My Succubus Harem System In The Reverse World

Chapter 26: Chapter 26: A Direct Order for a Messy Group Dynamic

"So..."

I cleared my throat and forced my voice to stay perfectly steady.

"How am I doing, then?"

"You are doing way too well for a newbie, Revien."

Jenna turned off the tablet and slipped it casually into her deep coat pocket.

"Your stamina retention is practically unheard of, and your mana efficiency is completely off the charts for someone unregistered. It is time we put you to a real test to see how you handle actual pressure."

"An actual dungeon?"

I perked up slightly as my system practically brimmed at the prospect of gaining some real combat experience.

"No."

Jenna shook her head, and her tone shifted seamlessly back to strictly professional business.

"A simulation. We are putting you in a controlled and restricted environment with a bunch of other Vanguard newbies."

"When?"

"The day after tomorrow."

"That soon?"

Gianna finally spoke up, and her pink blush faded quickly as she frowned at her mother in genuine concern.

"He barely knows how to hold a sword properly. He doesn’t know any Vanguard group formations or basic distress signals. If you throw him into a team scenario right now, he is just going to improvise and ruin the entire squad’s synergy."

"That’s exactly why he needs to do it immediately."

Jenna countered and walked further into the training room.

"The academy entrance exams will not pair him up with trained and perfectly rational teammates. He is going to be thrown right into the chaos with arrogant and untested kids who think they know everything about survival. He needs to learn how to adapt to a messy group dynamic before the real evaluation begins."

"I can adapt just fine."

I tossed the wooden practice sword perfectly into the corner storage rack.

"Just tell me what the objective is."

"Survival."

Jenna replied simply.

"The simulation will perfectly mimic a highly volatile D-rank gate break. You will be placed in a ruined urban environment alongside four other Vanguard hopefuls drafted from different local guilds. Your sole goal is to secure the primary objective, protect the civilian constructs, and make it to the extraction point before the timer runs out."

"And if my assigned teammates suck?"

"Then you carry them on your back."

Jenna smiled, though her eyes remained completely serious.

"Or you use them as convenient bait. How you solve the problem is entirely up to you, Revien. The evaluation board only cares about the final result on the scoreboard."

"I definitely vote for using them as bait."

I nodded thoughtfully because I was already planning my strategy.

"You can’t just sacrifice your teammates to save yourself!"

Gianna groaned loudly and rubbed her temples as if I was giving her a migraine.

"That defeats the entire foundational purpose of a Vanguard squad!"

"Hey, if the team’s tank really wants to run in blindly and get eaten by a simulated monster, who am I to stop them from achieving their lifelong dreams?"

"Mother, please delay the test."

Gianna pleaded and turned fully to Jenna.

"Give me one full week with him. I can fix this terrible attitude. I can teach him basic combat ethics."

"Ethics are highly overrated on the actual battlefield, Gia."

Jenna chuckled softly and stepped forward to pat her daughter’s shoulder affectionately.

"Besides, the schedule is already locked in with the board. The Overmatch guild has formally sponsored his entry, and we cannot withdraw without losing face."

Jenna turned and walked out of the training room. The reinforced door slid shut behind her, sealing us inside.

The sudden silence in the room felt heavy.

"Hey."

Gianna called out. She moved to the far corner of the bouncy mat, staring at the mirrored wall but deliberately avoiding my reflection.

I walked towards her and stopped just a few feet away, giving her space.

"Tell me."

Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Tell you what?"

"Your power... Does it work only if you get intimate with others?"

"It has many uses. But yes. It does."

"So you have to fuck multiple people."

I didn’t reply. She knew the answer already. She just wanted me to confirm it out loud. I could feel why she was asking this. If we got close, she felt her existence would just become another number by my side as I went on collecting others to level up my body.

She was a proud trainee, and the thought of being just a stepping stone terrified her.

"What do you want, Gia?"

I asked gently. I didn’t know how I felt about her yet. We barely met yesterday, and our interactions mostly involved trading insults and punches.

But I always knew when something just felt right.

Gianna felt right. And the guarded, vulnerable expression she was wearing right now genuinely hurt me.

"If I get close, you would eventually leave me."

She finally turned to look at me, her red eyes shining with a mix of frustration and fear.

"Don’t think for me," I replied.

She crossed her arms defensively.

"It is just how your class works."

I took a slow step closer.

"But it doesn’t mean I am going to throw you away. You are the first person I got close to in this world. You are the one teaching me how to survive. That’s not for nothing."

She looked at me expectantly, her breath hitching slightly as I stepped right into her personal space.

"I’m not someone who shares."

She warned, lifting her chin stubbornly.

"Okay. Don’t think about all of that right now."

I reached out, letting my fingers brush lightly against her arm.

"What do you want?"

"I’m not in love with you."

She stated it like a fact. And that was right. We were practically strangers navigating a very weird situation.

"But I want to feel something."

Her voice broke just a fraction, the tough exterior melting away completely.

I closed the remaining distance between us.

My heart was racing in my chest, beating faster than it did during our entire sparring match.

The system was working quietly in the background, but I ignored it. This wasn’t about stats or roulette tickets right now.

"...This means nothing," Gianna whispered.

"Just know," I reached up, gently cupping her cheek with my hand. She leaned into my palm instinctively, her eyes fluttering shut.

"You are my first kiss."

That was true.

Jenna and I never shared anything personal.

"Look at me."

Gianna’s red eyes locked onto mine.

I leaned in and closed the gap between our mouths.

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