[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 didn't know it would go that high, it was almost too easy," I said, peeking out from behind the building to check for enemies.
[Well, what's done is done.]
"But at this point, wouldn't the heroines lose their minds?" I asked. I couldn't see my own face, but I was pretty sure it was at a level that could knock the weak-willed flat just from a glance.
[There will be some effect, but nothing major. They're heroines, so they naturally have resistance to charm.]
Hmm.
Now that I thought about it, though, why didn't I feel any different?
[That's because this isn't the real world. Your physical body is currently undergoing changes to accommodate the charm increase.]
"So I look normal right now?" I asked, turning my attention to the building across from me. It had a large signboard that read "Supermarket" in bold letters, and that alone was enough to tell me everything I needed to know. A name like that was basically a beacon, and the place was probably packed with students waiting to jump anyone who came through the door.
But it was also a good place to earn points.
[You look the same as you do in real life for now. With each encounter, the changes will slowly be reflected there, though the effects of charm might not be as strong as they would be in reality.]
"Got it, I'll think about that later. For now, let's get some points," I said, gripping my spear and pulling the hammer free from where I'd strapped it to my belt.
Can't be too careful.
I made my way toward the building quietly, staying close to cover as I moved. It was a four-story structure, large enough that it could go either way for me, my best shot at racking up points, or the place where everything fell apart.
"So he left?" asked the girl with violet hair, holding a mana-coated sword as she scanned the area ahead.
Unlike Leo, who had completely zoned out during the instructor's briefing, Maria had paid attention to every word. She knew that after spawning into the simulation, students could select any weapon they wanted directly from their Graphto watches, but it was a one-time choice with no replacements if the weapon was lost or damaged.
"I think he did," Loren replied, his voice a little unsteady as he followed behind her.
He had initially written off her threat about making life hell for him and Leo as a bluff, but after watching her solo a high-tier mana beast by herself without breaking a sweat, he wasn't so sure anymore. This girl was completely serious, and if that was the case, he was in serious trouble.
"That bastard," she muttered, clicking her tongue as they moved through the building they'd spotted earlier with the "TZ Mall" signboard. They were trying to find the food section, which was probably what every other team was going after right now, and for good reason. If you had to survive in this place for a full week, securing food and water first was the only logical move.
Suddenly, she sidestepped and threw a clean horizontal slash.
Kink.
A sharp metallic sound rang out, then silence.
"Shit!" Loren shouted, realizing the arrow she'd slashed had been aimed directly at him.
Maria clicked her tongue and scanned the area for whoever had fired it, but there was nothing there.
"An affinity," she muttered to herself. Affinities weren't restricted during exams, so it made sense that people would use them, but she couldn't pin down exactly what she was dealing with yet.
She felt something to her right and turned, but there was nothing visible.
Then lightning began crackling along her sword and across her body, and in what sounded like a single thunderclap, she was gone, reappearing several meters away from Loren.
"Huh?" he said, completely lost.
That was the ability of a high ranker, no question about it.
She brought her sword down in a clean slash, and crimson liquid dripped from the blade onto the tiled floor. In what looked like empty air, blood began pouring out, and then a body materialized and slumped to the ground with a dull thud, its head no longer attached.
Loren's blood ran cold.
"Invisibility affinity," Maria said quietly.
But that wasn't the part that mattered. What mattered was that the person who had just died wasn't the one actually controlling the affinity.
They were in danger.