------------------------------------------------------------
The dawn mist clung to the Blackwood Duchy's borderlands like a shroud, veiling the rugged hills where the Whispering Woods met the kingdom's frontier. Aiden Blackwood stood at the edge of the training arena turned battlefield, his silver hair whipping in the chill wind, violet eyes gleaming with predatory calm. At 14, he already cut a figure of lethal elegance—clad in the duchy's black-and-silver armor, etched with wolf runes that pulsed faintly with his infinite mana. Beside him, Duke Reginald gripped his massive greatsword, while Lila bounced on her toes, daggers drawn, and Elara hovered anxiously with a healer's satchel.
"Victor Slade and his lackeys approach," Reginald growled, scanning the treeline. "B-Rank fire mage, backed by twenty C-Rank knights. They claim our patrols encroached on Earl Slade's lands. Crush them swiftly, Aiden, or our house's honor wavers."
Aiden smirked, the Omnipotent Supreme System humming in his mind. **[System Scan: Victor Slade - Approaching. Strength: B-Rank. Abilities: Fire Lance (Piercing flames), Flame Shield (Defensive inferno), Mana Burst (Speed boost). Weaknesses: Arrogant overextension, low stamina after 30 seconds of combat, mana veins vulnerable to wind disruption. Predicted Outcome: Total annihilation in 4.7 seconds. Harem Opportunities: 2 detected in enemy camp.]**
*Perfect. Time to debut.* "Watch and learn, Father. This ends before breakfast."
Hoofbeats thundered. From the mist emerged Victor Slade, a sneering 17-year-old noble with slicked-back auburn hair, crimson robes billowing, and a retinue of armored knights bearing the flaming falcon crest of House Slade. Victor dismounted with a flourish, flames coiling around his fists like serpents. "Aiden Blackwood! The sickly whelp dares show? I'll char you to ash and claim these woods for my father!"
His knights chuckled, but two women among them shifted uneasily—a lithe archer with raven hair and piercing gray eyes, and a curvaceous swordswoman with sun-kissed skin and fiery orange braids. **[System Scan: Sylva Reed (Archer) - C-Rank. Abilities: Shadow Arrows, Eagle Eye. Weakness: Loyalty conflicted. Harem Potential: 92%. Sera Voss (Swordswoman) - C-Rank. Abilities: Flame Slash, Iron Will. Weakness: Hidden resentment toward Victor. Harem Potential: 88%.]**
Lila snorted. "Big talk from a mama's boy. Bro, roast him!"
Victor laughed, hurling a Fire Lance—a blazing spear hotter than a forge. It screamed toward Aiden at mach speed, melting the grass in its wake. The duke tensed, but Aiden didn't flinch. He raised a hand, and reality bent. A casual flick summoned an invisible wind barrier, the lance shattering into harmless sparks mid-air.
**[Mana Disruption Activated. Enemy Stamina: -40%.]**
"What sorcery?!" Victor snarled, unleashing a barrage—five lances, a Flame Shield dome, and a Mana Burst charge, closing the gap in a fiery blur.
Aiden yawned. "Boring." He stepped forward, aura erupting. Time dilated for him alone; Victor's moves crawled like molasses. One palm strike to the chest—air compressed into a sonic boom, rupturing Victor's mana veins. Another to the legs—wind blades severed tendons without blood. Victor crumpled, shield flickering out, gasping as his flames died.
Total time: 4.2 seconds.
The knights froze. Reginald's jaw dropped. Lila whooped, "That's my bro!" Elara's eyes sparkled with adoration.
**[Quest Complete: Secure Heir Status. Reward: Harem Slot Expansion (Now 5/∞). EXP: Irrelevant (Infinite Level).]**
Victor wheezed, "Impossible... B-Rank versus... you're a monster!"
Aiden loomed over him, violet eyes cold. "Kneel, or die." The system pulsed: **[Subjugation Option: Y/N?]**
"N-Never!" Victor spat a weak ember. Aiden sighed, snapping fingers. A gentle vortex stripped Victor naked—robes, armor, dignity—leaving him shivering in defeat. The knights averted eyes, some snickering.
"Take him to the dungeons," Aiden commanded. "Tell Earl Slade: next time, it's his head."
Sylva and Sera hesitated, bows and swords lowering. **[Bond Initiation: Loyalty Shift Detected.]** Aiden turned, aura washing over them like warm sunlight. "You two—impressive skills wasted on trash. Join House Blackwood. Refuse, and walk away... changed."
Sylva dropped to one knee, gray eyes wide. "Your power... it's divine. I pledge my arrows to you, my lord."
Sera grinned fiercely, sheathing her blade. "Victor's a pig. You? A real man. I'm yours."
**[Harem Acquired: Sylva (Loyalty 98%), Sera (Loyalty 96%). Total Harem: 3/∞.]**
Reginald clapped Aiden's shoulder. "SS-Rank? No... beyond. The king will hear of this. Expect a summons to the Royal Academy in Eldoria."
Back at Blackwood Keep, celebrations erupted. Duchess Isolde hosted a feast, Mira clambering into Aiden's lap with hugs. "Big brother's a hero!" Lila arm-wrestled Sera (and lost), while Elara, Sylva, and Sera bonded over tea, sharing glances at Aiden that promised more.
But the system pinged: **[Hidden Threat Detected: Cultist Infiltrator in Servant Quarters. Strength: A-Rank. Abilities: Blood Puppetry (Controls victims via flesh threads). Location: Kitchen Wing. Neutralize? Y/N]**
Aiden excused himself, slipping into shadows with Sylva trailing. The kitchen was dim, a hooded figure chanting over a cauldron bubbling with crimson ichor—flesh remnants from woodland sacrifices. **[Scan: Cultist Thorne (Blood Lord Disciple). Objective: Harvest duchy mana cores for ritual.]**
The cultist whirled, threads lashing like whips. Aiden dodged effortlessly, wind aura shredding them. "For the Blood Lord, you fall!" the man hissed, summoning puppets—three guards, eyes vacant, lunging with knives.
**[Weakness: Core in chest, disrupts with piercing strike.]**
Aiden blurred, fingers piercing the cultist's chest. Reality bent; the core shattered, puppets collapsing freed. The man gurgled, "The sacrifices... thousands... he rises..."
Interrogation via system compulsion revealed fragments: The Blood Lord, once a saint, turned demon by devouring human essence in forbidden depths. Cults spread, priming Aetheria for his return. Blackwood Woods hid a ritual site.
"Clean this up," Aiden told Sylva, who nodded eagerly. **[Sylva Bond: +5%. Night Activity Unlocked.]**
That evening, a royal messenger arrived on a griffon: Invitation to the Royal Academy, plus a veiled warning—"Beware the shadows, Young Blackwood." Aiden packed his spatial ring, harem in tow (Elara as maid, Sylva/Sera as guards). Lila pouted. "Take me next time!"
Duchess Isolde pulled him aside. "Your power... it frightens even me. But wield it for us." Mira gifted a holy charm—foreshadowing her latent powers.
As the caravan rolled toward Eldoria under twin moons, Aiden lounged with his growing harem. Elara massaged his shoulders, Sylva sharpened arrows while stealing glances, Sera sparred playfully outside. **[System Update: Academy Arc Initiated. New Harem Targets: Elf Princess Lirael (S-Rank Archer), Ice Mage prodigy Fiona (A-Rank), Dragonkin warrior Kira. Threats Escalating: Rival heirs, cult ambushes.]**
But in the woods, red eyes multiplied. Sacrifices echoed faintly—thousands fueling the endgame boss. Aiden clenched his fist.
**To be Continued!**