The Heart System

Chapter 433: Chapter 433

Alright... I now had a choice to make... well, choices.

I had so many credits on me and I needed to spend them. I was going to stick to the plan and first upgrade my Charm, then see from there.

As the girls were in the living room, watching the forecaster, I was in my bed, feeling tired. I had the pillow propped up against the bedframe, watching the system UI pop up before me. Now... five points to Charm. Since I had nineteen points to spend freely, that left me with fourteen. Not bad.

"Should I reset Charm? Or... Pleasure?"

Since my Villain tag was gone, I didn’t have that plus fifteen to my Pleasure anymore. Wow that sucked. I could fix it by resetting Pleasure. It was currently on thirty, and resetting would give me half the points, fifteen. But I only had fourteen points to spend freely to my name. I could buy more points from the Shop but... did I really need Pleasure higher than thirty at this point?

Well, maybe?

Pleasure was almost an investment as well. Higher the pleasure skill, higher chance for me to make women orgasm faster, which meant more EXP, which also meant more credits... choices, choices. I had no idea what to do.

"But I also need Strength as well..."

Nah, thirty points was enough. I needed to get some Strength upgrade. So... a reset was in order. Strength was currently at ten points, that would give me five points back after the reset.

I hit confirm after dumping all the points I had to STR.

╭────────────────────╮

CURRENT STATS

==========================

◆ Strength: 20

◆ Charm: 20

- Manipulative Charm

⤷ Honeyed Words (▩⏹⏹⏹⏹)

⤷ Gaslight (⏹☐☐☐☐)

⤷ Emotional Charisma (☐☐☐☐☐)

⤷ Seductive Allure (☐)

◆ Libido: 16

⤷ Endless Vigor (☐☐☐☐★)

◆ Pleasure: 30

⤷ Sensory Overload (☐☐☐☐☐)

⤷ Erogenous Insight (⏹)

⤷ Bliss Multiplier (▣▣▣▣▣)

◆ Luck: 10

╰────────────────────╯

Good. Strength at twenty, Charm at twenty. And, fuck me, I felt a lot stronger just then, right after I hit confirm. Like something in my body shifted subtly.

I got up from the bed and stood in front of the mirror, checking myself... well, nothing really changed. No crazy six-pack or anything. But I felt... strangely stronger somehow.

"Huh... nice," I muttered to myself. "That’s better... now, let’s buy some Mastery Evolve and put it in Honeyed Words..."

I spent four points on Mastery Evolve and applied them directly to Honeyed Words.

╭────────────────────╮

CURRENT STATS

==========================

◆ Strength: 20

◆ Charm: 20

- Manipulative Charm

⤷ Honeyed Words (▩▩▩▩▩)

⤷ Gaslight (⏹☐☐☐☐)

⤷ Emotional Charisma (☐☐☐☐☐)

⤷ Seductive Allure (☐)

◆ Libido: 16

⤷ Endless Vigor (☐☐☐☐☐)

◆ Pleasure: 30

⤷ Sensory Overload (☐☐☐☐☐)

⤷ Erogenous Insight (⏹)

⤷ Bliss Multiplier (▣▣▣▣▣)

◆ Luck: 10

╰────────────────────╯

Honeyed Words had finally leveled up quite a bit. That meant persuading people should be easier now. A hundred percent success rate... yeah, right. Maybe on a cat or something.

Still, it was an improvement.

Different people seemed to have different levels of resistance to Honeyed Words—like Anotta, with that whole massage oil incident. So no, it wasn’t a guaranteed success every time. But even a small boost in persuasion could make all the difference.

Buying four Mastery Evolves left me with...

╭────────────────────╮

SHOP [Page 2]

==========================

• Hypnotic Perfume (40c)

• Time Stop (90c)

• 500 Dollars (50c)

• 1 Ability Point (150c)

• 1 Mastery Point (160c)

• Desire Aura (100c)

• Reputation Point +30 (200c)

• Mastery Evolve (1500c)

• Random Passive Skill (1700c)

==========================

Credits: 1379c

╰────────────────────╯

Damn. Rich one second, poor the other. I just wished I could put more points into Mastery Evolve, though. That would surely help me in the future.

"Evan!" Nala called from the living room. "Come here for a second, please!"

"Y-yeah, sure."

I checked myself in the mirror one last time and nodded to myself, then left the master bedroom and turned left. I saw Nala and the others sitting on the couches, lazying around as the TV blared in front of them.

"Is there any news from Tuck?" she asked.

"Nope. He still isn’t responding to my texts."

"Damn..." Tessa muttered. "You really have some loyal friends, huh?"

"Nah... the thing with Tuck? It’s my fault." I said. "Just forget about it."

Tessa let out a fart noise with her mouth. "I did. Gone."

"Funny."

