1.38 – I promise you, this is not a torture chapter, it has a satisfying ending.

Koharu’s opponent went down on the ground, fighting to stand up. Several options appeared in front of Natan’s eyes on the screen, although a timer began running down immediately.

• Cheer her up.
• Say something vulgar.
• Remain quiet.
• Profess your love for Koharu.

Natan laughed at the last option. Obviously, this was a trap that wouldn’t work. If anything, it would get her distracted.

He clicked the first option and watched the rest of the match play out. This was his third playthrough now, and the first time he chose Koharu as his romantic interest. He probably would have chosen her the second time around, but there were some things he wanted to see out of his most favorite character first.

But Koharu was really a sweetheart. She was one of the quieter ones, although she was still funny at times, and while the others felt some kind of Japanese stereotype—the tsundere, the maternal type, the older sisterly type, and so on—she was more of a… just a human , more than most. One not identifiable in just a few words, but a person of complex motivations and decisions that didn’t make sense upon a glance, but were inevitable once the player learned of her background.

Koharu changed the gravity once again. The fight seemed extremely one-sided, and the others must have lost some of their fighting spirit as they saw this;. However, it wasn’t completely the truth. As powerful as Koharu’s power was, it could only affect something like a person for a very short amount of time.

She had to win this quickly, or she wouldn’t be able to summon her power at all.

She won that fight. Of course she had. Nathan did his best to harness her personality and progress her power in this playthrough, but it was getting harder. He wouldn’t use a guide though. He wanted to squeeze every drop of dopamine he could get from this game, and that would shorten the dose.

Despite this being a romance game, using the characters as companions in battles was a crucial part. They wouldn’t grow strong enough if the player ignored their fighting abilities and levels.

“Well, I think it’s safe to assume that I’ll be staying in B class going into the second semester. Maybe I’ll even progress?” Koharu smiled.

Nathan nodded to himself as he watched the computer screen. She would stay in B class during her sixth semester as well. It was inevitable. Honestly, it felt like she should be higher. She was at least A-class in his eyes. Maybe one of the game devs had a hate boner for her for some reason?

Nathan fought with himself to search the internet on how to make her even more powerful, to get her the rank she deserved. But so far he was managing just enough on his own. And she didn’t seem to mind her standing that much.

“Honestly, that went more smoothly than I imagined,” she said, smiling softly at Nathan. It was strange; the other heroines sat just a few feet away, but they didn’t even know Nathan’s character in this playthrough. Nathan loved how much the world changed here.

Several options showed up in front of Nathan’s screen, and he wondered what he should pick for a few moments before selecting the option that he liked best.

“You did well, Koharu. You are shaping up to be a really strong hero, you know?”

“Shaping up? I hope I already am one.” she scoffed. “I need to be; I need to prove this to myself. I will need to prove my strength to them.

To them? Nathan wondered, just as more options opened up.

“Prove yourself to who? I didn’t know you had enemies.”

“To Red Lily. I will destroy them. I swear it.” She said, her voice sending chills on Nathan’s spine.

The voice actress did really well in conveying the hatred in Koharu’s voice. And her character got, seemingly, even more complicated.

When Nathan came to, he didn’t see much of anything for a few, way too long, moments. He was getting used to not being able to see, and that probably wasn’t a good thing. Was his brain even all right after all these punches and concussions? How strong had Koharu kicked him for him to go out like that?

His neck and forehead hurt, feeling almost as if cramped, but it wasn’t the worst pain in the world.

He looked around and realized that he was in a wooden house. Tatami on the ground. A small table with blankets under it for some reason not far ahead.

His arms were above his head, tied to something with chains. He looked up, trying to inspect if he could get himself free somehow, but he could barely move his arms, much less try to manipulate the lock, and without any momentum, he couldn’t destroy the lock either.

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Not good. Getting locked up was never good. It was the first time in Nathan’s life that this happened, and he was already not a fan.

He thought about using Rock Up once again. Perhaps that would give him the strength that he needed. But then, what of his arms? They always grew in size whenever he used Rock Up. Would they get cut off if he did that?

“Probably not the best idea.” He muttered and decided to let it go. Hopefully Alicia was safe; if she was, then she definitely told someone, right?

And his phone… He looked down and realized that he was only wearing his jeans. His academy uniform and shirt that he wore underneath were nowhere to be seen, and he was lying there, topless.

“Anyone out there? Can I get some water?” He begged, his voice hoarse and dry. Just how long had he been knocked out for him to feel this way?

Nobody answered, and so he continued hanging there, thinking about his dream.

Koharu seemed to hate Red Lily before, but now she joined them? How did that make any sense?

That made almost as little sense as the fact that she wasn’t in Ako academy. He always took the fact she would be there in the upper classes as granted, but now, he wasn’t quite so sure. He should have gone to 3-S as well, damn it.

Would Koharu and the others be where they were supposed to be? Or would they all be with Red Lily? Or perhaps some of them would be in the other gangs? Maybe it was a split of who was where.

Nathan breathed out, long and slow, trying to ease the pain in his head, and these questions weren’t making it any easier.