Lewd Skill Stealing System-Chapter 4: First stat point!

Karl gave a little bow, gesturing for Lara to lead the way.

[Oh! A gentleman, eh? Since when?]

Shut up, System. Let me cook.

Lara giggled, clearly pleased. "That's so nice of you." She took the lead, and Karl followed, making sure to keep up without looking like he had no idea where he was going. Because, well, he had no idea where he was going.

As they walked, Karl decided to start gathering information. Alright, let's see what kind of home life she has. Gotta play this carefully.

"So, how are things at home, Lara?"

She let out a small sigh but smiled. "Well, Mom is still bedridden as usual. My younger brother's always with your little sister, so at least I don't have to worry about him too much."

Karl blinked. "Oh yeah, my sis goes crazy every time she wakes me up—"

[Understatement of the year.]

"—like seriously, it's a full-on warzone every morning!" he cried out, rubbing his temples at the memory of the relentless door-banging.

Lara covered her mouth as she laughed. "Hahaha! My brother actually told me how she bangs the door like the world is about to end."

Karl groaned. "I swear, one day, I'm gonna wake up and see an axe embedded in the door. And it won't even be a monster attack—it'll just be her."

Lara laughed even harder. "Oh no! You better start waking up early if you don't want to be the first casualty!"

Karl looked away, feeling his pride take yet another hit. "I hate how that actually sounds like a real threat."

[Because it is.]

Karl gritted his teeth but kept his cool. I'll let it slide. For now.

After a few moments of walking, he decided to push things a little further.

"So, are you free this evening?"

Lara paused for a second, her steps slowing just slightly. A hint of pink dusted her cheeks.

"Well... yeah. Is there something you wanted help with?" she asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Karl's smirk grew. Oh? A slight blush? That's promising.

"The thing is," he said smoothly, "I missed you for quite a while too. And I wished we could spend more time together."

Lara's blush deepened just a bit, and Karl knew. Oh, she's already fallen for me, hasn't she?

This wasn't even going to be hard. She liked him before he even entered this body. He just needed to take advantage of the situation.

Lara paused, hesitating for a second before mumbling, "Well... pick me up in the evening."

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Her voice was soft, almost unsure, but the way her face turned a deeper shade of red betrayed her excitement. Without waiting for Karl's response, she suddenly picked up her pace, walking faster down the street, her hands subtly covering her face like a girl in the middle of a fairytale romance.

Karl raised a brow. Damn, she's really lost in her own world, huh?

The silence stretched between them. Lara was clearly in her own head, daydreaming about whatever nonsense girls like her thought about, while Karl... well, Karl was starting to feel a bit awkward.

What the hell am I supposed to say now? "Nice weather today"? "How's the bakery business treating you?" Damn, I should've planned more dialogue options.

It was like watching two completely different people walk together—one, a blushing maiden fantasizing about romance, and the other, a scheming lunatic trying to figure out how to commit stat theft.

Karl clicked his tongue and decided to consult his ever-so-helpful System.

Hey, System, do I actually need to do something... you know, sexual to steal stats?

[No, you just need constant touch. However...]

Karl let out a relieved breath. Good, that makes things—

[...it's much quicker if it's something like that.]

Karl nearly tripped. The hell kind of logic is that?!

[Simple biology, genius. Higher emotional stimulation accelerates the process. But hey, a horn dog like you definitely wants the fast route, don't you?]

Karl's eye twitched. Shut up.

[Just calling it how I see it.]

Karl cursed the System in his mind. This thing really has no respect for its user.

Shaking off his irritation, he got back to the main issue. Alright, fine. How long would it take for me to steal just one measly stat point from her with my current level of trust?

The System responded instantly.

[Well, let's see... The quickest stat to steal would be Agility, which would take approximately 10 seconds of constant touch.]

Karl blinked. 10 seconds? That's it?

A slow smirk stretched across his face. Well, that's easy.

His eyes flicked to Lara, who was still walking ahead of him, lost in whatever fantasy land she had built in her head. Completely defenseless. Perfect.

Karl suddenly stopped in his tracks, grabbing Lara's arms and spinning her around to face him. Her eyes widened in surprise, but Karl had already tuned everything out.

"Steal now."

[Steal initiated.]

A countdown silently began in his mind, and Karl locked eyes with Lara, his expression serious—no, romantic. This was acting at its finest.

"Lara... I've been meaning to tell you this for a while now..." he said, his voice soft, deep, and full of manufactured emotion.

Lara's breath hitched slightly. "Y-Yes?"

Karl paused.

[6... 7...]

"But..." He hesitated again, dragging out the moment.

[8...]

"These beautiful eyes of yours..." he whispered, lifting a hand as if to brush her cheek, but stopping just short. "They always... distract me."

[9...]

Lara's face was now burning red, her hands trembling slightly in his grasp.

[10... 1 stat point stolen.]

A rush of satisfaction spread through Karl's chest. He had done it. Victory.

A slow, smug smile crept onto his face, though he quickly masked it with a more romantic expression.

"You know what?" he sighed dramatically. "I'll tell you the rest in the evening. My beautiful Lara has a lot of work to do, doesn't she?"

Lara made a noise somewhere between a squeak and a breathless giggle before quickly spinning around.

"The bakery is here," she blurted out, her voice shaking slightly. "I-I'll leave now."

Karl loosened his grip, and the moment he did, Lara rushed towards the bakery entrance like a girl escaping from a whirlwind of emotions she wasn't ready to deal with.

Karl watched her disappear inside, his smirk returning.

"And that, dear System, is how you finesse stats like a professional."

[Oh, for f*'s sake, you actually pulled it off.]