A Different Kind of Sincerity

After our intense first experience together, we sat near the campfire just as we had before, with me holding Sora from behind. Perhaps because we had crossed that line, the emotional distance between us felt significantly smaller. Sora, however, had been flushed and practically silent ever since she regained her senses, clearly overwhelmed by embarrassment.

Ah, while Sora is quiet, I should check my status window. As I stared at the crackling campfire, I remembered the notification that had popped up right after I rescued her from the Giant Kobold. I quietly opened my status window without her noticing.

As soon as I opened the status window, the backlog of notifications rolled in one after another. Reading through them, I confirmed that both of my skills had been triggered. First, by blocking the Giant Kobold's attack, I had successfully twisted Sora's preordained death, which I had witnessed through my skill. The notification confirmed the successful completion of the intervention.

Hmm... So if I successfully pull this off, I can track the survivor's location in real-time... I opened my skill window and noticed a new tab labeled "Target Location" next to the Dying Message skill. When I tapped it, a radar-like interface appeared, showing me exactly which direction and how far the target was relative to my own position.

This... is going to be incredibly useful, no matter what kind of trials lie ahead. After reviewing the notifications and functions related to Dying Message, I checked the second alert. Sure enough, my second skill had been triggered by my sexual encounter with Sora.

This skill required me to choose between two options to activate its effect. Prank focused on immediately boosting my own stats, while Sincerity allowed both myself and the person I slept with to grow continuously. I stared at the two options for a brief moment before making my choice without hesitation.

Right now, the choice is obvious... I chose Sincerity. Even if I chose Prank right now, it would only boost my stats by 30% of Sora's current stats. Since we were still in the early stages of the trials, 30% of her stats wouldn't amount to much. Moreover, we were currently stranded in the middle of a dangerous Trial Zone, with no idea when we might run into another rampaging Giant Kobold. If only I got slightly stronger here, I would probably just end up running for a few more minutes before getting caught and slaughtered anyway.

I'm going to choose Sincerity, but... There was one problem. If I chose Sincerity, Sora's stats would also increase alongside mine. If her stats suddenly shot up out of nowhere, she would definitely find it suspicious.

Hmm... I fell ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠into deep thought. Should I tell Sora the truth and navigate this crisis together, or should I play dumb and pretend I had no idea why her stats went up? My hesitation didn't last long. Sora had dragged my unconscious body all the way to this cave to save my life. She had even confessed her lies and their dire situation to me first, even though I already knew about them.

In that case, I should do the same... Since I was choosing Sincerity, I would have to grow together with Sora as we climbed down the Tower. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, we would likely remain in a party together for a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠long time. Lying to her now would only sow seeds of discord later. Having made up my mind, I softly called out to Sora, who was still hanging her head with flushed cheeks.

"Sora."

"Y-yes? W-what is it?" Startled that I had broken the silence, Sora stammered in surprise. Before we slept together, she had such a loud, boisterous personality. Seeing her so embarrassed that she couldn't even speak properly made her look incredibly cute.

I let out a soft chuckle and took a deep breath to prepare for the serious conversation ahead. "Whew... Hey, Sora..."

"Yeah?" Sensing the sudden shift in the atmosphere, she swallowed hard, looking tense. I wasn't the most eloquent speaker, so I hesitated for a moment, organizing my thoughts before continuing.

"You said earlier that you lied to me, right?"

"Y-yeah, I did...?"

"To be honest, I lied to you guys too."

Hearing this, Sora looked up in surprise, turning her head to look me straight in the eye. She quietly waited for my next words, her gaze demanding an explanation.

"I... lied about my skill. Actually, I don't have a defense-related skill..."

Unable to predict how she would react, I spoke very carefully, watching her expression closely. Sora remained calm and continued to listen, so I kept talking to explain further.

"My actual skill is a shared growth skill between me and my partner..."

"Shared... growth...?"

"Yeah. Literally, it's a skill that raises both of our stats together." I took a breath and calmly continued my explanation.

"But there are strict conditions to use it, so it's not something I can just activate whenever. That's why it's hard to explain to others."

"..."

"And usually, in these early stages, people want immediate combat power... so I couldn't find any other party to join."

"And?"

"So... because I desperately needed a party, I lied to get close to you guys, since you seemed to have your own circumstances too... I'm sorry..."

It was hard to read Sora's expression as she listened to my story. She looked a bit angry, surprisingly calm, and somewhat depressed all at once.

"Why are you telling me this now, of all times?" her quiet but clear voice rang in my ears.

"Because the conditions have been met, and I can use the skill on you now. If I do, your stats will suddenly shoot up, and you'll definitely notice... That's why I'm telling you beforehand."

Hearing my final words, Sora looked up at the seemingly endless ceiling of the cave, lost in thought for several minutes. I waited quietly for her to process everything. Though I had never been in court, those few moments made me feel like a criminal awaiting a judge's verdict.

"Sigh..."

After a short while, Sora let out a deep sigh and turned her head back to look at me. The complex look in her eyes had resolved into a single, clear emotion.

It was pure rage.

"Hey! You snake-bastard!"

Sora spun around, grabbed me by the collar with both hands, and unleashed her fury. I let her do as she pleased without offering any resistance.

"What? Your skill wasn't defense, and you lied to us? Are you out of your mind?!"

