Chapter 5: Android
In the middle of the night, a sudden bright white silhouette appeared inside a room in the academy's male public dormitory.
Moments later, Reisou materialized, slightly disoriented from the side effects of teleportation.
As his senses cleared, he removed his mask, and a wide grin spread across his face.
"It worked! Haha!" Reisou laughed, satisfied that his plan to kill the Corrupted Boar had succeeded.
Although stealing the kill wasn't exactly fair, he hadn't taken anything from them. They would get the boss monster core, while he successfully completed his mission. Reisou even sacrificed his only weapon, so if anyone had lost something, it was him.
After taking a deep breath to calm his emotions, he opened the mission menu and claimed his rewards.
[Ding! Congratulations on completing the mission "First Gate"!]
[5 System Points and 30 World Points have been added to your balance.]
[1 Energy Key has been added to your inventory.]
[500 XP have been automatically consumed.]
Before Reisou could celebrate again for receiving his rewards, two more notifications popped up, one after the other.
[Ding!]
[Your level has increased: 4 ⇾ 10 (Gate boss XP included)]
[6 attribute points are available to reallocate.]
[Ding!]
[Congratulations on achieving level 10! The Store menu is now unlocked, and as a gift for your hard work, you've received a 50% coupon discount on your first purchase!]
"Level ten already!? Hell yeah! And I even unlocked the system store!" Reisou said, feeling a surge of excitement.
Upon seeing that he had gained access to the store with such an incredible discount, he couldn't help but immediately check it out.
The store was divided into two sections: one for System Points and another for World Points. He selected the System Points menu first, knowing it would contain more powerful items, unlike the World Points section, which had a more limited variety.
Just as he thought, a wide range of items filled the screen. Bloodlines, skills, legendary weapons, powerful familiars, and even special food were available for purchase. Some were barely accessible, while others had absurd price tags.
"Ten thousand points for the common Saiyan bloodline? Damn..." he muttered, shaking his head. It would take a lot of time to accumulate that many points.
Using the price filter, Reisou scrolled through the sections to see what he could afford with his five System Points. Although the amount was low, he knew it could still secure something useful.
"Oh, I think I found something interesting," Reisou remarked as he selected the Basic Armament Haki, which was tagged as a two-star technique.
Armament Haki was a good power to have in the early stages, as it could grant him a slight advantage in combat by strengthening both his weapon and body.
Reisou scanned the store again but couldn't find another good two-star technique at an affordable price. For some reason, Basic Observation Haki cost two points more than Armament Haki.
The price for Basic Armament Haki was ten system points, but with the 50% discount, it was reduced to five. He purchased the ability, and a screen with its description appeared before his eyes.
[Basic Armament Haki (2⋆): A strong technique from the world of One Piece that allows the user to coat any part of their body or weapons in an invisible armor, while also granting the ability to counter most elemental-based powers. The efficiency depends on the number of stars the technique has.]
[Note: It will consume six energy points upon activation, drain one every seven seconds, and provide an additional three points to both the defense and attack attributes. This ability has no cooldown.]
As Reisou finished reading the description, he activated his newly acquired power. A slight dark coating covered his right arm.
After conducting a few more tests, he confirmed that it really had no cooldown, making it highly useful in certain situations. But the six points per activation reminded him to use it carefully.
Satisfied with his choice, Reisou checked the World Points section. There, he found armors, weapons, clothes, potions, common foods, and other items.
These were mostly items that could be obtained in the real world with money, making this section quite convenient for a poor guy like him. He also saw some locked catalogs that briefly caught his curiosity.
Reisou spent a few minutes looking at the catalogue before deciding to search for a new weapon, since his lance had been sacrificed. Fortunately, the available weapons were ideal for use in low-ranked Gates.
While browsing through the weapons category for an affordable yet effective weapon, Reisou's eyes landed on a stunning black lance named Hoiefu den Goem, instantly piquing his interest.
This was a C-Grade item that provided an incredible boost of four attribute points to attack, attack speed, and agility. The price was 30 World Points, causing Reisou to think for a moment.
In the end, he realized he needed a strong weapon, and this one seemed to fit his needs perfectly. As he purchased the lance, a screen appeared, displaying its description.
[Hoiefu den Goem (C-Grade): Promise of Nothing, or Hoeifu den Goem in Desalaiko, was the main weapon of Velkiz, the leader of the Celestial Black Knights. During the last Sacred War against the Mah-Ita Empire, Velkiz annihilated entire armies using this weapon, which later became a missing historical treasure.]
When Reisou finished reading the text, he recalled learning about it in history class. Velkiz was supposedly a hero from the old era of the Gutanos Empire, a civilization that closely resembled the original Roman Empire.
He founded the Black Knights Order three years before the Seventh Sacred War, the last and most brutal of its kind. During the war, Velkiz and forty knights effortlessly seized Constantinople without a single casualty and sold it to the Catholic Church.
Two years later, the Church granted them the Celestial title, the most honored distinction the Church could bestow, leading them to be known as the Celestial Black Knights. After receiving such a prestigious title, Velkiz and all the knights from the order vanished a week later without a trace.
To this day, no one knows what happened, as there is no trace left behind.
"So this lance was used by Velkiz, huh? Interesting," he muttered, inspecting the beautiful black lance in his hand.
The weapon was very light, and with its attribute boosts, fighting would be much easier than before. Reisou put the new weapon into his inventory and checked his cellphone, seeing that it was still 11:45 PM.
It seemed his perfect attendance record would stay intact.
Then, Reisou took a quick bath and headed to the kitchen in search of food, but all he found was a single cup of instant ramen. With no other choice, he ate it contentedly.
