The library welcomed the evening in silence.
Golden sunlight lingered on the shelves for a final moment before retreating slowly from the room, leaving the soft glow of oil lamps to take its place.
Shadows stretched between the towering bookcases, and dust floated through the still air.
Surrounded by thousands of forgotten stories, the reader sat undisturbed, as though the entire library had been waiting for them alone.
Every few minutes, the sound of pages turning broke the quiet stillness until, finally, the last page had been read, and the book was shut with a resounding thump.
The mysterious individual studied the book for several seconds.
The cover wasn’t anything impressive.
It showed a man standing alone, overshadowed by the villain of the story.
It wasn’t visually appealing, but it had been a slightly entertaining read.
The silent observer pondered the contents, trying to remember the things that had kept them hooked enough to keep turning the pages.
It boiled down to four things, and four only.
Like a comedic joke, the author’s name was Quadro.
This made them chuckle a little at the irony.
The world-building had been impressive.
The politics were surprisingly well detailed.
It had a very creative magic system and, lastly, the mystery.
That alone was the very reason the book had been such a page-turner.
Then came the flaws.
The stranger sighed.
Thinking about the countless errors made them rub their temple.
The women didn’t feel the least bit human.
Even androids had more dialogue than them.
They just couldn’t understand whether the author hated women or was a virgin otaku with a lack of awareness toward the opposite sex.
They would make sure to ask later.
The men had no ambitions whatsoever, so why did they exist?
It puzzled them.
There was no romance, no jealousy; everyone just hovered around the protagonist like he was a bright ray of sunshine they needed to get Vitamin D.
The men simply served the women without question, as though they were empty shells.
Footsteps echoed through the hallway behind them.
The sound of boots rang clearly against the creaking floorboards.
The library was old and rarely used because students in the modern age preferred their dorms and online books to the real thing.
There were very few like-minded people who would come to such a place.
At last, the owner of the boots appeared in the doorway, giving a quick tap on the door to announce their presence.
“You didn’t have to knock,” the reader stated.
“It’s common courtesy.”
“I see.
Classes finished?”
“I rushed here as soon as I was done.”
“We could have met up as usual tomorrow.”
“And ruin our outing just for that?
No way.” They shook their head.
“You have a good point.”
“I always do,” they said, a smug grin plastered across their face.
“Narcissist.”
“I am offended.” They dramatically gasped while holding onto their chest.
The silent observer smiled and picked up the book.
“I finished it.” They gave it a small shake before dusting off the surface, removing the layer of dust that had settled during their short absence.
“Really?
What do you think?”
“Brilliant.
The world-building, magic system, politics, and mystery hit hard,” the reader said, their excitement as a fan spilling out.
“I’m glad you liked it.”
The reader’s expression turned serious as they looked directly into their eyes.
“Can I be honest?”
They were shaken by the intensity of the gaze and immediately blurted out, “Sure,” in a slightly high-pitched voice.
“Aren’t the females a little too full of themselves?
And come on, how do they all end up with the protagonist?
How is that even possible?
The shamelessness.”
If it hadn’t been guessed already, the reader was currently talking to the author of the novel.
“That’s because the world was built that way.”
“Okay, I get the imagination and everything, but hello.
That’s not how femdom works, you know?” The stranger aggressively tapped their foot against the floorboards as dust rose into the air.
“It’s not a femdom either.”
“Dear Lord…
it’s not.
I was trying to even give you credit, but you shattered it.”
“Do you know how many years I spent structuring, mapping, planning, and writing all this?” they quietly asked.
“How many?” The reader asked reflexively.
“Five years.”
“I see.” The reader’s brows furrowed slightly.
“Well, that’s exactly why I’m telling you.
So that you don’t make the same mistake twice.”
Silence descended upon the room.
It was heavy.
Neither spoke.
The only sounds that could be heard were their faint breaths, slightly louder within the quiet library.
“Maybe you never understood my stories,” they muttered.
“No, maybe you stopped understanding people,” the silent observer replied.
The words lingered in the air.
“All I wanted was…”
“Oh, please.
This is…”
The voices continued.
“Well then.”
“Absolutely not.”
A deafening crash shattered the argument.
Books tumbled from the shelves.
A scream erupted.
Then another tremendous impact swallowed everything in abysmal darkness.
The reader opened their eyes to an empty space.
They sat upright and tried to recount the last thing they remembered.
All that returned was pain.
“I don’t agree.”
“Then maybe we shouldn’t.”
A voice that sounded like theirs kept replaying inside their mind.
Yet they couldn’t remember ever saying such words.
The most vivid fragments were also the most confusing.
Amid the chaos, a hand reached toward them, and a familiar voice called out.
