On the streets of East Capital in Japan, Luo Shu was quietly conversing with the system via his internal mental channel.
"So, you're saying that points are the embodiment of 'influence'… and someone with a lot of points holds significant sway over society?"
[Correct. However, that influence is only a potential. To actually exert it, the host must personally interact with others.]
The system responded with its usual sterile, robotic tone.
"I see…" Luo Shu nodded thoughtfully. It made sense. Just like how he could use points to purchase abilities and give them to others—but that didn't mean he would. Influence, it seemed, worked similarly. He had the choice to use it or not. It all came down to his decisions.
"Well then, here's a question—if I rack up enough points, does that mean I'll keep getting lucky enough to start finding cash on the street?"
He had just paused in his steps, looking down at the brown wallet he had stepped on.
Glancing around to make sure the street was empty, he bent down with casual nonchalance and picked up the wallet. Inside, he found five crisp ¥10,000 bills. Fifty thousand yen in total—the equivalent of nearly two weeks' worth of part-time work. That was no small amount.
To his delight, the system gave him the answer he wanted to hear.
[As a protective mechanism, a significant portion of the host's influence—represented by points—is converted into a passive 'luck' enhancement.]
"Oh? So the more points I have, the luckier I get? That's actually amazing!" Luo Shu chuckled as he flipped through the wallet. Conveniently, there was no ID or anything that could help identify the original owner.
Well then. Not like he could return it even if he wanted to.
These points really are busted, he thought, opening the system interface to check his balance. Thanks to the recent club-related expenses, his total had dropped to 12,033 points. His bank account and wallet combined held just over ¥500,000, covering the next two months of living expenses.
Luo Shu's parents had invested in a relative's business back home, so said relative sent him a monthly remittance of around ¥200,000. It was enough for him to live comfortably in this notoriously expensive country.
"Found a quarter of my monthly expenses in one go. Suddenly, today feels a lot better."
In that good mood, he turned his attention to the forum and thought about something that had been on his mind since earlier—how to advance abilities.
Back when he'd been explaining things to Eriri, he'd learned from the system that ability rankings followed tiers: [Ordinary] → [Excellent] → [Elite] → [Heroic] → and beyond.
Currently, his strongest ability was [Wind Element Manipulation], ranked as [Excellent]. When paired with even just [Ordinary] level intuition, he had been able to predict attacks and tear apart a giant rat the size of a calf with ease—proving its incredible combat potential.
So now, he wanted to know what it would take to upgrade that ability. When he searched the system store, he was quickly greeted by a few notifications that made his mouth twitch.
[Wind Element Control: The advanced form of Wind Element Manipulation. Rated: Elite.]
[Requirements for upgrade: Primary material – Heart of the Storm (50,000 points); Secondary materials – 200ml of water, 20ml of Siren's Tear (2,000 points).]
[Hyper Intuition: Advanced form of Intuition. Rated: Excellent.]
[Requirements: Primary material – Brain of the Spiritual Squid (10,000 points); No secondary material required.]
[Subconscious Control: Advanced form of Battle Instinct. Rated: Excellent.]
[Requirements: Primary material – Spine of the Mind Dragon (10,000 points); No secondary material required.]
Luo Shu's lip twitched as he forced a sarcastic smile. "System, are you trying to rob me?"
"These upgrades are that expensive? Those two multi-functional bracelets and even the pocket dimension didn't cost nearly as much! And now this?"
[Dear user, it appears you've misunderstood.]
The system maintained its emotionless tone as it calmly laid out the facts.
[Support tools and auxiliary features are priced affordably to ensure safety for the host and companions. These are protective measures. In contrast, ability acquisition and upgrades fall outside that scope.]
[The system's role is to ensure the host's survival—not to grant overwhelming power.]
Luo Shu raised an eyebrow, pinched the bridge of his nose, and muttered, "So if I die because I'm weak, you don't care?"
[Should an unfortunate incident occur, the system will simply initiate the reincarnation process and await your next awakening.]
"…So you're saying I get to do it all over again in the next life?" Luo Shu grinned bitterly. Not exactly comforting.
Still, that last sentence revealed quite a bit. The system seemed... unusually invested in him.
"Forget it. I guess power upgrades are off the table for now."
He sighed, knowing full well that upgrading any of his current skills wasn't happening soon. Even if he could afford it, he needed a safety net. What if he got injured and didn't have enough left for healing? He'd die for real. Better to stockpile at least 5,000 points before doing anything reckless.
"Alright, next question—why is there such a huge difference in points between Eriri and Kasumigaoka Utaha?"
Kasumigaoka had earned him 6,188 points as his first follower. But the second, Eriri, had generated a whopping 9,000—a significant increase. Even their monthly point contributions were vastly different, with Eriri yielding three times more than Utaha.
[Answer: The disparity is due to Sawamura Eriri's significantly higher societal influence compared to Kasumigaoka Utaha.]
"Higher influence? You mean…"
And then it hit him. The school's top two beauties were both minor celebrities in their own right. One was a rising star in the literary world. The other… a legendary doujin artist behind the alias "Kashiwagi Eri."
Compared to a novelist, Eriri—who had indirectly ruined the lives of countless young men by drawing "those kinds" of doujins—clearly had the more impactful presence.
"So basically, every time 'little lives' are lost to one of her works, I get to pay her in points? That sounds seriously cursed…"
Still, Luo Shu couldn't argue with results. Recruiting Eriri had boosted his monthly points by 300—three times what Utaha brought in. Doujin culture was no joke.
He sighed and pulled out his phone, quietly bookmarking "Professor Kashiwagi Eri's" artist profile. Frowning, he muttered, "System, there's another thing. Both Utaha and Eriri seem to have limitations on their powers. Those can be removed, right? Through ability upgrades?"
[Correct. Limitations can be resolved through advancing the ability tier. Would you like the system to list the upgrade requirements?]
"Forget it. I'm broke. No point in even looking."
Luo Shu immediately shut the system down before it could say another word. No more talk about money. His heart couldn't take it.
He didn't even have the funds to upgrade his own powers—why would he spend them on someone else?
What am I, stupid? he thought, shaking his head and continuing down the sidewalk.
Then—smack—he stepped on something again.
"Huh?"
He stopped and looked down, eyes narrowing as he saw a deep red wallet lying under his shoe.
"Another lucky find?"
Two wallets in one day? Just on his way to work? Even after that system price-gouging fiasco, Luo Shu's broken heart was starting to mend.
Just as he bent down to pick it up, a woman's voice rang out from behind him.
"You've got some surprisingly good luck, little brother."
The unfamiliar voice came from just behind him, far too close for comfort.
Luo Shu froze instantly.