For two full hours, Haruto stood perfectly still in the exact same spot. He maintained his posture with absolute precision, making sure not a single wrinkle or crease appeared on his immaculate royal attire.
As he stood there like a flawless statue, a few palace maids passed by the corridor. They couldn't help but steal glances at him through the open doorway, whispering and blushing among themselves at how incredibly striking and regal he looked. Haruto ignored the chatter, entirely focused on his physical calibration.
Right then, a group of young male attendants entered the room.
"Excuse me, Your Majesty," one of them said respectfully.
"We are here to perform the final adjustments before you enter the grand hall."
The attendants moved with practiced efficiency. One of them gently misted his robes with a rare, luxurious royal fragrance that carried a subtle, sophisticated scent. Another attendant noticed two microscopic wrinkles near the hem of his cloak; he immediately brought over a small, enchanted silver steamer, smoothly ironed them out, and restored the fabric to flawless perfection.
Haruto stood quietly, taking in the entire process. Honestly... he thought, a rare sense of comfort washing over his mind. This kind of high-end, luxury treatment is actually incredibly satisfying. It's a completely new experience for me. He looked at his reflection one last time, his single crimson eye gleaming sharply under the royal lights. The endless boredom that usually clouded his mind felt miles away. I spent all this time viewing everything as a game just to stay awake, he mused, adjusting his cuffs. But now... I am about to officially become the King of this entire realm. Let's see what kind of interesting challenges this next level has to offer
"Happy wedding day, Haruto!" Sirehtea's voice suddenly rang through his mind, completely breaking his deep thoughts with her usual bubbly energy.
Haruto's mental expression immediately flatlined. If I remember correctly, I explicitly commanded you to remain completely silent.
"Oh, come on! Don't be such a party pooper," Sirehtea huffed playfully, her internal avatar crossing her arms.
"I'm just trying to celebrate your big milestone!"
It's a tactical engagement, not a wedding, Haruto countered smoothly, calibrating his internal logs. There's a massive difference between the two.
"Haha, alright, alright, 'just an engagement' then," Sirehtea giggled.
"But since it's such a special night, I think it's time you officially receive your very first engagement gift—straight from me!"
Haruto raised a brow. A gift? From you?
"Yep! Remember earlier today when I went completely offline for a few hours?"
Sirehtea asked, her tone shifting into a highly excited, professional gear.
Yes. You said you were syncing background metrics. What about it?
"Well, while I was under, Aetheris and I were actually working around the clock to design a major upgrade specifically for you. Go ahead, open up your system HUD right now!"
Intrigued, Haruto lifted his right hand and firmly pressed his palm against the center of his chest, executing the manual system call command.
Instantly, his transparent holographic Heads-Up Display snapped into reality in front of his eyes. But something was completely wrong. The lines of text began to violently flicker and strobe, the code fracturing into chaotic digital artifacts. System warning: HUD data corrupt, Haruto thought, his crimson eye narrowing as he braced for a crash.
But exactly three seconds later, the glitching violently stopped. The fragmented text snapped back together, completely stabilizing into a breathtaking new layout.
Haruto's analytical mind immediately began scanning the visual interface. It was no longer the basic, standard black HUD he was used to. The entire display had been flawlessly divided into two distinct, contrasting halves. The left side of the interface was forged from a sleek, deep abyssal black code, while the right side shimmered in a brilliant, pure ivory-white luminescence. Standing proudly on the display were two separate, high-tier level indicators tracking his split system progression.
But the real masterpiece was resting right at the very bottom of the new dual interface.
Neatly embedded beneath his core stats were two bright, constantly updating numeric gauges: his HP (Health Points) and MP (Mana Points). They flickered with real-time numeric values, tracking his vital data down to the exact decimal point.
A rare, genuine smirk spread across Haruto's face as he stared at the glowing metrics. For a long time, his greatest tactical annoyance had been the inability to accurately monitor his own life and mana pools during high-risk scenarios. Having to guess his remaining reserves in a mind game of survival was an efficiency deficit he hated. But now, with this clean, permanent tracking system running flawlessly right before his eyes, he could monitor his limits with absolute, mathematical precision.
Well, look at that, Haruto thought, his fingers lightly brushing through the digital air as he closed the menu. A split-system interface with permanent vital tracking. I have to admit, Sirehtea... as far as surprise patches go, this one is an absolute masterpiece.
"Oh, we are nowhere near finished, Haruto!" Sirehtea beamed inside his mind, her voice bursting with pride.
"Aetheris and I noticed a major bottleneck in your core code. Since your black and white powers essentially represent pure destruction and creation, using them simultaneously inside a single system structure was causing them to constantly clash and cancel each other out. It was highly inefficient."
She paused, allowing the new system architecture to fully load before continuing.
"So, we built a partition! From this moment on, your abilities are completely separated into two distinct tracks. You will have to level them up entirely independently. Whichever side's power you actively deploy in battle is the only one that will gather data and level up!"
Haruto immediately reopened the dual-tone HUD to analyze the mechanics. Even though his core body still shared a single, unified HP and MP pool at the baseline, the two halves of the screen displayed completely different metrics. On the abyssal-black side, his progression tracker was clearly stamped at Level 6. But when his eyes shifted to the brilliant white side, the counter read a flat Level 0.
