‘Boom!’ My bare fist exploded a large chunk of the concrete wall. The dust particles that formed scattered everywhere and almost got into my eyes.

“Wow! That was amazing, Smoke Pac!” Himeko came by my side to offer her input on my destructive physical abilities. “We should try a bigger target.” She started pointing to a thicker wall frame close by.

We were at a partially demolished structure not too far from where Himeko’s flat was. We’ve been there for roughly 40 minutes testing out the Rubik’s Cube System’s power. I discovered that a percentage of my Blood Bank depleted with every use of my abilities. But thanks to the attributes of the Strongest Chest Opener Title, I didn’t have to be much concerned about finding another victim to replenish my health soon.

With my increased agility, I could run up walls longer without falling over. Additionally, due to my stamina being 8% above average, my exhaustion threshold was very high.

Another thing I learned was the use of Skill Points. I had 65 in total. They could be spent in the Rubik’s Store to purchase upgrades and miscellaneous items. Only the products in the first tier were currently unlocked, the other tiers were off-limits until a certain condition was met.

I browsed through the first tier for a list of items I could afford. While doing so I came across an array of killer weapons and abilities as well as their special effects.

--Rubik’s Store--

 Tier 1:

Shatter Grenade <85sp> Creates a 9metre square explosion that fragments solid matter into triangular polygons.

Dinosaur Shotgun <120sp> A psychopath’s ideal two-handed weapon, capable of creating widespread carnage to your adversaries. Required Rubik’s Blood Cube to operate.

Butcher Chainsaw <92sp> Unleash a stream of cutting terror that absorbs the blood of your victims while their guts are dancing on your chains. Required Rubik’s Blood Cube to operate.

Thirst Knife <25sp> Inflict wounds with blood draining advantage.

Neck Strangler <49sp> Cast an invisible noose around the neck of your targets and watch as they are strangled to death.

Fire Sight <100sp> Produce an infernal blaze from your eyes that can sear the bones of your target.

Blood Viper <140sp> Conjure a special serpent that can create multiple Rubik’s Blood Cube after ingesting the life of your target. 

FPS Searcher <180sp> Temporarily gives you a heightened vision to perceive your environment in extra sensory increments or frame by frame.

Crafting Window <200sp> A function that allows you to merge various sets of Rubik’s Cubes to produce new elements.

Value Metre <54sp> A sophisticated system that can determine a person’s wealth, health status and numerous intricate attributes that are often hidden. This functionality can also transfer the targeted wealth into a manifested Rubik’s Cube when certain conditions have been met.

Enslavement Rubik’s Cube <70sp> Can force anyone to submit to your will.

Prosopagnosia Camouflage <110sp> Disguise yourself as any other human being.

A Pack Of Sunflower Cigarettes <10sp> Access cigarettes with special character boosters.

I became entranced by all the items listed above. Every single one of them made my boner extend an inch. I had to quickly settle my excitement so that Himeko wouldn’t misread the situation and thought that my growing erection was due to her lasciviousness.

Now that adequate blood had returned to my main head, my thinking became clearer. I browsed through the items listed in Tier 1 again before deciding what I wanted to purchase. 

<54 Skill Points Has Been Spent. You’ve Purchased: Value Metre>

<10 Skill Points Has Been Spent. You’ve Purchased: A Pack Of Sunflower Cigarettes>

<1 Skill Point Left>

<Exiting Rubik’s Store>

“Yes, where is it?” I was thirsting for a smoke for so goddamn long that my lungs were starting to recover from their vaporous abuse. My urgency allowed me to quickly locate the pack of Sunflower Cigarette in my inventory window.

“Now how do I take it out?” As I thought about this, a window popped up that asked me if I wanted to equip the item. “Of course, I want to. Now hurry and give me my smokes!”

“Smoke Pac, what’s wrong?” Himeko overheard me shouting at myself and became concerned for my sanity.

“Himeko I…” As I was about to explain my situation to her, I saw Himeko collapsing to the ground while gripping her chest in pain. Soon after this unexpected situation occurred, another message popped up in my field of vision.

<Alert! Rubik’s Inventory Cube Is Manifesting Nearby>

“What the fuck?” I was alarmed by seeing this message coinciding with Himeko’s abrupt ailment. “Don’t tell me that it is manifesting inside of her chest?” This was exactly what was happening. The damn System was ripping apart Himeko’s heart to produce the pack of cigarettes I desired.

