The First Copy

The Academy entrance exam was a day away. Tomorrow was the day.

"I'm going to bed a little early tonight."

Sierra seemed nervous; she retreated to her room earlier than usual.

As far as I could tell, her admission to the Academy was already a lock. She'd shown the kind of monstrous growth you'd expect from a mid-boss in the original game.

Empress of Dusk was an extraordinarily powerful trait. Sierra hadn't been a playable character, so I'd never had the chance to watch that growth firsthand — but seeing it from beside her, the trait's sheer brokenness came through loud and clear.

What's more, growth-type traits only really started to shine in the late game. Like every RPG, Legend Route made stat gains harder the further you progressed. A growth-type trait let you smash through those plateaus, and that difference snowballed into an insurmountable lead.

I want that trait. The sooner, the better.

With growth traits, the earlier you acquired them, the bigger the payoff. That was why I hadn't skimped on supporting Sierra. I'd even developed new bread recipes and offered them up as tribute without holding back.

Her affection's gone up, I think... but has it hit eighty? Not being able to check the number is a real shame.

Unfortunately, there was no interface that displayed affection at a glance. I had to infer it from Sierra's reactions. If she'd been a playable character — or at least a companion — gauging it would've been easy. Each character had events that triggered at specific affection thresholds.

Unfortunately, in the original game, Sierra had been an enemy.

The minimum affection required to trigger a kiss event in-game was eighty. Of course, hitting eighty didn't guarantee a kiss. There was a probability involved — and that probability didn't even get a luck-stat modifier.

The original plan had been to copy Empress of Dusk before the Academy entrance exam. Things had gotten messier than expected, though. Training had eaten up so much time that I hadn't had enough left to raise her affection.

Wait. The trait description only said I had to kiss the other person. There was nothing about affection requirements. Which means...

I went to Sierra's room. It had originally been a storage closet. Still, we'd cleaned it out and brought in furniture, so it should have been comfortable enough to live in.

I knocked on the door.

Knock, knock.

"Sierra. You asleep?"

No answer. Was she sleeping?

Knock, knock.

"Hey, I need to talk to you for a second. Can I come in?"

Still nothing.

A bad idea crossed my mind — along with a tiny spark of less-than-innocent curiosity.

"I'm coming in. It's important."

Creeeak.

I opened the door. The magic lamp was off. A lump in the blankets on the bed told me she really was asleep.

"I'm coming in, okay? I said I was coming in."

That's what I said, but my body moved on instinct. I lifted my back foot and crept toward her on silent steps.

Sierra was asleep. Her eyes were closed, her breathing slow and even. Her slender nape looked strangely, unreasonably alluring.

"Are you actually asleep?"

I waved a hand over her eyes the way they do in comics. No reaction at all. She really was out.

The condition for copying a trait was kissing the other person. That simple act would let me copy a powerhouse trait like Empress of Dusk.

So wouldn't the most efficient way to get it be to steal a kiss without her ever knowing?

I knew it was a pretty despicable method. But looking at Sierra's face, lost in dreamland with that soft, even breathing, a dangerous curiosity and a fierce impulse hit me at the same time.

"Mmnh..."

Sierra shifted in her sleep. Her face turned toward me.

Our lips were barely two fists apart. An angel and a devil popped into my head.

That was the devil.

That was the angel.

The angel sounded tougher. Was that just me?

The debate didn't last long.

Fine. If she tells me to take responsibility, I'll take it. I'm Johann Baker. I'm not the game-addicted shut-in I was in my last ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠life.

I had more than enough ability to provide for a woman. And my looks weren't the kind anyone would complain about.

With that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠confidence, I brought my lips to Sierra's.

Soft.

Like a tender jelly? Or a plush sponge?

A sensation no man who'd just had his very first kiss could possibly put into words flowed through my lips. All I'd done was press flesh to flesh, lightly — and yet a tingling shock ran through my entire body, like I'd been electrocuted.

