The streets of Velmira bustled with life.
Streamers made of silken mana-ribbons fluttered in the wind, casting glints of soft pink and gold under the twin suns.
Musicians played cheerful melodies on corner stages, merchants sold enchanted sweets, and children ran between adult legs with floating toy familiars at their heels.
Why wouldn't it be lively?
Today was the Awakening Ceremony, the most important day in any citizen's life.
At the age of eighteen, each person stood before the Mirror of Arcana to have their magical potential measured — publicly, no less.
The higher the resonance, the brighter their future.
Some might be scouted by elite witch guilds, others would be employed in cities, and a lucky few… might even be granted noble contracts.
Among the crowd of eager faces, Ashen Rove walked with his hands tucked into the pockets of his ceremonial robe, dark eyes calmly observing the noise around him.
He didn't belong here.
Literally.
He had died last week.
In another world, he had been by a vending machine while trying to shake out a stuck packet of seaweed chips.
The irony still stung more than the impact.
And now? He'd been reincarnated into this strange new realm where magic was real, witches ruled society, and men — well, men were not the ones writing the rules.
From what Ashen had gathered over the past seven days, this was a woman-dominated world to an almost comical extent.
Women held every position of power: Empresses, generals, council leaders, guild mistresses, even ferry drivers and brickmakers.
Men? They were "important," sure — but mostly in the way furniture was important.
Useful, decorative, and ideally silent.
Magic existed here, thriving and institutionalized.
Everyone possessed mana, but women held the lion's share of magical aptitude.
Elemental affinities were ten times more common in females than males, and even when a man awakened magic, he wasn't allowed to register his own license.
Legally, he had to be contracted under a witch guild — basically magical guardianship with benefits.
Ashen scoffed quietly as he passed under a series of floating banners marked with guild symbols.
The more he learned, the more absurd it became.
It was like someone had taken a fantasy RPG, reversed all the gender dynamics, and added a romance sim interface.
Which, unfortunately, was only the beginning of his weirdness.
…
[System Boot Complete]
[Witch Hunter System Installed.]
[Welcome, Reincarnator.]
…
Yeah. That happened on Day Two.
Apparently, he'd been reborn with a game-like interface — complete with quests, perks, charm stats, and system messages that activated whenever he so much as glanced too long at a pretty witch.
According to the UI, the system "rewarded seduction-based interactions" with witches by granting magical skills, power-ups, and other perks.
Ashen didn't know who programmed it. He didn't care.
He just wanted to survive this world without getting forcibly contracted by some power-hungry woman with control issues.
The crowd thickened as they reached Velmira's central square.
A huge, circular platform dominated the space, carved with runes and lined with ornate pillars.
Floating arcane lenses hovered above it, projecting the event for the entire city to see.
The Mirror of Arcana sat at the center like a giant shard of moonlight — tall, flawless, and pulsing with latent magic.
"Line up! All citizens born under Cycle 1204, move to the platform!" came a magically-amplified voice from a female attendant in a high-collared robe.
Ashen joined the line, subtly avoiding the groups of giddy girls who had clustered together.
There were maybe twelve men here total — out of over two hundred participants.
Most of them looked nervous. One even looked like he was about to faint.
He didn't blame them.
From what he'd overheard in the past week, if a man awakened elemental magic, he'd be auctioned or rather, formally offered to witch guilds.
Contracts, escorts, relocation. They had no choice in the matter.
If they awakened non-elemental magic, like healing or crafting, they could stay with their families, under supervision.
No magic? Well, then they were free. Sort of.
Ashen stepped forward, form in hand, and handed it to the registrar at the gate.
"Name?" the woman asked, not even looking up.
"Ashen Rove."
She paused, then glanced at him. "…Unusual name."
"Unusual world."
"What was that?"
"Nothing."
She stamped the form with a seal of minor interest. "Proceed."
He walked onto the warm marble platform, joining the line of initiates facing the mirror.
The crowd in the stands roared in anticipation as the ceremony began.
Cheers and whistles echoed as the first girl stepped forward.
Her hand touched the Mirror of Arcana — and it flared blue.
[Element: Water]
[Affinity Rank: B]
[Witch Potential: High]
"Crimson Moonlight Guild claims her!" someone shouted.
Ashen's brows lifted. That was fast.
It seemed to be on a first come-first serve basis, that was interesting.
The next girl went up. Her mirror flared red.
[Element: Fire]
[Affinity Rank: A]
[Witch Potential: Very High]
Gasps and applause. Another guild called dibs before the reading finished.
"Hot damn," Ashen muttered.
He watched ten more girls awaken in rapid succession.
One got lightning.
One had dual-elemental affinity.
One caused the mirror to shatter and had to be escorted off by a team of panic-stricken witches.
It was like watching a magical talent show, and the judges were thirsty CEOs with fireballs.
Then came the first guy.
His mirror glowed gray. The attendant looked disappointed.
[Non-Affinity Detected.]
[Mana Type: Passive.]
[Recommended Role: Alchemical Assistant]
The man looked like he might cry and Ashen really couldn't blame him.
Ashen sighed and glanced at his hands.
Despite everything, he didn't feel nervous.
He felt… curious.
Was the system going to activate?
Was he going to awaken anything at all?
"Next."
His name was called.
Ashen stepped forward and placed his hand on the mirror.
It was cold — unnaturally cold.
As if it didn't touch skin but something like stone.
For a moment, there was silence.
Then the mirror pulsed once — then twice — then exploded in a column of white and black light.