<Alert! Rubik’s Inventory Cube Is Manifesting Nearby>

<The System Is Experiencing A delay In Host’s Body>

<System Will Terminate The Host For Faster Manifestation>

“Ah! It hurts!” Himeko started hollering at the top of her lungs in the dead of the night. It was a good thing that no one else was around, otherwise, they would have thought that I was the one killing her. Technically I was responsible but I wasn’t causing it of my own volition.

Without hearing Himeko’s terrifying voice, I could tell that she was experiencing excruciating pain just by assessing the contorted expression on her face along with the red glow coming from her swollen chest.

“Smoke Pac! Make it stop! Please… I’m…” Himeko's cry for help was cut short when she suddenly started coughing out a mouthful of blood. My bare chest was splattered with her life essences.

“Himeko hold on! I’ll see what I can do!”

This fucking system almost made me pop a bloody head vein. I had no idea why it chose to manifest the pack of smoke inside of Himeko’s chest. I thought it was going to be as simple as taking the item out of my inventory and having it magically appear in my hand. At least this was what Himeko said would happen based on the numerous novels she had read, but both of us had miscalculated. Himeko was about to die if I didn’t put a stop to the System’s inexplicable actions.

I began screaming madly at the System for it to comply. “Cancel the manifestation of the Rubik’s Cube! Do it now!”

<Warning! Manifestation Can No Longer Be Cancelled>

<The System Will Commence The Death Of The Host To Finish Manifestation>

“No, you piece a shit! I said stop! Do not kill her! Get the fuck out of her chest!” My mental state became so unstable that a bunch of random shit started popping up in my vision.

<Warning! You Are Attempting To Interrupt The integral Procedure Of The System>

<Warning! Due To Confused Mental State Blood Bank Is Being Depleted>

<Warning! Health Level Is Approaching Critical Limit>

<Warning! System Is Attempting To Switch Rubik’s Inventory Cube To Rubik’s Blood Cube To Supplement Blood Bank’s Loss>

<Warning! Host Is Still Alive>

<Warning! Terminating Host>

<Warning! A Corruption Has Been Detected>

<Warning! Attempting To Rectify Corruption>

“Goddammit, you’re driving me insane!” While I was suffering from acute temporal dementia, Himeko’s life was slowly slipping out of her body due to her swollen chest area that started producing visible crimson steam.

I tried to calm her down the best that I could but nothing worked. How could it, when she was the one slipping into the unrelaxing embrace of death due to my foolish decision?

<Warning! System Has Decided To Cancel Manifestation Within Dying Host Due To Corruption Of Biological Data>

<No More Eligible Host Has Been Detected In The Vicinity>

<System Is Resorting To Users’ Privilege>

<Rubik’s Inventory Cube Is Manifesting Within Master Octahedron>

After the last message popped up, I felt an intense strain of muscle contraction occurring at my midriff. I observed the quick opening of my chest area. My skin was collapsing internally until the original Rubik’s Cube was revealed along with my beating heart.

Due to my neck angle, I couldn’t exactly see what was taking place inside but surely, something was moving around in there, because moments later, I witnessed the birth of a 3x3 Rubik’s Cube that had binary faces comprised of zeroes and ones. It shot out of my chest and landed in the palm of my hand.

<Rubik’s Inventory Cube Acquired>

<Unlocking Contents Now>

The Rubik’s Cube spun around on its own briefly until the blocks separated and created an opening whereby I began to see a pack of Sunflower Cigarettes sitting in my hand.

“Seriously?” Even though I was pissed off, I was mentally drained by the stupidity of this Rubik’s System.

“Couldn’t you have done this from the begging instead of killing her?” I cursed this piece of shit system before redirecting my eyes onto Himeko’s corpse. She was staring at me with those widely open eyes of terror. I couldn’t stand it anymore so I moved my hand over her face and closed her eyelids.

“Forgive me Himeko.” This Asian chick was dead as a sewer rat and it was all on me. “Fucking hell! Ever since I crawled out of the grave, I have become a magnet for death.”

I couldn’t leave Himeko’s corpse lying there on the cold ground fearing that stray dogs might come to gnaw at her flesh and bones. Out of all the lowlifes that I’ve affiliated with, I considered her to be a true friend of mine. Therefore I picked her up gracefully in my hand and stared at the night sky with a bit of anguish.

“If this is how you want to play it then I will gladly accept your challenge. No matter what you toss at me. I shall have my revenge!”

This System comprehended my emotional state and decided to piss me off further with its next popped up.

<New Title Earned: Girlfriend Killer!>

--Info--

>> Increase charisma by 5%

>> Gain an extra 50 Skill Points with every lady friend you kill

>> Women find you more attractive

>> Attack increase by 5% when around women