04. Game On

Nathan fell back on the bed and started to laugh uncontrollably. He just couldn't believe how quickly things could change in one night.

From sobbing and drinking himself to stupor to suddenly having something strange, so strange that he did not know why he had it.

This had to potential to raise him to the top of everything. Hell, he could even become the single most influential person in the world.

Nathan facepalmed, his body slightly shivering from laughing so much.

"I've hit the jackpot! Who would have thought?"

Nathan sat up again and looked at his phone, re-confirmed that he still had over $700 in his account.

Confirming this, he tossed his phone aside and stared at the floating screens. He was thinking, thinking of how to use this – the advantages and disadvantages.

Then, another notification dropped.

< Ding! >

< You have initiated your first successful expenditure on a lady. Congratulations! >

< You have fulfilled the requirements of the System and have become the full-fledged host. Congratulations! >

< Host has awakened the Rebate Component! >

< Host has awakened the Harem Component! >

< Your harem is growing! >

"What's going on now?"

Nathan scratched the side of his head and furrowed his brows, glaring at the panels with a 'Seriously?' look in his eyes that expressed his mild irritation.

"Wait a minute… harem?" he blurted out, wondering what that was supposed to mean.

It dawned on Nathan at that moment that he had gotten the 10x cashback he received after spending on a woman – Dahlia.

"Wait. You can't be referring to Dahlia, are you?"

< Harem >

< Members (1/2) >

[Name: Dahlia / Age: 24 / Bond: 40%]

"No, no, no. Why is Dahlia in this harem?"

Nathan was beginning to sound dumb shouting at thin air.

If anyone was to witness this, the person would definitely think Nathan to be crazy.

"How does this harem work? I don't get to decide who is in or not?"

< The choice is yours >

Nathan paused and blinked twice as he slightly declined away from the screens.

"Oh! You have some sentience. Interesting."

< Yes. I am able to answer questions directed to me by the host, and only host >

< The condition for expanding host's harem involves spending on the lady whom host is interested in >

< 10x rebate works only when host spends on a woman of interest >

Nathan rubbed his chin while critically read through the rows of texts that hovered in front of him. He needed to understand what he was getting into and the mechanics that surrounded it.

Seeing Dahlia's name on his list of harem and as the first member on it made him feel different things.

He was not sure if he wanted that but at the same time, he knew that he enjoyed Dahlia's company and the vibes she brought into their relationship.

Does he being in his harem mean something different?

Nathan shook his head, shaking off his foolishness.

Of course, it does!

Nathan clearly knows what a harem meant and it was certainly not a gathering of just friends.

As much as he wanted to dismiss the thought, he also accommodated it, making him even more confused.

Maybe he was starting to actually fancy Dahlia, considering what Eve had done to him.

Eve. Yes, Eve.

Nathan suddenly remembered his current girlfriend whom he had broken up with in his head and heart, only the physical thing remaining.

Now that he thought about that cheating elven bitch of his, his eyes went straight to the harem part of the list of sentences the system rolled out for him.

The capacity of his harem was already halfway filled with Dahlia on the list. That leaves an extra slot for one more person.

This was an easy decision.

Nathan was going to start with Eve.

Eve was going to be the second member of his harem, and all he had to do was spend on her.

Nathan, in a jiffy, considered the prospects of this decision.

With the system even showing him how much and how strong the bond he shared with the members of his harem were, he could know if Eve even truly valued him for once since they started dating.

Eve was easily his second choice to fill up his harem.

After Eve, he was going to start to work his way up the ladder to the elites of this modern society.

Nathan had been there in the past, and had his father not fallen to nothing because of the greed of the people he trusted, his life might not have turned out the way it did.

They cost his father his life and in turn, his mother's.

These people, even the ones his family had raised from grass to grace, cast him away when he came to seek their help.

Nathan learned the bitter truth and the hard way at that.

He was going to start someone to climb back up, and what better place to experiment this new power of his but on the elf who had intentionally played and used him several times over.

Nathan took a step back to think of his next set of actions.

First and foremost, if he was going to reach the top of that ladder, he needed to get his money, connection and influence up.

But then again, his anger towards Eve was starting to blind him and he was not willing to let another person fill up that extra space.

He snapped his fingers, having experienced a eureka moment.

"If I spend on Eve, I can get my money up since I find her attractive. At the same time, she would inevitably take up the extra space."

Nathan was holding back his evil villainous laughter as he thought this through.

He immediately picked up his phone and started to type, sending a message to you-know-who.

[Eveeeee <3]

[How are you, baby? You back from Kate's?]

[Let's have lunch. 2pm. Usual place]

[See you soon]

Nathan locked his phone and dropped it.

The game was on now and with this system, he was the game master – the controller of all.

He was not going to make any mistakes this time.