Chapter 2 — System Awakened
The glowing red text hovered in the darkness above his bed, sharp enough to feel like a threat.
[INITIAL MISSION GENERATED]
Alex swallowed.
He read the line again.
Then a third time.
"…You want me to WHAT?" he whispered.
The voice answered instantly—smooth, feminine, playful. It sounded like it was smiling directly in his ear.
[CALM DOWN, HOST. YOUR HEART RATE JUST SPIKED BY 47%.]
"I think that's reasonable!" Alex hissed. "You resurrected me, rewinded time, dropped me back into my younger body, gave me a floating game screen—and now you're asking me to—"
He stopped speaking.
His eyes drifted back to the mission text.
His face burned.
His brain stalled somewhere between shock and embarrassment.
The system's tone turned teasing.
[YES, HOST.]
[I AM ASKING YOU TO DO EXACTLY THAT.]
"I can't do that," he whispered harshly.
"That's insane. That's immoral. That's—"
Emily's face flashed through his memory.
The broken vase.
The blood.
Zack's hands on her hips.
His jaw tightened slowly.
"…Okay. Maybe not that immoral," he muttered.
The system giggled.
Actual giggling.
[HOST, PLEASE UNDERSTAND.]
[YOUR POWER SOURCE IS DESIRE ENERGY.]
[DESIRE IS PRODUCED THROUGH ATTRACTION, EMOTION, ATTENTION, AND INTIMACY.]
[THE STRONGER THE EMOTION, THE STRONGER THE POWER.]
"So I grow stronger by… women liking me?" Alex said slowly.
[CORRECT.]
[ROMANTIC INTEREST, CRUSHES, LUST, OBSESSION, DEVOTION, JEALOUSY.]
[ALL ARE CONVERTIBLE ENERGY TYPES.]
He blinked.
"So you're a pervert system."
[INCORRECT.]
A glowing chibi version of the system appeared above the text and folded it's tiny arms.
[I AM A HIGHLY ADVANCED, MORALLY FLEXIBLE, PERSONAL GROWTH ASSISTANT.]
"That's just a polite way of saying pervert."
[YOU ARE VERY RUDE TO THE ENTITY THAT REINCARNATED YOU.]
He paused.
"…Fair."
Silence stretched between them.
He exhaled slowly.
"So why me? Why bring me back?"
For the first time, the system stopped teasing.
Its voice grew calm. Softer. Almost human.
[YOU DIED WITH EXTREME DESPAIR.]
[YOU WERE BETRAYED BY YOUR SPOUSE.]
[YOU LOST YOUR FAMILY, YOUR WORK, AND YOUR SENSE OF SELF.]
[BUT YOUR DESIRE DID NOT DIE.]
[YOU QUALIFIED.]
"Qualified for what?" he whispered.
[REVENGE.]
[REBIRTH.]
[POWER.]
[…AND FUN.]
The last word landed deliberately.
His lips curled faintly.
"Revenge," he repeated under his breath.
He remembered Emily's cold eyes.
Zack's smile.
The lawyer.
The accounts.
The two children calling him Dad—who weren't his.
Something dark and steady woke in his chest.
"I want it," he said quietly.
[GOOD.]
Three panels opened at once.
[SYSTEM TUTORIAL — BEGIN]
• You are twenty-one
• Time rewound twenty-four years
• Only your soul remembers
• Body reset to base level
• Power gained through Desire Energy and System Tasks
A smaller window blinked underneath.
[EMOTIONAL STATE DETECTED: HATRED, LOSS, DETERMINATION]
He felt it then.
Warmth.
Small.
But real.
Power.
Not imagined.
Not symbolic.
Real.
He swallowed.
"What happened to them?" he asked quietly. "Emily. Zack."
The room felt too still.
The old ceiling fan ticked gently.
The system answered simply.
[THEY ARE TWENTY-ONE AGAIN.]
[THE REWIND RESET EVERYTHING.]
[THEY HAVE NOT BETRAYED YOU YET.]
Alex laughed.
Not happy.
Not sad.
Just sharp.
"So they don't know what monsters they become."
[ONLY YOU REMEMBER.]
He nodded.
"What about my children…?"
Silence.
A different silence.
[THEY WERE NEVER YOURS IN THE ORIGINAL TIMELINE.]
[THEIR EXISTENCE IN THAT FUTURE IS ERASED.]
He didn't cry.
He just breathed.
Slow.
Steady.
"Then this time," he said softly, "I choose everything."
[ACCEPTABLE.]
A new window appeared.
STAT WINDOW — HOST
Name: Alex Walker
Age: 21
Body Condition: Weak adult male
Charm: Below average
Vitality: Low
Libido: Dormant
Desire Energy: 0
System Rank: F (Locked)
Skills: None unlocked
Titles: None
Harem Slots: 0/∞
He frowned.
"Hey. Why is my charm 'below average'?"
[REALITY.]
"…Right."
Another notification appeared.
The font pulsed blue this time.
[BEGINNER GIFT PACK UNLOCKED]
[CONGRATULATIONS, HOST]
[YOU HAVE OBTAINED: AURA OF SEDUCTION]
A warm ripple spread across his skin.
Like heat.
Like gravity.
Like attention.
"…What did you do to me?" Alex whispered.
The system's voice almost purred.
[NOTHING DANGEROUS.]
[YOU ARE NOW… VERY DIFFICULT TO IGNORE.]
