Chapter 10: I'm Probably the Top
"Another delay... I remember when you first bound with me, there was a delay too. Sometimes I wonder if the reason I ended up with a system like the 'God-Level Heroine System' is because of this damn delay. Is your server part of Ubisoft's potato family? Can't you just enhance it a bit…"
As Izumi Kotomi was passionately venting about the frequent delays in the God-Level Heroine System, something suddenly caught her attention. She felt like she had just heard something extraordinary!
She couldn't help but wonder if she had misheard.
1.75 million popularity points?!
"Did Sword Art Online really hit 1.75 million popularity points?!" Kotomi asked, unable to hide her shock. Although she was confident that Sword Art Online would become a hit, she never expected that within less than a day after uploading it to Dengeki Bunko's official website, the novel would gain over a million popularity points.
If it were already published, she wouldn't be this surprised. But she had only just released the novel, not even having signed a contract yet.
The fact that it had achieved such excellent results in less than a day made Kotomi feel both satisfied and happy, giving her even more motivation to continue writing.
Chase the money, earn big!
[That's right! In fact, just now, Sword Art Online has successfully surpassed 1.8 million popularity points! Congratulations, Host~ Converting to Fame Points now...]
[Ding~ Congratulations, Host! You've earned 180,000 Fame Points!]
"Uh..."
Kotomi looked at the Fame Points on her system panel. She had originally thought that 1.8 million popularity points would convert to 1.8 million Fame Points.
If she instantly had 1.8 million Fame Points, she might not max out all her skills, but she could at least unlock new skills and significantly level up her existing ones.
But 1.8 million popularity points had converted into 180,000 Fame Points.
This conversion truly exemplified the phrase "just knock off a zero."
"So that's how the God-Level Heroine System converts Fame Points—by knocking off a zero!"
[Please continue working hard to earn more Fame Points~]
"Tsk... You should've told me this earlier, you greedy system. You might as well rename yourself the 'Petty Heroine System' instead of the 'God-Level Heroine System.'"
[Huh? Did you really see through that?]
"What the heck? I was just joking—don't tell me you're actually the Petty Heroine System?" Kotomi nearly fell off her bed at the system's response.
This system always had something new to surprise her with.
[Hehe, just kidding~ But Host, aren't you kind of petty yourself? You don't even need the system's help; you're naturally a petty heroine. I remember your Steam profile picture in your past life was that of 'The Witch Elaina,' the queen of pettiness.]
"Oh, come on! How did you even find out about my Steam profile picture?!"
[I also copied everything from your old computer's D drive—your galgames, certain... educational films from Japan, and those indescribable anime and manga. Do you want me to transfer them to this laptop now? By the way, Host, you had quite the collection in your D drive. It took me a full five minutes to copy it all.]
"I don't know whether to thank you or say something else... Even though you're a system, knowing that you've seen everything I had stored on my old computer makes me feel strangely embarrassed, like being publicly shamed by my own system." Kotomi said, covering her face in embarrassment.
[So, do you want me to transfer all those goodies from your old D drive to this laptop?]
"Not yet. This laptop doesn't have much storage space. I'll ask you to do it once I get a new computer."
[Understood~]
Kotomi temporarily declined, not because she didn't want to revisit all those goodies from her past life—on the contrary, she was eager to!
The reason she declined was that her current laptop's D drive didn't have much free space.
If she were to transfer all those goodies from her past life, her D drive would probably fill up instantly.
Once she earned some royalties, she was definitely going to buy a new computer!
Kotomi had already decided that she would get a desktop, along with a comfortable keyboard and mouse.
While laptops are convenient, the keyboard on her current laptop was uncomfortable for long-term writing. Every time she finished typing, her fingertips would ache slightly.
As for whether she'd get a mechanical keyboard or a Topre one, or which brand of mouse to buy, Kotomi hadn't decided yet. She planned to think about it once her royalties came in.
But after what the system said, Kotomi couldn't help but wonder—now that she had become a girl, could she still... enjoy herself?
She had already carefully examined her body after the transition.
Her little brother down there was definitely gone.
In its place was...
Pink and tender.
She had completely turned into a girl...
Goodbye, little brother. Perhaps this was the price of reincarnation!
The God-Level Heroine System, as if understanding what Kotomi was thinking, spoke in a comforting tone:
[Host, you know... girls can enjoy themselves too! But I'd suggest you consider getting a girlfriend. You must have read a lot of yuri manga in your past life, right? Wouldn't it be nice to get cozy with a cute girl?]