A few minutes later, feeling exhausted, he went to his room and lay down, ready to sleep.
"Wait... I still haven't used my Energy Key yet!" Reisou suddenly remembered, his drowsiness vanishing as he sat up in bed.
Even though he was tired, his anxiety got the better of him. He opened the inventory again and focused on the blue key occupying a slot.
'Select Energy Key' Reisou thought as he activated the item.
[You selected an Energy Key! Do you want to use it to receive a random reward from the Ominiversal Chest?]
[Yes | No]
[Note: The available options are Weapons, Summons, or Items. The chance to receive an A-Grade reward is 27%, and an S-Grade reward 9% chance. ]
"Let's go gambling."
As he selected "Yes," another screen appeared, showing a white-blue chest with a gray halo above it. The chest automatically opened, revealing a red light, indicating a valuable reward.
'Yes! Based on the system rules, red is at least a B-Grade reward, and golden is a definite S-Grade,' Reisou thought, his excitement evident as he eagerly waited.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations! You have received the Summon 2B (A-Grade).]
[Congratulations! The Summons menu is now is now unlocked!]
[Please access your Summon menu to make a contract within 24 hours to avoid losing your reward.]
"2B? You mean the android 2B from Nier: Automata? No way..." Reisou exclaimed in surprise, recognizing the name of his summon.
Even though he hadn't played the game, it was well-known for other... reasons.
Reisou curiosity piqued, and when he accessed the summon menu, he saw three slots. One was filled with a thin white book, while the other two were locked, indicated by a padlock icon.
Already having an idea of what he had to do, Reisou retrieved the book from the slot and opened it.
[Ding!]
[The contract ritual is ready, initializing the summoning process!]
Suddenly, the book in his hand disappeared, and a strange white symbol appeared on the floor of his bedroom. A dark silhouette began to take shape in the center, gradually becoming more humanoid.
The entire process took a full minute, and when it ended, Reisou stood mesmerized by the sight of a beautiful woman with short white hair, a black cloth covering her face, and dressed in a seductive black dress, long boots, and silky stockings.
Her perfect curves and voluptuous figure caused Reisou's eyes to freeze, unwilling to close, as he tried to etch such a fantastic view into his mind forever.
While Reisou stared at her, unable to avert his gaze, the woman slowly walked toward him. With each step, her hips swayed, making it more difficult to look away.
As she stopped in front of him, he snapped out of his trance and nervously introduced himself.
"H-Hello, my name is Aragaki Reisou, and you are Miss 2B, right?" he said politely, trying to make up for his earlier rudeness.
2B remained silent for a moment before kneeling and assuming a reverent pose, leaving Reisou slightly confused until she spoke.
"Glory to Mankind! It's an honor to meet a living human," she said with a serious tone. "I'm here to do whatever you wish, Master."
Upon hearing her passionate words, Reisou's eyes widened, but then he remembered that in her world, humans were extinct. Although he didn't know much about the lore, he knew that humans were viewed as gods by androids in the world of NieR: Automata.
"Okay, please stand up," Reisou said, feeling conflicted about having such a beautiful woman kneeling before him.
2B immediately complied and stood, awaiting his orders.
"You probably know why you're here, right? So, what do I need to do for you to accept and sign a contract with me?" Reisou asked, because there was a step to form a functional contract.
When a Summon was called to form a contract, they would receive all the necessary information from the system to avoid long explanations.
Moreover, the system didn't forge an instant bond or brainwash the Summon into loyalty from the start. He would have to complete a request from his Summon first to establish a full contract.
The requests could be anything, which made things complicated. A summon might ask for something simple, or even demand the impossible, like killing a God.
To avoid losing a Summon, he could make a Promise contract, meaning the request would remain open until he had the power to complete it. However, this came with a price.
Each mission's experience and loot generated inside a Gate would be reduced by a certain percentage, and the stronger the Summon, the higher the reduction.
Forming a Promise contract with 2B, an A-Grade Summon, would result in him losing 30% of his cherished experience and rewards, which would not be ideal.
At least, if Reisou didn't want to form a Promise contract, the Summon would be dismissed, and he would receive a random compensation proportional to the Summon's level.
"I have no requests. Simply being by your side is enough," 2B answered, her serious and devoted demeanor unwavering.
"I see... but you still need to make a request for us to form a valid contract," Reisou explained, feeling a little embarrassed at her words.
She hesitated for a moment, feeling a little conflicted about asking a favor from a real human.
"Then... please allow me to hug you," 2B said, maintaining a calm demeanor.
Reisou, however, was taken by surprise at her request, viewing it more as a reward for himself.
"Okay," he said, walking toward 2B and gently wrapping his arms around her in a warm embrace. He had never done it before, especially with a girl, but he didn't shy away.
He pressed his body against hers, feeling the softness of her form and the calming scent of roses that filled his nose, relaxing him completely.
2B, who had yet to react, finally responded by wrapping her delicate arms around his waist and resting her chin gently on his shoulder, returning the embrace with quiet tenderness.
The moment didn't last long, but it was enough to make 2B feel content. A small smile crept onto her lips, and even though her eyes were covered, Reisou could still feel the warmth of her gaze resting on him.
"Now, let's make a full contract," Reisou said, his voice filled with happiness that 2B hadn't asked for something difficult. "I just need to remember what I need to do."
The system had given him a lot of information on the first day and as a normal human, he couldn't remember every single detail all the time.
"Don't worry, Master, I know what to do," 2B said with a gentle voice.
"Good, then what we—"
Before Reisou could finish, he felt something soft press against his lips. His eyes widened in shock as 2B held his shoulders firmly, giving him a passionate kiss, even daring to use her tongue.
'W-what!?'