Chapter 3: A Meteoric Rise to Overpowered! (3)

From Appraisal Result, Haru was aware that defeating/killing animate objects that the system acknowledged as units would reward him with EXP.

Regarding the definition of units, almost all animate objects could be considered as units. Keyword: almost. It looked like small lifeforms such as insects and ants weren't acknowledged as units, unless they were individually dangerous for a human who wasn't negligent. Some examples of this exception were insects that carried and could infect disease in a single bite (i.e., Aedes Aegypti and Anopheles Mosquito), or poisonous arachnids like Black Widow.

Haru decided to create a single mouse as a test subject because a mouse was considered as a unit. He created a cute, white mouse that often became a pet instead of a pest. He felt no drain in his stamina and mental energy after creating it. Haru watched his creation with contemplative eyes. The cute little critter was tilting its head and sniffing on his palm.

Looking at the adorable tiny creature, Haru hesitated to kill it. However, he resolved himself and killed the mouse by twisting its neck.

Then, Haru saw the dead mouse fade like an illusion. It was interesting. Still, he felt bad for killing it, but he convinced himself that this was for SCIENCE!

"A mouse only gives me 0.1 EXP. Next, let's try a rabbit."

Haru created a cute rabbit with white-colored fur. After twisting its neck, Haru obtained 0.1 EXP.

"Next, it's a dog, but a dog can be dangerous for a human if it's wild and cornered. Since I am the master of this world, can I control elements in here as I please?" Haru wondered loudly and then experimented with how far he could control this world.

A couple of hours passed, and Haru discovered as to why the possessor of Innovate Clear called "Someone Who Impersonates God" in 'High School DxD.'

Haru could control anything in this world, even life-and-death of this world's residents, with a mere thought. It was both a scary and exciting prospect.

Haru also discovered that all animals he killed, irrespective of their size, rewarded him with 0.1 EXP.

'Well, since other units, irrespective of their sizes, only give me 0.1 EXP, I should use a mouse to power-level. After all, I can create many of them without problems,' Haru thought before creating several hundreds of mice.

By killing them all, Haru would obtain the exact amount of EXP to raise his level to 6. What's more, the stamina and mental energy were quite low.

Haru looked at the hundreds of mice floating a few dozen meters away from his spot. He then used his Absolute Authority over this world to kill those mice.

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Level Up! You're now Level 6! You obtained 5 Stats Points!

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And just like that, Haru leveled up.

'I have around 9 hours left until one day passed there. By the way, I haven't felt hungry or tired. Perhaps, it's because of my high VIT and INT? Well, whatever. Now, I'm going to power-level myself until I max out my Protagonist Job's Level.'

And so, Haru concentrated on power-leveling. He created mice in a batch and immediately killed it. Rinse and repeat.

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Level Up! You're now Level 10! You obtained 5 Stats Points!

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You have unlocked a new Job's Ability!

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You maxed out a Job: Protagonist!

Your Job has changed to Harem Protagonist!

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Haru was stunned by his new Job and then recovered.

'What kind of Job is Harem Protagonist?!'

He retorted before calming down. He then accessed his Status Board to see his new Job's Ability.

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Haruka Kasugano — Human — Male — (February 5th)

Job: Harem Protagonist | Level: 1/20 | EXP 100/0

Stats — STR: 0.7 — VIT: 5.8 — DEX: 0.7 — INT: 6.2 — MAG: (Locked)

Stats Points: 65

Status Effect: Healthy

Job's Abilities: Plot Armor — Deus Ex Machina

Notable Abilities: Enhanced Memory — Mysterious Lottery — Item Box — Appraisal — Longinus: Innovate Clear

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[Deus Ex Machina]

All protagonists are creatures beyond understanding that can break your common sense. They are hard to kill like a cockroach, extremely lucky as if Lady Luck loves them and always in the correct place at the right time for important events. This skill increases the potency of Plot Armor's effects—both upsides and downsides.

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Haru was at a loss for words. He had mixed feelings for Plot Armor due to its downsides. Then, he had a new ability that increased the potency of upsides and downsides of Plot Armor.

'I must increase my vigilance!'

After dismissing his Status Board, Haru then continued his power-leveling. However—

"Huh? A mouse only gave me 0.01 EXP now! What the heck?!"

Haru was stunned when he discovered how his EXP acquisition dropped by ten times. However, he quickly recovered and created 99,000 mice before killing it without hesitation.

As for how Haru could kill those innocent animals without remorse or guilt, it was because he had adapted with killing and committing the act of animal cruelty.

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Level Up! You're now Level 2! You obtained 5 Stats Points!

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Haru dismissed the notification and created another batch of mice. He then killed it, then created another batch, and then killed it, rinse and repeat.

'I never thought that committing genocide is such a chore!' Haru complained as he did the cycle of creating and killing mice.

Haru had discovered that the EXP requirements were increased by 100 points, meaning that at Level 2, he needed 200 EXP to reach Level 3, 300 EXP to Level 4, 400 EXP to Level 5, and so on, so forth.

When Haru felt that his stamina and mental energy got depleted by more than half, he took a break for a couple of hours before carrying on the next genocide. Although he was the god of Paradise, he found another restriction that hampered his progress to OP-ness.

Haru was aware that Sacred Gear consumed mental energy and stamina of the wielder if he/she had no Mana to act as a substitute. However, he couldn't refill his depleted stamina despite his absolute authority in Paradise. He even tried to create something that could help recover his depleted vigor. However, those things didn't have any effects.

Admittedly, even something like Boosted Gear that could double the possessor's power was unable to increase the stamina that fueled it by twofold. Haru supposed Innovate Clear, Boosted Gear, and other Longinus were alike in this case.

After Haru killed the last batch, containing 900,000 mice, he finally received a Level-Up notification.

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Level Up! You're now Level 10! You obtained 5 Stats Points!

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You have obtained a new Job's Ability!

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"This time, I got a new ability of Harem Protagonist after reaching level ten. I guess the next ability will be unlocked after I maxed out this stupid sounding Job, huh? Well, let's see what kind of skill it is!"

Haru accessed his Status Board and immediately formed a deadpan when he saw another stupid-sounding name with a disgustingly useful effect.

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[Aura of Harem Protagonist]

You can't call yourself a Harem Protagonist without producing the aura that helps you pick up lolis, schoolgirls, and MILFs. With this skill, you passively give off a presence that subtly influences your opposite gender; you will have an easier time getting their trust and affection. Your lovers will become more open-minded with the idea of sharing you. However, beware of the same gender because they will show animosity at you and act upon it.

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Haru was at a loss of what to do. Although his new ability seemed very good at first glance, Haru wasn't the type of person who actively chased girls or women who caught his fancy.

As prideful as Haru was, he respected individual free will. Thus, he would never treat others as a tool or property. He might be a bit control freak and overprotective. However, he would never stoop that low.

The ability also acted like an Aggro to males. He had a feeling that he would have a hard time finding a real Bro.

"Should I continue?" Haru wondered loudly. He was wary of the next ability he would unlock at Level 20. If the unlocked second ability of the previous Job was an amplifier type, it might become a trend. He didn't really think that he wanted to have women throwing themselves on him and men swearing themselves as his archenemies.

However, if Haru didn't continue, his progress would stop. But, the most important, he wanted to unlock his MAG attribute to use magic!

It was magic!

Since he had lied to Sora and Suzuka about his past identity as a magician, he must keep his façade, or they would feel suspicious. He didn't want them to find out the truth because it would leave him brokenhearted!

"Ah, well. To hell with it! Let's continue!" Haru shouted in resignation before continuing his genocide.