Upon realizing that this game world might really be akin to dating sims, I immediately lost the confidence in being able to clear the game as I didn't have much experience in interacting with females so far in my life. It was too much of a task for someone like me to conquer females in reality. I mean, come on, just look at my charm points. That pitiful value of 12 speaks for itself.
As I'd spent 880 USD on the purchase of the item, I reopened the "Status" window to confirm the change.
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Hasegawa Ryo
Age: 25
Job: NEET
Level: 1
Physical Strength: 55
Charm: 12
Money in possession: 42329 USD
EXP: 0
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Precisely 880 USD had decreased from the total amount, so fortunately the game didn't have any issue of miscalculation.
A doubt suddenly crossed my mind. Even if I did end up getting inside a game, everything but the 'game system' was ever so realistic. Apart from that, not being able to get connected to internet and get through to my acquaintances were the only two things that could be called different from reality. Noticing that the situation wasn't as serious as it could've been, I felt relaxed a bit. I was already feeling hungry at the moment, so I first went to the toilet to take care of my business and then decided on getting something for breakfast.
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"Would the value of [Money in possession] also decrease in the case of buying non-game stuff?" I wondered as I got prepared.
The issue of food simply couldn't be overlooked as it was the most important thing to keep on living. As such, I felt it necessary to make things clear as soon as possible. I grabbed my wallet and left the room. I entered the nearest convenience store from my place, filled up the basket with various things and paid for them by card at the counter. When I got outside, I loaded the "Status" window to check the difference.
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Hasegawa Ryo
Age: 25
Job: NEET
Level: 1
Physical Strength: 55
Charm: 12
Money in possession: 42318 USD
EXP: 0
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I'd done a shopping of $11 at the convenience store just now which had been accurately deducted from the previous total amount. This experimentation made it quite clear that the value of [Money in possession] would decrease not only on purchasing an "item" but also by making all kinds of expenditures in real life. Perhaps the only thing that brought me relief was the fact that unlike the relatively high-priced "items", the things I could buy from the convenience store were being sold at the same price as in reality. Thanks to that, food didn't seem to be of any issue for the time being.
So long as I don't whimsically buy something really expensive for no reason, I wouldn't die of starvation any time soon. However, it was crucial to find out a way to increase the value of [Money in possession]. As there was no internet connectivity available, all the means to make money online were completely useless at present. Finding a part-time job or getting work at some place didn't appear to be the right choice either.
If I were to start working somewhere, there wouldn't be enough time to make any progress in the game. And although I might be thinking too much, there was the possibility of the game not permitting any sort of action that could be deemed as 'trying to get away from the active gameplay.' Since no proper solution to the money issue was in sight at the moment, I stopped pondering over it and left my room. I was planning to try out the scouter while walking around the place.
[Would you like to use the scouter?]
A new window appeared as I tapped on the use button inside [Items in possession]. I was really bothered by the long-ass operations. If it was the GUI of my PC feeling as tedious as this, right around this time I'd have been complaining about the bad interface in the official forum. I tilted my neck a bit to the side as I used the scouter and gazed at the woman working part-time in the convenience store.
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Masaki Arina
Age: 21
Boyfriend: Yes
Conquest Difficulty: C
Job: University Student
Residential Address: Not scannable at the current level
Phone number: Not scannable at the current level
Conquest Information: Not scannable at the current level
The information that appeared before my eyes didn't seem to be of much help. I wasn't able to find out anything except her name, age, and that she had a boyfriend. In short, the conquest was impossible. I was rather a lot more interested in discovering the criteria for determining a conquest target. Would it be enough to go out with a female for her to be approved as a conquest target? There were still tons of things I'd no idea about.
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I was hoping to get some answers when I'd left my place, but contrary to my expectations I was walking back to my residence with heavy footsteps, carrying even more doubts than before. I was on my way when I ran into a woman from the apartment building next to the place I lived. I often got to see her whenever I'd leave my room to dispose garbage around this time. Judging by the fact that she usually stayed at her place during daytime, she was either a NEET like me or working at one of 'those' places at night.
The reason I knew so much about her was because she looked very hot with those long hair hanging down her shoulders and slightly thick lips, always making me unconsciously drawn to her. She'd dispose the garbage and return back to the apartment building, leaving me alone looking at her back in a daze with my heart throbbing loudly each and every time.
A thought suddenly came to my mind, "If I'm going to conquer females anyway, would it be possible to conquer her?" I at once operated the window to use item.
[Would you like to use Lv.1 Scouter?]
I quickly finished selecting [Lv.1 Scouter] and gazed at the woman who was about to get into the elevator.
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Sakurai Ami
Age: 30
Boyfriend: Married
Difficulty: E
Job: Married Woman (Housewife)
Residential Address: Not scannable at the current level
Telephone number: Not scannable at the current level
Conquest Information: She is a 30 years old housewife. Not getting along with her husband. Likes to go to clubs without letting her husband get even a hint of it. Doesn't have a child. Has extramarital affairs with many men.
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I was just standing still on the place as I continued to get surprised by the information displayed before me. Let me say this first, I never expected her to be this old. I'd assumed that she was at most in her late-twenties but who would've thought that she was already 30. What's more, she was actually someone else's wife. I didn't think even in my dreams that she was already married. I mean she was never wearing a wedding ring after all. This reminded me of an old saying- "You can't tell a book by its cover."
