(A/n: mc name is Anran (安然))
Inside a Dorm Room — Afternoon
The quiet stillness of the dorm was suddenly broken by a soft grunt.
A young man stirred, his head buried in the crook of his arm atop a cluttered wooden desk. Sunlight filtered through the window blinds, casting slanted shadows across the modest room. The faint scent of old books and instant noodles hung in the air.
With a low groan, he slowly lifted his head, revealing short, messy black hair and a pair of slightly crooked glasses slipping down his nose. He wore a plain white t-shirt and a pair of casual shorts, the kind you'd expect someone to throw on after a long night.
His gray eyes blinked open sluggishly.
"Argh... Where am I?" Anran muttered, rubbing the drool off his cheek with the back of his hand.
He looked around, still groggy. The room looked strangely familiar two bunk beds, peeling posters, a dusty ceiling fan slowly spinning overhead, and a cabinet with a scratched-up mirror. There was a worn-out laptop beside a stack of old textbooks, and someone had scribbled memes on the whiteboard near the door.
"Dorm...?" he mumbled, narrowing his eyes. A wave of nostalgia hit him like a crashing tide. It felt like he'd lived here before.
He turned his head and caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror mounted on the cabinet. His eyes widened.
"What the—?" He stumbled toward the reflection, staring in disbelief. "I... became young?!"
The face staring back at him was unmistakably his—but younger, smoother, and frankly, better looking. He leaned in closer, inspecting his reflection with a baffled expression.
"As expected of me, I'm really... Wait. Wait—did I go back in time?!"
Panic and confusion swirled in his mind. He spun around, spotting a smartphone on the desk. Grabbing it, he unlocked the screen with a shaky hand and checked the date.
January 22, 2021.
He blinked. "2021...?"
For a second, he looked disappointed. "If it was 2010, I could've bought Bitcoin…" he sighed, shaking his head.
Still, 2021 wasn't that bad.
"Wait... That means I'm still in college."
His expression dropped. A look of pure dread crept across his face.
"College... that hellish place… I already suffered through it once. Don't tell me I have to start all over again?!"
He sank back into his chair, mouth agape, staring blankly at the ceiling as the reality of his situation settled in.
Suddenly, a cheerful, electronic voice echoed inside Anran's head, synthetic yet strangely enthusiastic.
[Congratulations, Host! Your system has arrived!]
Anran's eyes widened in disbelief. "Wait… what?! A system?"
A grin slowly spread across his face. Of course! There was no such thing as time travel without some sort of cheat or overpowered ability. His golden finger had finally arrived!
"Heh... Hey, system, are you there? Can you talk?" he said, rubbing his hands together like an evil mastermind in the making.
No response.
"Eh, not talkative? That's fine. I'll take it anyway," he shrugged, still smiling.
A soft chime rang out, and a glowing blue screen suddenly appeared in front of him, floating in midair like a hologram straight out of a sci-fi movie.
[Would you like to bind the system?]
[Yes / No]
Anran didn't even hesitate. His finger shot up, ready to click Yes, but just before it touched the screen, he paused.
"Wait a sec… Hey, system," he said, narrowing his eyes. "Are you serious system, or one of those cat systems?"
He frowned thoughtfully. It didn't really matter a system was a system but still, knowing the vibe would help set his expectations.
The system remained as silent as ever.
"Okay, no answer, huh? I can wait—"
Suddenly, a new notification popped up:
[Notice: Host has not accepted the system. System will self-terminate in 30 seconds.]
[29...]
"Wait, what?! You're gonna delete yourself just because I asked a question?! Can't you just answer normally?!" he stammered.
But the countdown didn't slow—in fact, it jumped ahead.
[10...]
"PFF—Okay, okay! I accept!" Anran yelped, slamming his finger down on the Yes button in panic.
The screen flickered.
[Binding complete. Welcome, Host, to the Coser System — where you can cosplay as 2D beautiful girls!]
"…Huh?"
Anran blinked. He leaned forward.
"I think I read that wrong. I must've misread after the word cosplay," he muttered, rubbing his eyes.
The system, apparently eager to clarify, zoomed the text in so large it nearly smacked him in the face.
[COSER SYSTEM — COSPLAY AS 2D BEAUTIFUL GIRLS!]
There was a long silence. Anran stared at the panel with the expression of a man watching his hopes and dreams combust before his eyes.
"…You're joking, right?" he said slowly, deadpan.
The screen sparkled innocently.
"Guh—whatever! A system is a system after all!" Anran sighed, throwing his hands up in defeat. "Alright, show me my newbie gift, System!"
[Host has 1 Novice Gift Pack. Do you want to open it?]
"Yes," he said quickly, crossing his arms.
The screen pulsed once.
[Congratulations, Host! You have received the following:]
1 Character Card
1,000 Points
Premium Makeup Kit
Expert Makeup Skill
Expert Voice Acting Skill
Expert Acting Skill
With a small flash of light, the items materialized before him, floating in midair. The makeup kit, in particular, caught his eye—sleek, polished, and luxurious, the kind of thing you'd only see in a high-end boutique. He didn't know much about cosmetics, but even he could tell this wasn't drugstore-level stuff.
