I stopped staring blankly at the ceiling.
"..."
Notifications had been popping up nonstop for a while now.
But I had been too overwhelmed then to check them.
Now, I felt like I could take my time and look through them one by one.
"Status window."
───────────────
Name: Morita Shu (Lee Suho)
Strength: 4
Stamina: 7
Agility: 4
Intelligence: 6
Luck: 2
Mental: 2
Points: 410P
Titles
- Specially Selected Student
Skills
- [Learning] Lv.1
- [Poker Face] Lv.1 (ON/OFF)
- Manual Dexterity Lv.1
Traits
- Protective Instinct
Bonds
[Friends]
- Ichinose Kotomi
- Okazaki Tomoya
- Sunohara
[Candidate]
- Fujibayashi Kyo
Status
- Social Anxiety
- Excessive Self-Criticism
- Chronic Fatigue
Notes
- Mental Growth Restricted
- Partially Lifted upon Achievement Completion
───────────────
"..."
I silently examined the status window.
Since I was not the type to act proactively,
I had not expected things like skills, traits, and bonds to be added so quickly...
What stood out most of all was that my Mental had risen to 2.
"But... even though my Mental is 2 now, I don’t think anything has really changed?"
[Affirmative.]
[Because the user’s original Mental stat was considerably below average,
there is almost no perceptible change at the current stage.]
[Mental: 2 is still a low value.]
"Then when will I actually notice a difference?"
[Changes occur in the Mental stat at certain thresholds.]
[You have not yet reached the first threshold.]
"..."
I still had a long way to go.
For now, it seemed I had no choice but to keep raising it steadily.
"More importantly, I got one free gacha ticket, right?"
[Free Gacha Ticket ×1 confirmed.]
[Would you like to use it?]
"Yeah."
A somewhat familiar effect unfolded.
[Consuming 1 Free Gacha Ticket.]
[Beginning a random draw from among items and skills.]
───────────────
[Skill Acquired: [Knack] Lv.1]
Rank: Rare (C)
Effect: Slightly increases the speed at which you grasp the essentials of an unfamiliar task.
Description: Even things that leave others struggling can be imitated convincingly after watching them a few times.
───────────────
"A knack..."
Even in the real world, I had been particularly bad at getting the hang of things.
Whether it was because of the ADHD I had been diagnosed with at the hospital,
or whether that was simply how I was by nature, I still did not know.
Whenever I started a new task or job, I wandered around lost longer than other people did.
Even when there was something I did not know, I could not easily ask.
What if they thought I was a bother?
What if they came to hate me because I was bad at my job?
I hated inconveniencing people,
so I was more used to staying behind to practice alone,
or searching through the internet and learning things one at a time.
Even as I struggled alone like that,
I tried somehow to do at least as well as everyone else.
It was not some amazing S-rank skill.
But...
For the first time, it felt as though the system understood my shortcomings and was helping me.
The thought made my chest tighten for no reason.
This was a little different from before, when I had tried to scrape by and do my share with nothing but clumsy tricks.
Now, truly,
I felt like I might be able to do a little better.
"Thank you."
......
[The user’s expression of gratitude has been confirmed.]
[Saved to database.]
"Today..."
I murmured as I burrowed deep into my bed.
"I think today has been a good day."
I stared at the status window for a while, until my gaze stopped on my remaining points.
"Should I start raising my stats too?"
[Current Points: 410P]
[Allocation is available.]
"Hmm... aside from Mental, do the other stats all cost the same number of points?"
[Affirmative.]
[At the current stage, the enhancement cost for all stats is identical.]
[However, the points required will increase beyond certain values.]
[Recommendation]
[It is recommended that you invest in Intelligence after your Mental stat reaches a certain level.]
"I learned that the hard way."
I thought for a moment.
Still, now that I had started this leisure life,
would it not be better to bring all my stats up to at least above average?
[Query.]
[Most users choose to enhance
a particular stat to its limit rather than the average.]
"Ha..."
"If I’m mentally unstable but only physically strong..."
wouldn’t that make me a walking time bomb?
"That doesn’t sound right."
[This is a logically sound judgment.]
"Then let’s focus on balance. First, I need to bring the lower stats up near average."
[Notification. Your point allocation plan has been received. Beginning stat enhancement.]
