Astral Online: Cursed by the Demon Lord to Become the Strongest Beautiful Girl, I Rapidly Grow and Dominate with Cheat Skills Despite Being the Weakest Profession - Chapter 213
Chapter 213: First Date, Part 2
When we arrived at the movie theater, the first thing I did was retrieve the tickets I had pre-ordered.
As for drinks and snacks, I usually avoid having anything during a movie, so I skipped that.
When I checked with Kurono to see if she wanted anything, she said she didn’t need anything either since she preferred to focus on watching.
When it was time to enter the theater, we headed to the seats indicated on our tickets.
Our seats were in my favorite spot. A little toward the back and centered, offering a perfect view of the screen without any strain. Sitting next to Kurono, I watched the previews finish, and then the movie began.
??The intense visuals displayed on the big screen captivated me completely.
The story followed a cool-headed young man working as a “jack-of-all-trades.” He was asked to investigate a strange incident happening in another game. The tale began with him converting the ultimate character data he had carefully developed into the game in question.
When the protagonist checked his character’s stats, it reminded me of the moment not too long ago when I finally reached level 100 in my own game.
?Tutorial completed.?
?You will now change class from <Beginner> to <Advanced>. All current stats except HP will be reset, and you will receive 990 bonus points based on your level.?
The sudden announcement from Lucifel caught me completely off guard.
Trying to make sense of what was happening, I asked her about it after regaining my composure.
Lucifel explained, ?by reaching level 100, Master has ranked up from a beginner to an advanced player. Until now, your stats were limited to ?HP?, ?MP?, ?Strength?, and ?Carrying Capacity?. Going forward, four new stat categories will be added.?
Lucifel then went on to show me the details of the new stats.
?HP?: Enhances vitality, endurance, and the maximum fatigue limit.
?MP?: Boosts the maximum magic power and resistance to status ailments.
?Strength?: Provides a bonus to physical attack power and increases the maximum weight limit for equipment.
?Physical Defense?: Strengthens resistance to physical attacks.
?Magic Defense?: Strengthens resistance to magic attacks.
?Intelligence?: Provides a bonus to the effectiveness of magical attacks and miracles.
?Agility?: Increases maximum speed, reduces skill activation time, and shortens recovery duration.
?Carrying Capacity?: Gains a +5 to the base value with each level increase. Additionally, boosting strength further increases the maximum limit. Exceeding the limit results in penalties such as reduced agility.
These eight stats represent the new features that can now be enhanced using bonus points.
According to Arisa, those who have reached this stage are referred to as ?Advanced Players.?
Who would have imagined that reaching level 100 was merely the baseline for graduating from being a beginner?
That said, distributing the acquired points while pondering the best allocation was an incredibly enjoyable experience.
(…Ah, yesterday, just as I finished allocating the points, the maintenance notice came, so I didn’t get to test anything out.)*
How much stronger had I become with the enhanced stats? Combined with the new class skills, I couldn’t wait to try out everything.
As I mulled over these thoughts and rested my hands on the armrest, my finger lightly brushed against Kurono’s left hand, which was beside me.
(Wha??!)
The completely unintentional contact sent my heart leaping in surprise.
Still, this was a movie theater. A space where making any noise was strictly forbidden.
Feeling my face grow hot as if it were pressed against a heater, I hurriedly pulled my hand back from the armrest and clasped it to my chest.
Glancing over at Kurono, I noticed she was just as startled. She had also drawn her hand to her chest, her cheeks flushed red.
Holding hands in a movie theater. It was something only couples deeply in love would do, wasn’t it?
Even though I was the one who caused it, the shock completely erased everything I had been thinking about: ?Astral Online?, the movie I was watching, and everything else vanished from my mind in an instant.
Feeling my body temperature rise rapidly, I felt a small sense of relief that the seats around us were empty today.
If someone had been sitting right next to us, they might have scowled or even gotten angry, wondering what I was doing during the movie.
Trying to regain my composure, I took several deep breaths, calming my restless mind and body.
Meanwhile, on the screen, the protagonist and the heroine, who was helping him with the investigation, were starting to develop quite a nice rapport.
Watching the scene unfold, I couldn’t help but think:
(…Kurono likes me, doesn’t she?)
As I settled down, my thoughts naturally turned to the person sitting beside me—my partner.
Looking back, I realized that she had been showing signs of affection in her own way for quite some time. I had just been too oblivious to notice.
The fact that I hadn’t realized until now left me feeling deeply apologetic.
This is exactly what they mean by wanting to crawl into a hole and hide.
But what about me? If I were to be honest… I like Kurono.
We’ve supported each other through tough times, and imagining a future where she isn’t by my side fills my chest with a painful, constricting ache.
As someone inexperienced in love, despite having received countless confessions from various girls in the past, this was the first time I had ever felt this way.
Even when my disciples, Ilya and Inori, who are as beautiful as Kurono, confessed their feelings to me, I couldn’t muster the same emotions to reciprocate.
That’s why I’m confused.
Why have I come to feel these emotions I’ve never experienced before?
Why, at the same time, have I started remembering childhood memories of being with El?
If the two are connected, it’s possible that El might somehow be involved in this feeling.
(I don’t know who El really is. But at the very least, right now…)
Kurono is the most important person in the world to me.
Even if these emotions were fabricated, the one I love and want to stay with forever is the girl sitting beside me.
I don’t want to deny that. I don’t want to reject her, even if someone tells me these feelings might be fake.
Watching the protagonist and the heroine share a kiss on screen, I stared straight at the scene without averting my gaze.
?Master, would you like any advice??
In response to Lucifel’s offer, I silently shook my head.