On each different machine, Mayumi did a set first, to show him how to do it. With each machine, she got more intrigued by Asahi. His breathing, posture, and the precision of his movements, it all progressed with blinding speed.

The routine she designed for him was supposed to be a two-day routine, until he progressed enough to be able to turn it into a daily one. To her shock, he managed to complete it on the first day.

Granted, he was extremely tired, but he finished it nonetheless.

Panting, he was sitting down on one of the benches, with Mayumi beside him. Although he had brought a towel with him, it was drenched in sweat, and he had already emptied his water bottle for a second time.

She smiled. “You got the hang of it almost immediately, consider me impressed to say the least.”

He was visibly excited. “After I get some muscles, I’d like to start learning some martial arts too.”

She chuckled. “Easy there, let's walk before we run.”

“Have you trained in any?”

She shook her head. “Just practical combat for personal defense, not a specific martial art.”

“That sounds more like what I want. I don’t wanna participate in competitions or anything like that.”

She pondered for a few seconds. “I think the place where the dude who taught my instructor teaches at, is like a 10-15min train ride from here. I’ll look it up for you later.”

He smiled. “Perfect. Tomorrow I can start doing the routine by myself, so you can do your own thing. Also, thank you.”

She smiled back. “You’re welcome.”

 

After they went back to the apartment, Asahi went to take a shower.

‘Huh, my Physique already went from 4 to 5.’

[ Of course, the lower the stat, the easier it is to raise it. ]

‘If I keep doing this routine every day, and also work on my other stats, am I able to get all of them to 8 before classes start?’

[ Yes. ]

‘What about 9?’

[ Not even if a thousand miracles happened, and I’m talking about one stat, let alone all of them. ]

‘That hard, huh? Well, a 9 is probably represents the elites among the elites in a field, so it makes sense to be a wall.’

[ Correct. Having all stats at 8 would already make you an exceptional human, at least potential-wise.]

Asahi nodded.

Upon leaving the shower, he went to his room to put away the sweaty clothes.

While Mayumi was in the shower, the building’s intercom rang. It was from the security office, saying that all the packages from the list that they provided their office had arrived, and that they would send someone with them. Since he had rush-ordered everything, it wasn’t surprising that they had already arrived.

In less than twenty minutes, Asahi and Mayumi were receiving the many packages that they ordered, including a pre-built chair. After opening the packages, they put one of the monitors and all the parts that would be used to build the case on the couch, and the rest went to Asahi’s room.

But before they started building, they went to the convenience store to buy lunch. Only after they ate that they started their project.

Asahi bought the Acumen, Cognition and Creativity boosts, also a niche PC Building one.

 

They built his computer on the kitchen counter, where they put an anti-static mat, just in case. The whole process lasted for six hours, because Mayumi wasn’t actively doing any of the building, just telling him what to do. Most of the basics he already had it down, from watching many videos about it during high school, so her help only shined during the water-cooling part.

With Mayumi’s help, Asahi’s newborn arrived safely.

A full-tower white case, with a translucent side panel and purple tubes conducting the cooling liquid. The components they bought were also white, with some details on the same shade of purple as the tubes.

Looking at the 30” monitor on the counter, Asahi was smiling like a kid looking at a birthday present that they waited all year for. Everything was working without any issues.

She smiled. “You actually did a fantastic job, especially for your first time doing a custom loop. Let me carry it to your room, because it’s quite heavy, and you had your first big workout today.”

He nodded as she turned it off. “I’ll carry the monitor.”

After putting the case on Asahi’s desk, they set up the three 30” that he bought, at her recommendation. After connecting all the cables, including mouse and keyboard, he turned it on.

She wrapped her right arm around him, resting it on his shoulder. “First in the gym, now this, is there another talent that you’re hiding?”

He shook his head. “It’s not talent. When I woke up yesterday, I decided to be an anime protagonist, a good one of course.”

She laughed. “Okay MC-kun, let’s install all the stuff you need on this beast of yours.”

And so, they did.

 

An hour later, everything was finished.

After the food they ordered arrived, they ate in the kitchen, then moved to the big couch, where they sat down, one on each side, facing each other. Their legs were interspliced, like they were two puzzle pieces connecting.

Mayumi tapped her abs, which were protruding a bit from eating a bit much. “That Chinese food was so good.”

“Yeah, probably the best food I’ve eaten.”

She smirked. “Did you notice earlier today that some of the building’s MILFs were checking you out?”

He raised his right eyebrow. “Me? Are you sure?”

