---
When it was over, we lay still.
Her head on my chest. My mind spinning.
Then it came.
[Intimacy Level: 37%]
[Ability Unlocked – Spirit Tether I: Bind (Passive)]
[Temporary Stat Boost: Speed]
I didn't say a word.
---
Morning light filtered through the narrow window, golden and too bright for the ache pounding behind my eyes.
I sat up slowly, the sheet falling off my chest. My body was sore in places I didn't expect. Muscles tingled like I'd just finished a fight—or maybe something more than that.
She was gone.
The girl—servant, guide, whatever she was—had already slipped out of the room without a sound.
Probably for the best.
I ran a hand through my hair and stared at the glowing blue text still lingering in my peripheral vision.
[Spirit Tether I: Bind (Passive)]
Enhances reflexes and speed temporarily during proximity-based combat with a synced partner. Triggers instinctive awareness of danger within 10 meters.
"Reflexes? Combat?" I muttered.
This was insane. Yesterday I was dodging weird goddess sex traps and getting hit by a car. Now I was apparently part of some fantasy dating-RPG combo I never signed up for.
I stood, grabbing the rough fabric shirt left at the edge of the bed, and the moment I moved—
[Speed Boost: Triggered – Quickstep I]
I blinked—and suddenly I was across the room.
No footsteps. No delay.
Just there.
I crashed into the washstand with a loud thunk, nearly knocking it over. Water sloshed out of the basin and onto the floor.
"What the hell!?"
[Cooldown Applied – 10 minutes until next Quickstep use.]
Breathing hard, I stared at my own hands.
"That… wasn't me."
Or maybe it was. But it wasn't normal. Nothing about this place was.
The door creaked open, and she appeared again—fully dressed this time in traveling robes, a satchel over one shoulder.
"I brought food," she said calmly, holding up a wrapped parcel of bread and fruit. "And I'll be leaving now."
I blinked. "Wait, what?"
She set the parcel on the table without looking at me. "The Goddess has another task for me. You're safe here for now. Stay out of trouble. And stay hidden. You'll attract attention until your soul stabilizes."
"Can't you just explain—?"
But she was already walking out. "The system will guide you. Or break you. Good luck, Jin."
The door shut behind her with a soft finality.
I sat there for a long moment, staring at the empty room, the uneaten food, and the cracked mirror across from me.
This wasn't a dream.
This was real.
And now… I was on my own.
---
The city looked different in the morning.
Lysereth was alive—buzzing with merchants, kids chasing each other down stone alleys, guards moving in pairs with shining chestplates and curved blades at their hips. Magic hung in the air like perfume—subtle, potent, pulsing just beneath the surface of everything.
And me?
I was a cursed outsider in a world powered by something I barely understood.
But if this was going to be my new reality… I had to understand it fast.
I pulled the hood over my head and started walking.
---
I wandered the marketplace like a lost puppy with trust issues.
The city was huge. Sprawling. Full of things that shouldn't exist. Floating stalls. Talking coins. A merchant trying to sell me a "self-heating bathrock." I'd barely made it two blocks when something fast and loud cut through the street like a storm.
"Out of the way!"
A blur of red silk and steel barreled straight toward me.
I turned—and was immediately body-checked by a girl.
Correction: a weaponized girl.
She hit me like a comet, knocked us both into a stack of crates, and sent dried fruit flying in every direction. I groaned, dazed—and then froze.
Because she was on top of me.
Face inches from mine. Breath fast. Eyes wild.
And very much straddling me.
Her crimson outfit clung to her curves like it had been sewn with sin in mind—short battle skirt, midriff exposed, thigh sheath holding twin daggers. Her long black hair was tied up messily, a single strand falling across her flushed cheek.
She blinked too, catching the sudden glow in my eyes.
I winced, hoping she didn't notice. She just tilted her head and gave me a lopsided grin.
"Well," she said, still casually straddling me, "you break my fall and you're cute. Not a bad start."
I stared, brain still rebooting. "Wha—?"
[Second Sync Detected – Emotional Spike: Collision + Physical Proximity]
[Intimacy Level: 6%]
[New Sync Path Unlocked: Chaotic Bond – Status: Unstable]
I became painfully aware of where my hands had landed during the fall—one gripping her waist, and the other… dangerously cupping something soft, round, and definitely not a shoulder.
Her grin widened. "Wow. Usually guys wait until at least the second time I land on top of them."
I yanked my hand back like it had been burned. "I didn't—! That wasn't on purpose!"
"Relax," she said, sliding off with feline ease. "You're not the first guy to get a handful of karma."
I scrambled up, face burning. "You literally fell out of the sky!"
"Details," she shrugged. "Still, thanks for the catch… and the squeeze."
And then I heard it—guards shouting, boots slamming against the cobblestone.
"Gotta run," she said, flipping her hood up. "And for the record, I didn't technically steal anything. This time."
"Wait, what—"
She tossed something at me—a small black pellet.
"What is—"
Poof!
A burst of smoke blinded me. By the time I waved it away, she was gone—already darting across a rooftop, red silk flapping behind her like a crimson flag.
I coughed. A nearby fruit vendor cursed me out in a language I didn't understand.
And then—
[System Notification – Sync Update Pending: Bond Classification Incomplete. Additional Emotional Contact Required to Unlock Ability.]
Of course. Because getting tackled by a rogue ninja-thief wasn't weird enough.
"Seriously?" I muttered. "This is my life now?"
Welcome to Lysereth, Jin.
---