Chapter 304: A Million 2D Points
Chapter 304: A Million 2D Points
Himekoji had his reasons for ignoring these three awesome-looking features.
The “Amazing 10-Draw Gacha” promised epic luck changes or hitting the jackpot like scoring a trip to Europe. It looked great, but after trying it once, Himekoji found it totally sucked. Plus, you could only use it once a month, costing 3,000 2D Points each time. Tossing in that many points risked wasting them all for nothing.
Not only did you pull useless stuff, it was always the same things, like those indoor shoes from Yukinoshita. They were already piled up like a mountain in Himekoji’s locker…
As for “Monthly Quests,” Himekoji wasn’t interested in those either.
He had no big goals right now. He already saved enough money to bring his Imouto home, and life was okay. Why look for trouble by taking on new, weird missions?
Just the random choices messing with his head were enough trouble already.
After “Amazing 10-Draw Gacha” and “Monthly Quests,” there was “2D Stock Exchange.”
Himekoji was super pumped about this feature at first, dreaming of getting rich by trading stocks. But later, thinking calmly, he realized it wasn’t that simple.
His “stocks” traded favor points. The ups and downs weren’t just about money.
To earn, he’d need to raise favor points. But after doing that?
How could Himekoji just sell off all the stocks and walk away?
Earning 2D Points like this felt, to him, kinda sneaky.
So, even when he owed the damn System a ton of points, he never opened this Stock Exchange feature.
Although, he did hold 10 shares of Nanami stock and 10 shares of Katou Megumi stock at that time…
As for Yukinoshita stock, he sold it all off right at the beginning.
Of course, Himekoji never expected that since the market opened, Yukinoshita stock had become the biggest gainer…
It soared from his selling price of 6.00 all the way to 62.23…
More than ten times the price?! Insane!
Apart from that, most other stocks steadily rose, except for Katou Megumi stock, which was super steady, barely any waves at all. It was practically a flat line.
Why say “most”? Because two stocks actually dropped.
Rikka stock and Hanjo stock, both fell by two percent last week.
Some rising, some falling—that finally followed market rules. Himekoji breathed a tiny sigh of relief.
With this stock market, what scared him most was actually the possibility of favor points maxing out all at once and then… boom.
…
After carefully thinking it over, Himekoji still decided to put his hopes on the “10-Draw Gacha.”
This thing was all down to luck. He could only pray inside that this time, the “Amazing 10-Draw Gacha’s” promise of changing fate might actually work.
A 10-Draw cost 3,000 2D Points. It basically cleaned him out again.
He had just managed to fill the huge hole left by that “Naked Loan” debt not long ago, so he didn’t have much saved up anyway.
And honestly, it was weird. Lately, quest rewards were all kinds of strange, uncommon stuff. The simplest reward, just plain 2D Points, was actually getting rarer and rarer.
[Ding!]
[“Amazing 10-Draw Gacha” Ticket purchased successfully!]
[Ding!]
[Regular Customer Return Bonus activated!]
[Congratulations! You gained a special “10-to-1 Draw” time-limited privilege! Will you use it?]
“10-to-1 Draw?”
Himekoji lifted an eyebrow, sounding confused.
What kind of thing was this?
The System explained immediately—
[Ten separate draws become one draw! Luck doubled! Guaranteed to produce an S-Rank or higher item!]
Ten draws turned into one draw? S-Rank?
Wait, how good was an S-Rank item, exactly?
Not really sure…
Himekoji remembered the only A-Rank item he ever pulled in a previous 10-Draw was Yukinoshita bra…
An S-Rank probably wasn’t that much better than A-Rank, right?
It better not pull out another set of Yukinoshita premium underwear…
That would make him spit blood from anger.
Thinking this, Himekoji hesitated. Should he really use this privilege? Maybe sticking to sheer numbers was safer?
Wait no, relying on numbers? Even if he pulled ten pairs of underwear, what good would that do?!
He weighed the pros and cons, thinking again and again. Finally, gritting his teeth, he decided to go for it! One draw it is!
After all, ten draws might ruin your life, but a single one can be a miracle!
[Ding!]
[Draw Completed!]
[Reward issued, please confirm receipt!]
“Huh? Done that fast?”
“Whoa!”
Himekoji wasn’t mentally prepared at all!
Sure, he didn’t think any superstition really worked, but he couldn’t even pick an auspicious day or anything? Not even a moment to brace himself?!
This damn System seemed afraid he might change his mind…
“Crap!”
The curse slipped out. Himekoji suddenly realized what he’d said and clapped a hand over his treacherous mouth.
Gotta watch it! He just called the System “damn”…
[Please confirm receipt!]
The System kindly reminded him, probably because he wasn’t reacting.
Too late now. Himekoji had no choice but to suck it up and accept it. He took an unwilling peek—
[Card Gift Pack. Will you open it?]
Card Gift Pack? Rare cards? What the heck was this now?
