Gacha Game
"Ugh..."
"Sis! Herd her that way!"
"Got it!"
Two women, covered head to toe in dirt and bruises, charged in. Their opponent was a tiny girl named Lea, who looked laughably small compared to their overwhelming power. Lea just stood there blankly, wooden sword in hand, and anyone would think that a hero and a knight captain could handle her easily.
But.
"Faster."
"Guh!"
"Urk!"
Lea's sword struck their stomachs and shoulders in the blink of an eye. The two rolled on the ground without even mounting a defense.
Adella gasped for breath, propping herself up with her wooden sword like a cane.
...It's not breaking.
She'd infused it with mana, making it tougher than ordinary steel, but that was it. Adella was a powerhouse with 6 cores. She had the strength to slice through steel or even a small hill like tofu—and steel was no match for her. With Iri Style Swordsmanship on top, a wooden sword might as well have been steel.
But... why.
"It really won't break, huh? Wow. Sis! Put more power into it!"
"...I'm trying."
"Can't you do that golden sword aura thing from before, like whoosh? That should do it."
"One cannot fell such a being with mere flash. And I am not your 'sis,' as you call it."
"Aww."
Haring panted as she sprang back to her feet. Lea was harsh, but she never struck someone who'd already fallen—not until they got up again. She'd wait there blankly until they did, then resume. Of course, if you tried to stall on the ground, a wooden sword would come flying at your head, but still.
Haring sidled up to Adella and whispered.
"At this rate, we'll get smacked around all day. Got any ideas?"
"...She won't stay long anyway."
Adella straightened her stance as she spoke. It had already been four hours of Lea overseeing their training, but she was a dragon at heart—lazy and hassle-averse. She'd leave soon enough.
But.
Whoosh!
"If we don't end it today, we'll be right back here tomorrow."
"Yeah, no."
"So we finish it in one shot. I'll draw her attention—use that."
"Huh? You mean that? Shouldn't you use it, Sis? I don't even know what it—"
"Exactly why you need to. To catch Flame Dragon-nim off guard."
Haring looked troubled but nodded and stepped back a bit. As soon as their talk ended, Lea approached lightly.
"Getting along, huh?"
"......"
"Good, be friends. You'll be seeing lots of each other."
"Here I come."
"Huh?"
Fwosh!
Adella struck first. All six of her cores activated, exploding with power.
Boom—!
"Eek!"
The blast was so fierce it even pushed back Haring, who was prepping her technique from behind. Adella's sword aimed straight for Lea's neck—but it was futile.
Kagagagak...!
"Too predictable."
Her blade was blocked by Lea's wooden sword. Even as Adella poured on the pressure, Lea's wooden sword held firm.
Crack...!
Instead, Adella's wooden sword—pushed to its limit—was the one starting to shatter.
Lea's eyes dimmed with disappointment.
"That's all you got?"
"......"
"If this is it, tomorrow we'll just—"
"It's ready."
"?"
Lea's gaze shifted behind her. A familiar energy erupted from Haring, who'd been hiding like a mouse.
A sharp yet harmonious sword dance. The genius-born technique said to cleave anything at its pinnacle.
It was a pathetic imitation, barely mimicking the motions, but enough for their goal.
Ultimate Technique.
First Form.
Iri Cham!
"!"
"Don't change the name weirdly!"
The ethereal strike, evoking Iri, sliced Lea's wooden sword clean off.
＊
I chuckled at her cocky words back then, but they came true. Iri Style Swordsmanship was still hailed as the best, even 70 years later.
"Iri Cham... Nostalgic name."
"Cough... The heavens sing..."
"But posterity's so damn weak. Iri."
It was great the style endured, but Adella and Haring both had screws loose. One was pretty polished but prepped her ultimate mid-fight. The other finally landed it by baiting carelessness—but it was just mimicry, miles from mastery. And she nearly died doing it. Hilarious.
Still, solid basics for what they'd learned. I patted Haring's head as the priests rushed her away.
"Good job, Haring."
"Ehehehe... Acknowledged... EXP is sweet..."
"I'll pay more attention from now on."
"Ehe... Huh? Did I mishear?"
"I'd gotten sick of heroes lately."
When I first saw mass-produced ones, I'd burned with motivation. Bored anyway, I figured raising them into real heroes would be fun. But that disciple grind revealed how many there were.
Immortal, arrogant, fearless pests. It got so annoying and tiring, I even ditched my old pupils.
Then I met NyaNya and Haring.
"The ones I picked are at least A-rank, right? Not quite S yet."
"E-eh?!"
"Not sure if they'll hit SR... But probably."
If that old hag's hero-pulling was a "hero gacha game" churning out thousands of commons...
NyaNya and Haring felt like A-ranks. Rare pulls even hunting other heroes.
Haring mumbled deliriously.
"I-I'm... SSR... Skybanner limited ultra-rare..."
"Nah, not that."
SSR was Iri, Crimson Sea Hero, or Eastern Saintess level. Bahamart was off the charts.
Anyway, A-rank was high-tier enough. They deserved proper mentoring.
"I'll check in every three days. Look forward to it."
"Oh... Is that good...?"
"Yep."
"Eee..."
As Haring was carted off, I approached Adella, who was getting healed by priests. Unlike Haring—coughing blood from her ultimate—Adella was surprisingly fine. With 6 cores, top conditioning, and stellar bloodline, it made sense.
I stared at her on the sickbed.
"Why... are you looking at me like that? Don't tell me we're training more right away."
"You're SR-tier, Adella."
"...? What does that mean?"
"It's a thing."
Adella would've been perfect as a hero. Why hadn't the goddess picked her? A strength-obsessed deity would've summoned her ages ago.
Come to think of it...
Most heroes were from other worlds lately. No locals in ages.
I asked Adella, who answered matter-of-factly.
"No heroes from this world in this generation. Not one."
"Why?"
"No idea. The temple just said, 'The goddess has her reasons.'"
"Hmm..."
"I think the same. She must have grand plans."
"Doubt it."
"...Pardon?"
The hag wasn't thinking deep. Just a gacha addict. No grand schemes—probably just kept pulling extras since locals weren't showing.
I crossed my arms, pondered, then stood.
"Just ask."
"The goddess?"
"Nah."
Couldn't meet her without her coming first. So visit someone I could see.
"He's at Bahamart's villa, right?"