Chapter 93: Season Completion
[Main Story #10 — Cleared!]
[Rewards: +1.5 Stat Points, +125 Love Points, +1 Skill (Active).]
Instead of starting the next story—Level 11, Pierre was sent back to the lobby of the bustling classroom with students in the background chatting away.
After the pink-themed messages informed Pierre of his success, his system spoke.
[Host, big congratulations on clearing Level 10! You have been rewarded with a new active skill, Cupid’s Kiss! Your love has grown stronger!]
"Awesome." Pierre, sitting at the desk, had a bright smile. His uniform was now fresh and clean and free of bloodstains.
[Host, your sign-in rewards are: +1.5 Stat Points, +1 Skill, Apple (Item) ×3, Blank Love Letter (Item) ×1!]
Standing beside Pierre, Roy felt his heart race. He had spent eight error-points out of his remaining 15, but it was all worth it!
The excitement he felt couldn’t truly be expressed in words.
[Season 1 — Complete!]
[Once again, big congratulations, Host! You have also received the Season Completion bonus reward: Magic Hair Spray (Item) ×1!]
"Whoa!" Roy and Pierre both exclaimed.
Their minds were completely blown. The rewards seemed endless.
[Your love has grown stronger! Till next time, on Highschool Re:Date to Live, Live to Love!]
[Sign-In Complete!]
With that, Pierre vanished from Roy’s view, and the LOVE.exe environment dematerialized into beautiful specks of light.
Roy was left on the blue-patterned grid floor and sky. Above was the number ’7’.
But he didn’t even consider how many error points he had lost in just his sign-in. Now, he was eager for something far more important.
[Host, your sign-in 2x rewards are: +3.0 Stat Points, +2 Love Skills, Apple (Item) ×6, Blank Love Letter (Item) ×2, Magic Hair Spray (Item) ×2.]
Roy’s eyes were deeply focused on the ’+2 skills’ part; the others just weren’t as important at the moment.
[Host, you are to make two selections of the linked host’s current skills, which are: Je T’aime (Active), Love Sensor (Passive), and Cupid’s Kiss (Active).]
"Wait, wait, wait! I don’t understand. How does this work?"
[Host, your current multiplier is 2x. Therefore, you can only attain two skills from a linked host’s skill set. This selection process is only available when a linked host gets a new skill, and the number of collectable skills is determined by the host’s multiplier.]
"Give me an example."
[If the host’s multiplier is 4x, and the linked host is rewarded with a new skill, the host is permitted to choose four skills from their skill set. However, if the linked host only has 3 skills, then that is all you can attain from them, leaving one skill slot blank. If they have more than four, the host can choose only up to four skills from the set.]
"Hm." Roy frowned. "I thought I would simply get double the effects of the skill he earned while I watched. This is better in theory since I can make my pick from among the skills they gained before I linked to them; however, where’s my double effect?!"
[Host, if the capability of the skill was doubled on arrival, and then you applied your 2x Multiplier in the real world, host, wouldn’t that mean the skill was actually quadrupled?]
"I... guess."
[That is out of scope, host.]
Roy had fantasized that such a cheat would be permitted since he could one day receive the tenfold capability of a skill and then still multiply its effect on an adversary by 10.
100x damage!
That was his dream. But the system wasn’t stupid.
He sighed.
"The next time Pierre gets a new skill, will I also have the chance to replace the ones I selected previously?"
[No.]
"What? Why? That’s not fair."
This meant that if Roy’s multiplier remained as 2x by the next skill selection process, which would be when Pierre would gain his fourth skill, Roy wouldn’t be able to make a selection since he had no free slots, as the ones he had were occupied, and he couldn’t replace them with the newer skill.
[All hosts will only receive ten skills. Host, your multiplier could reach 10x one day if you work hard.]
Thinking of the number of abyss creatures he would have to kill for that to be possible, he dismissed the notion of ever achieving a 10x multiplier entirely.
"Easy for you to say..." he muttered.
Roy facepalmed and raised his head back to the blue panels before him.
[Would you like to view the information on each skill?]
"Yes, please."
+
First Skill: [Je t’aime]
Type: Active
Tier: 1
Description: "Je t’aime (’I love you’) makes anyone, regardless of gender, fall in love with you. Success rate: 5%."
~
Second Skill: [Love Sensor]
Type: Passive
Tier: 2
Description: "You possess a love meter that gauges the affection of an individual who has been around you for at least 60 hours."
~
Third Skill: [Cupid’s Kiss]
Type: Active
Tier: 2
Description: "Blow a heart-shaped kiss that upon impact makes anyone, regardless of gender, have affection for you and desire to protect you, or at least refuse to hurt you, for 10 minutes."
+
"Cupid’s Kiss actually rocks. I wonder if it’ll work on an abyss creature." Roy rubbed his chin.
"Je T’aime makes me feel uneasy. That is far too much power for little old me. I can’t choose it, mainly because it’s against my morals. And that 5% success rate, sheesh. I could make it 10%, but what’s the difference? Cupid’s Kiss is like a bite-sized, more battle-efficient version. I like it."
Roy then added, "Love Sensor is a no-brainer. It’s a faster way to find out who one’s enemies are, like how Pierre realised that I hate him. Hmm, thinking about it, he must have known Haruto Takahashi hated him too."
+
You have selected the skills:
1. Love Sensor (Passive)
2. Cupid’s Kiss (Active)
+
[Host, do you confirm your selection?]
"Yes."
[Congratulations, Host. You have gained 2 new skills.]
"Sweet!"
[Sign-In Complete.]
His system didn’t seem to share the joy he was experiencing and wasted no time kicking him out of his Nullspace that wasn’t connected to any executable environment.
With that, Roy experienced another sense of vertigo. One second, he was in his nullspace, and the next, he was... standing in darkness.
Roy had been barefoot in the restroom, so now he could feel the cold grass under his feet.
He was no longer in the APC. Roy had returned exactly where he left, but the APC had driven away during his sign-in session.
Master Abe, the vehicle, they were all gone!