As the day progressed, I found myself alone on the roof of the school, enjoying the quiet. The cool breeze carried away the noise of the bustling students below, giving me a rare moment of peace. I leaned against the railing, staring into the distance, lost in thought.
A soft rustle drew my attention. A little girl with pure white hair and a doll-like face sat on a bench nearby, her small frame almost blending into the scenery. She had an air of innocence but also an unmistakable sharpness in her gaze. Koneko Toujou.
I immediately recognized her. Another heroine of this world, and a devil under Rias's peerage. She was quiet, stoic, and rarely interacted with anyone unless necessary. She didn't even glance at me, her golden eyes focused on the snack in her hands as she nibbled on it like a cat.
I decided to ignore her for now. Drawing her attention unnecessarily might complicate things. Instead, I focused on something much more pressing: my system.
---
'System, explain why I earned 7 shock points earlier.' I asked as I already have 7 shock point in my status without doing anything.
A familiar translucent window popped up before me, displaying the system's response in bold text:
[Because you managed to shock people around you. The previous you was quiet and withdrawn with emotionless face. Your sudden change in behavior startled those who knew you, earning you 7 shock points.]
'i got 7 shock points just by interacting with students differently. So how much will I earn if I completely change my personality?'
[28 more shock points.]
'Not bad. But that's just from the people who already know me, right? What about strangers and normal human's? Can I gain shock points from them too?'
[Yes. Shock points can be earned from anyone as long as your actions surprise them or break their expectations of you.]
I smirked, considering my options. There were so many ways to go about this, some less… morally upright than others.
A dark thought crossed my mind, and I couldn't help but smile. If I really wanted to, I could exploit this system to its fullest.
The system, ever neutral, didn't respond to my internal musings, but I knew it was keeping track.
---
I glanced over at Koneko, still quietly eating her snack. She didn't seem to care about my presence, and that suited me fine.
But then a plan started to form. What if I used her? To get initial shock points to put my plans in action.
Not in a malicious way, of course, but just enough to rack up some points. Koneko wasn't the type to react strongly to anything, so even eliciting a small reaction from her could yield significant shock value.
But how? I pondered.
As the thought crossed my mind, I let out a low chuckle, causing Koneko to glance up at me for the first time. Her golden eyes met mine briefly before she returned to her snack, clearly uninterested.
Still, that tiny glance was enough to confirm something: if I could crack through her stoic exterior, I'd be able to test the system further.
Time to make things interesting.
The rooftop grew quieter as Koneko eventually stood up, brushing off her skirt with her usual emotionless demeanor. She gave me one last glance, as if debating whether to say something, but ultimately walked toward the door without a word.
I waited until the door clicked shut behind her before taking a deep breath. From my bag, I retrieved a plain sheet of paper and a pen. What I was about to do wasn't exactly ethical, but it was necessary.
The key to earning shock points lay in breaking expectations, in revealing something so unexpected that it rattled the other person to their core.