───────────────
[Stat Change Details]
Strength: 4 → 6 (+2) (4→5: 10P / 5→6: 10P = 20P)
Stamina: 7 → 8 (+1) (7→8: 40P = 40P)
Agility: 4 → 6 (+2) (4→5: 10P / 5→6: 10P = 20P)
Luck: 2 → 5 (+3) (2→3: 10P / 3→4: 10P / 4→5: 10P = 30P)
[Points Consumed: 110P]
[Remaining Points: 300P]
───────────────
I lightly clenched and unclenched my fist.
As the values synchronized, my body, which had felt heavy, became noticeably lighter,
and a sensation like my vision had cleared washed over my entire body.
"But... if Luck goes from 2 to 5, will I get better results when drawing lots too?"
[Affirmative.]
[It slightly affects all outcomes involving probability.]
"Oh..."
[However, the changes will not be as dramatic as the user expects.]
[The probability of winning the lottery jackpot remains extremely low.]
"..."
Life was not easy after all.
[Examples of affected outcomes]
- Drawing lots
- Gacha
- Probability of finding objects
- Chance encounters
- Avoiding minor accidents
[All increase slightly.]
"Ah..."
With my Luck at 2,
what kind of odds had I overcome to meet Kotomi?
[Answer.]
[This event was unrelated to the user’s Luck.]
"......"
Was that just part of the original setting?
Leaving behind the system, which offered no further answer,
I quietly looked at the phone I had barely used since the beginning.
When I opened the screen, I saw apps from my real life that did not suit a feature phone at all.
"Come to think of it... what happens if I search through these apps or order something for delivery?"
[Answer.]
[They can be used.]
"...?"
[However, materials related to the original work are filtered and cannot be searched.]
[Goods can only be delivered insofar as they do not significantly disrupt the balance of the current world.]
[Examples]
- Snacks
- Beverages
- Novels
- Music
- Stationery
[Weapons, medicine, electronic devices, cash, and similar items are not eligible.]
"Uh... that’s way more lenient than I thought."
"Is copyright and all that really okay?"
[The laws of this world do not apply.]
"..."
Looking at the shopping app and portal site icons I used in the real world on that feature phone screen, I let out a hollow laugh.
As if by habit, I opened the music app
and played the first song that appeared in the quick selection list.
♪
Music of a clarity that did not belong on a feature phone began to play.
I closed my eyes
and quietly listened to the melody, one I felt as though I had not heard in a long time.
"It’s real..."
This music surely did not exist in this world.
Yet the vivid melody filled my ears.
It was a shame that knowledge related to the original work was filtered,
but simply being able to obtain necessities and little luxuries without restrictions
was an enormous advantage in this unfamiliar world.
"And... what money can I use to pay?"
[Payment can be made using the current world’s currency or system points.]
[System points can be exchanged for the current world’s currency.]
[Payment with system points is restricted for certain items.]
[Deliveries will be provided as contactless parcels, taking the user’s location into consideration.]
"I can exchange points for money...?"
[Exchange rates vary by world.]
[Funds can be deposited into the user’s account or provided in cash.]
If I saved points and exchanged them,
I felt like I might someday be able to help my family a little too.
[Caution.]
[System points are growth rewards obtained through missions and achievements.]
[Use for the purpose of excessive economic activity is not recommended.]
[The exchange limit will be automatically adjusted according to the user’s growth stage.]
"Right..."
"I guess they wouldn’t have made it so carelessly."
Thinking of the real world brought it all to mind.
My family and my job.
And, one by one, thoughts of the future passed through my head.
[Would you like to return to the real world?]
"..."
[You may return to the current point in time at any moment.]
I knew that.
Most of the web novels and comics I had read used that kind of setup.
But...
I still could not be certain whether all of this was truly real,
or whether I was having an impossibly vivid dream.
I felt as though everything would disappear the moment I opened my eyes.
So...
perhaps I had been deliberately avoiding thinking too deeply about reality.
For now,
I only wanted to focus on living each day here.
[Analysis complete.]
[Raising the Mental stat alone
cannot completely resolve the user’s anxiety.]
"..."
What if all of this was nothing but a dream,
nothing but an illusion?
What if, the moment I returned to reality,
every memory I had made here vanished as though it had all been a delusion,
leaving behind only that cold reality once more?
So...
Just a little longer.
I wanted to dream this dream just a little longer.
Returning to the real world...
For now, I wanted to put it off just a little longer.
"I have to go to school tomorrow too."
I pulled the blanket over my head and quietly closed my eyes.
And so, the night of my first day after transferring schools—a day filled with countless thoughts and system windows, strange yet kind—slowly came to an end.
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