Gacha Harem System

Lukas stared at the ring in Akira’s outstretched hand, and just as he collected it, the information appeared before him.

[Stats Limiter]

[Rank: Awakened]

[This ring lets the wearer place a temporary hard cap on their stats.]

He could tell that this wasn’t a dungeon reward [Item], as there were tiny, almost invisible scribbles on the surface of the rings, which he’d begun to associate with [Artificers].

He blinked in surprise, looking up at Akira. "Where did you get this?"

"The Sisterhood used them as training tools." Akira tossed another chip into her mouth, crunching down on it. "It’s part of the standard trainee equipment."

"When we were still young and trying to learn technique instead of relying on raw power, we usually locked our stats away. This forces us to actually use our brains instead of trying to brute force it." She shrugged. "I kept mine when I graduated. It has sentimental value."

Melody turned to look at her, a bit peeved. "Why didn’t you just show us this five minutes ago and save us the argument?"

"It was fun to watch." Akira was unapologetic. "Besides, I genuinely forgot I had it until just now. It’s been a long time since I even remembered it exists."

Melody looked up at the ceiling in exasperation, then back at Lukas. "Put it on., let’s see if it works."

He slid the ring onto his finger.

The sensation filled him immediately as a wave of pins and needles moved from his hand up his arm and across his whole body immediately.

He could feel the ring trying to clamp on his stats, but the effect was weak, like an automated machine.

His consciousness pushed back instinctively, and the sensation faded, leaving behind a handle in the back of his mind that he knew he could always pull to direct the ring of his own accord.

He pulled up his status screen, and began studying it.

It was the same as always, except now each stat had a toggle beside it, where he could manually set the restrictions on his stats.

He looked up at his wives. "What would be considered normal stats for a B-rank Awakener with a month of experience? What would people expect to see when I use my strength?"

"Not my stats when I first arrived," Melody said immediately.

"I was going to suggest..." He trailed off as she stared at him. He chuckled, scratching the back of his head with a sheepish grin. That was in fact, what he had been about to suggest.

"Think about it." Melody finally said. "Someone who speedran to B-rank in a month wouldn’t have had time to grind dungeons the way you have."

"They’d have been hunting constantly, sharing kills, and of course, splitting experience and rewards four or five ways. Their stats would reflect that."

She thought for a moment. "The strongest individual stat on a one-month B-rank would probably sit around two hundred and fifty. Three hundred max, and that would be someone exceptional."

"So if I walk in at three hundred across everything, that’s still suspicious," Lukas said.

"Not really," Melody admitted. "It’ll just set you a cut above the rest."

"If I were you, I’d cap everything at four hundred." Akira had finished the chips and set the bag aside. "You’ve been soloing dungeons, and I’m sure by now, people already know that."

"There’s no way the guards around those dungeons wouldn’t have been spreading stories. Your solo runs are probably the most excitement they’ve had in weeks."

Lukas couldn’t find fault in her reasoning.

"Four hundred is believable for someone who’s been running dungeons alone for a month. It’s high, but it has an explanation." She concluded.

Melody considered it. "I agree. If it’s anyone else, it’ll be suspicious, but since it’s you, four hundred is defensible."

"Four hundred it is," Lukas said.

He turned his attention back to the status screen and worked through each stat, setting the cap. When he was done, he looked at the result.

[Stats:]

[Strength: 400 (Locked: 4553)]

[Agility: 400 (Locked: 3885)]

[Constitution: 400 (Locked: 4339)]

[Mana: 400 (Locked: 5594)]

Immediately the lock was confirmed, he felt the dip in his body.

His strength went first, dropping sharply. He felt as the constant background awareness of power in his muscles simply contracted, pulling back to a fraction of what it had been.

He shifted his weight and the floor felt different under his feet. Even his arms felt different at his sides.

He reached out and pressed his palm against the wall, and the wall felt solid in a way it hadn’t in weeks. Just a few seconds ago, this wall had been irrelevant to him, but now, it felt like an actual barrier.

He’d spent so long as a strong Awakener that he’d almost forgotten what being close to normal felt like.

"How is it?" Melody asked.

"Strange." He rolled his shoulder slowly. "It’s not bad, it’s just... strange."

He looked at his hands.

"I’ll need to walk around like this for at least a day to get my body used to moving this way before the tournament."

"That shouldn’t be too big a deal. You have two days before the tournament begins," Akira said, already reaching for another bag of something from her spatial ring. "That’s more than enough time to remember how to be a regular person."

He gave her a flat look.

She grinned back, entirely unbothered.

That was when a knock landed on their door.

Lukas turned to Melody, brows raised. "Are we expecting someone?"

Melody’s grin filled her face as she answered. "I ordered a large meal for us. To celebrate your successful registration."

"I tried to stop her." Akira chuckled. "But she insisted that registration was always worth celebrating. If you ask me, I think she simply wanted to try their brisket."

Melody opened the door with a flourish and two hotel staff wheeled in a cart laden with covered plates, the smell reaching the room before the food did.

They arranged everything on the round table with the steak at the center, the sides arranged around it, a bottle of wine set beside the plates. Then they excused themselves and pulled the door shut.

Lukas stared at the spread and laughed. "You’re doing this for the steak, aren’t you?"

"Obviously," Melody said, already sitting down.

Akira uncorked the wine and filled all three glasses without being asked, then lifted hers above the table.

"To victory," she said.

They touched glasses.

Lukas drank and set his glass down, his eyes shining.

Two days until the tournament. He hoped nothing unexpected happened during this time.

***

A/N: That’s it for the bonus Chapters. Don’t forget, there are other goals to hit with your power stones and golden tickets. See you on the other side.