"Laras… how are you?" a not-so-handsome guy greeted a pretty girl enthusiastically at the village crossroads.
"Fine, Bang Rawit. How about you?" she replied with a flat face.
"Laras, I've been waiting for your answer for a week now. Can you give it to me today?" Raka asked, full of hope.
"Sorry, Bang, I can't," she said shortly.
"Ras?!" Raka called softly. He never expected the girl he'd loved for a year to reject him so bluntly. "Can't you give me just one chance?"
"Bang Rawit, love alone isn't enough to live on! My stomach won't be full if all you offer is affection! You'd better find a proper job. As far as I know, no girl wants a future husband who's unemployed!"
"I'll definitely find something else later, Ras! Just accept my love first! The important thing is we start together!" Raka half-pleaded.
Laras gave a mocking smile at the clueless guy in front of her. He kept chasing her even after being rejected dozens of times.
As the village beauty, Laras couldn't understand Raka's way of thinking. To her, accepting him as a boyfriend would be a lifelong disaster.
Back then, Raka came from a fairly well-off family in the village. His father was a well-known plantation produce trader. With an easy, wealthy life, he grew up spoiled. All he did was eat, play games, read web novels, then eat again. It made his body extremely fat.
But ever since his parents died—leaving behind mysteries that remain unsolved to this day—his life changed. His father's relatives started avoiding him, creditors suddenly demanded debts, and even his friends distanced themselves just because he went broke.
Now he had no promising job for the future. And in Laras's eyes, his body wasn't fit to stand beside the village queen.
Aside from his height that almost reached 185 cm, there was nothing else worth looking at in Raka. Everything about him clashed with Laras.
"Bang Rawit, a job isn't just to feed your future family. It's also so you can buy a mirror—and maybe get plastic surgery."
Ouch…
Raka clenched his teeth, fists tight to hold back the exploding emotion in his chest. How many insults had he swallowed about his family's sudden poverty, forcing him to live like this? Too many to count.
Didn't Laras used to respond kindly whenever he tried approaching her? But now?
"Just watch, Ras! I'll make sure you kneel at my feet one day! You can act pretty now, but the future is unpredictable."
Raka cursed himself inside, hating how unlucky he always was with girls. It wasn't just the excess weight—his fat buried his chin and cheekbones completely. Add his slightly tanned skin and constant sweat, and Raka was the complete package of bad luck.
At 23 years old, he had never even held a girl's hand.
Unfortunately, his threat to Laras was just empty words. In reality, Raka would only complain about his fate without doing anything. Even the idea of going to a dukun for a love charm never crossed his mind. He was naive, foolish, and cursed with bad luck.
With heavy steps, Raka returned to the small shack in the middle of the plantation that had been his home for the past year—ever since his parents passed away.
The world was unfair to him. His parents left without leaving any inheritance. Everything was seized by creditors to pay off debts. All that remained was the necklace from his grandfather, which he had worn since childhood.
His unfinished college degree left him with no choice but to work as a laborer and caretaker for Juragan Bambang—his father's old friend who was willing to take him in with a low salary and a basic place to stay.
Even so, he felt grateful. Sleeping in a cramped 5x5 meter room in the middle of the field was still better than under a bridge. Even if he sometimes shared the space with untransported crops, farm tools, and fertilizer that stank of urine.
He had no choice but to take a leave from college to sort out his finances first. Luckily, he only had his thesis left.
That night, Raka sat lost in thought, mourning his messed-up life. Tears streamed down without stopping.
Suddenly, something stirred in the darkness. Something cold yet untouchable slipped into his temple, as if crawling straight into his brain.
Then came soft whispers, sounding like his own inner voice, but clearly not.
"If you're not destined to be happy, why force yourself to keep living?"
The voice coiled like a snake, wrapping around his mind. Every word felt true and reasonable. The tears that fell from sadness now mixed with a terrifying calm—a calm born from the edge of despair.
As if enlightened, Raka stepped out of his shack and walked through the plantation.
Soon he stood at the edge of the quiet highway, waiting for a fast-moving vehicle to end all his bad luck in this world.
One minute…
Five minutes…
Ten minutes…
BAM!!!
The expected crash happened. Someone lay dying after a truck slammed into them at over 100 km/h.
"Damn it!" the truck driver cursed after hitting the man who crossed without looking.
Whether it was luck or misfortune for Raka—he had seen the truck speeding toward him and aimed perfectly when he decided to end it all.
But he was a few seconds too late. Someone else had taken his place.
Yes, Raka was still alive.
"Damn! Even the angel of death doesn't want to take me!" he cursed.
He was about to approach the driver, but unfortunately the man had already fled the scene. Raka didn't want to deal with the police, so he walked away.
"Selfish? Whatever. The world doesn't support me anyway," he muttered, justifying it.
Not far from there, heavy rain suddenly poured down.
CRACK!!!
A massive lightning bolt struck him. He was thrown and fell to the ground. For a moment he looked back toward the accident site. Strangely, the blood-soaked body that had been lying there was gone. Only an empty, silent road remained, with no trace of the crash.
DING!!!
[Gardener System ready to bind with host!]
Raka was dying after being struck by lightning, yet he could still hear the deep male robotic voice clearly in his head. He instantly remembered the system-themed movies he'd seen at a friend's house in the village.
"Gardener System? I'm not willing to be a gardener again—get lost, you troublesome system! No woman wants a husband who's a gardener. Just let me die."
[The system chose you as host because your life is truly pitiful. As host, you will transform into a successful, wealthy gardener! Do you accept the system into your body?]
"No! I've had enough of being friends with hoes, fertilizer, and damn toads day and night. Bye-bye Gardener System."
Raka closed his eyes tightly, breath labored, waiting for death to claim him.
But instead of the reaper, he heard a soft, seductive adult female voice greeting him inside his head.
Raka thought it was a kuntilanak in disguise, since he was alone on the deserted road.
He ignored it—after all, the angel of death couldn't be female.
DING!!!
[Harem System ready to bind with host!]
Raka opened his eyes again, searching for the alluring woman who might spark his will to live. He figured the kuntilanak must be mimicking the Gardener System to trick him.
"Who… who are you?"
[I am the Harem System, here to help you win many women in this life. Are you, handsome master, willing to work with me?]
"Huh… Harem System?" Raka's eyes widened. He finally realized the voice was coming from inside his head, not from some playful kuntilanak.
[Yes, Master! You have been selected as the host for this period's Harem System.]
"Will I become a rich CEO? A CEO with lots of women in his life?"
[No woman will be able to resist your charm once you partner with the Harem System, Master!]
Raka couldn't think straight anymore. Blood was pouring from all over his body, and it had even splashed onto the necklace heirloom from his grandfather before the system voice appeared. His vision blurred, body shivering from the cold. He was on the brink of death.
One beautiful thought flashed through his dirty mind before he drew his last breath: making love to his harem on a luxurious bed.
With trembling lips, Raka answered firmly, "Y-yes… I'm willing to merge with the Harem System!"
[Harem Paranormal System is now merging with the host's body!]
"W-what did you say? Harem Dukun System? You damn fraud! So you're a con system!" Raka hissed in anger. Instead of becoming a CEO, he was stuck with a paranormal harem system! He'd probably be turned into some perverted dukun.
"Nooo!" Raka gritted his teeth as he felt his body reacting to some kind of energy.
Installation 10%… 50%… 100%
[Installation complete! The system will reconstruct the host's body within thirty minutes. Please remain conscious.]