The academy looked exactly like the game world.
Everyone appeared cheerful and lively.
Even when Luocheng wasn’t around, the horse girls continued behaving according to the system’s routines.
But Luocheng had never wanted to be a camera floating through someone else’s story.
He wanted to belong to it.
No matter how lifelike the others seemed, if they couldn’t truly react to him, then from Luocheng’s perspective they weren’t real.
Back in the game world, he had tried increasingly ridiculous things simply to provoke a genuine response.
Nothing worked.
The world kept moving as if he didn’t exist.
That had been the most terrifying part.
Over time, Luocheng had mapped out the mechanics of Affection.
Simple greetings produced tiny increases after repeated interactions.
Helping someone could give more.
Certain special interactions raised it faster.
But none of it had mattered back there.
No matter how high Affection became, there was no special dialogue.
No meaningful reaction.
Here, however, the difference was obvious.
Someone with nearly no Affection toward him merely acknowledged his presence.
At ten, they greeted him.
At twenty, they might approach him first.
And at one hundred—
Tokai Teio had been holding his hand since they left the office and glaring possessively at every horse girl who came near.
Like a puppy guarding its favorite toy.
“Trainer Luocheng, are you going out?”
At the plaza stood a familiar green-haired figure who practically served as Tracen Academy’s guardian.
Tazuna Hayakawa.
The elegant secretary approached them with her usual composed smile.
“Going to buy Teio a pair of racing shoes,” Luocheng replied, studying her expression.
“Have a safe trip, Trainer Luocheng.
If you need any assistance, please call me.”
Her expression appeared exactly the same as before.
Strange.
Hadn’t he maxed out Tazuna’s Affection too?
Why was she behaving differently from Teio?
“Come on, Trainer!”
Teio tugged his arm.
Despite her petite frame, her strength was terrifying.
Luocheng had no choice but to let himself be dragged away.
In the other world, he dragged Teio around.
In this world, Teio dragged him.
What goes around comes around.
After Luocheng left, Tazuna remained where she stood.
Only then did her perfectly composed expression falter slightly.
…
The moment Luocheng stepped outside Tracen Academy, he looked around like a country bumpkin seeing a metropolis for the first time.
For three entire months, he had stood at those gates unable to move a single millimeter farther.
He had tried every bug exploit he could think of.
Walking backward.
Sliding along the boundary.
Pressing objects against himself.
Trying to clip through the terrain.
Nothing had worked.
And now—
he was finally standing in the world that had once existed only as scenery.
Luocheng felt absurdly exhilarated.
“Trainer?”
Tokai Teio stared at him.
Before today, whenever they reached the gate, her Trainer always stopped.
He had never dared to go outside.
Now that he had finally done so, he looked like a child seeing the city for the first time.
Teio couldn’t help laughing.
Her Trainer was strangely adorable.
“Teio, where are we going?”
Since this was his first time outside, Luocheng decided to let her lead.
This was what an open world was supposed to be like.
No map restrictions.
No stupid invisible walls.
No message saying, The area ahead will be explored later.
Invisible walls could go to hell.
“Obviously, we’re going to an Uma Musume sporting-goods store.”
Teio pulled his hand.
“But first, we’re buying that!”
She pointed toward a yellow food truck in the park.
Honey Drink.
The sign was written in Japanese.
Oddly enough, Luocheng could understand it.
His brain seemed to automatically translate all written and spoken language into something he understood, and his own words were converted the same way.
Essentially, he possessed flawless universal translation.
If he worked as an interpreter, he could probably become the best in the industry.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t exactly his priority.
More importantly—
did he even have money?
Luocheng checked his pockets and pulled out a wallet.
Inside were several ten-thousand-yen bills.
He really had money!
In the game world, the Chairwoman told him every month that his salary had been paid.
Luocheng had never found it anywhere.
He had even suspected she was embezzling it.
So this was where it had gone.
His salary had apparently crossed dimensions before he did.
“Here.”
Luocheng handed Teio some money.
“Trainer, this is way too much.”
“Keep the change.”
He was feeling generous.
Besides, for months money had been completely useless to him.
That alone had erased half the meaning of ordinary adult life.
“Trainer, you need to keep some small bills on you.”
Teio ordered an extra-large honey drink.
“This one’s on me!”
“We’re sharing?”
“Yep.
The extra-large is the best value!”
She took a sip and handed it to him.
Luocheng drank from the same straw without much hesitation.
“Pretty good,” he admitted.
Tracen only had canned drinks in the game world, and there weren’t many flavors.
This was his first time trying proper honey water.
He liked it.
Soon, the two arrived at the sporting-goods shop.
The Covenant of Flame Demon [Ss3 268 Chapter ]
Uma Musume: Wait—you want me to pop my Christmas Hat Ultimate?
[ END 401 Chapter ]
Honkai star rail:Invincible From the Moment I Started Playing as Jing Yuan [Ss2 333 Chapter ]
The Problem Child Starts from Gensokyo [ 311 Chapter ]
FGO: Handcrafted Lostbelt, the Strongest is the Real History [ 194 Chapter ]
Honkai World: Kiana Doesn’t Need Redemption [ 310 Chapter ]
Astral Courtyard: One View from the Trailblazing Department!
[ 207 Chapter ]
Chat Group: My Character Card Refreshes Every Month [ 207 Chapter ]
American Comics: Armed with a Villainous Superhero Template.
[ 151 Chapter ]
Great.
Now we’re definitely screwed!
[Ss4 135 Chapter ]
Crossover: It All Begins with the Invasion of a Crimson Lord [ 151 Chapter ]
My Youthful Struggle with the Uma Musume Can’t Possibly Go Wrong [ 138 Chapter ]
At Tracen, I’m an Expert at Doing Time [ 132 Chapter ]
Honkai Star Rail: Starting the Simulation by Planting a Credit Tree [ 106 Chapter ]
A Dimensional Journey Adrift with the Current [ 121 Chapter ]
I’m a Trainer, and an Uma Musume Too!
[ 120 Chapter ]
Uma Musume:Trapped in the Game [ 103 Chapter ]