Chapter 1: Welcome to the Worst Game Ever
I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t sign up for this. I sure as hell didn’t agree to be trapped in a dating sim with all my exes. And yet, here I am—staring at a sparkly pink sky, a magical floating castle in the distance, and a horrifyingly familiar user interface hovering in front of my face.
[Welcome to LoveCraft High: Fantasy Edition! Please Select Your Love Route!]
Below it, six heart-shaped buttons blinked cheerfully. Each one had a name on it.
Maya. Rika. June. Ayane. Kira. Yui.
All of them. My exes.
You know that feeling when your stomach drops out of your body and you kind of want to vomit and scream at the same time? Multiply that by six and add sparkles. That’s what it felt like.
A fairy with rainbow wings popped into view. “Congratutions, Akira! You’ve been selected as the Main Protagonist of LoveCraft High! Complete your route to find true love—or stay here forever!”
I swatted at the fairy. My hand went through it. Figures.
“Nope. Nope. Not happening,” I muttered, stepping back. My shoes clicked on a marble floor that definitely didn’t belong in my cramped apartment. “This has to be a dream. Or a prank. Or food poisoning.”
“Incorrect!” chirped the fairy. “You signed the End-User Agreement when you clicked ‘Accept’ on that suspicious email titled ‘Win a Free Date with Destiny!’”
“I thought it was a mobile game!”
“Exactly!”
I groaned. Of all the isekai traps in the world, this had to be the most cursed.
The UI flickered, and suddenly I was standing in front of LoveCraft High itself—a towering, pastel-colored high school that looked like it had been designed by a committee of twelve-year-olds high on soda and glitter. Giant banners read “Romance or Die Trying!” and “True Love Unlocks the Exit!”
A bell rang. Students—human, elf, demon, and otherwise—poured into the courtyard.
And then I saw her.
Maya. My first girlfriend.
Long, elegant bck hair. Cold, piercing eyes. A perfect beauty—on the outside. On the inside, she was the most terrifying yandere I had ever dated. She once mailed me a doll of myself made from my lost hoodie strings. True story.
She spotted me. Her eyes lit up like Christmas.
“Akira... darling. You came back to me.”
I turned to run. Smmed into someone.
“Hey, jerk.”
Rika. The tomboy. Punches first, talks ter. We dated during my soccer club days. She once broke a vending machine and my finger in the same week.
“You still owe me 5,000 yen,” she said, cracking her knuckles.
From behind a tree, a soft voice whispered, “Senpai... notice me again?”
Yui. The ultra-shy one who turned out to be not so shy once you got past the soft exterior. I could swear the flowers around her were blooming just from her blush.
I backed up slowly. “Okay, this is officially a nightmare. No offense. You’re all... great. In very terrifying ways. But I’d like to go home now.”
The fairy popped up again. “Not until you complete at least one love route! But be careful—breaking too many hearts can summon the Bad Ending Boss!”
“What happens if I pick no one?”
“Eternal enrollment!”
A chill went down my spine.
Maya stepped closer, practically gliding. “We were meant to be, Akira. This world knew it.”
Rika grabbed my colr. “You dumped me via text, loser. We’re not done.”
Yui smiled sweetly. “I made cupcakes. With love. And ghost peppers.”
I bolted.
Down the hallway. Around the glittering love fountain. Past a girl riding a giant goose. (Don’t ask.)
I found the library and dove inside. Peace. Finally. No exes in sight.
Until someone coughed.
I turned.
June. The intellectual. Gsses, silver hair, 400 IQ, and an ego to match. We dated for three months. She dumped me after I failed to understand her twenty-minute rant on the psychology of tsundere characters.
She pushed up her gsses and smirked. “Ah. So the simution is working as intended.”
“Wait—you know?”
“Of course. I helped design the AI system. Did you not read the privacy policy?”
“No one reads those!”
She nodded solemnly. “Exactly. That was Step One.”
I sat down, defeated. “Why am I here?”
June tapped her clipboard. “Emotional growth. Entertainment. Possibly revenge.”
“I want out.”
“Then pick a route and survive it.”
I groaned into my hands. “Can’t I just fake it?”
June raised an eyebrow. “Fake love in a system that measures your soul’s romantic sincerity?”
“I’m doomed.”
“Yup.”
Just then, the ceiling exploded.
Smoke, fire, screaming students. And from the hole descended a girl in red armor, twin bdes bzing.
Kira. The battle-maniac. My ex from the martial arts club. We broke up because I refused to spar with her every morning at 5 a.m.
She pointed a sword at me. “Akira! Fate demands we duel again—this time, for love!”
June sighed. “Well. You’ve attracted five already. Just one more and the boss battle unlocks.”
I slumped to the floor.
“This is the worst game ever.”
End of Chapter 1
