When Nero opened his eyes, for a second he thought he was still dreaming.
The ceiling above him wasn't the cracked plaster of his room in the real world— it was made of wood.
Real, uneven, aged wood. He could smell it — that faint scent of forest and ash mashed together.
The sunlight pouring out the window looked too real too.
It felt so warm and made his eyes itch.
He slowly sat up.
"Holy crap… it actually worked."
He rubbed his hand over the blanket again and again, just to confirm it wasn't his imagination. The sensation ran through his fingers like an actual touch.
Even the smell in the air was perfect.
Faint smoke, a bit of dust, and something sweet like herbs.
He looked down at himself.
His hands were slender, pale, and smooth.
Not the chubby, trembling fingers he was used to.
He turned them over, amazed.
Then, with a nervous laugh, he pulled the blanket off.
When he looked down he saw a set of eight-pack abs.
"Whoa…"
His legs were toned, his stomach flat.
No folds, no jiggle. Just lean muscle under perfect skin.
But his amazement only got bigger when he felt the long snake between his legs.
It felt very thick and majestic.
『H… HUGE—! (・口・)』
But he wasn't going to let himself get distracted by that.
Still, he'd be a hypocrite if he said he didn't enjoy the feeling of having a huge one.
Back in middle school, there was this girl he used to like.
Betty Thompson.
She was one of the prettiest girls he'd ever seen.
He used to stare at her during class, and even during lunch.
It always made his day just seeing her.
But he never once thought of telling her how he felt.
With how ugly he was, he knew she'd reject him in the worst way possible.
Then one random day, Betty asked for his number.
He gave it to her right away, without even thinking.
He didn't stop to question why a girl he'd never even talked to before would suddenly be interested in him.
After that, they texted a lot—every day, for months.
They got to know almost everything about each other.
But whenever he tried to talk to her in person at school or asked to eat lunch together, she always came up with some excuse to avoid it. Betty clearly didn't want to be seen with him in public, but Nick didn't care.
As long as he could talk to her, that was enough.
Weeks went by, and everything seemed fine.
Nick and Betty were still texting like usual, even though they acted like total strangers at school. But then things started to get more personal — their chats turned dirty.
One night, Betty pressured him to send her a dick pic.
Nick didn't want to. He was really against it.
But she told him that if he couldn't trust her, then maybe they shouldn't talk anymore.
That was when Nick made the biggest mistake of his life.
『I sent it…』
The moment he did, Betty blocked him. Just like that.
The next day at school, Nick realized something was terribly wrong. His nude picture had spread all over the school like wildfire. Everyone had seen it. People called him disgusting names and laughed directly in his face.
His confidence shattered completely.
He wanted to run away that instant, but before he could even think of leaving…
One of the school jocks caught him.
It was Betty's boyfriend.
The guy beat him up, tore off his clothes, and strapped him to a pole for students to take pictures of his obese body and point fingers at his tiny peen.
Betty wasn't a saint. She was just like the others.
"Did you really think I'd like a filthy pig like you?"
She laughed right in his face.
Nick didn't like being powerless, and he absolutely hated the idea of a woman making him cry.
But he cried shamelessly.
"Oh, please… it was just a harmless prank, loser."
That was all Betty said.
After that day, Nick never left his room.
"I… I… just let it go, man…"
He grabbed his face next and felt his sharp jawline.
His hair fell over his shoulder, silky black strands that looked like they belonged to a princess.
He blinked at his reflection in the windowpane.
The person staring back was [Nero Ardenvale] the impossibly handsome protagonist he'd created.
"If only this was real…"
He muttered under his breath.
Nero stood up and looked around.
The room looked like something straight out of a medieval RPG: wooden walls, a dusty old rug, a flickering candle in the corner.
He walked to the next room — a small study with thick, weirdly glowing tomes stacked on the floor and a few swords hanging crookedly on the wall.
The place was… messy.
Empty cups, open books, and piles of dust all over.
As he explored, a ding! sound echoed in his ears.
A transparent blue panel appeared before him in midair.
[Welcome to the World of Phantasia!]
Nero held his arms out as he stumbled back in shock.
[Character: Nero Ardenvale]
[Background: You're an orphan raised by the legendary Grand Magician Merlin, master of arcane arts. Currently living in the remote village of Elaris.]
[Affiliation: Apprentice of Merlin the Great]
[Objective: Complete the Main Story Questline]
[Genre: Fantasy x Romance x Simulation]
[Difficulty: "Normal" (For first-time players)]
Nero grinned.
"Oh yeah… this really is a dating sim."
