Ultimate Harem System

Chapter 1: Why settle for one

Why settle for one when you can have them all…

That was the core of a harem — a fantasy many believed in, dreamed about, or at least joked about. But to Johnny Steele, it had never made sense.

Why chase countless women when he already had Mia, the love of his life?

Johnny was an intern, young and broke but hopeful. He and Mia had been together for five years, and she was his heartbeat, his anchor, his everything. He would have taken a bullet for her without hesitation. And today — Valentine’s Day — was meant to be special. Not just chocolates and roses. Tonight, they had agreed to take the final step, to make love for the very first time in five years.

Even his boss had noticed how deeply Johnny loved her. So much so that the man himself had paid for their deluxe Valentine’s Day package at the Nebula Hotel — the most luxurious five-star hotel in all of Pantheon Valley.

Johnny never questioned the gift.

“Reservation for Johnny Steele,” he said proudly at the receptionist’s desk, dressed in his finest suit with a bouquet in one hand and a box of chocolates in the other.

The receptionist froze for half a second, her polite smile faltering before she tapped the keyboard. “Yes, sir… Room 907.”

Johnny frowned. That hesitation—what was that about?

The receptionist smiled. “Your companions have already checked in.”

Johnny’s chest swelled. She was waiting for him.

His smile was wide as the clerk handed him the keycard. Mia had already checked in, so all he had to do was walk up to the room and surprise her. His chest was full of love, his head dizzy with anticipation.

As he stepped out of the elevator, a sound echoed faintly down the corridor: a woman’s laugh. Sharp, breathless. For some reason, it made his skin prickle.

The air felt heavier, his heart pounded not only from excitement but from a pressure he couldn’t name. He brushed it off—tonight was supposed to be perfect. Nothing could go wrong. Or so he thought.

He walked the long hall to the ninth floor, a grin pulling at his lips. Tonight was going to be perfect.

But that happiness died the instant he opened the door.

His smile shattered into disbelief. His breath caught, the bouquet trembling in his hand.

Mia was on the bed—legs spread, body bouncing, moaning for another man. For his boss.

Johnny’s mind blanked. For a moment, he thought he had walked into the wrong room. But no… that was her hair, her voice, her body. The same woman who had promised him forever.

“What the fuck?!” Johnny yelled, voice cracking.

His boss turned his head, smirking. “Oh, look. Your little boyfriend is here.”

Johnny’s heart collapsed in on itself. “Mia… what are you doing?”

She didn’t even glance at him. Her moans filled the room as his boss took her, shameless and loud, as if Johnny wasn’t even there.

Finally, she looked at him—only to sneer.

“Are you blind? Can’t you see? I’m getting busy with a real man.”

The words hit harder than a punch. Johnny remembered every night she had pushed him away with “Not tonight, I’m tired.” Yet here she was—screaming for more, begging another man to ruin her.

Johnny staggered back, bile rising in his throat. Every thrust, every gagging sound was another nail hammering into his chest.

“Johnny… you’re sweet. Sweetness doesn’t buy diamonds, Johnny. He does.”

“Mia….” Johnny whispered, tears stinging his eyes.

Mia snapped. “Why would I waste myself on an intern when I can be with the boss? Now shut the damn door, or stay and watch—I don’t care.”

Johnny stood frozen, every nerve screaming. This couldn’t be real. It couldn’t. His girlfriend of five years was having sex right in front of him.

Johnny stumbled back, unable to take more. The bouquet slipped from his fingers, petals scattering across the carpet like broken promises. The chocolates fell — sweet turned bitter, crushed under his shoes as he staggered out of the suite, his heart splintering into dust.

He drifted out of the hotel like a ghost, lifeless, soulless. Yet he couldn’t leave. He sat on a bench across the street, staring at the glowing entrance of the Nebula Hotel, waiting, praying it had all been a nightmare.

His chest felt hollow, like something inside him had just been carved out. This wasn’t Mia. It couldn’t be. It had to be some nightmare.

Hours passed. People came and went, and each time, relief flickered in his chest. None of them was Mia, so maybe it indeed wasn’t real.

That was until he saw her.

Laughing. Clinging to his boss’s arm. His hand groping her ass openly as she kissed his neck.

Johnny’s body trembled. His vision blurred. He wanted to scream, but before he could, Mia stepped into the street — smiling, gazing only at her boss.

She didn’t even see the truck from the side of the road. No horns. Just a blazing speed.

For a heartbeat, he froze. She didn’t deserve saving. Not after this.

But love wasn’t logical. His body moved before his mind — shoving her out of the road, trading her life for his own.

He didn’t think. He only remembered every night she had whispered “I love you,” every morning text that made him smile through exhaustion. Even if those words were lies now, they had once been real enough to keep him alive.

That was enough. Enough to move. Enough to save her.

He ran, throwing himself into the road, shoving her out of harm’s way—

His body collided with hers, shoving her clear of the road.

And then—impact.

The truck smashed into him with brutal force, tossing him through the air like a ragdoll before he slammed into the asphalt. His bones cracked. Blood spilled.

Time froze. Johnny felt his ribs snap, his blood spraying in the air. His vision blurred, but in that fading second, a memory flickered—Mia laughing under the cherry blossoms when she first said “yes” to dating him.

His fading vision caught Mia — but she didn’t run to him. She didn’t even look at him bleeding – her eyes only searched for the boss. She ran to him. She clenched unto him like he was only thing that mattered in this very moment.

In his final moment, Johnny understood—not wisdom, not truth, but a curse whispered in his dying heart:

Why settle for one when you can have them all?

Because when you belong to no one, no one can break you.

Johnny closed his eyes, ready to embrace the darkness. But the darkness didn’t come.

Instead, the air shifted. A faint glow pierced through the haze of pain, drawing his attention.

A semi-transparent interface appeared before him, its light cutting through the rain like a beacon. Words began to scroll across the screen, burning themselves into his mind.

Then, a female voice he had never heard before in his life rang throughout his head.

….

[Host Found…]

[Broken. Betrayed. Bleeding. Perfect.]

[Hidden Condition Certified]

[System Initialization]

….

Host? System?

He had no idea what it was saying

‘No, before that, what the hell was this voice? Where is that voice coming from?’

Ignoring his thoughts, the voice continued.

[Initializing Player Data…]

Then the voice shifted—smooth, mocking, almost seductive.

[How pitiful. One woman destroyed you. But why settle for one… when you can have them all?]

His heart lurched. “What… what are you talking about—?”

Johnny wanted to scream, to curse the voice, but his chest was collapsing, his blood pooling on the asphalt. Maybe this was insanity—but insanity was better than betrayal.

[Congratulations! You have obtained: Ultimate Harem System]

[Do you accept?]

Johnny was utterly confused

‘It sounds like it is giving me something’

As he waited in hesitation, the voice in his head asked again.

[You do not have much allowed time remaining. Should you refuse, your heart will stop in 0.02 seconds. Do you accept?]

Whether or not this was a hallucination, one thing was certain—Johnny had nothing left to lose. Love had betrayed him, shattered him beyond repair.

And in that hollow, bleeding moment, a cruel clarity settled over him: If one woman could ruin him, then every woman would be his to claim.

Johnny did not speak the words out loud. Merely thought them in his head.

‘…Sure, why not?’

But the voice answered his thought.

[System Activated. Welcome, Host, to the Ultimate Harem System. Your new life begins now.]