Some might say he had chosen poorly. Ruby Tojo was a witch from <i>Rosario + Vampire</i> who started out hating humans. This only changed when she wound up falling for a human being. Still. Given the choices available this seemed like the most tactically useful option to him.
So, he selected her name and found himself instantly transported to another clubroom, which positively screamed occult at the top of its lungs. No wonder Haruhi thought this girl was a little strange! No doubt she would say something about “using reverse psychology to trick us into thinking she was <i>too</i> obvious” or something like that. “Hiding in plain sight.” Yes, that somehow seemed to be the reasoning she would use.
There were cobwebs up in the corner, skulls on every piece of furniture in the room (yes, including the chairs) a rather gothic candle sitting on the table in the middle, black curtains drawn, some sort of cauldron in the corner filled with a green bubbling liquid…
“Untrusting Witch Ruby: Can I help you with something?”
Ah, here she was! The animation of the room itself changed in absolutely no way, but Ruby herself sort of appeared directly in front of him. Faded into existence, if you like. Ruby was, of course, a rather pretty girl that veered rather sharply into a sort of secondary witch stereotype, in a way. Her long black hair was tied off on either side of her head, left and right. Not exactly like a ponytail. The effect was more like a half braid which gave her an extremely unique look. You certainly couldn’t mistake her for anyone else even if you wanted to.
Ruby’s eyes narrowed at him. Wonderful sign, if the dialogue hadn’t already emphasised that in its description of her.
“Irritated Witch Ruby: Oh, just another human come to visit the Flower Arrangement Club.”
Kyon had to take a moment. Flower arrangement? In what way did this room - No, no, best to drop the issue, the answer couldn’t possibly make him feel any better. Ruby’s pose shifted once again, turning up her nose at him and while she was at it turning her back completely.
“Annoyed Witch Ruby: I suggest you leave before you contaminate this safe haven! Begone!”
Suddenly, the world turned black and white. Huh? Strange. He had been expecting some options to appear. How was he supposed to set about seducing her when she wouldn’t even speak to him in the first place? And what was that infernal ringing noise? Come to think of it… When did that cellphone appear in the upper right corner of his vision?
Of course. How wonderfully foolish of him. By whatever means he was employing to interact with objects and options, Kyon “selected” the phone icon, and to his eternal annoyance -
“Advice Giver Koizumi: Hello, Kyon! Ah, it appears that I forgot to mention a few important details, but this is perhaps the very best opportunity to mention them. Now, you’ve obviously mastered using options to select your dialogue.”
The words yes and no appeared in front of him. With a heavy sigh and a roll of his eyes, Kyon selected no.
“Sarcastic Advice Giver Koizumi: I see, I see! A joke to lighten the mood. How very like you, Kyon! Ah, but back to my point.”
It was one of those quirks of evolution, Kyon had to suppose, that something flashing drew the attention of the human eye. Perhaps because in some prehistoric time it might indicate to humanity’s ancestors that there was something moving among the leaves, either predator or prey. Whatever the case might be, it mattered little: There was an arrow flashing at the top portion of his vision, indicating a few small items that hadn’t been there before.
“Advice Giver Koizumi: Sometimes the best option is not what you say, but what you do. The backpack item will open your inventory, and you may either check or give an item to whomever you are talking to. Don’t worry too much if they don’t want it, they won’t typically take it. Most of the time. Try clicking on it now.”
He did so, a trifle annoyed that he was still apparently in tutorial mode. Honestly, that was the biggest problem with games in the modern era. Most games built their tutorials into the games design by presenting problems that the player had to figure out on their own using contextual clues. But alas, the modern culture of “now, now, now” and short attention spans made it necessary…
The bag expanded, and was it strange to be depressed over how little he had in his possession? It amounted to a pen. A single pen. Well. The pen may be mightier than the sword, but it seemed doubtful that it would be tremendously useful in this situation. He tapped the X icon, because there’s always an X icon with touchscreen games like this.
“Advice Giver Koizumi: Meanwhile, the magnifying glass will allow you to examine the room in greater detail. You might even find an item you can interact with, or add to your inventory. In the case of the former, the magnifying glass will transform into a hand. In the case of the latter, it will transform into a bag.”
Which gave the game more of an opportunity to interact with the environment, broadening the puzzle element considerably. What was more, it seemed as though he could actually touch the items he was interacting with: He could actually feel the chair in his hands when he moved it, even though the image in front of him didn’t change at all. He could feel its weight, feel the weight of the skull shift when he pushed it out and pulled it back. Interesting.
“Advice Giver Koizumi: And finally, the public information database. This will enable you to access publicly available data about anyone you interact with. Give it a try! Tap the filing cabinet.”
Well, the tutorial wouldn’t end if he didn’t. There wasn’t really much to this screen at the moment. Data on the student body: Their name, their class number, the club(s) they belonged to. Basic data that anyone could access. Ah. And there was Ruby. Transferred in yesterday, it seems.
“Advice Giver Koizumi: Alright, I think that’s everything. Good luck with Ruby! But I think you’ll find her a softer touch than you might expect.”
The world returned to its normal colour, and Kyon found himself with a set of three options… But that wasn’t all he could do, now was it? Other options were available to him, in a sense. He could also check the room more thoroughly to see if there was anything else he could take or interact with, or he could try talking to the other members of the Flower Arrangement Club before seducing her… It wouldn’t be difficult to track them down.
So. What should he do next?
- I like you! Go out with me!
- Yeah, humans really suck. I am also a monster in disguise.
- Flower arranging? Then why the room?
- Check the room.
- Find other club members.
- Something else
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