~♡Onii-Chan♡Onii-Chan♡~

The sounds of happy singing filled my head. The singing sounded pleasantly familiar and an unconscious smile began to form on my face.  

I opened my eyes to discover that I was laying in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room. 

“Huh?”

The room that I was now in was plain and neat. Blue drapes, blue bed sheets, a desk with a lamp, and a sliding closet. 

“What the f-“ 

“Onii-Chan!” The door slammed open, revealing a teenage girl with short brunette hair with a seashell clip folding back a bang in her hair. She had an excited smile plastered on her face, and her blue eyes shined dazzlingly. She wore what appeared to be a middle school sailor uniform. 

Who is she? And is that cosplay?!

“Time for school!” The girl said as she began to sprint towards me with her arms wide open. 

Huh?! What is she doing?! 

As the girl began to get closer, a sudden realization dawned on me.

She looks just like.. Mizuki from… ‘Help! My Harem is Trying to Kill Me!’ 

The vague memories of speaking to Lilia hit me like a lightning bolt! 

A huge grin spread across my face as she grew closer. 

Mizuki was the Protagonist's little sister, not blood related of course. She was the protagonist's step sister from his father’s second marriage. She was half Japanese and white. Her mother is white and her dad is Japanese. 

Mizuki was madly in love with the Protagonist and showed it by being super clingy. She was one of the first, and one of the worst ones to turn into a Yandere. She possessed overwhelming feelings for the Protagonist, that if ignored, would soon turn into dark obsession. Fortunately, it could be avoided if you chose to reciprocate her feelings instead of ignoring them.  

 Your Onii-Chan is willing to accept all of your love! Come to me! 

I spread my arms waiting to accept her expected embrace! “~Ohhh.. step sister~”

Mizuki jumped into the air with a smile on her face, but suddenly stomped and planted her feet on the floor just before reaching me.

Mizuki’s eyes snapped open as if she had just seen a ghost. “I-I…um...”

“Aren’t you going to hug me?” This is what I’ve been waiting for, damnit! Hurry up and simp for me!  

Mizuki’s face twisted into one of utter disgust. “Uhh… no.” 

“Eh?” Hey! Why are you looking at me that way?! I’m not that bad!

“See you down stairs Jeff.” Mizuki said as she turned and began to leave.  

Jeff?! Did she just address me by my real name?!

“Uh..wait-“ Mizuki slammed the door before I got a chance to finish speaking.  

‘Help! My Harem is Trying to Kill Me!’ 

How many times have I played this game before? So why is Mizuki acting so… different? 

Is it because I’m the Protagonist now? 

Like a lightning bolt, an almost blaring realization struck me! 

I have a hot step mom! 

The step mom that I was referring to was named Kenzie. She married his father three years ago, but since his dad worked so much he was never around. Causing Kenzie to become lonely, placing the protagonist in the perfect position to capitalize on it!

Now that I think about it, how did his Dad get married if he was never around? He hadn’t come back even at the end of the story which was a year later.. “Well, whatever!” 

Why would I need Mizuki if I can have her mom! 

1,2,3,4! I ran down the stairs as fast as my legs would take me!

As soon as I reached the bottom, I dashed into the kitchen to find my first experience! 

“~Ooooohhh step mother~”

My eyes immediately landed on a woman wearing blue jeans and a light brown sweater. She was gracefully stirring a pan of eggs with a dazzling smile plastered on her face. She had long brunette hair tied into a ponytail, revealing her delicate nape. Her eyes were a deep blue and her features were soft and elegant. Not to mention her impressive bust! 

M.I.L.F

Those were my only thoughts once my eyes landed on the bodacious woman in front of me. She had a mature look about herself, but still looked to be relatively young despite her being in her mid thirties.

‘Everyone has a plan, until they get punched.’ Well, this was my punch, and my plan no longer existed. 

In only a few seconds I was made terribly aware of the differences between real life and games. 

Even though I knew all of the dialogue options, and what was going to happen, once I laid eyes on Kenzie my brain noped out on me. 

I arrived only a few feet away from Kenzie. She was so close, yet so far away.

Kenize finally turned around, revealing her bright blue eyes. ~♡Ara, Ar-“ As soon as Kenzie made eye contact with me, her face twisted into one of disgust and horror as she visibly reeled.

Why does everyone keep making that expression when they see me?! Am I really that bad?! 

“Hello..” Kenzie's words trailed off as she looked me up and down with a nast expression on her face. “Please don’t call me step mom, Kenzie is fine.”

My feelings… 

While I fought back the urge to cry, I remembered my preferred dialogue option for this scene. 

“W-w-Woow.. T-t-Thanks for cooking for us. I don’t know..” Damnit! I’m screwing up so bad right now! Why is this so hard?! “I don’t know what I’d do without you…”

I put on the friendliest smile as I finished the dialogue option. 

I’d much rather prefer to just click a button and skip past all of this!

With a frown, Kenzie put down her cooking ware and softly pushed me back. “You’re welcome, but please don’t stand so close to me while I’m cooking.” 

This..this isn’t how this is supposed to go! You’re supposed to be swooning for me right now.. Swooning! 

“Ah..ha…” I awkwardly laughed as I stumbled over to the kitchen table and took a seat. 

Mizuki was sitting across from me, messing around on her phone. A stark difference from the doting imouto that pined for the protagonist's affection every chance she got. 

Kenzie was finally done with breakfast and began to fill our plates. Egss, sausage and french toast were the servings. As Kenize reached my plate, she averted her gaze, but still filled my plate nonetheless. 

Why does everyone hate me? 