Level zero? Haruto thought, his brow twitching slightly. How am I supposed to utilize an uncalibrated system line from scratch?
"Don't panic! Your resident system guide is right here to walk you through the tutorial," Sirehtea giggled.
"Look closely at the very bottom edge of your new interface. Do you see those three glowing dots hovering just beneath your vital bars? I want you to reach out and manually click on them."
Haruto's eyes narrowed as he stared at the digital artifacts. Interact with them? Sirehtea, standard system rules dictate that a user's consciousness cannot physically touch or collide with a holographic HUD overlay. It's a non-solid projection matrix.
"Oh, please! Are you seriously doubting the combined programming genius of the world's Creator and Destroyer right now?" Sirehtea huffed playfully, practically pushing him forward.
"Just trust the patch notes and do it!"
Deciding to humor her, Haruto raised his right hand and gently pressed his index finger directly against the floating holographic dots.
To his absolute surprise, the digital space actually resisted. A soft, glass-like chime echoed through the air as his finger made solid contact, and the three dots instantly bloomed outward. The interface fractured beautifully, expanding into a sleek, advanced drop-down utility menu containing three distinct, high-tier functions:
[ System Sub-Menu ]MapLevel-Up SourceParty
"Ta-da! See? Absolute physical synchronization!" Sirehtea cheered triumphantly inside his head.
"Now, let's start with the first phase of the calibration. Go ahead and select the Map option first!"
A rare, genuine look of absolute excitement flashed across Haruto's face. For the first time since entering this world, the heavy fog of boredom completely vanished from his mind. Wow... what on earth is this? he thought, his chest tightening with a thrill he hadn't felt in ages. Sirehtea, this is incredible. It's an actual, fully integrated gameplay setup.
"Hehe, told you so! Now stop staring and tap on Map!" Sirehtea cheered, her internal voice bouncing with pride.
Haruto extended his index finger and tapped the first option. Instantly, the sub-menu dissolved, blooming outward into a massive, highly detailed holographic 3D map that floated elegantly in the air. A pulsing crimson beacon highlighted his current coordinate data:
[ Current Location: Allesta Village, Kingdom Perimeter — Layer-X ]
As Haruto pinched and expanded the digital map to zoom out, his single crimson eye widened slightly. Allesta Village, which he knew firsthand was a massive, sprawling territory that took days to traverse, was nothing more than a microscopic, barely visible speck on the layout. It didn't even cover 1% of the total continent.
Just how massive is this world? Haruto muttered internally, his analytical mind completely blown by the scale.
"I told you, it's designed exactly like an infinite, seamless open-world game," Sirehtea explained, her tone turning deeply vast. "If you tried to explore every single corner of this world on foot, a single human lifetime wouldn't even scratch the surface."
Haruto traced the edges of the digital horizon. And this is just the default baseline layer. Layer-X. According to the foundational lore of this world, there are 100 complete layers stacked above us. Does that mean every single layer is this massive?
"Actually, it's a progressive scale," Sirehtea corrected smoothly.
"Each sequential layer is structurally larger and more complex than the one beneath it. So yes, your math is right—fully exploring this universe is mathematically impossible."
A brilliant, sharp smirk broke across Haruto's face. Perfect. This is absolutely magnificent. An endless map means I will never have to loop back to a previous zone. No repetition, no routine... which means absolute freedom from boredom.
"Glad you like your gift! But come on, let's keep moving," Sirehtea chimed in, pointing toward the screen.
"Tap on the Party option next."
Haruto paused, his finger hovering over the interface. Wait, why the skip? Why shouldn't I click on Level-Up Source first?
"Because it's not the right time for that layout yet!" Sirehtea squeaked, sounding suddenly defensive. "Don't click it!"
I want to see what it is, Haruto countered, his curiosity piqued by her sudden panic.
"Haruto, I'm serious, don't touch it!" Sirehtea warned, her voice dropping into a frantic whisper.
"Some core files are better left untouched when they are unstable. That module is still actively under heavy compilation and development. If you force-load it right now, you might cause a fatal glitch!"
Haruto slowly pulled his hand back, nodding slightly. Fine, fine. I don't want to corrupt my brand-new dual HUD before the ceremony even starts. Shifting his focus, he tapped on the Party function instead. The map vanished, replacing itself with a clean, grid-style interface displaying five distinct data blocks. Haruto's eyes scanned the real-time status profiles floating in front of him:
[ Royal Party Roster ]Ivory — Level MaxBellona — Level MaxLustra — Level MaxToya — Level 60Asobi — Level Registered
Haruto stared at the glowing names, a look of profound tactical satisfaction washing over him. Incredible... so it's not just my own parameters. I can actively audit, track, and monitor the live status screens and levels of every single member in my active party?
"Bingo! Total tactical synchronization," Sirehtea confirmed with a proud hum.
"As long as they are bonded to your faction, their vital code belongs to your system layout. You are the ultimate commander now, Haruto!"
