Chapter 13: The UpgradeRei sat on the floor of her bedroom, surrounded by the ghosts of her old life. Piles of laundry. Stacks of Shonen Junk. Empty Hyper-Glitch cans.
But the air around her was vibrating with a low, digital hum. The L.U.S.T. OS was processing.
Since the "Whale Stream" two days ago, the System had been quiet. Digesting the massive influx of THIRST and Essence. Now, the silence broke. A chime, clearer and louder than before, resonated in her skull.
[ SYSTEM UPDATE COMPLETE ]
[ CONGRATULATIONS, ASSET! ]
[ LEVEL UP! ]
[ LEVEL 2 -> LEVEL 3 ]
Rei blinked. The HUD expanded, filling her vision with golden confetti that drifted down like digital snow.
[ STAT POINTS AVAILABLE: 2 ]
Nyx materialized. She was wearing a lab coat over her usual suit today, holding a clipboard. She looked at Rei like a biologist examining a particularly interesting petri dish.
"Two levels in one session," Nyx mused. "PayPig4Life really did accelerate your development. Most Succubi spend months grinding in dive bars to earn that much Essence."
She tapped the air, bringing up the Attribute Screen.
ENDURANCE: [ 1 ]
ALLURE: [ 1 ]
SENSITIVITY: [ 2 ]
DISCIPLINE: [ 1 ]
TECHNIQUE: [ 1 ]
"You have two points," Nyx said. "Choose wisely. Though, looking at your... presentation..." She gestured vaguely at Rei's baggy t-shirt and messy bun. "I strongly suggest an investment in the front end."
Rei stared at the options. ENDURANCE tempted her. It increased her Max Sanity and Heat Capacity. It meant she could stream longer without breaking down. It meant she could survive the shame.
But then she looked at ALLURE.
[ ALLURE: Increases THIRST Generation and Social Influence. Updates Avatar Appearance. ]
She thought about the debt. 500,000 Credits. The interest payment was just a band-aid. She needed to earn faster. She needed to be a magnet.
"If I pick Allure..." Rei asked slowly. "What happens?"
"You become market-ready," Nyx said simply.
Rei took a deep breath. She reached out and tapped ALLURE twice.
[ CONFIRM: INVEST 2 POINTS IN ALLURE? ]
[ YES ]
"Do it," Rei whispered. She pressed the button.
It didn't feel like a video game level-up. It felt like a medical procedure.
"Ah!" Rei gasped, clutching her chest.
Heat, searing and invasive, flooded her veins. It wasn't the sexual Heat of the libido meter; it was the biological burn of rapid cellular regeneration. Her skin tingled violently, like a thousand tiny ants were crawling beneath the surface. Her bones popped and cracked, realigning. Her spine straightened with a sickening crunch, forcing her posture upright against her will.
"What is happening?!" Rei cried out, clawing at her face. Her skin felt tight. Itchy.
"Optimization," Nyx said calmly, checking her watch. "The System is purging the imperfections. Dead cells, cortisol damage, poor diet... deleting."
The sensation lasted for thirty seconds of pure, agonizing pins-and-needles. Then, as quickly as it started, it vanished.
Rei slumped forward, panting. She felt... light. The heavy, sluggish feeling that had dogged her for years, the "NEET rot," was gone. Her vision was sharper. The air tasted cleaner.
She scrambled to her feet and ran to the full-length mirror on the back of her door. She stopped dead.
The girl in the reflection was Rei. But it was Rei filtered through a heavy layer of Photoshop and ring lighting.
Her skin was porcelain. The acne scars on her chin? Gone. The dark, bruised circles under her eyes? Erased. Replaced by a natural, dewy brightness. Her hair, usually a greasy, tangled nest, fell in smooth, glossy black waves around her shoulders. Even her waist looked snatched, her curves slightly more defined under the oversized shirt.
She looked... good. She looked like the "After" picture in a skincare commercial.
"I look like a deepfake," Rei whispered, touching her own cheek. It was impossibly soft.
"You look like a product," Nyx corrected. "High Allure makes you visually 'sticky.' Eyes will slide toward you and stay there. You are now a passive income generator."
Buzz.
Her phone vibrated on the desk.
[ MESSAGE FROM: RIKA (THE DEGENERATE) ]
Rika: YO. Stream numbers were insane. We need to talk strategy. Meet me at the Neko-Mancer Cafe on Level 3 in an hour. I'm drafting a contract on a napkin.
Rei looked at the message, then at the mirror.
"I can't go out like this," Rei said, panic fluttering in her chest. "People will notice. Rika will notice. My mom will notice."
"That is the point," Nyx purred. "You wanted to pay the debt? Then go outside and let them look."
An hour later, Rei stood at the entrance of the Level 3 Plaza.
She had tried to hide. She wore her biggest black hoodie, the hood pulled up, and a face mask. She thought she was stealthy.
