Chapter 30: The Little Brother Protective Battle for the Wind Oil

…

Let me tell you the outcome first, the operation failed, a massive failure!

With one minute left on the countdown, Himekoji Akito gave up struggling, decisive as a useless person.

He thought, even if he succeeded, it was only a whopping ten 2D Points reward — like throwing crumbs to a beggar. Besides, there was no punishment for surrendering.

So why force himself to endure this miserable torture?

After weighing the pros and cons, this guy immediately quit.

Next question, maybe next question would be easier. Wasn’t there an old saying? A dead fish isn’t afraid of boiling water.

…

[QUEST COMPLETION ASSESSMENT—]

[FAILURE!]

[AUTOMATICALLY ADVANCING TO NEXT QUESTION—]

[CHOOSE!]

[A: Follow the trend. Essential Balm into Hiratsuka Shizuka-sensei’s underwear.]

[B: Shrink your proud “little brother” down to three centimeters.]

[Due to first quest’s failure, rewards have been deducted.]

[If another failure occurs, Option B will be automatically selected, and you will advance to the next question.]

[After completion, a surprise awaits!]

A surprise? Some surprise! I’m looking forward to it not at all!

The moment the options flashed up, Himekoji Akito felt he had nothing left to live for…

They literally just said failure has no punishment, and then immediately came to slap him in the face.

Was this intentional? It had to be intentional!

Turning my little brother into three centimeters? What the heck is that?!

That tiny and pathetic? Even my Lefty and Righty would be disgusted!

And Essential Balm to “follow the trend”… Come on! That weird trend was months ago!

Besides, we don’t need to follow it! Always paying attention to these kinds of trends is just perverted!

Complaints aside, after venting his frustration Himekoji had no choice but to calm down and start analyzing the choices.

First, Option A. This was even worse than the last question. Not only insanely difficult, but failure meant literal explosion!

Then, Option B. No difficulty. Select it and it’s done instantly.

BUT!

If he really chose B, by that point, Himekoji Akito would probably have felt utterly hopeless…

Think about it! He’d completely lose any reason to live!

Three centimeters? Freakin’ three centimeters! What use is this iron rod?

No, better comparison… More like an iron needle…

Yeah, what use is this iron needle?

The most perfect ending… Wait, scratch that. The only, ONLY reliable ending…

Exactly! The only reliable ending was to choose A and succeed.

If he failed, the System would default to Option B and stick him in the next cycle.

In that case… it’d be better to just choose B from the start… At least, he wouldn’t face the torture of the next question…

[CHOOSE!]

The next instant, the System’s emotionless, mechanical, icy voice urged him again.

“I choose death…”

‘Useless person’ wasn’t even enough to describe Himekoji now. Now, Himekoji was utterly useless.

[RESPECT THE OPTIONS!]

[IF NO DECISION IS MADE WITHIN FIVE SECONDS, THE SYSTEM WILL SELECT RANDOMLY.]

[5, 2, 1!]

“A! I choose A, dammit!”

Holy crap! He almost got screwed by the System again! The promised five seconds? You only counted three numbers!

Luckily, Himekoji Akito reacted quickly.

Otherwise, if it randomly selected B… the consequences were unthinkable!

His little brother still had a grand career ahead with him!

If it became three centimeters? Forget a career! It couldn’t even manage anything!

[COUNTDOWN: TWENTY-FOUR HOURS!]

Hearing “twenty-four hours,” Himekoji Akito breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Truly the only good news he’d heard all day.

So generous of them not to make it five minutes!

…

Though the choice of option had involved a huge mental tug-of-war in Himekoji’s mind, in reality, it only took an instant.

So right now, in reality, Hiratsuka Shizuka-sensei’s fury was still ongoing—

“Poison in cookies that look like shit?! Get out! I have no student like you!”

What kind of cookies were they exactly?

They had single-handedly turned this “mutually respectful” teacher-student pair into “bitter enemies.”

Thus, Himekoji Akito was expelled from the Huashan Sect… no, he meant expelled from the office.

Additionally, he was saddled with the monumental task of writing a 100,000-word self-reflection essay.

…

Classes that afternoon passed by in a haze.

Himekoji Akito mechanically copied the self-reflection essay with both hands.

One hundred thousand words… his hands were tired!

But tired hands were manageable. His heart was exhausted!

His mind was racing non-stop, trying to devise a plan.

