*Ding~!*
[You received 2 Points in Charisma for completing the Quest ‘Save the Pretty Girl from Truck-kun's Vengeance.’]
[You received 1 Point in Strength and Agility for completing Daily Quest #23!] - [No punishment was applied due to extenuating circumstances. But to make up for lack of character development while you were snoozing, you will need to do four times the exercises today. Double Stat Points will be allotted!]
“...”
For a second, Cassius almost thought the system had a change of heart, but it seemed like it was still the same douche as always. “Well, at least it is a douche that gives out rewards…” he accidentally said aloud.
“A douche…?” The girl adorably tilted her head, with a finger to her chin. “A-Am I the douche…??” Her eyes watered, which made her look like a sad puppy dog to Cassius. He sighed before answering, “No, you are not the douche; you are very nice and cute. I just have an odd habit of talking to myself.”
“C-Cute…?” Smoke erupted from the girl’s head as she repeated that word a few times in a very soft voice.
‘This girl is odd, but she is certainly a coquettish one,’ Cassius commented with a kind smile. After a moment of soaking in her shy cuteness, he pulled up his system interface.
BLING!
________________________________
[Name: Idle Evolution System]
[Host: Cassius] - [Lvl 1]
[Title: Gym Bro (E)]
______________________________
[HP: 65/100] [MP: 100]
[FATIGUE: 34] [AP: 10]
______________________________
[STRENGTH: 23] (Athletic/Bodybuilder+)
[AGILITY: 31] (About as fast as a sh*tty Camry Car)
[ENDURANCE: 21] (You can overcome your SDS (Small Dick Syndrome) with this level of stamina)
[INTELLIGENCE: 20] (Could become a Tutor)
[PERCEPTION: 20] (Do your spidey senses tingle yet?)
[CHARISMA: 22] (Exceptionally handsome)
_______________________________
‘I got 3 AP from something, likely the 1st Idle Benefit?’
As if to answer Cassius’s question, a system pop-up appeared.
*Ding!*
[Due to extenuating circumstances, the system decided to give you a single pass. Don't let it happen again; you need all the character development you can get!]
Cassius's smile turned weird and crooked, which confused the bunny-like girl keeping quiet by the room’s windowsill. Yet, she wasn't given the time to think more on the subject as he turned back to her and said, “Your name?”
“S-Sorry, my what…?”
“Your name; you have one, don't you?”
The girl felt like such an idiot for not catching his words the first time, but she still answered, “Y-Yes, I have a name…! It’s… Wait, what is it again…??” Her muddled mind was far too distracted by Cassius’s face and his exposed abs and muscles that she even forgot her own name. “W-Well, it’s definitely… G something… Yes, it’s Grace!”
Looking at her act so proud over remembering her own name made Cassius chuckle a little. “You really are a cute one, aren't you?”
Steam once again left Grace’s ears as she lightly bit her lips and played with her hands and hair. “Y-You don't have to laugh… I know I’m weird…”
“I said cute, not weird,” Cassius stated matter-of-factly, which left the poor girl even more distressed.
Grace had never interacted much with the opposite sex, but from who she did talk to, she always felt a nasty icky feeling, which made her unconsciously steer away from all men, even the handsome ones. However, there was something different about the man who saved the life of her and her dog. She genuinely enjoyed talking to him; it made her feel good, which was hard to come by for her these days. Everyone always looked at her with pity upon learning of her condition, or they ogled her with lustful gazes.
‘But something’s different about him…’
“Hmm?” Cassius noticed her staring with his Perception stat, but she turned her face away the same moment he turned his head. Yet, instead of finding this annoying, he gently laughed, which made his stomach hurt from the injuries.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Grace shot her big round brown doe eyes back to the bandaged Cassius, worry once again resurfacing in her mind. “You can't laugh! S-Stop laughing!” she reprimanded in a soft voice, trying to sound angry yet failing terribly. But only finding this cute sight funnier, Cassius laughed a little harder, which made her cheeks balloon outward. “Seriously, stop it…! If you keep on laughing, I will call for a nurse!”
Looking at the grumbling angel only made Cassius want to tease her more, but for just this one time, he figured he would cut her a break. He wiped the tears bubbling up at the corners of his eyes before doing the same thing for the tear stain marks on Grace’s face. “You must’ve felt bad about what happened, but you needn’t worry. Something like this is not nearly enough to kill me. So why don't you head on home now? Your parents are surely worried sick.”
Although Grace wanted to refute his words, she knew he was right. Nodding her head meekly, she said, “I-I will go then, but could I… maybe get your phone number…?”
Suddenly blushing, she hurriedly explained, “I-It’s not like that! I just want to thank you properly another time for saving me and my Snow! Pl-Plus, she hasn't even seen you after you were brought to the hospital, s-so…”
Cassius chuckled. He instinctively laid his hand on her head and started to gently rub back and forth. “You can have it; here.” He took his phone from his bedside table and handed it to the flustered girl. “I already unlocked it, so you can just add your contact in.”
