Compensation

Dinner was uneventful as the group of three made small talk and speculated the cause for the sudden dungeon break. They assumed that it had to be a trap for someone as it was too elaborate and sudden for it to be a terrorist attack.

The government wouldn't have been delayed by a terrorist as the number of spies and fortune-telling items that they hold would not allow for them to be unprepared.

This is common knowledge and goes to show just how strong the government is and their fast reaction times. The only conclusion could be that this was done by a highly trained group from a well-funded international level organization. There was also the very slim possibility that it was done by a single individual who is powerful and rich.

For now, they can only speculate as the government hasn't shared anything about the incident with them yet. They also wouldn't be surprised if the government didn't tell them anything.

After dinner, Cynthia returned to her room so she could train her mana once again. She had 3 or 4 more tries remaining and with how she slept for a couple of hours, she should be able to do it once or twice more than that.

So she sat down, folded her legs, and started to visualize her mana with the help of her mana eyes. She did confirm her current status before doing so, she hadn't checked it after the last session.

[ Below is the current mana amount and quality of the user.

Mana Amount: 144.43 > 151.7 CSU

Mana Quality: Grade 1 ]

The above was the result of 5 cycles and the following is the result after a 2-hour session just now. This time, she was able to make another 6 cycles of mana circulation.

[ Below is the current mana amount and quality of the user.

Mana Amount: 151.7 > 161 CSU

Mana Quality: Grade 1 ]

As each time was an exponential increase of 1 percent, the speed at which she grows would only become faster.

"Ahhh..." Cynthia laid flat on her back as she closed her eyes with a smile on her face.

This was weeks worth of progress for her back then done in quite literally a day. However, her feelings are quite complicated because of this.

Things that were not supposed to happen were taking place and these events were not small in any way. She didn't expect the butterfly accept to be so strong and sweep her off the ground.

She hasn't gotten a break since her rebirth and feels that the world is really out to get her

"Gaia, you piece of absolute dog sh*t!!" she caused internally as the system didn't recommend her to say anything about the planet out loud.

She was cursing at this moment because of what she read on the web novel that the system found. It is titled "The Princess of Gold's Lousy Harem".

Cynthia found harem novels to be slightly distasteful as they progressed as main characters would often forget about certain characters if the harem got to be big. This is an abhorrent issue that is prominent in ML harem novels.

It is not as pronounced in FL Reverse Harem's as the number of men is often limited and usually no more than 5. Cynthia finds this manageable as characters often played strict roles and had their own specific charm that was pasted on to another character.

Based on what she had read so far, Lilliana Duketh was born with a type of mana called the "Mana Of Gold". It is quite a generic name and but its abilities have nothing to do with the name.

Apparently, in the world of mana, golden mana ties directly to TIME. This is because time is invaluable and worth more than any amount of gold.

Lilliana was born with this mana that would let her control aspects of time when she was strong enough. This did not mean she was weak as the golden mana being the best mana also provided significant improvement to her physique as it had to be prepared to hold the load of time itself.

This made her like a cannon that could tear through GATE monsters like they are nothing more than sheets of low-quality paper.

This is pretty much all she understood from the first few chapters. The harem was even in its infantile stage yet but Cynthia found this made sense as it took time to build relationships.

As for why Cynthia was called a villain by the system was because of one of the latest chapters where Lilly meets up with one of the future love interests, her future enemy, Derek Zayden.

Since he was classified as one of the male leads, her attacking him caused her to be categorized as a type of villain. A villain that doesn't obstruct the FL but one that harms the progress of the harem by attacking the male characters.

"So basically, the males will need my approval if they want to have a chance at Lilly."

When she understood this, Cynthia broke out in a fit of hilarious laughter. "Interesting...hehehe...no one's coming close to her. I will not let them unless they can prove their worth."

She was going to play the role that a disapproving father would play to stop the male leads from approaching his beloved daughter.

This was all because of her new place in Lilly's heart and her attitude towards the main characters. She became an overprotective sibling/parent character. She didn't mind this though as he found it amusing.

She could have quite the fun if she manipulated the story to her whims and sent those future ML's down a path which they have no chance at Lilly.

[Ding! The system headquarters has sent you compensation. Would you like to check it now?]

Cynthia had just cuddled into her blanket when this message showed up. She immediately agreed as she wasn't feeling sleepy at all. She was rather eager to see how the headquarters treats her and this accident.

(The accident refers to where the mana reacted with the serums she traded for. This leads to the side effects of improved efficacy and the mana eyes.)

[ You have received: Heavenly Snow Leopard's Heart x1, Random Escape Card x1, Reverse Card x1, Mana Counter Upgrade x1, and a Low-Grade Demonic Item Card x1 ]

"What the heck are these?" Cynthia questioned as she did not understand what most of these were.

The mana counter was obvious and came with a description that explained that the system would now be able to her the amount of mana a person has. The random escape card was something that would teleport her to anywhere in the 10,000 galaxies that the system has access to.

This was only to be used in the direst of situations as she would have no idea where she actually ended up.

"System, why is there no explanation for the other items?" she asked with a strange expression. She felt her system was lacking as it is was in no way as omnipotent as other systems from novels.

