Warm sunlight filtered through the window and settled across my face. For a brief moment, I thought I was back in my cramped Tokyo apartment, that everything had been some fever dream brought on by too many energy drinks and not enough sleep.
Then I smelled lavender.
My apartment had smelled like instant ramen and regret. This place smelled like fresh linen and expensive soap.
I cracked one eye open.
A ceiling of pale whitewood greeted me, carved with delicate patterns I didn't recognize. Definitely not my water-stained plaster ceiling with the suspicious brown spot I'd been meaning to report to my landlord.
"Right. I died."
The memory came back in pieces. The all-nighter at work, the tightness in my chest, the cold tile of the office bathroom floor. Then nothing, or rather somethinga blinding white space and a voice that sounded both bored and amused telling me I'd get a second chance.
Lucky me.
I sat up slowly, testing limbs that felt both familiar and foreign. Kane Vesper's body was younger than mine had been, leaner, less worn down by late-night convenience store runs and desk work. According to the fragmented memories I'd inherited, he was seventeen, unremarkable in every measurable way, and scheduled to die during a routine dungeon expedition in approximately three weeks.
The original Kane had been a background character in what I now understood was a fairly standard fantasy academy story. The kind where a plucky hero awakens a legendary talent, gathers a party of beautiful and talented women, and saves the world while the extras like Kane quietly disappeared from the narrative.
My plan was simple: don't be that guy. Stay away from dungeons, avoid main characters, keep my head down and graduate alive.
Easy.
I swung my legs out of bed, bare feet touching cool floorboards. The dorm room was small but comfortablea bed, a desk, a wardrobe, a window overlooking the academy's central gardens. Perfectly adequate for someone who planned to live a perfectly average life.
Then pain hit without warning.
It started in my chest, a sudden crushing sensation like someone had reached inside my ribcage and squeezed. I gasped and doubled over, one hand clutching at my sternum.
"What"
Blue text materialized in front of me, floating in the air like a video game interface.
---
[TALENT AWAKENING COMPLETE]
[You have awakened: Eros Authority (Mythic Grade)]
[Classification: CURSED TALENT]
---
The pain intensified, sweat beaded on my forehead. I tried to focus on the words, but they kept swimming in my vision.
---
[WARNING]
[This talent requires sustained connections with compatible individuals to maintain host vitality]
[Current compatible bonds: 0]
[Time until critical mana collapse: 23 hours, 47 minutes]
---
"You've got to be kidding me."
More text scrolled past, clinical and merciless.
---
[Failure to establish minimum bonds will result in:]
- Severe mana degradation
- Organ system failure
- Death
[Recommendation: Form bond with at least one compatible target within 24 hours]
---
I stared at the floating window, my mind racing through possibilities. This had to be some kind of mistake, a glitch. Maybe I could find a healer or a priest or
---
[Compatible targets detected in proximity]
[Distance: Approaching]
[Eros Authority: Passive attraction field activating]
---
"Approaching? I'm not approaching any"
Footsteps echoed in the hallway outside, light and purposeful. Two sets.
They stopped directly outside my door.
I froze.
A soft knock, then another.
"Hello?" A female voice, gentle and uncertain. "Is anyone awake in there?"
Before I could respond, the door slid open.
Two girls stood in the doorway, both wearing the academy's standard uniformwhite blouses, dark skirts, the silver emblem of Arclight Academy pinned at their collars. I recognized them immediately from Kane's scattered memories.
The one on the left had long silver hair that fell past her shoulders and caught the morning light. Seraphina Cross, a healer and third year, known for her gentle demeanor and powerful holy magic. Her green eyes looked wide with what seemed like surprise at finding me awake.
The other girl was shorter, with crimson hair cut in a sharp bob that framed an angular face. Lyra Ashford, a combat specialist and also a third year, famous for her quick temper and quicker fists. She stood with her arms crossed, but her usual scowl seemed softer somehow, more uncertain.
Both of them were staring at me with slightly flushed cheeks and confused expressions.
"Oh," Seraphina said, her voice catching slightly. "You're awake. We were told to check on the new first-years, but..." She trailed off and looked genuinely puzzled. "I'm sorry, this is strange. I felt like I needed to come here specifically, like something was pulling me toward this room."
Lyra frowned and shifted her weight. "Yeah, same. Which doesn't make any sense because I don't usually do welfare checks on first-years."
The blue text pulsed in my vision.
---
[Eros Authority: Active]
[Targets responding to presence]
[Attraction level increasing]
---
This was bad.
I had planned a peaceful school life, staying in the background and avoiding trouble. Instead, on my very first morning, two heroines from the main cast were standing in my room looking confused about why they felt drawn to me.
And the curse was counting down.
Twenty-four hours to survive.
I exhaled slowly. "So this is my new life?"
A cursed extra who has to build a harem or die.