Another panel flickered open.
━ Character Stats ━
[Level: 20]
[Magic: 2600]
[Attack: 105]
[Defense: 92]
[Agility: 110]
[Intelligence: 180]
[Magic Power: 210]
‣ Attribute: [Fire Attribute] [Wind Attribute]
‣ Skills: [Oracle Engine] [Fusion Ability] [Magic Touch]
It looked very easy to understand.
"Not bad, not bad…"
Nero smirked, flexing his arm.
"Guess I'm kinda OP already, huh?"
He glanced around again.
"Now… where's this Merlin guy?"
In his head, he started picturing what his supposed mentor might look like — a soft-spoken old man in a star-patterned robe, maybe with a long white beard that smelled like pipe smoke. Or maybe some strict Dumbledore type with serious eyebrows and dramatic hand gestures.
But before he could finish his daydream, he heard a weird sound — clatter! thud!
Nero froze.
"What was that…?"
He tiptoed down the narrow hallway as he peeked around the corner like a guilty thief. The sound came from a room at the end — the door slightly open.
He approached carefully and noticed something lying on the floor.
A purple dress.
"Uh…" He blinked. "Okay…"
Then next to it — a purple wizard's hat.
"Is this Merlin's… cosplay or something?"
He stepped closer — and froze again when he saw it.
A huge bra lay in the middle of the floor.
He crouched down, picked it up, and stared.
"This… is a tent. No, no, this is a weapon. This thing could smother me to death."
He laughed nervously, then, for reasons beyond logic, put one of the cups on his head.
It covered half of it.
"Size Z…? What the hell is this lady packing—"
Then he noticed panties tossed carelessly beside a chair.
And beer bottles scattered across the floor.
"Wait. No way. Merlin's not—"
Before he could finish, the game chimed again.
[Main Story: Chapter One – "The Lazy Sorceress of the Bath" Begins.]
[Summary: Meet your mentor, Merlin the Great. Build affinity to unlock new spells and story routes.]
[Hint: First impressions matter!]
‣ Would you like to proceed?
[YES] [NO]
Nero gulped.
"Oh, I have a bad feeling about this…"
He placed his hand on the door handle and slowly pushed it open.
Steam drifted out.
There was the faint smell of wood and… alcohol?
Then his eyes widened.
Sitting in a small hinoki bath — completely naked — was a woman.
A curvaceous body drenched in water.
Sexy and impossibly beautiful purple eyes.
Attractively thin, juicy lips as glossy as slime.
Her messy black hair spilled like a waterfall down her slim back as her skin practically glowed under the sunlight coming through the window.
"Fufufu~ ❤️"
She had a beer bottle in one hand, eyes half-lidded and cheeks faintly flushed.
The system pinged again.
[Character Identified: Merlin Arclight]
[Race: Human (Transcendent Species)]
[Age: 460 years old]
[Rank: S-Class Magician]
[Specialty: Arcane Magic, Transmutation, Alchemy]
‣ Personality Traits: Playful • Assertive • Lazy • Seductive • Genius • Heavy Drinker
‣ Affection Level: 0%
‣ Difficulty: ★★★★★
‣ Route Type: "Forbidden Teacher"
Nero's jaw dropped.
"Th… This is Merlin?!"
The woman turned lazily as her charming violet eyes gleamed with amusement.
"Oh~? My little apprentice finally woke up!"
She always spoke to him in a low and honey-sweet tone.
"You're cuter than I remember from yesterday… did you sleep well, Nero?"
He couldn't even breathe.
Her tone had that lazy confidence of someone who knew exactly what effect she had. She took another sip from her bottle, licked the rim, and sighed contently.
That slow lick of the rim replayed in his head.
What kind of character is this—!? Too sexy. (ꐦ ಠ皿ಠ )
"Come on then~"
Merlin said with a smirk.
"Don't just stand there gawking. Be a good boy and pass me that towel."
Nero blinked rapidly as his cheeks flushed.
"O-, Oh! Y-, Yeah… right!"
He picked up the towel nearby and, trying his best not to look directly at her, handed it over.
Merlin chuckled softly.
"You're shy? That's always so cute. You'll need to get used to seeing me like this, you know~ We HAVE been living together for a year now."
She gently dressed her wet bangs behind her ear.
Just that action made Nero's heart skip.
[Notice: Merlin is a romanceable character.]
‣ Would you like to romance Merlin Arclight?
[YES] [NO]
Nero's brain short-circuited.
He looked up to the sky… or maybe the ceiling.
"I won't survive this…"