Chapter 3: Inside The Orb

MC POV:

After opening my eyes, I was in a white circular room with five distinctive doors. All the doors had a unique symbol engraved on them. Despite never witnessing them before, I understood what each one meant. They represented the five functions listed by the voice in my head.

Not long after, my attention got piqued by the person standing around 2 meters away from me. It was a little girl, about 120 cm tall, with an expressionless face and a pair of stunning light sapphire blue eyes. Her white hair was slightly curled, reached the lower part of her back, and had some pink undertones. Her clothes consisted of a light-blue knee-length folded dress, white socks that disappeared under the dress, and blue Mary Jane shoes.

Rather than by her cuteness, my interest piqued certain unusual features of hers. She had a pair of fluffy cat-like ears and a long cat-like tail swinging from side to side behind her back. They were the same color as her hair, and she had a cute blue hairpin in the shape of the crescent moon on the left side of her head.

I decided to strike the conversation with a joke. "Hello, nyan, what's your name?"

She looked at me without any noticeable changes in her countenance.

"I don't have one," she replied, causing me to realize who she was.

She was the person that replied to my previous question outside The Orb. She was my intermediary with The Orb.

When she heard me, I think I saw something akin to sadness and longing flash in her eyes, and her ears and tail again slightly dropped. I would be unable to notice it if I wasn't paying her close attention, courtesy of her emotionless outward appearance.

"Do you want me to give you one?" I inquired.

She looked at me with a bit of hope in her eyes.

This is too adorable! The strongest technique in existence? The Puppy Eyes! Legends say these eyes can melt the coldest heart!

Then, I snapped back to reality.

No! I can't hug strangers.

Alas, soon after, the cuteness took me over again.

But can I blame myself? No!! It's her fault for being so cute. Someone who sees a little kitten or a puppy and doesn't want to hug it and play with it must be heartless!! My thoughts are going in a strange direction. I need to stay calm and composed. At least for now...

"Nn." she nodded lightly.

"Ok, but I am not good at coming up with names, so please don't expect much," I warned her and started to think.

"How about Shiro?" I asked after a while.

"No, it's too common, and I am not a pet." she rebutted.

Ugh, she seems a little upset. Is it me, or is she showing more and more emotions? I can tell only because of her ears and tail, but sometimes it's slightly visible on her face, though these are just glimpses. I guess she is a kudere type?

She blushed ever so slightly.

"Did you think something rude?" she asked.

She is sharp!!

"O-of course not. Don't be silly." I replied. "How about Yue? You have a hairpin in the shape of the moon." I proposed.

"I know you have stolen it from an anime." she declared.

"How?" I asked, slightly stunned.

"I have access to your memories," she answered.

"Does this include my current thoughts?' I inquired.

"Yes, but in case of recent memories, I have to look at them proactively," she explained.

"Why did you say nothing?" I asked with a straight face. That is a piece of important information!!!

"You didn't ask," she replied and averted her head.

"And the real one?" I asked, knowing that can't be the real reason.

"I wanted to test you a little," she answered.

"Ok... How about Vanilla? Your hair has a color similar to vanilla." I said, deciding to go back to the topic at hand.

"This one is stolen too. Please think about something by yourself," she said, a bit of disappointment slipping through the cold mask.

She seems more upset again. This silent anger is scary!! But, it's also a little cute. Not to mention you look like Vanilla.

She looked at me again.

"I didn't think about anything rude!!" I protested and took a deep breath. "Ok, this is my final proposition. How about Selen? There is a goddess related to the moon named Selene, and since you have that moon-shaped hairpin, I think this name fits you."

I am tired of this. I hope she likes this one.

She pondered for a while and looked at me. "Hmmm... I like it. Thank you." she said, with a slight smile. Then her face became expressionless again.

"Please come with me. Now that you entered the Orb, I will give you a short tour and explain the additional functions of Living Quarters and Training Room," Selen said and went towards the doors with the sign of Living Quarters.

"Ok, I understand," I said, nodding my head.

The first thing I saw upon crossing the entrance to the living quarters was a small porch. Here on the floor, I saw two pairs of comfortably looking black slippers, one pair my size while the other one fit the cat girl.

The floor was covered in oak planks, while the walls were light gray colored. From the porch to the rest of the rooms led a white four meters long hallway. The hallway had some decorations like pictures and gave off a 'modern' feeling. There were five different entrances. Starting from my right, they led towards the kitchen, combined with a dining room, a spacious and comfortable-looking living room, most likely our destination, a bedroom with a king-sized bed, bathroom, and toilet. All of these also gave off a 'modern' feeling and were painted in a combination of black, white, and gray colors with the addition of a more vibrant color, like lime green.

