I Level Up With In-app Purchases

I Level Up With In-app Purchases – 57

EP.57 The Use of the Orb (1)

One duplicate SSR Shine orb.

Hundreds of duplicate R-grade character orbs.

The existence of a new item that hadn’t appeared in the game system was enough to excite me.

I knew that whatever the new function was, as long as it benefited me, it wouldn’t be a disadvantage.

To confirm the use of this orb, I decided to look for the R-grade characters scattered throughout the academy.

I hadn’t met any R-grade or SR-grade characters since summoning them.

I couldn’t expect an easy encounter like with Ariane (SSR), who had come to me without any effort on my part.

‘There are more students than I thought.’

It was naturally difficult to find the R-grade characters I had summoned among so many students.

Moreover, simply finding them wasn’t the end of it.

I had to approach and talk to them, which was challenging for an outsider like me.

The best method would be for them to approach me out of curiosity.

Trying not to look too suspicious, I kept my eyes peeled for R-grade students.

“Huh? It’s the general store owner.”

At that moment, I heard a cute voice from below.

Recognizing the familiar voice, I looked down and, as expected, saw the two youngsters staring up at me with wide eyes.

“Why are you here?”

“It’s obvious why we’re here! But why are you here, mister? This isn’t a place just anyone can enter.”

At the bold question from Youngster 1, I shrugged my shoulders.

“I’m here because I’m someone who can enter.”

“I think I know!”

Then, Youngster 2, who had been quietly rolling their eyes, spoke up.

Youngster 1 looked at Youngster 2 with admiration, their eyes sparkling.

“Really? What is it?”

“Hmm~~~ You’re here to deliver items from the general store, right?”

“Oh! That’s right! Mister, you’re here to make a delivery?”

They couldn’t even imagine that I was here in my capacity as a patron.

“Let’s just say that’s the case.”

“Hehe~ I must have guessed right. Mister isn’t denying it.”

“Hmph! I’m pretty smart, you know.”

“Enough, youngsters. So why are you here?”

“We just came over because we saw a familiar face.”

“They say even brushing past someone’s sleeve is a connection, so we thought we’d say hi since it’s the general store owner.”

“Well, aren’t you cheeky.”

I wondered where these little youngsters picked up such sayings.

Talking to them often left me speechless.

“Hey, guys! What are you doing over there?”

At that moment, my target approached me on her own.

“???”

“We’re just talking.”

The youngsters didn’t seem to realize that the student was concerned about them.

“Who are you, and why are you talking to the kids? I don’t think I’ve seen you around the academy before.”

On her left arm was an armband that read “Disciplinary Committee.”

The Disciplinary Committee was a sub-organization of the student council, responsible for ensuring that academy students adhered to the rules and maintaining internal security.

It wasn’t unusual for a Disciplinary Committee member to approach us out of concern.

Especially if she was one of the R-grade characters I was looking for.

“I know these kids, so we were just chatting. I’m not a suspicious person.”

“Yes, we know him.”

“Yeah, mister said he’s here for work.”

“Remember, crimes often happen between acquaintances. You shouldn’t follow or talk to just anyone, as we learned in class.”

“But this mister is a good person.”

Youngster 1 mumbled, grumbling in response to the student council member’s words.

I was surprised that the youngsters were so actively defending me.

“Aren’t we not that close? Why are you pretending we are?”

“Hey! We’re just backing you up!”

“If the student council senior suspects you, you’ll get dragged away!”

“…It seems you’re not really suspicious. I apologize. Given the current chaotic situation, we need to be extra vigilant.”

“Considering these kids’ usual behavior, I completely understand.”

“What did we do!”

“But are you supposed to be here? Where were you going?”

“Oh no! We have to go to class!”

“Eek! We’re late!”

Youngster 1 and Youngster 2 hurriedly ran off.

Being late for class must be quite a problem for them.

“Those kids. They disappeared in an instant.”

“They’re still so carefree.”

The Disciplinary Committee student seemed to think our interaction was over and started to walk away.

I stopped her.

“Can we talk for a moment?”

“…With me?”

“Your name is Yui, right?”

“How do you know my name?”

She, who had let her guard down, began to be wary of me again.

“Talking to me won’t be a disadvantage for you.”

I said this to reassure the cautious Yui.

“Please, have a seat over here.”

I was soon led to the Disciplinary Committee’s room.

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“What kind of tea would you like? We have almost everything.”

The academy, attended by nobles, had very luxurious facilities.

The same went for the room used by the student council.

“Something cold, any juice will do. Lots of ice.”

A juice with ice floating in it was placed in front of me.

I was worried there might be other students around, but fortunately, it was just Yui and me in the Disciplinary Committee’s room.

“I have no idea how you know me or what business you have with me. Could you first reveal your identity?”

“I’m not anyone special. I’m a merchant running a general store near the academy.”