[ These other three are supposed to be restricted items as in young should not have access to them. For example, I can tell you that Heavenly Snow Leopard is existence from a whole other Dimension.

The same goes for the demonic item card this is also from another dimension known as the demon world. As for the reverse card, it is a mythical item of unlimited potential. Nothing else is known. ]

(Author's Note: Looks like no one invented uno in this world.)

"That doesn't tell me anything. I cant probably use any of these until I upgrade you right?" said Cynthia as he frowned at the uselessness of these gifts.

The wouldn't be effective at all in a short time. They are all long-term items that would come into play who knows when. She is still far way from upgrading the system to the next level.

[Afiirmative. When the system can connect to 10 dimensions is the time where the restriction is lifted. ]

"How many upgrades is that exactly?" Cynthia didn't mind that she got some OP items for the future as its hows the headquarters for these systems are not cheap. Though, they did show how they lack the thoughtfulness to give her things that help with her strength right now.

[ Currently, the system can access 10,000 Galaxies.

Next is 1,000,000 Galaxies. Then is this Entire Universe. Yes, the universe is finite.

The level afterward gets you 10 Entirely Different Unverises/Dimension. ]

"So technically, I'm not that far off but It's still a long way to go."

[Exactly.]

Cynthia could only shake her head in dismay at this point as 4 out of these 5 items will be sitting in her inventory. This makes her feel quite salty but she doesn't know how to file a complaint to the headquarters, not that they would listen to it after giving her such exclusive items.

'You know what, I'll stay at home for an entire week. I should take this chance to rest up as much as a can. I can't trust a novel world and how much it can torture me with unlimited events. '

Cynthia convinces herself to stay out of trouble for a week, hoping that she doesn't have to deal with anything serious.

Right before she falls asleep, she remembers that's he had beaten Derek into a pulp earlier and the Zayden family would definitely show up at her house at some point soon.

She quickly got rid of this thought as he would deal with it as it came. She was the child of someone powerful as well, unlike her previous life, she is more than willing to use that identity to the max.

Now was her time to sleep and so she tossed her head empty and went to the dreamland.

------------------

While Cynthia was enjoying her nightly break, in a dimension far far away, there is an ancient castle that was shrouded in darkness. The only sources of light came from the knights in full plate armor that patrolled around the area with torches in hand.

There were also illuminated rooms that were at the very top of tall spires. In these rooms lived the most prestigious of individuals. These individuals are the law of the land when it comes to the hundreds of miles that surround this castle.

Inside one of these rooms, there was a crackling fireplace that was filled with wood that was dried months ago in preparation for fall and winter.

A young man with a noble visage sat in a posh, red chair in as getting that seemed to be his study; There were wooden shelves filled with all sorts of ancient and new books. There was also a glamourous table with paper neatly pilled to the side.

The young man adjusted his white shirt after he took a blue gem that served as an emblem for his noble clan. he put the accessory on the table next to his chair and felt his smooth and slender neck.

"They really ought to make my collar looser. I can't stand the feeling of what seems like a noose around me at all times," he complains in a stoic voice.

From beside his desk, he picks up a cup of tea and starts to sip very slowly as he looks at the book that he picked up for tonight.

'I can't fall asleep anyway so why not just take this time to study instead.' That is what he had decided on a long time ago.

So there he was, a young man with a noble aura, an elegant face, jet black hair, and cold blue eyes, the princely figure sat there reading a book in one hand while sipping tea from the other. '

Accompanied by the serenity of the crackling fireplace and its warmth, this was a picturesque scene that many have imagined when thinking about fantasy, medieval prince.

SWOOSH!

Suddenly, the wind blows open the only window in this room as the flames are fed with a burst of oxygen, they flare-up.

The lithe figure of a woman shows up on the windowsill, decked in all black clothes and a black cape.

The only part of her face not covered would be the eyes that are a shade of dazzling orange. You could also that she had flawless, milky skin and straight, thin eyebrows.

This woman entered the room from the windowsill from who knows where because they are at least 100 meters high at the moment.

The woman stood on the plush carpets with her muddy boots and stomped her feet on them. She clearly did not care for how expensive the item is. All she wanted was to pat herself clean of any dust and make her feet feel lighter.

The young man in the chair looked at the actions of this rude woman and didn't have much change in his cheerful expression. He just put down his book after putting in a white feather as a bookmark.

He snapped the fingers on his right hand once and triggered pure, white strands of light to cover the lady from head to toe.

It got rid of any dirty residue and also cleaned up his carpet before going. Residence of this world and many others call this magic.

He then continued smiling she patiently waited for this person to provide a report.

After the woman was cleaned up, she kneeled on one foot and spoke in a clear, melodic voice.

"It is done, my lord."

"Good job. Do have anything else to report," he said while nodding in approval. He was very glad at this moment that this woman had completed the task he had assigned her without getting caught.

"Indeed my lord. There have been certain treasures that went missing from the royal treasury. The king is furious at the moment." she replied. There was a hint of obvious disdain when she mentioned the king.

"Oh ho..." There was a glimmer in the young man's eyes that showed interest towards what she had just spoken. "What exactly was stolen?"

"The Heavenly Snow Leopards Heart, my lord."