I had always been an ordinary person.
Perhaps this is the most boring and overused way to begin my story, but it's not as if I'm going to lie to anyone.
I truly was just an ordinary person, with nothing that distinguished me.
I was the third son of a middle-income family.
The course of my life had been paved from the moment I was born. All I had to do was follow my parents' teachings, study hard to obtain excellent grades, graduate from a respectable university, get a job, then marry and form a stable family.
I didn't have to worry about the future or anything other than my grades, and I received everything I needed—good food, a new phone, a video game console, etc., etc.—until the end.
Even so, I have to admit that this life was somewhat boring, so I immersed myself in various forms of entertainment. Of course, I'm not an idiot who would turn into the kind of shut-in that destroys his life and social relationships.
In the end, they were merely different ways to pass my free time.
So, where is this long and boring introduction leading us? To the fact that, while I was randomly browsing one of the web-novel sites looking for something new to read,
I found a novel titled **"The Epic of the Hero's Rise: Defeating the Demon King While Gathering an SSS-Rank Harem."**
It was the most clichéd title you could ever see in your life, as if the author were screaming in your face:
"Look at my cheap story filled with clichés and girls with exaggerated curves."
Honestly, as a man who loves true art and unique stories, I usually wouldn't even give this kind of story a second glance.
But for some reason—maybe boredom, or maybe I wanted to see why this trash had gained so much popularity—I decided to read it.
And guess what I read…
Yes, you're right! It was a story filled with clichés and big-breasted girls.
Ugh.
What did I even do? I wasted an entire month of my free time reading narrative garbage in which an idiot protagonist wanders around, defeats enemies, adds every beautiful girl he sees to his harem, then forgets about her after five chapters.
Damn it, I can't believe I read that nonsense all the way to the end.
Ahem—anyway, let's return to reality.
As you can see, the reason I'm telling you my insignificant story—the kind you can find at the beginning of every cheap web novel—is that, as everyone would expect,
I transmigrated into that damn novel.
Someone might ask, how do you know you've transmigrated into the stupid harem novel you finished just yesterday?
Well, you see, when you find yourself inside a Western-fantasy-style tavern with a stupid name like
"Chicken Watermelon,"
while the naïve tavern owner serves you a mug of beer without noticing that his beautiful wife is being harassed in the back storage room by the novel's protagonist,
then you are definitely inside the cheap harem novel you've been reading lately.
Of course, everyone would expect me now to have a panic attack, go hysterical, and scream at the top of my lungs like a madman:
"Where am I? What's happening?!"
"It's impossible—absolutely impossible—that I've transmigrated into *The Epic of the Hero's Rise: Defeating the Demon King While Gathering an SSS-Rank Harem!*"
In fact, the only truly impossible thing here is repeating that damn long title one more time.
And no, I'm not calm because my nature leans toward coolness and elegance, or because I'm calculating, pragmatic, Machiavellian, or whatever other words Chinese manhua protagonists are described with.
I am terrified—so terrified that I want to wet my pants. But as you see, if there's one thing I learned from my family, it's the importance of maintaining your appearance in front of people so that neighbors whose names you don't even know won't mock you behind your back.
Therefore, the morals that were implanted into my brain over eighteen years of traditional upbringing do not allow me to stand up and scream in a public place.
So I had to compose myself, think calmly, and analyze the situation like the genius system protagonists of novels.
First, I examined my surroundings, which were an exact replica of the taverns seen in Western fantasy movies and works, or Japanese isekai series.
Rundown tables were scattered everywhere, occupied by various adventurers in strange clothing, with muscular and overly tall bodies—as if everyone in the tavern were a bodybuilder.
But that wasn't the most annoying thing about the tavern. It was that strange smell that gave me a headache. I think it was the smell of alcohol—though I'm not sure, since I had never seen alcohol in my entire life on Earth.
To make matters worse, all those barbarians were talking loudly at the same time. Damn them—I would have died of a headache on the very first day I transmigrated because of them.
I couldn't even understand a single thing from their damn chatter, except that the tavern's name was Chicken Watermelon, which made me connect it to the stupid novel I had read.
Like everyone else in the tavern, I was sitting at a rundown table, and beside me stood a short man with a somewhat protruding belly and a face full of wrinkles, like valleys carved by the winds of time.
Even so, he had a kind smile beneath his short gray mustache that made anyone feel close to him.
I was completely sure he was the owner of this tavern—well, not entirely, since the only description he ever received throughout the entire novel was that he was an old man, weak in masculinity, incapable of satisfying his wife.
Nevertheless, from the way he approached me and placed a mug of beer before moving on to another table, it was obvious that the poor man was the tavern owner.
I must admit that seeing him greet everyone with that smile while working hard made me feel so sorry for him that I almost stood up and shouted:
"Good sir, there's a bastard harassing your wife in the back storage room!"
Even so, I restrained myself. After all, I don't want to become the enemy of that despicable protagonist, especially when I know he possesses a cheat system to help him.
While thinking about this, my mind shifted to recalling the events at the beginning of the novel, which were as follows:
Roman Casanova was a womanizer, famous for traveling through various villages and engaging in countless illicit relationships. He even once tried to seduce a noblewoman, only to end up being chased across the Blue Rain Kingdom.
One day, while having an affair with the wife of a random tavern owner, he was discovered and beaten to death by the tavern's patrons.
But this was not the end, as anyone might expect. A repressed student from Earth transmigrated into his body, possessing a cheat system called the "Supreme Harem Collection System."
Damn these clichés—once again, I want to kill myself for reading this garbage.
Anyway, after thinking about his life and comparing it to Roman's life full of illicit relationships, our friend from Earth decides to change. He will no longer remain that shy child incapable of doing anything, and with the help of his system, he will gather the largest harem in the world.
The rest of the story is merely a collection of clichéd and random events that anyone could predict.
Well, I suppose Roman will die any moment now.
"Ahhh~"
And indeed, a woman's cry filled with ecstasy echoed through the tavern, causing the entire place to fall silent like a grave.