[Mission Completed]
[Version Activation Successful]
[Reward Generating, Please Wait...]
Uesugi Sakura ignored the voice of the system in his mind and continued to smile at Hanamaru Hanabi.
"..."
A moment of silence
"Uesugi-kun, what does this sentence mean?" Hanamaru Hanabi asked curiously in a small voice.
Uesugi Sakura maintained a smile, looking slightly stiff.
"It means, Hanabi-chan, you're too cute." He said this in Japanese.
"..."
"Ah... ah...?"
Hanamaru Hanabi's eyes trembled slightly, her timid voice became muddled, the sudden compliment left her too shy to even glance at Uesugi Sakura again. She quickly turned around, her eyes affectionate, her cheeks slightly flushed, and she kept her head down low.
"..."
"Wh... why did you suddenly say that?"
Uesugi Sakura naturally turned back and slurped another mouthful of noodles:
"I just suddenly thought you look really cute when eating noodles, so I just wanted to tell you this fact."
"..."
Another moment of silence.
"Mm..."
Hanamaru Hanabi responded softly, gently stirring the broth in her bowl, occasionally sneaking a glance at Uesugi Sakura beside her, who continued eating his noodles nonchalantly.
Their conversation ended there, and Uesugi Sakura finished his ramen, quickly gulping down the broth, and saw the line of text at the bottom of the bowl:
[This Drop is the Ultimate Joy]
Ichiran Ramen got one thing right, and that is, above each seat, there is a tap providing drinking water.
Uesugi Sakura took the cup from above the tap, filled it with cold water, and drank it all in one go.
The ice-cold water slowly flowed through his mouth, chest, and stomach, giving him a feeling of clarity throughout his entire body.
The system's reward didn't seem to be generated yet, but Uesugi Sakura didn't mind since he wasn't in any rush.
"Uesugi-kun."
"Are you finished eating?"
Uesugi Sakura heard the voice and looked at Hanamaru Hanabi beside him, noticing she still had half a bowl of broth left.
"Want to stroll down Shinjuku Street? I can buy you some dessert after the meal."
"No,"
Hanamaru Hanabi shook her head in refusal, finding that Uesugi Sakura was a bit too enthusiastic today; he wasn't usually like this,
"Let's go home first."
"You don't want to? Hmm... alright then."
Both of their homes were in the Kanda River neighborhood near Waseda Station, an area that thrived because of Waseda University, though in reality, it's just a quiet residential area.
The place is abundantly filled with cherry blossoms, scattered all over the streets, and the scent of cherry blossoms is everywhere, indeed deserving of the title of cherry blossom nation.
The Hanamaru home was right next to the Uesugi home, neighbors for over ten years, so they grew up together as childhood friends.
They took the train together from Shinjuku Station to this area.
"Uesugi-kun... would you like to come in and sit for a while?" Hanamaru Hanabi stood at her door, paused briefly, and invited Uesugi Sakura in.
"No, Megumi's aunt is probably still doing housework at this time. I won't disturb you."
Uesugi Sakura shook his head in refusal; actually, the system's reward had been delivered already, and he wanted to explore it at home.
"Alright then... see you tomorrow, Uesugi-kun."
"See you tomorrow."
After their usual farewell, Uesugi Sakura walked forward and turned into his own house at the corner.
Both homes were standard detached houses, spaciously situated with a small garden.
Due to Uesugi Sakura's parents often being absent, he didn't usually say the "I'm home" out loud, instead just entering the hallway, taking off his shoes, going up to the second floor, and opening his room door to lie down on his bed.
Glancing at the bookshelf filled with books in his room, Uesugi Sakura started examining the system in his mind.
Though he didn't know what principle the system was based on, its interface was quite detailed, the layout pleasing to the eyes.
He randomly opened the [Tasks] interface, and three lines of semi-transparent text appeared in his mind.
[Accepted Tasks: None]
[Unaccepted Tasks: None]
[Completed Tasks: 1 (Click Here for Details)]
Uesugi Sakura clicked to view the task details.
[Task Name: System Activation Task]
[Task Difficulty: Level 1]
[Task Content: Confess to Hanamaru Hanabi]
[Task Time: Ten Minutes]
[Task Restriction: Must maintain eye contact and a smile with the task subject during execution]
[Task Status: Completed]
[Task Reward: Issued, Please Check Your Inventory]
He didn't hurry to check the inventory but noticed a small exclamation point at the top of the entire task interface and clicked it open.
[Description: Apart from novice tasks, all tasks are randomly triggered, with reward content unchanged but the quantity and quality increased corresponding to task difficulty]
[————Special Note————]
[Task releases will increase in probability based on the user's current action, with base probability rising when the user performs actions like "saying one thing and meaning another" or "aspirations of a salted fish".]
[Note: Be an aspiring and honest salted fish]
[All interpretation rights are reserved by this system]
Overlord terms, basically saying use it if you want, or just leave it.
Whoever came up with this line must be quite cynical.
And what's with this aspiring and honest salted fish?
Isn't aiming for Tokyo University ambitious enough?
Uesugi Sakura shrugged helplessly, returned to the main menu, found [Inventory], and clicked to enter.
The inventory page used a grid system, with each item occupying one grid, semi-transparent, having a strong game-interface feel. The color and transparency combination gave it a futuristic holographic look.
Though the interface was old-fashioned, it felt quite comfortable to see.
Now the entire inventory was empty, except for the top left corner, where an eye-catching Black Gold Card flashed brightly, clearly not an ordinary item.
Uesugi Sakura clicked on it.
The Black Gold Card appeared in the middle of the inventory interface, the dazzling light making Uesugi Sakura instinctively squint his eyes.
[Yog Sotos' Black Gold Card]
[Usage Method: Click to Use]
[Description: The omniscient and omnipotent god is everywhere, humans cannot glimpse even a fraction of him; as a Black Gold Card bearing his name, it can grant you unexpected abilities (Novice Task Bonus).]
?
Seeing that name instantly made Uesugi Sakura frown instinctively.
Cthulhu Mythos?
He began to worry if there were issues with this system, whether he should continue using it, fearing it might drive him insane.
Also, the usage method only said click to use, with no details on effects, clearly a trap. Combined with that very peculiar name, it didn't seem wise to use it.
Uesugi Sakura even considered discarding this broken system altogether.
But soon, he dismissed this concern.
Because he clicked on the small exclamation mark on the top right of the card.
[——Usage Instructions——]
Cards are divided into four levels: Normal, Intermediate, Advanced, Black Gold
Card names are generated randomly, with additional effects based on card names (Novice Task Bonus... etc. are not included here)
Cards are "use to draw"
Card draw pool rewards include: attribute points, skills, special effects, negative effects, etc.
Drawn item levels include: Normal, Intermediate, Advanced, Black Gold
Card draw pool probabilities:
Black Gold Quality: 0.06%
Advanced Quality: 0.6%
Intermediate Quality: 1%
Normal Quality: 50%
[————Special Note————]
[All interpretation rights are reserved by this system]
Oh boy, wherever they learned this from, they even made a gacha system, with no guarantee, every word revealing a ruthless flavor.
Uesugi Sakura quickly closed the system page, got up from the bed, and headed straight to the window, pulling open the blinds to look outside.
The breeze brushed his face, below the window was his carefully tended small garden, with many plants he nurtured.
The fragrance of flowers was pleasant, making the air exceptionally fresh here. Uesugi Sakura took a deep breath, trying to clear his mind and relax his emotions.
To be honest, seeing that name just now was quite unsettling.