Sue Terin wiped off the remnants of the black-colored blood from the corner of her lips. With her body leaning against her door, her ashen face stared right at the fidgeting fur ball in front of her. Her unfocused gaze turned sharp. "Explain."
The Lord System's tails straightened up like a stick. "Listen to me, lassie. Uhm, it is not like you really ask the name of the system, right?" Its chubby cheeks puffed. "When I realized that you are quite receptive to the system, I have thought: hey, Mighty Lord System, Sue Terin is totally fine not knowing what type of system she has!"
The Lord System's words were followed by a series of nervous chuckling sounds. When Sue remained staring at its body, the Lord System cleared its tiny throat before it continued. "Anyway, let me begin from the start, lassie. There is a reason why only humans can use this omnipotent system and that is the fact that if a vampire, a beastman, or a mage will earn this system then the world will be plunged into chaos! Can you even imagine a world where egoistical races have a boost system? That is equivalent to daily bloodshed!
So the Higher Creators of the world placed the task, to balance the powerful races, on the Human Race. And as a gift to the race that would keep the equilibrium of the world, the Higher Creators gifted your kind the power to heal the world – your Blood Essence that is like an aphrodisiac and a divine miracle for all the other races except for yourself. But the Higher Creators did underestimate how far greed would take an individual…"
Sue cut the white fox's words in a desolate voice. "… and this caused the extinction of the entire Human Race."
"Until you came along. lassie. From your past life, you are unable to trigger your innate essence until you were pushed to your limits and self-destructed with a dying wish to eradicate all the races."
Sue clasped her hands. She closed the distance between her and the Lord System before she bent down and patted its soft furry white head. "I am forever thankful for the chance given by the system, truly. No matter what kind of system there was during that time, even if it was from the fallen Higher Creators, I would have taken it as long as I can bring them to hell with me."
Not wanting to scare the Lord System, Sue carried the wary white fox. She leveled their gazes and spoke, voice filled with sincerity. "But no matter how grateful I am, Lord System, I must know what I am dealing with. I do not want to die... again." Her voice turned cold the next few moments. "It is either I live in this world or the world will go down with me. Balance be damned, I will not suffer like my last life."
Gulping loudly from the venomous stare it received, the Lord System quivered. The Lord System knew what triggered Sue in her past life to self-destruct – she was defiled by a beastman. This was Sue Terin's sore spot; a trauma that she would likely live with for the rest of her second life. So, the Lord System's instinct knew that the answer Sue Terin was looking for would hurt her or make her angry. "This invincible Lord System knew your pain, so I-I hesitated. I am sorry, lassie. I may have convinced myself that I am doing this for your sake, but the truth is… I just don't want you to reject the system, to reject me."
Sue remained silent, so the shrinking furry white fox continued. "Your system's name… is the Harem System."
"Harem System? We are talking about the same 'harem', right, Lord System?" Sue's voice trembled.
She was no fool. Realizing how she overlooked the clues whenever she was with Lucien Lupine, she felt so stupid.
The pain that wracked her chest when the favorability percentage was dropping, the sudden task to rescue Lucien Lupine, the favorability percentage that appeared after Lucien Lupine laid his eyes on her, the weird system window that contained Lucien Lupine's information, and the unknown two more 'candidates' in the weird system window… it all dawned for Sue after hearing the name of her system.
'Of course! It is a Harem System! A system that can act as a neutralizer to the powerful races without bloodshed over those egotistical men? There is only one answer, the Harem System!'
But there was one problem for Sue Terin as she eyed the nervous-looking white fox. She did not plan to bring peace to this continent. Sue crawled back from hell to destroy it.
Biting her lips, she swallowed her words. Sue could not tell this to the Lord System. Indeed. She was quite receptive to the system. Even now, after learning what system she got, Sue remained calm. But no matter how receptive she was, her goal did not change at all. And she would use anything, or anyone, to destroy the world.
'I may have lived in this second life through the Harem System, though I do not still understand the scale of this system, I will never forget how I died in my past life.' Sue Terin thought solemnly.
