Akira and Ayaka reached the apartment building just as the first hints of dawn began to light the eastern sky. The building was dark and quiet; everyone was presumably still asleep.
"We should clean up before going inside," Ayaka suggested, gesturing to the black ichor covering Akira's clothes and skin. "That substance will raise questions."
"Good point." Akira looked around and spotted a garden hose attached to the exterior of the building. "This'll have to do."
He turned on the water and began washing off the worst of the demon blood. The cold spray was shocking after the heat of the pocket dimension, but it helped clear his head. Ayaka helped, using her hands to scrub the more stubborn stains from his hair.
"There," she said finally. "Still looks like you've been in a fight, but at least you don't look like you've been in a slaughterhouse."
"Thanks, I think."
They made their way inside and up to their floor, moving as quietly as possible.
Akira and Ayaka parted ways quickly in the hallway, exchanging only a brief, fatigued nod. He slipped back into his room, half-expecting to find Mia still there, ready to unleash her fury.
The room was empty.
He locked the door behind him and collapsed onto the bed, ignoring the dropped towel on the floor and the distinct scent of Mia's perfume still hanging in the air.
Ai's warm and seductive voice purred in his mind. "My heroic boy! You survived your first portal! Let's see what you earned, shall we? You've been a very good boy tonight!"
Despite his exhaustion, Akira managed a tired smile. "Ai, full status report. Everything. Now."
"Of course, darling! Feast your eyes on this!"
His vision filled with glowing text:
[FULL STATS]
[HOST NAME: AKIRA KANZAKI]
[CURRENT LEVEL: 1 (PLAYER)]
[PRIMARY GOAL: REVENGE, DOMINATION, BUILD EMPIRE OF DESIRE]
[CORE ATTRIBUTES & RESOURCES]
[CHARM: 9/100]
[POWER: 7/100]
[PERV-POINTS (PP): 320]
[DOMINANCE: LVL 1]
[CONFIDENCE: 5/100]
[PHYSICAL STATISTICS]
[STRENGTH (STR): BASE 10 + ESSENCE MODIFIER 3 = 13]
[DEXTERITY (DEX): BASE 12 + ESSENCE MODIFIER 5 = 17]
[ENDURANCE (END): BASE 8 + ESSENCE MODIFIER 2 = 10]
[ESSENCE (ESS): BASE 5 + ESSENCE MODIFIER 15 = 20]
[CHARISMA (CHR): BASE 13 + ESSENCE MODIFIER 0 = 13]
[TITLES ACQUIRED]
[QUICK KILLER]
[DEMON HUNTER]
[ESSENCE BEARER]
[SKILLS & ABILITIES]
[AURA OF DOMINANCE: LVL 1 - Radiates pressure, suppressing lesser entities]
[LUST SCAN: LVL 1 - Helps understand what others crave most]
[PRECISION STRIKE: LVL 1 - Critical strike assistance and accuracy]
[ESSENCE SIPHON: LVL 1 - Allows conscious extraction of power from intimate connections]
[DEMONIC MEDITATION]
[FOCUS UNDER PRESSURE]
[SYSTEM INVENTORY & RESOURCES]
[CURRENCY: ESSENCE SHARDS 7/10 FRAGMENTS]
[ACQUIRED ITEM: SCRAP MANTIS ESSENCE CORE - USED FOR GATE CLOSURE]
[WEAPON: RUSTY DAGGER]
[UNLOCKED H-SCENE: RESIDENCE]
[RELATIONSHIP AFFINITIES & CURRENT OBJECTIVES]
[MIA TAKAHASHI: AFFINITY 63]
[AYAKA SHIRATORI: AFFINITY 80]
[RINA: AFFINITY 30]
[AOI SAITO: AFFINITY 20]
[YUKI HAYASHI: N/A - CURRENT OBJECTIVE: REPAIR RELATIONSHIP (DIFFICULTY: HARD)]
[ONGOING QUEST: REPAIR RELATIONSHIP WITH YUKI HAYASHI]
Akira stared at the display, his exhaustion momentarily forgotten. "Three hundred and twenty PP? Seriously?"
"Your Essence stat has seen the biggest leap, darling, thanks to the sheer amount of demonic energy you absorbed from the Mantis!" Ai explained enthusiastically. "Your Dexterity is also climbing nicely! That's why you could dodge so well. Ready to shop?"
Akira was genuinely stunned.
His Essence had jumped from 5 to 20, which is a massive boost. And his Dexterity modifier explained how he'd managed those last-second dodges that should have been impossible.
"Show me the store, Ai," he said, sitting up despite his body's protests. "What can I buy with 320 PP?"
"Ooh, shopping time! Here's what I've got for you, darling!"
[SYSTEM STORE: PP EXCHANGE]
[MINOR HEALTH POTION (MHP) - 20 PP: Restores minor physical injuries, including bruises and small cuts]
[ESSENCE SHARD (1) - 10 PP: Purchase a single shard to complete a Gem]
[STAT BOOST: +1 END - 50 PP: Permanently increases Endurance by 1 point]
[SKILL: ESSENCE SHIELD (LVL 1) - 100 PP: Creates a weak shield of condensed Essence, one use per hour]
[SKILL: LUST CONTROL (LVL 1) - 75 PP: Active skill to briefly suppress or redirect target's immediate lust impulses, helps with focused Essence Siphon]
[AFFINITY BOOST: +10 (TARGET) - 50 PP: Instantly raise a girl's Affinity by 10 points]
Akira's eyes narrowed as he studied the options. He was tired of being injured and thrown across rooms. His priority had to be survival and control. No amount of power mattered if he was dead.
