Aaron Miles learned a terrifying truth by the third day.
Zero percent affection was peaceful.
Ninety percent?
It was a loaded gun pointed directly at his forehead.
Lucy Brown's affection did not climb.
It ran.
No—worse.
It sprinted like it was late for something.
Every interaction nudged the invisible number higher, and Aaron watched it like a prisoner counting down an execution date.
A smile: +1%.
Listening quietly: +2%.
Remembering something she said yesterday: +3%.
Once, he brought up her favorite author by accident.
The number jumped so hard Aaron thought the system had glitched.
He sat across from her in the campus café, holding a cup of coffee he had ordered purely to give his hands something to do.
Lucy was talking.
Aaron was not listening.
Not because he didn't care.
Because the floating percentage above her head was now sitting at:
88%
His heart pounded.
This was not supposed to happen this fast.
He had planned to take things slowly. Carefully. Safely.
Lucy stirred her drink, then looked up suddenly.
"…Are you nervous?"
Aaron snapped back to reality.
"What? No. I mean—yes. I mean—coffee is hot."
Lucy smiled.
That smile.
The kind that made you forget deadlines, responsibilities, and the fact that your life was being monitored by cosmic entities with poor ethics.
"You're funny," she said.
89%
Aaron swallowed.
He had learned patterns by now.
Jealousy did not come from ignoring other girls.
Trust did not come from oversharing.
Excitement did not come from confidence.
Lucy responded to presence.
Being there. Listening. Not pretending.
Which was ironic, because pretending was how Aaron survived everything else.
"So," Lucy said, hesitating slightly, "do you want to… go out?"
The café seemed to quiet.
Aaron's internal alarm went nuclear.
First date scenario detected.
The system chimed.
Affection acceleration likely during extended private interaction.
Warning: Milestone proximity.
Aaron smiled, calmly, like a man whose soul was not actively trying to escape.
"Sure," he said.
Lucy's eyes lit up.
And just like that, the trap closed.
The date was not romantic.
It was a battlefield.
They walked through a small park near campus. Trees swayed lazily. Couples passed by, holding hands like traitors.
Lucy talked about books. About her childhood. About how she liked simple things.
Aaron nodded, responded, asked questions.
He did everything right.
Which was the problem.
Every time he matched her pace, her affection rose.
When he slowed down to let her catch up, she smiled.
When he held the door open without thinking, she laughed.
When he listened without interrupting, she looked at him differently.
The number climbed in silence.
91%.
Aaron felt it before the system announced it.
A strange warmth spread through his chest.
Not emotional.
Mechanical.
Like a switch had been flipped somewhere behind his ribs.
Then the notification appeared.
Affection Milestone Reached: 90%
Reward Unlocked.
Skill Acquired: Charm Aura (Low Level)
Aaron stumbled.
Lucy grabbed his arm instinctively.
"Hey—are you okay?"
Her hand on his sleeve sent a ripple through the air.
Not visible.
But real.
Aaron's breath caught.
"I'm fine," he said quickly.
The world… felt different.
Sharper.
He became aware of things he had never noticed before.
Eyes lingering.
Voices softening.
Steps slowing when he passed.
A girl walking by glanced at him twice.
Then three times.
Then turned around completely.
Lucy noticed.
Her grip tightened slightly.
The system helpfully added a note.
Charm Aura (Low Level):
Passive effect.
Increases subconscious attraction.
Scales with affection milestones.
Aaron's stomach dropped.
"This is bad," he whispered.
Lucy tilted her head.
"What is?"
"Nothing," he said quickly.
A group of girls passed nearby, whispering.
One of them laughed.
Another looked directly at Aaron and smiled.
Lucy stopped walking.
"…Do you know her?"
Aaron froze.
"No."
That was the truth.
But truth did not matter.
Emotion did.
Lucy's expression shifted. Not anger.
Uncertainty.
Affection Stability: Fluctuating.
Aaron realized something crucial in that moment.
At zero percent, there was nothing to lose.
At ninety percent, everything mattered.
Every glance.
Every misunderstanding.
Every coincidence.
And now, with this Charm Aura active, coincidences were going to multiply.
They sat on a bench.
Lucy leaned closer than before.
"You're… different today," she said softly.
Aaron forced a laugh.
"Different how?"
She hesitated.
"Like… people notice you more."
He looked away.
"I don't like that."
Lucy studied his face.
Then, quietly, "I don't like it either."
Her words should have comforted him.
Instead, they terrified him.
Because he could feel it now.
Her affection was no longer gentle.
It was heavy.
Possessive in ways even she didn't realize yet.
The system chimed again.
Affection Level: 92%
Caution: Emotional dependency forming.
Aaron's chest tightened.
This wasn't a game mechanic.
This was a human being.
A real girl, sitting beside him, trusting him without knowing the rules of the universe had stacked the deck.
He stood up abruptly.
"Lucy," he said, carefully, "can we… take things slow?"
She blinked.
"Slow?"
He nodded.
"I don't want to rush and mess things up."
Her expression softened.
"I like that," she said. "You're… careful."
Affection: Stable.
Aaron exhaled.
They walked back toward campus as the sun dipped lower.
But the damage was done.
Everywhere he went, eyes followed.
A girl at the bookstore smiled too long.
A classmate he barely knew waved.
Someone bumped into him on purpose and apologized with enthusiasm.
The aura was subtle.
But relentless.
When Lucy finally left, waving happily, Aaron stood alone.
The system displayed a quiet warning.
Difficulty Increase Detected.
Multiple targets may respond simultaneously.
Affection overlap risk rising.
Aaron laughed weakly.
"Ninety percent," he muttered.
"More dangerous than zero."
He looked at his hands.
At the world.
At the invisible threads starting to pull toward him from every direction.
This was only one girl.
There were fifty more.
And the system had just given him something he could not turn off.
Aaron went home that night with one clear thought burning in his mind.
This was no longer about getting affection.
It was about controlling chaos before it controlled him.
And if ninety percent felt like this…
He was terrified of what one hundred would bring.