Chapter 3: Harem Conqueror
David’s mutter was abruptly halted as the system replied.
[Info: Once chosen, this decision is permanent. There is no reallocation.]
"You could’ve told me that before I sat here thinking for twenty minutes." he muttered, irritation flaring quick and sharp.
[The information was available upon request.]
"Shut up. I’ve already made up my mind. I’m not changing it."
He straightened where he sat, drawing in a breath like he was steadying himself for something heavier than it probably was, and said it plain, no more hesitation left in his voice.
"I pick..." David said, and pointed decisively at the second name glowing in front of him. "This one. Outbound Gaze."
[Skill added to Arsenal.]
The words settled into place with a small chime, almost smug in how simple they made it sound, and David felt something in his shoulders loosen — not fully, not all the way, but enough that he sank back into the couch cushions like he’d been holding a breath he didn’t know about.
’Okay,’ he thought. ’Okay, that’s — that’s fine. That’s a good pick.’
But even as he told himself that, another thought crept in right behind it, quieter, needling. ’What situation would I even be in where I need someone to be completely honest with me? Do I look like I’m about to interrogate a war criminal? I can barely get my landlord to admit the heater’s broken.’
[Reminder: Outbound Gaze may only be used on a given individual once in that person’s lifetime.]
He read that twice, feeling his stomach do a small, uneasy flip.
’Once. Just once, per person, ever.’ He turned the thought over, weighing it, trying to figure out if that made the skill better or worse — and then, out of nowhere, a memory surfaced, unhelpful and yet strangely comforting: every anime protagonist he’d ever watched had some ability that only worked once, some trump card they burned through at exactly the right moment for maximum dramatic effect.
’Right,’ he thought, nodding slowly to himself.
’So I just have to be that guy. The one who saves it for the perfect moment to kind of farm some aura core type shit. Kinda like Picc*lo or G*jo...hehe.’
And then, unbidden, the bigger thought arrived, the one that had been circling since he first read the skill descriptions.
"But, if you think about it well enough..." he said out loud, sitting up a little.
"It kinda feels like this thing is trying to turn me into some kind of deceptive villain... Is that your goal, system?"
[Correction: classification is inaccurate. Current trajectory shapes player toward a role equal to, or exceeding, the Harem Conqueror.]
David blinked. "The what now?"
[The Harem Conqueror]
There was a pause — on his end, not the system’s — as he reached over blindly for the bowl of ramen sitting cold and forgotten on the table, grabbed a mouthful with his fork, and shoved it in without really thinking about it.
He grunted immediately, eyes watering, feeling like he’d just swallowed a small sun. He chewed through it anyway, eyes narrowed at nothing in particular, still waiting on an answer.
"Who," he said again, around the mouthful,
"is the Harem Conqueror."
[Information regarding this designation will unlock at Level 5.]
David swallowed, unfazed, mostly because he’d half expected an answer like that. "Of course. Of course it’s locked. Why would anything just be told to me for free."
[Player has received a new mission. Mission acquired. Would you like to view it?]
That got him sitting up properly, some of the earlier heaviness burning off in a small flicker of genuine excitement he didn’t bother hiding.
"Oh, hell yes," he muttered, already grinning a little, feeling distinctly like he’d just stepped into the opening Chapter of every manga he’d ever binged in one sitting.
"This is the part where the MC gets his first quest and everything goes—"
The lights went out.
Every bulb in the apartment, the hum of the fridge, all of it just cut, plunging the room into total dark except for the pale glow of the system window still floating in front of his face.
David sat there in the sudden black for a second, fork still halfway to his mouth, and then let out a slow, disbelieving breath.
"Power outage," he said flatly. "Right now? Ohh...wait...yeah, that’s true, this ramen was the little savings I had for my utility bill. Haha, can’t believe I traded my chad super hero show for this stale garbage. " He set the fork down, feeling his way to it more than seeing it.
[Mission details available. Would you like an explanation of system mechanism?]
"Yeah," he said, rubbing at his eyes.
"Explain it. And please, for the love of everything, in a way a normal person can understand."
[Simplified explanation: there are two categories of assignments. Dungeons involve locations tied to magical entities — monsters, altered spaces, that sort of thing. Quests do not require a magical entity and may occur anywhere in the player’s ordinary world.]
David frowned at that, chewing slower now, actually turning the distinction over. "Wait, so — normal hunters just find gates. Random gates, showing up wherever. But you’re saying I get handed specific missions? Like, custom-built for me?"
[Confirmed.]
"Huh." He sat with that a moment, something sparking behind his eyes that hadn’t been there a minute ago — not quite hope, not yet, but the early shape of it.
’This isn’t just some generic gate-hunter system.’ he thought.
’This is starting to feel a lot more like — and as I say this, let me cook bruh— like a S*ng Jinw*o kind of deal.’
"Alright," he said, sitting up straighter in the dark, ramen forgotten, the glow of the notification the only light in the room.
"Lay it on me. What’s the mission."
***
Hey guys, I want to take you for your support and due to that, I thought of a friendly challenge for both of us.
For every 200 powerstones I’ll release 10+ bonus Chapters...so, if you find it worth while, you can make your decision. Thank you.🫠
