There were two other things that bothered me. The first, and most relative, was the 'checkpoint' mentioned in the challenge message. This was an odd part of the challenge, usually a checkpoint in a game was something that either allowed the player to save their progress there, or it made the player respawn there.
Now, in another word, we were playing this "GAME" which had some similarities to a real video game. However, thinking about similarities would include the fact that we could die and respawn at our checkpoint. I couldn't say for sure that this was true, and basing my thinking on mere suppositions was not the most reliable way.
In the end, no matter how much I thought about it, I should have just waited for the time when we completed the challenge.
The other point, which was much more pressing than this one, was about the shelter. I suppose we should have built it, but was it possible with our current skills?
I had no idea how to build anything, and I didn't really expect anything from Junichi, after all, we weren't architects, and there was a reason for that. But just in case, I tried to ask him.
"Ne, Junichi, do you have any idea how to build something? Something enough for us to stay in."
He walked ahead of me, still looking for a good place. He turned around with a puzzled look and stared at me for a moment, then opened his mouth.
"To be honest, no, I definitely can't."
I nodded to let him know that I understood and gestured for him to start walking again. The path through the forest was impassable, and every now and then I had to jump over roots to avoid tripping and falling. As I was doing this for the umpteenth root I found, a message appeared in front of me.
[Character Challenge
Your wish is to have a house, a house to share with your partner, a bed to share with your partner. You want it to be comfortable and beautiful, but you both lack the ability, so it's impossible for your dream to come true. I'll give you the ability, but you won't get it so easily, you'll have to try it with your partner and get a positive answer.
Clearance condition: dating success (0/1)
Failure: ???
Reward: House of Love skill].
When I read the challenge, I was confused, distracted and stumbled over the root. I fell to the ground like a child who can't walk properly. Now, now, this challenge was of the amusing type; it would give me a skill to build a shelter, but I need to start dating.
It was also a 'character' challenge, which meant that there were three types of challenge so far: normal challenges, minor challenges, and character challenges.
"Say, Junichi. What would you think if I told you that I have a way to obtain the ability to build a house, but I have to fulfil a certain condition?"
"Ah, that would be great, with a skill everything will be easier. So what is the condition? Well, I know that when you ask rhetorical questions, you're just trying to confirm something with me, so just tell me".
Oh, this guy was starting to read my character, he might be more intelligent than I thought.
"Dating... We need to... start dating."
HaHaHaHaHa
"This is an interesting condition, you have no choice but to accept it. For the sake of our survival, I'll just go along with you, we need a shelter after all".
I get it, I'm not the kind of person who's afraid to do things.
"W-w-would you d-d-date m-me?"
Shit, I started to mumble, it was pathetic. But luckily he didn't laugh, maybe out of respect for my courage, he didn't want to make fun of me.
"Yes, it's my pleasure."
Sigh
He said it, now I could rest easy. A few seconds later, another message appeared.
[You have successfully completed the character challenge. You will receive your reward, be sure to make good use of it... and have a night of fire ;-)]
These messages became more and more explicit, kind of harassing. I wondered if something was always watching us, it would be embarrassing if it was true.
"Perfect, I'm automatically acquiring all the knowledge I need. Now, I'll go first to find a good place."
Junichi remained silent and let me go, his ears were a little red and he didn't really look me in the eyes, who knows what it could have been, maybe he felt hot.
________________________
After wandering around for a while, we found the perfect spot, an area of tall, sturdy trees that didn't have too many branches, making it perfect for building over the Three. It was also useful because we could build more than one house there, depending on what we needed.
"Good, we'll stop here, this is perfect. I need some materials, you go and get some trunks, I'll do the rest. Leave the design to me too."
"As you wish, my lady."
Before I could protest, he was gone, sometimes he could be a real hard worker. Now it was time to use the skill that was really game-like.
It seemed that my perspective would leave my body and become free, so that I could see everything more easily. Finally, I could imagine the design that would be stored in the skill's memory, and based on that, I would have a certain amount of materials needed. The final step was simply to tell the skill to assemble everything, and it would produce exactly what I imagined. It was extremely useful and easy to use.
Now I had to come up with a design, I had to think about it thoroughly. The main building would be on this central three, the hardest one. I thought of a two-storey house. On the first floor there would be a living room, and then with the rest of the space we will decide, on the second floor there would be two rooms, one for me and one for him, SEPARATE ROOMS.
I thought that these could be extended to the other three, but first we would have to find a way of making our furniture. I was so engrossed that I didn't notice Junichi arrive. Even though he left a large number of logs near me, I didn't hear a thing. It was as if it had never happened.
Aaaaaaa
Unconsciously, I let out a scream. Since I didn't notice it, I felt a hand on my shoulder and without noticing, I started to scream.
"Oh, so you get scared too and have a feminine side to you."
He seemed surprised, but yes, I am a woman and I act like a woman. I don't understand why he didn't notice it before.
"Just pretend it never happened. Let's get down to business, have you got all the materials you need?"
I said without turning around to see him.
"Just look this way and you'll see, and of course I won't pretend this never happened, Mrs Screamer."
Now he was getting on my nerves, but I pretended not to listen. I wanted to test the skill now. All I needed was a few stones, a small number.
Without saying a word, I started to pick them. I could feel Junichi's intense look, wondering what the hell I was doing. I picked all the stones I needed.
[House of Love activated, first floor and ladders being built]
A building notice arrived, and then the materials began to create a structure. It was a spectacular sight, absolutely fantastic. Something that could never have happened in our previous world, in the end, even this horrible "GAME" had some nice aspects. Everything turned out as I had imagined it would, perfectly, precisely and exactly as I had imagined it.
"Woah, you've been thinking about it for a while, haven't you?"
"Mhm, it's obvious, it could be a permanent house for me, I need it to be beautiful."
Technically it was our house, but I deliberately avoided saying that because I couldn't think about it and I didn't want it to be permanent. Maybe I was hoping for a change of class, or maybe I was hoping to wake up from this terrible nightmare.
But I still cherished the time I spent with him, even if I didn't want to admit it.
We climbed up the high ladder and I suffered a little from heights so I was extremely careful, fortunately Junichi didn't notice. We got there and it was basically an empty room, which contrasted with the outside design.
From the outside, you could see a nice first floor with some decoration at the corner, with those Ionic columns, but the inside was bare. Looking at Junichi, he must have noticed that as well.
"I'll have to work out how to make the furniture for us, this is supposed to be the living room anyway and we have some space for something else."
We spent some time relaxing on the first floor.