The next day, in the afternoon, Asahi was picked up by Trish in front of his building. She was driving a black armored SUV, which would have somewhat surprised him, if he didn’t know as much as he did about her.

They drove to Mount Akagi, in the Gunma prefecture, a two-and-a-half-hour trip. The beautiful green vegetation of the mountains created quite the vista.

The property was quite big, with a very large warehouse-like building, which was the indoor training area. There was an obstacle course outside, and lodging for a hundred people as well.

However, they would spend the night in the main cabin. It was a two-floor log cabin, with a rustic, but beautiful design.

They arrived right before sunset.

There was a dark-blue Humvee parked in front of the main cabin.

On the front porch steps, there was a 1.89m-tall woman, quite muscular, wearing a track suit. She had short platinum-blonde hair, light-blue eyes, and seemed to be in her early thirties.

Trish parked the car, and as they both got out, the woman who was sitting on the porch steps, got up.

Asahi wore jeans, a t-shirt and a jacket. Trish wore tight jeans, a crop top and a leather jacket.

Trish had a bright smile, while she briskly walked towards the woman, and hugged her. “Aunt Molly! When did you get back to Japan?”

Molly reciprocated the hug, with a gentle smile on her face. “This morning. When I heard that my cute little niece was bringing a man here for the first time, I had to be the one to hand her the keys.”

Trish displayed a bit of her bashful side, with reddened cheeks.

Molly kissed her cheek, then released the hug.

She then approached Asahi, and extended her hand. “Hi, I’m Molly.”

He shook her hand. “I’m Asahi, nice to meet you.”

She smiled and tapped his shoulder. “This is the part where I tell you that if you hurt my niece, no one will ever find your body.”

Asahi nodded, completely calm. “I suspected as much when I learned that her Dad has military connections, and a background check was done on me. Not that I think that she’d need anyone’s help to make me disappear.”

Molly blinked, looking at him, then laughed. “I like you. Alright, I’ll get out of your hair, have a fun weekend.”

She threw the cabin keys to Trish. “I’ll stop by your place on Monday, and I want all the juicy details.”

Trish caught the key, and grabbed Asahi’s hand. “Come on, before she tries to take pictures.”

Asahi laughed, and followed her. They got their backpacks and Trish’s suitcase from the car, while Molly drove off.

The reason Asahi was able to remain calm in front of Molly, was because she didn’t display any hostility. It was more her trying to see how he would react, which he didn’t like, but was used to.

The interior of the cabin was pretty much what one would expect. Rustic, but well-made and well-preserved furniture. Everything extremely clean.

The living and dining area were in the same room, which was extremely spacious.

Trish put her backpack on the table, and Asahi did the same.

He took a deep breath, then displayed a serious expression. “Before we do anything, I need to ask you a question, and I’ll only ask once.”

Trish was slightly startled by his sudden seriousness, raising her left eyebrow. “Okay.”

He looked at the floor, then back at her. “During the last few training sessions, it became clear to me that your control over your body is beyond anything I’ve seen before. Which brings me to my question, why did you punch me? I’m fairly certain that it was on purpose.”

She sighed, and spoke with an apologetic tone. “I’m sorry about that. I did it because I needed your blood to check it for something, which came back negative. I couldn’t just ask for it without coming across as a crazy person. As for what I was checking for…”

She seemed to be agonizing over how to tell him.

“You wanted to see if I’m a Transcendent.”

Her eyes widened. “How did you…? No, more importantly, why did you even agree to come here alone with me if you knew that?”

His smiled, bitterly. “This is my own leap of faith. I’ve been thinking about it non-stop since this morning. Transcendent Society, Mystical Consortium, powered people, it’s too much. I need someone to talk to that I can at least somewhat trust, and knows about this stuff. I’m not stupid enough to start searching about it online, and I need to know where I stand.”

She got closer to him, gently putting her hands on his face, caressing his cheeks with her thumbs. “I was going to wait a month or so, before having the talk with you. I don’t want anything from you besides your friendship, okay?”

