The next morning, Hiro woke up with a slight headache. He groaned as he sat up, a smile playing on his lips as he remembered the events of the night before.
[I thought you were going to sleep all day.] Nova's voice greeted him.
"Good morning to you too, Nova. What's the update on the customization configuration you were running?" Hiro asked, going straight to important matters.
He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stretched, trying to shake off the remnants of his headache.
Nova's holographic interface shimmered to life right in front of his eyes, displaying a progress bar and a series of data logs.
[Well, while you were sleeping off your post-sexual headache, I create a customization patch to fit all your needs and stats. I also managed to optimize the core algorithms and reduce the energy consumption by 15%.]
[All upgrades have been made, and configurations set. I'll have to reboot for it to take effect.] Nova replied.
"Then… what are you waiting for?" Hiro asked in a surprised tone. He expected Nova to have done the reboot while he was asleep.
[Even though I hate to admit it, I still need your permission to run some system functions; reboot and shut down inclusive] Nova explained, and a smile of satisfaction found its way to Hiro's face.
"That's good to know. Permission to Reboot granted. How long will it take?" Hiro asked, getting out of bed to hit the bathroom.
[Approximately 23 minutes. Reboot in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. See you on the other side.] Nova added with a sense of amusement.
The screen in Hiro's eyes went out, and a deafening silence filled his head, one he hadn't felt for a long time. He was getting used to having Nova's thoughts invade his.
Within those 20 minutes, Hiro hustled to the bathroom, stepping into a futuristic shower pod that emitted a soothing, bluish glow. It made use of sonic waves and nanotech to cleanse, leaving him refreshed and ready for the day.
He then suited up in a sleek, charcoal-gray jumpsuit that offered both flexibility and protection during combat, complete with a utility belt and high-tech combat boots.
As he was just adding finishing touches, the screen in his eyes lit up, a progress bar loading until it reached 100%.
"Right on time," he mumbled to himself, feeling the familiar connection with Nova restored.
[System Upgrade complete, host.] Nova's familiar voice resounded.
"I thought this upgrade would correct you calling me host instead of Hiro," Hiro said with a hint of amusement, using one hand to cover his face as he glanced at Nova's holographic interface.
[That isn't part of my program; it's all me. Anyways, your new dashboard is ready.] Nova said, and immediately, the screen display changed.
Hiro removed his hand from his face and took in the updated dashboard.
[Character: Hiro Banks]
[Status: Active]
[Bond Level: 18.2%]
[Location: Erebos Outpost, Siren]
[Level: 1]
[XP: 0/100]
[Health Level: 99%]
[Completed Tasks: 0]
[Pending Tasks: 0]
[Current Objective: Take over Siren and become Lord]
[Objective Progress: 5%]
[Unlocked Abilities: 0]
[Skills: Melee master, Sharpshooter, Tactical Strategist]
"Impressive work, Nova. You really outdid yourself this time." Hiro exclaimed, studying the updated dashboard. "Though you know you will have to explain all these, right?"
[This is your dashboard, which presents an overview of everything. It shows your account status, level, experience points (XP), tasks, abilities, and skills.]
"Okay?" Hiro responded, his voice carrying a mixture of curiosity and slight confusion as he tried to process the information being presented to him.
[You can also see your completed tasks, pending tasks, objective progress, and so on.]
[Some other tabs you might want to know about are:
[Inventory: This is where you can see all of the items, weapons and gadgets that you have collected. You can equip items, sell items, or view item descriptions.]
[Store: This is where you can buy new items. You can purchase abilities, weapons, gadgets, and other items that will help you in completing your objective using XP. Some things in the store are locked until you get to a certain level.]
[Skills: This is where you can learn new skills and upgrade existing skills. You can use skills to fight enemies, solve puzzles, and complete quests.]
[Quests: This is where you can see a list of quests that you can complete. You can accept quests, track your progress, and collect rewards.]
[Harem: Here you can see the numbers of females in your harem and also a brief information on each one of them - their fetish, their weak spots and all.]
[Achievements: This is where you can see the achievements that you have unlocked. You can earn achievements by completing certain tasks or reaching certain milestones.
[Understood or should I go over it again?]
"I think I've got it all. Anything else?" Hiro asked.
[For now, no.]
"Good, let's get today started then, shall we?"
Hiro left his room and headed for the control room, where he met Mylleen, Lirien, and Kaida. The trio were gathered around a holographic display, deep in conversation.
As he was about to utter a word, his screen lit up.
[Remain quiet until they notice your presence - 5 XP]
[Get their attention - 10 XP]
[Grab Lirien's shoulder and give it a squeeze - 50 XP]
"Hmmm… why assign such a large amount of XP to a perverted task?" Hiro asked in disbelief.
Nova responded with a hint of mischief in her virtual voice, [Well, that's the thing. You seek control over them isn't it? They desire pleasure, and that's one power you have over them. What's wrong in using it to get what you want?]
Hiro shook his head, suppressing a grin. "Alright, Nova, you win this time. Let's see if Lirien has a sense of humor."
He then walked stealthily towards Lirien whose back was facing him. As soon as he got close enough, his hand stretched forth and grabbed her ass, giving it a nice squeeze.
Lirien gasped immediately as she felt a strong hand grab her from behind. She turned around to find Hiro, a mischievous smug playing on his lips. She mirrored his smile in return, a playful glint in her eyes.
As soon as Kaida turned to face Hiro, he quickly retracted his hands back to himself.
"Hiro, so good for you to join us. We were actually waiting for you. Ready for your first day on the team?" She asked.
Mylleen turned to face Hiro and her face flushed, a shy smile playing on her lips. Hiro did little to acknowledge her instead, he redirected his attention to Kaida and nodded. "Sure."
"Good, 'cause you're on patrol duty with Lirien." Kaida announced.