[START]

 

“You are Prince Carlos. You have 3 months to prepare, gather an elite force, and beat the demon champion.”

 

That’s frankly the opening message I got when I woke up. Simple, really. Not much cutting corners from whoever decides to dump me into this alternate reality world.

 

Anyway, Prince Carlos Magnus, eighth child of King Forlan Magnus. Yes, eight, that means I have 7 elder brothers and sisters, so I’m quite far back on the throne succession. And each of the prince and princesses are given their own dominion to manage, to learn the ropes, so that we are ready to take over the country, some day. There’s a bit of tension between the elder brothers, but that’s not the focus at this time.

 

I’m the Lord of a town called Imensluma, or fondly referred to by the locals as Loom. Because it’s a mouthful.

 

Loom itself, is home to about 15,000 people, and about 10,000 more live across the valleys, farmlands and the hills, in small villages.

 

In this world, there’s magic, and there’s skills and levels. It’s pretty much a typical fantasy, magical world.

 

How do I know this? Well, when I woke up, I inherited all of Prince Carlos’s memories.

 

So, back to that central mission. What do I have to beat the demon champion?

 

[Prince Carlos]

[Level 1 Prince]

[Level 1 Healer]

 

[Eye of affection]

Multiple filters available. Sees affection levels of people, their type and element, rank, and other affection-related effects. Also allows identification of items that can be made into affection-items.

 

[Crafter of gifts]

Make gifts and items to boost affection.

 

[The Power of Love]

Those with high affections receive passive boosts to their stats, and various other benefits.

 

That’s it.

 

---

[Chapter 1]

 

To be honest, the first day when I woke up, I wasted it. I just end up struggling to believe that I’m in this other world, and I sat in denial.

 

A quick assessment of my skills seem to make it very obvious that i need to gather allies. In fact, the mission itself states I need an “army”, so this is not something I can do alone.

 

“Prince Carlos, are you awake?”

 

“Yes, yes.” I smile at the source of the voice, a cute twenty year old lady called Anne. There’s a small number that floats on top of her head, the “affection” quantifier.

 

“32%, Blue, Level 7 Prince’s Assistant. Rank 4.”

 

She puts a plate on the table. Food, and a cup of coffee. I walk over and start eating, and she sits opposite me. She’s got silver hair, and a beautiful face.

 

“Nothing much to update today, Prince Carlos.” The Kingdom of Magnus is largely peaceful, but there are monsters every now and then.

 

“That’s good. I’d like to visit the soldiers later today.”

 

“Sure. I’ll let the captain know.” Anne bows, and stands.

 

“Uh. Wait.” I go over to one of my cabinets, and open a drawer, where there a few small bangles.

 

Small bangle, +5% affection for Blue and Yellow. Common. Female only.

 

I’d had to test it out. “Come here.”

 

Anne walks over and sees the bangle, she didn’t react, until I took it out, grab her wrist and put it on her.

 

She blushes.

 

“Uh… Prince Carlos?”

 

“For you.”

 

She blushes even more.

 

“Really?”

 

“Yes. Take it. I insist.”

 

She looks at it intently, smiles, and nods. “Thank you, Prince Carlos.” As she walks out, I see the percentage on her head change to 37%.

 

I wonder what happens when I hit 100%. Dirty thoughts cross my mind, but then, I got an objective.

 

So, next is to visit the soldiers.

 

The barracks in Loom is a massive occupying an entire part of the town. Like a fort, it has towers and walkable parapets and walls for archers, and guards, and before I was assigned to this town by my father, this building is the center of government, led by the previous Lord.

 

When I came about three years ago, the royal family commissioned the construction of a small mansion in another side of Loom, one that befits a member of the royal family.

 

“I have informed Captain Mattis of your visit. He should be ready.” Anne walks to me, she’s wearing the bangle. She beams, and leads the way.

 

It’s a small town, so Anne and two guards accompany me.

 

The two guards

 

“16%, Red, Level 11 Soldier Rank 2, Male”

“21%, Green , Level 8 Soldier Rank 2, Male.”

 

Even men has the status overlay floating on their head. Everyone does, and it's as if I am in an online MMORPG, where everyone has floating indicators.

 

“Are you okay, Prince?” Anne smiles, she holds my arm.

 

“Ah. Yes.” She’s very close, and her blue eyes seems to glow.

 

We walk past the citizens, and I quickly notice most of them are rank 1 to 2. I wonder whether I can filter them out.

 

“Filter out rank 2 and below?” A menu pops out. I mentally choose yes, and most of the indicators disappear from above their heads.

 

“You’re zoning out again.”

“Ah, yes. It’s fine now.” I nod at Anne, and we’re at the barracks.

 

The captain and about a hundred soldiers gather. Men. The soldiers, most of them don’t have the indicators above their head, suggesting they are all rank 2 or 1. The captain is rank 3, and one other soldier is rank 4, but he looks much younger than the captain.

 

“Milord.” The captain bows.

 

I nod. “Thanks. How are we doing?”

 

“Not as well as we liked, milord. Monsters appear throughout Loom, and we do not have enough men to fight all of them.”

 

Ah yes. Throughout Loom, I have about 1,000 men, but most of them are spread out, manning garrisons, doing escort work, patrolling borders, and about half of them are stationed in the various smaller villages throughout the region.

 

It’s a small force, relative to the overall population of 25,000, but it’s relatively speaking, peacetime.

 

“Can I see your training?”

 

“Certainly.” The captain barks some orders and the men proceed into their training gear. And I watch them practice some basic swings and blocks, knowledge I inherited from this body.