Just looking at it made him feel broke.
"If I tried to buy this for a girlfriend back then... I'd have been living under a bridge," he muttered—then paused. "Not that I ever had one to begin with…"
He turned his attention back to the list of skills, eyes twitching slightly.
"Makeup… voice acting… acting… You really want me to become girly that badly, huh, System?"
There was no response. Just that sparkling interface, as cheerful and mocking as ever.
Anran didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Still… Expert-tier skills were no joke. No matter what they were for, they could be useful.
He sighed and swallowed his pride like a bitter pill.
"Alright, fine. So how does this character card thing work?"
[Host can use the Character Card to obtain a random character for cosplay. Transformation included.]
"I see… and how do I get more of these cards?"
[Host can purchase additional Character Cards using Points.]
"And let me guess… How do I get more points, aside from the 1,000 I just got?"
[Host can earn points by completing tasks or increasing popularity.]
"…Popularity?" he echoed, raising an eyebrow. "You mean, like… social media influencer kind of popularity?"
[Correct.]
Anran leaned back into his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"So let me get this straight," he said slowly. "You a system that specializes in turning me into 2D anime girls want me to become popular doing it?"
[Affirmative!❤️]
"…You cat system..."
The system only sparkled in reply.
Anran let out a long, suffering sigh.
"…Use the character card."
[Character Card has been used... Congratulations, Host. You have obtained: Raiden Ei from Genshin Impact.]
With a shimmer of light, several items materialized in front of him—floating gracefully like they were part of a magician's trick. A long, silky wig with violet highlights. A folded set of elaborately detailed clothing in deep purples and silver. A pair of violet contact lenses. A replica polearm, sleek and gleaming. And then, to his horror—
Even a pair of lacey, high-quality... panties.
His eye twitched. All the items were undeniably top-tier, the kind of things cosplay veterans would kill for. Every piece looked custom-made, stitched with insane detail. It was beautiful. Disturbingly beautiful.
"I-is this really necessary? Do I need to wear all of this?!" Anran asked the system, staring pointedly at the underwear.
[Host may wear any or all items. It is entirely up to Host.]
He exhaled in relief. "Okay. Good. That means I can not wear certain things. I can still keep my shorts…"
A strange, tingling sense of anticipation crawled up his spine. He shivered and quickly shook his head.
"Focus, Anran. We're not that kind of protagonist…"
He cleared his throat and glanced at the ornate outfit again. "So... where's the transformation part? Do I need to wear this stuff first?"
[Yes. Host must wear the full set and apply makeup. Only then will the transformation activate.]
Anran stood in silence, mentally digesting the reality he'd just walked into. Then he slowly nodded.
"…Use the skills," he said flatly.
[Activating: Expert Makeup Skill, Expert Voice Acting Skill, Expert Acting Skill.]
A cool sensation washed over him for a brief moment—but otherwise, he felt nothing. No fireworks. No sudden epiphanies.
"Huh. I don't feel any different."
Maybe it was like cooking—you only knew you were good after you tried. Like frying an egg: you don't know you're a master until that yolk slides out perfectly. So maybe… he had to actually try putting on makeup for the skills to activate?
"Right. Let's skip that part for now," he mumbled. He glanced at the clock on the wall.
It was Friday. Mid-afternoon.
"Wait a minute…" His eyes widened.
His head snapped toward the dorm door.
"My roommate's gonna be back soon!" he whispered in horror.
He looked down at the very conspicuous Raiden Shogun outfit, makeup kit, polearm, and everything else still floating like some magical girl starter pack. "Crap, crap, crap—did I skip class and nearly get caught turning into an anime waifu?!"
He scrambled to hide the items under his blanket in a panic.
This was not how he imagined reliving his college life.
He froze, eyes widening as a horrifying scenario flashed through his mind.
He really didn't want to end up like those ridiculous webnovel characters where two dudes who called each other "brothers" suddenly had one turn into a girl, and then, bam, they became a couple. No thank you. He wasn't about to become someone's shortcut out of singlehood.
"God, no! I used to joke about stuff like that back in college!" he groaned, clutching his head. "Why did it have to come back to haunt me?!"
His panic returned full force as he looked at the very incriminating cosplay kit laid out like a trap.
"System! Can you hide the items?!"
[Yes.]
"Then hide it, now!" he barked.
[Items have been stored in the Inventory.]
The floating costume and accessories vanished in a soft shimmer. Anran collapsed onto the lower bunk, sighing in deep relief.
"At least you have some useful functions," he muttered, wiping the sweat off his brow.
Then he paused.
"...Wait a second. Why am I even relieved? This whole situation started because of you, stupid system."
He grumbled to himself and sat up. "Right. This isn't even my bed."
He quickly stood, smoothed out the blanket he'd wrinkled, and climbed up to the top bunk. With another flop, he sank into the mattress and finally let himself breathe.
College. Round two.
Well, at least he didn't have to worry about job hunting or office life again… right?
Wait.
"Nope. Still gotta worry about that damn part-time job…" he mumbled to the ceiling. "Still broke. Still need food. Just with more anime nonsense this time."
He sighed and slipped his glasses off, placing them gently beside his pillow.
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(A/n: cooking)