Bound sovereign: Reincarnated with the lust system

The mana storm finally ebbed. The chamber, once alive with roaring resonance, grew eerily still. A few students had already collapsed, their robes sticking to sweat-slicked skin, others gasping as though they'd run for miles. The last echoes of pressure faded, leaving only the pounding of hearts.

Selene's voice rang like a bell, calm, collected, the serpent-eyed professor unmoved.

"Dismissed for now. Gather your breath. The resonance has only just begun."

Her robes swayed as she turned and walked deeper into the chamber, nobles instinctively parting for her, their eyes lowering.

But Eran didn't look at her.

His gaze stayed locked on Miyu.

She was trembling faintly, her aura flickering unstable around her frame like a candle whipped by wind. Her breathing was ragged, and though she stood upright, her flushed cheeks and unfocused eyes told another story.

She noticed his stare, lips tightening. She inhaled sharply, straightened her back, and spun toward him with the haughty grace expected of her bloodline.

"If you think…" she began, her voice low, though the tremor in it betrayed her, "If you think I'd be flattered by… this… you're mistaken. M..My mana..only my mana was strained. Not me."

Her words tried to pierce like arrows, sharp and scornful. But her tone cracked at the edges, softening where it should have cut.

Eran tilted his head, his smirk never leaving. And he stepped closer, just enough for his shadow to brush over hers. His voice dropped, carrying like smoke, threading past her ears and into her pulse:

"Is that what you tell yourself? That the heat burning your face is just mana? That the way your knees shook was just strain?"

Her emerald eyes flared wide for a second before she narrowed them again, forcing pride back into her spine. She leaned closer, as if daring him, though her breath came shallow.

"You—" she whispered harshly, "...don't know me. Don't think you can twist my reactions into your little victories. I'm not like those weak girls who throw themselves at the first commoner with a trick. You should know your place."

But her words didn't sting. They landed brittle.

The system purred in his mind, soft and wicked:

[WHISPER OF SUGGESTION ACTIVE.]

Resistance detected — Denial transforming into desire.

Success threshold: climbing.

Eran's smile deepened, subtle enough to pass as calm, and sharp enough to sink beneath her armor.

"My place? If I were in my place, you wouldn't be trembling right now, trying to decide if you hate me… or if you're terrified you'll crave more."

Her breath hitched. Just barely, but he caught it.

Her face flared crimson, lips parting for a reply that caught in her throat. She bit down instead, snapping her gaze away with a scoff.

"Hmph. Dream on."

Yet, as she turned sharply, the sway of her hips betrayed her unease. Her fists clenched tight at her sides, the faint groan she bit back... told Eran she was still fighting the whispers clawing at her mind.

And Eran, still standing where she had confronted him, letting the corner of his lips curl again.

When Selene returned. The chatter of students scattered like startled birds, replaced by the silence that always followed her presence. Robes brushing the ground, her emerald eyes as cold as cut glass, she moved with the same untouchable grace that had earned her the title Ice Serpent.

But Eran… he saw more. Beneath the calm mask, he caught the faint redness still painted at the edge of her collarbone, the subtle softness in her gait. Memories of last night's cries flickered in his mind, raw and searing. He let a smirk tug at his mouth, hidden.

Her voice cut through the stillness.

"You believe you are here only to train, to force mana into motion until it obeys your will." She let her gaze sweep the chamber, making even the nobles flinch. "But strength does not come from overflowing power. It comes from balance. From knowing when to let your core breathe, when to restrain, when to endure the flow rather than burn beneath it."

A few students shifted uneasily. Others nodded, determined.

"Today was only the surface," she continued, her words cold but commanding. "Now you will follow me into the inner chambers. There, the flow is denser. Heavier. Your bodies will feel it, your bones, your lungs, your veins. Some of you will tremble. Some will fail. And only those who can stand within it will ever rise above mediocrity."

She turned sharply, robe swirling with her movement. "Follow."

The class moved, boots echoing against the polished stone as they followed Selene deeper. The outer chamber gave way to an arched corridor lit by pale blue crystals pulsing faintly with mana. Each step they took made the air thicken, a humming pressure brushing against their skin.

The nobles were the first to murmur.

"By the Ancients… the density…"

"This... this isn't Grade D at all…"

"Look at the walls, they're breathing with mana!"

A girl with golden hair clutched her chest, awe widening her eyes. "I can feel it pressing against my heart. Like it wants to push my mana core awake…"

Others nodded, some whispering in disbelief, some in envy.

Eran kept walking, calm. To him, the sensation wasn't awe it was information. He watched the way the mana threads moved along the walls, how the floor seemed to pulse faintly beneath his boots. It wasn't just denser. It was alive, flowing like veins through a great body.

The group emerged into the inner chambers.

And there waiting like a different world—were the students of Grade C proper.

They weren't like the half-polished nobles Eran had grown used to seeing. These ones radiated refinement. Their robes clung sharper, cut from finer material, sweeping the ground in tailored lines. Some uniforms hugged tight to curves and frames sculpted by mana itself, revealing thighs as smooth as silk, waists trim and elegant, chests carried high with natural confidence.

Their eyes were sharper. Colors vivid crimson, sapphire, violet.. each gaze glowing faintly with mana threads. Their hair shimmered with light, strands too precise to belong to the mundane. And not all were human. Eran caught the curve of pointed ears, the flicker of a scaled tail vanishing beneath robes, the glint of fangs when one smiled too wide.

The Grade D nobles behind him gawked openly.

"By the heavens, look at them…"

"Are they… really our age? They look like…"

"Gods, even their mana aura feels thicker—can you feel it pressing down?"

A murmur ran like wildfire. Some looked jealous. Others, hungry. A few couldn't even meet the gazes of the Grade C students, lowering their eyes in intimidation.

But Eran only smiled faintly. His eyes traced the hot lines of the girls before him, the swaying robes that teased glimpses of smooth thighs and slender ankles, the scent of power mixed with beauty.

And in that moment, the system stirred faintly inside him hungry, as if it too tasted opportunity.