I stared at the ceiling, my eyes tracing the expensive molding while the implications of that red warning text burned into my retinas.
[⚠ THREAT: WORLD EATER Estimated ETA: ~3 Years]
[Required Rank to Intervene: TRANSCENDENT]
[Current Rank: D]
It was a suicide mission wrapped in a fantasy setting. The history of this world was textbook: Gates appearing a century ago, monsters spilling out, humanity adapting through the Awakening. Society had rebuilt itself around mana Guilds, Hero factions, the new economy. Everything was measured in ranks. G, F, E, D... all the way up to the legendary SS.
The current ceiling of humanity was SS. Jin's mother, Sophia Kang, was the living embodiment of that peak. She was the gold standard, the untouchable apex predator of the human race.
And then there was the World Eater.
A spider. A black, dimensional nightmare that didn't care about human politics or Guild hierarchies. In three years, it would crawl out of whatever hellhole it inhabited and eat everything. Because it was Transcendent. A rank that existed outside the known scale. A rank that no human in history had ever touched.
"So that's the game's real trick," I whispered, the words feeling bitter on my tongue. "It's not an eroge about winning. It's an eroge about losing."
In the game, the player was supposed to focus on the conquests on the girls, the humiliation, the NTR. Nobody was supposed to look at the timer counting down to annihilation. Because the math simply didn't work.
Every Awakened had a Rank Limit. A biological hard cap. You could train until your bones cracked and your mana burned your veins raw, but you couldn't break the ceiling. Jin Kang, the most gifted prodigy in a century, was capped at SS. He was the strongest human possible, and even he would be nothing more than an appetizer for the World Eater.
And me? I was a D rank with an SS limit. Even if I trained like a demon for the next three years, I would still hit my ceiling long before I could even scratch the surface of Transcendence.
A weak, hysterical chuckle escaped my throat. It sounded foreign too melodic, too soft, like a broken music box.
"So let me get this straight," I said to the empty room, my voice dripping with venomous irony. "I have to achieve the impossible. I have to reach a rank that doesn't exist, in a timeframe that defies all logic, while simultaneously avoiding every single horny, predatory asshole in this Academy who wants to turn me into their personal fuck toy because my body has a built in 'surrender' button."
I leaned back, the chair creaking under the weight of my new, generous ass. The physical reality of this body the way it felt so sensitive, so ready seemed to mock my desperation. Every time I moved, I was reminded of the vulnerability that came with this beauty.
"Impossible," I muttered, closing my eyes. "I'm trapped in a doomed world, in a doomed body, playing a game where the only possible ending is everyone dying or everyone getting fucked."
I opened my eyes again, staring at the system window with a cold, analytical intensity. The panic was still there, but beneath it, something else was stirring. The lazy, introverted student from my past life was gone; in her place was someone who had read the script, knew the traps, and knew exactly how rigged the game was.
If the world was rigged, then I couldn't play by the world's rules. I couldn't play by the game's rules.
"If I want to survive," I said, my voice steadier now, "I can't just be Ellen Frost. I have to break the system."
"Okay, okay, focus, Ellen. Think like a gamer. Think like someone who has survived entire semesters on caffeine and spite."
I forced myself to stop touching my own thighs. The sensitivity was already making my brain fuzzy, and I couldn't afford to be distracted by my own nerve endings. I needed data.
"First: The good news. My rank." I pulled up the mental status window. "D rank. In a year where most students are struggling to get past E or D , I'm already at the top of the food chain. Sure, Jin Kang is probably sitting there at a C- or C like some kind of freak of nature, but otherwise? I'm a big fish in a small pond."
I took a breath, trying to ignore how my chest rose and fell. "Second: The System."
That was the real game changer. The original game didn't have a floating text box that gave me instructions on how to cheat death. This was my personal cheat code. My 'Transmigrator Perk.'
"Let's see what this bitch can actually do," I muttered. I focused my mind on the [SP (System Points): 0] line, giving it a mental 'tap' like I was clicking an icon on a desktop.
Immediately, the text shifted. It didn't just change; it expanded, flowing into my consciousness like a data stream. The information was laid out with the same clinical detachment as the rest of the system, which honestly made the content even more absurd.
[ SP ACQUISITION PROTOCOLS ]
SOURCE A Personal Sexual Acts
▸ Direct engagement with one's own body or others.
▸ Yield: High. The System prioritizes the Host's direct experience of pleasure and vulnerability.
▸ Note: High intensity acts generate exponentially more SP.
SOURCE B NTR Facilitation
▸ Orchestrating the corruption of Jin Kang's close associates.
▸ Yield: Variable. Scales with the 'Completeness of Fall' and the 'Witness Factor.'
▸ Requirement: Jin Kang must witness the act directly or become aware of the betrayal through sensory/emotional connection.
I stared at the screen. My throat went dry.
"So... to get stronger, I either have to become a professional slut myself, or I have to become a fucking puppet master who ruins everyone's lives for sport." I let out a long, slow exhale. "The system literally wants me to choose between being an onahole or being a villain. There is no 'Good Girl' route. That's cute."
I kept tapping, digging deeper into the [SP EXPENDITURE THE SHOP] section.
[ SP SHOP PREVIEW ]
▸ SKILL CATEGORY:
*Combat Passives, Mana Efficiency, [Expression Suppression] Upgrades.* *Note: Upgrading [Expression Suppression] is recommended to prevent involuntary physical reactions.* ▸ EROGE SKILL CATEGORY:
*Enhancements to sexual stamina, sensitivity control, and pleasure reception.* **Warning:** These skills accelerate 'Fall' but maximize SP yield. ▸ ITEM CATEGORY:
*Consumables, Gate tools, Enhancement catalysts.* "Upgrading [Expression Suppression]," I whispered, a spark of genuine interest cutting through my dread. "If I can upgrade that, maybe I can actually control this... this traitorous body. Maybe I can stop myself from melting the moment someone accidentally brushes against my arm."
But then my eyes drifted to the [Eroge Skill] section.
"And if I buy those... I'm basically paying to become better at being fucked. That's... that's horrifying. That's deeply, morally bankrupt." I paused. "But... if it's the only way to get the mana efficiency needed to reach Transcendent..."
I slumped back in the chair, staring at the ceiling again. The irony was so thick I could choke on it. To save the world from a giant spider, I might have to become the most efficient, high performance sexual tool in human history.
"This is the worst RPG ever designed," I said flatly. "Ten out of ten, would not recommend to my friends."
No use thinking about it. Overthinking leads to paralysis, and paralysis leads to being eaten by a spider." I said aloud, trying to sound like some inspirational anime protagonist, though I mostly just sounded like a tired college student who had missed too many morning lectures.
"I won't become a slut. Source A is a trap. It's a slippery slope from 'strategic self pleasure' to 'full time professional onahole,' and I have too much self respect left." I made a decision. "Source B it is. NTR facilitation. If the corruption is inevitable, I might as well be the one holding the conductor's baton."
I rationalized it as best as I could. In the game, the relationships didn't actually break; they just... mutated. The girls still loved Jin, but they loved him through their betrayal. It was twisted, yeah, but it was the established logic of this world. So, I wouldn't be destroying lives; I'd be... accelerating their inevitable character arcs. Yeah. That sounds better. I'm an accelerator. An architect of destiny.
"Okay, let's see what I can actually buy." I focused on the [Skill Category].