Grace slowly grabbed the black phone while enjoying the head pats. She never thought she could like something that made her seem more like a pet, but it felt surprisingly pleasant. Yet, after she put in her contact in his phone and gave it back, she was disappointed to feel the large warm hand leave her head. A small pout formed on her face, but she concealed it well.
“Well, see you later, Grace,” Cassius warmly waved to the girl struggling to leave his hospital room. She really didn't want to leave his side, but he likely needed to rest some more, so she reluctantly nodded. “You promise to contact me later…?”
“I promise.”
“Mhmm!”
With that, Grace skipped away from the hospital room in an unnaturally good mood. A few of the nurses and doctors in the hallway were curious about this lively girl, but before they got the chance to ask anything, she was already long gone.
Meanwhile, back inside Cassius’s hospital room.
He was looking at a flashing red system screen that had never appeared before. His expression turned especially serious as he looked outside the room window. “It seems like this is where I will truly begin my journey as a Hunter.”
BLING!
{[Main Quest]} - [E-Rank]
—[The world is infested with magical Gates that connect to other dimensions, and as the one who aspires to attain maximum character development, it is your duty to conquer them all.]
—[Skipping past F-Rank Gates and going straight for E-Rank Gates, you are to enter and solo-conquer the E-Rank Gate ‘Savage Jungle’ that will appear in the front area of the Hoshito General Hospital at midnight, in 12 hrs 45 minutes.]
[Reward for Quest Completion: 3 Points in all of your Stats]
[Warning!] [Warning!]
[If you do not complete this Quest within 8 hours of the Gate’s opening, you will not only lose your reproductive organs, but everyone in the Hospital will die, because all active Hunters in the area will be dealing with other Gates and won't be able to make it in time.]
[P.S. Trying to contact the Hunters now will not only make you seem like a lunatic who claims to know the location of Sudden Gates, but it will also be seen as a clear defiance of character development. A.K.A, you will lose your balls ^~^]
“...This system really has it out for my testicles, but if this is a way to make me stronger, then I will do it,” Cassius declared as resolve flashed past his eyes.
[Good choice, Host!] - [Hint: Locate a weapon, maybe through theft, because you will need it!]
“You’re not going to give me one…?”
[Nope! ^-^ Good Luck!]
Silence.
Cassius eventually sighed, and then scrutinized his wounds. According to the system, the Endurance stat not only improved his stamina and allowed him to fight longer, but it also increased his ability to Regenerate Health. And seeing as his Health was only at 60% for now, he decided to put 3 AP into Endurance to speed up his recovery. Surprisingly, it did more than expected, as it improved his Health Regeneration speed by double what it was, which should make it possible for him to reach full health before the Gate ‘Savage Jungle' opened.
“I will leave the last 7 AP alone for now, keeping it just in case I get into a predicament where increasing one stat helps me far more than spreading it out right now.”
Cassius laid his head back on his pillow, thinking over just how he could go about acquiring a weapon when his health gets fully restored. He ultimately brainstormed something that may be feasible, but he would have to wait until later to see if that truly was the case.
Therefore, it was nap time for now…
A few nurses came in and out of his room several times while he was sleeping, with some of them taking more than a single peek at his face and body. Some even got a tad bit handsy, but they didn't go too far, so there were no real problems.
Some time later.
8 hours had passed and Cassius’s health was back to 100, meaning it was now time to put his plan to ‘Sorta legally acquire a weapon’ into motion!
He rose from his bed and snuck out of the room without making a peep, most of which was thanks to his Agility Stat, which had a transitional side effect of quietening his movements. All of the other stats had similar such side effects, but none were as useful to Cassius right now as this passive stealth would be for this operation.
After tiptoeing through the eerily quiet hallways of the Hospital’s fifth floor, Cassius found himself heading toward the Janitorial Ward. His reasoning was simple: Surely there would be something long and hard in the Janitor’s area that he could use as a makeshift weapon.
[Long and hard, unlike what you will lose if you stop pursuing further character development ^••^]
“Wow, so funny,” Cassius said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes. Continuing where he left off in the mission, he walked up to a locked door. On the front of it was a sign that said, ‘Janitor’s Closet.’ He promptly tugged on the door handle, but no luck. He then tried using brute force, but that also didn't work.
Cassius pondered ways that he could use to open the locked door, yet thought of nothing feasible. That was when he heard the faint echoes of soft moaning. Feeling a bit of nostalgia, he followed the moans back to their source, which was where he saw an open Janitor’s room. However, rather than do as a Janitor should, this Janitor in particular was drilling his willy into a young nurse that Cassius saw earlier that day.
He would normally do something about this, but it appeared that everything was consensual, so he quietly slipped into the room. Silent as a black cat, he snuck past the couple doing doggy-style against a metal shelf.
After reaching the far left side of the room, Cassius located a bucket, which was filled with mops and spray bottles. Having already deduced a mop to be the best weapon available to him, he grabbed a few of them before sneaking back out the way he came in. The moans weren't too loud because the Janitor’s willy was so tiny, but it was still enough to cover his muffled footsteps and slight door creak.
After returning to his Hospital room, Cassius looked over his obtained loot, which consisted of four brooms and two mops, and… Yeah, that was it.
………