"Honestly, Rito! How many times do I have to tell you!?"
Mikan stood with her arms crossed, a deep frown on her face as she scolded him.
Rito sat at the breakfast table, rubbing his sore head. The sting from Mikan's slap had mostly faded, but her sharp words hit just as hard.
"Knocking! It's very simple to do! Why can't you just—ugh!" She let out a frustrated sigh, running a hand through her hair.
Rito had no excuse. He had walked into the bathroom without checking, and the result had been... well, both a blessing and a punishment.
"Sorry, Mikan," he said, trying to sound as sincere as possible.
She huffed, hands on her hips. "Seriously, you need to be more careful. It's not like we live alone in this house."
"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled, still rubbing his head.
Mikan clicked her tongue before sitting down across from him. She reached for her chopsticks, but instead of eating right away, she cast a glance at him—a hesitant, almost guilty glance.
Rito noticed.
Something had changed.
Her anger had cooled, and now, she seemed... conflicted.
A few moments of silence passed before she finally spoke again.
"… You really shouldn't have been up so early anyway."
Rito blinked. "Huh?"
Mikan let out a sigh, tapping her chopsticks against her bowl. "You were sick yesterday. I thought you'd still be asleep. That's why I didn't lock the door."
Ah.
So that's why she wasn't as angry as usual.
She had assumed he was still resting, which meant...
"She was being careless too."
Rito held back a chuckle. Not like he was going to say that out loud.
Mikan twirled her chopsticks between her fingers, looking down at the table. "And... did I hit you too hard?"
Her voice had softened.
Rito stared at her for a moment, then smiled.
He reached out and gently flicked her forehead.
"Hey—"
"Don't worry about me so much," he said lightly. "I'm tougher than you think."
Mikan scowled, rubbing her forehead where he flicked her. "Idiot."
But there was no bite in her words. Instead, her lips curled into a small, relieved smile.
After finishing breakfast, Rito returned to his room, eager to test his new system.
The Incubus Aura skill from earlier had already proven that this wasn't just some dream—his growth system was real. And if it worked as he suspected, then there had to be more to it.
[Ding! Growth System Menu Opened]
A semi-transparent blue screen appeared before him, displaying a few options:
[Skills]
[Quests]
[Status]
[Shop](Locked)
His skills list only had Incubus Aura (Lv. 1) so far, which meant he had to figure out how to gain more.
"Alright, let's start with something simple."
He picked up a random book from his desk and started reading.
Five minutes later...
[Ding! New Skill Acquired: Reading (Lv. 1)]
[Ding! New Quest Available!]
[Quest: Bookworm Beginner]
Task: Read for 30 minutes. Reward: +50 EXP in Reading Skill.
Rito's eyes widened. So that's how it worked!
The system didn't just hand him skills—it required him to actually perform an action first. Once he did, a quest related to it would appear, allowing him to gain experience and level up.
"This is kind of like an RPG stat system."
Feeling motivated, he quickly started flipping through more pages, completing the quest within half an hour.
[Ding! Quest Completed!]
Reading (Lv. 1) → (Lv. 2)Reward Claimed: +50 EXP
Rito could already feel a subtle difference—his eyes didn't strain as much, and he processed sentences a bit faster. So levelling up actually improved his abilities in real life.
"This could be crazy useful."
He immediately tried another experiment.
Grabbing a notebook and pen, he started writing random sentences.
[Ding! New Skill Acquired: Writing (Lv. 1)]
[Quest: Budding Author]
Task: Write 500 words. Reward: +50 EXP in Writing Skill.
Rito grinned. It really worked!
From that point on, he began testing different activities—doing push-ups, kicking a soccer ball, even attempting to cook a simple meal. Each action rewarded him with a new skill, and every skill had its own set of quests to help him improve.
"This isn't just about getting stronger—I can literally master anything."
For the first time since waking up in this world, Rito felt excitement rather than just confusion.
This was his second chance at life.
And this time, he wouldn't waste it.
[Comedy Time]
Feeling confident in his system's mechanics, Rito decided to push things further.
"If simple actions unlock skills, then cooking should be next!"
He marched into the kitchen with the determination of a seasoned chef—only to grab a pack of instant noodles from the cupboard.
Mikan, who had been cleaning up, paused mid-wipe to stare.
"…What are you doing?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
Rito smirked. "Cooking."
She blinked.
"…Cooking?"
"Yep," he said, tearing open the package like a pro. He filled a pot with water, turned on the stove, and waited, arms crossed like a master chef preparing a five-star meal.
Mikan watched in disbelief as he dumped the noodles into the boiling water, stirred them once, and—after a whole three minutes—added the seasoning packet with a dramatic flourish.
"…Done."
He grinned. "A perfect dish."
Mikan's face was a mixture of pity and secondhand embarrassment.
[Ding! New Skill Acquired: Cooking (Lv. 1)]
[Ding! New Quest Available!]
[Quest: Beginner Chef]
Task: Successfully cook a proper meal (Not instant food).
Reward: +50 EXP in Cooking Skill.
Rito stared at the quest window.
His smile twitched.
"Wait, what do you mean 'not instant food'?"
He looked at his bowl of steaming ramen, then back at the quest description.
Mikan, still watching, sighed heavily. "I don't know what's going on in your head, but if you actually thought making instant noodles counted as cooking..."
She shook her head. "You're an idiot."
Rito groaned, slumping onto the counter. Even his own system was looking down on him!
[2nd Scenerio...]
Still salty about his system not recognizing instant noodles as "real cooking," Rito decided to experiment further.
"Alright, if simple actions unlock skills, then maybe… hairdressing?"
His eyes landed on Mikan, who was sitting on the couch, flipping through a magazine. Her silky, shoulder-length hair cascaded down naturally, practically begging to be styled.
Perfect target acquired.
"Mikan," Rito said, trying to sound casual.
She didn't even look up. "What do you want now?"
He grabbed a nearby hairbrush and held it up like a holy artifact. "Let me comb your hair."
That got her attention.
She turned to him with narrowed eyes. "…What?"
Rito cleared his throat, putting on his most serious face. "I've decided to become a world-class hairstylist."
Mikan stared. "…Are you stupid?"
"Just trust me!" he insisted. "It's for… uh, training purposes."
Mikan sighed, rubbing her temple. "I don't even want to know what's going on in your head. Fine, just don't mess it up."
Success!
Rito sat behind her, carefully running the brush through her soft, smooth hair.
[Ding! New Skill Acquired: Hairdressing (Lv. 1)]
[Ding! New Quest Available!]
[Quest: The Salon Prodigy]
Task: Successfully style someone's hair into an attractive new look.
Reward: +50 EXP in Hairdressing Skill.
Rito grinned. It worked!
But just as he was about to celebrate, he noticed something.
Mikan's shoulders were trembling.
"…Why do I feel like you're messing up my hair?" she muttered, her voice dangerously low.
Rito gulped. Abort mission.
He quickly put the brush down. "Uh, all done! Looks great!"
Mikan turned to the mirror—and froze.
Her once neat hair was now a wild mess, sticking out in weird directions. Somehow, he had given her the worst case of bedhead imaginable.
Silence.
"…Rito."
"…Yes?"
Mikan slowly turned to face him, eyes shadowed.
"What did you do?"
Rito immediately leaped off the couch. "IT WAS THE BRUSH'S FAULT!"
[Ding! New Skill Acquired: Dodging (Lv. 1)]
As Mikan chased him around the house with a slipper, Rito could only reflect on one thing—
"Maybe I should've stuck with instant noodles."