Transmigrated into Eroge as the Simp, but I Refuse This Fate - Chapter 175

Chapter 175: Shop
Damien stepped into the courtyard, the crisp morning air brushing against his skin like a quiet warning. The Elford sedan awaited, its sleek black frame gleaming under the pale sun. But he didn’t move toward it—not yet.

Instead, he paused.

And with a single thought—

Ding.

The system shimmered to life before his eyes.

————————————-

[STATUS] [Synchronization: Complete]

▶ Name: Damien Elford

▶ Age: 17

▶ Level: 5

▶ SP: 2745

Traits:

[Reforged One] [Does Not Bend] [Singularity] [Sociopath] [Anarchist]

Passive Skills:

[Merchant’s Intuition]

[Physique of Nature]

[Neural Synchronicity]

————————————-

[Attributes]

▶ Strength: 9

▶ Agility: 9

▶ Endurance: 9

▶ Will: ??

▶ Intelligence: ??

▶ Charm: 8.5

▶ Luck: 9

————————————-

His eyes scanned the data, not with surprise, but with an assessing stillness.

“So. It’s caught up,” he murmured.

He could feel it, too. The subtle compression of muscle under skin. The lack of fatigue despite the hours he’d trained—or indulged—the night before. [Physique of Nature] was evolving. He didn’t need the system to tell him that. He felt it in every step, every breath, every tightening of sinew.

But it was the number next to SP that caught his attention most.

2745.

That wasn’t idle currency. That was leverage. Power waiting to be claimed.

And now—

Now the feature that had been locked from the start was his to use.

He turned his thoughts inward again.

‘System. Open the shop.’

A brief pause.

Then—

The interface expanded before Damien’s eyes, flickering softly with an opalescent sheen. The air in the backseat of the sedan seemed to hold its breath as the menu unfurled—line by line, category by category.

A new door had opened.

But not all doors led to treasure.

Some led to walls.

The interface adjusted—no longer a clean menu, but a living thing.

It pulsed.

It judged.

And then it spoke.

—————-

[SHOP FUNCTION UNLOCKED]

Access Level: 1 – Initiate Tier

System Calibration: Complete

Welcome, Damien Elford.

You’ve clawed your way past your script. Let’s see what you do with a little choice.

————————————-

Available Categories (Restricted):

Traits – LOCKED (Requires Awakening)

• Passive Skills – AVAILABLE

• Combat Arts – AVAILABLE

• Cultivation Techniques – LOCKED (Requires Formation of Mana Core)

• Weapons – LOCKED (Requires Class Assignment)

• Relics & Gear – LOCKED (Requires Faction Authority or Awakening)

• ??? – LOCKED (Requires Destiny Entanglement ≥ 2 Threads)

• Utility Items – AVAILABLE

• Mystery Box: System’s Whim – AVAILABLE

————————————-

[Note:] You are not yet Awakened. The world still sees you as mortal. The shop agrees… for now.

But you? You already rewrote your soul’s profile. So let’s give you a few tools that don’t need mana to hurt someone.

————————————-

Damien smirked. His fingers hovered over the only available lights.

He tapped [Passive Skills].

The screen responded with a knowing flicker.

—

[PASSIVE SKILLS – UNLOCKED]

Scoundrel’s Selection. Mind and flesh. Control and impulse. No spark required.

▶ [Pain Conditioning] – 500 SP

Injury and stress no longer induce panic. Blows that would stagger others only make you sharper.

→ Increases resistance to pain-based interference.

→ Temporary stat boost after receiving physical damage.

▶ [Sleep Like the Dead] – 400 SP

Your body optimizes sleep cycles.

→ Reduces fatigue rate.

→ Accelerates natural healing during rest.

→ Increases dream clarity. (???)

▶ [Vice Suppression] – 650 SP

Resist urges that once ruled you. Substance cravings, gluttony, lust, sloth—dulled to background noise.

→ Emotion/motivation loop stabilized.

→ Pairs with trait: [Does Not Bend].

▶ [Tactile Perception] – 600 SP

Every touch maps intention. Anticipate muscle tension, movement patterns, and spatial pressure.

→ Increases accuracy in close combat.

→ Weak points become more apparent.

▶ [Predatory Focus] – 800 SP

Single target. Tunnel vision. Kill switch.

→ Boosts combat efficiency against one enemy.

→ Reduces environmental distraction.

Locked Skills:

• [Mana Adaptation] – Requires Mana Sensitivity

• [Elemental Reflux] – Requires Core Stability

—

Damien’s eyes gleamed.

These weren’t power boosts.

They were weapons. Internal ones. Quiet. Ruthless.

“Now we’re talking.”

He moved next to [Combat Arts].

[COMBAT ARTS – INITIATE TIER]

For fists, knives, and bastards with nothing left to lose.

▶ [Broken Fang] – 1500 SP

A chaotic, close-range art built on feints, sharp pivots, and deliberate openings. You fight like a starving animal—and it works.

