Yuki woke to his alarm at 6:30 AM, the same as always. His hand reached out automatically to silence it, and for a moment, everything felt normal. Then he remembered.
The System. The quest. The Charm Aura.
He sat up quickly, reaching for his glasses. The moment they were on, he focused his mind the way the System had instructed last night. A translucent window materialized in his vision, responding to his intent.
[◈ STATUS WINDOW ◈]
NAME: Nakamura Yuki
AGE: 17
LEVEL: 2
TITLE: None
STATISTICS:
APPEAL: 12
STRENGTH: 4
DEXTERITY: 6
CONFIDENCE: 8
TECHNIQUE: 0
STAMINA: 10
CHARM: 14 (+5 from Charm Aura)
ADAPTABILITY: 14
EXPERIENCE: 100 / 200 XP
LUST POINTS: 50 LP
ACTIVE SKILLS:
Charm Aura (Level 1) - Passive
QUESTS: 0 Active
UNALLOCATED STAT POINTS: 2
It was real. Still real. Yuki's heart fluttered nervously as he dismissed the window. He looked at himself in the mirror across his room.
He looked exactly the same. Light orange hair messy from sleep, same delicate features, same thin build hidden under his oversized sleep shirt. Nothing visibly different.
But beneath his skin, he could feel it—that subtle warmth that had settled in last night. Not uncomfortable, just... present.
What if people notice? What if they act weird? The thought made his stomach twist anxiously.
From the kitchen, he heard his mother moving around. Yuki got out of bed and went through his morning routine, his mind wandering to what might happen today. When he walked into the kitchen, his mother was already at the table, scrolling through her phone.
"Good morning, Yuki!" She looked up and smiled, then paused. Her eyes lingered on him for just a moment longer than usual. "Oh... did you do something different with your hair?"
"No?" Yuki looked down at his rice bowl, feeling self-conscious. "It's the same..."
"Hmm." She studied him for another second, her expression softening. "You just look particularly lovely this morning. My beautiful boy."
Yuki's cheeks warmed. "Mom..." he mumbled quietly, focusing very intently on his breakfast.
They ate in comfortable silence, but Yuki noticed his mother kept glancing at him with this fond, almost dreamy expression. When she left for work, she hugged him at the door—which was unusual. She hadn't hugged him goodbye on a weekday in months.
"Have a wonderful day at school," she said, squeezing him tightly. "I love you so much, you know that?"
"I know, Mom. Love you too."
The door closed, and Yuki stood in the entryway for a moment, his heart beating a little faster.
Is that because of the Charm Aura? Oh no... what's going to happen at school?
He packed his bag with slightly trembling hands, double-checking everything twice. The novel he'd finished yesterday had been replaced with a new one—a manhwa actually, it was about a boy who got two bodies, one which was very handsome and strong. He grabbed his phone, wallet, keys, and headed out, pulling his hood up almost immediately
The October morning air was cold against his face. Yuki kept his head down, hands deep in his pockets, watching his breath mist. The streets were quiet at this hour, just a few early risers heading to work.
A salaryman walked past him going the opposite direction. Yuki kept his eyes on the sidewalk. But in his peripheral vision, he saw the man's head turn. Saw him stop. Saw him look back.
Yuki walked faster, his face heating up. Please don't say anything, please don't say anything...
At the convenience store on the corner, Yuki stopped to grab an energy drink. The clerk was the same older woman who was always there in the mornings—he'd been shopping here for three years and she'd never said more than the total price.
"Good morning!" She beamed at him when he approached the counter, her whole face lighting up. "My, aren't you precious! Such a sweet-looking student!"
"Um... good morning." Yuki set the drink on the counter, not quite meeting her eyes.
"Will this be all today?" She scanned it, still smiling warmly. "You know what, this is on special promotion. Half price for you!"
"Oh, you don't have to—" Yuki started to protest, but she was already adjusting the register.
"Nonsense! Just 50 yen today!" She handed him the drink and his change, her fingers lingering on his hand. "You have a wonderful day at school, okay? Please come back anytime!"
"Thank you..." Yuki mumbled, clutching the drink and hurrying out.
His heart was pounding. She'd never been that nice before. Never smiled like that. The Charm Aura was definitely working.
This is so embarrassing...
"Yuki-chan!"
Yuki looked up to see Tanaka jogging toward him, uniform actually neat for once.
"Morning, Tanaka-san."
"Man, I was hoping I'd catch you!" Tanaka fell into step beside him, then did a double-take. He stared at Yuki for a long moment, his expression shifting to something almost dazed. "Whoa. You look... really pretty today."
Yuki's face burned instantly. "I look the same as always..."
