Supreme Landlord System: My Harem of Enchanting Goddesses

Crash!

Barra Sterling slammed his phone onto the wooden table. Its cracked screen pressed against a pile of bills.

Two seconds later, it rang loudly. The vibration knocked several coins onto the bare concrete floor.

The screen displayed an unsaved number Barra knew by heart. It was Baxter, the greediest loan shark in Neva City's Northern District.

He answered the call.

"Your debt is due tonight, Barra," the voice pierced sharply.

"Give me two days," Barra replied.

A rough snort followed. "Is this a charity? You promised the same thing two days ago."

"My boarding house is empty. No tenants yet." Barra leaned back.

"Not my problem."

"I need time to find tenants."

"I don't care. Pay by tonight, or I'll bring heavy machinery tomorrow."

Barra rolled his neck, his joints cracking softly.

"Twenty thousand, Barra. Pay tonight, or we level your rundown boarding house."

"You have no right!" Barra retorted.

"No right? Hahaha..." Baxter laughed loudly. "The law in Neva City is money, and you used this land as collateral. I should be charging you rent."

The call disconnected abruptly.

Barra stared at his reflection in the dusty window.

He was twenty-five, with a sharp jawline and thick eyebrows. Now, his handsome face looked haggard. Dark eye bags and unkempt hair, paired with a faded black t-shirt on his muscular frame, made him look like a beggar.

Barra rubbed his face. "Damn you, Nicole! Marcus!" he cursed.

Three months ago, Barra had savings to open an auto repair shop. Then Nicole, his fiancée, ran away with the money and Marcus, his best friend.

They also framed him, forging his signature on a debt agreement to Baxter.

Now, his grandfather's boarding house was all he had left, and it would soon be seized.

Barra clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white.

"Someday... I will take back everything you took from me!" he roared internally.

Right now, he was just trying to survive.

Barra walked to the corner and kicked a pile of dusty boxes.

The top box tore open, spilling its contents onto the cold floor.

Dust flew under the yellow neon light. Barra coughed. His eyes landed on a worn-out object.

An old Monopoly game box.

He squatted and pulled it out. The paper board was faded and torn. Inside, the green plastic houses looked dull. Some red hotels were broken. A pair of faded white dice lay on crumpled play money.

"Monopoly." Barra picked up the dice. They felt rough.

"I used to be a landlord on this paper," he muttered. "Owning five-star hotels, free to collect fines."

He snorted. "Now, I empty my piggy bank just to pay electricity."

Barra squeezed the dice too hard.

"Arghh..." he hissed.

A sharp edge tore his palm. A drop of fresh blood seeped out, touching one of the white dice.

"Damn it! So sharp!" He cursed loudly.

Frustrated, he threw the dice onto the board.

They spun rapidly, clattering in the silent room before slowing down.

The first die stopped on six. The second die followed exactly on six.

The double sixes blinked. A bright red light radiated from the black dots.

Barra narrowed his eyes, pulling back.

The blood drop boiled, absorbing entirely into the white plastic.

Within seconds, the worn-out board cracked lengthwise.

The paper and play money shattered into holographic pixel shards. The shards shot upwards, slamming into Barra's forehead.

Barra staggered, his back hitting the concrete wall.

"What was that?" Barra held his burning forehead.

A flat mechanical voice echoed inside his head.

"Double dice detected. Ownership conditions met."

Barra looked around warily, grabbing a glass ashtray as a weapon.

"Who is speaking? Come out!" He glared at the locked door.

"Landlord Authority validated. Binding the Conqueror Monopoly System to the host."

"System? What kind of joke is this?" Barra swallowed hard. "Baxter, is this your cheap trick?"

A transparent screen appeared in front of Barra's face.

The interface was a holographic Monopoly board, glowing in neon blue and gold. The property squares formed a perfect loop.

"This is not a joke, Host," the mechanical voice answered. "I am the Conqueror Monopoly System. The interface is adjusted to your deepest memories of power."

Barra stepped back, bumping into the table. He blinked repeatedly.

"This must be a hallucination from lack of sleep and food," he muttered.

He slapped his left cheek hard.

Slap!

A hot, stinging sensation spread, but the hologram remained, floating steadily.

He splashed remaining drinking water onto his face, but the result was the same. The system was truly in his head.

He tried touching the start square.

His finger went right through. The hologram had no solid mass.

"You are nesting in my head?" Barra asked, his voice stabilizing.

"Exactly. I am here to facilitate you in building a real property empire."

A silver race car token appeared on the board. It moved forward, passing the start square.

Coins clinked loudly.

"Initiation successful. Host passed the starting line. First reward transferred."

Barra's phone vibrated. The screen lit up.

He checked the notification. A text from his bank.

Incoming transfer: $20,000.

Barra held his breath. He opened the banking app. His fifty-dollar balance was now twenty thousand and fifty dollars.

"Twenty thousand? Is this real?" Barra looked between the phone and the hologram. He rubbed his eyes, but the numbers stayed.

Panic struck. Barra pinched his cheek.

"Ouch!"

His legs went weak. He sat down.

The money was enough to shut Baxter's mouth tomorrow.

Before he could calm down, a glowing yellow card floated out from the board's center.

The card, bearing a question mark logo and the word Chance, spun slowly to face Barra.

"Emergency Mission activated," the System spoke.

Text appeared on the yellow card.

[Find the first female tenant with a Charm Score above ninety tonight. The territory limit is within a two-kilometer radius from the current location.]

Barra frowned. "Tonight? Charm above ninety? Is this a matchmaking agency?"

"Mission Rewards: Absolute Ownership Certificate and Appraiser's Eye Skill," the System continued. "Failure Penalty: Entering the Jail Square."

"Jail? The police?"

"The System's Jail is equivalent to Host Death."

The room fell silent. Cold night air hit Barra's neck.

He stared at his phone, confirming the twenty thousand was real. Then, he looked at the yellow card.

"Death if I fail, huh?" Barra clicked his tongue.

The demand made no sense right now. However, the real money was valid proof. Would he really die?

Barra thought for a moment, his face tense.

He stood up, grabbed his old leather jacket from behind the door, and stepped out of the boarding house.