I walked all the way across the campus to the noble dormitories because Melissa lived in a different building from where the commoners stayed.
The academy strictly separated us by our social class, so her specific building featured fancy stone pillars and guards actively patrolling the front gates.
But regular guards are basically statues to me, and I easily slipped right past the watchmen without making a single sound.
I walked quietly down the carpeted hallway until I found the door with her shiny gold name tag pasted right on the wood.
I knocked twice, and the moment she opened the door, I did not wait for an invitation to come inside, immediately grabbed her shoulders and pushed her backwards into the luxurious room, kicking the door shut firmly behind me.
I pinned her hard against the wall with my hands, bringing our faces so incredibly close together that I could feel the warmth of her breath on my skin.
"Guh. What the hell?" she gasped, looking up at me with wide eyes.
"You think this is funny?" I asked in a low voice, pushing her a little harder against the wallpaper while making sure my grip was intimidating.
"Melissa, I never play games with my own life, and I was so close to putting this whole miserable scenario behind me until your fucking message ruined everything."
Melissa coughed twice because my arm was pressing against her throat, so I lessened my grip just a bit to let her breathe properly.
But then she actually started laughing, and it was not a nervous giggle.
She laughed like a maniac right in my face.
"So what?" she asked between her crazy laughs, completely unfazed by my anger.
"Did I cockblock your easy way to fuck her?"
'She is completely out of her mind,' I thought to myself while staring at her, but I kept my hands firmly on her body.
Instead of trying to push me away, Melissa reached her arms up and grabbed the collar of my shirt, pulling me even closer to her.
She leaned her head forward until her soft lips were brushing right against my ear, sending a chill straight down my neck.
"I am just curious," she whispered seductively.
"Will whatever your little mission is complete only if you fuck her, or does it work with anyone else?"
"What are you getting at?" I asked, looking deeply into her bright blue eyes.
"I am just asking a question," she replied smoothly as her hands slowly trailed down my chest.
Her fingers touched my nipples, then kept moving lower until they were lightly touching the front of my pants, leaving a trail of heat through the fabric.
"If you fuck me right here instead, will the curse break?"
'What the hell is she talking about?' I thought, feeling my body react instantly to her bold touch.
'Is she always this horny for danger?'
I grabbed her wrist and pinned it to the wall above her head, leaning in close to give her a warning.
Women of Melissa's kind aren't new to me.
"You have a very tempting offer," I told her softly, letting my gaze drop down to her lips for a second before looking back up.
"But I do not have the time to play your stupid games today, no matter how much fun they might be."
I finally let go of her throat and stepped back to give myself some necessary space to think clearly. I mentally pulled up my status window and looked at the glowing red numbers ticking away in the corner of my vision.
[Time remaining: 21 Hours 30 Minutes]
I had less than one single day left before the system killed me, so the pressure was getting extremely intense.
"You did not even thank me for distracting Zephyr out there in the garden," Melissa pouted, rubbing her neck and acting like I was not trying to snap it just a few minutes before.
"I would have thanked you if you didn't spoil all my hard work right at the finish line," I told her, crossing my arms over my chest to maintain my composure.
"It is alright," Melissa said casually as she walked over to her large bed and sat down on the silk sheets.
"If you are really that desperate to beat the clock, just force yourself on her because she is weak right now, and I will even stand outside the door to keep watch for you."
My eyes went wide in disbelief as I glared at her, sitting there looking totally relaxed about the crazy suggestion.
"What are you actually gaining from all this?" I asked her, confused by her twisted logic.
"Why are you so fixated on making me rape the professor?"
"Because once you are finally done with her, I can proceed with my own master plan," Melissa smiled brightly.
"And my plan involves you."
Before my brain could even process her crazy mind, someone knocked loudly on the bedroom door.
'Shit, was it a guard who heard the noise when I pushed her?' I thought to myself, tensing my muscles and getting ready to fight my way out of the building.
"It's fine," Melissa announced loudly to the closed door, trying to sound completely natural.
"My luggage just fell over."
But the person outside clearly did not care about her excuse.
A blue light flashed around the metal door handle, breaking the lock in half with a loud crack, and the door swung wide open.
Mia walked right into the room without any hesitation.
She was another noble student from our class, and she stopped to look at the two of us standing there in the awkward silence.
Her blonde hair fell between her face as her eyes grazed up and down my body for a long second, taking in my broad chest and my slightly messy clothes before she looked back at her friend.
"Morning class is starting soon, Melissa, so let's go," Mia said flatly, acting like she did not just catch us in a very compromising position.
"Oh, right," Melissa said, jumping up from her bed and grabbing her academy bag from the floor.
"Shane, you'd better go get ready for class, or you will be very late."
Melissa ran outside into the hallway with her blue hair still completely messy, and she just waved at me casually, leaving me standing alone in the middle of her room.
I let out a very long sigh. I was not able to put up with all these crazy people and their hidden agendas anymore until I cleared this scenario.
'Hey system,' I called out in my mind.
[Host?]
'How many points do I have right now?'
[Calculating total coin balance...]
[Reward from Minor Scenario 'Defeat the Bully': 800 Coins]
[Total Balance: 800 Coins]
I took a very deep breath to calm my heart and clear my mind of all the morning's intense distractions.
'Open the skill tree.'
[Opening Skill Tree Interface...]