She smiled mischievously. “I don’t think you’ve noticed, but when you’re lying down, or sitting in a reclined manner, your package becomes quite visible.”

He looked at his crotch, and saw the clear outline of his large bulge. “Well, fuck.”

She laughed. “Dude, if I knew you were packing heat like that, I would’ve told you that there was no need to work out. Just whip it out as your opening line.”

“Yeah, right. It would for sure work in prison, where I’d end up for indecent exposure.”

They joked around and talked for another half an hour, before going to their respective bedrooms. However, they didn’t go to sleep, they went to their respective computers so they could play together.

They had so much fun, that they only remembered to go to sleep when the morning sun greeted them.

Before falling asleep, Asahi tamed the beast inside his shorts once more.

 

Upon waking up, he yawned and scratched his crotch.

[ Good morning. ]

‘Good morning. How am I on points?’

[ You currently have 15,700P. ]

‘That much? Damn. Is it normal to earn this much?’

[ No, this is far from normal. Your decision to live your life without gamifying it, and not knowing how your extra points were earned, actually helped you a lot. By just being yourself, you ended up crossing some of the many important milestones of the Love & Lust System. ]

He laughed. ‘Oh boy, I can imagine novel protagonists fuming right now. Thinking about it, kind of makes sense though. If it’s based on my interactions with other people, then genuine interactions should be worth more, right?’

[ Correct. ]

‘I’ll just go about my day as usual then. Don’t get me wrong, having you and being able to improve is great. However, we don’t even need human history, my life experiences alone already ingrained in me how gross greed is. So, as you’re aware, don’t show me any quests that target a specific person. The exception being, in case the quest will save someone I care about, which right now is only Mayumi.’

[ Will do. Do you need anything else Master? Maybe a sandwich or something? ]

‘Ha ha… Fair enough. Please don’t show me any quests that target a specific person.’

[ UwU ]

‘…’

[ I immediately regret that. Can we just forget that I did such a thing and move on? ]

‘I saw nothing. What time is it?’

[ 2:13pm. ]

‘I need to go to the gym. Since I earned so many points, I might as well buy the Charisma and Hand-Eye Coordination boosts too. I’ll do my best to raise my stats before classes start, but I’m not gonna obsess over it. I want to have fun as well.’

And so, time passed.

He took his trips to the gym quite seriously, making use of the tablet that he ordered alongside his pc during exercises that didn’t use his hands, in order to watch videos that would raise his mental stats, and also teach him things related to game development.

In his room, he put those videos to practice on his computer.

From the day after they built his computer, he started cooking all their meals, while teaching Mayumi how to cook in the process. He also started using the skincare products that she helped him buy.

His time with Mayumi however, was devoid of any thoughts related to the System. They slowly grew closer and closer, but never going beyond friendly touches, or kisses on the cheek.

They hung out for at least a couple hours a day, besides their meals, but he wasn’t the only one working on himself.

As the days passed, he realized that Mayumi wasn’t just generally talented, but also a hard worker. She spent a minimum of five hours a day improving her skills regarding making games.

They both also fixed their sleeping schedule in preparation to when classes would inevitably start.

 

A little over four weeks later, 7:30am.

Asahi woke up in his bed. His body was now 5cm taller and quite toned, showcasing a perfect six-pack. His skin not only lost any signs of acne, but also lost a lot of its blemishes.

[ Good morning. ]

‘Good morning. Stats.’

 

• Name: Kinoshita Asahi
• Age: 18
• Height:1.83m
• Weight: 87kg

 

• Acumen – 8
• Appearance­­­ – 7
• Athleticism – 7
• Charisma – 7
• Cognition – 8
• Composure – 8
• Creativity – 8
• Hand-Eye C. – 7
• Physique – 8

 

‘At this rate, I’ll probably have everything at 8 by the time classes start. It’s like I’m looking at someone else’s stats. Speaking of stats, I’ve been thinking about it lately, but you’re kind of OP even for a System, aren’t you?”

[ Thank you. It is good to be appreciated. ]

What Asahi was referring to, was what he deemed to be the biggest advantage of the system, how the stats worked. Usually, someone’s core development would be much more intricate, with many more aspects to grow separately. The stats however, condensed many aspects in one single thing.

What it meant, was that by growing a single aspect, you would be growing many others alongside it by default. That was where the boosts truly shined, not because of their power alone.

It didn’t end there though, the cap of 10 was also absurd, since that was the max for a human being. Most people had lower caps for everything, due to genetics and several other reasons, but Asahi straight up bypassed that.

