Back in the room, Tokai Teio's mood had improved, but it was still in the [Poor mood] state. Sitting on the sofa, her eyes were fixed on Cafe, as if she were very dissatisfied, but that was just the character's normal idle stance. When there was no task, their eyes would stare straight ahead.
This time, Luo Cheng didn't have to drag them back or use training as an excuse to get them in. He just had to say something casually, and the two would obediently comply.
They were getting smarter. Before, ordinary conversations didn't get a response. They only acted when he gave them a direct command. Now, they could automatically distinguish what Luo Cheng meant, which indicated they could understand what he was saying. Maybe as more plotlines were unlocked, their intelligence would grow.
Luo Cheng wasn't praying for them to be like real people. He just wished that when he said something, they would at least say "mm" or "oh" so he would know he wasn't just talking to himself in the air.
He cleaned the fish and put them on the stove to cook. His cooking skills were not great, just barely enough for home-cooked meals. He set some aside for Tachyon and Sky, and the rest for them.
When Luo Cheng finished cooking, he saw that the fish's information had changed from [Seiun Sky's fish] to [Cooked fish]. The stamina increase changed from three to fifteen, and the mood also increased to four. Luo Cheng was a little surprised. So, the raw fish had a different effect?
Items brought back from the outside world could change through subsequent processing. However, the sample size was too small. He needed to try a few more things. If it were true, the training's margin for error would be greatly improved. When they ran out of stamina, they could eat something and be back to full health.
After placing the cooked fish on the table, Luo Cheng brought the two girls to the dining table. After Luo Cheng started eating, they followed suit. The stamina bar above their heads slowly increased. This food could really restore their stamina! The food in the cafeteria didn't have this effect. After eating, their stamina remained the same; only sleep could help them recover.
Tokai Teio's mood also increased with the food she ate, eventually becoming [Excellent]. This speed of improvement was comparable to... other things. Usually, he would have to rub her ears until Teio's face turned red, or play with her to get her body "full." Only these two methods could quickly boost her affection.
However, there was a problem: if Teio was too "full," it would affect her training. She would often turn red while running, and water stains would flash on the ground where she ran. Her stamina bar would also deplete faster than usual. He didn't know what she did with her extra energy.
Back to the present, Luo Cheng looked at Teio and Cafe in front of him. It wasn't so bad watching pretty girls eat. Unlike the noisy cafeteria, the home had a unique charm. If he could, Luo Cheng would order them to treat this place as their home, but unfortunately, they couldn't process such a command.
By the way, could he recover stamina from eating this stuff? Luo Cheng couldn't see his own stats, and there was no UI even when he looked in the mirror. He didn't know if he would also be affected by the items. He didn't feel anything special when he ate the fish. Maybe these things were only useful for horse girls? After all, this game was for training horse girls, not trainers.
Without items, Luo Cheng could only rely on himself to stay strong. He also exercised when the horse girls trained. To keep himself robust and full of energy during the day, Luo Cheng couldn't put all his hope on his body being refreshed every night.
Luo Cheng set a goal for himself: one day, he would max out the affection of all over two thousand students in the academy. If his life didn't change after he completed the game, then maxing out their affection and triggering the unknown upcoming events would be the only purpose of his life. At least he wouldn't starve here; he would just be trapped in this academy of a few thousand acres for the rest of his life.
After the two finished eating, Luo Cheng put them on his lap to play with them. Just as Luo Cheng was enjoying himself stroking their ears, Tokai Teio suddenly reached out her hand.
"Huh? Teio..."
Before Luo Cheng could speak, Cafe also leaned her head over. The two of them were staring intently, as if they were drawn to something.
"What are you two..."
"Trainer..."
"What is... today's training task..."
Luo Cheng's words were interrupted by the two. Then, his belt was unbuckled.
...How should he put it? Luo Cheng realized he still knew too little about the horse girls in the game world. He was just stroking their ears, but it was like it triggered a switch.
Half an hour later, Luo Cheng lay on the sofa with a mind as clear as day. He was thinking about the universe, the origin of life, the transmission of energy, the structure of protein, the function of digestive enzymes, the production and secretion of saliva, and why the human mouth's temperature was higher than the rest of the body. Luo Cheng's mind was filled with philosophical questions.
Finally, his thoughts returned to the system. Something was different. After the event, Teio and the others' behavior had changed noticeably. Before, Luo Cheng had to give commands, like "move your tongue," "spread your legs," or "do squats," and so on. But now, Luo Cheng didn't need to. The horse girls would do these things on their own.
Luo Cheng recalled Teio's and Cafe's faces so close to him. He had never imagined it would be these two together. For once, Luo Cheng felt both Teio's mischief and Cafe's softness at the same time. The two feelings intertwined, creating an effect that Luo Cheng found difficult to describe. A few more times and his brain would melt.
He watched the two girls curled up on the sofa, lazily wagging their tails and smacking their lips, and he struggled to sit up. It seemed that advancing the plot was the right choice. It wasn't about unlocking more poses and gameplay, but rather that the horse girls' behavior would change to be more like real people.
And for some reason, after Luo Cheng was "divided" between the two, Teio's mood no longer dropped when she was near Cafe. Could this little filly have accepted a two-person team?
This was a good thing. It would prevent Teio's mood from dropping every time she saw Cafe. The lower her mood, the lower her growth stats would be. Not only that, but her chances of getting injured would also increase.
Once, when Luo Cheng was bored, he watched other trainers train. He noticed that the horse girls with a bad mood were more likely to get sprains and bruises after a run. Their feet were wrapped in bandages. Apparently, even in the game world, they could still get hurt and needed bandaging and treatment.
Sleep could replenish stamina but couldn't cure injuries, which was different from Luo Cheng. Even if he was injured or sick, he would be healed after a night's sleep. Luo Cheng's body was completely reset.
But the horse girls' illnesses were the same as in the real world; they required a long recovery period and treatment from the nurse's office. By the way, the nurse was very young, probably only two or three years older than Luo Cheng. She was very beautiful with short dark blue hair, matching eyes, a delicate upturned nose, and thin lips that smelled faintly of cherry blossoms. Unlike the horse girls, she had no stats, no speed, power, etc. All humans in Tracen Academy were like this.
But they did have an affection stat. The nurse's affection level was now in the thirties. Every time Luo Cheng went to the nurse's office to rest, her affection would increase. What a strange character setting. Luo Cheng didn't do anything, yet the person's affection went up on its own.
After resting in the room for a while, Luo Cheng packed the remaining fish. He was going to bring them to Agness Tachyon and the others. As he walked out of the dorm, he saw a green figure standing outside. The beautiful, ageless face of Junakawa Tazuna showed a faint smile. She bowed to Luo Cheng.
"Good afternoon, Trainer Luo Cheng."
"H-hello?" Luo Cheng blinked. He wasn't mistaken, was he? Junakawa Tazuna had actually greeted him first and even said his name.