 

I focus on the rank 4 soldier. Adam. His swings are clearly smoother, his blocks seems to be a bit more tight. This rank thing does seem to suggest some competence.

 

“Hey, do you know whether there is a way to test a person’s potential?”

 

“Not really.” Anne responds, almost instant. “There are, indicator, and tests of physical or magical ability, but potential is an unknown.”

 

“I see.” I keep my eye of Adam. “Captain, can I spar with you for a moment? With practice wooden sword.”

 

The spar went through quickly, and I could tell they were giving me chances. They intentionally lost.

 

“I think you gave me too many easy chances, captain.”

 

“No I did not.” Lies. I see the affection percentage on his head, 3%. Perhaps he is still wary.

 

“Ah never mind. Can I spar with more guys?” I point to Adam.

 

He nods. “Yes milord.”

 

As with the captain, Adam lost. Intentionally. I see his muscles twitching, struggling to hold back, and one time he pretended not to see a swing, which is a huge struggle for him, because he did see it.

 

I laugh. I could not help it.

 

“You guys, seriously. Beat me up if you have to. Do you want me to be a liability when you have to protect me?”

 

Any soldier in my domain can be summoned to serve as my royal guard. It is the power granted to each and every Prince, over his domain.

 

I point to Adam. “Anne, he’s to be assigned to be my royal guard every other week.”

 

Anne nods. Adam looks really shocked. There’s additional pay as a royal guard. I walk over, and say, “And while you are my royal guard, you, are going to spar with me the entire freaking week.”

 

Adam gulps. Its not what I said. Its the horror of having to hold back. The captain on the other hand breathes a sigh.

 

“Milord, we are short of men…”

 

“Anne, the two guards that I have, let the captain have them, but still pay them the royal guard wages?”.

 

“Certainly.”

 

“Ah…”

 

“So, I am Prince Carlos. You are?”

 

“Adam K, milord.”

 

“Adam, lets go for a drink.”

 

-----

 

One of the Town’s Bars

 

Adam’s surprised to be in a bar with me. He sits uncomfortably at the table, even then, that is after I insisted that he sit.

 

I glance at his readings. Rank 4, Adam K, Level 8 Soldier, Yellow, Male, 0%.

 

I look at the waitress walk past with beer mugs. Strangely, some text appeared over it.

 

Beer.

Yellow and Red.

Affection +10% for males, +3% for female. -10% for females of other colors. Affection bonus only applies once per person, every three days. Can be mixed.

 

Ah.

 

I order 2, one for myself and Adam.

 

Anne is next to me, and I ask the waitress for anything more… sweet, or dessert-ish, and she recommends an orange juice.

 

When the orange juice comes, I glance at it. The usual tooltip pops up.

 

Orange juice. Neutral. Does not reduce affections. Can be mixed.

 

It seems if I stare at something long enough, wondering whether it will make a suitable gift, the words appear.

Anne though, seems a bit pleased by the orange juice. “How’d you know I dislike beer?”

 

“Ah… I, I just thought so.” I then turn to Adam, and pass a beer to him. “For you.”

 

I look at both of them, and lift up my beer.

 

“Cheers?”

 

I take a sip, and the two others follow afterward.

 

And a few more sips.

 

And I am a bit tipsy. That of course, led to me babbling.

 

“Adam. Look. I can.. I can sense you are a talented fighter. And, I need your help. There will be a disaster coming a three months. I don’t know much details, but I had a vision, and it tells me there will be a demon attacking us.”

 

Anne’s shocked at what I said. “Really?”

 

Adam takes a chug. He listens, and lets me continue.

 

“Yes. But I suspect the others won’t help us much, so I can only rely on the people in this region. And that means you.”

 

Adam shakes his head a little bit. “Prince, you are drunk.”

 

“Maybe  But, can you help me if the day comes?”

 

Adam pauses, takes a sip. “Milord, I am not a fan or believer of weird visions. But I am a soldier, and if you need my help to defend this region, I will do so.”

 

“Good. I ask of nothing less of our soldiers.”

 

And we then talk about less… meaty stuff. About their families, their career so far, and then its time to call it a nigjt.

 

Later that night, as we leave the bar, I see Adam’s affection indicator change from zero to 10%. Good. If this is how the game is played, I need to get them up to 100%.

 

Experience gained. Level up! You may choose a skill or job to level up!

 

“Are you drunk, Prince?”

 

I smile, and Anne looks concerned. “Why?”

 

“That thing you said back there….”

 

“About the demon?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Is it real?”

 

“What do you think?”

 

“I… it sounded like you really mean it. Like, you are very sure.”

 

“Honestly, I am not. But, I do have a “quest”, to defeat it.” She leans closer.

 

“Really…” Anne looks at me, her eyes seem to sparkle in the candlelight. “A quest?”

 

At that point, a few tooltips pop up.

 

Option A - Explain that you have a quest to defeat the demon. +5 affection

 

Option B - Say Nothing -5 affection

 

Option C - Say that it's a secret.

 

I mean, obviously I choose option A.

 

“Yes. A quest. One day when I woke up… the day I woke up from the accident, I had a quest, a voice in my head. It tells me to defeat the demon champion, and gather a group of elites…”

 

“Oh… I like it when you speak with such… conviction.”

 

Anne pauses… She somehow touches my arm with her fingers, and then she touches my cheeks. We are alone in my room now.

 

Anne’s affection increased to 42%,

 

Do you trigger the first affection checkpoint scene?

 

Yes / No?