The Protagonist and the Stupid System

Almost instinctively, my steps led me to a room that, for lack of a better guess, I'm just gonna assume is mine... I mean, Kathryn's.

From this alone, I feel confident saying that the real Kathryn's memories have merged with my own cute, confused mind. Though, to be fair, I was the one who jumped into her life, her body, and, by extension, her closet. So maybe it's not that her mind fused with mine, but more like mine melted into hers.

Anyway, I'll leave the existential crisis for later. Like, around three. With coffee.

Right now, I had more urgent things to do.

The moment I opened the door—after placing some kind of ID card on the monitor, because yes, we do access control here—I was hit by a wave of visual sweetness like a laser beam in slow motion.

The room screamed with everything it had: "A moe-moe otome game protagonist has entered!"

There were stuffed animals. Lots. Too many. But I couldn’t deny they were adorable. Point for Kathryn.

A simple bed covered in soft pink sheets floated above an anti-magnetic base. The headboard had LED lights embedded in it, and a floating desk nearby displayed a suspended screen, with holographic decorations of bunnies and spinning stars.

Next to the bed, a full-length mirror shimmered with a metallic frame and proximity sensors that lit it up as I approached.

Bingo. Just what I was looking for.

I stepped closer to the mirror.

For the first time, I really looked at myself. Not just the exaggerated dress. Not just the pink strands falling over half my face. I saw me. Fully. And there she was. Me. ...Us.

There stood a beautiful woman—is it okay to say that if it's me? Kinda sounds full of myself, huh?

Just like I suspected, that pink fringe fell diagonally across my right eye. On the other side, a delicate braid hung down like a carefully woven silk thread. I ran my fingers through my hair—yep, it felt just as soft as it looked.

The color contrasted nicely with my caramel-toned skin. Closer now, I spotted a few tiny freckles across my cheeks. Little imperfections, perfectly placed.

"Okay, Yoshikage..." I muttered with a sigh. "You were a freakin' genius."

The illustrator, of course.

Kathryn was already gorgeous in the game. But seeing her—me—this close was another level.

It was like staring at a high-def painting and realizing each brushstroke was even more intentional than you thought.

The tiny details: long lashes, gently arched eyebrows, the soft curve of my lips...

And those eyes. God, those eyes. Cat-like yellow. They shimmered under the soft ambient light, carrying that feline charm so iconic of Yoshikage's art style. Like they were hiding secrets you weren’t supposed to know. They were pretty.

And then, as impossible to ignore as ever, the boobs. Holy moly. I’d felt them earlier, but now? Seeing the perfect balance of Kathryn’s body? It was simply stunning.

"Not bad, Kathryn."

I took a few deep, almost ceremonial breaths. The kind you take when you know you’re about to face something important. Something crucial. Something that, honestly, meant more to me than life itself. And that says a lot, considering all the crap I went through in my past life.

I spun around, way more dramatically than necessary, and lifted the black dress with slow elegance, like unveiling some ancient, forbidden relic. And there they were. The two things I needed to check. First, the obvious:

That tail.

A Nen tail.

Curled lazily around my left thigh, it looked like a mix between a spoiled cat’s tail and the kind you’d see on a midnight anime succubus. Soft, almost velvety, and it moved on its own, like it had a mind—or at least an attitude—of its own.

But hey, don’t get weird ideas! Yeah, the design was a little spicy, but I vaguely remembered reading somewhere that Nens weren’t demons or anything dark. Just semi-humans with feline traits. That’s it. That’s all my brain decided to retain from the game lore. Very helpful.

Anyway, I’d figure out that little ethnic mystery later. Now came the real priority.

I swatted the tail aside like an annoying curtain and focused on my second target: my butt.

What I saw made me frown with the kind of disappointment only a woman with solid aesthetic standards can truly understand.

"Oh god... this sucks..." I muttered, crossing my arms and tilting my head.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not like it literally stank. It’s just that... well, there wasn’t much going on back there.

