"I curse every scoundrel to endless suffering! May they meet a terrible end!"
Startled by a sudden outburst, Elias quickly turned towards the source of the cursing.
In the classroom, a girl was weeping uncontrollably, her classmates gently consoling her. Elias inexplicably sighed in relief, mistakenly thinking the curse was aimed at him. The girl's boyfriend, infamous for his fickle heart, had stirred up widespread indignation among the students.
Strangely, even though the curse wasn't for him, Elias's heart was racing. "Why do I feel guilty?" he wondered, baffled.
He was lost in thought when a classmate exclaimed, "Hey, look! Elias is paying attention too!" Elias, the new and mostly silent boy who always daydreamed by the window, had caught everyone's attention with his striking appearance.
His female desk mate, seizing the chance to talk to him, said, "Elias, come on, tell us what you think!"
With all eyes on him, Elias chuckled helplessly. To avoid the trivial topic and get back to his thoughts, he casually remarked, "Yeah, cheaters definitely deserve the worst."
His desk mate, captivated by Elias's gentle smile, blushed slightly. The girls, thrilled by his response, started chatting excitedly.
"Elias looks so good when he smiles..."
"Actually, if someone as handsome as Elias were to cheat on me, I might not even mind..."
The boys mockingly sneered, "Typical women."
The classroom's noisy chatter made Elias increasingly irritable.
He shifted his position, resting his chin on his hand as he gazed out the window.
The cityscape was a juxtaposition of retro gothic buildings and colossal airships soaring through the sky, emitting mysterious blue glows. Gentlemen in top hats and long-tail coats strolled the streets with canes.
This was neither Elias's original era nor any era that should exist, yet he felt an uncanny familiarity with it.
[The Exotic Containment Facility]
[Game 2.0 Version Updating...]
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Elias had just crossed over into a romance game he once played.
Elias's daydreaming was due to his recent arrival in this unfamiliar world, still feeling a bit bewildered.
When others travel to another world, they start with all sorts of benefits, but when I traveled there, I found myself in the middle of a class.
The subject? Some arcane course on 'Magitech Process Flow' that sounded completely alien to him.
[The Exotic Containment Facility] is a dark fantasy romance game set in a world where steam technology and magic coexist.
Human society is thriving, but beneath this prosperity, strange creatures stir and unspeakable eldritch gods awaken in the shadows.
On the surface, the game's protagonist is a student at the 'Royal Magitech Science Academy' in the City of Roses.
But in reality, he's the director of a containment facility, operating in the dark to study mysterious forces and contain supernatural entities.
This isn't your average facility, though. It's specifically for containing supernatural beings that pose a threat to humanity.
But since this is a romance game, the entities he 'contains' are mostly demon girls – some with horns, wings, and even tentacle beings.
The main gameplay involves collecting various 'problematic girls' and unraveling the mysteries of the fog-enshrouded world to ultimately save it.
Elias was initially startled by the terms 'cheater' and 'deserving a terrible end' because, well... wasn't that essentially him in the game?
The game's mechanics required him to 'contain', or fully romance, each chapter's heroine to obtain resources and unlock new chapters.
However, Elias played purely for the adventure.
He was so captivated by the dark and intriguing world that he almost forgot it was a romance game, treating it more like a mystery and adventure RPG.
Instead of cozying up with the game's heroines, he spent most of his time unlocking story fragments and uncovering the world's truths...
Women? They were just a distraction!
He was the mysterious investigator, a man on a mission to save the world!
In the game, the heroines were more like tools for his mission, means to an end.
However, Elias's approach in the game had an unintended consequence.
The game's high level of freedom meant that the characters' affection ratings significantly influenced the plot's development.
Flirting with a character and then neglecting them could lower their affection. If it dropped too much, they could even become enemies – a scenario Elias wanted to avoid at all costs.
So, he resorted to a cunning strategy.
Ignoring his initial proficiency, he focused on the game's investigative aspect, which didn't involve much combat.
He allocated all his reward resources to boost his "Charm" stat. With maxed-out charm, Elias became a veritable "walking incubus"!
Heroines losing affection? No big deal.
A single invitation from Elias for a date or a casual stroll was enough to skyrocket their affection back to full.
This clever maneuver almost helped him conquer the game.
But yesterday, after an all-night gaming session, Elias woke up to find himself in the game world.
