01. Last Day On The Job.

It was past 7:15 am, on a weekend, and Austin had just arrived at the construction site.

"Alright, Austin. Let's get started." Austin said, tapping both cheeks as he tried to stay awake even though he was feeling a bit sleepy.

"The quicker I get this over with, the more time I'll have to rest during this weekend." After muttering this to himself, he swiftly tightened the straps on his safety harness.

Austin had been working several long shifts on various projects for weeks now, without proper rest, so he really wanted to rest this weekend once he was done with this.

Currently, he was working high up on the scaffolding of a half-finished apartment complex which was twenty stories above the ground. So, from his height, he could hear the cars passing below and the distant rattling of a train in the background.

Austin picked up his pace as he became more eager to finish early, but then, he noticed that the sky was slowly turning dark and cloudy.

"Oh, shit. That is not good," Austin cussed as he knew that he shouldn't have trusted the weather forecast this morning.

"Too bad James called in sick last night."

"Things would have been a lot easier for me if the two of us were working right now."

His partner had called in sick again, meaning that Austin would have to pick up the slack, as usual.

If the two of them were working on the scaffolding right now, the work would have moved a lot faster, so Austin told his foreman about James' absence and its effect because everyone else was either busy welding or moving materials at the ground level, but the foreman told Austin that there was nothing to worry about.

He even assured Austin that all the equipment and metal beams had been inspected, labeled, and checked.

So, Austin's task for the day was simple and quick.

He just wanted Austin to work on the scaffolding, move a few materials, and secure a few panels; then he could leave before the rain started.

In other words, what could go wrong?

And so, Austin continued to work.

However, while he was moving some materials, he stepped on one of the beams which had been labeled with a sticker that said INSPECTED.

But clearly, it wasn't, as the metal suddenly gave way, and just like that, Austin fell from the twenty-storey building.

He didn't even have enough time to register what just happened, let alone scream before everything around him turned dark.

Unlike in the movies where the female protagonist would scream when falling from a height, that didn't happen to Austin, because in reality, no one can fall at the pace that he did and still have the chance to scream before hitting the ground.

But right after he hit the ground, Austin's eyes suddenly sprang open, and he gasped loudly.

His heart was beating rapidly, and the event leading to his death replayed in his mind once again.

He couldn't believe that he actually fell from a twenty-storey building.

'Weren't those beams inspected?' He wondered.

'Maybe not all of them were inspected.'

'But, wait a minute, how am I not dead after falling from such a height?' Austin asked himself before noticing the strange place he was in.

"Where am I?" Austin wondered out loud because he could see that he wasn't in a hospital, so he wondered where he was.

He noticed that he was currently resting on a futon mattress, but when he tried to sit up, Austin groaned in pain.

It was only then that Austin noticed that he was finding it difficult to breathe.

He felt a strong tightness around his chest, and every part of his body felt pretty numb as well.

In fact, it felt like his organs and intestines were melting from the inside, and this made Austin wonder what was wrong with him.

However, before he could make sense of the pain he was feeling, Austin suddenly noticed a blue panel hovering before him.

[Initiating binding to host....]

'Huh?'

[Warning! Binding disrupted.]

[Begin analyzing...]

[Analyzing host's body...]

[Poisonous substance detected.]

[Substance is currently causing severe pain to the host.]

[Creating countermeasures to erase all traces of poison...]

[Creation complete.]

[No trace of poison is left in the host.]

[Host has successfully gotten rid of the poison.]

[First skill acquired: Poison Purge.]

Austin read the words displayed in front of him, and afterward, he felt his body warming up, followed by a soothing sensation.

His body slowly began to glow, and before he knew it, all traces of numbness and agony vanished as though they had never been there to begin with.

Austin couldn't believe what he was seeing right now.

Aside from the fact that his body had magically healed all of a sudden, Austin wondered how he suddenly acquired a system.

He always thought a system interface only existed in web novels and light novels, but he never expected to have one in real life as well.

But he was glad the system had appeared in the nick of time to save him; otherwise, it would have been too late.

Austin smiled and stared at the screen hovering in front of him, but then a new string of words appeared on the screen.

[Initiating binding once again.]

[Binding..... 1%]

[.....3%.]

While waiting for the system's binding to be successful, Austin suddenly registered something that he had seen in one of the system's prompts.

He wondered why the system would detect poison in his body when he had clearly fallen from a height and should have died from such height.

In fact, he should be worried about broken bones or possibly internal bleeding and not poison.

'So why did the system detect poison in my body?' He pondered on this, but then, he paused his train of thought for some moments, before turning his gaze to the unfamiliar room he was in.

Austin lifted his body until he was in a sitting position on the futon, and then he noticed a scroll placed beside his mattress.

He also noticed a porcelain vase at the corner of the room and a small stool underneath it.

The room seemed different from any modern room he had ever seen.

Then, as he wondered whose room he was in, a sudden wave of information flooded his mind.

Austin groaned in pain as more information flowed into his head, and then he slowly began to make sense of everything he had noticed so far.

'Somehow, it seems I have transmigrated into the body of a prince with the same name as mine.'

