Harem Tournament of Champions

Sitting in a lotus position on his bed, he exhaled and smiled. 'It's about time, HTC.'

[Whenever you're ready, host]

'I am ready to be ripped off once more.' Hisha forced a grin and nodded his head.

[Cost of purchase: 10000 points]

[Time limit: 48 hours before the body disintegrates]

No matter how he saw this. He still felt cheated of his hard-earned points for just something that would last for two days.

[Are you sure it's necessary?]

'Are you fucking kidding me?! After I had lost the chance to get desire points from that bitch?!' Hisha snapped.

[I was thinking you could just tell the fish brain that it is impossible to find the lady he is searchings for]

'And lose my one chance at forcing him to a corner? Never!'

[...]

Waiting patiently for a response from HTC to his compliance, he inhaled and exhaled to pass the time.

'Remember, it must be identical to Melody and bring back her memories as a bonus.' Hisha conditioned.

HTC displayed a blank interface, before closing the screen and bringing up another.

Ding!

[Mermaid temporal body purchased]

[Accumulated points: 14600]

[Sux depletion: 1 for every 10 minutes used]

Glaring at the latter, Hisha facepalmed at the condition he still had to face on his Sux.

Materializing in front of him was an identical replica of Melody.

Fluttering her eyes open, she squinted the moment the light graced her eyes.

"Welcome, Melody." Hisha greeted with a smile, tilting his head as he stared at her carefully.

Melody dropped to her knees and forced her gaze down, "my lord."

"Tell me, what were you thinking about sacrificing yourself?!" Hisha said with a low hiss, slightly triggered by the thought of his recollection of being shut out.

"I... I c-couldn't bear to see you suf... fer watching all of that." Melody stuttered and fiddled with her fingers.

Getting to his feet, he squatted in front of her and pulled up her chin so she could meet his gaze.

"I do understand you understand the state of being you are, you meant well, but what you forgot to think about was that we shared a connection at the time, how do you think I could erase that?" Hisha said in a whisper.

Melody's heart thumped with guilt, her eyes searched as she thought through what he had said.

"I... I am sorry." Melody cried out, her body trembling as she shut her eyes.

Stunned by her reaction, Hisha pushed back, disturbed about his decision to bring her back with her memories intact.

Although he had also wanted her to possess such memories so she could successfully bait Mich, this had also brought a backlog to his approach to the current situation.

'HTC, what do I do in this situation?' He thought in panic.

She wasn't a part of his harem, nor did he want to develop any sort of attachment except the only way they could share a connection.

She wasn't entirely a living entity, but her current action was making him reconsider his notion.

[Rethink your decision and cancel it! That should solve all your problems, host]

HTC sarcastically responded with a displeased emoji.

Hisha's mood fell at the words, causing him to shake his head, 'You give great advice.'

[All in the day's work, host]

Left with no choice, he pulled her in for a hug and stroked her hair. "It's alright, I forgive you, don't cry."

For some reason, Hisha felt as though he was caring for a crying child that just needed his attention.

Melody sniffled and light spasms coursed through her body as she tried to catch her breath.

"Are you alright?" He said in a soothing whisper.

Pulling away slightly with his hands on her shoulders, he searched her eyes. "They are red and puffy."

Letting out a low chuckle, Melody sniffled once more and wiped her face.

"For someone who had killed high-ranking guards and dealt a devastating blow to the Merchief, you are soft-hearted." Hisha teased.

Letting go of her shoulder, Hisha clenched his hands in a fist, not ready to establish any sort of bond.

'HTC, tell me I don't need to establish a connection with her once more.'

[As you wish, I won't tell you]

Coughing on the deep meaning of the word, he watched as melody materialized an orb of clear water.

Hovering in the air, she filled her mouth with it and inched closer.

Feeling uneasy about her movements, Hisha pushed back, still trying to regulate his cough. 'HTC, what the heck does she plan on doing?

[Exactly what you think she plans on doing]

Met with a dead end of the gold frame of his bed, he was caught in a liplock as she fed him the water.

Too stunned to react, he subconsciously began to swallow.

[Sux+50]

Hisha's eyes widened at the notification, causing him to question what she had done to the water.

[This is another ability unlocked by the mermaid who had produced a clear white pearl, this and the pearl is the main reason Mich is searching for Melody and has his eyes on Divei]

'You're telling me this now, why?' Hisha countered, gasping for breath immediately Melody pulled away.

Exhaling once more, he felt his body regulation cool down and the coughing had been relieved.

[You have to earn the information, I won't disclose what isn't of need at the moment except if you ask]

Hisha internally facepalmed, knowing that his system was hinting at him getting the required percentage of memory recovery of the previous host to access the rest of the hidden information he could miss out until the 'right' time.

'How was I meant to know what to ask, if I don't even have any form of recollection whatsoever?'

[You don't, it's for the best, the less you know for now, the better you are at solving your problems without being influenced by past mistakes of the previous host]

'Past mistakes...' Hisha's thoughts repeated like a broken record, knowing there was more to acquiring the memory than HTC was letting on.

"Thank you." Hisha smiled at Melody–who had been sitting quietly on the floor with her hands on her thighs.

With a bright smile, Melody had her eyes clouded with lust as she stared at his open crotch due to his sitting position.

'The condition of this is still on, huh?' Hisha sighed.

[...]

Shaking his head, he forced a smile, thinking it was still more enjoyable than his moment with Darcia.

Beckoning her towards him, he had a smirk the moment she crawled in his direction.

*****

In Straton,

Pulling on the sleeve of a lady, a guard examined the confused lady's face before shaking his head and letting go of her arm.

Without a word, he walked away, signaling to the rest to proceed to the next street.

"How rude!" The lady barked in rage, raining curses at them.

Stopping in his tracks, he looked over his shoulder and a glint in his eyes caused her to shut her mouth.

The usually bustling city was at a standstill after the decree of no suspicious movement of its citizens until a thorough search had been made and the culprit found.

No one could understand what or why they had to comply but they knew failing to do so would result in a permanent cleansing.

Making a U-turn, the soldier pulled out three arrows from his leather quiver strapped at his back.

Standing upright and placing his feet shoulder-width apart, he placed the shaft of the arrow on the bowstring.

Using three fingers to hold the arrow on the string, his fingers on the drawstring.

There was a grasp from the other citizens, not understanding what was going on, fearing for the lady to who he raised his bow and held it out like a target.

Coating it with his blue Sux, his voice thundered with intensity. "Come out or I would not hesitate to let go!"

The lady's eyes were wide in shock and confusion, dropping to her knees and begging to be spared.

All other guards in the vicinity turned at the slight whiff of trouble and mannerism of their comrade, pulling out their various weapons and coating them with their respective Suxs.

"Please, I swear by our overlord, I will never speak ill of his subordinates ever again." The lady cried, helpless since she was left to fend for herself with no one willing to help her.

"Step out of the way, you aren't our target!" The guard barked in rage because of her obstruction, triggered by the distinctive aura he had felt strategically hidden behind the lady.

*****

A/N

¶ Any idea on what or who they had seen to get such a reaction out of all of them?

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