When his energy first struck through her core it was akin to getting stabbed by a knife in the gut, it was overpowering and brutal, the sensation close to getting engulfed by a slime, but then it shifted to fire. The warmth of fire during the frigid winter days and then it was like the basking warmth of the sun.

A sustaining energy filling her before she accessed her and even then, it was still different—Setsuko's mind fuzzy and only focused on the beautiful warmth of his power tracing across through her body until everything became dark.

The event changed the lives of the two for good.

And in effect, almost everyone who had taken note of the change.

Mashiro Temple Priestesses infiltrated the current inn that Li Yang and Setsuko were staying at as if about to abduct Setsuko and take her away by sheer force. They had overturned the Kin Hunters by their powers, if only to present a scroll of invitation for the newly awakened person located in her quarters.

Except the Priestesses met a man instead of Setsuko.

A woman with soft pink hair looked at him with a frown, albeit it did not mar her beautiful features at all.. She held a scroll in her hand and gazed at him with red eyes. "This is.. we are looking for a woman who has Awakened her powers. Step aside or face the consequences."

"Yes, the person you're looking for is here, but she's asleep." Li Yang stepped aside from the door to let them see Setsuko in her bed. She had been sound asleep since she fainted. Still, there was something remarkable about this woman. Was having red eyes a sign of being awakened? He asked. "But who are you people?"

"This man—!" Two young women dressed in the same robes spoke at the same time. One could see that they were twins who had green hair and yellow eyes. Both looked at him affronted. "Sister Mitsuko, should we finish this man off for speaking such impudence?"

Mitsuko narrowed her eyes at him.

There was something about him so familiar.. wait!

She schooled her features into a calm look, but she recognized the traces of Ao hovering around his body. It wasn't the same as the waves that sent the High Priestess into a flurry to locate the woman who had Awakened without any notice, but it was the same one that she recognized from their Sacred Forest over a week ago.

The reason why the other Priestesses beat the group of Hunters below this inn already made sense—they were intruders who dared to hunt in the lands of the Mashiro Temple's protected forest. Evidence had been found, and it was by chance that they were in the inn.

But now this man held the traces of Ao she noticed last time.

It was supposed to be impossible.

Could it be possible that he was the one who awakened the woman sleeping in the bed? If that was the case.. Mitsuko needed to concentrate. The High Priestess was more concerned about the sleeping woman.

She cleared her throat. "Your friend's awakening has caused a wave of Ao to blast across their immediate surroundings. Now you might not have noticed it save for the destruction caused by this event, but the Mashiro Temple is willing to accept her and help her secure her powers."

"I see. And if she refuses?" he asked. He gave no clue or sign that he could notice the Ao.

One of the twins scoffed. "What kind of woman would refuse—"

"Calm down, Rei." Mitsuko sighed and rubbed her forehead. She looked at him carefully and said, "Mashiro Temple is more than capable of taking care of her. It is imperative that she joins for the safety of her loved ones and friends."

"I understand, but I am not the one making the decision," he said. "Albeit I am a little worried in the event that she chooses to stay with her group and this Temple might force her hand."historical

"We don't do such things like that." Rei finally got a word in before Mitsuko. She harrumphed at him. "It's unpleasant to assume otherwise, but it's obvious that men cannot understand such things."

He inwardly sighed but opened his hand. "I can accept the scroll now in order to give it to her when she wakes up.. and I will not bother arguing with those who have no intention to change their mind." It was better to be brusque with some people. "Thank you for the concern for Setsuko's condition, I will inform her of this visit."

Li Yang accepted the invitation in her stead and he quickly shut the door behind them.

The sound of a shout echoed behind him, but then the group of women would also leave in a hurry. In this world, it seemed like the people worked fast.

Li Yang glanced at the scroll and then back to his bonded partner. The System didn't refer to Setsuko as part of his Harem. What had caused this situation? The world he had landed in was similar in some ways with how a life energy governed this place, but different enough to warrant changes to his System?

Or was it the Patch?

He finally had enough time to check, which was good since the System finally allowed him to access a greater interface screen.

[ Welcome to the Patched System ]

The Moderator and VIP Observer 'Peach' has installed a patch to the Harem System.