We entered the living room and sat down on a couch. The whole room and its furnishing were mainly in white, black, gray, and vibrant orange colors. There were two armchairs, one couch, a few shelves, a low knee-high table, and a massive TV set.

"So, what's the additional function of this room?"

I still have to see even a slight change on her face.

"As I already said, The Orb of Desires currently has five different functions. Two of them can be used only inside The Orb. These are the Training Room and Living Quarters where we are right now. While you are here, you can rest as much and in any way you want. It has everything you need to relax and live properly. If you need something, then concentrate on it, and it will change or appear. As for the training room, it's suitable for any training. Everything there can be changed, whether it's the dimensions of the room, its shape, or the temperature. It can also perfectly simulate any environment or create opponents. You can turn it into a gym, a forest, another planet, anything. Also, your stamina will regenerate almost instantly while inside, and it will make you not feel the pain resulting from training until you can rest. That means you can train almost indefinitely. The only thing that can stop you is your mental wellness, like mental fatigue." Selen explained in detail.

"What about the other functions? Before coming here I saw five different doors so I assume each function has a room."

"Yes. Each function has a designated room, however, you can also access them through a holographic screen. You just need to focus on a function and want it to appear." she replied.

"What is the use of having a room then?" I inquired.

"Aesthetics? Ask Matrucks, he is the one that set it in such a way. In the case of storage room, it can also function as a gallery or museum as it displays everything put there, in the form of exhibits."

"I see. Now that we can talk comfortably, I will ask you a few more things and go check out the training room. Can you tell me about the structure of the world? I also heard something about levels."

"Hmmm...It seems that for now, I can't tell you much. There are six levels of records." she said.

"Records? What does it mean exactly?" I asked.

"As you know, you have reincarnated in a world similar to To Love-ru. It has only one timeline and is the size of a single universe. It also possesses a few 'planes of existence that overlap with each other. All of this makes up a record whose level is approximately four." she replied.

"What would be a level six record then?" I inquired.

"The Dragon Ball you remember. There are twelve universes and different timelines. It has a few 'planes of existence' like heaven and hell. What is even more important is the clear power structure. Despite the number of inconsistencies they have, Chinese cultivation novels are usually high-level records. As a bonus, I will add that records can't interact with each other on their own, so any fanfiction you saw that involved travel between different worlds is its separate record." she explained.

"Is there anything else you can tell me?" I asked.

"The records are divided into six different levels. All of them have an Observer, a being who has full control over their record. They are born together with the record, don't directly interfere, only watch, and their level is always above all the 'true' inhabitants. Above them are level 7 entities representing concepts like Matrucksa. The only thing above is the collective will of everything in existence." answered Selen.

"How do we determine the level of a record?" I inquired.

"The record's level depends on the entities living inside. For example, level 4 and higher records have gods in them. That's all I can tell for now." she said.

"I see. I don't think I need to know more for now. I got a general idea, but there is one thing that I can't stop thinking about." I said and looked at her, a serious expression marring my face. "Why do you look like... well, this?" I asked.

She looked at me with disdain, showing for the first time any change in emotion.

Why must it be one of her first emotions directed at me!!!?

"'I am an intermediary of The Orb of Desires. My looks reflect your desires you damn lolicon'..."

Hearing her reply, I was nearly brought to my knees and wanted to puke blood like a young master, but she continued, again with an expressionless face.

"...is what I was supposed to say to you if you asked," Selen added.

Don't scare me like that!!!

I looked at her suspiciously and tried to confirm my assumptions, "Don't tell me this was arranged by Matrucksa as well..?".

It was probably my imagination, but for a moment, I felt like I have seen a smirk on her face. You are enjoying my pain!!!

"Yes, it is. I look and behave like this because of him. He also arranged for you five special rooms inside the Orb that I mentioned earlier." she answered.

"If you are that dissatisfied with my appearance and personality, you can change it."

She was still as expressionless as before, but I had the impression that her ears dropped ever so slightly.

After exhaling a deep breath, I looked at her apologetically and extended my hand to pet her head. It wasn't hard as she sat not that far from me.

"No, it's not what I meant. You are cute, and I am satisfied with how you are right now, but being called a lolicon is a little too much for me." I explained with a wry smile.

After she seemed to return to normal, I sighed again.

It's not her fault, but that clown of a god.

After lunging around the living room for a bit, I stood up and left to check out the Training Room, leaving behind the fluffy haven.