In the middle of a boundless starry sea, a vague silhouette silently glanced at a miniscule point in the vast star field before it.
It's dark abyss-like eyes narrowed in thought for a moment .
"Ainzell..."
After a short while, it simply closed it eyes once again, doing nothing.
"I've already done my part."
_______________________
"Huh? What's happening?"
"I don't know. There was a sudden explosion in this direction."
"No. It was a lightning strike."
"Lightning in a cloudless sky?"
"I'm not sure. Let's check it out."
A crowd of people surrounded an unconscious figure laying miserably on the charred ground. They looked around and whispered to each other, wondering just where this young boy came from and whether this figure was dead.
Uh?
As Sith's consciousness returned, numbness was the only thing he could feel in his head. Then, his clarity and thinking was gradually restored.
Ugh... Just how many times have I felt pain in a day? Wait...
[You have successfully obtained the Simping System]
[Do you wish to integrate?]
Integrate?
[Confirmed]
[Integration Starting...]
[1%... 2%...]
The messages suddenly disappeared.
What was tha–?
Suddenly, he was jolted out of his thoughts by a sharp poke. Sith's eyes instantly flew open. Then he paused.
Eh? Where am I? Wasn't I dying? Who are these people? Also, why are they scared?
"A... A zombie!"
The people's faces paled with fear and they began scampering away. Some braver ones started to hurl rocks at him after retreating.
Sith was dumbfounded. The hell was wrong with this people? First, they poke him with a stick, now they run and stone him?
"Wait wait! Stop throwing roc-- Ouch! Goddamnit!" He tried to dodge while trying to talk to them but they ignored him, even getting braver.
In his frustration, he ran towards someone that looked his height. The person stood rigid in fear, allowing Sith to grab him and tackle him awkwardly. Well... at least he had a shield no tow.
Of course, the people stopped and looked at him warily. Sighing in relief, he was about to speak when the boy in his grasp suddenly began to sob endlessly with snot and tears.
"Please don't kill me! I have a sister. If she loses her big brother, there would be no way she'll survive. We are just simple, pure-hearted villagers..."
Villagers? What's going on? Don't tell me...
"Where am I?" Sith asked, looking around.
He seemed to be in a village square. Around him were unfamiliar building structures. The villagers all stared at him in fear and curiosity.
"T-This is Clearwater Village," The captive boy replied shakily.
"On Earth?" Sith's confusion grew.
"Earth?" The boy was similarly confused but his heart accelerated in fear.
Not Earth? He subconsciously wanted to say, "Take me to your ruler..."
"Who dares cause trouble in the territory of an Earl?!" A shout cut through the tense air.
Sith's head whirled around. He saw a group of mounted horses pulling closer, each one ridden by men in gleaming armor. But...there was a dark, almost bloody aura clinging to them. Sith involuntarily trembled under the pressure.
The man in the lead had an especially nasty scowl, like Sith had ruined his day. The knight seemed ready to explode, probably expecting a triumphant return, not a scene with some random village brat.
In a panic, Sith released the boy and stood still in fear.
...And the shield is gone.
"S-Sir... This is a misunderstanding..." He began, trembling, but the grumpy knight didn't care. His sword flashed upwards and Sith's heart almost stopped.
"You'll be dead the second a hair on his body goes missing," A voice cut in, cool and elegant.
A horse moved forward, just as imposing as the lead knight's. And then Sith saw the rider. In that moment, Sith's jaw practically hit the floor. He felt all his other senses momentarily shut off.
Just how was someone this beautiful? Heart-stopping figure, flawless porcelain skin and her ice blue eyes that could probably freeze a volcano.
Ignoring his stunned expression, she said, "Follow me back."
The lead knight looked like he'd been struck by lightning. Just what was the heiress thinking?
"Huh?" Sith replied, his brain only slowly catching up. A part of him wanted to ask why, but honestly, when this ice queen asked him to follow, how could he refuse?
"Okay," Sith agreed, ignoring the knights' glares as he made his way towards her horse.
"Not me," She said, frowning. And when she looked around, it became clear there wasn't a spare horse. Her gaze narrowed in displeasure.
