Hjodona massaged the part between her eyes.
“This got to be a big joke…”
“A Love Meter…” Phel didn’t know how to feel about the situation. Not just her, but the other two as well.
[However, this is not yet settled. You might lose your Harem System if you don’t pass the trial that is the Dark Dungeon!]
Upon hearing this, Ethan slammed his fists against one another.
“There’s no reward without a challenge. Bring it on!”
[That optimism is good, virgin! Now, let’s start with the First-]
“Wait!” The snow-haired woman interrupted the System with a resonating shout.
[Yes?]
“If he fails this trial, we’ll no longer be a part of this, correct?”
Hjodona aggressively nodded at this. Her image of the snow-haired woman seemed to become slightly better.
‘Glad to know she’s not part of the weirdos here.’ her sight then landed on the bright square and the young man.
Ethan shivered, ‘My Sexy-Signal-Detector is tingling. I got a beauty’s attention. Maybe one of my harems is already interested in me. Oh no, I want to win their hearts. I don’t want this to be easy.’ he smugly fanned himself.
As if Hjodona could read his mind, a nerve was struck.
‘Why do I feel like slapping him!’
[Correct!]
“So, we’ll go back to our world?” Phel asked.
[Yes!]
Phel then raised an eyebrow, “Umm, dead or alive?”
[Dead, of course!]
“Well, anything is better than being here,” the snow-haired woman sighed and muttered, “and be number 3.”
“You’re still hung onto that?” Hjodona whispered.
“What? You have a problem, number-… warrior?”
“Heh, can't say that I have a higher standing than you, number 3?” Hjodona caught onto it, making the snow-haired woman grit her teeth. Then, Hjodona realized that by saying that, she was accepting her position as a harem member.
Now, both of them are in a bad mood.
Soon, though, the snow-haired woman relaxed, “Why am I being engaged by lowly mortals? The absurdity of the situation must be getting to me.”
Hjodona was ready to make a rebuttal but decided not to. She had to agree to the snow-haired woman’s latter sentence.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Then, do we gain something from this?” the snow-haired woman raised another question, “It would be a little unfair if we don’t, am I wrong?”
[You are not wrong! Once Ethan completes his mission on a fantasy world, you will be rewarded with a few options: either you continue and reap more rewards, or, be revived back to when you die with an additional increase in power, a System, like me!]
Bright screens popped up in front of them, shocking both Phel and Hjodona. The snow-haired woman intensely looked at the list of Systems on the screen as she scrolled down.
Phel and Hjodona looked at her before looking at each other and then scrolled on their screen as well. Each System has a description and upon reading them, Hjodona’s eyes furiously lit up.
“This is cheating! We can have one of these!?”
[Yes, granted that Ethan completes his mission.]
“Useless,” the snow-haired woman closed the screen, “but being able to revive is already nice.”
“Yes,” Phel agreed and closed the screen as well, “they’re not useless but I don’t really need more power. Being able to revive is enough for me.”
Hjodona looked at these two with wide eyes, ‘Are you two crazy!?’
She was drooling with all these power-ups but these two weren’t even interested?
‘No, no, this white hair must be bluffing. Meanwhile, I can’t help but feel like Phel just doesn’t fight, thus, she doesn’t need any of this.’
On the other hand, Hjodona spent her whole life warring. There is a land of bodies she created from killing alone and there is still a continent of bodies waiting and wanting her dead. Just one of these ‘cheats’ would elevate her standing!
“Only the weak aim for the peak,” the snow-haired woman commented upon looking at Hjodona’s behavior.
Hearing this, Hjodona frowned and simply replied, “Progress is the joy of life. There will never be a peak for a warrior.”
“It’s because you haven’t fought someone at my level.”
“If I had already, you wouldn’t be so haughty.”
“Facade is different from bravery, warrior.”
“It seemed that my harem members are getting along very well,” Ethan teared up in joy.
““How!?”” both Hjodona and the snow-haired woman exclaimed.
[Now that everyone is on the same page, let the trial of the Dark Dungeon begin! Harem Members, as this is a trial for Ethan, you are not allowed to help him with your original powers. However, other than that, you can aid him in any other way you can.]
The three women nodded at this. They are all curious about what kind of trial awaits the young man. At the same time, they were moved to a higher platform by the System to spectate.
[The rules are simple! Defeat all the monsters and don’t die, here comes the First Wave!]
“Hell yeah! Let’s start this!” Ethan was pumped up.
However, when the first wave of monsters came out of the darkness surrounding him one by one, his face paled.
“No, no way!”
Seeing the change in his reaction, Hjodona’s face darkened.
“Are those monsters dangerous? His confidence seems to suddenly vanish.”
“But they all look so cute and soft…” Phel muttered.
“I say, don’t be fooled. This man seemed to know what these monsters were. This is a trial that rewards otherworldly powers. Nothing should be easy-”
Splash* Ethan stepped on one of the slimes, killing it.
“Slimes are the First Wave Monsters? Well, this is easy.” Ethan said as he stomped from one crawling slime to another, finishing the First Wave with ease.
“...” Hjodona’s face was dark and devoid of expressions the whole time.
“What were you saying, warrior?” the snow-haired woman smirked.
Hjodona, meanwhile, had her face reddened with embarrassment, “Nothing… I guess I was wrong.”
Meanwhile, after defeating the First Wave, Ethan found some peculiarities with his body. He felt strong and invigorated from the beginning.
“Did all these years of gaming and watching anime prepare me for this exact moment?” his hands trembled in realization.
[No, your Harem System is now in effect. Will to show your status. Your stats should’ve increased along with your Love Meter… one-sidedly.]
“Oh, right!” Ethan then willed the Status Screen to pop up. There, he found some of this personal information. Soon, he found the tab that shows his so-called Love Meter and the benefit it gives.
{Love Meter — 21 points:
STR | AGL | INT | VIT | DEF + 41 pts}