Gacha Harem System

"What is it?" Lukas immediately asked, eyes widening in anticipation.

Over the weeks, he’d gotten closer to Akira, much more than just sexually of course, and had come to know that she was not just a badass in battle, but had seen a lot of the world. Or to be more specific, her world.

Out of all of them, she was the most knowledgeable when it came to classes and skills.

Akira chuckled at his eagerness, a mischievous expression coming on her face. "If I tell you, what will you give me as a reward?"

Lukas grinned, a mock fierce expression appearing on his face. "Tell me, woman! Before I lose my temper. Or I shall throw you down on the ground and have my way with you."

"Honestly, that sounds fun." Akira’s grin widened.

Melody chuckled at the byplay. If this had been two weeks ago, she’d have blushed at their banter, but now she was used to it. She even joined them sometimes.

This change had slowly come after the various threesomes they’d had together. After all that sex and nudity, this was the only thing that could happen.

"Okay, I’ll tell you." Akira finally relented, her voice growing serious. "There’s a class I know of called [Fallen Angel]. Among the various skills utilized by this class as it advances are two skills you have."

She paused.

"[Smite], which is to be expected from a class related to angels, and [Wing Fortress]. With those two, you have a perfect balance of attack and defense. What do you think?"

"It’s... perfect." Lukas said, nodding in approval. "Even more perfect than my previous choice. As long as I control [Smite] to not kill my opponent, I should be able to win this thing."

"What’s so special about this tournament anyway?" Melody finally spoke, turning to look at Lukas. "Why is the City Lord making the new Awakeners fight each other a month after awakening?"

"It all sounds suspicious if you ask me," Akira added. "There has to be more to it than displaying the strength of the new generation."

"Some Awakeners do use the tournament to showcase their strengths and get better deals with guilds." Lukas nodded. "But even if there’s an ulterior motive, the reward for first place is good enough for me to step into the centre of attention."

"You said it was an [Item], right?" Akira asked.

"Not just any [Item]." Lukas grinned. "An Adept ranked [Item]."

Akira straightened, interest entering her eyes. "Oh?"

"Yeah. It’s kind of expected that whoever wins the tournament will most likely advance to Adept within a year, so some say this is the City Lord’s way of becoming acquaintances with them, helping their rise, and gaining an ally."

"I see." Akira turned back to the meat she was roasting over the spit. "It’s all political. Which means things are not as simple as we think."

"And we’ll have to try to learn more about it." Melody said, staring at them both. "We can’t advance to Adept blind to what the higher ranks outside Havenhart are doing. Or at least what is available for the public to know."

"True." Akira nodded. "The surface of the seas are always calm, but only the fishes know the battles taking place in its depths. Just because everything looks calm, that doesn’t mean it actually is calm."

Lukas nodded, understanding what they were trying to tell him. Even then, he knew what the answer to everything was.

Power.

There is a level of power one gets to that politics simply become one’s plaything. That was exactly the kind of power he was aspiring towards.

They quickly finished their meal, washing it down with wine.

Since they’d come to the forest mainly for Lukas’ quest, it was time to return.

Of course, Melody didn’t let the journey back to Havenhart stop her from slaughtering every beast they found on the way. It didn’t matter if it was D-rank or A-rank. As the saying goes, mosquito meat was still meat.

They soon arrived at the city, and as they made their way back to the hotel, they arrived at a crossroads.

Lukas stopped, turning to look at his wives. "You guys go ahead, I’ll meet you back at the hotel."

They nodded, wishing him luck, before continuing on their way. They’d been expecting this. After all, Lukas still had to register for the tournament. It wasn’t compulsory, and was open for any Awakener who wanted to try their luck.

He headed for the pavilions, which were the places designated by the City Lord for registration.

While Havenhart was a Tier 5 city, it had a population of at least five hundred thousand people, and that means there was a considerable number of new Awakeners everyday.

He soon arrived at the nearest pavilion, joining the line. Most of the Awakeners there were D-rank, and the notable ones were C-rank, so seeing a B-rank Awakener caused a stir.

The other competitors kept glancing at him and whispering to themselves. They knew this was a contender for first place.

Lukas paid them no mind, simply staring forward as the line slowly moved.

While most of the Awakeners were weak, they still had hope. They knew the draws for the battles depended on luck, and as long as they passed the first day of the tournament and made the shortlist, they would have that record to help them within their guilds, or when they joined one.

The line moved swiftly, and soon it was his turn.

"Name?" The clerk asked without looking up.

"Lukas Valentine."

"Rank?"

"B-rank."

The clerk finally looked up, staring at Lukas with a critical eye. The man was B-rank himself. Finally he asked, "Class?"

Lukas smiled at that. "[Thief], and [Fallen Angel]."

The man paused, having not expected that. "Dual classes?"

Whispers moved through the line as those close enough to hear the conversation related it to the others down the line.

"What the hell?! A dual class wielder?"

"I hope I never face him in the tournament. He’ll definitely shatter my hopes and dreams."

"Damn! Some people just have all the luck. Why couldn’t it have been meeee?"

The clerk met Lukas’ gaze. "You know you would have to demonstrate your skills on the day of the tournament, right? And that lying on your application is a punishable offense?"

"Yes, I do." Lukas nodded.

"Very well." The man scribbled something on his book, which shone brightly, and a slip of paper appeared before him.

"Here you go." He handed it to Lukas. "Your match schedule. Whatever you do, don’t lose it."

Lukas took the slip, staring down at it. It had his name, rank, classes, and the name of the three opponents he’d have to face on the first day. That was all.

If he wanted to know more about his opponents, he’d have to seek out information about them for himself, but that wasn’t necessary for him.

This was the way the tournament worked. Instead of starting with elimination matches, every participant fought three opponents on the first day, and were ranked based on their collective results.

The ranking depended on things like whether one lost or won their match, how long they fought, and their performance.

Then the first sixty four are drawn into an elimination style match format, until two people remain for the final match on the last day.

This system was created so that a promising prospect wouldn’t be eliminated on the first day simply because they faced a stronger opponent.

As long as they entered the first sixty four, they’d have a chance to display their skills.

Lukas was walking, not looking at where he was going, when someone bumped into him, sending his slip fluttering out of his hand.

Lukas’ eyes widened, and when he was about to lunge for it, a hand snatched it out of the air.