As the saying goes, 'out of sight, out of mind,' Yuto quickly shut down the thing in front of him to prevent those painful memories from resurfacing.
Looking at the screen gently floating up and down, Yuto sighed softly.
"One is the combat module, and one is the story module, so the remaining one should be the way to gain popularity, right?"
"As for gaining popularity... I remember there was something called a 'Jingying Forum Login Account' before. This shouldn't require any so-called prerequisite quests, right?"
Yuto muttered to himself as he selected the almost blank avatar icon.
With a flash of white light, Yuto finally saw a section that had no prerequisites, no prerequisite quests, and could only be unlocked with popularity.
"[Jingying Forum Access Account]: 20,000 Popularity"
"[Description: Purchasing this will open the Jingying Forum's popularity acquisition channel; does not yet possess the ability to break the fourth wall]"
"[Note: Once the 'Access Account' is owned, this item will be refreshed to 'Behavior Account']"
"[Insider Leaks]: 80,000 Popularity"
"[Description: After purchasing this privilege, some of your skill information will be leaked through abnormal channels, becoming part of the leaked content, which will provide you with generous rewards]"
"[Personal Fan Creations]: 100,000 Popularity"
"[Description: After purchasing this channel, the popularity of fan creations about your character will be proportionally converted into your popularity, bringing you unimaginable benefits]"
Looking at the first two things, which were like tumors, Yuto felt a bit suffocated for a moment.
However, this feeling of suffocation didn't last long; he actually understood why these two things were displayed.
From the very beginning, the normal channels for gaining popularity were already laid out before him; it was basically those.
Main story, side quests, and event stories, the character's individual Story Quests, and the ripples caused by some of his personal actions.
These were some of the few things that could be openly discussed.
As for the rest... they were basically unorthodox methods.
For example, discussions on a certain three-character Jingying Forum would always stir up unimaginable trends, including but not limited to 'Cyber Dragon Vein,' 'Venti Kneeling,' and other shocking acts.
As long as there were these ambiguous trending topics, and they were related to 'Yuto,' a character who might enter the banner, then the community's discussion about him would rise.
And as long as the discussion rose, his popularity in the community would increase, and his popularity would naturally go up.
As for insider leaks... that's strength PvP and strength anxiety.
Statements like 'high popularity, low strength,' which were previously regarded as truth by certain groups, would bring him immense discussion.
This way... Yuto would essentially be flourishing in all areas.
In the official content, he constantly outputs, reinforcing his presence, becoming a rather mysterious and crucial character in the Fontaine main story.
As for the community aspect... it should be viewed on two levels.
Firstly, for the 'waifu/husbando' enthusiasts, due to his relationships with various Fontaine characters, he will become a frequent subject of fan creations, which will give him a lot of discussion heat.
Secondly, for the 'meta' players, they will experience strength anxiety due to Yuto, a character with continuous new information but who hasn't been released yet, and this will also bring a considerable amount of popularity.
Thinking this, Yuto nodded slightly, as if he had already seen his future as a highly sought-after "popular growth-type character."
The moment this thought arose, Yuto purchased the only thing he could afford at the moment.
"Jingying Forum Access Account"
The moment the purchase button was pressed, a light screen instantly appeared before Yuto's eyes.
"[Retrieving posts on the Jingying Forum related to character 'Yuto' as follows:]"
"['Why Yuto is a Garbage Airborne Character', 'Discussing Why Yuto Did Not Appear in the Eight Steeds Painting']"
"['Why Yuto Has a Vision But Still No Character Leaks', 'The Best Embodiment of Declining Scriptwriting Skill - Yuto']"
"[The above is only a partial display of retrieval. There are a total of 468 posts involving character 'Yuto', with a cumulative word count of 100,000 words and 5,000 replies]"
Looking at these ambiguous and laughable so-called discussion posts, a mocking smile appeared on Yuto's face.
It seems... no matter which world, no matter where these people are, they are the ones who need their brains the least.
The game isn't made by insiders, so not being in the Eight Steeds Painting doesn't equate to being an airborne character, but according to their logic... which character in Fontaine isn't airborne?
"These people really are... opposing for the sake of opposing, it's meaningless."
Yuto pouted, muttering softly.
"[Converting popularity rewards and corresponding tags, please wait...]"
"[Settlement complete, rewards as follows:]"
"[1. Popularity +8000]"
"[2. Obtained Tag: Airborne Character]"
Watching the popularity number steadily climb, Yuto couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
"That's quite a generous reward... I've already earned back almost half of the principal in one go. Let me see if there's anything else I can buy..."
Dong—dong—
Before Yuto could continue looking, he heard the chime of a clock.
"Ah... it's time for the appointment..."
Yuto gently shook his head, then decisively closed all the light screens in front of him, picked up the silver-white cane resting by the table, and walked out of the room.
For him... these things could be looked at anytime, but time for afternoon tea with Furina was limited.
Moreover, he prided himself on being a man of his word; he would arrive exactly when he told Furina he would, always earlier than the agreed time, never later.
...
Yuto skillfully pushed a small dining cart to Lady Furina's room door.
He extended his slender fingers, gently knocked on the girl's door, and asked:
"Furina? May I come in?"
"Ah?! Mm... mm! You can!"
Furina's voice was a bit groggy, as if she had just woken up.
Yuto was quite familiar with this scenario; his first thought was that Furina's mental stress had been increasing recently, leading to her fatigue, so she took a nap at noon.
To avoid embarrassing his God, Yuto deliberately stood at the room door for a while, only pushing the door open and entering after the rustling sounds inside stopped.
However, when he pushed the dining cart to Lady Furina's side... he noticed her abnormality.
The tsundere girl who would usually banter with him... was unusually silent at this moment, as if she had suffered some kind of blow.
But Yuto didn't immediately do anything; instead, he unhurriedly arranged six small cakes neatly on the small round table in front of Lady Furina, then slowly sat down opposite her.
He poured some black tea into the cups by his and Lady Furina's hands, took a small sip, and then said:
"Please forgive my presumption yesterday, Lady Furina. This is a 'sacrifice' specially prepared for you. Please forgive me~"
------------------------
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