Leveling Endlessly With My Harem

In the original novel, Max had come to assist the King and his ministers on their hunt and worked as a gatherer. Then, the king tried to kill a giant snake that hid inside the cave between these twin trees.

As Max was the only person who could go inside because of his physique, the king ordered him to go inside and find the snake. Surprisingly, he had found his cheat inside there.

Sadly, he was caught by Anvil and forced to hide his secret and basically power up secretly and then faceslap everyone, including the king, by revealing his powers later.

But Max didn't want that, as that would mean living in this Royal Palace, which he didn't want. Not just because the king could discover his abilities, but also because his growth would be limited here.

That was why he came out of the group to take the cheat first and then escape.

Thinking of everything, Max slipped inside the dark cave, finding only a small room inside. It was just big enough to maintain his figure.

He squinted his eyes, trying to find something in it. It was then that his gaze landed on a small spherical ball. It was colourful, but looked rather ordinary.

"Heh, with just this alone I can sit at the top of the world. Sadly, it takes too much time."

Pocketing the sphere, Max went out of the cave and began to walk back towards the King's group. The whole forest was surrounded by the soldiers so there was absolutely no point in trying to escape now.

'Wait! Didn't Anvil keep Max inside the Palace because he sensed fluctuations of it?' Max frowned and asked. 'Hey, Big Sis, do I have an inventory?'

[Aghh~ don't disturb me. I'm watching anime.]

Max's steps halted, as he looked ahead, speechless. His lips twitched as he asked, 'Didn't you say you want to enjoy the journey?'

[And watching anime comes under it. Also, you have a one metre cubic inventory for now so you can store the Heart's Desire in it.]

"Thanks," Max sighed in relief, thought of the inventory, and then put the sphere in it. It was as if the air had eaten the sphere, as it had vanished into nowhere.

'Now better. Time to go back and handle the horses!'

Soon, he reached the tents where Anvil, a tall and imposing man with a sharp, angular face and piercing gaze, was sitting with his ministers.

Max silently went behind their group and stood beside another servant. Even though he was Anvil's son, his status was even worse than that of a servant.

This continued for the whole day and Max paid close attention to doing his work so that Anvil didn't notice him. That was the last thing he wanted today.

Sadly, luck wasn't on his side... or maybe it was, as Anvil stopped and turned around to look at Max. In his heavy voice, he said, "You did good today. Do you want any rewards?"

"I just wish to serve His Majesty with my everything," Max dropped on one knee and swore. "I do not seek anything else."

"It's fine! His Majesty is a benevolent soul and he wouldn't take back his words. You can ask for anything you want," one of the masters chimed in, trying to curry favours with Anvil.

'Benevolent my ass! Once I become powerful, this guy will die first.'

Of course, Max didn't show any of it on his face, as he said after some consideration, "Then, if His Majesty would allow me, please grant me access to The Forgotten Labyrinth one time."

"Hmm. Weren't you tested to be a waste?" one of the servants quickly asked, trying to hide his envious tone.

'If I don't get it, I will also make sure you don't have it. Sure, sure! Just wait, you all,' Max scoffed in his heart as he said solemnly, "That is my only wish, Your Majesty. Even if I die, I want to die while fighting for myself. Maybe it'll be the last time I see you and serve you, and that is my only regret."

Anvil waved his hand and declared, "Fine! You can enter the labyrinth tomorrow and nobody will be responsible for your death there. Here, this is a one-time token you can use to get in the labyrinth."

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty," Max beamed in joy, as he caught the jade pendant in his hand. This was it. This was exactly what he wanted.

After that, their group returned back to the Royal Palace and Max was once again told to tend to the horses. He had no problem with that, as he was happy to go out.

After being done with it, he went to sleep on his bed which was right in the stable, and beside the horses.

'Good! Everything is progressing well. I can enter the labyrinth tomorrow and level up there. Hmm, now that I think about it, maybe I can meet someone there and even if I don't, I'll just escape and people will think I died. Good thing!'

He wanted to check his cheat, but it was too risky so he didn't bother with it. He simply closed his eyes, as memories of the time he created the world of this novel appeared in his head.

This world had a single continent that was divided by two crisscrossing mana-less Rifts. Four Giant Labyrinths spread across each of the sides and were controlled by four Empires.

Max had awakened a trash talent, so there was no way he could survive there. Fortunately, he had a goddess and the system with him. With those, he was confident in getting out alive at the very least.

[I won't help, actually I never will. I have set a rule for myself. I will change things in the worlds I created on very, very rare occasions. So, even if you're my favourite author, if you die, then I won't save you.]

"Thanks for those words, heh. Only your own strength will protect you in the end."

...

In the morning, Max woke up and quickly freshened up. After that, he bid farewell to the few people he knew in the palace and approached a distant building on the eastern side of the palace.

One of the entrances to the Labyrinth was here in the palace and Royal Soldiers often used it to enter the labyrinth and grow stronger. Of course, there was a fee for that, something that Max didn't have.

That was why he had to rely on someone's kindness to go to the labyrinth. Giving one last look to the palace, he headed towards the building, a smile on his face.

The guards would definitely feel that he was fishy and insult him, so that he could bring out the jade pendant and farm some faceslapping moments.

Unfortunately for him, the guards just gave him a glance and let him enter the gateway to the labyrinth.

Now, the leveling time begins.