After making a promise, Alice hurried off as if she was afraid she might change her mind, leaving Ryan alone in the restaurant, lost in thought.
As the girl’s figure disappeared into the distance, Ryan finally snapped out of it, realizing he could probably leave now.
But that wasn’t what shocked him the most. What on earth was that “Darkening level” she ntioned?
It sounded ominous, and he quickly opened his system interface.
The first ti he activated the Favorability, a new interface appeared, but this ti, despite searching high and low, Ryan couldn’t find any new interface.
Not even the Darkening level option was anywhere to be seen.
Could it be hidden? Only appearing when the Darkening level increased?
Ryan’s search turned out to be fruitless, and he closed the panel, still puzzled.
He didn’t know what it was, but he figured it was probably best not to do anything that might increase Alice’s Darkening level.
Alice had really scared him earlier. For a mont, he felt like he might never leave this mansion in his lifeti.
Luckily, a high Favorability score ca to his rescue. Alice was mad but still agreed to his request.
With a Favorability of fifty-three, as long as he didn’t ask for anything too outrageous, Alice would probably oblige.
Thinking about it made him feel a bit like a jerk. No, he couldn’t exploit the Favorability too much.
Ryan muttered to himself, sighed softly, and decided he would go all out to help Alice from now on.
The lady had returned to her room, and Ryan walked to the staircase, looking up at the hallway on the second floor, stroking his chin.
But he decided against it. Even if he sneaked into Alice’s bedroom at night, she wouldn’t kill him—he knew that much from last ti. If he tried anything inappropriate again, it would just be morally wrong.
Plus, the bodyguards were watching him like hawks. The burly one had already touched his gun when he saw Ryan approach the stairs to the second floor.
Under these circumstances, there was no way Ryan could do anything but obediently head back to the dungeon.
He still had things to do back there,he hadn’t even checked the rewards from completing his last task.
The guards stood outside the door, not leaving until Ryan was sound asleep. With nothing else to do in the dungeon, Ryan returned to his bed to examine the two rewards he had received.
[Truth Serum 1 (effective for thirty minutes), Skill Point 1]
First up was another potion, similar in size to the Loyalty Potion he had before, but it was completely black.
As for its effects, there was room for maneuver since it didn’t specify “not to be used on the target of conquest.”
If Ryan used it wisely, the potion could be very effective.
He stored the potion carefully in his system space and then turned his attention to the orb.
Another cursed skill point. Gacha truly is the evil of the world.
Even though he ended up using the “Blind Massage Techniques” he had drawn before, Ryan harbored a great deal of resentnt towards this lottery system.
A quick check showed that the skill pool hadn’t refreshed, but the slot for “Blind Massage Techniques” had dimd.
It seed he wouldn’t draw a skill he already possessed, which was slightly more considerate than so ga developers.
Ryan’s preferences hadn’t changed. He still wanted “Professional Combat Techniques” first, followed by “One-Man Army” and “Poison Expert.”
As for the B-tier skills, although they had specific uses, Ryan didn’t bother with them. Nobody plays gacha without aiming for the best rewards in the pool.
This ti, he was unusually serious. He got up from the bed, washed his hands thoroughly, then placed the orb on the bed and clasped his hands in prayer.
If it weren’t for the lack of a proper setting, Ryan would have loved to take a shower and change his clothes before drawing cards.
“I’m already like this, they should give sothing good now.”
Muttering to himself, Ryan looked at the orb in his hand, feeling the infinite possibilities before opening it. Based on his past experiences with card drawing, he knew all too well that superstitions were useless,aggressive drawing trumped all fancy tricks.
Gritting his teeth, he gripped the orb tightly and crushed it in his hand.
The next second, an unexpected surge of ecstasy enveloped Ryan.
Brilliant light filled the room, and in the dungeon, it began to rain gold.
…
It was early autumn, and the rainfall was heavier than usual.
The entire city was damp, and pedestrians, even with umbrellas, couldn’t stay completely dry. The weather was truly annoying.
Anna sat by the window in the library, watching the pouring rain outside, feeling quite down.
It had been a week since Ryan last visited.
When they had parted last ti, they had agreed on a ti for him to return the book, but Ryan had missed the appointnt.
Anna wasn’t particularly concerned about the hardcover book itself,she couldn’t even rember what it was about.
What she truly missed was the person who borrowed it.
Ryan used to co to the campus library every weekend, quietly reading in a corner.
And Anna, as a librarian, could watch him from behind the front desk, a routine that had almost beco a habit for her.
But this week, soone else had taken that corner spot.
She wanted to go over and send that person away, but her rational mind took over again, making her question why she felt so impulsive.
She wondered if sothing had happened to Ryan.
She even thought about going directly to his advisor to find him, using the excuse of urging him to return the book.
But she was afraid that suddenly closing the distance would shatter the delicate balance they had, especially since their interactions had never extended beyond the library.
Today, watching the heavy rain outside, Anna couldn’t suppress her growing unease.
People borrowing and returning books ca and went, but none of them were Ryan.
She was afraid, afraid that those past experiences would be swept into the trash bin of mory, afraid that Ryan would never co again.
Initially, she had just been an observer, but now she decided to step into the story.
As the library lights went out one by one, Anna tidied up the front desk and, with no one around, took out her phone.
Her heart pounding, she longed to hear Ryan’s calm and gentle voice, hoping he would co to the library again tomorrow.
She had copied his number from the college directory, not minding if it made him suspicious.
Her hands trembled as she entered the number, inevitably wondering how Ryan would react. Would he be surprised?
But was she being too forward? Would Ryan be upset by her intrusion?
Various thoughts echoed in Anna’s mind, making her feel a bit dizzy.
She rembered the sound of Ryan quietly reading,they were so alike, Ryan would surely forgive her abruptness.
The next second, she dialed the number, but the response chilled her to the bone.
“The wireless custor you are calling is not available. Please try again later.”
This was worse than any outco she had anticipated.
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