So many gimmicks…
Himekoji grumbled in his head. “Open it, open it,” he replied casually, expecting absolutely nothing.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations! You obtained—]
[Mission Refresh Card: Refreshes all active quests once randomly.]
[Popularity Cashout Card: Converts the user’s accumulated popularity from various areas into 2D Points.]
[System Upgrade Card: Spend 1,000,000 2D Points to upgrade the System to version 3.0.]
“Hiss—”
Himekoji inhaled sharply the moment he finished reading the description.
One million 2D Points?
This broken System wanted that much just for an upgrade?!
That was one million!
He should know—he’d been working hard as a Pervert for over a year, never slacking off even once, and had only managed to save up a little over three thousand 2D Points up till now.
No!
He had just wasted those three thousand 2D Points moments ago, spinning the roulette three times.
Now all he had left was 233!
The gap to a million felt like crossing an enormous chasm…
“What kind of joke is this!”
Himekoji was about to loudly complain to the system about the unfair pricing when something soft bumped against him from behind.
A pair of slender girl’s hands circled around and hugged his waist.
A faint, familiar scent drifted over, wrapping around Himekoji’s nose, causing his spine to stiffen reflexively.
The mysterious System was immediately forgotten.
“H-hey, Shiina?”
Himekoji gulped loudly.
He’d specifically gone onto the balcony, rumored to have the best luck, for the roulette. So now, with Mashiro hugging him like this, there was a real chance his sister or Nanami could see them at any moment!
“I’m not sure,”
came Mashiro’s unclear voice, melting into the night’s silence.
“Not sure?”
“Mmm, I just wanted to do this.”
“…I see.”
Himekoji, who had just been about to push Mashiro away in a hurry, stopped upon hearing this.
He probably understood why Mashiro was hugging him.
Was it because she was nervous?
“Tomorrow is the twentieth,”
the girl murmured, her cheek pressed against Himekoji’s back, her voice seeming to climb up his spine until it reached his ear.
“Yeah, I know. Tomorrow’s when the magazine comes out, right? The one carrying Shiina’s manga.”
“You promised.”
“Mhm, I’ll go to the bookstore with you.”
Himekoji hadn’t forgotten the promise he made.
However, at the very moment Himekoji’s words landed, a soft thump echoed from the Genkan.
Himekoji instinctively turned his head, his gaze cutting through the living room towards the entryway—
It was Nanami, who seemed to be about to go out.
Unsure if she had seen him and Mashiro on the balcony, Himekoji felt a twinge of guilt. He quickly took a small step forward, putting a little distance between himself and Mashiro.
This kind of hug felt a bit too intimate.
Where was Nanami going?
That question naturally popped into his mind next.
Right, today was Saturday!
Himekoji remembered. Nanami had a part-time job at a dessert shop every Saturday and Sunday evening.
Her going out late tonight had to be for that reason.
Yet, today Nanami seemed off somehow.
Leaning against the shoe cabinet in casual clothes, she stood there with her head bowed, motionless. Gone was her usual brisk efficiency.
“Aoyama?”
Himekoji couldn’t help but call out.
Nanami slowly lifted her head, looking towards Himekoji with dazed eyes. Her face was flushed, yet she seemed terribly cold, hugging herself with a slight tremble.
Definitely not okay!
Himekoji’s heart skipped a beat. He stepped out from the balcony and hurried towards Nanami, with Mashiro following quickly behind him.
“Aoyama, what’s wrong?”
Himekoji stopped in front of Nanami, frowning.
“N-no… not wrong. I’m fine.”
Her voice sounded different from usual, completely lacking its usual vigor.
“But it’s obvious something is wrong!”
Himekoji reached out and touched her forehead. Her hot skin burned against his palm.
She had a high fever, really serious…
“I told you, I’m fine.”
Even in this state, Nanami tried to be stubborn, feebly shaking off Himekoji’s hand.
The girl was in terrible shape. Just that small movement made her cough painfully.
Himekoji stepped closer, gently patting her back.
“Himekoji… se xual ha rass ment…”
“Is this really the time to say that?”
Himekoji retorted with a touch of irritation, scolding her slightly.
He felt annoyed that Nanami hadn’t taken better care of herself. He had told her to rest before, but she hadn’t listened. Now, predictably, she was completely exhausted.
“I won’t say it, then… I… I need to get to work… going to be late…”
Her fragmented speech was clear proof of her poor condition.
“In your state? Forget about work! You’re going straight to the hospital!”
“Taking sudden leave… would trouble them…”
“Troubling them? Showing up sick like this would trouble them even more!”
Himekoji hardened his expression as he spoke to her for the first time.
Nanami couldn’t possibly go out like this. He doubted she could even make it to her workplace.
“But…”
Her body swayed unsteadily, as if it would collapse any moment.
“No ‘buts’! You are definitely going to the hospital right now!”
“I…”
Nanami tried to protest again, but Himekoji cut her off right away.
“Do you have that very important thing tomorrow?”
Nanami fell silent.
Tomorrow—
June 20th. The Midterm Performance Showcase for her Seiyuu training class.
…
…