“…How did someone like you get into the academy? Excuse me for a moment. I need to check the visitor records.”

“Go ahead.”

I took out the access pass hanging around my neck and showed it to Yui.

The academy’s access pass wasn’t just a piece of paper.

Beep—!

She used magic to verify something on my access pass and started to look flustered.

“You’re here as a patron? And your business was a meeting with the Dean.”

“I was on my way back after meeting him.”

“I’ve made a huge mistake.”

Gaining access to the academy as a patron wasn’t something just anyone could do, and meeting with the Dean wasn’t something just anyone could arrange.

Naturally, Yui’s attitude towards me became even more cautious.

“It’s fine. The Disciplinary Committee was just doing its job. But could you take a look at this?”

I presented the orbs I had obtained from summoning multiple R-grade ‘Yui’ characters.

“This is….”

I wondered how she would react.

Would she be as surprised and possessive as the SSR characters were when they saw their unique equipment?

“It’s an orb. It’s pretty, but why are you showing it to me?”

Contrary to my expectations, Yui didn’t seem to find anything special about the orb.

“Try touching it. I think it will be beneficial for you.”

“Isn’t it just an ordinary orb?”

Since I mentioned I was a patron, she didn’t seem suspicious, but she was hesitant to touch the orb.

Honestly, if a suspicious person suddenly handed me an orb and told me to touch it, I wouldn’t easily comply either.

“At the very least, it’s not harmful. I can assure you of that.”

“…….”

After contemplating whether to touch it or not, she finally reached out and touched the orb.

As soon as Yui’s hand made contact with the orb, her body glowed.

[SYSTEM- ⭐️1-Star Enhancement Successful.]

“Oh.”

“Huh?”

The system notification confirmed the enhancement was successful.

I had expected this outcome, but it was still satisfying to see it happen.

One of the many orbs rolling around had now been used up.

‘This is going to be quite a grind.’

While it was good to know how to enhance, the fact that I had to meet each character in person and have them touch the orb made it a very inconvenient system.

“This is… huh? Huh?”

“Do you feel anything?”

A 1-star enhancement might not bring significant growth, but if it goes beyond 3 stars, the sense of improvement would be much more noticeable.

“What is this? I’ve never heard of anything like this.”

“Do you feel your body changing?”

“Yes! I can feel it. My body feels stronger. I’ll need to test it to know how much stronger, but I can definitely feel the increase in power.”

She clenched her fists tightly, her cheeks flushing with excitement.

“I still have more orbs. Do you want to continue?”

Naturally, Yui looked at the orbs with a greedy gaze, eager for more of the power they provided.

“Can I really continue? These seem to be single-use. One disappeared. How can I accept something so precious…?”

“There are plenty more, so go ahead. You probably can’t become infinitely stronger. There must be a limit.”

“I shouldn’t accept something like this so easily….”

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to ask you for money. If I did that, I wouldn’t have been granted patron status.”

The mention of my patron status seemed to ease her worries, and Yui reached out for the orb again.

Flash—!

Her body glowed once more, and this time, two orbs disappeared.

[SYSTEM – ⭐️2-Star Enhancement Successful.]

The glowing continued for a while.

From 3 stars onward, the enhancements didn’t succeed as easily.

Flash!

[SYSTEM – ⭐️3-Star Enhancement Failed.]

Flash!

[SYSTEM – ⭐️3-Star Enhancement Failed.]

“Oh… it doesn’t seem to be working anymore. The orbs are disappearing, but I don’t feel any different.”

“No, it’s just that the enhancements failed. It doesn’t mean you can’t continue. So, keep trying.”

“Failed…?”

Yui, who had been uncertain, finally reached 3 stars.

[SYSTEM – ⭐️3-Star Enhancement Successful.]

“Ahhh! What should I do? My insides feel all tingly and strange!”

The sudden surge of power made her want to release the explosive energy coursing through her body.

I coaxed her to hold on a bit longer and grow even stronger.

Taking deep breaths to calm her excitement, Yui resumed the enhancement process with the orbs.

Fortunately, there were no more failures like at 3 stars.

[SYSTEM – ⭐️5-Star Enhancement Successful.]

When she finally succeeded in enhancing to 5 stars, the orbs no longer disappeared upon contact.

“It seems it’s over now.”

“Where did you get these? This is revolutionary! If you mass-produce these and bid them to the military, you’ll make a fortune. I’ll actively promote them for you!”

Enamoured by the orb’s capabilities, she impulsively offered to buy all the stock under the student council’s name, thinking I intended to sell them.

However, these orbs could only be used by the characters I summoned.

Selling them would make me a fraud.

I opened my mouth to clear up her misunderstanding, but suddenly, a system window appeared before me.

[You have completed the growth of the first character.]

[Achievement Unlocked!]

[Receive reward for first achievement.]

[Achievement Reward: Awakening]

“Huh?”