Max was lying in his bed, staring at the darkness in front of him, a desolate, despairing feeling taking root in his heart.
Until two weeks ago when the world was still peaceful, he was a happy, introverted, shut-in and 20-years-old guy.
Born a rich man, he never lacked anything and his room was his haven where he would play video games, eat, sleep, and watch porn whenever he felt like it and when he got bored of everything, he read those spicy hot fantasy stories and imagined himself to be living in that world.
After reading many fantasy stories where the main character would be reincarnated in a fantasy world with a system, or get a system or some super power on earth when an apocalypse struck and then go on to do everything he desired, he also began thinking, hoping that an apocalypse would suddenly descend on the earth.
Then, he would get a super power and in the chaos with no one to enforce the law, he would do whatever he wanted—he would subdue his bitchy but sexy step-mother and make his sweet and supremely beautiful step-sisters fall in love with him. He would also get his gorgeous Milf neighbors and that college beauty every one of his horny classmates desired.
Every time he imagined such scenarios, he would get excited.
However…
Two weeks ago, when his wish came true and the apocalypse really descended thanks to the crazy world leaders who, due to their some shitty political interests, went crazy and launched the nuclear bombs, destroying most of the world, he realized the difference between fantasy and reality was way too vast.
Obviously, he didn't get a system and with almost everything destroyed, they were struggling to survive. To him, who wasn't used to any hardship, everything felt hopeless.
In these two weeks, he didn't know just how many times he had found himself wondering that he should have died along with those billions of people.
Right when he was about to fall in the abyss of despair completely, a dark red screen suddenly flickered into existence in front of him.
Max's eyes went wide when he saw it and his semi-dead heart suddenly began to beat wildly.
[Soul Binding… 1%... 15%... 45%... 75%... 99%]
[Soul Binding successful!]
[System Initializing… 1%... 15%... 45%... 75%... 99%]
[System initializing complete!]
[Welcome host to the Almighty Harem System. Make a harem and become supreme.]
[To help the host begin the journey, a Starter Gift Pack has been issued. Would you like to open the Gift Pack?]
[Yes] [No]
"Is this for real? I'm not hallucinating, right?" Max murmured, staring at the gleaming red screen in disbelief.
After a while, he confirmed he wasn't hallucinating and hurriedly clicked yes.
[Opening the Starter Gift Pack…]
[Starter Gift Pack Opened!]
[Congratulations, host. You've received the [Discerning Eyes], Anti-Radiation Potion x3, Nutritious Bread x5, Drinking Water 20 Liters and access to the System Inventory and System Shop.]
Max stared at the list of the items he received, his mind a whirl of thoughts.
After the notification vanished, with a thought, he opened the Inventory interface and saw four boxes—three of them had the icons of a glass bottle, bread and a drop of water while the last one had two eyes on it.
First, he clicked on the water and immediately some information poured in his mind. Feeling around the dark room, he found a plastic cup and as the information described, he imagined opening a tap and slowly water filled the cup.
Max's eyes lit up and ignoring the faint throbbing in his head, he brought the cup to his lips and slowly sipped the water. For the last two days, he barely had any water, so his lips, mouth and throat were parched.
After he emptied the cup which had around 250 ml of water, his cells cried in joy.
After hesitating for a few moments, he decided against drinking more immediately and clicked on the bread icon.
Soon, a large piece of bread appeared in his hand and the Inventory had one less.
"The system is generous. I was afraid the bread slices would be too thin." He muttered and took a small bite.
According to the information he got when he clicked on the bread icon, this bread was different from the bread he used to have because it was packed with nutrients. Just one-tenth of this piece of bread could give him enough energy for a day.
'Hmm. The taste's not bad either.' he thought, satisfied.
Soon, he had polished off one-tenth of the bread and even though he craved to eat more, knowing he should be frugal and since the one-tenth would be enough to replenish his exhausted body, he stored the remaining piece of bread back into the Inventory.
Then he rubbed his slightly aching head because accessing the Inventory consumed his mental energy.
An hour later, he had digested the bread and energy spread across his body, rejuvenating him.
With a thought, he opened the Inventory and clicked on the eyes icon.
Immediately, he felt a stabbing pain in his eyes and some information appeared in his mind.
"Argh!" He groaned in pain, feeling the urge to claw his eyes out but he endured. Fortunately, the pain lasted for just a few moments before a cooling sensation spread in his eyes, easing all the pain and irritation.
Ha! Huff! Huff!
Heaving deep breaths, he fell back on the floor. Though the process lasted for only a few seconds, it drained him.
However… Now that he had something to eat and drink, he didn't despair like he would have before he got the system. Instead, a smile appeared on his face. 'Now I can see everyone's information.'
After resting for a while, he ate another one-tenth of the Nutritious Bread and drank a cup of refreshing water.
While the bread was being digested, he opened his status screen.
[Name: Maxwell Williams]
[Level: 0]
[Physical: 4 (5)]
[Spiritual: 3]
[Harem: 0]
[Harem Points: 0]
[Abilities: Discerning Eyes Lv 1.]