Unlike the “Pantyhose Grand Operation,” this time, Himekoji vividly named his plan—

“The Little Brother Protective Battle for the Wind Oil.”

Success was the only option! Failure was not allowed!

“Check skill exchange list, one-time skills, thief category.”

Although Himekoji Akito was extremely unhappy with the System right now, he knew he still had to rely on it if he didn’t want to become three centimeters tall.

This wasn’t the time for childish tantrums—he needed to be rational!

[List generating—]

[Sneak In: Your best choice for sneaking into houses or stealing valuables! Exchange cost: 200 points.]

[Club On Head: Master pressure points to knock people unconscious and cause short-term memory loss. Makes targets pass out and forget the last two minutes. Exchange cost: 200 points.]

[Backstab: Want to experience the thrill of life-taking and goods-stealing? Look no further! Place your order now! Exchange cost: 200 points.]

“Good grief, they even have killing?” Himekoji gasped. Was this System designed for criminals?

Fortunately, the user was an exceptionally handsome upstanding gentleman like him. Otherwise, consequences could be disastrous!

Trying to lift his spirits with this shameless self-praise, Himekoji kept scrolling—

[Phantom Thief Trial Card: Silver Wings, Magician Beneath the Moonlight! Exchange cost: 1000 points.]

[Thief Trial Card: This world needs more thieves! Exchange cost: 1000 points.]

“The heck it does!”

Reaching this point, Himekoji decided against scrolling further.

He only had a pitiful 410 2D Points left. Anything beyond was clearly out of his budget.

That meant his targets were the earlier skills: Sneak In, Club On Head, or Backstab.

Himekoji began agonizing anew.

No matter his choice, this was a losing deal.

This was precisely why he rarely—almost never—exchanged skills. Exorbitantly expensive, strictly one-use, vanishing instantly after use—utterly worthless compared to novels or manga.

At least novels or manga kept generating profit. No expiration nonsense.

Himekoji sighed inwardly—Ah!

All those perverted deeds undertaken, endless effort poured in, countless scornful gazes endured… Just to watch those hard-earned points fly away now…

His One-Punch Man dreams, his royalties, his wealth… his path to riches… his life’s pinnacle… and… his Imouto…

Gone. All gone.

Extra Story: World Line Two

Today, Himekoji Akito finally had his date with the girl he adored.

After dinner, inside their hotel room, gazing at her flushed, shy face, he eagerly swept her onto the bed.

Lost in touching, burning passion, just as he moved atop her, readied to shoot—his bullets shot into his pants instead.

Himekoji rolled off. Calmly lighting a cigarette, he met her pleading eyes and stated flatly—

“I’m a good guy. I truly don’t wish to hurt you.”

With this excuse, Himekoji claimed urgent matters and left immediately.

He burst out the door. Racing alone down the corridor like a madman, he lunged into the restroom.

Curled in a corner, dark clouds seemed to lower as he wept violently, near fainting.

Through choked sobs, he recalled his life’s most shameful, agonizing day—

Hey… ever tasted absolute despair?

…

[Options Demand Respect!]

[Failing choice within five seconds forces system random selection.]

[5, 2, 1!]

[Time’s up!]

[Initiating random selection!]

[Result—B!]

…

That day, the System’s voice was cold, callous, downright beastly—and utterly wicked!

Promising five seconds? Counting only “three” numbers?!

In that sudden instant, the Himekoji of that other world line felt confused. A moment’s hesitation sealed his fate.

He became a three-centimeter tall person.

But sheer size wasn’t the true terror. Far crueler? The cursed System added an instant… buff!

Damn your ancestors!

We’ll label that other life World Line Two.

Regardless, Himekoji of Line Two lived profoundly depressed.

Somehow, “Fastest. Shortest.” became his lifelong motto.

…

At forty, Himekoji Akito—still three centimeters tall—saw through earthly illusions. He entered an ancient mountain temple, shaved his head, took monastic vows.

One day.

Within the temple.

“Junior brother, release me! The Bodhisattvas observe us!”

“But even they cannot witness my sorrow.”

Clutching the abbot tightly, Himekoji whispered this.

In that moment, his heart shattered utterly…

For this choice was—

[Choose Now!]

[A: Hug the Abbot.]

[B: the Abbot. (Violate)]

Damned System! Even after becoming a monk?! You never let me go?!

…