Haruto focused his attention on the party roster, running his finger across the interface. The system smoothly responded to his touch. When he tapped on Ivory, Bellona, or Lustra's profile cards, the interface seamlessly expanded to reveal their exact real-time HP and MP status bars, complete with fluctuating numeric values.
"And that's not even the best part," Sirehtea explained, her voice echoing confidently inside his mind.
"Through this layout, you can track their exact real-time coordinates anywhere on the map. Not only that, but you hold absolute administrative control over their character progression. If you want to allocate system data to boost their levels, you can. And if you want to completely freeze their level progression for tactical reasons, you can toggle that option whenever you want."
Haruto analyzed the data blocks carefully. Since Ivory, Bellona, and Lustra were literal goddesses, their status screens naturally showed their parameters were already completely maxed out, showing no room for standard level increases. His gaze then shifted down to the remaining two slots. Toya's profile showed a massive level boost, sitting comfortably at Level 60 due to his direct connection and resonance with Haruto's massive pool of power.
However, when Haruto looked at Asobi's slot, the level counter was completely blank, flashing a series of unreadable system errors.
Why is Asobi's level data completely hidden from the party monitor? Haruto asked, his analytical mind searching for a system glitch.
"Oh, that? That's an internal value," Sirehtea noted with a small chuckle.
"If you want to unlock that specific information, you'll have to go directly to her and ask her yourself. If the system can't force-read hidden parameters without the user's consent or is it my mistake."
Haruto nodded slightly, accepting the restriction for now. Fair enough. But look at the roster template again. Why are Lilith and Seraphine completely missing from the party registry? And for that matter, why isn't my primary weapon, Aetherna the Void Reaper, showing up anywhere on the asset interface?
"Ah! That is actually an excellent point," Sirehtea admitted, shifting into a troubleshooting mindset.
"We completely focused the deployment on organic party members and forgot to map out your equipment inventory and the formal royal bonds. Aetheris and I definitely need to build an independent Weapon and Relic management system for you. Don't worry, just give us a few days and we'll have that module fully compiled and patched into your HUD."
You really can update and rewrite the reality interface whenever you feel like it, can't you? Haruto thought, a trace of amusement crossing his mind.
"Of course we can! We built the foundation, after all," Sirehtea replied proudly.
"But alright, freeze your inputs for a second. We have one absolute final piece of information to lock in before the system initialization is complete."
"Close your red eye for a second," Sirehtea suddenly instructed, her voice dropping into a serious whisper.
Haruto frowned internally. What? Why?
"Just trust me, do it right now!" she urged.
Haruto complied, closing his eye. The moment his vision went dark, he focused on his internal projection of the HUD. To his absolute surprise, the brilliant, highly advanced dual-tone interface completely vanished. In its place was a completely standard, basic black screen displaying nothing but his name, a simple title, and his baseline level. All the advanced metrics, the HP/MP trackers, the map, and the party roster had completely disappeared.
What just happened? Haruto asked, his analytical mind searching for a system crash. Did the patch just corrupt and rollback?
"Now, open your eye again," Sirehtea said with a triumphant giggle.
Haruto snapped his eye open. Instantly, the standard overlay shattered, and the fully upgraded, split-screen black-and-white HUD bloomed back into reality with all its complex data streams running flawlessly.
"Surprise! It's a built-in privacy filter," Sirehtea explained proudly.
"The advanced interface is hardcoded directly into your visual cortex. You can only view these high-tier tools when your red eye is actively open. To anyone else trying to sneak a peek at your system profile, or if you ever need to mask your stats, it will just look like a completely normal, low-level baseline HUD. Keep this completely between us. No one in this world will ever figure out you are carrying such an insanely advanced system tool."
Haruto stared at the glowing trackers, a deep sense of tactical satisfaction washing over him. An untraceable interface disguise. Now that is a flawless safety measure.
Before he could analyze the system code any further, a sharp, rhythmic knock echoed from the grand double doors of the holding room.
Reacting with instantaneous reflex, Haruto swept his hand through the air to close the HUD, smoothly adjusting his royal cuffs and smoothing down his styled hair to ensure his posture was completely flawless.
The heavy doors swung open, and the seven queens glided into the chamber. Haruto's eyes adjusted to the sheer visual glare—the mothers had completely changed out of their lounge attire and were now dressed in magnificent, breathtaking ceremonial gowns. The queen in the red dress, whom Haruto suspected was the primary Queen of the realm, was now wearing a stunning gown woven with intricate golden thread and adorned with glittering royal jewels. She looked exceptionally regal.
She stopped right in front of Haruto, her sharp eyes scanning his face with a knowing, playful smirk.
"Well, look at you, completely untouched. Were you doing something in here just now, Haruto?"
Haruto kept his expression perfectly deadpan, smoothly shaking his head 'no' to signal that nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.
The main Queen chuckled softly, adjusting the collar of his royal tunic one last time.
"Good. The grand hall is completely packed, and everyone is waiting for the future King. It's time for your engagement ceremony to officially begin. Are you ready?"
Haruto didn't hesitate for a single second. Maintaining his absolute vow of silence, he gave a firm, confident nod of his head, ready to step out and completely dominate the next level of this world.