Leon hated Thursdays.
The bar was full of sleazy drunks, the jukebox was broken again, and his manager had just reminded him loudly about cleaning the toilets before clocking out. He muttered curses under his breath, wiped another filthy glass clean, and glanced at the clock. 2:43 a.m. Just a few more minutes.
The door creaked open. A woman in a soaked dress stumbled in long black hair plastered to her pale skin, eyes wide with panic.
"Help me," she whispered.
Leon didn't think. He vaulted over the bar just as two men stormed in after her. Big guys. One had a knife. The other was already grabbing the woman's wrist.
"I said back off!" Leon shouted.
They didn't.
Ten seconds later, Leon was bleeding on the floor. One of the guys had knifed him in the gut. The woman was screaming. The world went blurry.
He heard sirens, then nothing.
He expected darkness. Instead, he woke up in a velvet bed under silk sheets.
The room smelled of incense and sex.
"What the hell...?" Leon sat up. The pain was gone, replaced by a weird warmth coursing through his veins. His chest felt hot.
He looked down and saw it a glowing tattoo over his heart: a circle with a thorned rose inside. It pulsed like a heartbeat.
Then a chime.
[System Booting...]
[Welcome, Host.]
[Initializing Eros Protocol...]
A female voice, calm and slightly amused, echoed in his mind.
"You have been chosen. Your body has been enhanced. Your desires, unshackled."
"This world runs on power... and nothing grants more power than pleasure
"What kind of kinky isekai bullshit is this?" Leon muttered.
[Quest Activated: Make Your First Connection.]
Reward: Bond Point +1, Basic System Access
Target: Selene—currently outside the door.
The door creaked open.
In walked a woman with legs that went on forever and a look that said she could ruin your life with a whisper. Her eyes flicked to the glowing mark on Leon's chest, then back to his eyes.
"You're awake," she said, voice smooth like poison and honey. "Good. The system chose you faster than expected."
Leon narrowed his eyes. "You know about this?"
She smirked. "Oh, sweetheart. I helped design it."
Leon blinked. "You what?"
Selene stepped closer, her heels clicking against the marble floor. Her scent hit him a mix of jasmine and something darker, more primal. His mouth went dry.
"I was part of the first generation of Hosts," she said, circling him like a predator. "But unlike you, I wasn't chosen. I took it. Ripped it from someone who didn't deserve it."
Her fingers traced the edge of the bed. "Now the system's evolving. And younpoor thing you're the prototype for a new model. Bond-based growth. Emotional syncing. Intimacy as fuel."
Leon pulled the sheets tighter around him. "Why me?"
She leaned down, her lips brushing his ear.
"Because you died doing something stupidly noble. The system likes that. But don't worry... nobility fades quickly."
The tattoo on his chest pulsed faster.
[WARNING: Host's Arousal Levels Rising. Adaptive Enhancements Initiating.]
Leon groaned. "It talks about that too?"
Selene chuckled and rose to her full height. "Oh, it'll do more than talk. But relax, newbie. I'm not here to screw you into submission. Yet."
She tossed a small obsidian cube onto the bed.
"Press it when you're ready to learn. About me. The system. This world."
Leon watched her walk out, her hips swaying like a dare.
The door closed behind her.
[System Note: Bonding opportunities may be limited by fear, morality, or rejection. You must overcome these.]
He sat there in silence, heart pounding, mind racing.
"…The hell did I just get pulled into?"