Gacha Harem System

A/N: Moonman2633 coming in clutch again with another castle. Special thanks to you, bro.

***

Right in the highest tier of the stadium was a viewing box separated from the general seating by enough distance and enough stone to make the noise below feel like something happening in another world.

Two chairs faced the arena, a low table between them carrying a spread of refreshments that neither man had paid particular attention to since sitting down.

Le Fay absentmindedly reached for a grape, dropped it into his mouth, and turned to Barlas with a smile. "Using Rollo as officiator. That was a good choice."

"Thank you," Barlas said.

"I mean it. The crowd’s reaction alone was worth it. I’m sure even more people will come tomorrow, just for the chance of seeing him. You might even break the record for highest attendance at a tournament in your city." Le Fay selected another grape. "Smart."

"It wasn’t entirely about the crowd." Barlas kept his eyes on the arena below, where the competitors were taking their seats along the perimeter.

"Rollo is the person I trust most to manage this event without incident. That was the primary consideration. It would also keep Lady Morgana safe."

Le Fay glanced at him. "Is that why you’ve positioned the competitors around the arena rather than in a separate area?"

"It keeps everyone in his sightline," Barlas said simply. "This way, he can have all the participants and matches visible from a single vantage point. If anything requires his attention, he can respond immediately."

Le Fay nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer. He reached for his wine.

Barlas turned to him. "I should thank you properly for providing the tournament reward. The [Kairos Fillet] is exceptional. Far beyond what I would have considered providing."

Le Fay laughed, waving his free hand. "Think nothing of it."

Barlas thought quite a lot of it, privately.

If the [Kairos Fillet] had been his, he would not have placed it on the table as a tournament prize under any circumstances, regardless of what political goodwill it generated.

He knew just how valuable the [Item] would be for him on the Second Floor, but the man was using it as a reward for baby Awakeners.

He felt like tearing his own hair out in frustration and disappointment.

The Le Fay family’s wealth existed at a scale that he understood intellectually but still occasionally found difficult to process in practice.

"I presume you provided that reward because Lady Morgana is participating," Barlas said.

Le Fay smiled without denying it. "Consider it a gesture of appreciation. You were gracious enough to allow her entry on such short notice."

"And if someone other than Morgana wins the tournament?"

Le Fay turned to look at him with genuine amusement. "Then they earned it, and it belongs to them."

He leaned back in his chair. "We Le Fays are not in the habit of offering something and then resenting the outcome. We have more than one Adept-ranked [Item], Barlas."

He chuckled, as if the idea itself was ridiculous. "We’re not going to mourn this one."

Barlas said nothing for a moment. Then he looked back down at the arena, where Rollo had risen high above the arenas, and the first matches were about to begin.

***

Lukas found a seat along the arena’s perimeter and quickly claimed it, taking in the scale of the tournament around him.

He had to admit that the coordination was impressive.

Assistants moved between the eight arenas, some A-rank and others B-rank, each one managing a specific section of the floor.

Whether it was announcing matches, positioning competitors, or signaling the start and end of fights.

Above all of it, Rollo simply hovered, observing.

There was no need for him to involve himself in the ranking phase of the tournament. His time would come, but not now.

The large cube floating above the arena kept shifting, its faces cycling through various information as it displayed names, ranks, and arena assignments.

Lukas tracked it, but his name hadn’t appeared yet, so he still had time.

He turned his attention to the arena directly in front of him as the first match was called.

Two competitors stepped in.

The first was C-rank and had a confident grin as he stared at his opponent, expecting an easy win. He had a sword attached to his hip.

The second was D-rank, and held an item in their hands. It was a bow, its surface faintly luminous, showing it wasn’t a normal weapon, but an [Item].

Tournament rules permitted that competitors could use one Awakened [Item] per participant, so the bow was legal.

The staff called the start.

The D-rank moved immediately, drawing and releasing before the C-rank had taken a full step.

The first arrow crossed the arena, faster than what a D-rank should be able to shoot. That had to be an effect of the bow.

The C-rank dodged, but as the arrow shattered on the ground beside them, it seemed to explode in size, spraying ice fragments around them and forcing the C-rank to jump to the side.

And with that, the pattern quickly established itself within the first thirty seconds.

Every time the C-rank tried to close the distance, another arrow came.

Some were aimed directly at him, while others were fired at the ground to create ice fields that disrupted his footing, and sent him sliding around the frost covered floor.

It soon became clear that the C-rank was a melee fighter. This meant their skills required proximity.

But the D-rank also understood this and had no intention of allowing them to get close.

By the time the second minute of this passed, frustration was visible on the C-rank’s face. They knew this couldn’t go on forever, and they had no idea how long the D-rank could sustain this, so they tried to rush forward.

And that was when they made a mistake.

As they leapt over a patch with shards of ice everywhere, an arrow whistled through the air, burying itself in their thigh.

The arrow expanded inside, freezing the leg solid and piercing through it with spikes.

The C-rank screamed in pain, stumbling as they landed, but before they could do anything else, two more arrows slammed into them in rapid succession.

The staff immediately called the fight.

Healers were already moving in as the D-rank was announced the winner.

Lukas watched them work on the frozen leg and nodded slowly to himself.

This had been a bad matchup for the C-rank, and the D-rank had been able to exploit their advantage.

Well, the C-rank still had two more matches to recover their record. Whether they would adjust their approach was a different question.

He turned his attention back to the cube above, just in time to see his name flash.

"Lukas Valentine!" One of the staff called.

He stood.

It was finally his turn.