"That's true…" Kotomi began to agree.
But before she could finish her sentence, the system, with a bit of a mischievous tone, added:
[But judging by your soft and weak appearance, you're definitely going to be the bottom.]
"No way! Even if I do get a girlfriend, I'm definitely going to be the top!" Kotomi retorted, trying to sound confident.
[Really?]
The system's doubt made Kotomi's fair face blush with embarrassment, and her voice grew softer with uncertainty:
"There's at least a 70%... no, an 80% chance that I'll be the top. 80%! Yes! That's definitely the case."
After saying this, Kotomi nodded as if convincing herself it was true.
[Uh-huh...]
The system's unimpressed response carried a heavy dose of skepticism.
"Okay, enough of this topic. I need to figure out how to allocate my Fame Points now." Kotomi quickly changed the subject, pretending not to hear the system's snark, and focused on the system panel.
She currently had 180,000 Fame Points at her disposal.
"Even though 1.8 million popularity points only converted to 180,000 Fame Points, that's still a lot for me right now. I'll start by leveling up my writing skill!"
With a single tap, her writing skill level increased.
[Writing Level: 6 (20,000 Fame Points needed for the next level)]
As soon as her writing skill leveled up to 6, her Fame Points dropped from 180,000 to 165,000.
"Leveling up to 7 will require 20,000 Fame Points. It seems the higher the skill level, the more Fame Points it costs."
Originally, Kotomi thought 180,000 Fame Points would last her a while. But now she realized that 180,000 Fame Points might not be enough…
"It looks like I need to keep creating more content to earn more Fame Points."
Kotomi then proceeded to level up her drawing, kendo, and cooking skills.
[Drawing Level: 4 (10,000 Fame Points needed for the next level)]
[Kendo Level: 3 (5,000 Fame Points needed for the next level)]
[Cooking Level: 3 (6,000 Fame Points needed for the next level)]
"That's strange. Both my Kendo and Cooking skills are at level 3, but why does one require 5,000 Fame Points to level up while the other needs 6,000?"
[Hehe, each skill is unique, so the Fame Points required to level them up will vary.]
"I see." Kotomi nodded.
She had 152,000 Fame Points left.
"Wow, I've already spent 28,000 Fame Points without realizing it. I thought 180,000 Fame Points was a lot, but it seems they get used up really quickly…"
Fame Points were like money—you could never have enough, and they always seemed to disappear faster than expected.
As Kotomi spoke, she looked at the locked skills, still marked with large question marks.
Even the design of the question marks was heavily cyberpunk-inspired.
A simple touch brought up a new interface.
[Unlock a new skill for 100,000 Fame Points]
[After successfully unlocking a new skill, your four current skills will increase to five.]
"So it costs 100,000 Fame Points to unlock the fifth skill. I wonder how many Fame Points the next one will require?"
Curious, Kotomi tapped on the sixth skill's question mark.
Another new interface quickly popped up.
[Please unlock the fifth skill first. After unlocking the previous level, you will be able to see how many Fame Points are required to unlock the sixth skill.]
"This system is clearly designed by veteran gacha game players."
Should she unlock the fifth skill now?
Kotomi pondered this. She currently had 152,000 Fame Points. It seemed like a lot, but unlocking this new skill would instantly cost her 100,000 Fame Points.
After thinking for a moment, Kotomi decided to go for it.
Unlock!
What's the point of earning Fame Points if you don't use them? To level up your skills and further your creative journey, you must spend them.
The higher your skill levels and the more skills you have, the more Fame Points you can earn in the future.
100,000 Fame Points? No big deal!
[Do you want to spend 100,000 Fame Points to unlock a new skill?]
Without hesitation, Kotomi clicked the confirm button.
Her 152,000 Fame Points instantly dropped to 52,000.
Although she had been quick to pay up, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret seeing 100,000 Fame Points disappear. Even though she knew she could earn them back, possibly even more, there was still that brief moment of heartache.
It was like going on a shopping spree during a big sale—watching your bank balance drop afterward always hurt, even if you knew you got good deals.
[100,000 Fame Points successfully spent]
[Congratulations, Host, for unlocking a new skill!]
With the God-Level Heroine System's announcement, the large question mark on the fifth skill shattered into fragments.
[Unlock successful.]
Accompanied by a soft blue-pink glow, the new skill interface appeared before Kotomi.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone