"Next!" A sharp voice snapped Marcus back to reality. He'd reached the registration desk.
"Name?" asked a bored-looking official.
"Marcus," he replied, suddenly realising he didn't know his last name in this world.
The woman didn't seem to care. She stood up, scanned his eyes with a device, then sat back down.
She checked something on her tablet. "Marcus, ward of Elara Windcrest. Seventeen. Third attempt at awakening." She looked up, eyebrow raised. "Last chance, boy. Better hope something happens today."
She then gave him a crystal.
"Proceed to the awakening area."
Marcus nodded, gripping the crystal tightly. He had no clue where to go, so he followed the stream of teenagers flowing toward the centre of the plaza.
The awakening area was a massive circular space, divided into numbered sections. People clustered in groups, chattering nervously or boasting loudly about their future talents.
Marcus kept his head down.
'Better to avoid attention.'
Some of the girls shot him glances that made him shudder. He found a spot near the edge of section four and waited.
Ten minutes in, he spotted Jasmine and Liana deep in the crowd, surrounded by admirers.
'Better stay away from that crazy girl for now,' he thought, sliding further into his section.
Another ten minutes crawled by. The final awakeners hurried into their positions as the crystal at the plaza's center pulsed faster, its light growing impossibly bright.
"Welcome to the talent awakening ceremony, everyone!" A voice boomed across the plaza without any visible source.
Marcus blinked in surprise. 'Some kind of voice amplification talent?'
The announcer continued, her voice dripping with enthusiasm. "Today marks the beginning of your glorious futures! Many of you will discover talents that will elevate you to heights unimaginable! The Empress Academy scouts are watching closely, and the top fifty will receive invitations to join the most prestigious institution in our world!"
She barely acknowledged the handful of males present, focusing instead on the "future leaders of our matriarchal society."
"And now, the moment we've all been waiting for! Please join me in welcoming our most honoured one—Her Imperial Majesty, the Frost Empress!"
The crowd erupted in thunderous applause as the silver-haired woman descended from her floating platform. She didn't walk, she drifted down on currents of freezing air, her ice-crystal dress catching light in hypnotic patterns.
The temperature plummeted. Marcus's breath turned to cold vapour before his eyes.
The Empress raised one pale hand, and silence fell instantly.
"Awaken well," she said, her voice like winter winds across a frozen lake. "Show me something worth my attention."
Just three sentences—but they sent the crowd into a frenzy of cheers and applause. Girls screamed their declarations of devotion while the Empress's expression remained utterly unmoved.
The Empress rose to her throne on the floating platform, resting her chin on her hand with regal boredom.
"Alright everyone. Let the ceremony begin!"
The crystal in Marcus's hand started shining brilliantly.
"Eat the crystal, and let your talent manifest," the announcer instructed.
All around him, teenagers popped crystals into their mouths like party candy. Marcus hesitantly placed his in his mouth, surprised when it dissolved into sweet liquid instead of slicing his tongue to ribbons.
'Not bad. Like magical cotton candy,' he thought.
"ARGHH!" A horrific scream erupted from his right.
Marcus turned to see a boy collapsing, blood streaming from his eyes, ears, and nose. Attendants walked forward leisurely, but everyone else simply stepped away, continuing their ceremony as if nothing had happened.
'He's one of the rejected,' Marcus realised with horror.
Those whose bodies couldn't handle even the slightest connection to mana—dying during the ceremony was considered merciful compared to living talentless, in his opinion.
[Ding! Harem Choice System has been activated!]
[Choice 1: Talk to a girl] Reward: D-Rank Talent
[Choice 2: Wait until your talent manifests, without any action.] Reward: F-Rank Talent
[Choice 3: Flirt with a girl] Reward: Calculated upon completion.
"W-What the..."
[Countdown: 30 Seconds]
Marcus's jaw dropped. "Oh...no."
'Thirty seconds to find someone? Are you kidding me?'
Choice two was obviously suicide—F-Rank meant street sweeper at best, corpse at worst. Even Choice one meant a lifetime of servitude. Only Choice three offered any hope.
He frantically scanned the crowd, heart hammering.
20 19
'Jasmine? No way!' The thought of flirting with his "adoptive sister" made him physically recoil. 'She'd either murder me or have Elara throw me out!'
18 17
His eyes darted wildly around the plaza. Girls were already beginning to glow with various auras as their talents manifested.
16 15
'Who wouldn't reject me outright? Think, Marcus!'
14 13
Then he spotted her—an overweight girl standing alone at the edge of the crowd, her expression a mixture of hope and resignation.
'Perfect! From one former fat person to another—I know exactly how she feels!'
In his previous life, if any woman had shown interest in him, he'd have proposed on the spot.
12 11
Marcus weaved through the crowd, nearly tripping twice in his haste.
10
He reached her, cleared his throat, and unleashed what he thought was his best line:
"Hey, pretty one."
The words came out sounding like a dying bullfrog proposing marriage to a ceiling fan.
The girl looked at him, blinked slowly, then turned away without speaking.
'Shit!'
9 8
Marcus tried again, this time reaching for her hand. "Your eyes are, um, like stars that shine... in the sky... where stars usually are."
'What am I even saying?!'
7 6
The girl yanked her hand away. "Are you having a stroke? Should I call someone?"
5
Marcus's desperation peaked. "Please! Just pretend to like me for four more seconds!"
4
The girl's eyes widened. "What?"
3
"I'll die if you don't flirt back! Please!"
2
"You're... cute?" she offered, looking genuinely concerned.
1
[Choice completed: Flirting successful - barely] [Calculating reward...]
Marcus felt a surge of energy rush through him, then a bizarre tingling sensation that started in his core and radiated outward. His body began to glow yellow.
[Congratulations! You have received...]