Rei hadn't walked far before he felt a strange vibration in the air.
The glowing panel flashed again before his eyes—
and this time, the message wasn't calm.
> [Warning! Harem Registration Conflict Detected!]
[Subject: Aria Lune — Level 23 Mage]
[Status: Forcefully Added to Host's Harem.]
[Error Detected: Host's emotional resistance exceeds threshold.]
"Forcefully added…?" he repeated under his breath, his voice flat but his eyes sharp.
The panel flickered violently, then shattered into light.
A soft breeze passed by, and the same girl from before—Aria—appeared again, clearly angry.
"You! I'm not done with you!"
She stomped closer, her silver hair swaying with each step, her violet eyes burning with frustration.
"You stole my kill, you walked away like I was invisible, and now my guild is going to laugh at me!"
Rei looked at her for barely a second before turning away again.
"I didn't ask you to follow me."
"Oh, don't flatter yourself, 'Mister Cold Hero.' I just want to make you pay for—"
Before she could finish, another system window opened—this time in front of her.
> [New Quest: Stay beside Rei Asakura for 7 consecutive days.]
[Reward: System Synchronization 10%.]
Her eyes widened.
"What the… what is this?"
Rei sighed. "So it's happening to you too."
The wind grew colder. The ground beneath them trembled faintly.
Rei felt it—something deep within him, like a heartbeat of resistance.
A dark aura pulsed around his body, and glowing red text flashed across his vision:
> [Skill Activation: Harem Hatred – Level 1]
[Effect: Cancels all emotional bindings and reduces affection toward host by 100%.]
A faint shockwave burst out.
Aria stumbled back, her expression suddenly empty—her anger and confusion gone, replaced by a hollow stare.
Then she blinked, as if waking from a dream.
"What... was I saying?" she murmured, holding her head.
Rei clenched his fist.
> "So… that's my power. To reject affection itself."
But as he looked at her, he noticed something the system hadn't predicted—
despite the cancellation, a flicker of curiosity remained in her eyes.
Something that even his power couldn't erase.
Aria smiled faintly.
"I don't know why… but I feel like following you might be fun."
Rei's expression darkened.
"This world is broken."
As the sun dipped behind the city walls, the system chimed once more:
> [Day 1: Harem Progress – 0%. Emotional Resistance – 98%.]
[System Remark: Interesting specimen detected.]
And somewhere in the digital void between worlds…
A shadowed figure watched the data unfold.
"Finally… a host who resists the system itself."
---
Would you like Chapter 4 to explore more about the system's observer (the one monitoring Rei), or would you rather shift to Rei and Aria entering the magi
c academy city together — where his hatred starts to attract even more attention?