Chapter 4: Conquer the Few to Conquer the Many
"Main Quest, level 2: Add five beauties of the Initiate Rank to the harem.
Quest completed when the host puts a ring on their fingers.
Main Rewards: Cultivation Base Breakthrough, Grand Level Physique Choice, Grand Level Cultivation Method Choice
Ability Rewards: Ecstasy Cloud
"
Hearing the content of the second quest, Konrad was taken aback.
"Wait, so it's not just about obtaining beauties? As the quest level increases, the requirement on the beauties' cultivation level also rises?"
"Yep. With each new level, the number of beauties you gotta add to the harem increases alongside cultivation requirements."
"So, when you said ten thousand beauties to complete the main quest, you meant..."
"Ten thousand Divine Rank beauties. Ten thousand goddesses, yep."
Konrad's body bent into a bow shape, and he almost fell onto the ground.
"It is well known that the Holy Rank is the highest within the empire and even the entire world. Let's not even talk about fulfilling that requirement. Where am I supposed to find goddesses?"
He bawled.
"That's your problem man. I'm just the one giving tasks, rewards, and punishments."
What was bullying?
This was bullying.
Quickly Konrad mapped up the requirements that all levels of the main quest would probably have and was quickly deterred by the potential numbers.
But the system wasn't done with him.
"Timeframe: Three days.
Failure equals castration and system removal."
This time, Konrad could no longer stand firm, he tripped and fell with his back on the ground.
"For real?"
"For real."
"In any case, I have a body regeneration passive ability."
"Cause you think I won't take that away?"
"..."
Only now did he realize that the almighty system really held him by the balls. In the future, he would have to be more polite. Of course, the difficulty only made the game more interesting.
"Without challenges, how can there be entertainment? I have a feeling this game will be the most entertaining I've ever played."
"Wanna get your side quests?"
"You bet."
"Side Quest Initialization...
Side Quest: Have a threesome.
Rewards: 3000 exp, Random True Rank Item
Timeframe: Infinite"
With the info dumping now out of the way, it was time to devise a plan. At the early stages of the main quest, going from a woman to another might be a viable plan, but quickly, considering the given timeframes, that would become unviable.
And as he dug through his acquired memories, Konrad found the solution to his problem.
"Conquer the few to conquer the many!"
The inner court was a place dominated by the imperial concubines. Each possessed outstanding personal attendants who in turn could command larger numbers of maids. Taking the lowest ranked concubines, for example, they were allowed two personal attendants and one head eunuch. Personal attendants each controlled ten maids. Head eunuchs each had ten subordinate eunuchs.
That was already a hefty sum.
Likewise, head palace maids held, in theory, a status similar to the personal attendants' and were each in charge of ten maids.
That being the case, as long as Konrad could conquer one head palace maid, getting his hands on five maids was simple.
But there was one problem. He had no guarantee they would satisfy the cultivation requirements.
The cultivation of the low-ranked palace maids was heterogeneous, going from zero to the Initiate Rank. Mid-ranked palace maids were usually at the Adept Rank while head palace maids were at the True Rank. A suitable target had to be picked.
He stood up and walked back into his quarters. There were still a few hours left before the sun reared its head. Hours he could use to get some well-deserved rest.
His room was shared with two other young eunuchs who currently snored within their beds.
Not paying them any heed, Konrad pulled off his boots, changed into his sleeping attire and slipped into his bed.
...
Meanwhile, Aliki and Faidra, the two maids tasked with disposing of Konrad's body were engaging in a heated debate.
"How can you not want to report it? He was canned to death under the orders of the holy consort. Him being alive expressively goes against her will. He either used some method to fake his death or the beating wasn't sufficiently brutal, but in any case, he is alive!"
Upon sobering from their initial bout of hysteria, the two maids inferred that Konrad had just not died. But now that he had "come back to life," the question of what to report had risen.
"Stupid. We were tasked with disposing of the body. The moment he woke up, we should have executed him and carried on with our task, but instead, we ran and came back here. If we inform the holy consort and she asks us why we didn't just end him...what are we supposed to say."
"Knowing her, she won't even ask us anything. She will just have us executed."
That was indeed the core issue. The holy consort was known to be cruel and unforgiving. There was no difference between getting on her nerves and death.
"There is only one thing left to do..."
"Kill him!"
At the fifth step of the Adept Knight Rank, Aliki and Faidra were not just beautiful vases and could snap an average grown man's neck in one move. Thus, they never thought they could have any issue in silently dealing with a low-ranked eunuch.
Simultaneously, they dashed toward the kitchen eunuchs' eastern courtyard at a speed of more than eighty meters per second!
...
With all the recent events and the whole reincarnation deal still weighing on his shoulders, it wouldn't be long before Konrad fell asleep.
But he wasn't even given a ten-minute break before the system's alarmed voice echoed within his head.
"Alert, alert! Man quickly get up!"
Konrad ignored it and tried to wander into some sweet dreams.
"DUDE GET THE FUCK UP! PEOPLE ARE COMING TO KILL YOU!"
"Woooooh!"
Konrad rolled from his bed and fell onto the ground in a brusque thud.
"Who? Where? How do you know that?"
"I can sense any malicious intent aimed at you within a hundred meter radius. Its two women and they are moving fast. You have less than two seconds."
Konrad wasted no time, and at a speed of eighty meters per second, he shot toward the exit, slammed the door open, and rushed south far from prying eyes.
"Cultivation?"
"Fifth Step Adept Knight"
He was aware that his transformation skill could not deceive people with higher cultivation bases, so he didn't bother trying.
If they were men, he could only try to make as much noise as possible to force them into fleeing. But since they were women...
"Since you brought yourselves into my demonic clutches. Allow me to officially welcome you to my harem!"