Austin realized that he was no longer in the world he once knew.

Instead, he had awakened in a world of swords, magic, exorcists, demons, and beautiful demi-humans.

02. Woah! You're Telling Me I Can Get Stronger By Making My Wives Happy?

Scanning through the memories that had rushed through his mind, Austin finally realized why the system detected a poison in his body.

It turned out that he was currently living in the royal palace of the emperor, and he happened to be the fourth son of the emperor as well, meaning that he had three older brothers who were actively vying for the throne.

In other words, all three brothers would do anything to ensure their rise to the throne, and that includes eliminating each other as well.

Concerning the poison found in his body, the fourth prince seemed to have been invited by one of his brothers to discuss a future alliance against the other two brothers.

Unbeknownst to the fourth prince, the true intention of his brother was to make him drink a slow-acting poison that only took effect after the fourth prince had gone to bed last night.

In the end, the fourth prince died, and Austin's soul found its way into his body.

Knowing this, Austin plopped back down to his bed and groaned in exhaustion. "Ugh, what have I gotten myself into?"

Austin placed his palm on his face as he couldn't believe the mess he had found himself in.

Not only was he not interested in the throne, but he was also disappointed with how weak his current body was.

The fourth prince had never once taken a liking to combat or training.

Even though he lived in a world where magic and demons existed, especially with the internal battle for the succession of the throne, the fourth prince simply didn't want to get himself tangled up in all that. So he spent most of his time eating and sleeping in his private chamber.

Even though his aunt had shown interest in teaching him swordsmanship in the past, the fourth prince remained adamant that he wasn't going to learn anything related to combat.

In a nutshell, the fourth prince was now the weakest exorcist in the royal palace.

Even most of the servants in the royal palace were First Order Exorcists while the fourth prince was still at Zero Order.

Realizing this, Austin released another groan while staring at the ceiling. "Urgh, what am I going to do now?" Austin asked himself as he pondered how he was going to survive in this dangerous world he had been brought to.

Not only had he found himself entangled in a dangerous political situation, but Austin had also discovered that he had very few allies in the royal palace and betrayal was very common in the inner court.

So, if he chose to start making friends with any of the ministers in the inner court, there was a really high chance he would get backstabbed in the end.

*Sighs*

"What can I possibly do now?"

"Training to become a First Order Exorcist is out of the question."

Not only was it hard to rank up from a Zero Order to a First Order Exorcist, but the training that needed to be carried out during the process was also extremely difficult and painful.

If Austin were to inform his aunt about his desire to train, it would take him at least two years to advance to the First Order, and Austin didn't have that much time on his hands.

His brothers had shown him how merciless they can be, and that means they would never allow him to advance to the First Order if they knew he had suddenly taken an interest in swordsmanship.

But Austin knew that if he wanted to move freely within the palace and possibly explore this new world he was in, he had to improve his strength.

He didn't like the idea of feeling like a bug in front of all the other officials within the palace, so he wondered if he should begin his training even if it would take years for him to rank up.

'Or should I just adopt the previous fourth Prince's lifestyle and spend the rest of my life buried in my room?'

'No, I can't do that.'

Austin knew that staying in his room all day long and doing nothing but sleeping and eating wouldn't help him resolve his problem.

The Emperor had recently announced his desire to name his successor, and this had made his older brothers even more eager in their battle for the throne.

In other words, his three older brothers would not hesitate to eliminate those that they perceived as a threat to their objective, including their own family.

Each of the princes was borne by four different women, meaning that they were only related to each other through their father; thus, they were half-brothers.

If one were to remove the Emperor from the picture, the four brothers would basically be strangers to each other.

This meant that there was no bond between them, and there was definitely no love either.

'I guess I have no other choice now.'

'I have to start my training if I do not want to be killed by my brothers or anyone else working for them.'

Austin released another deep sigh as he mentally prepared himself for the harsh training he would be engaged in for the next couple of months.

Most likely with his aunt being the one who would train him.

However, because his mind was deeply lost in his thoughts, Austin didn't notice the system panel hovering before him until a few moments later.

[Binding .....99%]

[..... 100%]

[Successful!! System binding is now complete.]

[Congratulations!! You have obtained The Affection Leveling System!]

"Huh? Affection Leveling system?"

Before Austin could ask what that meant, a new string of words was displayed in front of him.

[Through this system, the host has now acquired a quick and easier way to level up faster than anyone else around him.]

[All you have to do is raise your wives' affection towards you, build strong bonds with them, and you'll unlock new skills that will benefit both you and your wives.]

"Woah, woah, woah. Hold up, wait a minute,"

"Exorcists uses between two to three years to rank up from Zero Order to First Order,"

"And now, you're telling me that I can get stronger a lot faster than that and all I have to do is simply make my wives happy?"

"That is insane."

"I love it!!"

03. My Wives Profile.

As a prince who simply wanted to live a peaceful life in this world, Austin knew that he needed to be strong, or else his enemies would have his head on a stake before he could even begin to enjoy his peaceful life.

This was why Austin was worried about the Fourth Prince's weak body and lackluster attitude.

Austin's current body strength suggested that his goal of living a simple and easy life would be difficult and possibly unattainable.