"No, like, I know you always look good, but today you're like..." Tanaka gestured vaguely, his own face turning red. "Really, really pretty. Did you sleep well or something? Your skin is like, glowing."
"I didn't do anything different." Yuki pulled his hood lower, trying to hide his face. His heart was racing. Why is everyone being so weird?
"Huh. Weird." Tanaka kept stealing glances at him. "Hey, so, random question. You busy tonight?"
"Um... not really."
"Cool! So my friend Kenji—you know Kenji, right?—his parents are out of town and he's having people over. Nothing crazy, just like six or seven of us. Video games and stuff. You should come!"
Yuki's first instinct was to refuse. Parties made him nervous. Too many people, too much attention.
But then something in his chest tightened—a reminder that the System existed. That quests would come. That saying no to everything wouldn't work anymore.
"Oh... um..." Yuki fidgeted with his sleeves. "What time?"
Tanaka's eyes went huge. "Wait, seriously? You'll actually come?"
"If... if it's okay?" Yuki's voice came out small. "I don't want to intrude..."
"Are you kidding?! Everyone's gonna be so excited!" Tanaka was practically bouncing. "Seven PM! I'll text you the address! This is gonna be awesome! yuki-chan is actually coming!!"
They reached the school gates. Tanaka immediately ran off to tell his friends, leaving Yuki standing there with a growing sense of dread.
What did I just agree to?
He pulled his hood down and walked into the building.
And immediately wanted to turn around and leave.
People were staring.
Not everyone. Not obviously. But as Yuki walked through the entrance hall toward the stairs, he felt eyes following him. A group of first-year girls by the lockers stopped their conversation to watch him pass, whispering to each other. Two guys from the baseball team turned their heads as he went by.
A second-year he'd never spoken to smiled and waved.
Yuki kept his head down and walked faster, his heart hammering in his chest. This is too much. Way too much...
He made it to the third floor and slipped into his classroom, heading straight for his seat in the back corner. Maybe if he just sat here quietly, everyone would leave him alone—
"Nakamura-kun!"
He looked up. A girl from the front row—Yoshida, he thought—was standing beside his desk, holding her textbook and looking nervous.
"Y-yes?" Yuki's voice came out quieter than intended. was he stuttering!?
"I heard you're really good at chemistry?" She was blushing, fidgeting with her book. "Could you maybe help me with something? I'm confused about oxidation reactions..." ( lets just say, chem is not my forte)
"Oh... um... sure." Yuki pulled out his notes, relieved to focus on something familiar. "It's not that complicated once you see the pattern..."
He walked her through it, and she listened attentively, standing very close to his desk. When the warning bell rang, she thanked him profusely, bowed, and hurried back to her seat—but not before Yuki caught her whispering excitedly to her friend, both of them glancing back at him.
His face felt hot again.
"Dude, what was that about?"
Sato had appeared at his desk, grinning.
"She needed help with chemistry..." Yuki said softly.
"Yoshida-san has never needed help with chemistry. She's like third in our year." Sato's grin widened. "I think she just wanted to talk to you."
"Why would..." Yuki trailed off, genuinely confused. That didn't make sense.
"Nakamura-kun?"
Oh no. Another girl. This time the second-year from yesterday—the one he'd helped pick up papers.
"I'm so sorry to bother you again!" She bowed deeply. "I'm Aiko! I felt so bad about yesterday, mistaking you for a girl... I wanted to apologize properly!"
"It's really okay," Yuki said quickly, shrinking back in his seat. "It happens a lot, you don't have to—"
"Could I maybe make it up to you?" Aiko's face was bright red. "There's this curry place near school, or we could just get coffee, or..." She was talking faster now, more nervous. "Or we could study together? Only if you want to! No pressure!"
"Aiko-chan, you're going to be late!"
Her friend was calling from the doorway. Aiko squeaked, bowed again, and rushed out. Yuki slumped in his seat, covering his face with his hands.
Why is this happening? I just want to be left alone...wait was she asking him on a date!!?
The morning classes were torture. He could feel people looking at him. Even Kojima-sensei paused during attendance when she called his name, smiled at him in a way she never had before, then moved on.
By lunch, Yuki was exhausted. He just wanted to hide with his onigiri and his book, but before he could settle into his usual spot, Tanaka appeared with three friends in tow.
"Yuki-chan! Sit with us today!"
"Oh, I usually—" Yuki started, but Tanaka was already pulling a desk over.
"Come on, just today! I want you to meet everyone!" Tanaka's enthusiasm was hard to resist. "You know Kenji, right? And this is Ryota and Daichi."
Yuki recognized them vaguely. They were all staring at him with open curiosity.
"It's nice to meet you properly," Kenji said, his eyes lingering on Yuki's face a bit too long. "Tanaka talks about you all the time."