PASSIVE SKILL ACQUIRED — Aura of Seduction (Lv.1)
• Women become subtly aware of you
• Attraction grows faster at close range
• Physical contact amplifies effect greatly
• Emotionally strong women resist longer
• Lonely or insecure targets fall faster
"So proximity charges energy?" Alex asked.
[CORRECT.]
"And touching them…?"
[MULTIPLIES IT.]
[HUGGING, HAND-HOLDING, BRUSHING SKIN.]
[KISSING CAUSES RAPID ENERGY SURGE.]
He coughed.
Face hot.
"You could have warned me."
[WARNING ISSUED NOW.]
[YOU ARE WELCOME.]
A new window flashed into existence.
[TARGET SCAN — HIGH RESISTANCE SAMPLE LOADED]
Stats appeared.
Name: Jade Turner
Age: 19
Corruption: 2/10
Chastity: Intact
Loyalty: 30
Appearance: 90
Personality: 75
Pride: 80
Strength: 23
Overall Difficulty: 80 — Hard to Seduce
Jade.
He knew that name.
Everyone knew that name.
The ice beauty of the economics department.
Dark-brown hair flowing down her back.
Glasses she didn't need but wore anyway.
Curvy voluptuous body that turned heads every time she walked past.
Large bouncy breasts, slim shapely waist, long legs—and a gaze cold enough to freeze oceans.
Men confessed.
She rejected.
Effortlessly.
He stared at the stats.
"So she's… difficult mode."
[YES.]
[HIGH PRIDE AND LOW CORRUPTION.]
[STRONG RESISTANCE.]
"And weaker-willed girls?"
The system didn't hesitate.
[FAST.]
[VERY FAST.]
Aura of Seduction pulsed again.
Alive.
Hungry.
Waiting.
"So my mission is seduction?" he said quietly.
[READ IT PROPERLY.]
The mission window expanded.
[INITIAL SEDUCTION MISSION]
Create genuine romantic or lustful desire in at least one woman within 24 hours.
Reward: +20 Desire Energy
Bonus Reward: +1 Charm
Penalty for failure: System ridicule and emotional embarrassment
He stared.
"So I really do get punished with humiliation?"
[YES.]
[I ALREADY PREPARED SEVERAL JOKES.]
He sighed.
"Sadist system."
[ACCURATE.]
Another window appeared.
[TARGET SUGGESTION BASED ON HOST'S PREFERENCE PATTERN]
Names appeared.
—
• Jade — Class Beauty, Ice-Cold Personality
• Lily — Shy library assistant
• Professor Grace — Young widow
• Mia — Sports department manager
• Unknown — Your fate will soon collide
—
His gaze stopped on the first name.
Jade.
The campus goddess.
Untouchable.
Unreachable.
Always distant.
He remembered seeing her years later in the original timeline.
Married to some rich executive.
Expression empty.
Eyes dead.
Like someone who learned too late what love was.
His throat tightened.
The system chimed softly.
[TARGET LOCKED?]
He didn't hesitate.
"Yes," Alex whispered.
"Jade."
[CONFIRMED.]
[INITIAL TARGET: JADE.]
[AURA OF SEDUCTION ACTIVATED IN PROXIMITY RANGE.]
A digital clock appeared.
24:00:00
It began ticking down.
23:59:59
23:59:58
He stood there.
Different.
No longer the tired middle-aged fool who died bleeding on a floor.
Young again.
Alive again.
Armed with seduction.
Armed with revenge.
Armed with choice.
A knock echoed from the apartment door.
Light.
Polite.
Then again—slightly sharper.
His heart skipped.
The system spoke softly, almost amused.
[HOST.]
[JADE IS STANDING OUTSIDE YOUR DOOR.]
He froze.
"…What?"
[YOU HAVE CLASSES TOGETHER.]
[GROUP PROJECT MEETING.]
[YOU FORGOT ABOUT IT IN YOUR LITTLE EXISTENTIAL CRISIS.]
Another knock.
Harder this time.
His Aura pulsed.
Strong.
Hungry.
Waiting.
The system's voice dropped into a whisper.
[PROXIMITY EFFECT WILL TRIGGER UPON OPENING THE DOOR.]
He swallowed.
Once.
Twice.
His fingers reached for the handle.
The timer ticked.
23:58:11
The world felt like it tilted.
College hallway noise blurred beyond the door.
Her presence radiated through the wood:
Cold.
Beautiful.
Proud.
Unreachable.
the Perfect target.
He tightened his grip on the handle.
The system giggled softly.
[READY, HOST?]
[FIRST CONTACT IS ALWAYS… FUN.]
He opened the door.
And Jade stood there—
Dark-brown hair cascading over her shoulders,
glasses framing cold, intelligent ocean blue eyes,
curvy figure outlined under her uniform,
expression like carved ice.
Her gaze lifted.
Their eyes met.
His Aura of Seduction pulsed.
Her pupils trembled—
barely.
Almost nothing.
But not nothing.
The air thickened.
She frowned slightly.
"Why were you ignoring the door?" she asked flatly.
Her voice was cool.
Controlled.
Beautiful.
He smiled slowly.
Not the weak husband.
Not the man who died betrayed.
A man reborn.
Hungry.
Awake.
"Sorry," Alex said softly.
"I was just… waking up."
The system purred in his ear.
[DESIRE ENERGY: +1]
[ATTRACTION SEED PLANTED]
He didn't move.
She didn't step back.
Their proximity narrowed by inches.
His Aura wrapped around her like heat she couldn't name.
She blinked again.
Just once.
Confusion flickered behind the ice.
Then—