What made you ask that?" Ginger questioned Klaus again, her gaze filled with genuine curiosity, unaware that she was putting him on the spot.
'She's persistent,' he thought. "Better keep it PG.'
"Your body overall says a lot," he said with a nod, as if confirming his point. "And it's not like your dress does much to hide it. Most people would notice your shapely figure and agree with me."
Ginger's lips curled into a frown, completely ignoring his other statement. "What's wrong with my dress?"
Klaus let out a strained groan, his eyes fixed on her in disbelief. 'Is that seriously the only thing you picked up?'
She began tapping her white sneakers against the carpeted floor, waiting for his response.
"There's nothing wrong with your dress," he said, his voice tinged with frustration. "All I'm saying is that it's tight, which makes your physique—" he paused, choosing his words carefully, "—more noticeable."
Ginger took a second before slowly nodding. "That makes sense," she replied softly, brushing a stray hair behind her ear. "Sorry about the misunderstanding."
Klaus sighed, noting that her apology seemed sincere, yet her tone lacked the warmth typically associated with such words.
'She kind of gives off cyborg vibes,' he thought.
"It's okay," Klaus said, accepting her apology. His fingers rubbed against his temple, furrowing his brows. 'I've got some questions for you later, Desire.'
To his dismay, the red-haired gym girl shook her head. Klaus closed his eyes, internally sighing. 'What now?!'
Noticing the distressed look on his face, Ginger briefly smiled before her expression went neutral again.
"Where are you headed?" she asked.
Klaus was momentarily caught off guard by the standard question, having expected another 'trap'.
He double-checked his words before saying, "I need to pick up some bedding and groceries."
"Why do you ask?" he asked wearily, still on edge from her prior charge.
She leaned against her apartment door with her arms crossed. "Do you have a car?"
Klaus hesitated, then shook his head. "But that doesn't answer my question."
"Perfect," she smiled, ignoring him. "I can take you. I was planning on making stops at Target and Walmart anyway."
She looked at him, expecting acceptance, but his next words contradicted that.
"I'll be fine," Klaus replied resolute. 'No way am I going anywhere with you.'
Ginger smiled.
⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆
In a white 2024 Lexus ES 350, Klaus sat in the passenger seat while Ginger pulled out of the outside parking lot.
'Man, I'm weak,' he sighed.
It didn't take much pressure from her for him to give in and accept the offer. Although it wasn't like he'd lose anything by going, the point still stood that she was a bit special.
"Hey, Ginger," he called out. "Random question, what's your ethnicity?"
She glanced at him with a raised brow, then looked back at the road.
"My mom is Hispanic and my dad is of Irish descent," she responded. "Why do you ask?"
Klaus mentally nodded. 'It adds up.'
"Just curious."
"Right," she replied. 'Like I'd believe that.'
Inside the car, the silence returned, and the soft purr of the engine became noticeable, along with the wind rushing past the sedan. Klaus glanced at Ginger through his peripheral vision, noticing the soft glow of her skin against the rising sun. Her phone lied in one of two cup holders, a water bottle in the other. Hanging from the rearview mirror, a Dominican Republic flag swayed in the air.
Klaus facepalmed at his lack of awareness. "Yeah, that's definitely an intelligence feat," he mumbled.
"What was that?"
"Nothing."
She continued on the road without a need for a GPS, seemingly knowing the route as well as the contours of her abdomen. The road was clear—for the most part—the need to swap lanes proved unnecessary, which provided a smooth ride.
Klaus focused his gaze back out the window, watching the trees and scenery as they flew by at high speeds.
'Speaking of intelligence, mind telling me what it was exactly you did to increase my 'pull rate', Desire?'
There was a momentary silence before the familiar voice rang in his ears.
Klaus read the skill's description. His lips curled up into a smile, then a question popped into his head. 'Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?'
<...>
Desire went silent.
His mind went still as the memory came to light. Desire had indeed reminded him a few times, but he had seemed to ignore her whenever she did.
'Right, my bad.' Klaus offered an apologetic smile. 'That aside, how do I check my stats? Do I say status or—?'
On cue, a dark purple screen—different from Desire's speech box—materialized in front of him.
˚ ∘ ⊰ ⋆˙ ˖ ݁࣪ ִֶָ 𓆩𓁺𓆪 .࣪ ִֶ ݁ ˙⋆ ⊱ ˚ ∘
Desire: 1
EXP: 10/100
DP: 10
Body
Height: 175cm
Muscle Mass: 23
Vitality: 55
Agility: 45
Mind: 105
Performance
Length: 18cm
Girth: 14cm
Libido: 70
Pleasure: 100
Charisma: 89 (+150%)
Temptation: 50
Skills: Lvl 1 Silver Tongue, Lvl 2 Cooking, Lvl 3 Driving, Lvl 5 Bookkeeping, Lvl 5 Organizing
Klaus read through his stats and skills. He grimaced, looking at his below-average stats, then grinned at his skills.
'How'd I get 10 EXP and DP?' he inquired.
'Ah. Not too bad,' Klaus thought, then looked at his stats. 'Could be worse.'
<…>
"At least try to be happy for me."
Ginger glanced at him. "Could you stop talking to yourself? It's creeping me out."
Klaus cleared his throat, blood flushing his complexion. He turned towards her for a moment, meeting her eyes before she turned back toward the road, getting off at the exit.
'I thought I said that in my head. Anyway, aren't I supposed to get a beginner pack?' he asked.
'Oh no, I am,' he responded. After all, with the system in hand, things would only begin to improve from there, with or without. 'I read quite a bit of novels and wanted to see where that stood.'
Desire's cold yet lulling voice appeared.
Although initially perplexed by her sudden change of humor, Klaus ultimately smiled to himself. 'We have a joker on our hands, yeah?'
'What are the rates for each?'
Klaus nodded and navigated past the shop icon to the inventory. Like she had said, there were three purple tickets with black accents around the ridges. In the middle of the ticket, a single letter stood alone with elegance, enclosed by a thin golden circle: 𝐓