"He does?" Yuki's voice came out small. He fidgeted with his onigiri wrapper.
"Yeah, you're like his role model or something." Ryota grinned. "The smart, pretty friend."
"I'm not smart..." Yuki mumbled. "I just... have a good memory"
"Well, we're glad you're coming tonight!" Kenji said. "You like video games?"
"Some of them..."
"Which ones?" Tanaka leaned forward eagerly.
"Um... mostly RPGs. And... some fighting games, I guess."
"Oh, you play fighting games?" Ryota looked interested. "Like what?"
Yuki hesitated. He didn't usually talk about this. People thought it was weird when they found out how much time he spent gaming. "Eternal Clash, mostly..."
There was a pause.
"Wait, like, competitive Eternal Clash?" Kenji asked slowly.
"I just... play online sometimes." Yuki was looking down at his desk now, his face warm.
"How good are you?"
"Um..." This was embarrassing. "I'm... ranked pretty high, I think?"
"What's 'pretty high'?"
"Top hundred... nationally..." Yuki's voice got quieter with each word. "But I'm not that good, there are way better players—"
"TOP HUNDRED?!" Tanaka nearly shouted. "Are you serious?!"
Everyone in the classroom turned to look. Yuki wanted to disappear.
"It's not a big deal..." he whispered, shrinking into his hoodie and his desk.
"Not a big deal?! Dude, that's insane!" Ryota was grinning. "What's your tag?" seeming oblivous to the attention he gained
"Snowfall..." Yuki mumbled, barely audible.
Tanaka was already typing on his phone. His eyes went wide. "Wait. THE Snowfall? The one who beat NovaStrike?!"
Yuki nodded mutely, his face burning. it probably could be classified as a new shade of red, That match had been close—he'd won by a pixel of health in the final round. He hadn't expected it to get clipped and shared.
"You're actually famous," Daichi breathed. "Like, gaming famous."
"I'm not famous, I just play a lot..." Yuki's hands were fidgeting with his sleeves now. "Can we... talk about something else?"
"You have to play tonight," Kenji said, ignoring his plea. "Please? We're doing a tournament. I want to see this."
"Oh, I don't know if—"
"Please?" All four of them were looking at him hopefully.
Yuki felt his resolve crumbling. He couldn't say no when people looked at him like that. "...okay."
They cheered, and Yuki just sat there feeling overwhelmed and embarrassed and wishing he could hide under his desk.
The afternoon classes dragged on. Halfway through chemistry, something changed.
A notification appeared in the corner of his vision—blue text that made his heart jump.
[◈ NEW QUEST AVAILABLE ◈]
Yuki's breath caught. He tried to focus on the teacher's lecture, but the notification was right there, impossible to ignore. Finally, he gave in and focused on it.
[◈ QUEST 2 OF 10: FIRST CONTACT ◈]
[OBJECTIVE: Kiss another person]
[TIME LIMIT: 48 Hours]
[REWARDS:]
Desire Manifestation (Level 1) - Active skill
150 XP
75 LP
[FAILURE PENALTY:]
-15 Confidence
-10 Appeal
System Compatibility -10%
[CURRENT TIME REMAINING: 47:58:33]
Yuki's entire face went hot. His hands gripped his desk.
Kiss someone? Kiss... another person? On the lips?
He'd never kissed anyone. Never even held hands with anyone. The thought of just... kissing someone... his mind couldn't even process it. The closest he'd gotten was when a drunk girl at a festival had tried to hug him last year and he'd panicked and dodged.
How am I supposed to do that? I can't just ask someone. That would be so weird. And embarrassing. And—
The quest timer ticked down in his peripheral vision. 47:57:11.
The party, he realized suddenly. Maybe... maybe something will happen there? Maybe...
But even thinking about it made his heart race with anxiety.
The rest of the day passed in a blur of nerves. By the time the final bell rang, Yuki's stomach was in knots. He packed his bag slowly, trying to calm down.
It'll be fine. Just a small party. With people who are nice. It'll be fine.
It would not be fine.
Yuki went home, did his homework in record time because he couldn't focus, and then spent way too long staring at his closet trying to decide what to wear.
Eventually he settled on dark jeans and a plain black long-sleeve shirt. He left his glasses on—contacts made his eyes itchy—and spent five minutes just standing by the door, working up the courage to leave.
You already said you'd go. You can't back out now. That would be rude.
Kenji's house was in a nice neighborhood with actual houses instead of apartments. Yuki stood outside for a full minute before finally ringing the doorbell.
Kenji answered, grinning. "Nakamura-kun! You came! Come in!"
