"Umm yeah...so that will be 249.99 sir." The cashier said lazily.
"Oh yeah .... right, here you go..." Max said, handing them the money, 250 to be exact.
The cashier placed the money in the register and bagged his purchase.
"Have a nice day sir...." he said, voice monotone.
Max grabbed the bag and left, holding it tightly against his chest. Today was his lucky day.
He had bought a new boardgame to play with his buddies, a game he found at a cheap price too no less.
He skipped slightly, imagining what kind of adventure he would make for his friends to play. They're annoyed faces when it gets difficult.....price less.
But then he realised, something, who should he call, he doesnt have alot of friends, maybe 6 or 7.... yeah ill stop.
He scrolled through his contacts, and started dialling. Everyone he called either said they where busy or just not interested.
So he called his best friend, his rock, his only anchor to the world, Alex. She was the only thing keeping him from falling into complete depression.
The phone rang, his heart was beating rapidly, then she answered.
"Umm hey ....Hey Alex, wanna play this new boardgame with me, its called Harem Leveling . Yeah weird name..."
"So like i was hoping you wanted to visit, draw up some character sheets, drink some energy drinks, and play until we rage.... what do ...do you say?" Max asked nervously.
"Sorry buddy, no can do, im having Seth over today, he wants to spend some time with me." Alex told him.
Max just went silent, he didnt like Seth , he always found him annoying and rude. And his always the reason Alex rarely visits or talks to him.
"Hey, you still there ... hello??" She asked him.
"Yeah.....im here.... its fine, ill find someone else to plag with me...." Max said, removing the phone from his ear.
"Hey come on, dont be upset, look ill probably..." she didnt finish speaking before he cut the line.
Max sighed and continued walking home. The problem is, Max was an Otaku and a Nerd, and not the cool nerd, oh hell no.
The round glasses wearing, Uumm Actually type of nerd.
He didnt even have anyone else, he was just him and thats it.
Alex called back but he didnt answer, so she texted but didnt reply, the mesages just kept on coming, so he switched off his phone.
Soon he got home, his apartment quiet, he placed the game on the table and started preparing for the night his about to have.
Locking his door, he started grabbing snacks, blankets, drinks, character sheets, you name it.
Soon the place was set for the most intense solo game night known to human history. He was ready, the game ready.
He pushed his glasses up and smirked to himself.
"Oh yeah, lets do this." He said to himself.
He remobed it from the plastic bag and marveled at it, 'Harem Leveling!' He read and laughed slitghtly.
"What a weird name." He said.
He examined the box carefully, " huh, no publisher, no company, just a message, your choices will have consiquences, choose wisely."
At that was all. He opened the box and marveled at the scene.
It had everything.
The Rulebook,
Adventure Book(as well a custom campaign),
The dice set,
Character sheets,
Tokens,
The gameboard and finally,
The cards themselves.
His seen these in so many games, but for some reason, this one felt special. S
He wiped a tear from his eye and immediately went to the character sheet.
Speed read the rules like a champ and experienced veteran.
After an hour of maticulously crafting his character, he was ready. His character was a normal human being, he liked this better tham the usual hero trope.
He grabbed the Adventure Book and immediately went to custom game. He held the cards, each one was explict and highly detailed on the female characters only.
He blushed and started playing, for hours ge spent his time crafting and playing the most intense game his ever made.
Snacks came and went, drink empted and refilled.
He leveled his character up, acquired companions, min-maxed his stats, he was him. But then.....
He found a roadblock, a decision he had to make, this was the most important of the whole game.
"Should i get the Elf princess and her mom or the demon queen?" He thought to himself, tapping his chin.
Feeling lazy, he decided to play a chance card. He picked it from the deck and noticed it was different.
"What the heck is this... an eye on the card." He said.
Then it glowed faintly, then brightly. Before he could react he was engulfed by the light.
When he came too, he felt like he was crushed between two pillows, soft and tender., the surface he layed on was also soft.
His senses came back one by one, his body was tired and exhausted. He tried to move his hand but then he heard a soft whimper.
He turned his head to the side and saw a beaultiful catgirl demi human laying beside him.
To his right a cute goblin girl, both are naked and covered on sheets.
"Meooow.. morning masterrrr!!" She slars her words cutely, pressing herself further into me.
"Baaaa .....morning Master." The goblin says.
Max immediately recognise them, theyre the companions he won over.
Above him was a glowing blue screen, with faint text. [Welcome to Harem Leveling].