Seeing that Sue Terin was lost in her thoughts, the Lord System jumped down. Its tiny feet raced to Sue's right leg, hugging her leg with its plump limbs as its tails swayed. "Lassie, you are not mad, right? You will still use the system, right?"
Pulled from her trance by the Lord System's cute voice, Sue looked down to where the palm-sized white fox was. "If I abandon the system, then I will be left with nothing but my human body – pathetic and weak."
"But… But you know what the Harem System entails, right, lassie?"
"I know," said Sue Terin with a voice devoid of any emotion. "I reckon from my painful experience with Lucien Lupine that I need to keep my favorability in check just to keep myself alive. I know what that 'entails', Lord System." A cruel smile painted on her melancholic face as she strode towards the window. Her gaze fixated on the moon. "I need to be someone that the system's chosen men will approve of. But who cares? If I can get what I desire by playing a charade of deceit and roses with those egoistical powerful men, why not?"
Ping!
[HIDDEN QUEST ACTIVATES!]
The pinging sound from the system's sudden notification stopped Sue's train of malicious thoughts. Her attention was now focused on the screen that appeared on her right side. "A hidden quest?"
The Lord System jumped onto Sue Terin's left shoulder. Its gaze toward the screen was full of dread.
Ping!
[HIDDEN QUEST AWARD: 15% FAVORABILITY FROM LUCIEN LUPINE!]
Ping!
[HIDDEN QUEST AWARD: EARN SIX MONTHS DELAY FROM LUCIEN LUPINE'S MATING PROPOSAL!]
Ping!
[HIDDEN QUEST AWARD: INVISIBILITY SKILL YELLOW LEVEL!]
Ping!
[WOULD HOST, SUE TERIN, LIKE TO ACCEPT?]
[YES] [NO]
Sue did not know whether to laugh or to cry after the procession of awards displayed before her in bold letters. A fifteen percent favorability meant that this quest was hugely related to Lucien Lupine who was the reason why she almost died earlier. But the fifteen percent would help her navigate a safe zone between Lucien in case she misspoke again and upset him.
Sue's fingers hovered over between yes and no buttons.
The natural fear that her past life's experience brought was something that she could not control – her fear and cynical wariness toward men. But this was equally weighed in neutrality because of her desire to survive.
'I will destroy this world and I can use Lucien the Mad Beast for that. Let us endure for now.'
Ping!
[HIDDEN QUEST: CALMING LUCIEN LUPINE IN THE NEXT FULL MOON!]
Ping!
[FAILURE TO ACCOMPLISH THE QUEST: DEATH!]
SABINA TERIN GNASHED her pearly white canines as she held the magic-laced prison bars that held her mother. Her pale was ashen from staying outside the prison cell of her mother the entire night. No matter how much the prison guards convinced her to go home, she stubbornly growled at them.
She could not leave her mother in this filthy prison cell! Never!
With tear-filled eyes, she cried out. "I will get you out of here, Mother. This daughter promises you."
Madam Shanica Terin, who seemed to have aged after a night in a prison cell, caressed her daughter's cheek. Though her touch was gentle, her words were filled with venom. "That wench! Kill that wench, Sabina. No matter what you do, she must die! She got a fathomless connection with the second son of the Lupine Pack, Lucien Lupine!" Madam Shanica released a burst of malicious laughter before she continued in whispered words. "Sue Terin… She is different after whoring her way to that bastard Lucien Lupine! You cannot be reckless or we will suffer. Promise me, Sabina!"
Blood dripped from Sabina's lips. Her canines tore her lower lip upon remembering the scene when Lucien Lupine dragged her mother away from her home while the wench from the sidelines with a satisfied gaze! She wanted to gauge Sue's eyes out and feed them to Lucien Lupine! Sabina desired nothing more but Sue's demise.
"I know, Mother." Her grip tightened around the cold prison bars. "I will take that wench down no matter what the cost… even if it means I will have to use 'that'."
"Desperate situation calls for desperate measures, Sabina. I told you before. The right time will come when we will have to use 'that' and now is the 'right time'."