Ima woke up feeling disheartened, he had been constantly dreaming all night about Vanesa's rejection, running after her imploring for forgiveness, but just like in reality, he ended up humiliated.
This time, he woke up early and decided to rush to school. He took a shower, dressed decently, and looked at himself in the mirror for a couple of minutes, without saying a word, only consumed by hatred and fear of what would happen at school once he arrived.
"How do I approach those idiots? I have no idea how I could avoid them messing with me again…", the mix of fear and hatred made him imagine hitting the mirror with his head.
Ima was certainly not impulsive, but for the first time, he felt something was crossing his limits.
He left home saying goodbye to his mother, who was watering the plants, kissing her on the cheek. His mother was impressed by the sight of her son leaving home so early.
He pulled out his cell phone to check the time and immediately remembered everything he had seen yesterday. He quickly moved his fingers to find the app and entered. He saw the options again and, as he slowed his pace, selected the Save/Load Slot option.
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[Accessing…]
"Maybe it's a video game or a new social network," he thought. The application finally displayed a notification in a white panel that covered a large part of the screen:
[You do not have access to this section, please try again later!]
"Wow…" he was disappointed and simply put the cell phone into his pants. He regained his speed and finally found himself near the Mini Market. He stopped again to look carefully and saw the cashier from before opening the place and the same magazine, illuminated by the light passing through the window.
The cashier looked at him and quickly recognized him, greeting him. Ima greeted her back and moved quickly out of embarrassment.
"I hope she doesn't think I'm stalking her… I want that magazine."
He finally arrived at school. He stopped at the front, and his mind started playing tricks on him. He sighed in anger and took the first step.
Upon reaching his classroom, he could see shadows and hear voices laughing and shouting.
He entered normally and went straight to his seat, ignoring the fact that everyone was obviously looking at him. It was clear he had become a local star, as most conversations in the classroom were about him and his declaration. Vanesa either hadn't arrived yet or simply preferred to avoid the shame of what happened.
Ima remained silent, looking at no one for minutes, thinking about the consequences that might arise today throughout the school. He rested his forehead on his clasped hands, in a position of reflection.
If there was one thing to highlight right now, it was the strong character he could adopt. Of course, only if no one dared to invade his space like the trio of spoiled kids did.
His demeanor and strength disappeared as soon as he heard the trio enter the classroom, reciting in chorus the words he had said to Vanesa.
He didn't look up or lift his head from his hands, but he knew the three of them were in front of him; he could feel their shadows on the little light filtering through the gaps between his fingers.
"Are you sleeping, Romeo?" the chubby one said.
There was no response from Ima.
"Come on, lift your head, we made you famous," the thin guy said proudly. His voice was hissing, horrible.
Ima was slowly getting frustrated. Every time he heard the voice of both, he couldn't imagine people of their ilk being able to intimidate him.
Finally, he opened his eyes and stood up.
"Ah, so you weren't sleeping. Tell us, how do you feel? Don't you regret bringing shame into Vanesa's life?" the chubby one said.
Ima stood up from his seat and noticed that a large part of the classroom was watching. He got fed up and started walking toward the door. Before he could slide the door open, the chubby one grabbed him by the forearm.
"Where are you going, Ima? Are you going to look for Vanesa and declare yourself again?" he asked, and laughed horribly.
Ima got frustrated and, with a sudden movement, shoved the arm and the chubby one away.
Just like the day before, the HUD appeared above the heads of several people in the classroom. The chubby one's card read:
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[Impression +5xp, Fear +3xp]
[Status: Alert]
"What's wrong? Are you angry with us even after we brought you fame?" the thin guy said, approaching Ima. "What kind of person pays back their benefactors like that?"
The smile on his face made Ima feel frustrated.
"Stop messing with me, I just want to go to the bathroom," he replied, almost without thinking about his words. Even he was surprised.
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[Impression +5xp, Strangeness +2xp]
[Status: Alert]
"Please, I just want to go to the bathr—"
"Come on Ima, talk to me now," the "alpha's" voice made him stop. A voice so calm that it was frightening that someone of his ilk would have it. "I need you to do me a favor."
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[Fear -3xp, Dominance -2xp]
[Status: Dominance over Ima]
Ima read that last piece of data as a revelation; whatever it was, he knew he was feeling it at the precise moment.
"Dominance? Over me? What the hell…? And here I thought I'd ignore all this hallucination nonsense," he thought, annoyed.
"What do you need? I want to go to the bathroom," Ima commented, trying to maintain his posture.