"For fuck’s sake!"

I’d spent my entire previous life—literally—sculpting the perfect backside. Hours of squats, strict diets, targeted glute workouts with paid apps and trainers who sounded like they wanted to punish me for existing. I even took kickboxing classes. All for this. To get reincarnated with a soul-less butt?

"Dammit, Yoshikage!" I groaned at the ceiling, as if the illustrator could hear me from somewhere out in the universe. "You couldn’t have put a little more effort into this? It was a freakin’ NSFW game! What about people like me who appreciate a well-crafted ass?! Where’s the aesthetic justice?!"

The room’s silence was the only answer I got. That, and the tail, which flicked mockingly, like it was laughing at me.

Great. Reincarnated in a perfect body... except for the one thing I cared about most.

And the worst part? This was just the first day.

Suddenly, a glowing sign popped up right in front of my face, so fast it startled me enough to fall flat on my back. My tail stood up like a cat antenna, and I let out a half-strangled squeak. Totally dignified.

[Protagonist Points Obtained: +5]

Great. As if being trapped in a fantasy NSFW game body wasn’t enough, now I was seeing floating signs. Perfect. Schizophrenia? Stress-induced hallucinations? Maybe this was just a badly rendered dream.

Out of pure instinct—and to confirm the obvious in the most cliché way possible—I did what every generic protagonist does:

I slapped myself.

Slap!

It hurt. A lot. Like my new face had extra nerve endings or something. I stayed there on the floor, cheek burning and dignity in the negatives, wondering if I was stupid or if my neurons had just quit on me.

Eventually, my attention returned to the floating sign. The letters were still there, glowing softly, like they were waiting for me.

"Protagonist Points? What the hell are those for?"

I moved closer and spotted a tiny icon in the corner: a floating question mark, like it was part of an app way too confident in its design. Following standard game logic, I tapped it with my fingertip.

Just like that, a new menu appeared.

[Protagonist System: Earn Protagonist Points by performing protagonist-like actions. You must also complete system quests to keep earning points. Want more info?]

Two shiny options popped up: YES and NO.

"Eh... yeah, not even gonna pretend to be surprised anymore," I muttered. "Already gave up earlier, so go ahead."

Tapping "Yes," the menu changed again. The letters appeared one by one, like some dramatic narrator was typing them out in real time.

[You’re probably wondering what the Points are. They’re units used to upgrade the protagonist’s stats. Simple, right?]

"Uh-huh..." I said, one brow raised. "That sounds way too self-aware."

Arms crossed, I processed it all. So... I earn points by acting like a protagonist? Level up attributes. Become a better version of myself by doing scripted tasks?

Didn’t sound half-bad if it meant staying alive. Maybe I could even dodge those lace-wearing psychos trying to murder me out of jealousy.

"So, what kind of tasks do I have to do? Push-ups? Monster hunting? Bake magical cupcakes?"

The answer floated up:

[Complete one of the options provided by the System.]

"Yeah, but... what kind? Physical exercise? Epic quests? Legendary beast slaying?"

The window blinked, as if hesitant.

[... Love in the midst of battle. This is a fantasy-action otome, primarily NSFW. Basically... do adult stuff with story characters.]

"... No. No no no. Nope. Forget it. Go to hell. There’s no way I’m doing NSFW stuff with those guys! I’d rather die! ...Again?"

That would’ve been a great final line...

If I hadn’t just noticed the tiny, barely visible line of text at the bottom of the screen:

"If the tasks are not completed, the reincarnated user will be eliminated from this world."

My eyes narrowed. My neck tingled.

"No options, huh?"

[Well... no... It’s an NSFW game with story. Sorry.]

...At this point, I wasn’t even surprised. Not that it answered me directly. Nothing surprised me anymore.

Defeated, I flopped onto the bed.

"I miss my old life..."