Chapter 1: Proposing Marriage
"Stop sucking me, dammit!"
Isaac swung his hand to kill the mosquitoes.
The buzzing stopped.
He hoped he had killed at least a few of the bloodsuckers, but he didn't get up to confirm.
The buzzing returned soon.
Grumbling, Isaac pulled the blanket up and covered himself from head to toe.
He wanted to sleep desperately.
Tomorrow was the Awakening Ceremony.
Students would get access to the Awakening Crystal and awaken their [Talents].
Their futures would be decided by the Talents they received.
Ninety percent would not awaken anything.
They would have to live mundane lives, go for 9-5 jobs, and depend on the government who protected the walls, stopping monsters from invading their fortified cities.
The rest of the ten percent who would awaken Talents would become privileged members of society.
They would gain the power to go out into the wastelands, level up, and gain treasures.
Even those with the lowest F-rank Talent would gain immense benefits, like being able to enter good universities with scholarships.
Isaac hoped he could get something better than that.
A C-rank Talent, or maybe even an A-rank Talent.
As for an S-rank Talent, it was so far beyond that Isaac dared not imagine it, thinking he might not get anything if he was too greedy.
"Gaaah! I can't sleep like this!"
Isaac sat up straight.
He looked around for the mosquitoes and tried to kill them.
Silence appeared, only for it to be broken by the buzzing of mosquitoes a few seconds later.
"Let me sleep, please. I haven't slept for a few days already.
"Just let me sleep today. I need to be in perfect condition, both physically and mentally, to increase the chances of awakening."
The mosquitoes continued to buzz around.
Isaac covered his face, wondering why he had bought the stupid apartment.
Many people had warned him that this place was haunted.
But it was all a hoax.
Isaac had searched carefully.
He found no conclusive evidence of the apartment being haunted except for the rumors. The cheap cost had turned him blind.
"Dammit, just let me sleep!"
Only a week had passed since he came to this apartment, and he was regretting choosing this place already.
Just then, the clock struck twelve.
[Bonded Blessings System binding in process.]
[Bonded Blessings System has been bound.]
A holographic screen suddenly materialized before Isaac.
He swung his hand instinctively, and it phased through the screen.
"What...."
Isaac's eyes widened.
He was a reincarntor from Earth.
Naturally, he knew what the screen before him was.
"Holy shit, I awakened a system!
"What can it do?"
[Host can share the abilities, skills, and progress of his wives with himself.]
"Can you tell me in detail—"
Isaac's words were stuck in his throat when he sensed the cold gripping his neck.
He froze.
An unnatural fear invaded his heart, and he felt as if someone was whispering in his ears.
"I... am.... hungry."
"I... am.... hungry."
Isaac's heart sank.
There was a ghost in this house! The rumors had been right!
A powerful sleepiness attacked his mind.
He started to feel weak, as if someone was draining his life out from him.
His vision blurred, and his eyelids became heavier than mountains.
'Dammit, I just awakened my system! I'm not dying without getting its benefits!'
He struggled to stand.
The feeling of lethargy was pulling him into the abyss of sleep.
'System, can you help me?'
'System!'
There was no response.
Isaac dug his nails into his palms. He hoped the pain would help him stay awake.
If he passed out now, he was dead.
Suddenly, an idea struck him.
"W-Wait!" he gasped. "Miss ghost, please, marry me before you kill me!"
The cold, invisible force that had been draining his strength froze, as if caught off guard.
"Please marry me," he repeated.
It was a shot in the dark.
The system told him he would gain benefits from having wives.
If he married the ghost, the system might give him a powerful reward that could help him save his life.
The ghost remained silent.
'Fuck, is it even a female ghost?'
Isaac suddenly realized he might've made a grave mistake.
The ghost could be a man. Or maybe a ghost of a monster.
Isaac shivered as he thought of marrying a zombie-like corpse with three legs.
He clenched his teeth.
If it was for survival, then—
A screen interrupted his thoughts.
[A suitable target detected in host's vicinity.]
Followed by the first screen, Isaac saw a pop-up appear in the air far from him.
[Emily Warren]
[Age: 19 (At time of death)]
[Rating: 95]
[Personality: Gentle, kind.]
[Likes: Piano music, scent of old books, rain, honest and hardworking people, feeling of nostalgia even if bittersweet.]
[Dislikes: Loud noises, being forgotten or ignored, cold drafts that make her presence known too easily, the whispers in her mind that aren't her own.]
[Status: Flabbergasted by your question, starving.]
The screen stunned Isaac.
'This thing looks like an Inspect skill.'
'It must be showing me the identity of the ghost.'
'Emily Warren... A female ghost?'
The screen started to move around the room.
Isaac realized the screen was following the ghost.
"I've been single my whole life," he said quickly. "At least let me experience what it feels like to have a wife. Then you can suck all my energy, completely."
"...You can see me?" A soft, feminine voice echoed from the darkness.
Isaac should've been happy that he got a response.
However, the voice brought a biting cold with it.
An unnatural, overpowering sense of fear started to seep into his mind.
Isaac's lips trembled.
His heart pounded like a war drum as he felt the chilling cold cut into him.
As he kept staring at the moving screen, it stopped, and moved closer to him.
Isaac could not see the ghost.
But judging from the screen, she must be standing in front of him.
"I'm hungry," she said.
"W-What about the marriage?" he replied.