Yandere Levelling in Her World

Ren sat on the park bench, his eyes narrowing in concentration. Around him, a flock of birds pecked lazily at breadcrumbs and a few stray cats wandered the paths. He clenched his fists, drawing in a deep breath.

"Imperial Qi… hold," he muttered under his breath. A faint golden shimmer wrapped around him, and the animals twitched.

For a second, the cats froze in mid-step. The birds jerked their heads as though something unseen pressed down on them. Ren's heart leapt.

"Yes! Stay still, stay—!"

But a pigeon suddenly flapped wildly, breaking free, and the cats bolted into the bushes. The aura shattered like glass.

Ren collapsed back against the bench, wiping sweat off his brow. "So just by getting a skill doesn't mean I can use it properly," he grumbled. "Looks like I'll have to put in a lot of hard work…"

But he knew that wasn't it. He realized he needed to keep having sex with the host girls of these powers if he wanted to improve and maintain them, so the idea of sleeping with a girl and then discarding her wasn't even an option—both for his skills and for his own safety, considering how crazy they were.

He was about to try again when something or someone caught his eye.

A silver-haired girl with glasses walked toward the nearby bench. She carried herself quietly, almost invisible among the people in the park. In her hands was a book with a glossy cover—BattleThunder, Volume 20.

Ren's eyes widened.

"No way… the new volume?!"

He hadn't even had the time to check the bookstores lately, not with all the love life problems, training, and… yandere chaos. And yet, here it was. His favorite series.

He leaned forward, staring like a kid spotting candy. "BattleThunder… the Galaxy Empire saga arc… I couldn't wait for this arc…!"

Memories rushed back—sleepless nights flipping through its pages, cliffhangers that broke his heart, and dialogues so human that he often forgot it was fiction. "It's not just spaceships and laser cannons," Ren whispered to himself, his eyes sparkling. "It's about people. Real people. The drama, the betrayals, the heartbreak. And the plot twists—damn, the plot twists!"

In his original world, BattleThunder was a series for guys. A niche cult hit. But here? Here, Ren was the weirdo for preferring novels to idols, spaceships to pretty faces.

Ren narrowed his eyes. The girl with the silver hair… she looked familiar. Very familiar.

"…Anna?" he muttered.

A grin tugged at his lips. He couldn't help himself. Abandoning his training, he crept up behind her.

Anna was fully absorbed, her eyes glued to the pages. Ren stretched out his hands, covering her glasses gently from behind. "Guess who?"

CRACK.

Pain shot through Ren's wrist like lightning. "GYAAAHHH!"

Anna had twisted his hand in an instant, slamming his arm down on the bench's backrest. His knees buckled, his face contorted.

"Wha—Ren?!" Anna gasped. Her pale eyes widened behind the lenses. "Oh no oh no oh no! I—I didn't mean to!"

Ren clutched his wrist, groaning. "…Remind me never to sneak up on you again…"

Anna shot to her feet, panicked. "W-Wait! Hold still!"

Before Ren could reply, she darted away like a startled rabbit. Within seconds she returned, clutching a small bag from the park's pharmacy stall.

"Here, here!" she said frantically, pulling out a cooling spray. She misted his hand, the sting easing instantly, then wrapped it clumsily in bandages. Her hands shook.

"I-I thought someone was attacking me… I'm so sorry, Ren…"

Ren sighed heavily, managing a weak smile as he thought to himself.

'This is another reminder… of just how much stronger women are in this world. My bones feel like glass…'

Anna's lips pressed into a thin line as guilt clouded her expression.

He lowered his bandaged hand and sat down beside her. "Why'd you do that, Anna? Did you really think someone was out to get you?"

Anna adjusted her glasses nervously, her voice quiet. "I… thought someone was attacking me, yes. I don't usually let people get close." She glanced away. "Sorry."

Ren shook his head. "It's fine. My mom's a really good healer. She'll fix this in no time."

Anna exhaled in relief. "I'm glad…"

Silence lingered. The two looked at each other awkwardly, neither quite sure what to say. Finally, Ren chuckled softly.

"It's been so long since we last met," he said. "Ever since then… did you lose your purse again?"

Anna blinked, then giggled softly. "Of course. A few times." Her smile turned faintly sad. "But you weren't there to bring it back to me…"

Ren laughed. "Guess I can't always play hero, huh?"