He sighed and nodded. “We better sit down. I don’t think you’re prepared for the level of weird that things are about to get.”

She chuckled. “I met someone that can turn their arms into tentacles, and squirt acid through them. I think I’ll be fine.”

He blinked. “If that’s the most extreme example you can come up with, then yeah, you’re not prepared.”

She raised her left eyebrow.

He grabbed her hand, and walked to the couch, where they sat down.

Looking her in the eyes, he spoke. “I have a System.”

She blinked, and thought for a few seconds. “Oh, you have a power that enhances your development through visual clues.”

He shook his head. “I’m talking about an actual System, not something that resembles one. A full-fledged novel-like System. How do you think I know stuff about Transcendents and Mages? It’s called Basic Guidance; I woke up on Monday with it unlocked.”

She still had an expression of disbelief, not in him, but his understanding of his own power.

He thought for a few seconds. “Pick an object, preferably a niche one, one that you could order online.”

She blinked. “Rizzo-Master HT-50. It’s a fancy rice cooker.”

He nodded, extending both hands.

Suddenly, a large box, with the picture of a fancy rectangular rice cooker appeared, startling Trish.

Her eyes widened, as he put the box on the floor and started opening it.

There was a rice cooker inside, amongst the packaging material, like the one in the picture.

She touched it, and as soon as she did, it was like it clicked that it was real. “HOLY FUCKING SHIT!”

After shouting, she looked at him, from head to toe.

A blissful and excited smile appeared on her face. “This is incredible.”

He chuckled.

Her expression suddenly became tense. “Fuck, I should have swept for bugs and cameras first, just in case.”

He shook his head. “There aren’t any.”

“You can tell?”

He nodded. “Your aunt, who just left, she has a power akin to clairvoyance, with a range of about 1km, right?”

Her eyes widened. “How did you know?”

‘Please, show her.’

Suddenly, a translucent purple window with white text appeared in front of her, showing his anti-spy passive.

She trembled with excitement. “A System! An actual god damn System! What…” She then took a deep breath, calming herself down. “Sorry, I got way too excited. May I ask you some questions about it?”

He nodded, with a smile. “Go ahead.”

She took another deep breath. “Okay. First things first, how do you get stuff, like the skill you showed me?”

“By earning points.”

“And how do you earn them?”

He laughed. “Well, the System actually has a name, which is pretty telling of how I earn them.”

“Damn, I forgot to ask that. May I know the name?”

“Love & Lust System.”

She blinked, then started laughing. “You have to be joking.”

He shook his head. “I’m dead serious. However, I don’t fully know the details on how I get points. Like, I know the obvious, feelings and sex. But I don’t know specifics, by choice.”

Her laughter died down. “What do you mean?”

He sighed. “I don’t want to gamify and min/max my life, that would taint my experiences. I’ve had enough of that so far, I’m good.”

She pondered for a few seconds, and smiled. “It actually feels a bit comforting knowing that.”

“Knowing that I didn’t use you to farm points?”

She chuckled. “Yeah.”

He nodded. “That right there, is why I chose to do it like this.”

She caressed his face. “I’m glad you chose that route.” She then retracted her hand. “Your rapid growth, is that with points too?”

He nodded and told her about the boosts.

As he told her, her mouth started to open, slowly, which transitioned to a pensive expression.

“May I see your stats?”

He visibly tensed up.

Noticing that, she got closer, and put her hand on his thigh. “You don’t need to tell me or show me anything you don’t want to. I’m even avoiding asking things that I don’t think I should right now, like the limits of the stuff you can buy, be it objects or abilities.”

He took a deep breath. “No, I need to show you this one, no matter how much it scares me.”

The screen with his stats appeared in front of her.

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

 

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

 

• Arcana – 1
• Psionics – 2
• Transcendence – 1

 

As she read the information, her eyes widened. “Wait, you’re a Transcendent? But… the test came back negative. Arcana, you’re a mage too? And what about Psionics? Psychic abilities?” She then calmed herself down. “Sorry, I’m asking too many questions.”

