Fine.
If he had to figure it out himself, then so be it.
Toki sighed helplessly and rubbed his throbbing temples, silently cursing the system hundreds of times in his mind.
Complaining wouldn’t change anything, though.
The system refused to give him any more information, so all he could do was slowly figure things out through trial and error.
At least, judging from everything he knew so far, the blonde Lumine had yet to arrive in Fontaine.
In other words, there was still some time before Fontaine’s main storyline truly began.
He could take advantage of these relatively peaceful days to rapidly increase his combat strength, solidify the Intimacy of his existing partners, and prepare himself for what was to come.
Ideally, he would even be able to save the true Hydro Archon, Focalors, before everything began.
Maybe Focalors could skip her Masquerade of the Guilty this time…
Over the following days, Toki continued living his routine life as an inmate of the Fortress of Meropide.
Every day, he reported for work on schedule.
Sometimes he went to the Production Zone to process Clockwork Meka components and tighten screws.
Other times, he competed in the Pankration Ring to earn some Credit Coupons for later use.
But now that he possessed an Extraordinary-Level physique, the jobs that had once seemed somewhat strenuous had become incredibly easy for Toki.
In the Production Zone, he could fit components together perfectly with a few casual movements, working several times faster than the other inmates.
At the Pankration Ring, the opponents who had once been able to compete with him could now only be effortlessly overwhelmed.
Even Cullen, the champion who had previously inflicted internal injuries on him and dominated the Pankration Ring, was now being thoroughly beaten by Toki.
Toki didn’t even dare use half of his strength.
Whenever his fists landed on Cullen, he deliberately held back.
He was genuinely afraid that one careless blow might kill Cullen right there in the ring.
After all, Cullen was only an ordinary human with particularly good physical conditioning.
He didn’t have a Vision.
There was simply no way his body could withstand the force of Toki’s Extraordinary-Level physique.
The slightest mistake could leave him seriously injured.
Every time their match ended, Cullen would be left lying on the arena floor, covered in injuries.
Whenever he looked at Toki, his eyes were filled with fear and awe.
There was no trace of his former arrogance left.
He didn’t even have the courage to raise his head and look Toki in the eye.
Toki found the whole situation rather frustrating.
Sometimes, being too strong came with problems of its own.
After finishing his daily life as an inmate, Toki would still find time to visit the Infirmary and help Sigewinne.
He helped change patients’ dressings, clean their wounds, and organize medicinal herbs.
Occasionally, he would also use Bolstering Bubblebalm to relieve the suffering of severely injured patients.
He tried to spend as much time talking with Sigewinne as possible, hoping to trigger that mysterious Special Event.
As long as the Special Event remained untriggered, Sigewinne’s Intimacy stayed firmly stuck at 19 points, refusing to budge.
It simply wouldn’t increase any further.
Toki was growing rather frustrated himself.
Unlike playing Summer Memories or Winter Memories, he couldn’t simply look up a guide and find every requirement necessary to trigger the event.
Nor could he blindly experiment with random ideas.
If something backfired, he might actually lower her Intimacy instead.
There was nothing else he could do.
He could only try things one by one.
He accompanied Sigewinne around the corners of the Fortress of Meropide while she searched for medicinal herbs, helped her wash the Pestle and medicine jars, and even accompanied her when previously injured patients came to thank her after recovering.
Yet her Intimacy still showed absolutely no movement.
Finally, after several consecutive days of trying different things, something changed.
That evening, after Toki finished his matches at the Pankration Ring, he leisurely made his way to the Coupon Cafeteria for dinner.
The cafeteria was bustling with noise.
Inmates stood in lines waiting for their meals, while the aroma of food filled the air.
Mixed among it, however, was a faint and rather strange smell.
Toki found a seat beside a window.
Just as he picked up his tray, he spotted a familiar figure busily working behind the cafeteria counter.
It was— Sigewinne.
Today, it was Sigewinne’s turn to help out in the cafeteria.
She was wearing an apron that didn’t quite fit her, and there was a small smudge of flour on her face.
She was clumsily serving meals to the inmates.
Although she looked rather flustered, she was taking the task extremely seriously.
Toki couldn’t help smiling at the sight.
By then, Sigewinne had also noticed him.
Toki was just about to stand up and walk over to greet her when Sigewinne picked up a transparent cup and hurried toward him.
The cup was filled with a multicolored liquid.
Various unidentified particles were mixed inside it.
Some were green.
Some were brown…
And some even resembled black strands of something floating inside.
The entire thing looked incredibly suspicious!
That strange smell he had noticed earlier was coming from this very cup!
“Toki!” Sigewinne approached him with a brilliant smile, her eyes sparkling.
She held the cup out in front of him, her voice filled with anticipation.
“I made this especially for you!” “It’s a milkshake I made by mixing together some of the ingredients left over in the cafeteria!” “Try it!” “I think it should taste really good!” Toki stared at the colorful milkshake in front of him, whose appearance left much to be desired.
The resistance on his face was impossible to hide.
The corner of his mouth twitched, and he instinctively leaned backward.
Just looking at it made his throat tighten.
Actually drinking it was another matter entirely.
Was this thing really safe for human consumption?
“Could I maybe not—” Toki was just about to politely refuse.
But before he could finish, the system’s cold notification suddenly rang out inside his mind, instantly cutting him off.
[Ding!
Successfully triggered Sigewinne’s 20-Point Intimacy Special Event — “Food Is a Token of Affection”!] [Event Requirement: Drink the beverage Sigewinne specially prepared for you in one go and act as though you absolutely love it.] [Complete the event to unlock the 20-Point Intimacy threshold.
Fail the event and 5 Intimacy Points will be deducted.] “Damn it…” The moment Toki saw the system notification, he nearly cursed out loud.
System, you’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?
This thing counts as “affection”?
Drinking it looked like it might kill him on the spot!
Xiangling liked putting things such as Slime Condensate and other monster ingredients into her cooking.
But at least she did it for the sake of culinary experimentation.
And Xiangling’s cooking skills spoke for themselves.
Even when she added strange ingredients, the resulting food was still edible.
After all, Xiangling was a genuine master chef.
But this milkshake Sigewinne had made…
One glance was enough to tell that it had been created according to her decidedly non-human sense of taste.
She hadn’t considered whether an ordinary human could tolerate it at all.
One gulp of this stuff might actually finish him off!
Even worse, the event required him to drink the entire thing in one go.
And he had to act as though he absolutely loved it!
Did he look like that good of an actor?
There was no way he could pull that off!
Toki screamed internally, yet outwardly he still had to force himself to remain calm, afraid that Sigewinne might notice something was wrong.
He stared into Sigewinne’s expectant eyes, completely torn between his options.
If he drank it, he might not survive the experience.
If he refused, he would lose 5 Intimacy Points.
And who knew how long it would take before another Special Event appeared?
Besides, he would hurt Sigewinne’s feelings.
“Toki, hurry up and try it!” “It took me a really long time to make!” “I wanted you to be the very first person to taste it!” While Toki was still hesitating, Sigewinne pushed the mixed milkshake slightly closer to him, the anticipation in her eyes growing even stronger.
Looking at Sigewinne’s innocent and expectant expression, Toki’s heart instantly softened.
Fine.
It was just one nightmare of a milkshake.
For the Intimacy.
For the Prize Draw reward.
He’d do it!
“That 20-Point Intimacy Prize Draw reward…” “It had better be worth this!” Toki silently prayed.
Then he took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and reached out to accept the milkshake.
(End of Chapter)