NOVEL NEXT Chapter 7: TAKING A STEP
Her body still trembled against him, sweat cooling on her skin. The office reeked of sex, of surrender. Eran's grin widened as the faint hum in his mind grew louder—then the system scan ignited, a golden lattice of words unfurling before his eyes.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION!
[Target Scanned.]
[Selene Nightveil — Submission Secured.]
[Desire: 96%. Lust: 100%.]
[Loyalty Status: Bound.]
[First Harem Conquest Achieved.]
[Reward Granted: (Rank Up ll) +6000 EXP]
The system's voice purred like silk:
"Well played, Master Eran. The chains are forged. This one cannot slip away."
Eran exhaled slowly, savoring every word. His gaze flicked down at Selene—her hair wild, lips swollen, cheeks flushed red with shame and longing. She lay half-curled against him, her robe discarded, her breath ragged.
Her eyes fluttered open, locking onto his. For a moment she just stared, as if trying to reconcile the boy, she thought he was with the man who had just broken her.
"I…" she swallowed, voice hoarse but steady. "I never thought of you this way, Eran." Her hand slid across his chest, tentative but needy. "The way you fucked me " she gasped softly at the word, her blush deepening, " no one would ever dare leave you. If they caught even a glimpse of what you just did… you'd own them."
Eran's smirk curved slowly. He didn't answer right away; he let her words linger, watching how she bit her lip under the weight of his silence.
She shivered, then leaned closer, whispering as though confessing to sin. "I'm all yours, Eran. I don't want you to leave me… no matter what happens. Even if the nobles see you as a… as a commoner." Her lips twisted into a half-smile, half-pout. "Let them. I'll help you. I'll… I'll make sure you get better grades if that's what you want. I'll cover for you, guide you, anything."
Her sudden boldness made Eran's brow lift. For the first time since the system's voice had entered his head, he was genuinely surprised—not by her surrender, but by her honesty.
He studied her closely. "You'll help me?" His voice was low, testing.
She nodded eagerly, her hand clutching at his shirt now, eyes wide. "Yes. In any way you want. I want to… stay by you. No matter what you ask."
Eran chuckled darkly, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "You say that now… but are you ready to follow through, Selene? Even when I use you as a shield? As a pawn?"
Instead of recoiling, she bit her lip harder, eyes glistening. "Use me," she whispered. "If that means I can stay by your side… then yes."
Her words sent a thrill through him.
Selene smirked then, a sultry tilt to her lips as she leaned up and pressed a kiss to his jawline. "You hear me, Eran? I'll help you rise. I'll help you… even if it means betraying everyone else."
Eran's grin sharpened, his fingers tracing lightly down her back. "Then you really are mine."
Her eyes fluttered closed, body melting further against him. "Yours," she repeated, soft and breathless.
She lay across the couch, skin still glistening with sweat, chest rising and falling as though her body had been wrung dry. Her lips were swollen from the kisses, her thighs trembling faintly from the aftershocks. And yet, even in her surrender, she tilted her head up to study him with those half-lidded noble eyes.
"Eran…" her voice came out hoarse, her breath catching between words, "aren't you exhausted? You… you didn't even hold back. How will you keep up with classes tomorrow?"
He didn't answer right away. Just sat at the edge of the couch, his back straight, his breathing steady. Not at all like someone who had spent the night pulling screams out of her.
Selene let out a soft laugh, almost in disbelief, before sighing against the him. "I'm barely able to move… If not for my mana, I wouldn't even make it out of this office tomorrow. But you…" Her gaze trailed over him, sharp with curiosity. "You're just… a commoner. Without mana reserves, without even a proper rank. How can you keep up in this academy, Eran? Here… power rules everything. Only those with strength, with status, can keep their place in any conquest."
Her words weren't cruel—just the blunt truth of someone raised in a hierarchy that had never been challenged.
For a moment, Eran only smirked faintly. But Inside, the system's glow still pulsed in the back of his vision, reminding him of the truth she couldn't see:
[Rank Up — (Rank II Achieved.)]
[System Growth Accelerated.]
[Claim Progression: + 2 Levels.]
Just by claiming her, he had risen—faster than any noble child could imagine of him. It wasn't rapid but he knew this was a chance given to him a cheat system. And yet, she had no idea.
That's exactly how i want it.
He leaned back slightly, catching her eyes with a calm that made her brows furrow. "You think I can't keep up?"
Selene blinked, then gave a faint smile, as though teasing. "I didn't say you can't. I just… I've never thought of you this way before. Strong enough to break me down, no one's ever left me like this. yet still a commoner in the eyes of this academy. It's a contradiction."
Eran chuckled low, shaking his head. "Contradictions can be dangerous. Sometimes more dangerous than what you already know."