"Master." Minne came from the kitchen. "Would you like your orange juice, now?"

"Yeah, sure. Bring it to the balcony, okay?"

"Of course, Master."

I was about to pass the couches when Nala caught my T-shirt and gently tugged me back. I turned toward her, and she leaned up slightly. I leaned down and kissed her. It was soft, quick. We both smiled. She let go of my shirt and I continued toward the balcony.

I slid the glass door open, stepped outside, and closed it behind me. The balcony was sealed off with glass panels, so no air came in. It was warm inside despite the snow falling lazily outside, slowly whitening the glass roof above me.

I exhaled and sat down on one of the sunbeds, staring at the city through the frosted glass. After a moment, I pulled out my phone and called Cora.

A few rings later, she picked up.

"Hey, Cora," I said.

"Um, hey..."

"I was wondering if you’d be free tomorrow. I could swing by after work and bring pizza. Esme would love that."

"Y-yeah!" she said quickly, then cleared her throat. "Yeah. That sounds good."

"Alright. I’ll call you after work, okay?"

"Okay," she replied softly. "Bye, Evan."

"Bye."

There was a small awkward laugh from her before she hung up. "Heh... heh..."

I lowered my phone and lay back on the sunbed, watching the snow drift down slowly. A minute later, the door slid open again. Minne stepped out with a glass of orange juice and handed it to me. I smiled.

"Hey," I said as she turned to go back inside. "Do you want to sit for a bit?"

"I need to prepare the table, Master. It’s time for dessert."

"Forget dessert for a minute. Come here."

"Of course, Master."

She walked toward the other sunbed, but I held my hand out instead. She smiled shyly and placed her hand in mine. I gently pulled her down next to me. She settled against my side, her head resting on my shoulder and one leg draped lightly over me.

"How’s your mother?" I asked, then took a sip of my orange juice.

"She’s good, Master. She said she can finally relax now that the cat is gone."

"She didn’t like her?"

"No, she’s happy Mik is in good hands."

I nodded. Then, another sip.

"I didn’t expect Mik to be so naughty," Minne said with a small laugh. "She’s like an angry little furball that destroys everything."

"That’s cat 101," I said, rubbing her shoulder. "I used to feed a stray once. It scratched me pretty badly. After that, I decided I’m more of a dog person."

"I don’t like dogs, Master. They’re too big."

"They’re loyal."

"Cats are loyal too. Just smaller."

"Debatable," I said, exhaling. "Still snowing, huh?"

"The forecast said tomorrow will be better. Just rain."

"Good. Snow messes up the roads."

Suddenly Tessa’s voice echoed from inside. "Mik! Little fucker! Get over here! Bath time!"

I glanced toward the glass. Mik’s paws were pressed against the door as if she wanted to escape outside. Tessa appeared behind her and scooped her up. The cat struggled and meowed loudly.

"This cat is impossible," Tessa muttered.

"Do cats even need baths?" I called through the glass.

"This one does. She smells awful."

"Yeah, I noticed," I said with a small laugh.

Minne chuckled softly beside me, her gaze drifting toward the snowy skyline.

"Should we go inside?" I asked.

"Yes, Master."

We stood up. She opened the glass door and we stepped back in. I could hear running water and Mik’s dramatic protests from the bathroom.

"I’ll get dessert ready, Master," Minne said.

"Alright."

She went to the kitchen while I stayed near the glass door for a moment, stretching and yawning.

"Man... I’m sleepy."

I set the half-empty glass of orange juice on the dining table, the liquid sloshing gently against the sides. The girls were still scattered across the living room couches. Jasmine sprawled sideways on the larger sectional with her legs draped over the armrest. Jasmine sat cross-legged on the floor in front of the coffee table, remote in hand, flipping channels until the weather forecast filled the screen with swirling snow icons and New Year’s Eve predictions.

I turned toward the kitchen to help Minne carry the rest of the plates. Halfway there, a sharp snap cut through the air. It sounded like a thick rubber band breaking or glass cracking under pressure.

My head jerked up. The world stopped.

Minne froze with a plate balanced in both hands. Jasmine’s remote hovered mid-air, thumb still pressed on the channel button. Kim’s head was tilted back slightly, mouth open in the middle of a laugh that never finished. Nala’s eyes were on the TV, watching whatever was on it. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, snowflakes hung suspended in perfect stillness. The sky had turned deep crimson. Heavy clouds boiled slowly, lit from within by an unnatural red glow.

"What the..."

A new interface appeared in my vision. Cold red border. Black background.

╭───────────────╮

- AMBUSHED!

====================

- Title: Waves of Pleasure

- Task: Survive the attack.

- Reward: 10 Ability Points

╰───────────────╯

Beside it a timer began counting down from five minutes. 5:00... 4:59... 4:58...

Then a knock.

Three slow raps on the front door.