Sakurai was far more beautiful and voluptuous than the woman working part-time in the convenience store. However, her 'conquest information' appeared on the scouter unlike the woman in the convenience store. In other words, the beauty and figure of a woman had nothing to do with the appearance of 'conquest information.' It was simply useless to choose beauty as the determinant for inferring whether a female was possible to be conquered or not.
Putting that aside, things had gotten a lot more easier now that I'm finally able to distinguish my conquest targets. I just had to use the "scouter" on females and approach the ones the scouter shows 'conquest information' for. Furthermore, it felt possible for even a Lv.1 beginner like me to be able to challenge a conquest mission with E-rank difficulty. However, I really had no idea how to go about the conquest. It's all cool and nice that we did get some information about the target, but that information alone wouldn't get me anywhere. Seriously, you wouldn't be expecting me to flirt with a woman like her, right? Sure, she did seem quite fond of men judging by that conquest information, but it still seemed like a tough task to me to deal with a woman like her in that manner. "Nevertheless, I should be able to find a clue to the conquest method so long as I don't give up on trying out things. I won't find a solution if I hesitate from taking actions and stay like this." I thought as I made up mind.
However, just as they say- "It's easier said than done." I couldn't come up with anything effective to start the conquest, so I went back to my place first in order to properly think about it. Recklessly trying to coax her without having any plan up my sleeve could've only ended up as a failure.
It was very clear at this point that I had to use "items" for the sake of conquest, as it looked difficult enough to approach the target solely relying on my ability as an individual. As I pondered over my next course of action, the true reason behind the existence of "items" gradually revealed itself within my mind.
"[Items], without a doubt, must be there to be used for conquests. Of course, some of those freaky 'strategical' ones would be also included among them, but if I falter and don't even purchase the items in fear of it I'll truly lose control of the situation sooner or later and be left with no choice but to look on helplessly." I sorted out my thoughts.
In the end, it was only the "items" that could be relied on. [Lv.1 Scouter] disclosed the fact that the objective of this game was to conquer women, so it was quite likely that some kind of other hints about the game were concealed within other "items" too. I immediately tapped on [Item Shop].
I was planning to purchase all the items displayed on the catalog. Of course, I'd be excluding [Foreign Car] and [Domestic Car] as I couldn't buy them even if I wanted to. As such, the list of my purchase was- [Sleep-inducing Spray], [Omnipotent Key], and [Camera].
I went all out with the purchase as I moved my finger to buy one item after another. My finger was slightly shaking while operating the game windows as I felt nervous from making such a big purchase. However, no matter how much pressure I felt from it, my finger didn't stop for once.
The operation soon came to an end, and the decently large amount of $8360 disappeared within few seconds.
After purchasing [Sleep-inducing Spray], [Omnipotent Key], and [Camera], I discovered that they didn't have any substance either similar to [Lv.1 Scouter] which made them barely seem realistic. It was true that the existence of "items" itself was as unrealistic as it could get though so I wouldn't be arguing over that.
In any case, the purchase had been made and now it was time to check out their explanations. I tapped on [Items in possession] and the newly added ones like [Sleep-inducing Spray], [Omnipotent Key], and [Camera] were being displayed as items inside. While equally feeling expectant and worried about the things I was going to see next, I operated the windows again, and detailed information related to every "item" appeared before my eyes.
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[Sleep-inducing Spray]:
[Just as the name says, it's a sleep-inducing spray. Has quite a strong effect.]
[You only need to tap it on its item window and keep it on standby mode, then gaze at the target to activate it.]
[Duration of effect: 1 hour]
[Distance required for activation: 1 meter]
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[Omnipotent Key]:
[Can open all kinds of doors.]
[Stand before the door you wish to open and tap on its item window to use it.]
[Can be used: 6 times]
#The number of times it can be used would not change even after purchasing the key again.
#The number of times the key can be used is possible to be restored to the maximum limit by purchasing it again after leveling up.
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[Camera]:
[It's an X-ray camera. It can take photographs of anything and everything.]
[After confirming its use on its item window, look at the place or thing you want to photograph, then blink your eyes.]
[Can be used: 3 times]
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[Sleep-inducing Spray] and [Omnipotent Key] were truly just as their names said. It was same for [Camera] too except the fact that it came with X-ray ability, something I didn't even imagine in my dreams before. Thanks to that, I felt rejoiced at the unexpected gain of such an item. However, [Omnipotent Key] and [Camera] could only be used a limited number of times which worried me a bit.
Anyway, for such items to exist in this game should not be a coincidence at all. My curiosity reached its peak all of a sudden.
"Intruding inside the target's place with [Omnipotent Key] and then putting her to sleep with [Sleep-inducing Spray], doesn't that sound so interesting? These items might have really appeared for this purpose." My entire mind was occupied by such thoughts. "In other words, conquering a woman means creating the chance to get laid with her?"
My heart started throbbing wildly.
I'd never been in any sort of relationship with a female until now, so when I thought of the exciting things that might happen in the near future, the sound made by my heart got even louder than before.
"No matter how you think about it, the reason behind the existence of these " items" might have the possibility to truly realize the lewd things I'm fantasizing right now." I thought to myself.
If that was how this game was meant to be played, it'd be one hell of a game for sure.