Chapter 50: Overgearing Is Always The Answer (4)

[Normal Draw]

-Use cash or an equivalent amount of magic stones to randomly obtain items and skills between 1~5 stars.

[1 Draw] [10+1 Draws]

“Let’s do this, 120 pulls…!”

I slammed the draw button without a second thought.

Ding!

★: Well-Dried Magic Herb

★: Processed Healing Herb

★: Well-Dried Magic Herb

★: Well-Dried Magic Herb

★: Well-Dried Magic Herb

★: Impure Iron Ingot

★: Processed Healing Herb

★★: Steel Shield

★: Lowest Grade Healing Potion

★: Well-Dried Magic Herb

.

.

.

★★: Lesser Mana Potion

.

.

.

★★: Wrist Crossbow

.

.

.

★: Power - Fragrant Scent

.

.

.

★★★: Masterpiece - The Most Beautiful, Cute, and Lovely Goddess Statue in the World

.

.

.

⍟★★★★: Skill - Sound-Eating Footsteps⍟

.

.

.

★: Well-Dried Magic Herb

★: Processed Healing Herb

★: Processed Healing Herb

“Huh? Huuuuh…?!”

While all other notifications were in plain white text with a black border, there was one that shone in a golden color alone.

“A 4-star?”

And it was a skill. Moreover, it even had a cool name!

Having made such good use of a 3-star pickpocketing skill, I couldn’t even begin to imagine how much better a 4-star skill would be.

Perhaps it was too surreal. At first, I stood there, dumbfounded, unable to grasp reality. But a moment later, I couldn’t contain the thrill that welled up from deep within my chest.

“Yes! This is it!!! Keep spending, and someday, you will pull it!!! I wasn’t wrong!! Eee…eeeeeeeeek?!?!?”

But my shouts quickly turned into a scream as pain began to overwhelm me.

It felt as if every single cell in my body was being flipped inside out. Muscles were tearing and reattaching strand by strand, and I could hear the suspicious sound of cracking bones emanating from within my body.

The sensation that my body was no longer my own was unbearable. I couldn’t breathe, and I couldn’t stop the tears, snot, and even drool from falling to the floor.

For a moment, I writhed, biting my blanket in an attempt to suppress the screams that kept trying to burst out.

Once the physical pain subsided, a vast amount of knowledge began to shoot directly into my brain. Unfamiliar information poured in ceaselessly, making it impossible to regain my composure.

In just about ten seconds, I became so exhausted that I felt on the verge of fainting.

As I lay there, sprawled out on the bed, it wasn’t long before I heard hurried footsteps from downstairs, followed by intense knocking.

Thud thud!

“Jonah?! What just happened? Open the door!”

“Ah.”

I snapped back to reality.

It seems Ellie rushed here after hearing my screams a moment ago.

If left alone, she might just break down the door. Then, she would discover the room filled with my gacha loot.

I might even need to tell her about the gacha system itself. I had planned to tell Ellie about it someday, but now was not the right time.

“Ju, just a moment, Ellie… I’m coming out right nowww…”

My voice trailed off weakly, like that of an author who ended up getting soaked in the rain after indulging in a bowl of spicy pork at the restaurant in front of his house because someone took his umbrella.

But there was no helping it. Disposable umbrellas were more expensive than I thought… no, really, I just couldn’t muster any strength.

I pushed the gacha results as far into the corner as I could and opened the door halfway. Then, I stuck out my upper body and forced a weary smile.

“What is it, Ellie? Suddenly knocking on my door as if you’re going to break it down… Don’t tell me, could you not bear it anymore?”

“……Huh? W, well, I thought I heard a strange noise…”

Ellie, who until just a moment ago was acting like an alpha female, suddenly became timid, rolling her yellow eyes around nervously.

No, more precisely, it was closer to her trying to avoid her gaze from being fixed in one place.

And that place happened to be in my direction. Curious, I casually looked down at myself.

“Ah.”

There, I found my pajamas, which had become rumpled from me writhing in pain. The angle just happened to reveal the area from my collarbone to just under my belly button.

At the sight of Ellie, who didn’t know just where to look, I reflexively thought to smile broadly… but due to the information still ravaging my mind and the lingering pain, all that came out was a weak smile.

“Hehe… Did you hear all that? It was nothing. I’m fine now.”

“Are you really okay? Your voice sounded pretty urgent.”

Ellie was unable to look me straight in the eye, yet her voice was still full of concern. She didn’t seem like she’d back down easily. I needed to come up with some excuse.

“Actually…”

“Feel free to tell me anything. I’ll help you if I can.”

“Thank you, Ellie. Actually, I tried a new kind of ‘self-development exercise’.”

“……?”