Still, unlike one would expect, he showed no signs of greed, even seeing the System’s potential. The reason for that was quite a simple one, his goal in life. He didn’t need to be the absolute human in order to achieve that, so obsessing over stats were useless to him.

He set his goal regarding his stats at 8 due to a simple thought he had. ‘If I can’t achieve a life worth living with my stats at 8, I might as well give up on it completely.’

As for his stats being above 8, he had no particular desire for it. If it happened, he would take it as a bonus.

‘What about my points? Haven’t asked you in almost a week.’

[ You currently have 12,700P. ]

‘Damn, that’s a lot, especially since I’ve been buying boosts left and right.’

He got up, put on some shorts and a t-shirt, then went to the kitchen after brushing his teeth.

As he finished preparing a healthy breakfast for them, Mayumi arrived at the kitchen, wearing her usual booty shorts and braless crop top.

She smiled upon seeing him. “Good morning.”

He smiled back. “Good morning.”

“This growth spurt of yours is something else, you’re even taller than me now.”

He chuckled. “I told you that I decided to become an anime protagonist, and you didn’t believe me.”

She gave him a light slap on the butt. “Sure, MC-kun. You remember that I’m going back home for the weekend to visit my parents, right?”

“Yeah, are you going right after breakfast?”

She started helping him put the dishes on the table. “Yup, but I’ll be back Sunday night. What are your plans for the weekend?”

“Probably work on my writing. I’ve been thinking about writing novels on the side, to earn some money.”

She frowned. “Boo, go bang some women already. I’m sure you can almost have your pick in the building.”

He laughed. “I’ll do my best.”

 

After Mayumi finished doing the dishes, she changed and they said their good byes, with a kiss on the cheek.

He went to the gym as usual, and when he came back, he bought a boost for writing and one for English, and started writing short stories. His written English was already pretty good, but it could get better, so he wouldn’t skimp out on points. He also made sure to verbally enunciate what he was writing, to improve his pronunciation as well.

Time flew by, and when he realized, it was almost 5pm.

Remembering that he was running out of beverages, he went to the convenience store. At that point, he had already decided that his one-year budget was now for six months instead. Since he had the System, making money wouldn’t be that hard anymore, so he had started to treat himself.

On his way back to the apartment, he ran into someone familiar on the elevator. A 1.62m-tall woman in her early forties, with a lithe figure and a pretty face, wearing casual clothes and light makeup, with her long and silky hair tied in a ponytail.

She was Fujiwara Tomoko, his neighbor from apartment 906.

Although he wasn’t close to her by any means, they had a few short interactions and greetings before, as he had with many others in the building.

She had many grocery bags around her on the floor, which looked heavy by the marks their handles left on her hands.

He smiled. “Hello, Fujiwara-san.”

She smiled back, seeming to be in a good mood. “Hello, Asahi-kun.”

“Those seem heavy, would you like some help with them? I think your hands would thank me.”

She chortled. “That would be very kind of you, thank you. All the carts from the parking lot were taken.”

Although he was carrying bags himself, he was able to carry both of his on one hand, and pick up half of hers with the other. “Excuse me then.”

Upon getting to the 9^th floor, they walked towards her apartment.

She opened the door and held it open for him. “Please, come on in.”

He nodded and took off his sneakers near the entrance.

She closed the door and guided him to the kitchen. The apartment décor was extremely luxurious, befitting the price one had to pay to live there. Not only that, her apartment was one of the three-bedroom units, of which there was only one per floor.

On their way to the kitchen, she picked up her phone, which seemed to have signaled that she had received a text.

“You can leave the bags on… MOTHERFUCKER!”

Asahi’s eyes widened at her burst of anger.

She spotted his change in expression and sighed. “Sorry about that, just got some crappy news.”

“Is there something I can help you with?”

She shook her head. “I was going to cook a special dinner tonight, since it’s my husband’s and mine 20^th anniversary, and I wanted to attempt to rekindle things one last time. That… He knew that and still sent me a message, saying that he was going to an impromptu company retreat, and is only coming back Monday.”

Asahi frowned. “I apologize if I’m crossing a line, but that’s incredibly rude of him, to say the least.”

She just nodded, looking at all the bags of groceries, then thinking for a long thirty seconds.

Then, a smirk appeared on her face. “Asahi-kun, you wouldn’t be free tonight, would you?”

Asahi raised his right eyebrow. “I’m free.”

“Great, would you like to have dinner with me? As a thank you for helping me and an apology for my outburst.” She then assumed a bashful posture. “Just… don’t expect anything else to happen.”

His eyes widened.

