1.
<Blessing Warp>
- 1 draw: 50 Pt
- A consumable blessing containing a powerful variable or an item capable of overturning fate.
- Caution, ■ is the only ■■■■ ■■■■ one ■■.
If a relic is a permanent piece of equipment,
then a blessing is a consumable item used to create variables.
“...There are broken characters here too.”
Status window, why the hell are you hiding so many secrets?
Are you going to pull a “Heh heh... actually, I’m the mastermind” on me later or something?
Regardless, I had to at least give this a try.
Just one draw.
When I pressed the button, a capsule toy appeared—much smaller than the wheel from the Nameless Glory Roulette.
Ah, this brings back memories.
I used to waste so much money on these in front of the stationery shop back in the day.
Kreeek, kreeek.
As I turned the lever, 50 Pt was automatically deducted, and a capsule rolled out with a rattle.
When I popped it open, a burst of colored paper flew out, revealing the prize.
[Soul-Less Reaction Candy]
- Grade: ★☆☆☆☆
- Effect: For 5 minutes after consumption, every time the user speaks, others will respond perfectly and naturally with only these three phrases: “Oh, really?”, “Amazing,” and “That’s insane.” The targets will not find the interaction unusual.
- Source: 「Harmony」 ■■
- Note: Single-use. Ideal for those who are socially awkward.
Well.
I pulled trash.
I immediately shoved the candy from the bag into my mouth and crunched down.
The points I’d risked my life to earn!
Spent on this pathetic piece of candy!
“...Doesn’t that hurt your teeth?”
“Right now, my heart hurts more than my teeth.”
As I ground the candy to pieces, Silver Wolf stared at me.
The crunching was pretty loud, so I couldn't really blame her for noticing.
The source says Harmony, and they’re selling this garbage for actual currency? I’ll have to lodge a formal complaint if I ever meet them.
You absolute scam artist.
All right, next. If a one-star item is this bad, the others have to be better.
There's no way they'd give me more complete garbage, right?
[3-Minute Fade-Out Perfume]
- Grade: ★☆☆☆☆
- Effect: Upon spraying, the user's presence fades for 3 minutes. You do not physically disappear, but people will fail to perceive you, naturally glossing over you as if you were part of the background.
- Source: 「Mystery」 ■■■
- Note: Single-use. Useful for sneaking away from company dinners or boring gatherings.
“Are you trying to pick a fight with me?”
My face twisted like a crushed soda can.
These bastards... consecutive one-stars is crossing the line.
Are you kidding me? Was the Temporal Prism just a fluke?
Because of these two pieces of junk, 100 Pt had just evaporated into thin air.
Heh. All I can do is laugh.
Let’s see who wins this war of attrition.
[Inner BGM Megaphone Gum]
- Grade: ★☆☆☆☆
- Effect: From the moment you start chewing until the sweetness fades, background music matching your mood will be heard by everyone within a 10-meter radius. No actual sound waves are produced.
- Source: 「Elation」 ■■
- Note: Single-use. Adds dramatic flair to a grand hero-style entrance or when you're fuming with rage.
Next.
[Eye-Catching Sticker]
- Grade: ★☆☆☆☆
- Effect: When placed on an object, everyone within a 3-meter radius will be compelled to glance at that object at least once. Lasts for 3 hours.
- Source: 「Remembrance」 ■■
- Note: Single-use. If you stick it on a new purchase, people will likely pretend they've seen it before.
Next!
[Menu-Uniforming Remote]
- Grade: ★☆☆☆☆
- Effect: Upon pressing the button, a single menu item of the user's choice is engraved into the minds of everyone present.
- Source: 「Harmony」 ■■
- Note: Single-use. Perfect for ending endless debates in a group suffering from decision paralysis.
“...You fucking bastard.”
I really couldn’t take it anymore.
Are you messing with me?
Half my points had just been magically deleted.
It felt like my stocks crashing after a sudden political disaster.
Is this what you call a powerful variable?