→ High synergy with [Sociopath], [Singularity].

→ Counters disciplined styles.

▶ [Vault Fang – Mobility Variant] – 1000 SP

Improvised acrobatics, parkour movement, unorthodox entries into close combat.

→ Boosts movement during aggressive advances.

→ Pairs well with body reconfiguration.

▶ [Random Combat Art] – 750 SP

—

He almost laughed.

“All of this—handcrafted for a lunatic.”

The last tab—[Utility Items]—called to him with a soft, rotating glow. When he opened it, the system greeted him like a vendor with a crooked grin.

——-

[UTILITY ITEMS – AVAILABLE]

▶ [Evolve Passive] – 1200 SP

Choose one eligible passive skill. Upgrade its function.

→ Side effects may occur.

→ Available upgrades: [Physique of Nature], [Neural Synchronicity]

▶ [Attribute Injection– 750 SP

Grants +1 attribute points.

→ Can be stacked.

→ Costs increase per use.

▶ [Lucky Bastard’s lottery ticket- Tier I] – 1000 SP

Roll the dice. Could be trash. Could be treasure.

→ Results will favor current traits.

▶ [Mental Cleansing Pill] – 300 SP

Reduces mental clutter, clears internal feedback loops, calms intrusive thoughts.

→ Ideal for preparation, sleep, or resisting illusions.

——–

Damien leaned back.

This was it.

Damien leaned back, the soft hum of the sedan a distant echo against the roar of possibility opening up before him.

His gaze lingered on the combat arts menu.

[Broken Fang] – 1500 SP

[Vault Fang – Mobility Variant] – 1000 SP

[Random Combat Art] – 750 SP

No glowing runes. No mana prerequisites. No talk of core resonance or internal qi flow.

Just form. Movement. Instinct.

They weren’t flashy. Not the kind of techniques that left trails of light or sent enemies flying in a blaze of elemental fury. No, these were something more… raw. Stripped-down. Real.

“These are… basic,” he murmured, eyes narrowing.

Not in a derogatory way.

But in the way a blade is basic.

Or a wolf’s teeth.

No mana meant no dependency. No fragile compatibility. No gates barring his path until some Awakening rite unlocked the rest of his “potential.”

These were foundations. Unenchanted, yes.

But not unimprovable.

His fingers hovered over [Broken Fang], tracing the description again in silence.

It was like a blank canvas—vicious, unrefined, but open.

And something stirred in his mind.

‘System,’ he thought, sharp and silent, ‘These techniques… they’re simple now. But if I master them, if I integrate them with whatever I gain later—mana, energy, traits—can they evolve?’

A pause.

And then the system’s response, crisp and absolute:

[Affirmative.]

[These Combat Arts are adaptive constructs.]

[While their base form is non-mana, the host’s unique mastery can evolve their structure.]

[The stronger your body, mind, and synchronization, the more fluid the art becomes.]

[Mana can be layered onto these techniques once the host awakens. In skilled hands, a base-tier Combat Art can rival or even surpass Advanced-class styles.]

Damien’s lips curled upward.

“Of course they can.”

Because that was the real game.

Where others obsessed over flashy, prepackaged power, he’d take the overlooked, the discarded, the ugly—and make them lethal.

“I don’t want techniques that think for me,” he muttered. “I want tools that’ll bleed into who I am. That’ll change when I do.”

The idea thrilled him.

He let the thought settle, a quiet hum behind his eyes as the menu continued to glow.

Damien tilted his head, still staring at [Broken Fang], but now with a kind of distant certainty—like someone gazing at an empty field and seeing a battlefield already soaked in blood.

He’d been training.

No, fighting—every day, with Elysia.

Each sparring session carved something into him—efficiency, pressure, reflex. She didn’t go easy. Not even once. Her blows landed with the casual cruelty of someone who didn’t believe he’d last.

And yet he had.

He’d adapted. Matched her movements. Stolen the rhythm from her footwork. Absorbed the shape of her kill-spaced openings.

Elysia never praised him for it. But she no longer looked at him like a joke.

That was more than enough.

So when he looked at [Broken Fang], it wasn’t with inexperience. It was with familiarity. His foundation was already there—Elysia had made sure of that. He just hadn’t given it a name.

Until now.

But his eyes slid away from the Combat Arts tab, drifting instead toward the next set glowing on the edge of his vision.

[Passive Skills]

He flicked back to it with a mental twitch, and two entries held his gaze like anchors.

▶ [Predatory Focus] – 800 SP

Single target. Tunnel vision. Kill switch.

→ Boosts combat efficiency against one enemy.

→ Reduces environmental distraction.

▶ [Tactile Perception] – 600 SP

Every touch maps intention. Anticipate muscle tension, movement patterns, and spatial pressure.

→ Increases accuracy in close combat.

→ Weak points become more apparent.

He didn’t even need to ask.

The synergy was obvious.