A dark-haired young man opened his eyes and saw the face of a beautiful Japanese woman staring straight at him.
"You're awake? How do you feel? What's your name?" the pretty Japanese woman asked excitedly.
"W-water…" he rasped quietly, stretching out a hand that refused to obey.
The girl brought a small glass of water to the handsome young man's lips, but the moment the life-giving liquid touched his throat he immediately began to cough, splashing the entire bed.
"Sorry…" he muttered, already less hoarsely, and took another sip, this time holding the glass himself.
"It's nothing, it'll dry." The Japanese woman answered with a smile. "She's really beautiful… First time I've seen a brunette with blue eyes," the young man thought, admiring the magnificent Asian woman's beauty.
"Where am I?" he asked in a normal voice, staring at the girl. She grew embarrassed under the young man's intense gaze and looked away.
"You're in Shinto. I found you yesterday evening in the backyard. Don't you remember how you got here?" the beauty asked.
"Shinto? What kind of Shinto? Are we in Japan?" he asked, completely ignoring her question.
"Shinto is a small village that belongs to the Land of Fire, under the rule of the great Daimyo, three hundred kilometres from the Hidden Leaf Village! And what is Japan?" the beauty asked innocently, batting her eyes.
Hearing her proud speech, the young man almost spat out another mouthful of water. "It can't be! I couldn't have ended up in a drawn, made-up world!" the guy thought in shock.
"W-who is the Hokage right now?" After several seconds of thought he asked in a trembling voice, afraid of the answer.
"Sarutobi Hiruzen, of course!" the Japanese woman answered proudly once more.
"Damn, damn, damn! How the hell did I end up in the Naruto world?! I wasn't even a fan, I watched it as a teenager, that's all! Why me?!" But no one answered the shocked young man's mental tirade. "Looks like I'm really in deep… Ending up in a world completely mired in violence wasn't part of my life plans. Just yesterday I was celebrating a successful thesis defence with friends and planned to look for a job in a week, but it seems McDonald's won't be getting a promising cashier… Yeah, jokes are the only thing that help the brain in stressful situations." Still recovering from the shock, the young man thought.
Lost in his own thoughts, in the corner of his vision he noticed some strange detail that looked like an exclamation mark. Focusing on the mark, a panel of text popped up before him:
Name: Nakayama Kenshin
Age: 21
Level: 1
Class: Patriarch
Available: 1 skill point
Skills:
Harem Master (MAX)
Will of Patriarch (MAX)
Talented Offspring [Level 1]
Create Refuge [Level 1]
Formation Creation [Level 1]
???
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*****
"What? A system?! Nakayama Kenshin?! Patriarch?! Harem Master?!" he thought in shock, unable to process the incoming information.
"Are you all right? What's your name?" the beautiful Japanese woman asked again.
"Looks like… Nakayama Kenshin…" the guy answered with a smirk. "And you?"
"Very nice to meet you, Nakayama Kenshin. My name is Aya!" she replied cheerfully and politely.
Kenshin wasn't in the mood to continue the conversation; he was busy with more important things—namely, examining the "status" window. Seeing that he had fallen silent, Aya decided not to disturb him and left the room, saying she would prepare food.
Kenshin, in turn, began carefully examining all the abilities that had fallen upon him, trying to figure out what kind of class "Patriarch" actually was. A few minutes later he was horrified, realising that he was destined to become a child-producing machine!
"Damn, what have I gotten myself into?!" Kenshin thought irritably and began examining each point in the "status" window in more detail.
Class: Patriarch — [Patriarchs are the heads of enormous clans consisting mainly of their descendants. The patriarch himself may be weak, but his children will never let anyone harm their father and will destroy anyone who dares. In the vast universe, skilled patriarchs terrify entire galaxies, taking proud daughters of the greatest emperors into their huge harems without asking permission. An unskilled patriarch can be killed in a drunken brawl by an ordinary mortal. A skilled patriarch cannot be killed even by a god.]
After reading the class description, the young man wanted to protest, but he noticed several sub-points and began reading them intently.
Accelerated Birth: Reduces pregnancy duration by 20 times.
Accelerated Growth: Accelerates offspring growth to adulthood. Human offspring growth speed ×500.
Talent Accumulation: A Patriarch's children cannot have less talent than their mother. Offspring are more likely to inherit rare positive traits from the mother and directly depend on the [Talented Offspring] skill.
"So that's how it is…" Kenshin drawled thoughtfully. "Does that mean I have to fuck like a field mouse until I die of exhaustion? And what am I supposed to do with a mountain of kids? And who am I supposed to have them with?!" the young man muttered, unable to contain his irritation at such a seemingly useless system. Calming down a little, he returned to further examining the "status".
Patriarch's Charm: Causes all females to initially treat the Patriarch with friendliness. Passively affects nearby females, gradually causing them to fall in love with the Patriarch.
"Hm, that's better already. Apparently that's why Aya is so kind to me… The question of 'with whom' seems to have solved itself…" Kenshin muttered thoughtfully, surprisingly quickly coming to terms with his assigned role of "stud bull".
Harem Master: All women who have had sexual contact with the Patriarch fall in love with him and become infinitely loyal.
Will of Patriarch: The Patriarch's words become law for his offspring and harem. Allows telepathic communication with offspring up to 20 metres × level.
Talented Offspring: Allows any offspring to train the native world's power system. Each skill level increases offspring talent by 5% compared to the mother and gives a 2% chance of awakening rare and useful mutations.
Create Refuge: Like any dragon needs a lair, any Patriarch needs a reliable refuge—the last bastion of protection. Allows creation of a hidden refuge for living. Skill level improves the refuge, increases concealment, and ensures safety.
Formation Creation: Allows creation of various support and defence formations. Higher skill levels unlock stronger formations.
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Having finished familiarising himself with the "system", Kenshin began to think. He thought about many things: about his past life that could never be returned, about his current rather unpleasant situation, and about his future, which was remarkably foggy and uncertain. About half an hour passed in reflection, and Aya appeared in the doorway. She smiled tenderly at him and called him to the table.