The school day was ending, the classroom buzzing with chatter.
Outside the window, a steam bus parked across the street, its horn blaring.
Everything around him was incredibly real, not a dream.
Looking at his reflection in the glass, Elias couldn't help but smile bitterly.
He had just checked the game interface and found that all the heroines he had 'contained' had left his team.
This was not good news...
With the game now his reality, the heroines were real too.
Reflecting on his past actions, Elias felt increasingly guilty.
After all, the game's protagonist was a bit of a playboy...
Would they come after him with a vengeance? Was he destined for a tragic ending like some fabled playboys?
In the window's reflection, Elias saw himself: a young man in a white shirt, idly twirling a pen with slender fingers, his thoughtful expression tinged with a melancholic, artistic air.
His handsome looks and mysterious aura had captivated all the girls in his class from day one.
Interestingly, the game's protagonist, the 'Director of the Containment Facility', had no specific image in the game to enhance the player's immersion.
Real-life Elias, however, fit perfectly into this role he now found himself in.
Returning to his thoughts, Elias was initially worried about facing retribution.
But then he remembered: his attributes from the game, especially his maxed-out "Charm", had been fully inherited in this world.
If his charm had won them over before, why worry? He could always do it again.
Elias's concerns faded as he regained his confidence, a self-assured smile forming on his lips. This didn't go unnoticed by his female desk mate, who blushed even more.
Just as school ended and Elias was about to leave the classroom, someone called out from the doorway, "Elias, your girlfriend is here for you!"
Girlfriend? Since when did he have a girlfriend? Elias looked towards the door, puzzled.
The classmates who hadn't left yet turned their heads, eager for gossip. Then everyone's eyes fixed on the doorway.
"Excuse me... Is my bro here?"
A timidly beautiful girl stood at the classroom entrance.
She had deep blue eyes and light golden hair that seemed to glow in the soft afternoon sunlight. Her skin was so pale it was almost translucent.
The girl looked more like an ethereal elf than a human being.
"You are..." Elias stared at the girl, feeling a moment of unfamiliarity. "Luna?"
At the sight of Elias, excitement filled Luna's blue eyes. "Bro! I finally found you!" She hurried towards Elias, her simple white dress fluttering.
Luna was the first 'abnormal being' Elias had 'contained', a child he had found in the slums.
Perhaps because he hadn't paid much attention to the heroines while playing the game, Elias almost forgot she was one of them.
But looking at Luna, who was now almost as tall as him, he realized something crucial. When he found Luna, she was just 13 years old.
Now, she had grown into a young woman. The timeline was different from when he was playing the game.
It seemed that several years had passed...
[Luna]
[Affection: 100]
[Description: A girl who adores you]
Luna, appearing human, was actually an "exotic" – a type of being extremely dangerous to humans.
In the game, Luna was always stable and well-behaved, almost like an invisible presence.
Elias had been concerned that in his absence, they might become unruly and dangerous.
But seeing her "full affection" status, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Luna... uh... I know you missed me, but you're strangling me here..." Luna clung to Elias, trembling with emotion as if fearing he might disappear.
"Bro..." Feeling the many eyes in the classroom, Luna shyly released Elias. She timidly looked down, "Let's go home, bro..."
"Sure," Elias smiled, gently stroking her soft hair. "I have many things to ask you." Things like the current time, what had happened in his absence, and where everyone else was.
"Elias, is this adorable girl your...?" Many girls in the class were curiously eyeing Luna.
Holding Luna's hand, Elias explained with a smile, "She's my sis. We haven't seen each other for a few years."
"Oh, she's just your sis—" The girls sighed in relief.
They tried to engage Luna in conversation, but her shyness only intensified.
Clutching Elias's wrist tightly, she remained silent and looked down.
A male classmate then appeared at the door. "Elias! The professor wants to see you after school in her office!"
"Oh?" Elias felt Luna grip his hand even tighter, uncomfortable amidst the strangers.
Observing her timid demeanor, Elias recalled his own discomfort at family gatherings.
He decided to rescue her from the crowd, promising the lingering girls, "We'll talk more tomorrow."
After bidding farewell, Elias, laughing and chatting, led Luna away from the class.
However, unbeknownst to Elias, Luna's demeanor shifted the moment they turned away.
She glanced back at the girls with a cold, twisted gaze, a stark contrast to her previous timidity.