There was a weight on my chest that I hadn’t felt before as I watched Kenzie interact with Mizuki. 

I’m an outsider.

A dark cloud hung over my head as I began to realize that this is far different from what I’ve played. 

There has to be something here, right? A hint, a clue, something! 

Hint! Clue! Dialogue option! Dialogue optioooooon!!!!!

I screamed inside of my head, over and over again! But.. it was to no avail.. 

“Mom, Jeff’s being weird!” Mizuki screamed while pointing at me. Looking terrified and trembling. 

Kenzie turned to face me and reeled in horror. “Why are you red?!” 

“Huh?” I touched my face to feel it burning up and sweat pouring down it. “I..Can I be excused?” 

“Yes! Please?!” Kenzie exclaimed as she hugged a trembling Mizuki.

I didn’t know how to feel about such a sight, so I took off sprinting towards the bathroom. 

The one thing I had going for me is that I knew where everything was because I played the game so much.  

I flung the door open and began to hyperventilate. 

What the fuck? What the fuuuuck?!!! 

Why aren’t things going the way they’re supposed to?! I’ve played it hundreds of times! This should be a walk in the park!  

As I looked into the mirror, I took note of my disheveled appearance. I was still wearing the same baggy gray stain littered sweats from before. My hair was still a curly filled mess. Acne still littered my face, and my eyes still had dark rings around them. And I was still underweight. Everything was the exact same except for my now missing glasses. I was still the exact same person. 

I bit my nails, a terrible habit that I never managed to break. 

“What am I going to do?! What am I going to do?!” 

I paced around the bathroom so many times that I could no longer keep track. 

Finally, after panicking for so long, an idea came to mind!

‘Help, My Harem is Trying to Kill Me!’ was a litrpg. Even though its features and gameplay would be considered ‘bareboned.’ It still had some elements. 

“Stats!” I screamed, but nothing happened. “STATS!” Again, nothing happened! 

“STATS! STATS! STATS! STATS! STATS! STATS! STATS! STATS! STATS! STATS! STATS! STATS! STATS! STATS! STATS! STATS! STATS! STATS! STATS! STATS! STATS! STATS! STATS! STATS! STATS! STATS! STATS! STATS! STATS! STATS! STATS! STATS! STATS!”

My throat was beginning to grow hoarse and ragged. “DIALOGUE OPTIONS! STAAAAATTTTSSS!!!” 

★★System activated!★★

A loud voice rang inside of my head. Causing me to clutch my head in pain. It was neither feminine or masculine, it was an odd mixture of two. 

★★Congratulations, Player! You have just had your first, and most likely your last interaction with the system!★★

“Why are you so loud!!!!” The cheerful and annoyingly loud voice gave me a terrible headache. “Why don’t you-” 

Wait… what was that last part? 

★Because of the Player’s various playthroughs of the game ‘Help! My Harem is Trying to Kill Me!’ The Player has unlocked the following difficulty: Dark Souls!★

I felt a large foreboding feeling in my gut that made me nauseous. 

★System has selected Dark Souls difficulty level for the Player!★ 

"W-Wha.." I'm dreaming.. I must be dreaming! That's literal guaranteed failure! 

I pinched my cheeks as hard as I could, causing a red bruise to form on my face. "This is real..."

★What this entails is the following: Outrageous And Unforgiving Difficulty! No Stats! No Hints! No Dialogue Options! No Character Editing! No Exp Gain! Player is expected to complete the game through his/her own efforts! Help will only be given if earned through special circumstances!★

“Aha...ah..ha...ha…” The world started spinning and I felt light headed.  

★★Bonus!★★ 

There’s more?! 

★Since the ‘Dark Souls’ difficulty has been selected. There has now been extra content added for the player to discover! And with that, there will be far more obstacles for the Player to overcome! Also, the Player’s every action will now have far harsher consequences and vast changes to the story itself!★  

There was a crushing weight on my chest that almost caused me to topple over. I was forced to grab the sink in order for me to stay standing. 

**WARNING**  

★Failure to beat the game will result in PERMANENT DEATH of the Player and the world's inhabitants!★ 

Vomit poured out of my mouth into the sink as I fell to my knees. 

★Because ‘Dark Souls' difficulty was selected, the game’s inhabitants will now have a natural aversion towards the Player! There are only two ways to counter this effect! The first way to counter the effect is for the Player to have had a good perception of his/herself from their previous life!★

“Oh, God no..” I wasn’t hated per say, but I wasn’t well liked either.. 

★Or to change the game inhabitants' opinion of the Player through his/her own efforts!★

The voice was so loud that I could barely hear my own thoughts, and the more it spoke, the worse I felt. 

I’m on my own… this isn't what I wished for..

★★Due to the player unlocking a special circumstance: Scream at nothing until something happens! System has rewarded Player with various knowledge!★★

★★★Player’s current rank: Degenerate Deviant Scum of the Earth!

(Side Note: Player’s rank is directly tied into how the world perceives the Player!)★★★

★This is the end of the reward! The only way to interact with the system going forward is through special circumstances that the player has to unlock! Upon completion of special circumstances, the player has the possibility to earn gifts and rewards! Good luck Player, and goodbye!★

I slumped onto the toilet, my health bar having reached zero. I sighed defeatedly as I rested my face in my hands. I could feel the vein on my forehead on the verge of exploding.  

“J-Jeff!” Mizuki yelled as she banged on the bathroom door. “Hurry up or you’ll be late for school!” 

Misuki’s footsteps echoed after she was done explaining. “Mom! Jeff was talking to himself!” 

If.. if this is how they treat me.. Then how will things be at school?