On a street in the Island Nation's Eastern Capital.
A man and a system were conversing over Luo Shu's internal channel.
"So Points are a manifestation of 'influence'... meaning someone with lots of Points has influence over society as a whole?"
[Yes, but that only means possessing or having access to influence. To actually influence others, the host must personally interact with them.]
The system answered calmly in its emotionless electronic voice.
"I see..."
Luo Shu understood that perfectly. It was like how he could now buy abilities from the system to give to others, but that didn't mean he would actually give them away.
Influence was a similarly subtle thing. Luo Shu could choose to exert it or not. Everything depended on him.
"Then here's a question. Having more Points means I can find money lying around, too?"
Luo Shu stopped and looked down at the brown wallet beneath his foot.
He glanced around, confirmed that no one was nearby, then casually bent down and picked up the wallet. Flipping through it, he found five ten-thousand-yen bills.
Yep, exactly fifty thousand yen, equivalent to half a month's earnings from an after-school part-time job. That was a pretty substantial sum.
And the system's answer to his question about finding money made Luo Shu very happy:
[As a protective measure, most of the influence represented by the host's Points is converted into a permanent 'luck' blessing.]
"Oh? So the more Points I keep in reserve, the luckier I get? There's a perk like that, too?" Luo Shu amusedly flipped through the wallet. It "just so happened" to contain nothing identifying its original owner.
Well, damn. Even if he wanted to return it, he wouldn't know who to give it to.
These Points are freaking amazing... With that thought, Luo Shu opened the system interface and checked his balance.
Because of the series of club benefits he had just paid for, his total Points in the system had dropped to "12033," while his bank balance and cash combined barely exceeded five hundred thousand yen.
That was Luo Shu's living allowance for the next two months.
Since his parents had bought a stake in a "relative's" business back home, that relative transferred around two hundred thousand yen to him every month. That was what allowed Luo Shu to live in a place as expensive as the Island Nation.
"Finding a quarter of a month's income in one go really lifted my mood."
Thinking that, Luo Shu glanced at his ample Points balance on the forum. After a moment's consideration, he searched the system shop for information on advancing abilities.
While answering Eriri's questions earlier,
Luo Shu had learned that abilities had several ratings, including "ordinary," "excellent," "elite," and "hero." They could also be called "tiers."
At present, the strongest skill he possessed was the excellent-rated Wind Element Manipulation.
Paired with ordinary Intuition, this ability let him easily predict movements and tear apart giant rats the size of calves. Clearly, both had considerable potential.
So Luo Shu wanted to see how he could advance his abilities.
But when he searched, the words that appeared on the system interface left him silent:
[Wind Element Control: the advanced ability of Wind Element Manipulation. Elite rating.] [Advancement requirements: primary material: Heart of the Storm (50,000 Points); supplementary materials: 200 milliliters of water, 20 milliliters of siren tears (2,000 Points).] [Super Intuition: the advanced skill of Intuition. Excellent rating.] [Advancement requirements: primary material: Spiritual Squid brain (10,000 Points); supplementary materials: none.] [Subconscious Control: the advanced skill of Combat Potential. Excellent rating.] [Advancement requirements: primary material: Mind Dragon spinal cord (10,000 Points); supplementary materials: none.]
Looking at those advancement requirements, Luo Shu's lips twitched. With a hollow smile, he said:
"System, are you robbing me?"
"Why does advancing abilities cost so much?"
"How much did you charge me for that bracelet with all those functions, or for opening up an alternate space? What's going on with these prices?"
[Dear host, there has been a misunderstanding.]
There was no emotion in the system's tone, as though it was merely stating a fact.
[The low prices of support items and other functions are intended to ensure the safety of the host and Familia members. They are protective services. Acquiring and advancing abilities does not fall within that coverage.] [The system is only responsible for improving the safety of the host and Familia members. It does not provide assistance in acquiring powerful abilities.]
Hearing that, Luo Shu raised an eyebrow, then lifted a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose.
"If I die because I'm too weak, wouldn't that be a loss for you?"
[Should such an unfortunate event occur, the system will only provide reincarnation services and continue waiting for the host to awaken in his next life.]
"So I can start over in my next life?" Luo Shu gave a crooked grin, but he didn't feel particularly happy.
My next life? Who knows whether I'd still be me? And that statement carries some pretty major implications. Have you decided I'm the one, no matter what?
"Forget it. Advancing abilities is out of my reach for now..."
Luo Shu sighed. He understood that advancing his abilities wouldn't be possible anytime soon. Although he could upgrade an ordinary skill, he still needed Points as a safety net.
If he advanced an ability and then got injured, he wouldn't even have enough to pay for treatment. Dying like that would be a complete waste. He would need to save at least another five thousand Points before daring to touch his abilities.
"All right, another question. Why was there such a big difference between the Points from Eriri and Utaha Kasumigaoka?"
As his first Familia member, Utaha Kasumigaoka had brought Luo Shu
a return of 6,188 Points, but his second Familia member, Eriri, had brought in a whopping 9,000. This left Luo Shu puzzled about how the rewards for recruiting Familia members worked.
Moreover, one provided three times as many monthly Points as the other. There was clearly something going on.
[Answer: the difference exists because Eriri Sawamura's influence in society far exceeds Utaha Kasumigaoka's.]
"Exceeds hers? You mean..." Just then, Luo Shu remembered that Toyogasaki Academy's two somewhat famous, unattainable beauties had very different identities outside school. One was an up-and-coming novelist, while the other was secretly a top-tier hentai artist.
Compared with a novelist who worked with words like Utaha Kasumigaoka, Eriri, whose hentai had caused countless poor "little lives" to die tragically at their fathers' hands, clearly had more "influence."
"So that means every sperm jerked to death turns into the Points I pay Eriri as wages? Why does that sound so weird?"
But when he thought about how recruiting Eriri had increased his monthly supply by 300 Points, three times what Utaha Kasumigaoka provided, Luo Shu felt that hentai really did cause untold harm.
At that thought, Luo Shu sighed, took out his phone, and quietly bookmarked Ms. Kashiwagi Eiri's profile. Then he frowned and said:
"System, one more thing. Both Utaha and Eriri have limitations when using their abilities. Those limitations can be removed, right? Does that also require advancing their abilities?"
[Yes. Ability advancement is required. Would you like the advancement information?]
"Forget it. I'm broke, so looking won't help..." Luo Shu immediately cut off whatever the system was about to say next.
He didn't want to hear about money right now. Nobody had better mention money to him, either.
This is exhausting!
Besides, I can't even afford to upgrade my own abilities, and I'm supposed to upgrade the members' abilities? Am I asking to be a sucker? With that thought, Luo Shu shook his head and walked a little farther. Then came another soft slap underfoot.
"Hmm?"
Luo Shu paused and looked down at the dark red wallet beneath his foot, his eyes narrowing.
"Another unexpected windfall?"
Finding two wallets just from heading out to work instantly soothed Luo Shu's heart, which that unscrupulous merchant had wounded so badly.
But just as Luo Shu was about to pick up the money, a woman's voice came from behind him:
"Hey, handsome. You seem surprisingly lucky."
Hearing an unfamiliar woman's voice so close behind him, Luo Shu immediately stopped moving.
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