"Come on Ima, don't be a buzzkill and enjoy your fame. Tell everyone about your feelings for Vanesa and what happened to her!" he shouted, with the clear goal of publicly embarrassing him. "Because I don't see her around here, do I? Maybe she's a pariah now, just like you. Don't you think?"
The rest of the group watched closely, some even started chuckling.
Ima nervously came to a decision; he wanted to test himself. With the hatred and sadness he carried, he regulated and toned his voice:
"I don't care," he replied, with a tone so unnatural for him that it silenced everyone.
Again, he started seeing various cards above the heads of others, and all with the same characteristic, even the alpha:
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[Impression +4xp, Bravery +1xp, Credibility -5xp]
[Status: Confused]
"So now I've lost credibility on a social scale, huh? I think my subconscious is trying to tell me something with this. Maybe I should go get my head checked."
A few seconds later, another "hallucination" appeared, this time represented as a pop, like an onomatopoeia:
<
"So you don't care, huh?" the Alpha asked.
"I've already said so. Now, if you'll excuse me," Ima slid the door open.
Before he could step out, a huge shadow fell over his own. The alpha was behind him, and Ima couldn't ignore him.
"What?" Ima asked.
The group remained expectant, even Ima. He thought that at any moment everything would explode, and he would end up with a black eye.
"Do me the favor I asked, please," the alpha dictated. His voice had risen in volume.
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[Tolerance -5xp]
[Status: Intimidating]
"What the hell is wrong with my body…? I feel shaky. Fear? But this time… there were no points. It's not fear, what is it?" he thought for a few seconds. Ima's silence frustrated the alpha.
"I need to think of an ingenious way to leave. If I respond aggressively could I…?"
"I said I don't care. Don't bother me today, please."
Ima's hands and back started sweating; he felt his hairs stand on end and watched anxiously without moving his head.
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[Tolerance -5xp, Frustration +5xp]
[Status: Fed Up]
Before Ima could finish reading the data, the sensation of cutting air passed by his cheek. Instinctively, he moved, falling backward onto his butt.
One of his greatest fears had come true: the alpha had gone beyond words. His fist had grazed Ima near the jaw.
Fortunately, the math teacher entered the room and noticed the scene. Seeing this, and despite how cowardly he might be, Ima shouted that they had tried to hit him.
Unexpectedly, the teacher believed him and asked the trio of idiots to go to their seats and leave Ima alone.
Ima, during the interim before class, was able to notice some of his classmates' cards that read: "Respect +8xp, Cowardice -5xp." And on his teacher, he read a third statistic: "Persuasion +10xp."
II
Ima had managed to evade the trio during lunch. His technique consisted of simply giving them some of the money he was given for food, adopting his submissive posture again. The data that his "subconscious"—as he believed it to be—showed him that, indeed, he had managed to calm the three of them. Although, the alpha's status remained almost unchanged.
He was on the rooftop, eating his cheap meal again and observing from above. He took out his cell phone and re-entered the application. He wanted to check the Save/Load Slot section, but again, it indicated that he should try again later. Given this, he decided to check the other sections again.
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[Accessing…]
"This is definitely weird. Whoever designed this thing came up with something extremely ingenious."
He tapped the alpha's photo.
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[Relationship: Classmate and Intimidator]
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[Affection 0%, Love 0%, Respect 0%, Hatred 64%, Resentment 90% (critical)]
"Critical? What does that mean?" he thought, pressing everywhere on the screen, hoping an informative box would appear, but there was no response.
Ima finished eating, with 15 minutes still remaining. He decided to test his subconscious and its strange points.
"Maybe this is a consequence of so many video games that now I see these things, combined with all that emotional delirium and the fact that I caused Vanesa such a large…?"
Ima headed toward the school hallways. He saw his biology teacher leaving the teachers' lounge and approached her.
"Good morning, teacher," he commented, stopping beside her.
"Good morning, Ima, how is everything going?" she asked, closing the lounge door. "The math teacher told me that they tried to hit you in his class, is that true?"
"That's right… But fortunately, the teacher saw everything and calmed things down," Ima held one of his arms with the other, a clear sign of distress. "Honestly, I'm afraid they might find a way to hurt me or make things worse because of it."
His teacher tried to calm Ima, she was cautious and gave him the obvious cliché advice on what to do in those cases. Ima knew that rarely worked, but he still listened carefully.
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[Condescension +8xp, Esteem +6xp]
[Status: Reflective]
Finally, Ima told his teacher that he had to leave, excusing himself by saying he wanted to go to the bathroom. Before separating from her, he purposely formulated a phrase: "Thank you very much for listening to me, teacher. Have a good day. Those pants highlight your legs."