The house was warm and spacious. The living room had a huge TV and multiple gaming consoles. Six other people were already there—Tanaka, Ryota, and Daichi on the couch, plus three others Yuki didn't know.
"Everyone, this is Nakamura Yuki," Kenji announced. "Also known as Snowfall, the Eternal Clash god."
"Please don't call me that," Yuki said quietly, but Kenji was already introducing everyone else.
"This is Mizuki, Hana, and Takeshi."
Waves and greetings. Mizuki looked delighted. "I watched your NovaStrike match so many times! That final combo was insane!"
"Oh... thank you..." Yuki's face felt warm. He accepted a soda from Kenji and found himself a spot on the floor with a cushion, trying to make himself small.
But the atmosphere was genuinely nice. No one was drunk or loud. Just snacks, games, and friendly conversation. Yuki found himself slowly relaxing, the knot in his stomach loosening just a bit.
When Kenji pulled out controllers, announcing a tournament, Yuki felt more comfortable. Games he understood. Games made sense.
They set up Eternal Clash on the big screen. Everyone played everyone, best two out of three.
Yuki tried not to completely destroy everyone. He really did. But muscle memory was muscle memory, and his hands moved on their own.
His first match against Ryota ended quickly. Both rounds won without losing much health.
"How did you even do that?" Ryota asked, not angry but genuinely curious.
"Um... your heavy attack has a long recovery, so..." Yuki's voice was quiet. "I just... reacted?"
"'Just reacted' he says," Ryota laughed.
By his fourth match, everyone had stopped playing their own games to watch him. It made Yuki nervous—all those eyes on him—but once he started playing, everything else faded away.
The final match was against Kenji, who was actually pretty good. Yuki had to focus, had to try. The first round was close. The second round came down to both of them under 20% health, every hit potentially ending it.
Yuki landed a counter, converted into his combo, and finished it.
The room exploded with cheers. Yuki set his controller down, his hands shaking slightly from the adrenaline.
"That was amazing!" Mizuki was on her feet. "Did you see that?!"
"The timing on that was perfect!" Takeshi looked awed.
Kenji was laughing, offering his hand. "You're actually incredible. That was so cool to watch."
"Oh... thank you..." Yuki took his hand, his face hot from all the attention. "You played really well too..."
"Not well enough!" Kenji pulled him up. "But good games. That was fun."
Yuki found himself smiling despite his embarrassment. This was... actually really nice. They weren't making fun of him or treating him like he was weird. They seemed genuinely impressed.
The tournament ended with Yuki as champion, earning him his pick of snacks (he chose Kit-Kats) and a lot of praise that made him want to hide his face.
They switched to party games after that. Yuki was terrible at Mario Kart, which everyone found hilarious. He came in third in anime trivia, which he was quietly proud of. By the time someone suggested a break, he was actually having fun.
It was past nine PM when they sprawled across the living room, full of snacks and comfortable in that tired, pleasant way.
"This was really nice," Yuki said softly, surprising himself. "Thank you for inviting me."
"Thanks for coming!" Tanaka grinned. "See? We're not scary."
"You were never scary..." Yuki mumbled. "Just... a lot of people at once makes me nervous."
"Well, this is a good group," Mizuki said kindly. "We're glad you're here."
Yuki smiled, feeling warm in a way that had nothing to do with the Charm Aura.
Then Kenji sat up with a mischievous grin. "Hey, we should play one more game before people start leaving."
"What game?"
"Classic party game." His grin widened. "Spin the bottle?"
Yuki's heart stopped.
The quest timer flashed in his vision: [42:14:27]
"Oh my god, what are we, twelve?" Hana laughed, but she didn't sound opposed.
"Come on, it'll be fun! Just kisses on the cheek if anyone's uncomfortable." Kenji was already grabbing an empty soda bottle. "What do you think?"
Around the room, people were giggling, nodding, looking at each other with interest and amusement.
Yuki's hands were shaking. His mouth was dry. This was... this was exactly what the quest needed. The perfect opportunity.
But the thought of actually kissing someone, in front of everyone, with people watching—
I can't do this. I can't. I can't.
"Nakamura-kun?" Tanaka was looking at him with concern. "You okay? You don't have to play if you don't want to."
Everyone was looking at him now. Waiting for his answer. The bottle sat in the center of their circle, innocent and terrifying.
The quest timer ticked down. [42:13:55]
Yuki's heart was pounding so hard it hurt. His face felt like it was on fire.
But if he said no... the quest would fail. The penalties would hit. And he'd proven himself too much of a coward to even try.
"I..." His voice was barely a whisper. He took a shaky breath. "...okay."
"You sure?" Kenji asked, gentler now. "No pressure."
Yuki nodded, not trusting his voice. His hands were fisted in his lap, trembling.
What did I just agree to?