A great deal of feature restrictions were originally placed on Host to ensure obedience to the Heavens and keep the Host from fully using the System to one's advantage, but now the Host has been granted new features.

Personal Status

Main Quests

Achievement Quests

Companion Interface

New Zone Warper (Used 1 out of 1 Times)

Points Shop

He frowned at the grayed out words in the 'New Zone Warper' but accessed it for further explanations. It was already obvious that this was what had happened.

[ New Zone Warper ]

In order to ensure the Host's capacity to get stronger, the Host can gain access to different worlds in different planes according to the Host's current strength levels.

You Have Used The New Zone Warp Once.

System Currently Gathering Energy For Next Jump

"Then I'm stuck here until then.. but how much energy does this System even need before I can go home?" he asked himself with a frown. And it was where it would show some ineptitudeness by only focusing on a singular word.

[ Would You Like To Set Telriah As Home World? ]

Yes/No

The CEO narrowed his eyes at the screen. "No. Set it to Earth.. previous World, rather. The one I was before I headed here." He needed to be sure that he didn't end up in another world called similarly to it. T

The new patch update seemed to have changed some of the functions, no longer as intuitive as it used to be. However it seemed to have shifted it entirely from a harem-focused System? Well there was still another thing that seemed reminiscent of it.

[ Companion Interface ]

No man is an island! Sometimes the power of friendship and bonds can help the Host move mountains rather than being alone. The System helps create this power through the chance to make your companions stronger, or have them empower you. Choose Companions wisely.

Host: Li Yang aka CEO

Companionship Type: Harem-based

Individuals:

Narissa ( Harem Member)

Setsuko (Energy Bonding - Awakened )

Right before he could check the other screens, Setsuko woke up. Her blue eyes looked at him sleepily, and she yawned. "What was that all about?"

"Hmm? Have you rested well?" he asked. "Do you remember what happened?"

She nodded her head, albeit her cheeks were tinged red. "You awakened the dormant core lying inside of me.. though I don't feel all that different."

"Is that so? We'll figure it out for later." Li Yang picked up the scroll and offered it to her. "You have an invitation from the Mashiro Temple, they have kindly dropped by earlier."

Setsuko opened it and read, "A sudden awakening that swept through the lands.. it is only fair for different women to join together and strengthen their bonds. Huh. Training in their Temple, amazing. Wait.. this sudden awakening was me?"

"Yes, it was you. It seems you cannot remember much." Li Yang furrowed his brows together. The Mashiro Temple's strategy was akin to hiring competent people to prevent them from getting hired by anybody else and shaking the current power structure. Understandable, possibly. Monopolizing was something he was something that happened in some business sectors, after all.

"I don't want to go there.." Setsuko sighed. "And yet they're offering something to help the Kin Hunters, allowing them permission to enter the Sacred Forest."

"The Sacred Forest is where I met you guys, right?"

She coughed. "It's usually illegal entry there, a conservatory of creatures if you will. But that mission we got there was extremely paid well, and it wasn't like they would miss the Twisted Vine Turtle. They probably have eggs of that creature."

"... so we trespassed there." Li Yang stared at her for a moment. He wasn't sure if he wanted to grimace or rub his forehead. It shouldn't bother him too much, but it still did. Regardless of the Mashiro Temple Priestesses attitudes, the thought of doing something illegal still made him a bit miffed.

He was still someone reserved by nature and liked following rules when possible.

"What?" she tilted her head at him. "You're that troubled with the thoughts of coming there, but you had no sense of shame by being so—" She turned her head away from him. "Forget it."

"What seems to be the problem?"

"You awakening me just felt really intimate. I can't explain it beyond a feeling like.. it's probably similar to sex!" Setsuko looked at him, her face was red. "But with Ao, so it's weirder. Don't tell me that I'm the only one who felt it while your Ao was seeping inside of me?"

—-—-

Author's Note: Probably not the best chapter since a migraine hit me, but hopefully it delivered the plot points fine. All of the energy bonding stuff is strange and even I can't explain the awakening part much, but yes, there were sexual connotations during the bonding process xD Thanks for reading!