The Genius Wizard Who Plays Gacha in an Erotic Game

The moment I opened my eyes, the first thing that hit me was the stench of blood and the dampness of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a cold stone floor.

What the hell? Did I get kidnapped while sleeping?

I tried to get up, but my body wouldn't listen. Every muscle screamed in pain, and my head felt like it was splitting open. The last thing I remembered was lying in bed, absentmindedly pulling for characters in that trashy mobile game before falling asleep.

That game... The Fallen Saintess of the Academy. A dark fantasy erotic game notorious for its brutal difficulty, endless death flags, and scenes that would get any streamer demonetized in seconds. I'd been grinding it like a madman for the past month, trying to collect every heroine and hidden item.

But why was I suddenly in this nightmare?

"...Ugh."

A groan escaped my lips. Only then did I realize my voice sounded different. Younger. Weaker.

I forced my eyes open. The room was dimly lit by a single flickering torch. Chains hung from the walls, and in the center of the chamber lay a girl—no, a young woman—sprawled in a pool of her own blood. Her silver hair was matted with crimson, and her once-elegant academy uniform was torn to shreds.

My heart nearly stopped.

That's... ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that's definitely the Saintess candidate, Elise von Rosen.

One of the main heroines. In the game, she gets brutally murdered in the prologue by a demonic cultist during a ritual gone wrong. The player character is supposed to witness this and awaken some hidden power or whatever. But right now, I seemed to be... lying right next to her?

I looked down at my hands. Small. Pale. Covered in someone else's blood.

No. No way. This can't be happening.

A sharp pain stabbed through my skull, and memories that weren't mine flooded in like a broken dam.

I was now Kyle Karios. A worthless third-rate magician from a fallen noble house. Sent to the academy as a scholarship student, only to get caught up in this mess because I happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. In the original story, Kyle dies here—sacrificed as a mere footnote to heighten the tragedy of Elise's death.

Death flag number one, already triggered. Great. Just perfect.

But something was off. The memories mentioned that Kyle had absolutely zero talent for magic. Yet right now, my body felt... strangely alive with power. Mana swirled inside me like an ocean ready to burst.

Before I could process any of that, a translucent window materialized in front of my eyes.

I stared at the window, mouth agape.

Gacha system? In this already messed-up erotic dark fantasy world?

Before I could even swear out loud, the sound of footsteps echoed from the corridor. Heavy. Purposeful. Definitely not friendly.

The cultists were coming back to finish the job.

My mind raced. In the game, this scene was unbeatable on the first playthrough. The player ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was supposed to die, reload with meta-knowledge, and use that to barely scrape by. But I didn't have that luxury. This was my one and only life now.

I looked at Elise's body. She was still breathing—barely. If I left her here, she'd die for sure. If I tried to save her, I'd probably die with her.

Option A: Run like hell and become a fugitive.

Option B: Try to fight with this suddenly overpowered mana and probably explode myself.

Option C: ...pull from the gacha?

The footsteps grew louder. I could hear chanting now. Dark, guttural spells that made my skin crawl.

Screw it. Let's do what I do best.

I mentally screamed at the system.

"Gacha. Now. Give me something useful, you piece of—"

The window flashed brightly, spinning with dazzling effects that looked way too similar to the mobile game I'd been playing before bed.

The power surged into me like a supernova.

Knowledge—ancient, profound, terrifying—poured into my brain. Formulas I'd never seen before. Spells that could rewrite reality. Insights into mana that made the academy's entire curriculum look like preschool finger painting.

My body moved on its own. I raised one hand, and the air itself bent to my will.

"...Tenth Circle. Absolute Barrier."

The words left my mouth before I could even think them. A dome of pure golden light erupted around me and Elise, shattering the incoming dark spells like they were nothing.

The cultists burst into the chamber, their masked faces twisting in shock.

"What?! A mere student can use tenth-circle magic?!"

"Impossible! The prophecy said the only ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠genius in a millennium was—"

I stood up slowly, feeling like an entirely different person. The pain was gone. The fear was gone. Only cold, calculated confidence remained.

Oh. So this is what being a real cheat character feels like.

I looked down at the trembling cultists and smiled. It wasn't a nice smile.

"You guys picked the wrong day to mess with the gacha addict."

The ancient archmage's knowledge whispered in my mind, suggesting seventeen different ways to erase them from existence without breaking a sweat.

Behind me, Elise stirred weakly, her eyes fluttering open. She stared at me with pure awe and disbelief.

"You... you're the one the oracle spoke of...? The magic genius who appears once every ten thousand years...?"

I froze.

Wait. What?

The system window popped up again with a cheeky little animation.

I wanted to scream.

This isn't what I meant by "pulling for characters," you stupid system!

But the cultists were already charging, and the Saintess candidate was looking at me like I was some kind of messiah.

With a sigh that carried the weight of ten thousand years of someone else's wisdom, I raised my hand again.

"Fine. Let's clean up this trash first."

The real game had just begun. And I was apparently the final boss-level genius wizard that everyone was going to misunderstand into oblivion.

At least the gacha rates seem decent...