2. Stat Check: Failure Imminent
1095 Words
Kairi thought maybe, just maybe, his luck was turning around.
Sure, he’d gotten a weird glitch app that turned his entire life into a chaotic RPG. Sure, he’d almost died of embarrassment. And sure, he’d accidentally asked the scariest girl in school to be in his “party” — whatever the hell that meant.
But she let him walk her home.
That had to mean something, right?
Like maybe fate was finally cutting him some slack.
Right?
Wrong.
The next morning, the System greeted him like a caffeinated gremlin.
☀️ Good morning, Kairi Aozora!
Daily Log-in Bonus: +1 Stamina
🛠️ Tip of the Day: Showering increases your Hygiene stat. Try it sometime.
He groaned into his pillow.
“Even my phone is roasting me now…”
He dragged himself to the bathroom, glancing in the mirror. Messy hair. Faint dark circles. A charisma stat still lower than his shoe size.
[Kairi Aozora – Level 1 | INT: 32 | CHR: 13 | LUCK: 77 | CLASS: ???]
Skill: Accidental Charm (Passive)
Buff: Shared Trust – Amaya Kisaragi
His eyes widened. “Wait… that’s new.”
He tapped on the “Shared Trust” icon. A tiny window popped up:
✨ [Shared Trust – Passive Party Buff]
You and Amaya Kisaragi now receive +2 Defense against social attacks when in proximity.
Bonus Effect: Emotional Sync (Locked)
He didn’t know what “Emotional Sync” meant, but it sounded dangerously like a shipping mechanic.
“Nope. No way,” he muttered. “I am not getting feelings just because some weird app wants me to. That’s illegal. That’s manipulation.”
The System beeped.
New Side Quest: “Deny Feelings – Reward: +1 Denial”
Are you sure?
Kairi threw his towel at the screen.
At school, things were already spiraling.
The class rep — one of Amaya’s underlings — walked in holding a whiteboard with stats written on it like it was totally normal.
“Alright, morning announcements,” she said, monotone. “Reminder: Midterms are next week. Anyone under INT 40 should sign up for extra tutoring.”
Kairi choked on air.
What happened to just handing out worksheets?!
A few students raised their hands. Kairi noticed their “INT” stats suddenly glowed with red outlines. Debuffs. Like shame levels or something.
He shrunk deeper in his seat.
Then the door slid open.
Reiji Kanzaki stepped in.
Silence fell. It was like the room took a breath and held it.
Perfect posture, white shirt neatly pressed, black hair falling just enough to frame his face like some sort of anime prince. His God-tier IQ stat shimmered like a threat.
And worse?
He walked straight toward Kairi’s row.
⚠️ Alert: Rival proximity detected.
Initiating passive comparison...
CHR: 12 vs. 90
INT: 32 vs. 999
Cool Factor: -100 vs. God Mode
Kairi stared ahead, praying he could melt into the desk.
Reiji stopped. Looked directly at him. Then leaned down slightly, just enough for only Kairi to hear.
“You’re the one with the System, aren’t you?”
Kairi’s blood froze.
“…I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he whispered.
Reiji’s eyes didn’t blink. “Liar.”
Then he turned and walked away like nothing happened.
Kairi didn’t remember the rest of class.
His brain short-circuited somewhere around page four of the math packet. All he could think about was that one word.
Liar.
Did Reiji really know? How? Was he connected to the System? Another user?
[Warning: Hidden Quest Unlocked – “Don’t Get Caught”]
Objective: Keep your System secret for 3 days
Reward: Stealth Skill (Passive)
Penalty: Reboot Risk
Reboot. That didn’t sound good.
“What does reboot mean?” Kairi whispered.
Reboot = System reset = memory wipe.
TL;DR: You go back to level 0. Forever.
“WHAT?!”
“Mr. Aozora,” the teacher snapped. “Unless you’re calculating the square root of insanity, I suggest you save your outbursts for lunchtime.”
Mika snorted from the next desk.
Kairi melted into his chair. Again.
Lunch couldn’t come fast enough.
He slumped down at their usual rooftop spot, half-eaten bread roll in hand, staring blankly at the clouds.
Mika munched chips beside him. “Sooooo. You’re broken today.”
“I think I’m being hunted.”
“By who? That raccoon in the locker room?”
“…Reiji Kanzaki.”
She stopped mid-bite. “Okay, yeah. That’s worse.”
“I think he knows about the System.”
“Dude.” She leaned in. “Are you sure you didn’t accidentally broadcast your stats or something?”
“I barely know how to not wet myself when he looks at me.”
“Well…” Mika reached over and tapped his phone. “Good news. You’ve survived two full days of high school without spontaneously combusting. That’s an achievement.”
The phone chimed.
New Achievement: “Barely Functioning Human”
Reward: +1 Self-Awareness
Kairi sighed. “Kill me.”
She grinned. “Not until I see whether this whole ‘party with Amaya Kisaragi’ thing becomes a love triangle or a murder mystery.”
Speak of the devil.
Amaya appeared a second later, standing just a little too far from them to be casual.
Mika blinked. “Uh. You lost?”
Amaya gave her a look like she'd just stepped on something sticky. “I came to speak with Aozora.”
Kairi flinched. “Y-Yeah?”
She knelt beside him, pulling something from her bag — a worn notebook filled with neatly written notes and a stat chart.
“I calculated our current efficiency as a party. We’re unbalanced.”
“W-What?”
“I have high INT and CHR. You have mid-range LUCK and… whatever this is.” She pointed to his “Accidental Charm” skill. “That means you draw attention. Unpredictably. That makes you the aggro magnet.”
“I’m… the what?”
“You’re the distraction,” she said simply. “We need to train. After school. Meet me by the gym.”
She stood and walked away.
Mika gawked. “Okay. Did you just get bossed into a training arc? By your crush?”
“Not my crush.”
“Right. Totally not your crush,” she teased.
New Quest: “Amaya’s Training Program”
Reward: +1 Combat Stat, ??? Hidden
Status: Mandatory
Kairi looked up at the sky again.
High school was supposed to be boring.
Instead, he was living a real-life dating sim crossed with a fantasy RPG on c***k.
And the scariest part?
He kind of didn’t hate it.
- Writer
