I was walking toward the university, hands in my pockets, just trying to get through another normal day.
The university I was attending was also located right here in Dusk City, which was convenient for me, I guess. I mean, I didn't have to take long commutes, after all. I could just go straight from point A to point B.
It was considered one of the most prestigious universities in the entire city. Not the absolute best if you compared it to the top institutions in other major cities, but still good enough that people would raise an eyebrow if you said you studied here.
This place was filled with all kinds of people.
The smart ones, the rich ones, and the annoying ones who were somehow both at the same time.
It had that kind of atmosphere where everyone was either trying too hard or pretending not to try at all.
Still, I couldn't complain too much.
It was decent. More than decent, honestly.
I was currently enrolled as a business major, which sounded impressive enough when you said it out loud, even if I wasn't exactly passionate about it.
As I walked across campus, I started noticing the looks.
People were staring at me again.
It was not the curious kind, nor the impressed kind either.
It was the kind of look you give someone when you've already heard things about them, and none of it is good.
Honestly, it was expected at this point.
My reputation wasn't exactly something I could brag about.
If anything, it was borderline impressive how bad it was.
Reputation sitting at 5, infamy all the way up at 90. Those numbers at my stats basically explained everything without needing context.
I was involved in an incident back during my first year at the university.
Now I was already in my third year, and somehow, people still remembered.
Or maybe they just never let it go.
Who was I even trying to fool? There was no way something like that would just disappear.
The incident itself was… me supposedly stalking a girl.
Which, to be clear, was not what actually happened.
I wasn't stalking her.
At least, not in the way people were making it sound.
But from her perspective, I could see how it looked that way.
I wasn't exactly acting normal back then.
If I were being honest, I probably looked like someone who had an unhealthy obsession.
It didn't help that she was my childhood friend.
From what I heard recently, she was now dating a senior who was good at basketball.
Of course she was. That just made sense somehow. That was exactly her type, after all.
Tall guy, probably popular, and probably the complete opposite of me.
Good for her, I guess.
At this point, I didn't really care anymore.
She could date whoever she wanted. It didn't affect me.
Well… not emotionally, at least.
Logistically, it was still annoying.
We were in the same major, which meant we had overlapping schedules.
With the same lectures and same classrooms. Basically, same everything.
So no matter how much I tried to avoid her completely, it just wasn't possible.
Right now, she was sitting on top of a table, talking with a group of our classmates.
She looked lively. Energetic, even. The kind of person people naturally gathered around.
She had always been like that.
Bright, easygoing, almost like she carried her own little spotlight with her.
It was the kind of presence that made people feel comfortable.
Like a walking ray of sunshine or something.
That sounded about right.
Not that it mattered to me now.
I didn't mean to, but my eyes drifted, and I ended up looking at her status interface.
__________________________
Minne
Affection: -100♥︎
Mood: 90♥︎
Lust: 50♥︎
Status: Utterly hates you
__________________________
…Well, damn.
That was about as low as it could possibly go.
Negative one hundred.
That wasn't just dislike. That was full commitment.
I could probably trigger some kind of quest related to her, but honestly… it didn't feel worth the effort.
Not with those numbers.
The moment she noticed me entering the room, her expression changed.
She glared at me.
And just like that, I saw her Mood drop from 90♥︎ to 20♥︎ instantly.
That was brutal.
I didn't even say anything, and I was already doing damage just by existing.
She quickly looked away after that, like she didn't want to deal with me any more than necessary.
It had been two years since everything happened, but clearly, she hadn't moved on.
Or maybe she just didn't want to.
Either way, not my problem anymore.
Right now, I had something else on my mind.
I had lost my virginity.
Yeah. That.
Even now, hours later, it still didn't feel completely real.
Like my brain was still trying to catch up with what actually happened.
And on top of that, I had accumulated around 100♥︎.
Which meant I could exchange it for 1,000,000c.
One million.
That was the kind of number that didn't feel real until you actually saw it in your account.
I could live off that for a while. Easily.
Maybe even a full year without doing anything.
With no job and no stress. With me just existing and somehow still having money.
That sounded dangerously appealing.
But at the same time… using all my ♥︎ just for money felt like a waste.
They could be useful for something else later on.
So instead of going all in, I decided to use about half of it.
Right after I made that decision, my phone vibrated.
__________________________
500,000c was added to your credit.
Total credit: 503,451
__________________________
I stared at the screen for a second.
Holy shit.
It actually worked.
Just straight-up money added to my account like it was the most normal thing in the world.
Did I just find some kind of infinite money glitch now?
And I still had half of my ♥︎ left.
That meant I could still use them for something else.
I decided to dump the remaining hearts into my stats, just distributing them randomly.
After that, my current stats looked like this:
__________________________
Leon:
STATUS:
STRENGTH: 60
STAMINA: 60
AGILITY: 60
INTELLIGENCE: 75
LOOKS: 68
S-SKILL: 30
CHARISMA: 10
COMMUNICATION: 56
LUCK: 60
REPUTATION: 5
INFAMY: 90
__________________________
The numbers looked better.
More balanced, I guess.
But physically? Mentally?
I didn't feel any different.
Kind of disappointing, but whatever.
Now I was completely out of ♥︎.
Which was fine.
This place was basically full of opportunities to earn more anyway.
I could just farm them again.
That was the whole point, right?
Now then… who should I go for first?
While I was thinking about that, someone walked past me.
"Alright, take your seats now, everyone."
It was a woman's voice.
Calm, clear, and somehow… naturally seductive.
Not forced. Not intentional.
Just the way she spoke made it sound like that.
It was honestly kind of unfair.
She wasn't even trying, and it still came out that way.
She had a pair of big breasts and eyes that had this subtle, alluring look to them.
Her figure alone was enough to grab attention without effort.
Yeah, there was no way anyone wasn't noticing her.
She was our professor.
Miss Sarah.
Well, seems like I found my first target...
__________________________
Sarah
Currently locked. You can't view them. You have to acquire the necessary requirements first.
Requirement: Perfect your score in midterm.
__________________________
…Wait.
Locked?
So I couldn't even see her status?
And I had to complete a requirement first?
That was new.
I sat there for a moment, trying to process that, while she continued speaking.
"I believe all of you are already aware of this, but your midterm examination will take place in two weeks. I am informing you early so that you can prepare properly. I expect all of you to perform well and achieve satisfactory results. I hope none of you fail, but considering some of your current standings based on previous quizzes, failure is a real possibility. Please begin studying seriously starting today."
Two weeks.
Just two weeks.
How was I supposed to perfect a midterm in that amount of time?
__________________________
WARNING: If you fail the requirements, it will be permanently locked. This means you will not be able to proceed with Sarah at all. Best of luck.
HINT: Increase your intelligence up to 150♥︎
__________________________
150♥︎?
In just two weeks?
Well… I guess I should at least appreciate the system for giving me a hint on how to clear this level.
But seriously… just how difficult did the professor have to be for her status to be locked like this?