Chapter 62: Adam Graham

Adam had awoken again…

Blurry eyes looked at the television. Blinking. Then looking down at the remote that was in his hands.

What was he doing again…?

'Right… Just finished that game.' A pretty fun Otome Game where relationships weren't a focus.

Maybe that part wasn't well-designed by the creators. Everyone seemed so drawn to Linda.

Like she had some sort of gravitation pull…

If he had to give a review, he'd have to say that it was pretty underwhelming. A game of gimmicks.

Try harder next time…

He sizzled in that feeling of accomplishment and laid his head on the sofa. Tossing and turning a bit.

Bones feeling rusted and muscles almost felt grimy in a way. Crackling like a fragile statue in rubble.

'Yeah… Ah… That really hits the spot.' He went on to rise above the fatigue to stretch his entire body.

The world wasn't much when you had such a nice feeling like this. Clouds were free in the vast sky…

…so what was the use of having worries?

Now, he… he… he…

…did some, err… STRETCHES.

Right, he needed to learn some aerobic exercises.

Time to leave for the wider world. Maybe meet someone who could fill in the vast gap in his time.

Yup, he could talk to someone and make a friend.

Wouldn't that be super easy? Just say something nice, keep the conversation going, be nice, etc…

Maybe he should call someone.

Adam took out his phone and looked in the contacts. Maybe find someone to socialise with.

Only to find that the only contacts were his parents and older brother. Slumping him onto the sofa.

'How weird…' He looked at his call list with a resolved look, only to be disappointed by it.

The numbers that weren't written in his contacts were all work-related. All about business and stuff.

'…Maybe I AM tired.' He dropped the phone and let it drop onto the carpet. He'd pick it up later.

For now, it was time to become one with the sofa.

To loosen his mind and allow the worldly desires to flow through him. Yes… Let him rise once more.

Like the zombie he was.

'Maybe I should get takeout.' Right, there was also that. Maybe he could talk to the delivery man.

Wait, that sounded too desperate.

There was no way he was ordering a pizza for such a pathetic reason. Plus, eat a pizza alone? Nah…

He flipped his body towards the television stand to look at the stuff he had. There wasn't much there.

'Wait… Did I have that?' He eyes focused on a certain casing that wasn't really designed great.

Just a white cover with the words {Landlord Stimulator} written on the spine and front of it.

What was this crap…?

So half-baked… So unprofessional…

He was sure there shouldn't have been any pirated games in his stash. After all, he wasn't that petty.

To endorse the creators, you had to pay a little…

It was hard to let go of the paper notes from his pocket (or watch the digital numbers lower), but it was a sacrifice that MUST be made. Who else other than he could support creators of games?

He lifted the foreign disk cover into the air, posing for the invisible camera only his solo self could see.

'I should really discard this.' He went on over to the bin nearby, but stopped mid exaggerated throw.

There was a crucial fact he'd missed…

Would disposing of it be a waste of money?

As if that thought ran over everything else, he made a u-turn and popped the CD out of its case.

The third-rate copy of whatever started up on his television screen. Which was all he needed.

A body flopped over to the sofa before holding the wireless controller again. It started up pretty weird.

No advertisements… No anything…

It suddenly went past the title screen and into the meat of the game itself, which asked for his name.

Or to be precise: What he'd name his character.

'Adam Graham.' It wasn't much of an interesting decision, but this was one that most suited him.

After all, wasn't he the main character?

This thought lead him to make some more average choices of picking 'Male' when asked his gender.

Not much of a pro gamer move…

At least someone else would've tried to spice things up a little, but he was too boring to do that.

A completionist on the level of a 'No-Lifer'.

The game started off pretty average too, so that was probably ironic. It just put him in the setting.

Though this was the same for many stimulators.

Stories wasn't the desire from the creators. Since the gamer themselves was the protagonist, there was no need for a calculated backdrop. The only thing that mattered was the immersion of players.

A thing that they seemed to have gotten right.

The only difference between his own life outside his room and the game life… was the user HUB.

There seemed to be a health meter, affection meter, and a row of numbers about his balance.

The zeroes made his heart awkwardly clench…

A part of him focused on making sure the avatar he was playing didn't die from health issues or diseases, while the other focused solely on raking in the big dough. No work, no pay, no anything…

Such was a true man with their priorities straight.

He didn't want to go into dept from not paying his taxes, insurance, bills, luxuries and more luxuries.

