After Katie's words resounded in his ears several times, Ben snapped out of his daze. 'So it's finally time for this talk…'
It was the first time a girl he was seeing asked him if he was dating other women, and this situation…it was troublesome.
Watching Katie, he sighed. 'She's such a good girl. I should reciprocate by being the best guy I can…so what's the best way to lie to her?'
…
In reality, he didn't want to hurt her with the truth, but when he saw her raise her head and gaze into his eyes with an expression of dependence…he just couldn't bring himself to lie. "Yes…"
Right away, Katie's eyes began to moisten.
Seeing this, a bitter sensation pervaded his chest…and he wished he could make her feel better. "But they were 3D girls!"
…
That didn't seem to work though as her lips started to quiver. "Can't…can't you just see me?"
Ben knew it wasn't possible, not when there was a murderous system pressing him with non-stop challenges to sleep with women to survive. "No…"
Now, Katie's eyes fully teared up. "W-why not?"
There was a struggle in his heart and mind. He didn't think it was wise to tell her about the system. She didn't seem like the mature type that could handle something like that. So, he channeled Beluga. "I can't. It's my human nature…"
"What part of your human nature?"
Ben looked deep into her eyes. He wasn't sure how to respond. He had no words, so he tried to be as upfront as possible. "My…penis?"
…
When the words left his mouth though, he already felt terrible. 'Stupid! Can't you see she's upset?' Even if it was true, his phrasing wasn't exactly poetic…
Ben had started to control his mouth when wooing women, but these kinds of relationship moments were still new to him. That's why now, he sounded unintentionally insensitive. In fact though, during social interactions, he was sometimes simply as dumb as a dildo…
As tears began falling down Katie's face…the pain in Ben's chest stabbed deeper, and he hurried to wipe her eyes with his sleeve. "It won't change how I feel about you…"
Then, he gave her a long kiss on the lips, followed by a deep hug…
If he couldn't transfer his feelings through words, he could only do it through actions…which got mixed up when he popped a boner again.
…
After a few minutes of silence, Katie managed to say something. "Will you…stop seeing me?"
"No. I won't stop seeing you. I always enjoy being with you." Ben held her shoulders and kept a resolute expression as he looked into her eyes…
"Another girl…won't make you stop seeing me?"
"Never."
Seeing his firm face, Katie sniffled, but the tears soon dried up…giving way to a difficult smile. She was still sad, without a doubt, but somehow, she accepted it. Or, she forced herself to accept it…because she knew deep in her heart that she was unable to let go of Ben…
However, it was getting late now, and with confusing feelings swirling in her chest, she decided to go home.
As Ben walked her to her house, she was quieter than usual. Yet, she still grasped his arm and leaned against his shoulder, with a firmer grip than ever, and was even more resistant than the last occasion when it came time to leave him when they arrived.
As he watched her dad come out and let her into the house, Ben poked his head out from behind the tree…
Gazing at her leave, he found the situation complicated. 'I can't fall in love with this girl. As the protagonist, I might be forced to switch maps.'
…
He was trying to be pragmatic by managing his expectations.
'I'll probably be battling armies single-handedly.'
…
He sighed. 'That'll make it too inconvenient to bring her along. It also means she'd be home alone, and in that situation—she couldn't be trusted. Everyone knows army wives sleep around…'
A short while later…when Ben returned to his dorm, he hurried to go to sleep, because he had a big day coming up. In the morning—he was going to Fariq's MMA gym!
As he dozed off, he didn't notice, that a certain NYU ID from under his bed was now gone.
***
Ben woke up the next day refreshed, recharged, and reloaded…
He'd slept well, having dreamt of a potential sequel to the wonderful Robin Williams movie—What Dreams May Cum…
In other words, he dreamt of Katie's blowjob…
Even after having experienced it multiple times in waking, and dream states…he still found her skills amazing, to the point he even began to suspect that Katie had a blowjob system.
…
However, he shook his head, not because he thought it was impossible, but because he didn't dare fuel the spinoff threat…
Ben stretched and yawned. 'She can get her own fans.'
…
As he rose out of bed, he checked his system notifications, and frowned. Like the last time with Annabelle, he received zero new points. It was a bit of a problem. He found these occasions with his girls great, but he was also marching on his path to execution if he didn't make any system gains during hook-ups. 'I'll have to think of something…'
In any case, he needed to focus on today, because soon, he'd be jumping into a new endeavor–starting MMA.
Earning enough money now from his job at Hearth, Ben knew he'd be able to afford it, and thus, could move on to the next stage of his plan—using the manliness multiplier!
[Mid Level Stat Growth Multiplier(Consumable, Rare, Manliness) x1]
It was an item Ben had been saving for a while: a mid level multiplier that would give him 100x growth for one week. That is to say—almost two years of progress!
He first won this item as the reward for the Booty Burglar challenge when he in-fluenced Penelope to break up with her boyfriend. At that time, he struggled to come up with good activities to use it in, unsure what would raise manliness. Then, when Fariq suggested MMA, Ben realized it was a great option!
Learning how to fight, practicing a rough sport, getting injured and beating people up, becoming a human weapon…going to mortal combat tournaments on an island…ripping people's spines out by their heads…punch-exploding the Earth…all these seemed like manly things to Ben!
Thus, MMA became the natural choice!
At the moment, with his manliness at a 7, Ben hoped this multiplier and a week of training would help him raise it to an 8. Then, it would become only his second stat to reach that level!
A success with that, would be a serious step closer to passing his death challenge. So, with a plan in place, Ben glanced at Fariq's bed.
This roommate of his woke up earlier and left, as usual, but they'd be seeing each other at the gym later, and as Ben looked at his phone, he realized he needed to get going, because their agreed upon time to meet there was approaching.
Soon, it would be time to learn how to fight, above the belt…
———
*Author's Note: Please remember to vote daily if you'd like more bonus chapters next week!