“But the posture was a bit strange, and it didn’t just end with a cramp in my foot, and my calf muscles started spasming. I was just surprised, but I’m really okay.”

“……”

“Ah, but you just said you would help, right, Ellie? First, come in so we can discuss in detail how you can…”

“It’s okay.”

The worried look was nowhere to be found, and Ellie, her expression having soured, shook her head.

“Don’t do it too much. You’ll wear yourself out… Looks like I got worried for nothing.”

And then she sighed deeply as she walked away. Her small grumbling was a bonus.

After confirming Ellie was going back down to the first floor, I closed and locked the door.

“Good. This should be the end of that.”

Though I had become someone who accidentally screamed while pleasuring myself… It all worked out because I didn’t actually get caught. Yep.

Now feeling considerably better, I laid down on the bed and started to fiddle with the magic herb I had picked up.

It wasn’t long before the flood of knowledge finally ceased, so I decided to slowly figure out what I had gained.

“Sound-Eating Footsteps.”

What kind of footsteps were they to be rated a 4-star? The answer was simple. The movement was so quiet that it could be described as ‘eating sound’.

Yes. The skill I acquired this time was a stealth skill that erased one’s presence.

That was why my body hurt so much. In order to move without making a sound, the shock of the soles touching the ground had to be absorbed by the entire body.

Additionally, I had to stop breathing not to make any sound, and if necessary, I should be able to control even the sound of my heartbeat.

What made this possible was an extraordinary physical control ability.

Flexibility, sense of balance, precision…and most importantly, senses.

The current me was not stronger, faster, or more fit than before… but still, I was confident that I had become a completely different person.

That’s because even the air I felt on my skin was different. At this point, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I’d been reborn.

“…But it was very, very painful.”

It hurt when I first acquired the pickpocketing skill, but not to this extent.

It meant that my body had changed drastically, more than just a single grade difference would suggest. It’s no wonder the system emphasizes from 4 stars onwards.

I’d have to use it later to learn the details, but for now, I needed to check the other things first. After all, the skill wouldn’t just run away.

“1-star Power, Fragrant Scent…”

Being a mere 1-star, it didn’t cause any strain on my body. Not even a small sense of discomfort.

As the name suggested, it was a power that always allowed one’s body to emit a pleasant scent. It was a power utterly useless in battle.

Though I wouldn’t openly admit it anywhere since it was a blessing of the Goddess of Love.

After sneakily glimpsing at the statue rolling around on the floor and the heart-shaped symbol enshrined on the desk, I spoke up in an awkward voice,

“Wow~ With this, there’s no need to worry about not being able to wash properly during long-term exploration or the smell of sweat after intense activity!”

Although there was no one to listen, the thought that a goddess might be listening compelled me to add that. Then, I picked up the statue that had been bothering me for some time now.

It featured long, luscious hair, and a face with a faint smile that made even me smile along with it. The body was the epitome of femininity, with enlarged chests and buttocks, yet it boasted an incredibly slender waist.

I wasn’t sure of the material it was made from, but the texture was so soft that I found myself wanting to touch it repeatedly.

Indeed, this was truly a masterpiece. It captured the otherworldly beauty of the Goddess of Love.

However, the name “The Most Beautiful, Cute, and Lovely Goddess Statue in the World” really bothered me!

It felt significant that it emerged with the power of none other than the Goddess of Love herself!

Yet, there was the problem that, although it was frighteningly beautiful, it ultimately served no practical use beyond admiration.

In the end, it was still a 3-star item. Wasn’t the dagger, made from a unicorn’s horn and also a 3-star item, incredibly good as well?

I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but there had to be something special about this statue.

I pondered over its potential uses: setting it up as a prayer idol before engaging in gacha, selling it to a wealthy collector of goddess memorabilia, or donating it to a temple in exchange for various privileges.

The specifics would require further investigation, but one thing was clear—this was no ordinary item.

Even if it were, its sheer beauty elevated it beyond the mundane.

“Uhm,” I murmured.

The more I looked at it, the more reluctant I became to part with it. Eventually, I wrapped it carefully in leather and tucked it into a corner of my closet.

Having dealt with the statue, what remained were the usual 1-star common items and the 2-star items that weren’t immediately useful.

I decided to keep the mana potion in my bag and placed the steel shield in the pile of items designated for sale.

Now, all that’s left was the wrist crossbow… but I’ve already drawn one of these before. It was a 2-star, but it was still a duplicate.

I considered attaching it to my right arm as well, but it seemed like that would make moving around too difficult. Perhaps I should just sell this new one.

It was the moment I lifted the brand-new wrist crossbow, thinking to place it on top of the steel shield, that something unexpected happened.

Ding!

Would you like to merge the ★★: Wrist Crossbow?

“Eh?”

Does this have an upgrade system?