However, the moment he read the system's prompt which popped up in front of him, a glimmer of hope shimmered in his eyes. But he still found it hard to believe that all he had to do to grow stronger was simply to make his wives happy.

Searching through his newly acquired memories, Austin realized that the emperor had given him an imperial edict, so he turned to his right to see a scroll.

"This must be it." Austin grabbed the scroll beside his futon before opening it.

The edict stated that the fourth prince was expected to marry two beautiful noble daughters, and their wedding would take place in a month.

The emperor had ordered Austin's two fiancées to stay in the royal palace, and just yesterday, the two beautiful ladies arrived at the fourth prince pavilion.

The girls would be staying in his pavilion for about two weeks before returning to the Western Estate with him, where their wedding would be held.

Although a part of him was excited about getting married in a fantasy world, there were two other reasons why Austin was feeling really happy right now.

The first reason was related to the Western Estate.

Once Austin leaves the royal palace to start a new life with his two beautiful brides in the Western Estate, he will officially be recognized as the New Lord of the Western Estate, meaning that he won't have to live in the palace anymore.

And that means he won't have to see his brothers either.

The second reason why Austin was happy right now was related to his future wives.

Based on the information he had obtained from his memories, Austin found out that both ladies were actually twin sisters, and they happened to be elves as well.

As a man who had read a couple of novels online, Austin had seen his fair share of elf-related stories and how their race was perceived to be one of the most beautiful races in the fantasy world.

Although he had not seen his fiancée yet, a part of him was really excited to know more about his wives.

He wondered what type of personalities his future wives had and also how they felt about him becoming their husband.

Austin pondered over these thoughts, but while he was doing this, a new notification appeared before him.

[Would the host like to view the profile of his future wives?]

"Oh, I can do that?"

"Well then, yes I would like to see their profiles."

[Response acknowledged.]

=========

[Wives Profile]

> Lina Han. (Older Twin)

> Affection Level: Level 1 (Lina is genuinely interested in knowing more about you).

> Age: 18

> Title: Talented Erudite Of The West, Gifted Mage Of The Han Household, Special Swordswoman of the Western Estate

> Power Rank: Third Order.

> Class: Exorcist (Mage, Swordswoman).

> Elemental Affinity: Wind.

> Mood: Worried.

> Identification: Daughter of Lord Han of the Western Estate.

Lord Han was recently stripped of his title as Lord of the West because of his traitorous acts which were discovered by the emperor, but unlike the other three magistrates who conspired with him, Lord Han was the only one that was spared and not executed.

However, his entire household is currently viewed as enemies of the empire for what Lord Han did.

> Recent Memory: Lina had a chat with Aunt Sue yesterday.

> Current Status: Although your Aunt had assured her that no one within the fourth prince pavilion, including you, would view her as the empire's enemy, Lina is still worried about what you might think of her since you've heard about what her father did.

> Mira Han (Younger Twin).

[Host is unable to view Mira's profile due to how low her affection level currently is.]

[Also, since the host currently has a wife candidate with an affection level of one, the host has acquired a new skill (Parlor Tricks).]

[New skill (Parlor Tricks):- This skill allows the host to perform simple magical and illusionary tricks that are capable of lifting the spirits of your wives.]

=======

Looking at the details displayed in front of him, Austin was speechless.

From the memories he had obtained, he knew that his wife, Lina, had been a talented erudite among her peer but he hadn't expected her to be equally gifted in both magic casting and swordsmanship.

But despite all that, her accomplishments weren't a joke either.

'Just two years ago, Lina became the youngest exorcist in the history of the Western Estate to solve the infamous Dragon Seal Paradox,'

'The seal was a magical formula that even senior court scholars had failed to decipher for decades.'

'Her discovery had reactivated one of the estate's lost barrier formations and it ended up preventing a stampede of spirit beasts from barging into the estate during a mana storm.'

However, Lina wasn't the only outstanding daughter of the Han household.

Just like Lina, her twin sister Mira had achieved something extraordinary as well.

She fought against over two hundred demons attempting to breach the estate's outer gate and she managed to hold them back long enough for reinforcements to arrive.

Realizing all these, Austin couldn't help but be awed by the two women he would be marrying soon.

Just knowing how amazing his future wives are, Austin was suddenly filled with a sense of pride and joy he never knew he had, and now a part of him was interested in making his wives feel the same way about him.

As expected, it was only natural for both husbands and wives to be amazing in each other's eyes.

Leaving that aside for now, Austin returned his attention back to the screen.

Although the pieces of information on the screen were what he already knew about Lina, there were still a few things he had not expected to see, and one of them was her affection level towards him.

He had been surprised to see that Lina's affection level had reached level one.

Since he had not seen or spoken to Lina before, he expected her affection for him to be at level zero, just like her twin sister, but since it was currently at level one, Austin was certain that it had to do with the time Lina spent with his aunt yesterday.

Speaking of his aunt, there were a lot of good things Austin could say about her.

Aside from the fact that she was the one who raised the fourth prince in the palace after his mother had died when he was very young.

She was also like a big sister and a best friend to him as well.