreme. Liberating a chuunibyou girlfriend from psychological trauma is "My Superman"; chatting and laughing with a father-in-law who rules the galaxy for the sake of an alien wife can also be called "My Superman".
—It is hard to predict matters of the love-addled brain!
For an ability with such great uncertainty, Ryu was still willing to take a gamble.
He was more focused on the precondition of "important person." If the target object here wasn't limited to lovers but could also be family, friends, subordinates, and the like, then Ryu would essentially possess a strong luck buff with extremely wide applicability.
Although it was only worth a "6" and wouldn't be strong enough to interfere with the law of causality, sometimes one just lacks that tiny bit of luck and idealistic effect!
The following two, [Bond] and [Assist], were aura effects that worked on "companions." They could increase the bond with people around him, thereby amplifying cooperation effects. Then, when falling into a predicament, those around him would also initiate more assists.
Old romantic comedy clichés... but Ryu wanted to see if they could work on other matters.
The only one he was determined to buy was [Initiative]:
Based on bonds and affection levels, it grants others a certain degree of stimulation, increasing their enthusiasm and capacity for action.
If placed in a youth movie, it would probably only serve to prompt the male and female leads to confess, or let the rival make a proactive move. But if applied to Ryu... Heh!
Employee enthusiasm will definitely skyrocket!
As for the sole negative entry, Ryu played a little trick:
[Orthopedics' Blessing]
—I don't even have a sister, so why should I be afraid of this!?
This morally offensive entry had zero lethality against Ryu; it was equivalent to getting points for free~
"There aren't any big moves this month... let's have a good rest."
Ryu handled everything, let out a long breath, and lay down on the bed. With his current constitution, sleep was no longer a necessity, but he still maintained his usual routine.
[Demon Brain] allowed his muscles to relax completely, from internal organs to nerves, and finally, the activity level of his brain gradually lowered, entering a state of deep dormancy...
——
"Hello everyone, I am Yuuki Asuna."
The beautiful girl with chestnut hair wrote her name on the blackboard and bowed to the students in the classroom. Her crisp, pleasant voice compelled people to feel fond of her.
"Because I enrolled early, I should be younger than everyone else. If I show any immaturity, I hope everyone can be understanding... Please take care of me from now on~"
The homeroom teacher, who taught Japanese, laughed softly. "So strictly formal. Although she's young, her etiquette is quite thorough. Boys, rejoice; the beautiful girl power of this class has increased again~"
The class erupted in laughter. The boys were naturally delighted, and the girls were also quite happy—Asuna looked exactly like that type of well-behaved girl.
Unrushed in every move and completely composed, Asuna radiated the atmosphere of a noble young lady. She blended into this campus, which was full of wealthy young ladies, quite harmoniously.
"Then... go sit next to Fujiwara-san."
The teacher thought about finding someone familiar and popular to help Asuna adapt to the new environment as quickly as possible, and immediately spotted Chika, whose eyes were shining.
"Okay."
"Over here, over here!" Chika impatiently helped her pull out the chair. "We'll be neighbors from now on, Asuna-chan~"
Calling her "-chan" upon first meeting?
Asuna blinked and played along with a perfect, polite smile, though in reality, she wasn't very good at dealing with people like Chika. Of course, that didn't mean she disliked her, but rather envied, or was even a little jealous of her.
This was probably due to family upbringing; Asuna couldn't be as free-spirited as Chika.
"Please treat me well from now on, Fujiwara-san."
"Just call me Chika~"
Chika was obviously very excited, while Asuna wore an expression of being overwhelmed by the favor.
Perhaps because she was a year younger and her body hadn't fully developed, when Asuna and Chika were placed together, they looked like a big sister and a little sister—the gap appearing larger than the reality.
"Everyone here is very nice, so you don't need to be nervous, Asuna-chan~"
Chika pointed a finger: "By the way, the one on your left is Kuse Ryu-kun."
"Kuse..."
Asuna was obviously stunned upon hearing this, and her body froze.
Chika's eyes lit up. "You're shocked, right? Just as I thought! I've wanted to see someone's reaction to hearing this for a long time. Thank you, Asuna~"
"Fujiwara?" At this moment, the teacher on the podium couldn't hold back anymore. "What are you muttering about?"
"Here!" Fujiwara responded subconsciously. "I didn't say anything!"
"Class is starting soon; don't get distracted again." Glancing at her helplessly, the teacher shook his head.
"Got it~"
"Yuuki-san, don't be influenced either... Of course, Fujiwara is a good child; she simply wants to build a good relationship with you."
"I understand, Sensei." Asuna sat in her seat and bowed slightly, appearing extremely polite.
It made the teacher lament that "there are levels even among young ladies"~
After that fuss, the teacher began the formal lesson. Chika also put away her restless heart and listened seriously, occasionally taking a few notes—grades directly affected the amount of her allowance, so she absolutely couldn't be careless.
Asuna also sat down properly, trying hard to calm her mind, but she still couldn't help but steal a glance to her left while the teacher droned on.
Less than a meter away from her, in the window seat, a black-haired youth with bright eyes was flipping through a book with a lack of interest. He seemed to have separated himself from the entire classroom, caring neither about what the teacher nor the classmates said, simply killing time on his own.
Compared to the photos on the news, the real person seemed to have even more of an aura—the girl took a quick glance and immediately withdrew it, focusing her gaze on the blackboard, though her eyes were slightly unfocused.
The Yuuki family was quite a wealthy clan. Asuna's father was the CEO of [Rect]. Although he resigned to take responsibility after the SAO scandal, he remained the chief seat at the board meetings. Because he had clung to the Kuse family's thigh, his status had actually become even more transcendental.
Her mother was a university professor, a typical intellectual woman who practiced elite education on her children. Needless to say for Asuna's brother, even though she was a girl, she was still strictly required to excel.
It could be said that her upbringing was a bit like Ruri's, except the maid Miss had the Cinderella script and was much more miserable than Asuna in all aspects~
Therefore, despite being only sixteen, Asuna was not a sheltered young lady who knew nothing of the world. She could vaguely guess her parents' intention in arranging this transfer.
One had to know that she wasn't a student of the Shuchiin Junior High division; she was originally at another noble girls' middle school. Yet her family suddenly made her enter Shuchiin, and she even skipped a grade to enter the second year of high school directly.
This arrangement was too abnormal and too abrupt. The only reason Asuna could think of was her current neighbor on the left—Kuse Ryu!
Most likely, her family wanted her to build a good relationship with this noble young master, or perhaps even go a step further... To place such high hopes on a sixteen-year-old girl to do this kind of thing sounded a bit too cruel.
However, although Asuna guessed her parents' intentions, she didn't know how to respond to their expectations.
After all, just keeping up with the second-year high school curriculum was strenuous enough. Although she had indeed finished the corresponding courses, Shuchiin's level was much higher than the girls' academy...
Father, Mother, I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you—Asuna glanced inadvertently, and Ryu happened to turn his head thoughtfully as well, scaring her into blinking rapidly and pretending to naturally shift her gaze away.
________________________________________
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