Gacha Harem System

All four of them snapped towards the pond, their weapons rising on instinct.

Then they caught sight of the shape in the water.

It was a person, swimming through.

Arms cut through the dark surface of the pond, sending ripples across the water and scattering the reflected light into fragments.

Whoever it was moved casually, swimming across the pond towards the shore nearest them like a man doing laps in a private bath.

Nobody lowered their weapons. After all, there was no guarantee that there still wasn’t any danger.

The swimmer reached the shallows, found his footing, and rose out of the water.

He was an extremely good looking man. Strikingly so, easily on the same level as Lukas, though in an entirely different style.

He had long blond hair, which was currently soaked through and darkened by the water, and clung flat down his back, reaching to the small of it.

He wore nothing but shorts, his bare chest and shoulders exposing his lean, defined build. It was clear from it that he trained well.

He looked at the four armed people staring at him from the cavern entrance, and grinned, his white teeth flashing in the scattered light.

"Well, good day to you all!" he said cheerfully, wading the last few steps onto the shore.

He reached down and picked up a towel that had been folded neatly on a rock beside a stack of clothes, and began drying himself off without the slightest self-consciousness.

"Lovely timing. The water’s excellent, if you were wondering."

They exchanged glances.

This was a rest point marked on every map of the section, and was a public space. The man was breaking no law by being here, and there was nothing they could reasonably do about someone swimming, however strange it was.

One by one, they lowered their weapons, though none of them were put away.

"Good day," Lukas said carefully.

"Hello," Melody gave a single nod.

The man draped the towel over his shoulders.

"I’m Percival," he said, pressing a hand to his chest with a small theatrical bow. "A pleasure."

"Lukas."

"Melody."

"Akira."

"Karrakas." The tiefling’s eyes had narrowed slightly. "Quick question, Percival."

"Ask away."

"Why were you swimming in the pond?" Karrakas gestured at the water. "This is a marked water source. People drink from this. Parties fill their containers here on the way deeper. And you’re... bathing in it."

Percival paused mid-dry.

For a moment he looked at the pond, then back at Karrakas, and had the grace to appear genuinely sheepish, though the smile never fully left his face.

"Ah. Yes. That’s fair, that’s entirely fair." He held up a hand. "In my defense, I checked and there was no one around for quite a while. But you’re right, of course. My sincerest apologies. Consider it a one time occurrence, never to be repeated."

He bowed again, deeper this time, water dripping from his hair onto the crystal floor. "The next water source I meet shall remain unswum. You have my word."

"Unswum," Akira repeated flatly.

"It’s a word if you believe in it."

Karrakas looked like a man who had many follow-up questions and no confidence that any of them would produce useful answers.

Percival tossed the towel aside and looked them over with bright interest. "So. Are you staying to rest? The cavern’s comfortable, and I can personally vouch for the ambiance."

"No," Lukas said. "We’re moving on. Just passing through."

"Heading deeper?"

"That’s the idea."

"Wonderful!" Percival’s grin widened. "Mind if I join you?"

He didn’t wait for an answer. He was already pulling his clothes off the rock and dragging a shirt over his wet hair with remarkable speed.

Lukas and Karrakas exchanged glances.

Neither of them needed to say what they were thinking, because they were both thinking the same thing.

The man’s aura was D-rank. That much they’d all felt the moment he’d risen out of the water, one rank above them, though not by enough to be untouchable. But rank wasn’t the issue.

The issue was everything else.

A man wandering the Crystal Caves alone was already unusual. Solo Climbers existed, but they were rare, and the ones who survived tended to be paranoid, careful types who trusted nothing.

This man had been swimming. Alone. In a pond. In total darkness.

That was the part Lukas kept circling back to. They hadn’t seen a single light when they’d entered the cavern.

There were no lanterns or torches. Basically nothing on the rocks beside his clothes.

Percival had been doing leisurely laps through absolute blackness, in a cave system where the beasts were indistinguishable from the walls, as if the entire concept of danger simply didn’t apply to him.

Either the man was a fool, or he had no reason to fear the dark.

Neither option was comforting.

Lukas glanced at Melody and Akira. Both of them were already looking at him, and the four of them communicated with their eyes.

Should they let him tag along?

He’s suspicious. Everything about him is suspicious.

But what if he means no harm? Some people are just strange.

And if he does mean harm? Then better to have him where we can see him. Walking beside us, in the light, four against one.

And if we refuse? Then we’ll be walking into the dark with a D-rank somewhere behind us.

In those few seconds, they came to a conclusion. Between a stranger in front of them and a stranger somewhere in the dark, they knew which one was the better choice.

Melody’s eyes flicked in agreement, Akira gave the smallest nod, and Karrakas tilted his head a fraction.

Lukas turned back to Percival, who had been tugging on his clothes with speed, as if he was afraid they’d leave him behind.

"You can come along," Lukas said. "But not for long. We’re here to hunt. When we’re ready to start, we’ll separate from you. You go your way, we go ours."

"Understood completely." Percival dragged his shirt down over his wet hair, his grin bright. "You have my thanks. Truly. The caves are much better with company, and you four seem like excellent company."

"You don’t know anything about us," Akira said.

"I know you didn’t attack a defenseless swimming man on sight." He pulled his boots on, hopping briefly on one foot. "In my experience, that puts you ahead of most."

"You weren’t defenseless," Karrakas said. "You’re D-rank."

"And yet." Percival straightened, fastening the last of his gear.

He swept his wet hair back over his shoulders and beamed at them. "Shall we?"

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