Turns out, the bastard who had been looking for her finally went back to wherever he came from.
Staying in this love hotel wasn't really necessary now.
So we walked out of the room together, and then headed toward the front desk to let the receptionist know we were leaving.
She gave us that same polite, almost knowing smile and told us to come back again sometime.
Yeah… I'm good.
I mean, no offense to the place, but I think I've already experienced more than enough there. Not exactly somewhere I'd casually revisit like a coffee shop.
After that, we stepped outside.
And from that point on, it was just… silence.
Not the peaceful kind either.
The awkward kind.
We walked side by side, but neither of us said anything. It wasn't like we were mad or anything, we just didn't know what to say after everything that happened.
I mean, what even was the right thing to say in a situation like this?
So yeah, we just kept walking.
Eventually, we reached the place where she was supposed to meet the person who called her. It looked like we ended up near a parking lot.
"It's fine here," she said.
"Okay," I replied.
"Thank you again, Leon."
"No probs."
And that was it.
That was the entire exchange.
I swear, I've had more emotional conversations with customer service bots.
The air felt so awkward I was half convinced I might suffocate from it.
"W-Well then… see you at work," she added.
Yeah… this probably had something to do with what I said earlier.
I just stood there for a bit, watching her walk away.
Her pace slowed slightly, like she was thinking about something, or maybe just trying to process everything.
Then, suddenly, someone stepped out of a nearby car.
A woman.
She had this refined, elegant aura around her. The kind that makes you instinctively straighten your posture without realizing it. Everything about her screamed class and status.
If I had to guess, she looked maybe a few years older than me. Not by much, though.
I didn't mean to stare, but before I could even look away, her status window popped up.
And just like with Professor Sarah before, it wasn't fully visible.
__________________________
Reina
Currently locked. You can't view them. You have to acquire the necessary requirements first.
Requirement: Build your own business.
__________________________
I blinked.
Then blinked again.
Build my own business?
Seriously?
That was on a completely different level compared to the requirement for Professor Sarah.
Like… that wasn't just a side quest anymore. That was a whole storyline.
She didn't even glance in my direction.
Her attention went straight to Clara.
And before I could even process what was happening, she raised her hand and slapped Clara across the face.
The sound echoed sharper than I expected.
For a moment, I felt something flare up inside me. Anger, frustration, or something along those lines.
But I held it in.
If I had to guess, this was Clara's older sister.
And considering the situation, she was probably the one who informed Clara that her fiancé had already left the city.
If I stepped in right now, I'd just look like an idiot.
And more importantly… I didn't have the power to do anything about it.
The fact that her status was locked like that pretty much confirmed it.
Compared to her, I was nothing.
After a short moment, the woman got back into the car, and Clara followed without saying anything.
Then the car drove off.
Just like that.
I stood there for a bit, watching until it disappeared.
Then I let out a breath and decided to head home.
***
By the time I got back, I felt more tired than I expected.
Not physically, but mentally.
I dropped onto my bed and let out a long sigh.
Somehow, it was already 9 P.M.
Time really just skipped ahead today.
I pulled up my current status.
__________________________
Leon:
STATUS:
STRENGTH: 60
STAMINA: 60
AGILITY: 60
INTELLIGENCE: 80
LOOKS: 68
S-SKILL: 40
CHARISMA: 10
COMMUNICATION: 56
LUCK: 60
REPUTATION: 5
INFAMY: 90
__________________________
My S-SKILL had gone up quite a bit.
Same with my strength, stamina, and agility.
But honestly… I didn't really feel much different.
There was no sudden burst of energy nor "wow I'm stronger now" moment. There was nothing like that.
My intelligence had increased too, but even then, it still wasn't enough.
I was still around seventy points short of what I needed to absolutely ace my midterms.
Still… today was insane.
Everything that happened with Clara… I definitely didn't see any of that coming.
At the same time, her situation kept bothering me.
I wanted to help her.
But realistically, I knew I couldn't do anything yet.
Not with where I was right now.
At the moment, I had 20 ♥︎.
I could exchange that for credits, which would be useful.
Or… I could just dump it into intelligence and push it up.
And honestly, I already had enough credits for now.
So yeah… might as well.
I went ahead and increased my intelligence.
__________________________
Leon:
STATUS:
STRENGTH: 60
STAMINA: 60
AGILITY: 60
INTELLIGENCE: 100
LOOKS: 68
S-SKILL: 40
CHARISMA: 10
COMMUNICATION: 56
LUCK: 60
REPUTATION: 5
INFAMY: 90
__________________________
And just like that, it was done.