She stepped out of the transit station. The HUD flickered to life, overlaying the crowded, neon-lit plaza with tactical data.
[ ZONE: LEVEL 3 PLAZA ]
[ MOB DENSITY: HIGH ]
[ STAT CHECK: ALLURE (LVL 3) ]
[ STEALTH DIFFICULTY: HARD MODE ]
"Okay," Rei whispered to herself. She pulled the mask up higher. "Metal Gear Soldier rules. Avoid the vision cones. Get to the objective. Don't engage."
She took a step.
Immediately, she felt it. A physical weight pressing against her aura.
[ PASSIVE SKILL: PHEROMONE AURA (AMPLIFIED) ]
It wasn't just one person. It was the environment itself reacting to her. As she walked past a vending machine, the group of teenagers hanging out there stopped talking.
Heads turned.
Rei saw red "Aggro Lines" appear in her HUD, tracking their gazes. They locked onto her. Even under the baggy clothes, the Allure radiated off her like background radiation. It was a subliminal signal that screamed: LOOK AT THIS.
[ DETECTION ALERT ]
[ SOURCE: female (LVL 1) ] [ THIRST: +0.5 ]
[ SOURCE: SALARYMAN (LVL 2) ] [ THIRST: +1.0 ]
[ SOURCE: SECURITY DRONE ] [ THIRST: +0.5 ]
Her HUD scrolled the numbers like a slot machine. Ding. Ding. Ding.
Rei kept her head down, hugging her arms to her chest. Her Gamer Brain began to fight with her Anxiety Brain.
Anxiety: They are looking at you. You are walking weird. Run away.
Gamer Brain: Look at the score. You're farming currency just by existing. If you run, you lose the multiplier.
"It's a stealth mission," she muttered, dodging a couple taking a selfie. "But failing the stealth... pays."
She treated the crowd like a minefield. She weaved between shoppers, watching the Aggro Lines snap toward her as she passed.
Every stare felt like a phantom touch. A finger trailing down her spine. A hand brushing her arm. It was a constant, low-level stimulation that kept her Heat simmering.
[ HEAT: 15% (RISING) ]
[ SANITY: 90% (STABLE) ]
She felt a strange thrill mix with the fear. She was a Shiny Paletmon in a field of monsters. They couldn't help but look.
"Stop looking at me," she hissed under her breath, turning a corner sharply to break the line of sight of a security guard who had been staring too long.
Thump.
She miscalculated her hitbox. She bumped straight into a businessman in a gray suit.
"Oh, excuse me, I—" he started, annoyed.
Then he looked down.
[ ENCOUNTER START ]
[ TARGET: TIRED SALARYMAN ]
He saw her eyes, amber-flecked and unnaturally bright above the mask. He saw the gloss of her hair. He smelled the pheromones, not sweat anymore, but something sweet and addictive. Like vanilla and light rain.
He froze. His pupils dilated. His annoyance evaporated, replaced by a slack-jawed hunger. He looked like he had just been hit by a stun grenade.
"Wow," he breathed. "I... uh... sorry. You're... wow."
[ THIRST: +5 (DIRECT CONTACT) ]
[ STATUS: CHARMED ]
Rei stared at him. She realized she wasn't just "noticing" him. She had stopped him. Her mere presence had cancelled his previous action queue.
I have crowd control, she realized. I have an AoE stun.
"Sorry!" Rei squeaked.
She scrambled around him. She practically ran the rest of the way to the cafe, but her heart wasn't pounding from fear anymore. It was pounding from the rush.
The city felt different now. Before, she was invisible trash. Now, she was a high-value loot drop. It was terrifying.
But it was also profitable.
She spotted the Neko-Mancer Cafe. Rika was sitting at a table outside, aggressively petting a robotic cat while typing on a laptop.
Rei rushed over. She collapsed into the chair opposite her friend, the "Safe Zone" finally reached.
"Rika," Rei gasped, pulling her mask down to breathe.
Rika looked up. She froze. Her hand stopped petting the cat.
"Holy shit," Rika whispered.
She leaned across the table, squinting. "Rei? Did you... did you get a face transplant? What filter are you using? This is IRL, right?"
"It's... makeup," Rei lied weakly. "And lighting. And... vitamins."
Rika reached out. She grabbed Rei's face, turning it side to side.
"Girl. You are literally glowing. You look like a Last Fantasy cutscene."
Rika sat back. A slow, devious grin spread across her face.
"Okay," Rika said, cracking her knuckles. "Forget the napkin contract. With a face card like that? We aren't just paying the debt. We're taking over the platform."
Rei slumped in her chair. She felt the weight of twenty stares from the other tables pressing against her back.
[ THIRST: +2... +2... +2... ]
"I just want a coffee," Rei whimpered.
"Order whatever you want," Rika said, pulling up a spreadsheet. "You're the talent now. And the talent needs fuel."