One must wear drip if they want common wealth.

It was the chest to gain the respect of the masses.

Thus, Adam didn't even try getting closer to anyone in particular. Even if they did have meters.

He could always start their quest lines later…

This was a game anyway. There was no way he couldn't redo anything if things were falling apart.

But after raking in those luxuries for his character and amassing wealth, the Affection Meters didn't seem to go up easily. He looked at the messages that popped up after interacting with a renter…

[Would you like to start a conversation?]

'Yes.'

[Pick between the following topics:

1. Trends

2. Hobbies

3. Joke

4. News

5. Other (Write a subject yourself)]

He didn't even think of his options before his finger clicked on Number 3. It was such an obvious choice to make. Time to break the ice, then naturally get closer. Being nice didn't hurt anyone.

[You have increased your target's affection.]

The half a heart of the five given in display on the bottom left increased. A meaningful smile arose.

'Now I just have to get closer to them. Maybe attend some birthday parties or something.' He smiled while consistently doing nice things for everyone around him. Being really kind and caring.

The affection that had risen varied from character to character. With events giving nice opportunities.

Except, he found that something was really wrong.

'Why are none of them passing the three heart marker?' He checked to see if this was an error.

But there didn't seem to be a guide with the CD caring, as what you'd expect from a pirated game.

What was he supposed to do now…?

His body leaned closer while tapping of different subjects each time he passed sometime to talk to.

The topics became more varied and deeper.

So why was the Affection Meter stuck on three?

'This game is a bust.' Obviously, it was the game's fault. Why wasn't it giving any character events?

Like saving someone's life… or giving them the inspiration to move forward in their desired path.

Something more high-octane and intense!

Seriously… why was he getting events like 'help the lady cross the street' and 'plan a surprise party'?

What was helping someone who wasn't even his renter supposed to do? It was a useless event.

Spending his money on a party no one asked for was more worthless. He rejected it immediately.

There was nothing in these events for him…

…but he started to feel an itch on the bridge of his nose when blood started pumping into his head.

'I have to restart.' There must have been something he missed, so he tried to access the general menu.

Only to be denied with a single message.

[You cannot redo the current save file.]

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He tried to create another…

[You can only have one save file.]

'I quit!' Completing the game was impossible. He looked for the real copy online to give bad score.

Only to see another pop up message at the corner.

[If you load this save file in 'The Villainess Against Fate', you will be able to transfer data and unlock the sequel. Warning: This is a permanent process that Connor be undone. Progress will be fixed.]

It was hard to know what was the relation between the two games, but he decided to give this a shot.

Such a prospect sounded interesting, which tickled his curiosity. A thoughtful look arose in his eyes.

The CDs were switched, and a new option appeared in the new title screen for the game.

[You can now continue your current storyline.]

Rather than acting like a System again, he was given direct control over the 'Villainess' character.

There seemed to be a few changes in the name of the Villainess and setting, but this much was fine.

His hairs started to raise in excitement…

For some unknown reason, the character he was playing as was supposedly the little sister of Linda.

It was a bit disappointing, but was good enough.

The HUB for the game and mechanics seemed the same as earlier, so it had gotten easy to adapt.

He manoeuvred social situations more this time.

For some odd reason, 'Lucia' started off in the mansion of the 'Adam' character in the story.

There also seemed to be a strange directive:

[Grow stronger until you can beat the Final Boss.]

Rather than being a pure Otome Game, it once again became a strategy game with gimmicks.

Except now he had better control of the character.

The audio and illustrations were real nice, and he got the hang of her over a long time of game play.

He wondered how much time had passed…

But since the sunlight was still passing through the windows, nature wasn't calling, and the place wasn't gathering dust… his options had changed. It was alright to binge this story to its completion.

There was one interesting thing he wanted to do.

'Should I try capturing myself?' Oddly enough, it seemed like he had an Affection Meter in-game.

He wanted to see what would happen when it's full.

'Lucia' worked hard mastering her abilities and talking to both him and the instructors at his home.

Maybe because he was playing a child avatar, but raising them to the full was only a matter of time.

A thing he had proven by just being around them.

The only thing that got on his nerves was… the lack of any filling on the hearts of his in-game stats.

Why was nothing working?!

He tried giving that character food. Talking to him often. However, nothing seemed to be working.

The model sometimes laugh with 'Lucia', but would never open even the tiniest part of his heart to her.

It felt like there was a social barrier or something.

