Chapter 38: Getting Gacha For Sleeping With A Beauty
The hallway was dark, and Adrian kept one hand against the wall as he walked.
He knew the apartment well enough by now to find his way around without turning on the lights. Avoiding the furniture was another matter.
Ahead, the living room was still lit. Good. At least he wouldn’t have to navigate the apartment like a burglar.
He stepped into the living room, wearing nothing but his underwear and far too comfortable with the fact that this had somehow become normal.
The baked pasta was exactly where Rose had told him it would be. Adrian pulled it out, lifted the foil enough to look, and immediately put it back.
He’d already had some earlier. There was no reason to attack the leftovers twice in the same night.
Cereal, then.
He found a box above the microwave covered in cartoon bees. Apparently, Rose had decided breakfast food didn’t need to respect age restrictions.
He poured himself a bowl, added milk, set it on the counter and reached for the spoon.
That was when his phone buzzed. Then buzzed again.
He paused, spoon halfway to the bowl.
Are you being real right now? He grunted. You couldn’t wait until after I ate.
He stretched his hand toward the phone, then stopped. Rose had told him to put his phone down earlier. She wasn’t here to enforce it, but that didn’t mean he had to immediately break the rule.
The phone buzzed again.
Now that was just tempting.
Well one glance wouldn’t hurt anyone, and besides, he’d waited an hour already. Surely the lockout was over by now. He picked up the phone off the counter and unlocked it.
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INVESTMENT ANALYSIS UPDATED.
Target: Rose West
Investment Potential: 47 -> 56%
Investment Type: Romance
NEXT LANDMARK: Devoted lover (80%)
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Adrian’s eyes moved across the notification.
Fifty six percent. A nine percent jump from her previous attraction, perhaps the sex was better than he thought.
He wasn’t sure whether he should feel proud of himself. But, the smile already forming on his face answered that question for him.
His eyes drifted lower.
NEXT LANDMARK: Devoted lover (80%)
Eighty percent. That was still a long way from fifty-six.
But considering how quickly things had changed tonight, Adrian wasn’t going to assume it was impossible. Yet, he couldn’t help but wonder what came after eighty percent.
The system popped up another notification before he’d completed his thoughts.
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NUTRITIONAL MULTIPLIER: RESULT
200% Nutritional Efficiency: Successfully Utilized
Enhanced nutritional value has been absorbed by Host’s body
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Adrian looked at the notification, then at the cereal.
So the ridiculous hunger wasn’t his imagination.
Great. Exactly what I needed. He thought. His fingers scrolling back to the Rose notification before his stomach growled again.
Maybe he could do both.
He set the phone down and picked the spoon back up, already halfway convinced this explained the stomach growl from earlier. Made sense. His body just got twice the nutritional value out of everything he ate.
So perhaps since he had sex, his metabolism rate had sped up.
He looked at the cereal.
So I’m basically turning into luffy now?
The next buzz came before he could take a bite. Adrian frowned. That one felt different. He couldn’t explain why. He just knew it did.
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Unexpected Progression Detected.
Analyzing Host’s current progression...
❗️Error❗️
Recalibrating...
❗️Error❗️
Unregistered Progression Condition Detected.
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The spoon stopped halfway to his mouth.
Adrian read it twice as his grip tightened around the phone. He set the spoon down.
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Registered Target Identified: Rose West
Relationship Progression has reached a previously unregistered milestone.
Reward Calculation Initiated.
Special Reward Generated.
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Adrian stared at the words for another second.
He knew exactly what the system was referring to.
Unfortunately, seeing it registered by the system felt more embarrassing than actually doing it.
Wait. I actually get a reward for sleeping with her?
The system responded.
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Special Reward: 1x A-Rank Gacha Pull 🎟️
Would Host like to open the reward now?
[YES] [NO]
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An A-Rank pull.
Adrian stared at it.
He’d been using C-Rank pulls. An A-Rank pull was something he hadn’t even expected to get this early.
Then, another notification appeared.
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◆ REGRET INVESTMENT MODULE INITIATED ◆
OBJECTIVE REWARD
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Base Reward: $10,000
Progression Multiplier: ×2.0
Current Reward: $20,000
Maximum Reward: UNLIMITED
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His thumb hovered over the screen. Then his eyebrows lifted.
Twenty thousand dollars.
The system had apparently decided tonight was a good night to be generous. But twenty thousand dollars was well beyond anything the system had handed him before.
Now here he was, in Rose’s kitchen with an A-rank Gacha pull and a pending twenty grand reward.
He couldn’t spend it yet, but knowing twenty grand was waiting for him still felt good.
Maybe he should open the A-Rank pull tonight.
After everything that had happened, he figured he deserved to see what the system had been hiding from him. Maybe he should wait until he got home.
Wait. Was he supposed to go home after what what just happened tonight?
The thought remained on his mind for a moment. Then.
A ringtone suddenly cut through the apartment. Some upbeat pop song Adrian didn’t recognize.
He caught himself almost nodding along.
He turned towards the sound. It was Rose’s phone, lighting up somewhere near the couch.
He let the ringtone play on for a moment, then he glanced toward the bathroom. The door was still shut, and he could hear the water running.
He figured she’d want it answered before the ringtone drove him insane, so he set his own phone down and crossed the living room toward the source of the noise.
Rose’s phone sat face-up on the coffee table, screen glowing bright against the dim room. He picked it up to silence it.
Then the screen lit up again as the call refreshed, and his hand stopped moving entirely.
He looked at the caller ID.
☎️Calling=> Maya.
Adrian stopped moving. Maya’s photo filled the screen.
He knew that smile immediately. He’d spent enough time with Maya to recognize it without thinking.
Adrian’s thumb remained above the screen. He didn’t answer the call. He just looked at the name.
Maya.
Why the hell was Maya calling Rose.