Chapter 12
Chapter 12
Heroic Equipment for the Heroine
Lying alone on my bed, I had all sorts of thoughts running through my head.
This is insane.
Just how many coins did I pull in today?
And on top of that, a new coin route had appeared called heroine exclusive equipment.
At this point, the item in my inventory, “Illiana’s platinum hairpin,” kept catching my attention.
I needed to somehow get that into Illiana’s hair.
But that wasn’t the real problem right now.
I took a deep breath.
System. 300 coins, spend.
Fail.
Damn it.
My heart felt like it was collapsing.
But I couldn’t stop.
If I stopped here, I might not have a tomorrow.
I closed my eyes tightly.
Right now I had nothing.
I was a mage who couldn’t use magic.
Leon's soul was still alive somewhere.
And the massive power known as the Holy Church was likely my enemy.
And this world was going to end.
I needed power. Real power that could change everything.
Fine. I decided.
Small bets won’t change the board.
Go big.
Really big.
Even if I fail, I go all in.
Please.
Please.
Please help me.
God.
Buddha.
Zeus.
All the gods in existence, just help me.
I prayed desperately.
Then I opened the gacha screen and pulled.
Two thousand coins. All at once.
Confirm.
The moment I tapped it,
Golden fairies burst out and a rainbow-colored aurora exploded across my vision.
It hit.
It really hit.
Tears welled up in my eyes.
A notification appeared.
You have surpassed an astronomical probability.
You have obtained an UR skill.
What is it?
What kind of skill is this?
With trembling hands, I grabbed the floating skill book.
Skill name: Magic Skill Replacement Activation
Effect: Replaces the learning conditions of magic skills with specific actions.
Activation condition: Each time a new skill is learned through replacement, a massive amount of coins is consumed.
I stared at it.
How do I even use this?
Is this good?
It must be good.
It’s UR rank after all.
The space movement scroll was also UR and its effect exceeded expectations.
I still had over 2000 coins left, but I decided to keep them.
There was no way I would get another UR right after this.
The next morning arrived at the Royal Academy.
This academy did not accept new students every year.
Only once every five years.
It gathered the most talented individuals from across the continent into a single cohort.
Because of that, even classmates had age differences.
That was why my half-brother was enrolled here as well.
In truth, age was meaningless in this world.
Only status and strength determined hierarchy.
The faculties were also strictly divided.
The Administrative Faculty, filled with commoner elites.
The Knight Faculty, led by the second prince training knights.
The Holy Faculty, dominated by the Holy Church and focused on healing and faith.
And finally, the Magic Faculty, where the first princess Eresia belonged, and where I had forced my way in with a 30,000 gold donation.
Because of the incident with the hero candidate duel, I had lost a week.
But the academy officially excused my absence due to the special circumstances.
Still, thinking about catching up made my head hurt.
“Huh?”
What a coincidence.
While walking through the academy’s massive corridor, I stopped.
Across from me was Illiana.
She was wearing the pure white uniform of the Holy Faculty, walking with several friends.
The moment our eyes met, she froze.
The other female students looked at me like I was some kind of insect.
Even though I had defeated a hero candidate, their gaze was cold.
But Illiana’s expression was different.
Her violet eyes trembled as they scanned my entire body.
Right.
I used to think I was just a useless scoundrel, but now I had defeated a hero candidate.
Her lips trembled as if she wanted to say something.
But I didn’t have time.
I didn’t even know where my classroom was.
And besides, we were already broken off.
I took out a small velvet box and tossed it into her arms.
“Huh?”
“A breakup gift. Do whatever you want with it.”
Without waiting for her response, I turned and walked away.
Illiana looked down at the box, then at my disappearing back.
Then her expression changed.
She was angry.
She had forgotten what she wanted to ask.
How dare a man like that ignore her so completely.
A notorious scoundrel who only cared about gambling and women.
She almost threw the box into a trash bin in frustration, but when she opened it, her eyes widened.
A beautifully crafted platinum hairpin shimmered inside.
It was too beautiful.
She couldn’t throw it away.
Almost instinctively, she placed it into her hair.
Later, in the Holy Faculty training room,
Illiana placed her hand on a healing dummy and activated her mana.
Flash.
A blinding white light filled the room.
This was not her usual healing output.
It was several times stronger than normal.
The purity of her mana itself felt different.
What… what is this?
Am I this talented?
Her hands trembled.
A professor rushed over in shock.
“What is this light! Did you achieve some kind of breakthrough?”
“I… I don’t know. It just happened.”
Nothing had changed in her body from yesterday.
Only today was different.
Then a thought crossed her mind.
Her gaze fell on the platinum hairpin in her hand.
No way.
That’s impossible.
If this was an artifact that amplified healing power, she should have noticed.
But she felt no mana flow from it at all.
No trace whatsoever.
Maybe it was just her imagination.
She placed it back into her hair.
And once again activated healing magic.
Flash.
An even stronger burst of light exploded.
The professor panicked.
“This is unbelievable! This is a breakthrough state! Everyone stand back!”
Illiana was rushed into a private training room.
Alone, she sat on the floor, trembling.
No mana flow.
No magical signature.
Yet it was clearly amplifying her power.
Impossible.
But then a memory surfaced.
The man who gave it to her.
The scoundrel who ignored her completely.
Why would he give something like this to her after the breakup?
Was it… a gift of gratitude?
Her chest tightened.
For the first time, she felt regret.
That night, I lay on my bed again.
System. 2000 coins. One pull.
Confirm.
A burst of golden light exploded.
I had done it.
I really did it.
UR skill obtained.
Skill name: Magic Skill Replacement Activation.
I stared at it again.
No matter how I looked at it, this was dangerous.
But powerful.
Definitely powerful.
I still had coins left, but I decided to stop.
No point risking another pull.
For now, I had gained something that could change everything.
And somewhere in the academy, the gears of fate had already started moving again.
Glossary
Royal Academy: Elite institution gathering top talents from across the continent every five years.
Illiana: A Holy Faculty student and noblewoman with strong healing abilities.
Ria: The protagonist’s maid and assistant.
Eresia: First princess of the empire.
UR: Ultra Rare ranking for skills and items.
Mana: Magical energy used in spellcasting.