Upon this, his teacher blushed but maintained her composure and also said goodbye normally. As she turned around, Ima read the card that appeared above her:
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[Affection +3xp, Manners +7xp, Timidity +8xp]
[Status: Flattered]
He himself was impressed that, at the end of his classes, the trio of idiots didn't dare to bother him all day. It even seemed like the air of mockery from his classmates had diminished a bit, as no one mentioned anything about the live broadcast and his declaration for the rest of the day. It seemed, then, that the only one thinking about it and Vanesa was himself.
He felt severely guilty; he wanted to apologize no matter what, but the image of that HUD indicating that Vanesa would not stop hating him, even as a joke, tormented him.
He walked down the street, thinking about everything that had happened with the trio and how his obsession with video games had led him to hallucinate about such things. He even found it funny. And thus, he wouldn't hesitate to check again what was happening, which is why he was in front of the Mini Market, ready to look for the same cashier.
Upon entering, he saw her out of the corner of his eye, although he tried to ignore her presence for 10 whole minutes as he slowly looked for something to buy and eat on the way, but he changed his mind when he saw a small Siamese cat entering the store, approaching him.
"Are you hungry, little one?" Ima asked, and clumsily, he waited for the card to appear, but this time nothing happened.
Ima grabbed a pouch of cat food and went straight to the register. He greeted the cashier normally and dared to compliment her outfit.
"Your style is bizarre, but extravagant, in a good way," he began. "Although I wouldn't dare to do things like that to my skin, I'm a coward."
The cashier smiled and thanked him for the compliment, but Ima wasn't finished yet. He would sacrifice a bit of his dignity to test something, and, he flattered her again.
"It's as extravagant as the person wearing it," he said.
The card above the cashier's head didn't wait and showed itself directly:
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[Discomfort -4xp]
[Status: Uncomfortable]
He finally walked away without further ado, and, once outside, he opened the food pouch and emptied it into a corner of the store. The cat began eating with obvious pleasure. Again, no card appeared above the animal. However, the cashier, who had come out after Ima to return some change he had forgotten, did notice his action.
Upon turning around, Ima was surprised to see her behind him. The girl apologized, handed over the remaining change, and returned to the store. As she did, Ima read the card that appeared above her:
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[Altruism +10xp]
[Status: Hopeful and Interested]
With this, Ima connected the dots and deduced that, indeed, his actions could only be perceived, rewarded, and understood solely by humans who saw him perform the action or who were induced by it.
He resumed his walk and finally arrived home. He greeted his father and mother routinely, and again had to endure dinner with cards above them. Now in his room, and with no homework, he checked his cell phone again.
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[Accessing…]
He selected the alpha again.
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[Relationship: Classmate and Possible Victimizer]
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[Affection 0%, Love 0%, Respect 0%, Hatred 90% (critical), Resentment 90% (critical), Impotence 100% (critical)]
"What the hell? He was more stable hours ago… What happened now? It's not possible…" he thought and tossed the cell phone onto the bed. Without prioritizing what the app indicated about the alpha, believing it was something from the social network, he went straight to his computer. He searched the internet for specific topics related to what he was suffering, but found nothing.
Given the low possibility of finding any answers, he decided to throw caution to the wind and start playing.
"It's been a couple of days since I touched my games. I need to relax for a while with 2D girls," and so he did. He played for hours until dawn.
There was something strange in the air, but Ima didn't perceive it. He played with perversion and was horribly surprised when there were scenes of that nature. He was surprised every time he managed to deduce the remaining plot of a video game route or how X character would act. Or at least that's how it was until, looking at the HUD, he began to form an idea in his head: "Is it possible that I have the skills of an eroge game protagonist? It's not possible… at least…"
He quickly picked up his cell phone and began to check the application in depth, finally. He found, in small, almost imperceptible colored letters, what is surely the most ignored of applications and websites: "For more information, click here."
Upon doing so, Ima felt dizzy and suddenly collapsed in his room, generating a loud thump. A few seconds later, he woke up, but again in a blackened space. He could hear the flow of water and a wooden scent. He walked through all the darkness and finally shouted if anyone was nearby. His scream was heard, and the same voice he heard earlier when he was in a trance returned. It asked Ima if he had called her with any questions, and he affirmed. Whatever generated such a voice, she didn't need Ima to speak again, because in fractions of seconds, she read his mind and gave him the answer to his question.
"You are, Ima, but I can't say more. It is entirely your responsibility what you do with what I grant you; surprise me."
Before Ima could say anything, the entire area began to tremble, and fragments of light pierced the darkness. Finally, everything exploded, and Ima woke up. He didn't know how long he had slept, but the sun filtering through the window suggested that he had slept all night, and everything, in barely a 5-minute trance.