They shared a smile, the atmosphere easing. Ren's eyes drifted back to the book in her hands. "So… BattleThunder, huh? Is this the only book you read?"

Anna's expression lit up. "Oh, no! I'm both a sci-fi and fantasy enjoyer. I read a lot of stuff. Um—space operas, magic academies, parallel worlds, even ancient myth retellings…"

Her words spilled faster and faster. "I love how stories can take you anywhere. How characters can feel more real than real people sometimes. I—I could talk about this all day—"

She stopped suddenly, cheeks reddening. Her gaze dropped. "S-Sorry. I shouldn't talk so much. I'll bore you."

Ren shook his head quickly. "No. Not at all. I want to be friends with you. Maybe… we could share books?"

Anna's face lit up. A shy but genuine smile spread across her lips. "Really? You'd want that? I… I've never heard of any boy who likes these things as much as I do."

Ren smirked. "Then I guess that makes me special."

They both laughed softly. Conversation flowed naturally after that. They swapped favorite volumes, debated plot twists, and even compared which characters they related to most.

Slowly, they grew closer, and Ren genuinely enjoyed talking with Anna, despite having his own internal goals for her.

Time slipped away. The sun crept lower in the sky, painting the whole park orange and he knew it was time to go back but before that. Ren opened his status screen under the guise of checking the time. His eyes flicked to the Affection Tracker. Anna's name was still there.

But the number beside it didn't budge.

Annaliese – 5% (Somebody you just know)

"...So even after all this, she only has some kind of hidden thought about me. Nothing more," Ren thought grimly. "I'll have to dig deeper. Figure out if Anna—the bookworm—and Aria—the idol—are really worth my effort. And what power lies inside them."

His eyes narrowed slightly. "But how do I find out…?"

Then, an idea formed. A reckless, dangerous, yet effective idea.

"…Maybe," Ren mused, "if I were to get hit by some thug women, Anna would step in. And then I'd see what she's capable of."

A sly grin spread across his lips.

He turned to Anna suddenly. "Hey. I want some ice cream. Do you want one? My treat."

Anna shook her head quickly. "N-No, no. I'll buy."

Ren wagged a finger. "It's fine. Really. I bothered your quiet reading time. Let me make it up to you."

Before she could protest further, Ren hopped to his feet and strode off toward the ice cream truck.

But he wasn't heading there.

Instead, his eyes locked onto a group of delinquent girls leaning against a fence nearby. He'd noticed them earlier—when he entered the park, they'd catcalled him, making vulgar remarks about his looks.

If Ren had been a normal man in this world, it would have scared him off. But he wasn't normal—so he stayed. In fact, he even scanned them to see if anyone there was powerful enough to be his prey, since he needed a lot of them, just as Luxy had told him.

He was also curious about how far he could push things and how many skills he could collect. After all, women only ever received one skill to perfect in their entire lives, and Ren knew that if he could master more than one, he would easily surpass them.

Ren adjusted his shirt, put on a slightly nervous smile, and walked closer.

"…This is it. If I act like prey, they'll pounce. And then… Anna will show her hand."

He glanced back once at Anna, still sitting with her book, watching him curiously.

"Sorry, Anna. You're about to get dragged into my little experiment."

He stepped within earshot of the delinquents. "Hey, boy," one of them purred, licking her lips. "Back for more?"

Ren gave a weak laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. He was glad they didn't ignore him, but what Ren didn't understand was no woman could ignore him because of his looks and charm.

Their eyes lit up. They exchanged smirks, their voices low and teasing.

"He's cute."

"Look at that face. Soft, weak. Let's play with him."

"He won't run. Look at him—he's already trembling."

One of them reached out, stroking his arm. Ren stiffened, his expression fearful. His body trembled—but he didn't move away. It was all part of his acting, yet he was glad their was still some of old Ren remained inside his body that helped him to feel somewhat fearful of this woman for his acting.

Another girl leaned in, her breath hot against his ear. "Why don't you come with us, cutie? We'll have some… fun."

Ren's heart pounded. Not from their touch, but from anticipation. "Here it comes…"

They grabbed his wrist, tugging him toward a side alley. He didn't resist. He let his face pale, let fear etch into every line of his expression.

"…Anna," he thought, glancing back subtly. "Now… show me what you're capable of."