Gacha Harem System

Lukas stood in front of the empty wardrobe, staring at the space where their clothes had been.

He’d packed everything in minutes. That was the thing about starting with nothing. It didn’t take long to move it.

All they were here for was two people’s worth of clothing, a few personal items, and the contents of a kitchen that had produced more good meals than he’d expected when he first arrived in this body.

He turned and looked around the room.

His eyes moved to the same wooden bed he’d found uncomfortable when he’d first arrived. But now, he was able to sleep like a baby on it with no problems.

He sat down on the edge of it one last time and exhaled.

This place had been the first thing he’d called his own in this world.

It was falling down around itself and had needed more repairs than he’d ever had the money to make, but it had been his.

He had woken up here the morning after transmigrating, confused and a bit scared, and it had been the first stable thing he had held onto.

He let himself feel that for a moment. Then he pulled up his system interface.

[Gacha Harem System]

[Gacha Points: 1800]

[Banners:]

[Wife (2000 Gacha Points)]

[Skills (500 Gacha Points)]

[Items (500 Gacha Points)]

[Mystery Box (1000 Gacha Points)]

He was just two hundred points away from being able to pull from the Wife banner.

He began thinking about how to close that gap.

From what he’d learnt over the time he’d been with the system, it responded to action.

It wanted him to move, make decisions, and do things that mattered. And his time recovering had told him that sitting around gave him nothing.

All his quests were related to dungeon runs, hunting, and encounters that required something from him. So, he needed to do more of the same.

Which was why he was looking forward to getting back to his dungeon runs.

He stood, took one last look at the room, and walked out.

Melody was already in the living room, her spatial ring holding everything in the kitchen worth keeping. She looked up when he appeared.

"Got everything?" he asked.

"Yes," she said.

He looked around the house one final time.

Then they left.

Within twenty minutes of leaving the lane, they found a hotel that suited their taste.

The more respectable district sat a comfortable distance from the dungeon clusters. Fortunately, it was close enough to be convenient, but far enough that the foot traffic was quieter and the buildings were maintained properly.

They picked a medium-range establishment with clean stonework and a pair of heavily armed guards stationed at the entrance.

Lukas could already tell that this was the kind of place that didn’t ask unnecessary questions but made sure its guests could sleep without worrying about their possessions.

Lukas dropped onto the bed the moment they were inside the room.

His body sank into it, the mattress giving way in all the right places, and he laid there staring at the ceiling.

On his face was the expression of a man who had just discovered something he hadn’t known he was missing.

"This," he breathed with awe, "is what beds are supposed to feel like."

Every trace of sentimentality he’d carried for his old bed disappeared immediately.

His mind flashed back to the creaking wooden frame and thin mattress, before his brain decided that none of it deserved to be missed. Not when this existed.

Melody sat on the edge of the bed and pressed her hand into it experimentally. Her smile widened with a sense of familiarity. "Oh."

"I know."

They stayed like that for approximately thirty seconds before they remembered they had things to do.

They stowed away their clothes, organized what they had brought, and made their way back outside into the mid-morning street.

Together, they made their way down the street, and when they arrived at the corner where their paths diverged, they stopped.

"Be careful," Melody said.

"Always." He looked at her. "You too. You’ll be fighting with a new team. Take a minute to read them before you commit to anything."

"I’ve been doing this longer than you have," she said with a smile.

"I know." He returned the smile. "Be careful anyway."

She held his gaze for a moment, then leaned up and gave him a quick kiss.

"Come home with full pockets," she said.

"Of course." He laughed.

She turned and walked in the direction of the A-rank dungeon district.

He watched her go for a moment, then turned and headed the other way.

He found the dungeon he was looking for after ten minutes of walking and one set of directions from a helpful vendor who had pointed him down a side street he would never have found on his own.

The Zipper Cave sat in its own walled enclosure just like other dungeons, with the same tall walls and narrow entrance.

Of course, the sight wouldn’t be complete without the guards stationed around it, doing their jobs while bored out of their minds.

They were there for dungeon breaks but why would a dungeon that was being cleared regularly ever feel the need to break?

He paid the entrance fee and walked through.

The spatial gate swirled inside, set into the same style of stone cube he’d seen at every other dungeon entrance in this city.

He stopped in front of it as a notification appeared before him.

Ding!

[Quest: How About A New Personal Best?]

[Tries: 0/1]

[Clear the C-rank dungeon, Zipper Cave, within seven minutes.]

[Reward: +300 Gacha Points]

[Penalty: None]

Lukas read it twice, his eyebrows rising on the second pass.

Three hundred points. If he cleared this, he would have enough for the Wife banner.

He did the math on seven minutes quickly. It was workable but he’d have to do it the same way he’d cleared through the Deathstalker Burrow on his first run.

Dashing through the space, killing all he could, and tackling the rest as he fought the boss.

The absence of a penalty made it even more doable for him. But he eyed the new entry. All he had was just one try to get it right.

He had nothing to lose, and everything to gain.

He grinned, reached back, and unsheathed his sword.

Then he stepped through the gate.