Nothing could get through!

The straw that broke the camel's back was a few year into the game. Which he had seen firsthand.

His eyes became bloodshot and entirely focused.

He'd used his in-game self's assets and created a company chain ranging from clothes to gaming.

A new era was ushered by his avatar, Lucia.

Everyone respected her and fell in love with her beauty. Even the three instructors for her Landlord.

Adam was very careful in controlling his avatar…

Loans had been taken out from different places until his character could earn some actual money.

However, he was finally able to get his first check!

A wave of stimulation broke all barriers in his brain and gave him a deeply euphoric feeling of ease.

Then, he did something he wouldn't usually do.

An exception among exceptions that made the in-game Holy Protector, Hyuk, and Sebastian gasp.

He gave his first genuine pay-check to 'himself'.

The in-game Landlord who'd taken care of Lucia.

Since he knew himself, Adam was sure this would impact the darkly designed figure of the 'Landlord' he played as. The in-game self from the pirated game had body language that was hard to read.

Which was why two eyes focused on the meter…

Finally, he could make some progress on that Affection Meter that seemed to be fixed in place. 

Not once had it filled over the years…

Although the in-game Landlord was kind on the outside, his Affection Meter seemed to be broken.

…Was this sequel game bugged as well?

The answer came in the reply he had gotten. His heart stopped beating while reading the text:

[Landlord: "Is this for me?"]

[Lucia: "Yes, I worked hard to repay you for all you've done for me. Thank you, everyone."]

[Landlord: "You're welcome."]

The interaction stopped there. That character literally grabbed the check and walked away.

Leaving Lucia to talk to the others who were there.

His mind had blanked, and he tried to see if he could redo this save… Maybe do things different.

[Would you like to restart the game?]

Surprisingly, he actually WAS given the option to go back this time… but was then pulled by gravity.

His body felt sore. His eye bags grown deeper…

A mixed expression appeared on his face when he looked at the Landlord. As if understanding why…

He'd realised the reason 'Lucia' had failed.

And this realisation dropped like a bombshell.

'Screw it…' He immediately gave up before his time was wasted doing this masochistic shit again.

Veins popped on his face as he threw the controller on the console, then got scared by the loud thud.

Regret started to make him flinch back his hand.

He looked around to see if anyone saw that, but he was glad there was alone to see his own failures.

Wasn't it better to be alone than with others?

He probably wasn't missing out…

His eyes wandered around for something to do again. Something to fill in the extra time he had.

Maybe… he should rest now.

He laid his head on the sofa. The way it rubbed on his skin felt like hard rubber. He should go to bed.

But he couldn't be bothered getting up.

Maybe he should hire a maid or something. He had a lot of worthless money saved up over the years. 

Maybe even a private nurse to check his condition.

It obviously had nothing to do with socialising. This was just business. A transaction. Professionalism.

Doing things right first time…

He reached out for the phone on the ground, but was stopped by a woman who appeared abruptly.

Her face seemed somewhat warped while seeing his state. The way he'd let go of himself in her absence. Those eyes… They seemed desperately longing, but unable to go through with his desires.

Unable to accept the reason he couldn't 'resonate' with others the way he oh so hoped for in his heart.

Adam looked up at the woman who looked like she had just come from an outing in that jogging gear.

'How did she get into my house?' Although he was panicked, he was too tired to do anything to her.

His head could barely lift up to face the woman.

"Don't… touch me… or my money… I'll get you back for it if you do. Even if that's the very last thing I do." He managed to lift his hand and threaten her. It was an act he was proud he managed to execute.

His other hand reached for the television remote in the gaps of the sofa. Ready to retaliate if attacked.

The 'sexy intruder' bit her lower lip…

He couldn't understand the face she was making towards him. Was that an insulting stare, or glare?

"Nice to meet you. My name is Gaia. This is the first time we met, but let me introduce you to the wonderful world beyond the boundaries." The athletic woman the phone away and stood up.

Her arms spread out while trying to gain as much interest from him as possible. Leveraging curiosity.

'Solaris… Now I understand why you felt that way towards him.' Her face didn't betray thoughts.

It was time to reintroduce him into his new reality.

"The pantheon have been waiting to meet you. I'll help you as much as I can… this time." Those last words turned into a mutter as she flicked her fingers. A spatial door appeared out of thin air.

She couldn't help but think of the discussion she had with Solaris, which prompted her to test him.

And the promises she'd made back then…

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