Homecoming and the Skill Gacha Jackpot
I finally escaped the skill pull gate and made it home. On the way, I worried someone might pick a fight, but luckily, nothing happened. I got back with my free pass intact.
"Phew—home really is the best..."
The second I arrived, I flopped straight onto the floor. I'd hunted my first goblin and even tangled with a massive guild—my stamina was shot.
But it wasn't all bad.
"At least I scored something out of it."
My body was wrecked and my testosterone levels had taken a hit, but I'd gained just as much.
"Yeah, all that bullshit suffering for this one thing..."
I reached into my pocket to check the fruits of my labor.
And what greeted me was...
"Ah... shit..."
Not the potion bottle with the green liquid—just stale, not-so-fresh air. Nothing at all.
"When the fuck did I drop it?! When it was hanging off my shoulder?"
I patted myself down everywhere, hoping against hope, but no dice. No clue when or where I'd lost it.
When Cheonhwa first grabbed me? Or later when she dragged me out of the gate?
"Ugh, dizzy as hell—"
Whichever it was, going back for it was impossible. How the hell was I supposed to sneak through those monsters again?
"I'm such a fucking idiot sea cucumber..."
I just hated my past dumbass self.
Clap!
"No, snap out of it—I've still got the other stuff."
After a solid self-loathing session, I pulled up my status window.
Two gains from this gate. The goblin head smoothie was gone, so whatever— but the shop was still there.
"Good thing I at least salvaged this."
If the shop had glitched out and I couldn't use it, I'd have been devastated. Sure, calling it a "point shop" but making everything a gacha was a scam, but in my current smoothie-less anemone state, it was a small comfort.
"Okay, skill pull, recipe pull, item pull, ingredient pull—everything's here."
It was a proper shop, stocked with the basics. All gacha, though.
I swallowed my regrets and pondered what to do.
"Hmm... skill pull's the cheapest? One point—worth a shot?"
It caught my eye first. Minimal point spend for reliable results, probably. And why hoard points like a stingy turd? Not all of them, sure.
"Here goes!"
Short deliberation over, I hit the skill pull button without hesitation.
Ding!
The shop window shifted, a slot machine spinning inside the blue panel. I flinched at how legit it looked, but it fired up my dormant dopamine.
"Please! Just one good one!"
I touched the lever beside it, praying for the best.
Click.
The lever pulled down, the slots slowed... my ass clenching tighter by the second.
Clunk.
"Oh—!"
It stopped, revealing the inside.
[7] [7] [7]
"Kiyaaahooo—!!!"
777. Even a slot noob like me knew that screamed winner. Rainbow particles exploded behind it—definite hit.
"Heehee, let's see what we got."
I rolled my eyes to check the skill.
What beauty awaited me? Expectations soared, and there it was.
You have acquired the skills Cook Your Food and Appraisal Eye.
"Ooo~! Two of 'em!"
Two skills acquired. No clue what they did from the names, but double the haul felt great already.
"Time to check 'em out."
I pulled up my status to inspect.
1. (Passive) Hell's True Taste Lv. 1
Didn't plan on pulling this again...
Effect: Perfectly slices ingredients.
↳ Slices anything the user perceives as an 'ingredient' perfectly.
2. Cook Your Food Lv. 1
Eek, germs!
Effect: Perfectly cooks ingredients.
3. (Passive) Appraisal Eye Lv. (X)
You're a good ingredient...
Effect: Use appraisal ability.
"Yeah, same as before."
I scrutinized the status window. Agility up 0.5 from the goblin head smoothie, unused free stat point, skills without full details yet. Just looking at it built hype.
"Hmm... appraisal's pretty self-explanatory."
"Cook...?"
The descriptions gave a vague idea, but details were fuzzy.
"Guess I gotta test 'em."
Clunk.
Nothing beats hands-on. I raided the fridge for test ingredients.
"Found it."
Spotted about 100g of frozen pork leg in the freezer corner.
"Leftover from kimchi stew—perfect."
I plopped the wrapped pork on the folding table, unwrapped it. Frosted from age.
"Appraisal Eye first."
I activated it mentally, like pulling the status.
'Appraisal.'
Frosted Pork Leg
Help... kill me...
Heavily stored ingredient. Freshness critically low!
"Yup, that's how it works."
Appraisal popped up, revealing the near-rotten pork's status. Super convenient skill. Smiling satisfied, I moved to the next.
"Cooking the ingredient... like slicing with Hell's True Taste? Throw it in a pan?"
No clue. After some agonizing...
"Just imagine flames...?"
I went simple. Cooking means applying heat, right? Pictured fire on the pork.
Then—
Whoosh!
"Whoa—!"
Flames erupted from the rotten pork and it burst into blaze.
"Wh-what? Magic? But my mana sucks!"
Flames conjured from thin air like a wizard's spell. That must be "cook."
"Explanation, now!"
I checked the skill details.
1. (Passive) Hell's True Taste Lv. 1
Effect: ↳ Slices anything the user perceives as an 'ingredient' perfectly.
2. Cook Your Food Lv. 1
Effect: Perfectly cooks ingredients.
↳ Applies 'cooking (ignition)' state to 'ingredients' based on user's capability. (Intensity adjustable.)
3. (Passive) Appraisal Eye Lv. (X)
Effect: ↳ Appraises food, ingredients, items not made by the user.
"Total cheat skill?"
Got it now. I could ignite targets based on my power, controlling the heat. OP.
"Heh, I'm basically a grand wizard now?"
Just sparking flames got me this hyped—my happy circuits were overheating. It was real power, so I basked in it.
*
"Uh, went overboard?"
Too excited, I spammed it. Now the table was littered with charred veggies and pork.
Scratching my head awkwardly, I cleared the coals, sat back down, calmed myself, and planned next.
"Tower it is?"
Decision made: the tower, start and end for all awakeners.