~ The System's First Victim: Nakamura Aika
Nakamura Aika died because of a rice cooker.
To be more specific, she died because she kicked her defective rice cooker out of frustration, which then sparked, exploded like a small grenade, and sent her flying into her bathroom door.
"Ah… what a majestic death for a 23-year-old virgin," she muttered as her soul floated in the void, curled in a fetal position.
A glowing blue screen appeared in front of her face.
[CONGRATULATIONS, PLAYER!]
[YOU HAVE BEEN SELECTED FOR:
"BEASTWORLD: ENDANGERED LOVE—SAVE THE LAST STRONGEST SUITOR!"]
Aika blinked.
"…I got isekai'd into a dating game? Ew."
The screen flickered, offended.
[CORRECTION: THIS IS A SURVIVAL GAME.]
[WARNING: 99.7% OF PREVIOUS PLAYERS DIED.]
Aika rubbed her translucent soul-eyes. "Okay, but are any of the beastmen hot? If I'm risking my second life, I deserve abs."
[LOADING IMAGES…]
The system showed silhouettes with horns, ears, tails, wings—far too many features to be legal in Japan.
Aika whistled. "Daaamn. This is why women keep reincarnating into fantasy worlds."
[FINAL OBJECTIVE: SAVE THE LAST MALE OF AN EXTINCTING SPECIES.]
[FAILURE RESULTS IN: DEATH.]
"Huh. So I'm basically a conservation officer but with boobs."
[YES.]
She gave the void a thumbs-up. "Let's go."
*
~ Aika's Second Birth (Not Graceful)
Instead of waking up in a soft bed, majestic palace, or at least near a riverbank like other isekai heroines, Aika opened her eyes to—
Thud.
She fell headfirst from a tree.
"WHY IS THIS MY SPAWN POINT?!"
Leaves stuck in her mouth as she rolled down a hill, bounced off a large root, and smacked into a mossy rock like a dying croissant.
[TUTORIAL START!]
"Oh my god, can I uninstall this game?"
[NO.]
"....."
The World of Yokai Plains.
Cherry blossoms danced above her, dying the entire sky pink. Strange humanoid beasts with fox ears, wolf tails, or antlers moved in the far distance, their silhouettes elegant and intimidating.
Aika stared in awe.
"Holy crap… I really got reincarnated into Beastworld: Endangered Love. This game was rated 18+. Does that mean—"
A new screen slapped her in the face, cutting her off.
[NEW MISSION ASSIGNED:]
[FIND AND PROTECT THE LAST "SHIRANUI BEAST."]
[Rarity: Mythical. Power Rank: SSS.]
[Temperament: Extremely Aggressive.]
[Mating Season: Irregular.]
[Danger Level: 10/10.]
Aika clapped. "Oh! So I have to save a sexy, violent, mythical wolf-dragon or something. This sounds like every Wattpad novel ever."
[NOTE: IF YOU FAIL TO SAVE HIM, YOUR BODY WILL BE RECYCLED FOR FERTILIZER.]
She stared.
"Excuse me?! Isn't that illegal?!"
[THIS IS A SURVIVAL GAME.]
A treasure box materialized in front of her.
"Oho? Free loot? My love language!"
She opened it.
Inside were:
A rock
A single rice ball
A leaf
A suspiciously lacy bra
Aika held up the bra. "What the hell am I supposed to do with this?"
[IT HAS +3 CHARISMA.]
"Okay, that's actually valid."
She put it on under her new beastworld outfit—basically a fur bikini with armored straps that screamed "I will not survive winter."
Aika sighed. "Alright. Show me the map."
A holographic map appeared… entirely black except for a single blinking red dot.
[THE SHIRANUI BEAST IS LOCATED HERE.]
The red dot was moving.
Fast.
Right toward her.
"…Eh?"
Branches snapped in the forest behind her.
Heavy, predatory footsteps approached—slow but deliberate. The kind of steps that said: I am the apex predator and everything else is dinner.
Aika scrambled to her feet. "System, please tell me he's friendly—"
[TEMPERAMENT: EXTREMELY AGGRESSIVE.]
"WHY WOULD YOU SPAWN ME IN HIS TERRITORY ON DAY ONE?!"
[SURVIVAL INSTINCTS ARE IMPORTANT.]
"YOU'RE IMPORTANT MY ASS—"
A low growl vibrated through the trees.
Aika froze.
Two glowing, icy-blue eyes stared at her from the shadows.
A tall, broad figure stepped forward—half-wolf, half-dragon, all dangerously sexy. Snow-white hair, claws, sharp fangs, a powerful tail, skin marked with ancient glowing runes.
She swallowed.
"…Okay. Yup. I get it. Endangered species indeed. Women probably hunted him to extinction."
He sniffed the air, eyes narrowing. "A human… female?"
His voice was a deep, velvety rumble that did terrible things to her knees.
Aika cleared her throat. "Hi. I'm Aika. I'm here to… uh… save you."
The Shiranui Beast tilted his head. "Save me? I eat creatures like you for breakfast."
She forced a grin.
"Hehe… so… funny story! The system told me to protect your species—"
The system chimed.
[CLARIFICATION: YOU MUST ENSURE HIS LINEAGE CONTINUES.]
Silence.
Aika blinked.
The beast blinked.
"…Wait," she whispered. "System, are you saying—"
[CORRECT.]
"—that I'm supposed to sleep with him?!"
[OBJECTIVE UPDATED:]
['OPERATION: MAKE BABIES WITH THE LAST SHIRANUI' HAS BEGUN.]
Aika screamed internally.
The beast's ears perked. "Sleep… what?"
Aika smiled weakly.
"Let's… talk about this calmly…"
He took one step closer, towering over her.
"Human. Explain. Now."
Her eye twitched.
"Ahahahaha… So, um… funny thing—apparently, I need to help you… repopulate?"
The beast's expression slowly transformed from confusion → shock → annoyance → murderous.
Aika braced herself.
"…Can I at least buy you dinner first?"
she blurted.
The beast stared at her as if she were insane.
Aika added, "Or… you know… we can get straight to business AND then eat dinner? I'm flexible—"
"YOU ARE AN IDIOT."