**Bio-Shock**—an FPS-style adventure RPG set in an underground city. 

This game offered an RPG shooter experience with the use of guns and superpowers, a sophisticated storyline set in a retro-futuristic world, and high-level graphics for its time, creating a unique underground city setting.

By providing all of these to players in high quality, it was a masterpiece that proved that games were truly worthy of being the king of comprehensive entertainment.

Worldwide, the series had sold over 30 million copies, but in Japan, it was only known to “those who loved games.” Certainly, less than 0.1% of Shibuya’s high school girls would have known about it.

“Ah, Bio-Shock… I see.”

“Yep, I just finished playing all three games in the series recently.”

“It’s a good game… the use of dialogue in the storyline was superb.”

“Yep, the storyline was great, but I also really liked the eerie, yet somehow mysterious and retro atmosphere of the underwater city. The game mechanics also had a lot of skill customization, and there was a lot of room for strategic options in battle…”

Asahi-san spoke rapidly, like an otaku, with a thorough understanding of the game.

It didn’t seem like she was just naming a random title to trick me. 

++Could it be that she genuinely wnats to talk about games with me?++

Indeed, games had surpassed subculture and become part of the mainstream. 

Game streamers were as popular as idols, and TV shows featuring celebrities playing games were common. 

It wasn’t strange that a popular person like Asahi-san would be a gamer. 

“Now, here’s the main point… Kageyama-kun, you have a lot of games, right?”

“Well… I have most of the major current-gen consoles.”

“Then…did you have a high-spec gaming PC too?”

“Of course…”

“Really!? What is your graphics card!? What graphics card do you have!?”

“G-GPU!?”

I was surprised to be asked in the most exciting way yet.

GPU, that is, the graphics card.

It is one of the most important components for running games on a PC.

++Does this girl know what it is? It isn’t a new menu item at Starbucks, you know?++

“Yes, a graphics card! Or should I say GPU more precisely?”

She understood… 

++Then, listen and tremble in fear.++

“It is a 4070…”

“4070!? Wow!! That’s amazing!!”

She wore a blissful expression, like a typical high school girl looking at an Instagram-worthy pancake. 

It meant that a high school girl who gets excited about GPU models actually existed.

“Does that mean you could run the latest big games at the highest settings with ray tracing on smoothly?”

“Well… I saved up my allowance and part-time job earnings to buy it.”

“That’s so cool… I was so jealous…”

Her reaction made it clear she was genuinely envious, not joking or anything.

After saving up my allowance, part-time job money, and overcoming the bad period of high mining demand, I finally got my hands on a high-spec gaming PC that could last five years. 

And Asahi-san, of all people outside my small circle of gaming buddies, recognized its true value.

Just when I started to doubt this surreal experience, she hit me with another surprise.

“So…can I come over and play? Like, this weekend?”

“Come over… to my place?”

“Yes! To Kageyama’s place! Please?”

She looked at me with her innocent eyes, like a dog that wanted to play fetch.

“Well, but…”

“Please! As a classmate?”

Her sparkling eyes were definitely a light-attribute attack, a weakness for me, a gloomy guy.

However, I couldn’t easily agree to this.

“But I live alone…”

You see, I was a high school student living alone, like the protagonist of a gal game.

Bringing a girl into my house would have a very unhealthy connotation.

And not just any girl, but a girl who was extremely popular both inside and outside of school and stood at the top of the school caste.

If anyone were to find out, it could have turned into a major incident involving the school.

“Really!? You live alone?”

“Yeah, so—”

“Then that means I can stay a little late, right!?”

++That’s how she was going to take it…?++

I trembled at her overly aggressive interpretation. 

A high school boy living alone who never planned on bringing a girl over.

Naturally, my room was naturally messy, and there were items that compromised my dignity.

As I was thinking about how to refuse or at least postpone it—

“Ah, right… this is…”

She clapped her hands as if she had an idea.

“Excuse me, but may I come over this weekend?”

She said with a mischievous smile.

“That’s the one line I couldn’t refuse…”

As a gamer, she had the upper hand, so I had no choice but to wave the white flag.

!next

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