They couldn’t tell whether it had been deliberately ignored or not because another violent crash rang out, and everything distorted.
“…What happened?” The mysterious individual asked in confusion, though no one was there to answer.
After the noise inside their head finally subsided, they looked around and found themselves within an endless world of white.
They couldn’t feel their body.
In the distance stood a solitary throne.
Upon the throne, at the center of the endless white expanse, sat a woman with long golden hair that flowed like sunlight.
She wore a pure white gown trimmed with gold, its fabric falling gracefully around her.
Her beauty was calm rather than overwhelming, and her golden eyes held a quiet warmth that seemed to see through everything.
Against the endless emptiness, she remained the only splash of color, her presence alone making the silent world feel alive.
The stranger simply gazed, and the woman regarded them in return.
This time, her eyes carried exhaustion.
She looked more annoyed than surprised by the sudden arrival.
After what felt like a brief study of the sudden enigma before her, she sighed.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen…
again.”
The reader was about to ask what she meant, but she changed the subject as quickly as she had made the statement.
She pinched the bridge of her nose.
“Well since you’re already here, I’ll begin” she smoothened her dress.
“True peace has become an impossible feat to achieve.
Desire has been lost within the pages of time.
It is up to you to decide whether to fix it or not.
The world is your playing field.” She paused.
The reader simply hovered.
“Anyway, you have two choices.
Pass on to the afterlife, or live again in the world I spoke of.
Flicker once for Option A and twice for Option B.”
They flickered twice.
“Good riddance.”
She snapped her fingers.
Light engulfed them, and after what felt like hours, everything opened up.
The reader slowly opened their eyes.
The first thing that greeted them was the sky.
It stretched endlessly overhead, an impossible shade of sapphire so vivid it seemed freshly painted by the heavens themselves.
Wisps of silver clouds drifted lazily across its vast canvas, their edges catching the sunlight until they shimmered like scattered silk.
A gentle breeze brushed against the stranger’s face, carrying with it the crisp scent of wildflowers, fresh earth, and pine.
It wasn’t the stale air of a library or the suffocating smell of city streets.
Every breath felt startlingly pure, as though their lungs were inhaling life for the very first time.
“…”
They gradually sat upright.
Before them sprawled a landscape that stole the words from their mouth.
Rolling emerald hills stretched beyond the horizon, interrupted by crystal rivers that reflected the morning sun like ribbons of liquid glass.
Forests of towering trees swayed rhythmically in the wind, their leaves gleaming with hues of emerald and gold.
Far in the distance, mountains pierced the heavens, their snow-capped peaks wrapped in drifting clouds.
Farther still…
A colossal city stood proudly against the horizon.
Its gleaming white walls encircled countless buildings crowned with sapphire rooftops that sparkled beneath the sunlight.
Elegant towers rose like spears toward the heavens, connected by graceful bridges suspended impossibly high above the streets.
At the city’s heart stood a magnificent palace whose countless spires caught the light so brilliantly they resembled stars brought down to earth.
“Impossible”
Birds with feathers of brilliant crimson and sapphire soared through the sky, their melodic cries echoing across the valley.
Tiny motes of glowing light drifted lazily through the air around them.
Mana.
“It can’t be”
Flashes and snippets of something long forgotten surged through their mind.
A figure reading a book.
They recognized it instantly.
Their heartbeat quickened.
“…No way.”
Their gaze wandered across the breathtaking scenery once more.
They knew everything.
They had imagined it countless times while reading.
The Northern Frost Range.
The Azure River.
The Royal Capital of Elaria.
Places that had existed only as ink upon paper now stood before them in breathtaking reality.
Their lips slowly parted into a disbelieving smile.
“I…”
A nervous laugh escaped them.
“…I’m inside the novel.”
They tried remembering once more—something, anything—but the argument replayed again.
“Who… was I arguing with?”
No answer came.
As they attempted to gather their bearings and decide what to do next, they heard a soft chime followed by a mechanical voice.
{Initializing…}
Blue windows appeared before their eyes.
Lust System Activated.
They stared at the words.
“…Lust?”
Host Solomon has been recognized.
“Huh?”
Amidst their confusion, more words appeared.
Primary Objective: Conquer the goddess.
“…”
Secondary Objective: Achieve true world peace.
“Is such a thing possible?”
Special Requirements: Recruit all seven special targets.
“…Seven,” they whispered.
The final line appeared more slowly than the others, but in bolder letters.
HIDDEN OBJECTIVE UNLOCKED: ADD YOUR MURDERER TO THE HAREM
They blinked.
They reread the sentence as their heart skipped a beat before pounding violently against their chest, forcing heavy breaths from their lungs.
“I… was murdered?”
MC’s name will be used from next chapter.
Welcome to his world.
Enjoy