I pulled back in a hurry. Only after I'd done it did it hit me that I'd just done something terrible to Sierra. The message window that followed, however, was more than enough to wipe that thought clean away.

Jackpot!

The higher form of Empress of Dusk was an S-Rank trait: Master of the Golden Dawn.

It was a trait I'd never even seen before. But one look at the effects and I knew it was a monster. For one thing, the 100% growth bonus — originally limited to dagger, shuriken, and throwing skills — now applied to every rogue skill in existence. That alone was enough to call Master of the Golden Dawn a strict upgrade over Empress of Dusk. The weapon-power increase and the reduction to incoming critical damage were just gravy.

The dark-attribute attack bonus and elemental resistance from Empress of Dusk are gone. But it's still a clear upgrade, no question.

My choice had been the right one.

Knife Shot and Haste are both rogue-class skills, after all.

Sierra really was a blessing that had rolled right into my lap. Not a single thing I'd invested in her felt wasted.

Just you wait, Academy.

I couldn't wait for tomorrow.

Sierra had spent most of her nights on the street. She'd slept under the open sky far more often than under a roof, so her light sleeping was inevitable.

"I'm coming in. It's important."

Creeeak.

That was why she heard Johann's words perfectly clearly. Her sharp senses didn't miss a thing as he muffled his footsteps and crept toward her.

She didn't answer. She didn't react. She deliberately kept her breathing slow and even, pretending to sleep.

Johann had walked into her bedroom in the dead of night. Reading his intent wasn't difficult. Life was give and take. You received something, you gave something back.

She'd always known this would happen eventually. The timing was startlingly fast, but she wasn't flustered in the slightest. If anything, she'd been waiting for it. That was precisely why she'd bothered to fake being asleep.

Johann had become someone she needed. She wanted to become someone he needed, too. Sierra had already given him her heart. Giving him her body was only a matter of time.

Johann... so that's how you've been looking at me.

She was happy. So happy her mouth threatened to curl into a smile on its own. And the way he'd barged into her room ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in the middle of the night was, somehow, adorable.

He didn't pounce on her right away. He seemed to be wrestling with himself. Sierra decided to make it easier for him.

"Mmnh..."

She turned her body toward him. And then, as if he'd made up his mind, Johann reached out.

My first time... to Johann...

Soft.

Something gentle brushed her lips. For a split second, her breathing nearly broke.

What had touched her lips was Johann's mouth. He had taken the virginity of her lips first.

Sierra knew a man's desire well. She had spent her whole life on streets thick with it. She knew better than anyone that what the ones with dicks were interested in, nine times out of ten, was a woman's lower half. Even when their eyes started higher, they almost always ended on the chest.

But Johann had stolen her lips first.

It felt as if a feather had slipped into her lungs, tickling her from the inside until a laugh wanted to come out. She was happier than when she ate delicious bread. Happier than when she'd obtained a skill book she'd dreamed of.

Johann stroked her hair twice, then left the room.

The deed never happened. All he had stolen from her tonight was the virginity of her lips.

Only after he was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gone did Sierra open her eyes. If there'd been a mirror, she would have seen a face as red as a beet.

She touched her lips with her fingers, where his warmth still lingered.

He hadn't gone all the way. Whether that was because he cherished her, or simply because tonight wasn't the night, she didn't know. She was disappointed. And at the same time, she was happy. Contradictory feelings ruled her head.

If it's Johann... I'm ready anytime.

Her goal settled into place. She would become a woman worthy of standing beside him. Strong, beautiful, and a proud expert in her own right.

I am Johann's shadow and his blade.

And if she added one more thing—

And his partner.

Sierra smiled.

She had smiled more in the week since meeting Johann than she had in her entire life. Protecting him was the same as protecting that smile.

And so the sweet night passed, and morning came.

The day of the Academy entrance exam had arrived.