The train arrived at the station.
Sora got off and headed toward the exit, still thinking about the “advertisements.” He wanted to figure out exactly what conditions triggered this system mechanic.
He hadn’t done anything special on the train just now.
His eyes had simply felt tired, so he’d performed a set of eye exercises.
Then a new advertisement had suddenly appeared.
And the product being promoted had actually been eye exercises as well.
It felt a lot like how smartphones secretly collected data in his previous life and shopping apps pushed products through big-data recommendations.
Sora mentally summarized the rules he’d observed so far: [First, advertisements appear together with an unknown mist and disappear together with that same mist.] [Second, while an advertisement is playing, the entire world appears to enter a time-stop state.] [Third, after the advertisement finishes, there are twenty seconds remaining to make a purchase.] [Fourth, the advertised product seems related to whatever I was doing when the trigger occurred.] [Fifth, the advertised products appear to always be discounted.] [Sixth, after death, I may be able to revive again by watching an advertisement.] Based on the two advertisements he’d seen so far, these were the six conclusions Sora had reached.
Several of them still required further verification.
“I wonder when the next advertisement will appear.” Walking out of the station, Sora looked at the sky, which was nearly completely dark, and quickened his pace.
“Better get home first.” —— Ten minutes later.
Sora safely returned to the old apartment building.
Maybe Beika Town wasn’t quite as dangerous as he’d imagined.
After entering his room, he casually stored his school bag in his inventory and headed for the bathroom.
Fish processing had many benefits, but the lingering fish smell afterward was brutal.
After a shower, he felt refreshed.
He went to the kitchen and cooked some rice.
He didn’t feel like making any more dishes tonight.
Otherwise he’d just end up smelling like cooking oil again.
He simply took a few pieces of fried fish out of his inventory and made do with that.
After dinner, Sora returned to his bedroom and sat at his desk to finish his homework.
The first-year high school assignments posed no challenge to him.
He finished them quickly.
With the chores out of the way, it was time for business.
Opening his inventory, Sora looked at his wallet.
— [0 Gold Coins, 1 Silver Coin, 6 Copper Coins] — The money he’d worked so hard to earn over the past few days had vanished in one purchase.
“Money really doesn’t last.
I’ll have to keep earning more.
It’s fine not to buy things you don’t like, but it’s not fine to lack the money to buy them.” He thought of Miyuri.
He still hadn’t gone to do his daily “check-in” with her today.
The problem was that he had no good excuse.
They were simply landlord and tenant, and they were of the opposite sex.
If he approached her too frequently, he might annoy her.
That would only make future contact more difficult.
For the sake of the long game, it was better to slow down.
This was one of the disadvantages of the “daily check-in” method.
It required a certain level of goodwill from the other party in order to sustain itself.
Compared to that, the “killing” method was a one-time violent approach, but it was straightforward.
Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill.
No need to worry about social relationships.
Both methods had their own strengths and weaknesses.
Moving his gaze away from the wallet, Sora looked toward another slot in his inventory.
— [Bright Vision Eye Exercises] Quality: Fine Type: Consumable Effect: Learn the Bright Vision Eye Exercises upon use.
— With a thought, a thin booklet appeared in his hand.
Then it transformed into a streak of blue light and merged into his palm.
[You have learned Bright Vision Eye Exercises] A moment later, Sora felt new knowledge appear in his mind.
His fingers also seemed more dexterous.
Opening the Talent Skill Panel, he found a new skill.
[Bright Vision Eye Exercises] Leaning back in his chair, Sora closed his eyes.
He gently placed his fingers around his eyes and tried performing the exercise on himself.
Within only a dozen seconds, he experienced its wonder.
His eyes felt incredibly comfortable.
An entire day’s worth of visual fatigue seemed to vanish.
Warmth spread through his eyes.
As the massage continued, the sensation grew stronger.
The muscles around his eyes relaxed completely.
Even his overall mental state became pleasantly languid.
Ten minutes later, Sora completed the full routine.
He didn’t even want to open his eyes anymore.
The physical exhaustion from processing fish all day made him want to simply fall asleep in the chair.
But he restrained himself.
If he was going to sleep, he’d do it properly in bed.
Otherwise he’d wake up miserable.
At that moment, a completely unfamiliar notification sound echoed in his mind.
[Ding—] It sounded like a droplet falling into a lake, sending ripples spreading outward.
Slowly opening his eyes, Sora was surprised to discover a strange change in his vision.
It was difficult to describe.
If he had to put it into words, the world simply looked clearer.
The grain of the wardrobe.
The dust gathered in the corners of the room.
Even the antennae of a moth fluttering against the window.
He could see everything with astonishing clarity.
Pulling his gaze back, he opened the system panel.
Since the system had played a notification sound, there had to be some change.
Sure enough, a new line appeared within the Status Panel.
— [Bright Vision]: Buff Status.
Your eyesight has been enhanced.
(Remaining Duration: 9 minutes 41 seconds.) — Looking at the panel, Sora fell into thought.
So these eye exercises actually had two effects.
If you were nearsighted, they corrected your vision.
If you weren’t nearsighted, they enhanced your eyesight.
Walking to the window, Sora looked outside.
Night had fully fallen.
Although the streetlights were on, the lighting was nowhere near as bright as daytime.
Yet even so, he could clearly see every passerby’s face.
He could even read the labels on their clothing.
“This level of vision enhancement already qualifies as supernatural, doesn’t it?” As time passed, the strange warmth in his eyes gradually weakened.
The warmth was probably the source of the enhancement.
Once it disappeared completely, the Bright Vision buff would likely expire as well.
Sora continued observing the people below.
Then he suddenly spotted a familiar silver-haired figure.
“That’s Mifuyu Yukino, isn’t it?
Judging by the time, she should be heading to work.” Since he finally had a chance to observe his mysterious next-door neighbor from a distance, Sora intended to take a careful look.
Unexpectedly, Mifuyu seemed to notice someone watching her.
She abruptly turned around and followed his gaze back toward him.
Those eyes were incomparably cold.
Sora’s heart tightened.
Acting naturally, he shifted his gaze away as though he were merely about to close the window.
He reached out, shut it, and retreated back into his room.
—— Mifuyu stared at the now-closed window and frowned slightly.
Was it just her imagination?
A woman’s voice emerged from the videotape inside her bag.
“What is it?” “Nothing.” Mifuyu turned around and continued walking.