The group dispersed past midnight, but Alex didn't return to his dorm.
He couldn't.
The System wouldn't allow it.
[Core Directive Reactivated]
Primary Condition: Emotional Conquest Required
Status: INCOMPLETE
Clarification:
"Power is not gifted. It is earned through bonds."
Selected Target Available.
The blue screen solidified in front of his eyes.
A name appeared.
MAYA KLINE
Alex stopped dead in his tracks.
"...Her?"
[Target Parameters]ParameterValueIntelligence:S-RankTrust in Subject:67%Emotional Guard:High
Reward on Success:
Permanent Cognitive Boost
Skill Unlock: System Parsing
+1 Core Affection Slot
Alex let out a short laugh.
"Right. We're starting strong."
🎯 Why Maya?
Maya wasn't impulsive like Sophie.
She wasn't direct like Jess.
She wasn't... inexplicable like Luna.
Maya thought.
She analyzed.
She questioned.
And the most dangerous part: she didn't fall in love easily.
That meant that if he succeeded... the System would pay him handsomely.
☕ The Setup (No cheap clichés... yet)
The next morning, Alex executed the riskiest plan of all:
He did nothing suspicious.
He didn't smile excessively.
He didn't flirt.
He didn't manipulate.
He simply sat down across from Maya in the campus cafeteria and set his tray down.
"May I?"
Maya looked up from her laptop.
"Five minutes," she said. "Then I have class."
Alex nodded and sat.
Silence.
Awkward.
Real.
That caught her attention.
"Aren't you going to say anything?" she asked.
"If I start talking, I'll try to control you," Alex replied. "And I did enough of that last night."
Maya slowly closed her laptop.
"That was an apology."
"It was an admission."
She observed him more carefully now.
"You used Ben, me, and half the security system... for what exactly?"
Alex didn't look away.
"To survive."
That threw her off.
"Explain."
The System vibrated.
[Honesty Route Detected]
Success Chance: +23%
Failure Consequence: Severe
Alex chose the dangerous path.
"Things have been happening to me for weeks," he said in a low voice. "Information I shouldn't have. Opportunities that appear too well-placed. I'm not a genius, Maya. Just... someone being pushed."
She didn't smile. She didn't mock.
That was a good sign.
"And last night?"
"It was the first time I stopped running," he replied. "And the first time I realized I can't do this alone."
Maya intertwined her fingers.
"Is that why you chose me?"
Alex hesitated for half a second.
"Yes."
That silence weighed more heavily than any compliment.
⚠️ The Crack
"Alex," she finally said, "I hate being lied to. But I hate being used without being trusted even more."
She leaned towards him.
"If you ever do anything like that again... without involving me... I won't help you. And you know that when I step away, I do it completely."
The System launched a red alert.
[Critical Choice]
Deflect
Charm
Commit
Alex chose Commit.
"Then don't step away," he said. "Stay. Not as a tool. As... an ally."
Maya looked at him for a long time.
Too long.
Then she sighed.
"You're a mess."
"I know."
"And you're probably going to get me into trouble."
"Almost certainly."
She closed the laptop.
"But if there's anyone on this campus capable of breaking an absurd system... it's me."
She smiled, truly for the first time.
"And you just gave me the perfect excuse."
[CONQUEST IN PROGRESS]
Emotional Barrier: CRACKED
Trust Level: 85%
Warning:
Feelings developing beyond calculation.
Alex felt his pulse quicken.
Not from victory.
But because, for the first time, the System didn't feel like a tool...
...but like a witness.
✨ Reward Pending
[Condition Not Yet Complete]
Affection must transition from trust to emotional attachment.
Next Requirement:
Shared Risk Event
Alex smiled to himself.
"So this is what conquering is, huh?"
From another table, Sophie was watching them with narrowed eyes.
Jess was frowning.
And Luna... was smiling as if she already knew the ending.
The first piece had fallen.
And the harem game had just been properly rebooted.