Ah... I braced myself, resigned to accept her wrath, and looked her in the eye. But contrary to my expectations, tears began to well up and spill from her eyes.

"Sob... You crazy bastard... And yet... and yet!"

"S-Sora?"

Her tears completely threw me off. I had been fully prepared to be cursed out with resentment, kicked, and beaten, but this caught me entirely off guard. I couldn't comprehend what was happening, leaving me completely frozen.

"You didn't even have a defense skill! So why! Why the hell did you jump in front of me?! Are you fucking suicidal?! Huh?!"

"Huh...?"

Her words left me even more bewildered. So, she wasn't angry that I had lied to her. She was furious because I had jumped into a life-threatening situation to save her without even having a defense skill?

"I told you! I told you not to jump in to protect me! But! But! You did it anyway without even having a skill?! You're insane, seriously! Sob... Waaah!"

Sora, who had been shaking me by the collar, finally burst into a full sob. Still dazed, I didn't know how to react. As she wailed in front of me, I hesitantly reached out and patted her back.

"Don't touch me, you psycho! What, do you have a death wish or something?! Sob... *hic*..."

She slapped my hand away as I tried to soothe her. Tears streamed down her face, leaving me completely helpless and fidgeting anxiously as I waited for her to calm down. After crying for a long time, her shoulders finally stopped shaking. Having calmed down a bit, she looked up and glared at me, her eyes still brimming with tears.

"A-are you feeling a bit better...?"

Her glare was scarier than any look she had ever ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠given me before, forcing me to speak with utmost caution. Sora stared at me in silence for a moment before burying her face in my chest.

"Don't... ever do that again... Okay...?"

"Well... I can't exactly promise—Ow!"

A sudden, sharp pain flared up. I looked down to see Sora pinching and twisting my thigh with all her might.

"Promise me!"

"O-okay! I won't do it again! Let go, it hurts!!!"

Only then did Sora release her grip. I rubbed my throbbing thigh, grimacing from the intense pain. With my other hand, I wrapped my arm around her back as she snuggled closer. Given the atmosphere, I felt like if I didn't hold her right now, she would resent me forever, and I might actually meet my end right here in this cave.

"So, what happens now?"

"Huh? Oh! Once I activate the skill, both of our stats will increase."

I immediately opened my skill window.

I immediately selected 'Y' to link with Sora through the Sincerity skill. A notification popped up on my status window, and my stats instantly surged.

"Now, check your status window."

At my words, Sora opened her status window to check her stats.

"It's real... I have 10 unallocated stat points!"

"Yeah. You can distribute them to whatever stats you want."

Sora looked back and forth between her status window and my face, her eyes filled with childlike wonder. Then, she began busily tapping the air, seemingly allocating her new points.

"But is this only possible with me?"

"Uh... if the conditions are met... it's possible with others too..."

"Then isn't your skill totally broken?"

"Well, I guess so..."

As my voice trailed off, Sora began poking me in the ribs, demanding that I tell her the truth without hiding anything.

"Ow! Stop! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Okay, I'll tell you! I'll tell you!!!"

I threw my hands up in surrender. Seeing this, Sora stopped poking my ribs but kept glaring at me.

Ugh... I really can't tell her the truth about this part... The moment I revealed that the condition was sex, she might misunderstand and think our intimate encounter was purely for the sake of the skill. So, I quickly racked my brain to come up with a plausible lie.

"Well... the condition is a bit difficult..."

"What is it? Don't lie and tell me straight!"

I dragged out my words to buy time, but no decent excuse came to mind. Just then, a brilliant idea flashed through my head.

"I have to be hit by the other person's skill! Yeah!"

"What?"

"I mean... I have to be struck by the other person's skill at least once!"

I threw out the clumsy excuse and watched her reaction. Sora eyed me suspiciously, while I scratched my cheek sheepishly, letting out an awkward laugh.

"Hmm... Okay, but you've never been hit by my skill."

At her sharp observation, I quickly scrambled to add to my excuse.

"Back then! When... when you used your skill on the Giant Kobold, I got caught in the blast too!"

"What?! Where? How badly?!"

Hearing this, Sora began frantically inspecting my body from head to toe.

"I-I'm fine! It barely grazed me. The notification popped up right after you used your skill... Haha..."

"Are you really okay?"

Despite my rushed explanation, Sora kept looking at me with eyes full of genuine worry. She looked so incredibly adorable that I couldn't help but pull her into a tight embrace.

"Hey! Let go! I asked if you're okay!"

When I suddenly hugged her, Sora struggled to break free, but I only held her tighter. After squirming for a bit, she realized she couldn't escape and went quiet, eventually reaching her arms around my back to hug me back.

"I'm really fine."

"Seriously... stop scaring me like that... you snake-bastard..."

Even her grumbling complaints sounded like sweet whispering to my ears. Watching her act like this, my body began to react once again. I slid my hand down to Sora's butt as she clung to me and began to gently knead it.

"Ah! W-what do you think you're doing?!"

"Sora, is your skill fully recharged yet?"

"N-not yet, but..."

"Then should we have another recharge session?"

At my words, Sora's face turned completely red, and she buried her face deep into my chest. I gently lifted her chin with one hand, capturing her lips in a deep kiss, as we began to peel away the clothes we had only just put back on.