Something in his tone made her shiver, her lips parting like she wanted to ask more. But then she let out another tired laugh and pressed her cheek against the desk. "Then prove it… Eran. If you can rise in this place, if you can survive the hierarchy… I'll follow you. I'm already yours."
Her submission was complete. The system confirmed it with another subtle notification Eran dismissed before she could notice.
But for him, the curiosity had already shifted. If what she said was true, then the academy wasn't just about classes. It was a battlefield of ranks, positions, and hidden games. And if he wanted to dominate it, he needed to know the rules.
So he leaned closer, brushing a stray strand of her damp hair from her cheek. His voice dropped, calm but edged with intent.
"Then tell me, Selene… what exactly are these ranks you nobles cling to? How does this academy decide who rises and who gets crushed?"
Her tired eyes flickered with a new sharpness, and a slow, sly smile tugged at her lips. "You really want to know? Then listen carefully, Eran. Because the academy hierarchy isn't what it looks like from the outside…"
The candlelight still trembled against the office walls, shadows swaying like eavesdropping on them. Selene leaned back in the chair, legs crossed, her blouse hanging open at the chest, exposing flushed skin. Her exhaustion no longer carried disdain; it softened into something else—submission painted in noble silk.
"You asked about the Academy's hierarchy," she said, voice a low murmur. "Listen closely, Eran, because this is everything. Our entire world here is built on it."
Her eyes sharpened, though her tone stayed languid, almost coaxing, like she enjoyed tutoring him in something forbidden.
"The Academy grades are divided into five levels.. Grade A down to Grade E. Each student is placed depending on the strength of their Rank. Your power, your influence, your very worth is measured by this system. To nobles, a rank is not just a number, it is your bloodline's proof, your authority, your power and your pride."
Eran tilted his head slightly, keeping his posture casual as if her words amused him more than they informed him. But inside, his mind sharpened.
Selene lifted her fingers, tracing an idle pattern on the desk's polished wood as she counted them off.
"Grade A… the highest. To even stand there, one must achieve six complete ranks. They are known as the Veythros—the untouchables, the rulers among students. Those who make it there are already recognized as future dominions."
Her lips curled faintly before she continued.
"Grade B requires five full ranks. They are called the Velmeirion. A step below the gods, but their voices still shape everything. Their word in Academy politics is law to lower ranks."
Her hand brushed through her hair, eyes glinting as if testing whether Eran followed.
"Grade C… students who hold between four and three ranks. The Venux. Most nobles fall here, struggling, clawing, proving themselves. It is a battlefield of ambition, where alliances are made and broken."
She exhaled, her shoulders sinking slightly, her tone softer now.
"Grade D is for those who manage only two ranks. The Vrynx'. They're considered… half-formed, stuck in transition. Neither failures, nor successes."
Her gaze flicked back to him, studying his face as if waiting to see him flinch.
"And lastly… Grade E. The bottom. One rank only—or none. They are the Veylar. The lowest of the low. Barely considered students. Nobles mock them, professors ignore them, and even servants walk taller. To be Veylar is to be invisible… prey."
Her last word lingered in the air, like branding him with it.
She leaned closer, her hand lifting to brush faintly against his cheek, lips grazing his jawline. "And that, Eran, is where you stand. Grade E. No ranks. No pride. No protection. A commoner among lions."
Her tone should have cut him, but instead, Eran's lips tugged into that faint smirk he'd worn all night.
No ranks? The system's glow pulsed in his mind like a mocking secret. If only you knew.
Just by taking her, by dragging her noble body across this very desk, he had already been rewarded. Two ranks forged into his soul like hidden steel. The world would see him as Veylar, but the system whispered otherwise:
[Current Rank: II — VRYNX'.]
Let them think me prey. Let them think of me weak. As long i've got the game.
"So," Eran said at last, his voice low, steady, amused. "You mean every grade is built upon ranks… climbing one step at a time, yes?"
Selene's eyes lingered on him, her lips curling into a faint, indulgent smile. She leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss against his mouth before whispering against it. "Exactly. And me? I stand at Grade C. Three ranks. A VENUX'."
Her admission carried no arrogance this time—only a confession, laced with a hint of pride she couldn't quite abandon.
Eran's smirk deepened. So she believes she stands above me, secure in her three ranks. And yet, she doesn't realize she's already mine. Already beneath me.
But he said nothing of the system. Nothing of the truth. He only let his fingers brush lightly over her jaw, letting silence mask his thoughts.
Her tone softened, becoming almost gentle alien to a noble's lips. "But you… you are different. I don't know how you withstood me tonight. No commoner should have. Maybe…" she hesitated, her eyes lowering just slightly, "…maybe you'll surprise us all."
Eran chuckled quietly, letting the sound linger in the charged air. "Maybe."
And in his mind, he had already decided. Not maybe. Certainly. He got the system to play.