He displayed a pensive expression for about ten seconds or so, before answering her.

“I only unlocked the bottom three stats on Monday morning, alongside the Basic Guidance, the Store, and a bunch of other stuff. Those three all started at 1, and the System told me that if you tested my blood now, it would result in a positive. Technically, I’m not a mage, my connection to mana is just unlocked, but my own mana hasn’t been refined in any way. As you’ve seen, my Psionics is at two, because I’ve been practicing Psychokinesis. And yes, Psionics is consciousness and willpower related.”

It was her turn to enter a pensive state, and after a bit, transition to an excited smile. “Will you show me?”

He nodded and looked at the box with the rice cooker. The manual was on the top part, so he made it float, and land on her lap. As it landed, the pages started to slowly turn.

She blinked, looking at it with an analytical expression. “Fascinating. Seems a bit different from the ones I’ve seen before, more precise. May I know how it works?”

“Sure, slap my thigh.”

She displayed a quizzical expression, but gave his thigh a slap.

“Alright, now do it again.”

On the second slap, she felt like she had hit a wall. “Interesting, did you create some sort of telekinetic shield?”

“Sort of. If you look up Psychokinesis, it’ll say that it’s the ability to influence a physical system without physical interaction. Although it’s technically not incorrect, it’s just part of it. To sense matter, understand it, and dictate how it behaves, is a more accurate way to describe it.”

He touched her thigh, making her feel like his hand was made of steel. “What I did when you slapped me, was to make so that when your surface touched mine, yours would stop in place. Right now, I’m making so that my surface becomes immovable regarding its interaction with yours. It’s actually very subtle, and requires a lot of concentration on my part. I was only able to do it on your slap, because you didn’t apply a lot of force, and I had the first slap as an example. The more force you applied to the slap, the less effective my protection would be, like only slowing it down, or barely doing anything. I wouldn’t be able to do it during a fight as I am right now. Moving objects is easier, but still far from the simplicity shown in movies.”

She furrowed her brow. “That sounds quite difficult. From what I understand of Telekinetic powers inside the Transcendent Society, they just channel their power in order to interact with things, most of the time through hand movements. However, yours seems to have endless possibilities. Well, assuming an equal endless intellect that is, or Acumen and Cognition in your case.”

He nodded. “You’re on the money with the necessary stats. I’ll be able to do a lot with it, but I don’t think I’ll even scratch the surface.”

She took a deep breath. “I have about a billion more questions, but I’ll stop here, and I’ll try to hold myself back in the future.”

He smiled. “Thank you. I have three more things to tell you though. The first is that there is a Relationships section. I only looked at it once, right when I got the System. I saw Mayumi’s screen, and never looked at it again. I can ask the System to allow you to see yours, but I won’t look at it.”

She chuckled. “That sounds very much like you. I’d like to see mine, please.”

He nodded, and explained to her what the screen looked like before, and said that it might have changed, probably containing more information.

As she read the information on the screen in front of her, her face started to redden quite a bit. “This… is very accurate. I’m glad you didn’t look at it, I’d be really embarrassed. What was the second thing?”

He displayed an awkward expression. “As hypocritical as it sounds coming from me, you’re gonna have to really trust that I won’t misuse this one, because it affects you too in a way. I’m sending something to your phone.”

When she looked at her phone, there were three new videos, that seemed to come from nowhere. One was their first lesson after she tested his blood. The second one was them having sex in her room. The third, was like a drone shot of them driving to Mount Akagi.

Her mouth went agape.

He sighed. “I can access any moment from my past, from any POV within 100m, then edit and send to any device able to store and/or play it. There is no range for the device of choice.”

After taking a deep breath, she smiled. “I’ll need you to send me some videos later. What’s the third thing?”

He displayed a pensive expression, thinking about how to say what he wanted to say. “The third thing, is the main reason as to why I was able to take this leap of faith. Try to message someone about me having a System.”

She looked at him with a quizzical expression, but pulled out her phone from her jacket pocket.

