Eren had never considered the possibility that his farmhouse might have a basement. Mostly because he was too busy surviving horny villagers, chicken warfare, and unwanted system-triggered kisses.
But tonight, as he sat sharpening a wooden stick with a kitchen knife like a discount survivalist, Lira appeared in the doorway holding a glowing map.
"Master," she said, "your house is alive."
Eren dropped the stick. "You're going to need to say that again, and this time in a way that makes me not want to move out immediately."
She walked over and placed the map on the table. It pulsed with faint golden lines. The shape of the farmhouse shimmered. Underneath the floorboards—just beneath where Eren's bed was—a symbol glowed.
"Your home was built over a dormant System Seed," she said. "Something... is waking it up."
Eren leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. "And you just found this out now?"
"I scanned the property weekly."
He glared. "Weekly isn't good enough when I sleep above a ticking plot device."
[System Alert]
[System Seed Detected Beneath Home Base]
[Classification: ???]
[Warning: Proximity to unstable anomaly may cause reality distortion, plot acceleration, or weird dreams involving cows.]
"Well," Eren muttered, "at least the dreams make sense now."
He stood and grabbed the torch Lira handed him. "Let me guess. We're going spelunking."
"Correct."
"I'm gonna regret this, aren't I?"
"Definitely."
The Hidden Basement.
Eren pried up a rotten floorboard near his bed and found a trapdoor beneath it. The handle was covered in dust, cobwebs, and a faint magical shimmer.
"Why is it always glowing?" he muttered.
He opened it. Cold air whooshed out, smelling like damp earth, old secrets, and mild regret.
The stairs were narrow and spiraled down deeper than they had any right to. This was supposed to be a two-room peasant hut, not a fantasy dungeon.
Torch in hand, Eren descended. Lira followed, her synthetic eyes glowing faint blue.
"Stay behind me," he said.
"I am literally unkillable."
"That's not the point. Let me pretend I'm brave."
The Vault. And the Girl. Again.
At the bottom of the stairs was a stone chamber.
Circular. Ancient. Strange symbols etched into the walls. A pedestal stood in the center, glowing faintly.
And someone was already there.
The silver-haired girl from the festival.
Cloak off. Long coat now. Sword at her side. And she looked pissed.
"You followed me," she said.
"You broke into my house," Eren shot back.
"This place isn't yours."
"Legally? Maybe not. But I sleep here, so squatters' rights."
She stepped closer, eyes narrowed. "You're the System-Bound."
Eren crossed his arms. "You keep saying that like it's my Hogwarts letter. I didn't ask for any of this."
"You're not supposed to exist."
"Well," he said, "join the club. Even I'm confused."
[System Notification]
[New Named Character Encountered: ???]
[Name Unlocked: Selene]
[Title: Relic Hunter / Chaos-Bound / Kiss Thief]
[Affinity: Moderate Interest]
[Warning: Interactions with Selene may cause unexpected story branches. Proceed cautiously. Or don't. YOLO.]
Selene circled him like a cat sizing up a squirrel. "The System was meant to remain sealed. How did you unlock it?"
Eren pointed upward. "I punched a frog. Then I felt the dirt. It's a whole thing."
Her expression didn't change.
Lira added helpfully, "He's not lying."
Selene looked between them. "You have a guide model?"
"Custom," Lira said. "Limited run. And obsolete in five realms."
Eren muttered, "Gee, thanks."
Selene turned her gaze to the pedestal. "This seed is corrupting."
She reached out, fingers hovering over it. Her sword hummed in its sheath.
"This could destabilize the region."
"You say that like it's my fault."
"It is," she snapped.
Eren raised a brow. "All I've done is farm potatoes and avoid horny villagers. If that destabilizes your world, maybe your world sucks."
Then Things Got Worse.
The pedestal pulsed.
Hard.
The whole room shook. Symbols lit up. The air grew dense, like it had opinions.
Selene drew her sword. "It's reacting."
"Reacting to what?"
"You."
"Oh good," Eren said. "Because I didn't have enough attention already."
Lira stepped forward. "If it bonds to him, we can't remove it."
"Bond?" Eren said. "Wait, hold on, no one said anything about bonding!"
[System Alert]
[System Seed – Synchronicity Initiated]
[Accept Bond? Y/N]
[Warning: Denial will trigger local instability. Acceptance may result in plot escalation, memory fragments, or divine interest.]
"Great," Eren said, pacing now. "So either I reject it and the village explodes, or I accept and become a chosen one in a hentai sandbox. Love that. Really love that."
Selene watched him. "You can handle this?"
Eren met her eyes. "I'm a Korean office worker who died sneezing into ramen. I used to spend twelve hours a day editing spreadsheets and avoiding HR emails. And now I'm talking to a sword girl about bonding with an ancient space turnip under my bedroom."
A beat.
"I can handle it," he said. "I just don't want to."
And then he accepted.
[System Seed Bonded]
[New Function Unlocked: Field Memory]
[You can now access hidden memory imprints left on the land.]
[First Memory Located – Origin of Plowfen Village]
[Would you like to experience it now?]
[Y/N]
"I swear," Eren muttered, "if this turns into a tragic backstory cutscene—"
He tapped [Yes].
The Vision.
The world blinked.
Suddenly, Eren stood in a version of the village—but it was centuries ago. No houses. Just wide plains. A young woman knelt in a field, bleeding into the dirt, whispering something.
Her voice echoed in his mind.
"Let this land grow what I could not."
Magic flowed from her veins into the soil.
She died smiling.
Then the world snapped back.
Eren staggered, grabbing the wall. "I saw her. I saw her."
Selene stepped closer. "You accessed a memory field. That confirms it. You're not just system-bound. You're seeded."
Eren collapsed onto the stairs. "That sounds like a fertility curse."
"You've inherited this region's original code."
"Why does everything in this world sound like it wants to get me pregnant metaphorically?"
Lira nodded. "Because this game was originally designed for adult content."
He groaned into his hands. "Of course."
Back Upstairs.
Later that night, after Selene left (vanishing again, because that's her thing), Eren sat on the porch of his not-so-humble mystery-infested farmhouse.
Lira stood beside him, arms crossed, her gaze on the stars.
"You okay?" she asked.
"I don't know," he replied. "Do I look okay?"
"You look constipated with destiny."
He laughed, tired and real. "Sounds about right."
Silence fell for a moment.
Then Eren whispered, "I didn't want this, you know? I just wanted to rest. Maybe find a small life. Plant a carrot. Not get dragged into supernatural conspiracies with kissable sword girls."
Lira tilted her head. "Then stop resisting."
"What?"
"You have the system. You have the land. You even have fans."
"Not by choice."
"But you're still here," she said. "And you're still trying."
He didn't answer.
Because she wasn't wrong.
And he hated that she wasn't wrong.
[System Notification]
[New Title Earned: Seedbearer]
[You have officially claimed the land beneath your home as your own.]
[Effects: +10% to crop yield, +5% to livestock mood, +25% chance of mysterious women showing up uninvited.]
Eren stared at the sky.
"…I swear to god, if another woman falls through my roof tomorrow, I'm uninstalling the afterlife."