She guffawed. “I’m just messing with you. I just don’t want to have dinner alone while he is out there having fun doing whatever he is doing.”

He took a deep breath and laughed. “You really got me there. Sure, I’m game. My roommate went home for the weekend, so I’m alone as well.”

She smiled. “Fantastic, so how about you come back at 8:30? There is no need to bring anything, or to dress up, just pretend you’re having dinner at home.”

“Okay, I’ll be back at 8:30 then.”

He then went back to his apartment.

 

As he closed his front door behind him, Asahi pulled out his phone, and texted Mayumi. Asahi never met him, but had heard about Tomoko’s husband from Mayumi before. Their first and only interaction was him hitting on her.

(A)- Yo, you busy?
(M)- No, what’s up?
(A)- I’m having dinner alone with Fujiwara Tomoko.
(M)- WHAT THE FUCK? How did this happen???

Asahi then explained how things went down.

(M)- NTR the fuck out of that asshole, literally and figuratively.
(A)- LOL. That’s why I texted you, because there is a possibility of some drama.
(M)- I don’t care. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
(A)- Alright, any advice?
(M)- You told me you’re hairless down there, so you’re good.
         Just shoot her with your anti-tank gun. 8=======D ---- ----

He started laughing and went to take a shower.

After the shower, he took one of his daily XY contraception pills that he had fortunately started taking a week prior. Since medicine had progressed enough to have made STDs, including AIDS, as harmful as a breeze, condoms were no longer a thing.

Since Tomoko had told him to treat it like he was having dinner at home, he wore shorts and a tank top. When he said that he didn’t like social games, he really meant it.

At this point, he had already replaced most of his old clothes, by ordering new ones online. They weren’t expensive or anything like that, but at least they were new.

To be thorough, he bought a couple of sex related boosts, and watched instructional videos about kissing and how to please a woman.

 

At 8:30 sharp, he rang her doorbell.

As the door opened, he saw Tomoko wearing leggings and a loose t-shirt. By the pointy bits on her C-cups, she wasn’t wearing a bra. Fortunately for him, Mayumi had already tempered his mind regarding that.

“Come on in.”

“Excuse me.”

As she guided him in, an incredible aroma invaded his nostrils, and It wasn’t her freshly showered body. Well, it was that too, but mainly the food that was ready.

As she remembered something, her eyes widened. “Oh no, I forgot to ask if you were allergic to anything.”

He shook his head. “Not to my knowledge.”

She sighed in relief smiled. “Let’s start with the appetizer then. Today is Italian themed.”

Gesturing him to sit down at the exquisite mahogany table, which was already set for two, she went to the kitchen. She came back with two plates, on which there were multiple grilled slices of ciabatta, with summer tomatoes and basil on top.

As he looked at how well they were constructed and plated, with a flourish of olive oil, he raised his right eyebrow. “Grilled Tomato Crostini… By the plating, are you perhaps a Chef, Fujiwara-san?”

She smiled. “Please, call me Tomoko. And yes, I used to be one.”

He couldn’t help, but have questions in his mind. ‘I barely know her, but why the hell would you neglect a woman like her, and not just divorce her if that’s what you want? Well, not my problem anyway.’

“Do you prefer melon or grapefruit juice?”

He snapped out of his thoughts. “Melon, please.”

She brought a fancy bottle of melon juice, and served them both a glass. “Let’s dig in, shall we?”

He took a bite and closed his eyes on instinct. “Wow, it’s incredible.”

“Thank you. You seem to know your Italian food.”

“Sort of, I worked at an Italian restaurant for the past three years in Saitama. They fed me the dishes that weren’t sent out.”

“Aren’t you 18? No wonder you felt mature for your age. May I know what caused you to have to work?”

“I’m an orphan, and I grew up pretty much alone. When I got my emancipation at the age of 15, I started working there.”

A smile grew on the corner of her mouth, he clearly piqued her interest.

After finishing the first slice, he asked. “My turn now, why did you stop being a chef?”

“There was too much pressure, so when I was 25 and got pregnant, I just quit. My husband was doing incredibly well at his company and we had no need for my income.”

He raised his right eyebrow. “May I know what you mean by pressure?”

She chuckled. “This might sound like I’m bragging, but sure. I was the Head-Chef at a two Michelin Star restaurant, and it was too much for how young I was. The standards that I had to meet on a daily basis, were too high.”

His eyes widened. “No wonder your food is much better than the one from the restaurant I worked at.”

The conversation kept going, with mostly her asking questions, since Asahi avoided talking about her family.