As she opened the message app and tried to type, her body froze. She tried twice more, but the same happened. “What the fuck…”

“No one besides me can disclose the existence of the System. You could say it out loud right now, because no one else is listening. If there was someone listening, you wouldn’t be able to speak as well. If someone tries to read your mind, they won’t get anything related to the System either.”

She looked at him with a complex expression. “I’m equally frightened and relieved, thank you for telling me.”

He took a deep breath, and leaned back on the couch. Remaining calm throughout the conversation took a lot out of him.

She caressed his thigh. “Thank you for trusting me, I can see that it wasn’t easy for you. Regardless of me being unable to tell anyone about the System, it doesn’t mean that I couldn’t harm you, or turn you into a target.  I understand that you did it more out of necessity than anything, but still, thank you.”

He gently grabbed the hand that she was caressing his thigh with, and looked at her.

For her, who could see so much when she looked at someone, his expression made her heart ache. It carried a lot of fear and sorrow.

He caressed her hand with his thumb. “Please, just please, don’t fuck me over.”

She looked at him with a serious, yet soft expression. “I won’t, ever. If you ever need proof of that, look at my profile on your System.” She then gently pulled him for a hug. “Come here.”

As they hugged, he started to calm down. “Sorry, it’s just that this is very, very difficult for me. I want to trust you, but…”

She caressed his back. “But life fucked you over way too many times, and what’s to say that it’ll be any different now, especially with something as colossal as this.”

He sighed. “Yeah, pretty much.”

Letting go of the hug, she caressed his right cheek, and kissed the other.

He smiled. “Thank you.”

She gave him a light kiss. “Any time.”

Feeling better, he looked at the rice cooker. “Wanna keep it?”

She shook her head. “Thank you, but I have one, which is why it came to mind. Wait, it wasn’t expensive or anything, right?”

“Nah, I can buy at least 7,000 of those with the points I have left.”

Her eyes widened.

He chuckled. “Relax, I have no intention of selling stuff that I get from the System. I will buy them to use myself if I need to though.”

She sighed in relief, then remembered something, and looked at his crotch. “Can I ask you something that is inconsequential for me to know.”

He laughed. “No, my penis is the same as it was before I got the System.”

She looked at him with a curious expression. “Even its aesthetic?”

He nodded, then made an expression like he had a realization. “Snacks!”

She looked at him quizzically. “Snacks?”

“Yeah, how the fuck didn’t I think of this before? I can buy snacks from anywhere in the world. Drinks too! How about we pig out tonight?”

She looked at him, starting to display an excited expression, since those things were a bit harder to import if they weren’t sold in japan. “I’m in, what’s our budget?”

He shrugged. “Go nuts, I have close to a billion Yen in points. I wasn’t exaggerating when I said that I could buy at least 7,000 of those rice cookers.”

Her eyes widened again. “Holy shit. You would be the escort with the most profitable career in history with that System.”

He laughed, then pulled out his phone.

They looked up a lot of snacks and drinks from other countries for them to try.

A couple hours later, there were a lot of empty wrappers, bags, cans, and all sorts of containers on the center table. The store even gave the option for him to choose the temperature of the food items he bought.

As for the two of them, they had already taken off their jackets, and were taking a nap, cuddling on the couch.

 

Opening his eyes, Asahi felt a pleasant sensation on his crotch.

Trish was caressing his bulge, that was at its full form.

She gave him a light kiss. “How about we go check out the master bedroom? I actually brought something that I’m sure you’ll enjoy.”

He kissed her. “Yeah, let’s go.”

They quickly made their way upstairs with their luggage, arriving at the master bedroom.

Trish started to roll her suitcase to the bathroom. “I want you naked when I come back.”

Fifteen minutes later, Asahi was sitting on the bed naked, when she got out.

She was wearing an extremely sexy maid outfit, with white stockings and a garter belt.

Stopping in front of him, she lifted her skirt, revealing white laced crotchless panties, and spoke with a shy and seductive voice. “Master, are you hungry? I brought you your dinner.”

Asahi licked his lips. “Starving.”

A six-course meal was served that night, with two rounds of dessert.