Chapter 151: Care (3)

After returning to Fairy and Silver Coin.

Ellie and I finished our meal while chatting about this and that, then I went up to my room.

With skilled movements, I firmly locked the door. Placing the Goddess Statue on the desk, I smirked.

“You know, right?”

-…….

As expected, the Goddess Statue gave no response. When I think about it, it seemed to have communicated with me in various ways, but it had never directly spoken.

Even when it changed posture, it showed the results but not the process.

Saying it like this makes it sound like some cursed ghost doll.

Which is quite similar, actually.

Chuckling, I placed a money pouch next to the Goddess Statue.

Thud!

Satisfied with the heavy sound, I opened the gacha after a long time.

“Gacha window.”

Ding!

A translucent window appeared in my view along with a clear sound. However, its content was a bit different from what I expected.

“Huh?”

Instead of the usual draw screen, a short sentence appeared above it.

Thinking it looked like a notification or announcement, I tilted my head and examined it closely.

[Your fame has exceeded a certain level! Accordingly, the pickup draw is now open!]

“What!”

Finally, this damn game that only had regular draws… No, it’s not a game. Anyway, this damn gacha is getting a pickup draw added??

Unbelievable. I didn’t expect this to happen now. It clearly said that new features would be unlocked as my fame increased, right?

It must be because my name has become famous and people have started to take an interest in me due to this event.

“If that’s the case, this changes things…”

Until now, I have deliberately avoided standing out and becoming famous as much as possible.

That’s because, while I’ve just started to grow, most of my enemies are already powerful beings who have reached their growth limits.

Even this time, I had to pull so many tricks to avoid the excessive attention of the Temple… No, to be precise, the Pope….

If it weren’t for Karen’s help, it would have been much more difficult than it is now.

From now on, it seems better to become as famous as I can handle.

In the first place, this kind of thing only has meaning when no one knows about it at all. Now that I’ve become even briefly famous and received some attention, the merit of hiding myself has significantly decreased.

Considering that other functions will be unlocked as my reputation rises, there’s no room for hesitation.

If I keep unlocking new functions, a ceiling might form eventually!

…Well, let’s think about the detailed plan later. What’s important now is the current pickup, not the ceiling that might be added later.

To begin with, the term “pickup gacha” itself implies a lot.

What is a pickup gacha in the first place? It’s a system that significantly increases the probability of getting something specific for a certain period.

In other words, for the pickup gacha system to work, it must specify ‘what’ is being picked up and ‘how much’ the probability is.

And if it’s called a pickup, it means you might be able to draw the same thing multiple times if you’re lucky.

Results of 2 Stars or higher can be synthesized and strengthened when drawn multiple times. In other words, if you have enough funds and luck, you can aim for a high-grade full limit break.

I praised the Goddess of Love for introducing the pickup system that injects tension into the loose gacha.

Specifically, I ruffled the Goddess Statue’s head.

Rustle, rustle.

“Hey! You know I love you a lot, right? Huh?”

-…….

The Goddess Statue remained silent. But for some reason, the warmth that always emanated from it felt a little hotter than usual.

After spending some time polishing and caressing various parts of the statue, I finally began to read the notice.

[The pickup targets change monthly, and during the period, one ☆☆☆☆☆ and one ☆☆☆☆ will be selected as pickup targets.]

“This is good.”

Honestly, 5 Stars are too difficult to obtain, but 4 Stars seem somewhat realistic.

[If a ☆☆☆☆ or ☆☆☆☆☆ pickup target is drawn, it will appear with a 70% probability.]

Well, 70% is excellent. At least it’s much better than the regular draws where you had to get lucky to pull something useful from an endless pool.

Given this, it’s probably best to avoid regular draws unless necessary. If the pickup targets aren’t good or needed, can’t I just wait for the next month?

I can save up the money I collect over a month and spend it all next month, increasing the chances of getting what I really want.

…However, my excitement died down after reading the last sentence.

[Note: Pickup targets are limited to those obtainable through regular draws. Items exclusive to limited draws are not included in the pickup targets.]

“……”

So, in the end, I have to do the pickup gacha for pickup items and also do the limited gacha when it comes out, right?

Of course, it means good things will come out of it, so it’s not bad news for me either…but just the thought of having more to pull makes me feel suffocated.

“Sigh. Alright. Let’s see what the first pickup is.”

This world isn’t a game, but the first pickup in most gacha games tends to have quite a performance.

As time passes, it’s an inevitable fate for it to become outdated…but at least right after release. During the initial version period, it’s usually good enough to be called a must-have character.

