"WHAT?!"
Kaizen shouted shattering the midnight silence like glass.
The walls rattled. The ceiling lamp rolled like it was caught in a storm. Even the damn sheet of glass buzzed in their frames as if they were about to jump out in protest.
From the living room, Reina's tired but razor-sharp voice cut through the dark.
"Zen, shut the fuck up! It's past midnight. The neighbors are gonna think you just lost your virginity or something." Reina scolded all the way from the sitting room.
Kaizen choked on his spit. "...Who even says that out loud?!" he muttered.
His pulse yelled in his ears as his eyes rushed back to the thing glowing above his bed: the holographic blue screen, pulsing like it had a heartbeat of its own. The words scribbled across it were absurd. Impossible. Straight nightmare fuel.
"…Wait, wait, hold up. Seductive aura? Tempter aura? And gods—actual gods—wanting me dead?! What the actual fuck are you talking about?!" he said pointing to each lined up on the holographic screen.
The figure across from him didn't flinch. Sinna—the conceited succubus spirit shackled to the relic—looked like she'd been waiting her whole life to drop this bomb. Arms folded, head tilted, crimson eyes shiny with a mischief that promised chaos.
She sprawled in the air like a queen resting on an invisible throne.
"Yes, dumbass. You basically ooze 'fuck me' energy now. Monsters, gods, and even nuns might want a taste. Congrats."
Kaizen's mouth fell open, no sound coming out at first. The words hit like a slap.
"…I WHAT?!"
He rushed the closest weapon available—his pillow—and threw it with all the strength of a man defending his last shred of dignity. It passed through her hologram like mist, slamming against the wall with a whump.
Sinna slow-clapped, sarcasm dripping like honey.
"Oh bravo! You're gonna scare off your enemies with pillow fu? Careful, Zen. Deadly weapon. You should clear that." Sinna said smirking.
"Stop making it sound like I'm some walking porn magazine!" Kaizen replied pouting, but Sinna's grin only grew wider, her fangs even came into display.
"Hey, don't blame me. Blame the relic. It fused with your aura and, ta-da, now you're irresistible. To mortals. To monsters. To gods. Basically, everyone. You're the universe's new chew toy."
Kaizen dragged his hands down his face until his cheeks stung.
Kaizen (thinking):This is fucking insane. I didn't sign up to be some divine sex magnet. I just wanted to survive dungeons without dying like a side character.
THE BED CHAOS
Morning didn't so much arrive as it trapped him.
Kaizen split his eyes open to soft sunlight filtering through his curtains. His head pounded from lack of sleep. For a blissful few seconds, he thought he was alone. Safe. Peaceful.
Then he shifted AND THEN froze.
Three soft weights pressed against him. One on his shoulder. One across his stomach. One… at his legs.
Slowly, with the kind of horror usually reserved for horror movies, Kaizen looked down.
Reina—his actual blood sister—was curled up at his side, drooling all over his shoulder like he was a pillow. On his torso prostrate— Reina's friend with dyed pink tips, her cheek mashed against his chest. And the third? The third was wrapped around his calves under the blanket, clinging to him like a boa constrictor in pajama shorts.
"…what…the…actual…FUCK?!" Kaizen asked surprised.
He shot upright, thrashed, and promptly rolled off the bed in a tangled mess of sheets. The blanket ripped free, leaving the three girls exposed to daylight like it was some sitcom opening.
Reina blinked awake first, tired but smirking.
"…Mmm. Morning, Zen. You're loud even when you sleep." she said rubbing her eyes gently with her hands.
Pink Tips yawned, stretched, and smirked at him like she was already plotting his funeral.
Reina's Friend #1: "Mmm… morning hubby."
"HUBBY?!" he said, jaw unhinged.
The third girl popped her head out from the blanket at his legs, hair sticking in every direction.
"...ADDICTIVE?! YOU'RE MY SISTER REINA" Kaizen said almost like he wanted to cry.
Reina rolled her eyes so hard that even Kaizen could swear he heard them creak.
"Right now, I really wish I wasn't, but don't get it twisted, dumbass. No incest vibes here. Just aura comfort. You feel like… heat in winter. It's creepy as hell, but… also nice. Blame your new power." she said winking.
"Still… you'd make good husband material. No consent needed, apparently." Reina's friend #1 said giggling.
"GET OUT OF MY FUCKING ROOM!" he said shrieking like he's soul was being exorcised from his body.
He chased them out, using a rolled-up blanket like it was a weapon, smashing the door behind them. He pressed his back against it, chest heaving like he'd just fought a raid boss.
"Holographic screen! Succubus spirit! Thing that kissed me in the damn rift—show up!" Kaizen said whisper-shouting.
The air shined like heat waves. Sinna appeared, arms folded, pout sharp enough to cut glass.
"First of all, call me Sinna, idiot. Second… yeah, I saw that. Three girls all up in your sheets? Didn't like it. Do you plan on starting a harem without me?" Sinna asked pouting.
"…Excuse me?!" he asked.
"Oh, so I'm just the tutorial boss to you, huh? Not harem-worthy? That's cold, Zen." she replied mock offended while flipping her hair.
"…You're literally a succubus spirit AI!" he vomited.
"And yet, I'm still hotter than your sister's entire friend group combined. Keep denying it, Kaizen. Makes you cuter." she pouted.
They went back and forth like a couple mid-divorce despite never having dated.
The Quest System
The holographic screen suddenly expanded, symbols rearranging themselves like they'd been waiting for this moment. Sinna pointed intensely like she was presenting a game show prize.
"Ta-da. Daily quests. Do these, you survive. Don't, you die. Simple math, sweetheart." Sinna said.
The list flickered into focus:
Easy: Organize library (Low XP).
Medium: Hunt stray dungeon beasts.
Hard: Duel a ranked guild hunter.
Insane: ??? (Locked).
Kaizen crooked.
"…Library. Yeah. Let's start with not dying." he said confident.
Sinna: (snorting) "Pussy."
Kaizen:"…Better a live pussy than a dead badass."
By afternoon, Kaizen was knee-deep in dust and paper cuts at Reina's college library, sleeves rolled up as he stacked books onto shelves. The quiet hum of the fluorescent lights almost convinced him he'd chosen the safest quest.
Almost.
Whispers spread even before he reached the second aisle.
Random Girl (whispering):"Reina, that's your brother? Why didn't you say he was hot?!"
Another Girl (giggling):"He looks like trouble. Can I keep him~?"
Reina, leaning on the desk with her phone in hand, she didn't even look up.Reina:"He's defective. So Don't."
"…Really, Reina? REALLY?!" Kaizen asked frustrated trying to balance a tower of books.
But the aura was relentless. Girls stayed, some of them hovered too close, pretending to need help reaching shelves they could clearly reach themselves. Their jokes were bold, and their eyes bolder.
"You drop one of those books, I'll bend down and grab it for you, cutie." A bold girl in their midst said sitting in a way that you would say was enough to tempt a man... but Kaizen wasn't a man....yet.
Kaizen nearly dropped the whole stack just to give himself a concussion and escape.
"…This aura is gonna kill me faster than monsters." Kaizen muttered under his breath.
Then it happened.
Clear. Loud. Cutting through the chatter.
???:"Kaizen!"
He froze mid-step. The tower of books wobbled dangerously in his arms.