In the Beast Continent, a male who completed his union with a female would receive a sacred crimson mark upon his lower abdomen. The more females who favored him, the more marks he carried. To beastmen, those marks were symbols of pride, proof of strength and desirability.
Yet within the Stone Middle Tribe, five extraordinary beastmen bore perfectly smooth skin.
Not one mark.
The reason was known throughout the tribe, whispered behind hands and accompanied by mocking laughter.
Their female master, Kaelira, daughter of the tribe chief, was a woman so overweight and unpleasant that even the fiercest beasts recoiled from her. Relying on her father’s authority, she had forcibly taken five males as her husbands. Though bound by tribal law, none of them willingly accepted her. Since then, resentment had grown like poison between them. None of the males touched her. None shared her bed willingly. They treated her with cold indifference at best—and disgust at worst.
They despised her.
Some ignored her entirely.
Others looked at her as though she were filth clinging to their fur.
But Kaelira refused to give up.
One night, under the cover of darkness, she secretly mixed aphrodisiac nectar into the drinks of her beast husbands, hoping desire would cloud their judgment and force them to accept her.
Instead, she had been kicked away before she could even approach them.
Humiliated beyond endurance, Kaelira stumbled toward the river in tears, intending only to frighten them into pity.
Unfortunately, the current was merciless.
The chief’s daughter drowned before anyone came to save her.
By the time her body resurfaced against the reeds downstream...
Another soul had already awakened inside it.
When Kaelira opened her eyes again, icy water filled her lungs.
No...
Not Kaelira.
Sora.
A Level 25 water-element user from a post-apocalyptic world.
Her entire body trembled from the cold.
Fragments of memories crashed through her mind like broken glass.
The Beastlands.
Stone Middle Tribe.
Five beast husbands.
Mockery.
Humiliation.
Loneliness.
And finally—
Death.
The riverbank blurred before her vision as memories crashed violently into her mind. A beast world. Primitive tribes. Beastmen capable of transforming into animals. Five husbands who hated her. Plotting her death.
And the body she now inhabited belonged to a woman universally loathed.
"Seriously... what rotten luck..."
Sora pressed a hand against her aching forehead, struggling to steady herself.
"So I really transmigrated..."
In her previous life, she had survived in a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by mutants and collapsing cities. There, she had awakened a rare water ability and eventually advanced it to Level Nine. Water healed her wounds, purified toxins, and obeyed her command like an extension of her own body.
But now?
Now she stood dripping beside a primitive river wearing nothing but rough animal hide.
A miserable start.
Shivering violently, Sora dragged herself from the river and staggered toward a cave dwelling carved into the mountainside.
Smoke drifted faintly from outside.
A tall silver-haired wolf beastman stood nearby, wringing water from freshly washed pelts beneath the fading sunlight.
His features were sharp and handsome.
Silver-gray hair brushed against broad shoulders.
Sharp amber eyes.
Cold, handsome features.
This was Lukan.
One of her beast husbands.
Unlike the others, Lukan did not openly hate her. He had been orphaned as a child and rescued by Kaelira’s father during a hunt. Raised within the tribe, he had always repaid kindness with loyalty.
Still, loyalty did not mean affection.
The moment he noticed Sora’s soaked appearance, concern flickered across his face—only to vanish instantly into disgust.
Sora paused.
Then she followed his gaze.
Her eyes landed on several medicinal herbs drying neatly upon a flat stone table.
Chamomile.
Used specifically for menstrual pain.
Understanding dawned immediately.
The original owner had lied.
Kaelira had claimed she was suffering from severe cramps so Lukan would wash her pelts for her out of sympathy. Yet now she had returned drenched from the river without the slightest trace of blood.
The deception was obvious.
No wonder he looked at her like that.
Sora sighed internally.
Wonderful.
She had inherited not only a terrible body, but terrible relationships too.
Sora nearly groaned aloud.
"So she offended literally everyone before dying?"
Lukan said nothing. He simply turned away and continued hanging the pelts to dry.
The silence was colder than insults.
After sneezing twice, Sora entered the cave and found a clean animal hide to wrap around herself. The interior resembled something from humanity’s ancient past—stone walls, crude wooden shelves, and furs spread across the floor.
Without speaking, she grabbed a clean pelt and wiped herself dry before changing into another hide skirt.
Everything felt ancient.
Primitive.
Wild.
Yet strangely alive.
Birdsong echoed through towering trees beyond the cliffs. Wind carried the scent of damp earth and moss. Somewhere in the distance, beast roars rolled across the mountains like thunder.
This truly was another world.
Yet compared to the wasteland she once lived in, it was strangely peaceful.
She lowered her eyes thoughtfully.
"I wonder if my powers survived transmigration..."
In her former world, Sora’s water abilities had reached Level 25 almost about to reach perfection. She could purify toxins, heal wounds, and manipulate water with terrifying precision.
After Lukan left the cave, Sora quietly approached the river again.
Slowly, she returned to the riverbank and stretched out her hand.
"Please still work..."
A faint blue glow flickered.
The river stirred.
Tiny droplets rose into the air and circled around her fingertips before splashing back down.
Sora exhaled slowly.
Her powers remained—but barely.
What had once been a terrifying Level 25 ability had fallen back to the strength of a beginner.
Sora sighed.
"So weak..."
At best, her power had fallen to beginner level.
Still...
It was enough.
At least she wasn’t completely helpless.
Relieved, she leaned over the river to inspect her reflection.
Then she accidentally caught sight of her reflection.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The woman staring back at her was... horrifying.
The woman staring back at her was catastrophically unattractive.
Her face was round and swollen with excess weight. Tiny squinting eyes nearly disappeared beneath puffed cheeks. Her nose looked flattened, while thick lips protruded awkwardly from her face. A dark purple birthmark stained one side of her forehead.
If that wasn’t enough—
Her hair looked horrifying.
Sora reached up cautiously and froze.
Sticky.
Greasy.
Hard.
Something wriggled inside it.
"AH—!"
Sora cautiously touched it.
Crunch.
Her expression froze.
The strands were stiff with grease and something squirmed inside them.
"...No way."
She yanked out a fat louse and nearly threw herself backward into the river.
"What kind of nightmare body is this?!"
The original owner’s hair was infested.
"What kind of nightmare body did I inherit?!"
At that moment, a mechanical voice rang inside her head.
[Romance Strategy System activated.]
Sora stiffened.
A system?
Of course there was a system.
Every transmigration novel had one.
"Good," she muttered quickly. "Give me shampoo, soap, skincare products—anything."
[Apologies, Host. This system specializes only in romantic conquest.]
Her smile vanished.
"What?"
[Your mission is to increase the affection levels of your five beast husbands. Completing tasks will restore your abilities and improve your appearance.]
Sora stared blankly.
"So let me understand this correctly," she said slowly. "I have to seduce five men who hate me... while looking like THIS?"
[Correct.]
"...I refuse."
[Warning: refusal will result in host erasure.]
"...You black-hearted scam system."
The system fell silent.
Sora wanted to cry.
No cheat abilities.
No instant beauty.
No magical treasures.
Only five hostile husbands and a death threat.
Truly cursed.