You’re telling me this can overturn fate?
Maybe it can overturn the fate of a lunch menu.
Looking at the capsule fragments rolling around my feet, I fought the urge to grab a hammer and smash the machine to pieces.
“Hoo, hoo. Calm down. I have to calm down.”
But I can’t calm down, damn it!!!
Bang!
I couldn’t hold back and kicked the capsule machine.
My foot hurt, but not as much as the pain of five straight pulls of trash.
The machine crossed the line first.
Hey, capsule machine. Act like a gentleman.
Before I actually get a hammer and beat you into scrap.
I was in such a foul mood that I couldn't bring myself to roll again.
The moment I turned away, I saw Silver Wolf staring at me with wide, startled eyes.
“...You got something bad, huh.”
“How did you know?”
“You’re making that face and kicking the machine. Would it be weirder if I didn’t know?”
She set her game device on the bed and walked over to the machine.
She righted the machine I’d kicked over and casually turned the lever.
Ah, right.
Silver Wolf can share the status window, so she should be able to see the machine.
But... if she turns the lever...
Will it actually work?
- 50 Pt has been consumed!
It does?
“Silver Wolf!!! Don’t just keep turning that!!!”
If she just keeps spinning the lever because it works, the rest of my points will vanish too.
We don’t know what we might face, so we have to keep some points in reserve!
“Trust me. I’ll carry us!”
Silver Wolf, eyes wild, kept turning the lever.
She’s just like me!
She’s a gacha addict too!
With all my strength, I peeled Silver Wolf off the capsule machine.
But by then, another 100 Pt had already been spent.
The lever had gone around twice.
Two capsules rolled out.
Well... what’s done is done.
“...You really trust me?”
“You’re asking that now?”
“I just pulled five one-stars.”
“What’s the highest grade you've ever got?”
“Five stars.”
Silver Wolf looked at me with genuine pity.
Please don’t look at me like that... Maybe my luck was sucked dry at the casino, but right now I’m in a terrible state.
“You open one. You’re the one who drew it.”
“You won’t curse me if something bad comes out, right?”
“Didn’t you say you’d carry us?”
“...My confidence is gone.”
She’d gone wild and pulled them, but now she was cautiously watching my reaction in case they were duds.
I didn’t really care. I already felt like I’d hit rock bottom; there was nowhere left to fall.
First capsule.
[Coin of Truth]
- Grade: ★★☆☆☆
- Effect: Determine whether a target is telling the truth via a coin toss. Heads indicates truth; tails indicates a lie.
- Source: 「Order」 ■■
- Note: Usable 5 times in total. Use it when someone's story sounds suspicious.
Nice?
No, seriously, this is actually nice.
One draw gave me something better than the previous five combined.
If that’s how it works... I should’ve just let Silver Wolf draw everything from the start.
“You can have this.”
“A coin? What does it do?”
“If you toss it and it lands heads, it’s the truth. Tails means a lie.”
“...Does that even make sense?”
“Just trust me. It’s not a scam.”
Unfortunately, the 10 million credit points I’d once given Silver Wolf had effectively been erased from history.
So we were still poor.
That’s why I’d turned to the gacha as a way out, hoping to pull something game-changing.
Other than the Temporal Prism and this coin, there wasn’t anything truly useful.
And then, just as I was about to open the last one,
I noticed something different.
“...Why is this gold?”
The capsule was shining brilliantly, like a golden egg.
Silver Wolf’s eyes lit up too.
“Oh, is this a four-star?”
“I knew I could count on you, Silver Wolf!”
Okay, from now on, I am never doing gacha on my own again.
From this moment forward, Silver Wolf and I are one.
Drumroll, please.
I’m freaking excited.
Thanks to Silver Wolf, of course.
But I still had no idea what was inside.
The Temporal Prism was only a three-star item, but looking back, it had been more than decent. If that was the case, what about a four-star or five-star item?
Wouldn’t it be on a completely different level?
“Please, let it be something I can use right now!”