With no other option, she hesitated before affirming. Sith's eyes lit up, and he practically bounced towards the horse. However, she kicked him back, sending him sprawling in the dirt.
"You're not touching me," She stated coldly.
Sith tried not to pout. After a few comical attempts, he managed to haul himself onto the horse. True, they kept their distance, but he had no experience with horses... wouldn't he fall off without a saddle or something?
Sure enough, when the horse moved again, Sith swayed and almost fell off. He instinctively grabbed onto the only support available. The lady's body went rigid, her hand immediately flying to her sword hilt.
The brat had actually placed his hands on her waist. Sith soon realized what had happened and reluctantly pulled his hand back.
The young woman's gaze was unkind. She thought of tying him to the horse like the captives but he was her brother in the end.
"Hold my shoulders," She instructed. Her shoulders were covered so that should be okay.
Sith agreed despite the lack of practicality. He was just about to start with why her armor was so cold when something appeared in front of him.
[Integration Complete]
[Welcome to the Simping System]
"What?" Suddenly, memories of the previous unclear messages came pouring in.
Of course, if he didn't know what this translucent screen meant, who wouldn't have come from Earth.
A System!
The young lady noticed his odd behavior but when she saw that he wasn't causing trouble, she ignored him.
Calming his excited heart, he opened the message.
[System Description: Congratulations! Your pathetic simping won you the affection of a girl... but you died. What next? You are now in a new world with tons of beautiful women and the Simping System is your hand-in-hand buddy to conquer them all, turning you from a hopeless romantic to a Playboy Supreme!]
"Beautiful women?" His eyes flickered to the icy lady in front. "But the pathetic simping part? How? That wasn't simping..." His voice trailed off, realizing how that sounded.
[The Host threw away his life to impress a girl.]
Sith could practically feel the system's judgment.
"I had to leave an impression..." Sith said weakly. The system wasn't impressed, and judging by the lady's stiff posture, neither was she. Sith quickly moved on in an attempt to salvage his dignity.
[Info]
[Name: Sith von Ainzell]
He blinked at the fancy-sounding surname. 'Von Ainzell'? Was that his name or the name of this body? Confused, he clicked to the next screen, hoping to gain some clarity.
[Title: Player]
[Level: 0]
[Exp: 0/10]
Level zero? Am I that weak?
[Stats]
[Strength: ??]
[Dexterity: ??]
[Endurance: ??]
[Charm: 4]
[Intelligence: 4]
[Energy: ???/???]
Sith choked. Why were all but charm and intelligence hidden? And...was that a four he saw? As in, slightly above a total idiot?
Perhaps 4 is considered genius-tier in this world...
[A minimum of 5 points of intelligence is the standard for a Player]
Okay. Whoever built this system was definitely not on his side.
He tried exploring further, but an error message popped up.
[The system is still locked. Full unlock at Lvl. 10]
A classic game mechanic, he supposed. He stared at the blurred-out tabs... so much to discover. But...
"Wait, how do I even level up?"
[A Playboy Supreme has to be every girl's heroic knight in shining armor. You are neither heroic, nor a knight but your strength can still win them over. Unfortunately, nobody knows just how much suffering it takes to be strong...]
After reading the system's long text, he began to have a bad feeling. The system was beginning to sound a little bit dangerous.
[The host may level up through bloody battles]
"Fuck!"
The woman in front slightly turned back to look at him when she heard the curses. Surprisingly, she saw Sith's dark and gloomy expression. Her brows raised in amusement, a barely noticeable smile on her lips
Meanwhile, Sith was having a splitting headache. Just why the hell did the System add "bloody". His mind flashed back to the rooftop incident and tears almost leaked out.
"Stupid system. Stupid system creator. Stupid fictional systems..." Sith cursed the system and it's 9 generations of ancestors.
Just as his headache was reaching critical mass, a melodious voice broke through the gloom.
"We are here."
Sith reflexively looked up when he heard that and his eyes widened in surprise. This world just kept on throwing surprises at him. He saw a huge mansion before him.
No, this building was approximately the size of the white house. He was now thanking his graces that he didn't ask to meet their ruler.
"Where is this?" He asked in puzzlement.
"Don't you remember?" A touch of frost crept back into her voice. "This is your home."