The Status Window

"It would be quicker if you checked the rest yourself. Would you care to press it?"

Maybe I should.

I turned back to the screen and ran my eyes down it from top to bottom.

The upper portion I already understood from the explanation. Everything beneath it, I didn't.

Awakening stimulants? Enhancement? Set Hypnosis aside, and the rest were unfamiliar options I hadn't seen coming.

Wait. Before any of that—why do I even have these 500 points? A tutorial bonus, or... something along those lines?

"You guessed correctly at once."

Whether it was a meaningful amount, I couldn't say. Still, free was always a thank-you.

Next came the main point.

Chio. If it were you, what would you press first?

"The tutorial mode does proceed beginning with Awakening Stimulants."

Then let's go with that.

I pressed the option labeled Awakening Stimulants.

The white letters crumbled into powder and blew away, and fresh text wrote itself across the blue screen.

A screen that called to mind an in-game trading post. Everything marked level 1 was written in white; the rest was a dull gray-white. No matter how I pressed the gray lettering, it gave no response at all.

So this stuff is locked?

"That is correct. You have no further questions?"

Yeah. Looks like they were kind enough to write out every explanation I need in plain sentences. More importantly—how do I unlock the locked ones?

"You need only raise your System level."

So if ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠your level comes up short, you can't do a damn thing. Figures.

I pressed the only white text that would actually answer me: Stamina Agent, and Lv 1.

A new screen. The line that jumped out hardest was the one at the very bottom.

So this is how you buy them. Rack up points through sex, pay a set amount, and pick up things like this.

"That is correct. You have grasped the curriculum quite clearly."

Then since I've got 500 points right now... I could buy this Stamina Agent five times over?

"That is correct."

The effect certainly looked good. Buying ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it now, though, would be a gamble.

I don't feel like getting tangled up right from the start.

"Shall we move on to the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠next section?"

Yeah. What's next?

"Please press the Hypnosis option."

I hit the arrow in the upper left and returned to the first window, then pressed Hypnosis, just beneath Awakening Stimulants.

"This is the list of hypnosis items available for purchase at your current System level. Depending on the ability, hypnosis items take various forms—powder, spray, and so on."

Buy the hypnosis item that matches your level, huh...

Seeing the list run all the way to 10, level 10 was probably the cap. I pressed the gray lettering marked locked. This time, too, the gray text did nothing whatsoever.

If it's locked, I can't even check the effect?

"The method of use, the precautions, and what manner of hypnosis it is—you must purchase it yourself and confirm those through the Status Window."

Come on. Not even a little hint...

"Impossible. My Creator did not go to the trouble of fashioning a tool called the System for nothing. A god's authority is not a power one may handle so lightly."

All right, all right. Cheapskate.

I let it go and pressed the only white lettering on the list: Powder of Goodwill.

The Stamina Agent had been 100 points. This one was 300.

I drew from my pocket a medicine packet with a mask drawn on it.

How much is this one?

"I cannot tell you."

Not even what level you have to be to buy the ability?

"That is correct."

Goddamn it. Stingy as hell—I'll figure it out myself.

I kept flipping between the two powders' screens and reading. The purchase cost would surely scale with an ability's power. Reading in silence, I managed to pin down one thing for certain.

"This is just... on a completely different level."

The Powder of Fear outclassed the Powder of Goodwill so thoroughly that comparing them felt rude.

Honestly, isn't the gap a little much?

"The Powder of Goodwill is a level 1 ability. The Powder of Fear, by contrast, is an ability the Creator bestowed only after giving explicit instructions. Is a difference not to be expected?"

Thinking about it, maybe it was obvious. A god wouldn't have warned me that earnestly without a reason. I slipped the Powder of Fear back into my pocket. Whatever else it was, the effect seemed solid—so I'd better keep the thing tucked away safe and sound.

Doesn't look like there's anything more worth seeing here. Let's move on.

"Understood."

I went straight back to the first screen and pressed Abilities (Enhancement / Evolution).

Huh?

"As you can see, an unlock condition is occasionally attached."

...So I have to hit level 3 before I can even look at this list?

"That is correct."

They'd cranked the level restrictions to a disgusting degree.

And it's not even level 2. It's level 3. Does that make any sense?

"If you think of it as merely the step after next, does it not seem rather near?"

Didn't know you were such an optimist.

"I shall take that as a compliment. Furthermore, from here we will practice, and you will use the Status Window yourself."

Practice?

"Yes. You ought to grow accustomed to the Status Window—and you need to find a heroine as well, do you not?"

A heroine? The kind of heroine I'm thinking of?

"I mean the partner for your first experience, Master."

I shut the Status Window and cleared my throat.

So what you're saying is... I should start the hunt?

"That is correct."

The moment Chio finished, I snatched the white cap and mask off the coat rack and stepped out of the studio.

Warm sunlight, unseasonable for early spring. I squinted into the glare and made for the nearest street.

A college district, with a prestigious university close by. The lunch hour had only just passed, and maybe that was why the streets were thick with people. I tugged the white cap down low and set my eyes darting.

Chio, turn the Status Window on.

"In a place this crowded, your eyes will tire easily. Will you be all right?"

I'm fine. Sleep it off and I'll be good as new.

"Understood."

The instant Chio answered, blue smoke bloomed up before my eyes. The Status Window seemed to trigger whenever the other person was a woman, mask or no mask.