Rewards

Sakura opened her eyes, still a little sleepy. She looked around and saw that she was on Yato's couch. It seems that everything she went through was not a dream in her head.

Coming so close to death was a terrifying experience, and she didn't want to go through it again. If that was the price she would have to pay, she didn't know if she could make it.

…

She saw that Yato was sitting on the couch with a calm expression.

"Hey, Yato." She called to him in a low voice.

"Huh?" Yato replied with a simple murmur.

"...Have you ever imagined yourself losing everything you love most?" Sakura asked.

"An interesting question. Well, yes." Yato had already experienced many different emotions, although many created by himself.

"But that's impossible." He would never allow something like this to happen, under any circumstances.

…

Sakura kept quiet with a thoughtful expression. She thought Yato would reply something like "I don't care about anyone", but she was surprised. Apparently, he's got somebody important in his life.

'Is that Onee-chan?' She thought of Yerin, who seemed to have some relationship with Yato. She got a little angry at the thought that Yato might be forcing Yerin to wear those maid clothes.

'A sadist, he is a sadist!' She thought.

Yato looked at her with a smile, as if he already knew her thoughts.

"I won't stop you if you want to give it up," Yato said.

"Huh?! I don't have to stick with the system?" She didn't expect to be able to leave the system after accepting it.

She was kind of hesitating. Having life-or-death experiences did not seem like a good choice. At first, she thought it would all be wonderful, but fate can be too cruel at times, and if at some point she had to risk everything she loved most, would she make it?

"Well, you can ditch that and live in your boring world. Although that's pretty disappointing." Yato replied.

He wouldn't stop Sakura from making her decision, even though it would end his fun. Well, if Keiichi and Sakura gave up now, then everything would have been a waste of time for him.

…

Sakura clenched her fists as she listened to his response.

"I almost died there!! Nobody came to save me!...Nobody..." Sakura screamed with tears in her eyes. She just wanted someone to show up to save her at that moment, but her only teammate had abandoned her. Her family wasn't there to help. She didn't want to feel this way anymore.

Yato looked at Sakura with a calm expression. He understood that this experience wasn't pleasant for her, but he couldn't lie and say that things like this won't happen again.

"Sakura, when you accepted the system, your fate became unknown. You went from being a simple girl and became a special existence, much more special than you think you are. I won't force you to accept this, but know that you will never get a second chance. Never." said Yato.

She might not know it yet, but from the moment she accepted the system, its existence became an unknown, where only Yato could know how far she would go. He wouldn't explain anything to her now, but maybe in the future.

If she gives up here, she'll never get a second chance. Yato would never go back to deliver the system again.

…

Sakura felt lost as she listened to Yato's words. She didn't know what to do at this point.

"I…" Hearing that left her a little confused. Her thoughts wander through unknown possibilities.

"I expected more from the Nightmare Witch." Yato got up and walked out of the room.

Seeing that Yato was leaving, Sakura quickly ran towards him.

"Yato, wait!" She grabbed his arm, trying to stop him.

…

"I… let me think about it, okay?" Despite being scared, she had many goals that she wanted to achieve. The feeling of gaining power and being different from a normal person was addictive. Believe it or not, she loved it. She loved feeling like she could achieve anything she wanted. She wanted to feel special.

Yato smiled seeing that he had won this mind game.

"Looks like the Nightmare Witch is hesitating." He smiled.

"Do not call me like that!" Her face turned red.

"Well, check your rewards later." Yato disappeared after speaking.

…

*Sigh!*

'I feel like I took a path of no return.' She thought after drying her tears.

Keiichi got up from the couch with a thoughtful expression. He pretended to be asleep and had overheard the entire conversation, although Yato had already noticed that he was awake.

Even though he was in a similar situation to Sakura, there was no way he would abandon the system. The system is the only means that can allow him to avenge his family, so giving it up was not an option.

"Hey…" Sakura gave a greeting when she saw him awake.

"I'm sorry about that." He said with a sigh. He still felt guilty about having abandoned her.

"No worries, we barely know each other, but I know you're not a bad person," Sakura replied. "Well, how about we get to know each other better? Tell me a little about yourself."

"...I think that would be cool."

Keiichi began to tell Sakura about his life and experiences, from his childhood as a rich kid to his miserable life. She also told him a little about her life. Getting to know each other was important, especially since they would be teammates again.

-

"I see. I didn't expect you to be in such a difficult situation." She didn't know if she would be able to live peacefully if her family was murdered. Knowing that also made her understand why he had run away.

"Well, your situation isn't good either."

*Sigh!*

"You're right."

It looks like they were both going through a rough patch in their lives.

"Well, that aside, how about we check our reward?" She was curious about the rewards, so she decided to leave sad matters for later.

"OK."

【Grant of Ascension Stone| 50 thousand points awarded】

"What is this ascension stone?" Sakura asked, curious.

【Stone of Ascension】

『Dramatically increases the user's power and natural talent』

"Interesting, how do we use that-" Before Keiichi could finish his sentence, the ascension stone exploded into several small fragments. The small fragments entered Keiichi's body, emitting a reddish glow.

"What is happening?!" Sakura was confused to see Keiichi's body glow.

"I don't know, but I feel good." He wasn't feeling any pain, just a good feeling.

*BOOMMM!*

He felt his power, body, and mind suddenly change.

Keiichi couldn't explain what he was feeling. Keiichi couldn't explain what he was feeling. His mind, which previously could not profoundly understand magic, seemed to be changing.

Sakura watched everything with a curious expression. She didn't expect Keiichi to suddenly get so strong.

'As strong as that lizard?' She thought of Basmakal's power.

'Maybe close to that.' Even though he didn't get as strong as Basmakal, he wasn't far from it. At least he wouldn't die from a single punch from Basmakal now.

After the crimson glow faded, Keiichi opened his eyes.

"This is amazing! I feel so much stronger than before!" he exclaimed.

Even his physique had changed, making him more muscular.

"Nice!" Sakura praised his physique. "You're very different from the version you told me about."

Keiichi had told Sakura about his life, including his former fat appearance. His old appearance was one of the primary reasons he was intimidated.

"Well, this is an improved version of Keiichi Otake." He replied with a smile.

"Well, now it's my turn!" Sakura exclaimed. The ascension stone exploded into fragments and entered her body.

The process was very similar to Keiichi's, only the color had changed, becoming colorless.

After finishing the process, Sakura felt a great change in her body and mind.

'That feeling…' She hated to admit it, but this was fantastic.

"If we face that lizard again, I bet we can at least hurt him," Keiichi said.

"You're right." She also thought that it wouldn't be difficult to finish that quest if they did it after this power increase.

【Ascension stone increases speed and comprehension ability, and all other stats, some with higher priority than others. Training will also be more productive】

"Thanks for the explanation, system." The system doesn't usually talk much, so Sakura was a little surprised. Most of the time, she asks Yato for information directly and he answers some of her questions.

Keiichi and Sakura became interested in Yato's existence. They had already asked and Yato said that he was a system administrator and his role was to assist them depending on the occasion.

"I feel like I can do new things, how about a test room?" Keiichi was excited to test new powers.

"I'm in," Sakura replied.

【Request granted】

The system teleported them to a greenfield where they could do whatever they wanted.

"Well, shall we begin?" Keiichi stretched out his arms.