I waited for something to happen.
Or anything.
A sudden realization or a rush of knowledge, even just a small feeling of being smarter.
But… nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
I didn't feel any different at all.
I didn't gain any new thoughts nor any instant genius moment. I still knew the same things I knew five minutes ago.
One plus one was still two. There was no upgrade there.
For a second, I thought… did I just waste those points?
Like, was this whole thing a scam?
But then again… everything that's been happening to me lately wouldn't even be possible without the system.
So calling it useless now would be kind of dumb.
Still… it would've been nice if it at least came with a small "you feel smarter" notification or something. Just a little reassurance.
After thinking about all that for a while, I decided to just call it a day.
***
I woke up feeling… weirdly refreshed.
Like, not just "I slept okay" refreshed, but actually refreshed. The kind where you don't immediately regret being alive the moment your eyes open. It almost felt suspicious, like my body forgot its usual routine of hating mornings.
Still, I sat up and got out of bed, stretching a bit before heading to the bathroom to get ready for university.
"Ugh…" I groaned.
Yeah, okay, maybe mornings still sucked a little.
No system upgrade was going to fix that part. If anything, my brain was already negotiating for another five minutes of sleep the second I stood up. Sadly, no deal.
When I stepped into the bathroom, I looked at myself in the mirror.
My hair was a mess. Not the stylish kind either. Just straight up "I gave up halfway through sleeping" kind of messy. So I ran my hand through it and tried to fix it a bit.
After that, I grabbed my toothbrush and started brushing.
And then something weird happened.
The toothbrush just slipped out of my mouth.
"Wha…?"
I blinked and stared at my reflection.
Something felt different.
Not in a vague way. Like, actually different.
I leaned closer to the mirror and looked at myself properly.
I looked… slimmer.
That was the first thing that stood out.
My face looked a bit sharper, and my stomach didn't have that slight bloated look anymore. Usually, it looked like I had been storing alcohol there like some kind of backup supply, but now?
It was completely flat.
My jawline was a bit more defined too. Not ridiculously sharp, but enough that it was noticeable.
I lifted my shirt to check properly.
There were no abs yet. Disappointing, but expected.
Still, my stomach looked like it did back in high school. That alone was already a massive upgrade.
Now that I thought about it, this was actually my first time checking myself in the mirror after upgrading my stats.
So yeah… it worked.
Even if I didn't feel anything changing physically when I increased them, the results were definitely there.
That was… kind of insane.
"I could probably get abs if I increase my strength more, huh?" I muttered, grinning a little.
I mean, it wasn't a bad idea.
Sure, I could go to the gym like a normal person.
But realistically? That wasn't happening.
Between classes and working multiple jobs, I barely had time to sit down properly, let alone commit to a gym routine.
So if the system could just handle that for me… yeah, I wasn't going to complain.
"This is actually amazing," I said, giving myself a small, smug look in the mirror.
I mean, I wasn't suddenly some top-tier model or anything, but I definitely looked better than before.
That alone was enough to boost my mood a bit.
I could probably lift heavier stuff now too.
Well… not anything crazy. Let's not get ahead of ourselves and embarrass myself at a gym I don't even go to.
***
After getting ready and dressing up for the academy, I stepped outside and started walking.
And then, out of nowhere, a thought hit me.
"Wait… shouldn't I just buy a motorcycle so I can go back and forth to the university more easily?" I said out loud.
I paused for a second.
It actually made a lot of sense.
I had enough credits now.
And I already had a motorcycle license from doing delivery jobs before.
So technically, there was nothing stopping me.
Plus, if I was going to use this system, I might as well go all out with it instead of holding back.
There was no point playing it safe.
So instead of continuing toward the university like I originally planned, I turned around and headed straight for a motorcycle dealership.
***
By the time everything was done, it was already noon.
Paperwork, signatures, and all that annoying stuff… it took a while.
But in the end, I was riding my own motorcycle toward the university.
I checked my remaining credits.
__________________________
Total credit: 3,211c
__________________________
Yeah… that purchase definitely took a chunk out of it.
More or less around half a million credits gone.
But honestly?
Worth it.
This thing was one of the latest models, and it felt smooth as hell to ride.
The moment I got on the road, I could already feel the difference.
There was this sense of freedom that just hit differently compared to walking or commuting.
The wind, the control, and even the speed… yeah, it felt good.
Really good.
Honestly, with this kind of ride?
Yeah… I could probably pick up chicks with this.
Not saying I would.
But… you know.
It wouldn't hurt.