By the book

Matilda’s eyebrows had flown up so high they were threatening to merge with her hairline. “Fertility. Toggle... John, I’m going to need you to explain that one, slowly, before we get on to whatever gift your weird system has given me, okay? Also, is there any way other people can see your windows and things? Because, while I like you a lot, I’m not entirely comfortable just trusting your word that you can toggle…” she trailed off, her cheeks tinting the same shade of red as John’s as his mouth hung open at what she seemed to be implying.

“It… Err… Umm…” John’s brain short-circuited, rational thought and words failing him before he finally managed to stammer out, “It… was a bonus reward for, umm... so I had a Quest chain about getting with someone, and it let me achieve the different steps with different people, and when I did… stuff, with Rebecca, I got it as a bonus reward for doing things with more than one person. It’s just… a toggle. For my fertility. There isn’t really much more to it than that, but…”

Matilda’s raised hand cut him off. “So, these Quests, they usually come from the goddess, right? Gaia, you said?” When John nodded, the brunette lowered her hand and continued, “And… she gave you a Quest to get freaky with someone. Then that quest gave you extra rewards if you, what, dabbled with more than one person? Two… no, three… no, okay yea, kinda three questions. Firstly, for my own peace of mind - you didn’t just ask me out to complete your Quest, did you?”

John’s hands shot across the counter-top, catching hers as he shook his head fervently. “No, Matilda. Seriously. I was so happy when I saw you were interested in me on my Observe… and I was over the moon when you agreed to go out on Friday. Yes, doing stuff with you has helped me complete the Quest - but that’s a bonus, not the reason!” Catching his breath, he paused, then asked, “What were your other questions?”

“Thanks for that, John… As to the other questions, if Gaia is giving you Quests that encourage you playing with more people than just me… Do you think she’s trying to push you into a harem? I mean, I know that sounds like the kind of thing that’d be in one of the stories you write, but we should probably talk about it if that’s the way this relationship is headed. And finally, before we look at my reward, what rewards did you get from that Quest for all the things you did so far with me?”

Twenty minutes later, the pair were sitting on a rattan sofa on Matilda’s back porch, munching on cookies and looking out over her garden. “So, it gives people different flavours?” Matilda mused, turning a white chocolate and raspberry cookie over in her hand before biting into it.

“I think so?” John stared at the chocolate orange one he’d pulled out. “Last few times I used it, I got oat and raisin, which is my favourite, but today I fancied a change and it gave me this. Maybe it responds to what people feel like having?”

Matilda shrugged. “White chocolate and raspberry is my favourite, and these are pretty good. Not as good as I make them, but still pretty good. Wait…” She stared down at the cookie apprehensively. “Am I going to get smitten for saying I bake better than a goddess?”

John grinned, then relayed Gaia’s message to his girlfriend before setting the cookie jar back in his inventory and pulling out the item he’d been dying to look at since the Quest had completed earlier. “So… this is what I got given for you,” he said, holding it out for Matilda to take.

The item itself was wrapped in glittering paper, tied with a bow. It looked like a gift. John had avoided using Observe; he didn’t know why, but he felt Matilda should at least open her reward before he started sticking his nose in. The brunette took the offered package gingerly, as if she half expected it to explode, then carefully worked a nail into the wrapping and tore it open.

“It’s… a book?” Matilda said, a frown on her face. “I was expecting… I don’t know what I was expecting. But a book wasn’t it. It’s… the writing looks weird, I can’t make out the title. No, wait, now I can?”

Frowning, John cast Observe. The fact that Matilda had gone from not being able to read the title to being able to read it in seconds struck him as odd enough to deserve immediate investigation.

John paused, watching Matilda flick through the book, her lips moving as she mumbled under her breath before closing it with a snap. “There’s some interesting recipes in here, but the rest of it looks like a bunch of gardening advice and some random poems and stuff. I don’t… John, why are you staring, and why do you look so concerned?”

Once he’d explained the pop-up, Matilda returned to the book, flicking through it more carefully now. “That all makes sense. Like, this page is a recipe for biscuits, shortbread looking at the ingredients, but then this page here is about talking to plants to make them grow?” She paused, then glanced up at John. “Gaia said to re-observe me, right? You should probably do that.”

Before he cast the spell, John wanted to make sure she knew exactly what it would entail. “Matilda, I’m happy to do that, but you should know that after it levelled up, Observe shows me, umm… some intimate details. At least, if I’m close enough to someone or my level is high enough. I’m pretty sure we’re close enough now that it’ll show me how, erm… experienced you are. Is that okay?”

The brunette blushed furiously, before taking a deep breath and nodding. “As long as you promise not to be weird about anything you see, yea. We need to know whatever Gaia wanted you to see, right?” Before either of them could second guess it, John took her hand and Observed her.

Frowning and doing his best not to think about the experience or information sections too much, John read out the class details. “You know, it would be really useful if I could just invite you to a party so that you could see this for yourself. If this was a real RPG…” He paused, blinking, as a pop-up obscured his vision.

Hitting yes before he could second guess himself, he frowned. Nothing had happened… “John, what’s that floating in front of you?” Matilda’s voice cut across his confusion, and he realised with a start that she could see the Observe window he still had open.

It took them a little experimentation, but they eventually figured out the party system. It looked pretty minimal - John got an extra tab in his Status with party health bars, Matilda and thus theoretically any future party members could see any windows he had open, but that appeared to be it. While John would have liked to see the exact Stats for his girlfriend, just being able to see her health was incredible given they’d already been in one conflict.

Leaning back on the sofa, Matilda sighed. “So that’s your system huh? It’s… less complex than I thought. Even if it was rather significantly less than flattering to see it just laying out that I want to… y’kno, with you.”

John smiled, wrapping his arm around her as she leaned into him. “Yea. It only gets complex when I get Quests - and even then, it’s mostly me figuring out how I’m going to achieve their goals rather than anything in the menus. And I’m sorry about the whole…” He gestured vaguely, doing his best to cover all the sex-related information he’d gained on her.

Wriggling further into his embrace, Matilda turned, one hand tracing up his chest. “Well, now I’ve seen it all, I’m really glad you weren’t bullshitting me about the fertility toggle thing. And, umm, I know today’s been a lot, but… you know that non-consummated thing? Before I nerd out studying my textbook… what do you say we deal with that? The window wasn’t lying about me wanting you, you know?”