I couldn’t use the cartridge.
I had no other abilities.
And 55 million credit points had evaporated into thin air.
If this wasn’t good, I’d just be some guy who’d spent four months idling in Neon City.
I twisted the capsule open.
Golden light flashed like a flashbang going off.
Pahk!
The golden egg split apart, spiderweb cracks spreading across its surface.
Light burst through the fissures, and gold poured out in shimmering streams.
“Just how good is this supposed to be!?”
They’re cranking up the anticipation this much?
The dopamine is exploding.
This is why people do gacha. Beside me, Silver Wolf was also staring at the capsule, her eyes shining with intensity.
[LUCKY!!!]
The sound of a fanfare erupted.
Stardust scattered like fireworks.
What emerged was... a ring?
[Ring Blessed by the Luck of the Whole World]
- Grade: ★★★★☆
- First Effect: While worn, the user's base luck increases slightly.
- Second Effect: Upon activation, powerful luck temporarily descends upon the user. If a probability is not 0%, it is forcibly manifested as a 100% chance.
- Source: 「Elation」 ■■
- Note: Does not work on shops created through Game Life. The ring is destroyed after a single use.
“...This is a little vague too.”
Temporary super-luck.
Forcibly makes it 100%.
Just hearing it sounds insanely broken, but it’s destroyed after one use, and it doesn’t even specify how long the effect lasts.
And this is only four stars?
Couldn’t they have given me something more concrete?
It was hard to tell from the description alone, and I couldn’t test it. If I did, the ring would be gone. I had no choice but to wear it as an accessory and keep it in reserve.
“Adrian, why are your hands shaking like that?”
“Ah, no. I wasn’t thinking about going to a gambling den.”
“...A gambling den?”
If I used this, wouldn’t it feel like I was playing with cheats enabled?
I pursue the thrill of victory. Winning at gambling with a cheat code...
No, isn’t winning all that matters?
My hands and feet started shaking; withdrawal symptoms hit me out of nowhere.
The moment I realized a cheat code had been placed in my hands, I wanted to run straight to the nearest casino and bankrupt every dealer and host in the building.
“...Get a grip!”
Smack!
As usual, Silver Wolf smacked the back of my head.
Only then did I come to my senses. Rubbing the spot she’d hit, I looked at her.
“I’ll hold onto this. What does it do?”
Silver Wolf took the ring from my palm.
Yeah, honestly, it was better for her to have it than me.
If I kept that thing,
I’d definitely end up at a gambling den.
I don’t even trust myself. For now, letting Silver Wolf hold onto it was the safest bet.
“It says it gives super-luck, and if you use it once, it turns everything that isn’t 0% into 100%.”
“...Only once?”
“Yeah.”
Silver Wolf stared at the ring as if it defied all common sense.
To be honest, everything that machine gave us was beyond common sense.
I still didn’t know what the source was.
Elation? Remembrance? What kind of place gives out items like this?
“For now... I’ll just keep it. Tell me immediately if you need it.”
“...Let’s hope I never need it.”
For a moment, I wondered if that ring might let me beat that crazy woman.
But I couldn’t gamble with Silver Wolf’s life—or mine.
Besides, I was already thinking about ditching the house and running.
If the cartridge wasn’t the cause and my very existence was the problem, then that woman would definitely visit our house tomorrow evening.
Please, let my guess be right—let the cartridge be the cause.
Otherwise, there was no way out.
“Silver Wolf, you’re free tomorrow evening, right?”
“...Why? We were just going to Scrap Mountain like always, weren’t we?”
“No, let’s rest tomorrow. I’ll give you some money, so go out and have some fun in the evening.”
Silver Wolf looked at me suspiciously.
It couldn’t be helped. Sorry, Silver Wolf.
If there’s even a slight chance, I don’t want to see you die.
If anyone has to die, it’ll be me alone.
That was the conclusion I’d reached.
Because I can start over again.
And so, with 150 Pt left over, the gacha show came to an end.
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