Gacha Harem System

The door of the hotel room swung open and Melody looked up from the bed immediately, a bright smile appearing on her face.

"There he is. The man of the hour."

Akira swung her legs off the bed from where she’d been sprawled across it, sitting upright with a grin.

Lukas stepped inside and had approximately one second before Melody was in front of him, lifting his coat from his shoulders with a sweet smile on her face.

He couldn’t help but smile at the treatment. "Thank you."

"Sit down," she said, already moving to hang the coat.

Akira stood, crossing her arms with a mischievous grin on her face. "Congratulations on making the cut."

Lukas raised an eyebrow. "Was there ever a version of today where I didn’t?"

"No," Akira admitted.

"Then what exactly are we celebrating?"

Melody turned from the coat with a look that said the question itself was the problem. "Even expected outcomes deserve to be celebrated. That’s how you actually enjoy the things you work for."

She pointed at the chair. "Sit."

He sat.

They sat down on either side of him at the round table, the smiles on their faces telling him they’d been waiting for him, and were pleased to see he’d finally arrived.

"So how was it?" Melody asked.

"How was what?" Lukas asked with a grin, deliberately acting as if he didn’t know what they were talking about.

"Fighting in front of that many people?"

Lukas leaned back, humming thoughtfully. "It was actually not that different from any other fight. As long as I tuned the crowd out, it was just another battle to me."

Akira looked mildly disappointed at his answer. "I expected something more dramatic than that."

"Sorry to disappoint."

She shook her head. "No, it’s actually impressive. Most people can’t do that."

A knock landed on the door before Lukas could respond. He immediately turned to look at Melody.

She was already standing, a grin on her face. She opened the door and two hotel staff wheeled in a cart, setting covered plates on the round table before excusing themselves.

Lukas stared at the plates, then up at Melody. "What’s this?"

"A celebration requires food." Melody began lifting covers. "And drinks."

Akira was already uncorking the wine, filling three glasses before he could even find an answer for Melody.

Lukas’ brows rose as he saw what the dishes were. He was actually quite surprised that this time, there was no steak.

He looked up at her.

She saw the expression on his face and shrugged, a coy smile on her face. "I wanted something different tonight."

"She still got the steak," Akira said without looking up from the wine. "It’s just under that cover on the left."

Melody shot Akira a betrayed look but didn’t deny her words.

Lukas simply chuckled, picking up a spoon, and they began eating.

The wine was good, the food was better, and of course, the company was the best.

Melody looked up from her plate after a few minutes, asking the question she and Akira had been curious about.

"So... who are you fighting tomorrow?"

"Ansel Potter," Lukas said.

Melody and Akira looked at each other across the table.

"I have no idea who that is," Melody said.

"Never heard of him," Akira confirmed.

Lukas looked between them. "No one is expecting you both to know who that is."

Then his eyes narrowed. "Wait a minute. Do you know anything about anyone else on that list?"

Their expressions shifted simultaneously, as if they’d been waiting to be asked that exact question.

Melody reached for her wine with a cat-like grin, while Akira leaned forward.

"While you were fighting, we spent the day collecting information," Melody said. "On the ones who stood out, of course."

Lukas set his spoon down. "Morgana Le Fay. She’s first place. What do you know about her?"

They exchanged another glance. This one was slightly less confident.

"We didn’t actually see her fight," Akira admitted. "Or even see her at all."

"From what we heard from the people around us, she wore a mask throughout the entire day."

"A mask?" Lukas frowned.

"A full face mask," Melody nodded. "Nobody we spoke to got a clear look at her. So your best approach is simple. When you’re among the competitors tomorrow, just search for anyone with a mask."

Lukas nodded at that.

"What about second place?" he asked. "Liam Walker."

Both of them brightened.

"Now that one was interesting," Melody said, leaning forward. "Apparently, Liam Walker is the son of the head of the Iron Fist guild."

Lukas recognized the name. "The Iron Fist guild. That’s Dominik and Ryan’s guild. The two who helped us in the Scorched Forest."

He couldn’t forget that day. That was the day he’d been out on a hunt with Melody, and they’d been attacked by a Shadow Panther.

The beast had injured him, and if not for the two men who had arrived at that moment, hovering in the air above them, he wasn’t sure if he’d have made it back to the city in time.

"Exactly." Melody pointed at him. "Ryan, the tall, bald one, is Liam’s uncle."

"Well, having the son of Iron Fist guild as second on the rankings isn’t that surprising," he said.

"But that’s not the most interesting part," Akira said, her voice eager, as if she’d saved the best information for last.

She reached across the table and tapped it once for emphasis. "Liam Walker is a dual Awakener."

Lukas raised an eyebrow. "Two classes?"

"Two classes," she confirmed. "His first is the [Hero] class. It’s a powerful class, and people have been talking about him as a top contender since registration opened."

She paused. "His second class, however, is still unknown. Nobody has seen him use it yet, so I guess he’s saving the skills as a trump card."

"Or the skills in the second class are useless in a fight," Melody said.

"There’s that too." Akira nodded.

Lukas sat there, thinking about it.

A [Hero] class dual Awakener with a hidden second class, connected to one of the most established guilds in Havenhart, sitting one place below a masked competitor nobody had seen coming.

He picked up his wine.

"There really is going to be genuine competition in this tournament," he said.

Akira grinned. "Makes it more interesting, doesn’t it?"

He took a sip. "It does."