The Goddess of Love can only apply a slight probability manipulation, but can’t do anything about the gacha itself, so there must be a separate entity that created this damn system.

Whoever that guy is, if he knows anything about this kind of gacha, the first pickup is surely something that would arouse desire… At least something that perfectly suits me right now.

Forcing down the corners of my mouth that keep trying to curl up, I opened the notification.

“Let’s see. Let’s take a look.”

Ding!

[Normal Gacha]

-Consume cash or equivalent Magic Stones to randomly obtain items and skills ranging from ☆ to ☆☆☆☆☆.

[Single Pull] [10+1 Pull]

NEW!

[Pickup Gacha]

-Consume cash or equivalent Magic Stones to randomly obtain items and skills ranging from ☆ to ☆☆☆☆☆.

-Pickup targets:

🔹️[☆☆☆☆ Power: Call of the Dead]

🔹️[☆☆☆☆☆ Skill: Meteor].

-Time remaining: 29 days 23 hours 55 minutes.

[Single Pull] [10+1 Pull]

“My Meteor was here all along!!!”

The image that comes to mind when you think of magic would differ from person to person.

Someone might think of lightning, someone else might think of teleportation, and another might think of a brainwashing app, but in my case, I think of Meteor first.

In other words, to me, Meteor is a symbol of magic itself.

Even when drawing Weak Flame or Fierce Flame, it felt like I was aiming for Meteor next…

Maybe today, I can really succeed in drawing Meteor!

The cost of the pickup gacha is the same as the regular gacha, 1 silver per pull. Moreover, if you do a 10-consecutive roll, there’s a bonus pull.

And the amount I’ve prepared is 50 gold. That’s enough for 5000 pulls…no, considering the bonus pulls, that’s a staggering 5500 pulls.

If I pour everything in, shouldn’t I be able to aim for a 5-Star?

I don’t know what kind of power the 4-Star Call of the Dead has, but judging by its name, I guess it might be a Power of the God of Death.

The Power of the God of Death is notorious for its side effects, but is equally renowned for its strength. Once you draw it, it will surely be helpful.

“Alright. Let’s go, Archmage Meta!”

In my mind, I was already an archmage, summoning meteors with a mere gesture as I pressed the draw button.

Not just once, but multiple times. I hammered away like crazy, afraid I might hesitate and regret it. And then.

Ding!

[☆: Well-Dried Magic Herb]

[☆: Processed Healing Herb]

[☆: Low-Grade Detoxifying Herb]

[☆: Well-Dried Magic Herb]

[☆: Well-Dried Magic Herb]

[☆: Processed Healing Herb]

[☆: Well-Dried Magic Herb]

[☆☆: Soft Beak]

[☆: Lowest-Grade Healing Potion]

[☆: Wooden Arrow]

[☆: Well-Dried Magic Herb]

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[☆☆: Wrist Crossbow]

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[☆☆☆: Master Key]

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[☆☆: Masterpiece – I Kidnapped the Youngest Daughter of the Assassin Family]

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★[☆☆☆☆: Skill – Sound-Eating Footsteps]★

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[☆☆☆: Power – Gluttonous Stomach]

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[☆☆: Power – Shining Eyes]

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[☆☆☆: Talisman of Protection]

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[☆☆☆: Magic – Explosive Flame]

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★[☆☆☆☆: Crest of Aerial Leap]★

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★[☆☆☆☆: Power – Call of the Dead]★

The amount of gacha that 50 gold could get was so immense that even pressing the button felt like a chore.

Although I didn’t get a 5-Star this time either… Instead, I got a lot of 4-Stars, so it wasn’t too disappointing.

Fifty gold is undoubtedly a large sum, but I assure you, pulling this many 4-Stars means I’ve more than made my money back.

However, I couldn’t honestly be happy about it.

“Are you freaking kidding me?! The rate-up is a lie?!”

I got 4-Stars three times, but two of them were off-banner. And to make matters worse, one of them was a duplicate.

Enhancing a Power is a good thing, but the growth when receiving a new Power is greater.

Still, it’s fine since the pickup Power appeared at the end…

“Wait a minute.”

Didn’t the pickup Power only appear after consecutive non-pickup draws?

“…No limit to non-pickup draws?”

Isn’t it a rule that after a non-pickup draw, the next one is guaranteed to be a pickup? If you’re unlucky, you could keep getting non-pickup draws.

“This is crazy…!”

Just as a chill ran down my spine and I was about to torment the Goddess Statue buried between the magical plants.

Powers and Skills were engraved onto my body, and heat surged through my entire being.

“Gyaaaah!”