Harem Sync: Divine Edition-Chapter 9: The Raven’s Invitation (2)

"Unlike you, I reincarnated in the body of the cult leader’s assistant," said Arwin, walking slowly around Haru. "As for you... you came with your own body. Strange."

Haru frowned.

"You... killed the cult leader?"

Arwin stopped. He turned his head toward him. The smile returned, cold and calculated. "Yes. But I prefer to say that I replaced him." He paused. "The system gave me that chance. And now... I’m the one who controls the cult."

Haru felt a knot in his stomach.

While Arwin spoke, Haru’s mind worked quickly.

"He can see my stats... but does he see everything?" he thought, trying to keep his expression neutral. "The Curse of Chronia... if he finds out that I can go back in time..."

He remembered something. "The system doesn’t reveal descriptions to me. I had to learn for myself what the curse did. And for him... will it reveal it?"

Arwin was searching through Haru’s tab. His eyes moved quickly, reading every line. Every number, all lower than his.

But then Arwin stopped. He focused on something specific, the curses section.

┌──[CURSES]:

♦ Slave of Chronia (Innate)

◊ Effect: Activated after death. (No additional description available).

└─────────

Arwin raised an eyebrow.

"You’re cursed. You’re off to a bad start, huh..."

He read the name aloud. "Slave of Chronia."

He was thoughtful for a moment. He looked at the empty description line. Then he looked back at Haru.

"What’s this?" he asked, pointing at the screen. "There’s not even a proper description... Will you become damned after death? Is that it?"

Haru hesitated. Then he nodded.

"Yes."

But inside, he thought, "I don’t even know what the hell ’damned’ means."

Arwin let out a sigh, shaking his head.

"What bad luck..." he muttered. Then he closed Haru’s tab with a mental gesture. "Are you done looking at what matters to you in my system?"

Haru blinked. In fact, he was so thoughtful, so focused on protecting the secret of the loop, that he hadn’t even bothered to examine Arwin’s tab properly.

He looked at the tab floating beside him. Haru moved his eyes, reading the information.

┌──[ [SKILLS]

♦ [Shadow Binding] (Mana: 150/use)

◊ Shadow chains that bind the target for 30 seconds

♦ [Mind Whisper] (Mana: 200/use)

◊ Plants suggestions in the target’s mind (works best on targets with low Intelligence)

♦ [Veil of Deception] (Mana: 100/use)

◊ Visual/auditory illusions

♦ [Raven’s Eyes] (Mana: 50/use)

♦ [Dagger Mastery: Assassin’s Dance] (Mana: 80/use)│

♦ [Shadow Step]

◊ Only works in dimly lit areas

♦ [Poison Resistance (Advanced)]

◊ Immune to 90% of common poisons

└─────────

"Do you trust me now?" Arwin asked, crossing his arms.

His brown eyes fixed on Haru. "We’re players, Haru. We’ve been given a second chance. With everything we wanted. And this time... we’re going to make it count."

He opened his arms slightly, as if presenting a grand vision.

"We’re going to dominate this whole thing. We’ve platinumed this world several times, man. We know how it works. We know the secrets. The shortcuts. The broken routes."

Haru had never platinumed the game; in fact, he knew little about it, but he couldn’t admit that now. He nodded slowly, as if he understood perfectly.

Arwin smiled, satisfied, and held out his hand.

Haru looked at his hand. He hesitated for half a second.

Then he stretched out his hand and shook it.

The grip was firm.

"Welcome to the Order of Corvus, Haru," said Arwin, squeezing back.

He let go of his hand and took a step back.

"Your first mission is simple: gain Isabela’s trust. Become her personal guard... And when I give the signal... you bring her to me."

Haru pretended to consider it. Then he asked, keeping his voice neutral, "And what do you want with her?"

Arwin smiled wider. "Isabela Valtherion is the key to dominating the baron. If I control her... I control the entire family."

He took another step. He looked Haru straight in the eye. "And you... you’re going to help me."

Haru took a deep breath. "...Okay. I accept." Then he added, as if he had just remembered something: "Oh, tell Cedrick to give me more space with her..."

Arwin raised an eyebrow. Then he chuckled softly.

"I understand," he said, nodding knowingly. "I saw your skill. It’s kind of shitty... but it’s worth it."

He knew that Haru needed physical contact with women to steal skills.

Arwin gestured in the air, tapping on his own system tab.

Then, a new notification appeared in front of Haru.

◊ [SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]

◊◊ Arwin Corvus is donating [1,000 XP] to you!

►[Accept]◄ ►[Decline]◄

Haru’s eyes widened. "A thousand XP. For free."

Haru clicked accept before Arwin even said anything...

Arwin stared at him. Haru stared back.

They stood there for a while. Heavy silence between them.

Then, a notification flashed in the corner of Haru’s vision.

◊ XP: +1,000

◊ XP: 2,135 / 2,500 [LVL: 7]

Arwin took something out of his pocket. A small, translucent crystal that glowed faintly with blue light.

He threw it to Haru.

Haru caught it in midair, instinctively.

The moment his fingers touched the crystal, everything went white, the world spun, and then Haru was back in the stable. He looked around, confused. The smell of hay and manure. The faint morning light coming through the cracks in the wood.

He looked at his hand. The crystal was still there, shining, then it cracked. And it broke into pieces, turning into dust that trickled through his fingers. Haru let out a long sigh.

"What the hell am I supposed to worry about now..." he muttered, running his hand through his hair. "And I just wanted to have a harem..."

He shook his head. "Apparently, I’ll have to fall into a deadly loop again... this time against Arwin."

He left the stable. He walked to the training yard. It was still early. The sun had barely risen properly. Isabela hadn’t even woken up yet. He chose a random sword from the weapons cabinet. He weighed it in his hand. He tested its balance, and stood there, exercising. Cutting the air. Practicing his movements.

Thinking. Thinking about the best way to take advantage of Arwin before entering the deadly loop against him.

Haru trained until Isabela appeared.

She arrived with Cedrick by her side, as always. Before Haru could say anything, Isabela pointed to the field.

"Run. Run laps. Until I tell you to stop."

Haru obeyed without complaining.

He ran. And ran. And ran, until dusk. When Isabela finally told him to stop, Haru was sweaty, panting, but still standing.

Cedrick began to walk away from the two of them, naturally. Haru looked at him, Cedrick nodded. Discreetly. Almost imperceptibly, he continued walking away.

Haru turned back to Isabela and looked into her eyes.

"Miss... if I asked you to trust me, would you?"

Isabela frowned, confused.

"...Why?"

Haru took a step closer. "Because... soon, things are going to get dangerous. And I need you to stay close to me."

Isabela blushed. Her eyes widened. "S-Stay close to you? What kind of—"

Haru interrupted her. "For your SAFETY, miss. Nothing more."

Isabela turned her face away, embarrassed. She tried to hide the blush on her cheeks.

"I-I don’t need protection from a slave..." she muttered, but her voice came out weak. Without conviction...

♦ [SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]

◊ Kill Arwin Corvus immediately!

◊ Kill Arwin Corvus immediately!

◊ Kill Arwin Corvus immediately!

◊ Kill Arwin Corvus immediately!

◊ Kill Arwin Corvus immediately!

The notification kept appearing

"What the hell is this, " Haru thought