### 013. New Magic
Class was nothing to write home about.
At Lin Nan’s university, the teachers were not as responsible as those at his previous school. The lecture hall was filled with students playing on their phones or snoozing away, while the teacher just needed the class to be quiet and went through the motions of lecturing—kind of lazy to care about the students, really.
In his freshman semester, he did encounter a seriously dedicated English teacher, which inevitably led to him failing the subject.
After the morning classes were over, the four roommates sauntered slowly back to their dorm.
Lin Nan was still contemplating finding a part-time job and kept his eyes peeled for any restaurant hiring waitstaff.
“How about we all go out for dinner tonight?” Tu Junhui suggested once again, walking ahead with Xiong Da.
Last time the idea of a group dinner was proposed, it ended with a power outage in the dorm, and the whole crew had to settle for instant noodles and ham at the internet cafe, which barely counted as dining out.
“I’m okay with that, but I don’t drink,” Lin Nan quickly warned.
“I brought some rum; are you really not going to try it?” Tu Junhui turned around with a grin. “Also got some milk liquor I brought back from Mongolia during summer.”
This guy really loved to travel, and not just in a fancy way—he was all about budget traveling, riding the slow trains, crashing at hostels, and trekking across the Grassland, no less!
Lin Nan couldn’t quite understand how this guy could put himself through such torturous travels and still manage to put on weight. Maybe he was just cheap when it came to accommodations and transport, but food? Never skimped on that.
“Rum, huh…” Lin Nan’s interest perked up at the mention of such a classic drink from fantasy novels, so he cautiously pinched his fingers to show, “Just a tiny sip? To taste?”
“Sure! If you can’t handle it, just switch to cola.”
Lin Nan didn’t have a drinking habit, but he didn’t totally reject it either; after all, his father had been persuading him to drink since elementary school.
By the time they got back to the dorm, Lin Nan had already ordered takeout and was sprawled on his bed, mindlessly scrolling on his phone.
Over the last few days, he had noticed some pretty significant changes in himself.
Normally, he wouldn’t have thought much of it while looking in the mirror, but comments from others led him to realize that his face might actually be getting more feminine.
He hadn’t gotten a haircut in over a month—his bangs were long enough to cover his eyebrows, and being perceived as feminine could definitely be blamed on that. He thought about getting a buzz cut or a really manly haircut, anything to avoid looking like he currently did.
“Nan Nan, hurry up and play some games on Xiong Da’s computer at noon. Don’t let me down when the match comes around,” Chen Yao shouted from his spot.
Lin Nan turned to see Xiong Da had already climbed into bed to play on his phone.
So, naturally, he didn’t hesitate to commandeer Xiong Da’s computer.
“Hey, Chen Yao, you think I should get a buzz cut? Would it look okay?” he casually asked while sitting at the computer.
“Are you out of your mind? Who still gets buzz cuts these days?” Chen Yao replied, tilting back in his chair, then added, “Honestly, I think you’d look better with long hair and a bit of stubble, like a hipster.”
“Exactly! And then throw on a dress, and you’d be stunning!” Tu Junhui eagerly nodded along. “Look at your legs, you’d totally rock stockings better than any girl.”
Such teasing didn’t even faze Lin Nan anymore.
He was aware he sometimes had feminine mannerisms, but he didn’t expect his roommates to be making fun of him so soon.
Last semester, he was the biggest shot in the dorm. As the dorm leader, he could play anyone’s computer at a whim, and now it seemed like this bunch was planning a “rebellion” against him?
Too lazy to argue, he booted up the game and kept his mouth shut while playing a duo match with Chen Yao.
But, predictably, ever since that pesky Lilith’s soul merged with him, he hadn’t won a single game.
By the end of the match, his score was a grim 1/5, essentially making him a liability, and luckily, he had grown accustomed to it—he was even a bit proud of the fact that he delivered fewer headshots than before.
“If you keep playing like this, you might want to reconsider signing up for the tournament,” Chen Yao said, trying to keep his tone calm.
Lin Nan just nodded and confidently proclaimed, “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine by tomorrow.”
“Alright then, I’ll play with you tomorrow,” Chen Yao said, discouraged from the game to the point that he climbed into bed for a quick nap.
Lin Nan sighed, logged off the game, and returned to his spot.
Sure, he said tomorrow would be fine, but what was the cost?
After inheriting Lilith’s magic, Lin Nan had envisioned becoming a “superman” in real life, righting wrongs and spreading good. However, the limitations of the magic made him abandon that dream. Then he discovered that using magic might make his body even more feminine, but at this point, he couldn’t care less.
A grand prize of one thousand bucks was at stake! As a student, that was far more than what he’d earn from a month of delivering food. Other part-time jobs were practically nonexistent during the week due to classes, and finding something to do on weekends was tougher than finding a girlfriend.
“Combat rhythm, improve reaction time, coordination, synchronize body and mind…” Lin Nan mumbled to himself. This magic was designed for close combat, but it fit perfectly for gaming.
“Unlock conditions: Kiss a male…”
“Once unlocked, it’s permanently active—probably one of those passive skills you see in online games.”
Lin Nan had discovered this magic long ago, but the unlocking condition had him hesitating. However, after meticulously searching through his mind for other spells, he found that the conditions for unlocking them were all quite similar.
It was all about getting him to perform various embarrassing tasks and gradually turning him into Lilith’s version of himself.
Ordinary people might not fall for it, as their resolve would be steady, but the problem was Lin Nan had most of Lilith’s memories and even her bodily instincts. Thus, he was bound to slip further into her persona.
It was downright awful!
Lin Nan was fuming inside, but the temptation of the magic was hard to resist.
And kissing a guy… He glanced at his two dorm mates, and both of them shivered as if a cold breeze had swept through the room.
“That’s strange; isn’t the door closed? Where did the wind come from?” Tu Junhui asked, raising goosebumps.
Xiong Da was trembling under the covers. “Lin Nan! Turn the AC down to twenty-six degrees!”
Meanwhile, Chen Yao was totally clueless; Lin Nan didn’t even consider him as a candidate.
It seemed better to find a little boy to kiss, like one of those kids living in the teacher’s dorm.
Lin Nan rubbed his exceptionally smooth chin, transformed by Lilith, and pondered whether kissing someone else’s little boy would earn him the title of creep.