"I'm buying the Minor Health Potion first," he decided. "And three Essence Shards to complete my first Gem."
"Smart choice, darling! Purchasing now!"
[PURCHASE CONFIRMED]
[PP: 320 - 20 (MHP) - 30 (SHARDS) = 270 PP]
[ESSENCE SHARDS: 10/10 CONVERTING TO 1X GEM]
[1X GEM ACQUIRED!]
[ITEM ACQUIRED: MINOR HEALTH POTION]
The health potion materialised in his hand as a small vial filled with glowing blue liquid. Akira didn't hesitate. He uncorked it and downed the contents in one gulp.
The effect was immediate and profound.
Gentle warmth spread through his entire body, flowing into every bruised muscle and strained tendon. The throbbing pain in his ribs faded to nothing.
The burning sensation from the acid burns disappeared. Even his back, which had been screaming since he'd hit that pillar, felt functional again.
"Holy shit," he breathed. "That actually works."
"Of course it works, darling! I don't sell defective products!"
Now for the bigger decision. He had 270 PP left. He could buy the defensive Essence Shield for 100 PP, or get Lust Control for 75 PP and still have points to spare.
The shield meant surviving the next attack, which he was sure was going to come. Lust Control meant better PP farming through Siphon in the future.
Akira weighed his options carefully: long-term growth versus immediate survival.
"I'm taking the Essence Shield," he decided finally. "I need defence more than farming right now. Can't gain PP if I'm dead."
"Excellent reasoning! Practicality first, pleasure later! Purchasing now!"
[PURCHASE CONFIRMED]
[PP: 270 - 100 (SHIELD) = 170 PP]
[SKILL UNLOCKED: ESSENCE SHIELD (LVL 1)]
Akira felt new knowledge flood into his mind, instinctive understanding of how to call upon his essence and shape it into a protective barrier.
It wouldn't stop everything, but it might mean the difference between life and death next time.
"Perfect! Now, with your first Gem, you have access to the premium store!" Ai's voice was practically vibrating with excitement. "The true treasures of the system, darling! Things that can't be bought with mere PP!"
"Show me the Gem store, Ai."
"With pleasure!"
[SYSTEM STORE: GEM EXCHANGE (PREMIUM)]
[AURA OF POWER (LVL 1) - 1 GEM: CORE SKILL that permanently enhances the effect of Aura of Dominance and Lust Scan on targets below the host's current POWER level]
[ESSENCE WEAPON FORGE - 2 GEMS: TOOL that allows the host to temporarily infuse and upgrade any non-magical weapon with Demonic Essence, granting a temporary Rank C rating]
[HEALING CATALYST - 1 GEM: PASSIVE that triples the natural healing rate of physical injuries for 24 hours, one-time use]
[FLIGHT/TELEPORT VIAL (LIMITED) - 1 GEM: CONSUMABLE allowing one immediate short-range teleport or brief burst of low-level flight with 30-second duration]
Akira stared at the options, his tired mind working through the implications.
The Aura of Power sounded like the foundation for everything he wanted to build: more substantial influence, better domination, the ability to bend people to his will. That fed directly into his ultimate goals.
The Essence Weapon Forge was tempting too. His rusty dagger had barely scratched that Mantis's armour. Having a weapon that could actually damage demon chitin would be invaluable.
But weapons could be replaced. Skills were permanent. Plus, he only had one gem.
"I'll buy the Aura of Power, Level 1," he said firmly. "I need a stronger base for my influence."
"Ooh, going for the power fantasy early! I like it!" Ai giggled. "Purchasing now!"
[PURCHASE CONFIRMED]
[GEMS: 1 - 1 (AURA OF POWER) = 0]
[SKILL UNLOCKED: AURA OF POWER (LVL 1)]
[AURA OF DOMINANCE: UPGRADED]
[LUST SCAN: UPGRADED]
Another flood of knowledge hit him, this time about how to channel his essence through his aura, how to make it more potent, more focused.
"Perfect!" Ai purred. "Now you're starting to look like a proper system bearer! Though you should probably sleep before you collapse, darling. Your body needs rest to fully integrate all these changes."
Akira realized she was right. The adrenaline from the fight was now completely gone, replaced by bone-deep exhaustion. He could barely keep his eyes open.
"Yeah... sleep sounds good..." he mumbled, already lying back on the bed.
He was asleep before his head fully hit the pillow.
—
Sunlight stabbed through his eyelids like hot needles. Akira groaned, rolling over and immediately regretting it as his body reminded him of last night's battle. The health potion had helped, but he was still sore.
He forced his eyes open, squinting against the bright morning light flooding through his window. How long had he been asleep?
He looked around for a clock and spotted one on the bedside table.
10:47 AM.
His blood ran cold.
"Oh shit!" He bolted upright, his heart suddenly racing. "I'm late! School started almost three hours ago!"