Gacha Jackpot and the Four-Person Dungeon Party
After the unexpected point windfall from the dungeon, Seong-il's mood skyrocketed. Free points on top of everything else. It's been ages since I last did any pulls—almost six months, right? Gold draws still cost a ridiculous 10,000 points, so that's out of the question, but silver draws are only about 1,000 points each. Five tickets feels like something I can actually afford to burn...
The thought brought back memories of the It Hurts Stick he'd used after overpowering Luphtesia not long ago. That thing had insane grip. It just stuck perfectly in your hand...!! If I could pull even one or two more items like that, I'd easily get my money's worth.
His greed now fully stoked, Seong-il decided it was time to fire up the Game Master gacha for the first time in a while. He opened the system and started the draws.
Let's gooooo!!!!!!
His hands trembled as he fiddled with the silver draw tickets. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he thought, This isn't some reckless impulse buy! The Game Master literally suggested I find ways to grow stronger using points. This is strategic sample collection! Exactly! That's my reason!!
After thoroughly brainwashing himself for several minutes, Seong-il pressed the silver-grade draw button with shaking fingers.
"Just... just 5,000 points...! Only five silver draw tickets...!"
With that resolve, he selected the Game Master option, entered 5,000 points, and hit the draw button.
Dispels all poison and curse status effects.
'Drink for people, spray on items!!'
"Oh-ho... Dispels poison and curses, huh? This could be pretty useful depending on the situation. Since it works on items too, it might come in handy for cursed gear...?"
Tear the scroll and visualize an item to duplicate any item possessed by an in-game NPC.
Warnings:
— Tariff applies separately.
— Target item must have been seen with your own eyes.
— Copying excessively powerful items may result in failure.
— Can only be used in B-rank or lower game worlds.
Are you kidding me...?! An item copier?! This is straight-up broken...! It's a shame it only works in B-rank games and has risks with truly overpowered items, but there's no denying this thing is insane...!! Jackpot...!! Where the hell should I even use this for maximum efficiency? There are too many options—I'm actually overwhelmed...
Seong-il's heart raced after pulling such an absurdly cheating item from the gacha. He took several deep breaths to calm down before checking the next reward.
For unknown reasons, applying this paint to a wall transforms the wall into paper (maximum thickness 3 meters).
Hmm... It seems useful, but it's a bit vague. Still, it looks like it has plenty of applications. Not bad...? Since it's a gacha item, stashing it in my inventory is perfect. I can pull it out whenever a crisis hits. Pretty solid.
A card depicting a cheerful archaeologist. Carrying it in your wallet increases point acquisition by 10%. (Only the highest-value item applies in case of duplicates.)
"Wow!!!!"
Seong-il cheered again. Looking at the card, he thought, So just keeping this in my wallet gives me an extra 10% on all points?! This is no joke either?! Even just from this one pull, using those 5,000 points wasn't a loss at all!! I get 15,000 points for every B-rank main quest clear. Ten percent of that is an extra 1,500 per quest. Three quests and I've already made back my entire investment...?! This is another broken cheat item!!!
His heart pounded from the second jackpot. Seong-il calmly took out his wallet and slipped the archaeologist card inside.
For the final draw, he thought, Please give me another winner... Is that too greedy?
Steadying his racing heart, Seong-il pulled the last item. A new reward appeared before his eyes!!
Invade another's dream and dominate it, creating the story exactly as you desire. (Requires a physical sample from the target, such as hair.)
"Huh?"
The appearance of an unfamiliar consumable left him stumped. The item's usage description was so unique that Seong-il couldn't quite grasp its purpose.
What kind of item is this...? Even when I use Induction to examine it, nothing particularly stands out...
Seong-il shrugged at the strange item, pondered it for a moment, then shook his head and stored it in his inventory. Well... I'll figure it out when I have some free time and actually test it.
Having ended his gacha session on a massive high, Seong-il closed out the day in an excellent mood.
After spending the next several days quietly attending classes, Seong-il was wrapping up another week when his smartphone buzzed with a messenger notification on Friday afternoon.
Hm...? Who's that? Jun-il maybe...?
Assuming it was his friend, Seong-il casually opened his phone—only to find a message from Lee Ah-hyun waiting for him.
Lee Ah-hyun...? Is this about the dungeon exploration?
Even though it was clearly official business, receiving a message from one of the department's top beauties made Seong-il's heart skip a beat.
She's a completely different type from any woman I've met before...
Unlike the beagle-like Charlotte, the cat-like Luphtesia, the textbook seductive Ilyna, or the glamorous standards that were Elisha and Yuna, Lee Ah-hyun had the aura of an ice beauty.
Maybe the closest comparison is silent Eun-wol? Though once Eun-wol opens her mouth she's basically Charlotte...
After wasting time on pointless thoughts, Seong-il calmly read the message.
After the brief exchange with Lee Ah-hyun, Seong-il gave a light shrug and spent the rest of the day training his martial arts before calling it a night.
The next day, at the appointed time.
"Haaam..."
Hmm... Am I the only one here so far?
Seong-il sat in a corner of the café, blankly sipping his coffee. Suddenly—
Tap!
Huh...?
Startled by the sound of something being set on his table, Seong-il looked up. Standing in front of him was a cheerful-looking man wearing glasses.
"Uh... hello...?"
"Hey! Hello! You're Han Seong-il, right? The double awakener who's been the hot topic lately."
"Yes? Yes... that's me, but who are you...?"
The man gave a slightly awkward smile and replied, "Ah... right, I jumped straight into conversation without introducing myself. I'm Jo Seung-jin. Second-year. My position is dealer. Main ability is elemental control."
"Ah...! Nice to meet you, sunbae...!"
Seung-jin waved his hand with a friendly smile. "No need for all that formality! We're going to be on the same team for a while, so just call me hyung. Hyung is fine."
"Yes... Hyung."
"Good...! By the way, looks like only three of us have shown up so far?"
"...Three?"
Seong-il was confused. He was certain only he and Seung-jin were there, yet the sudden mention of three left him puzzled. Then a woman's voice came from behind him.
"Right? Seems like it's just us for now."
Seong-il naturally turned around. Standing there was a slightly plump, somewhat cute, and vaguely familiar-looking woman.
"Uh... where have I seen you before...?"
The familiarity without the name made Seong-il mutter to himself. The woman gave him a slightly hurt look and answered.
"Hey....! I know our department has two hundred people in a year, but we're still in the same class... Even if you don't know my name, you should at least recognize my face, right?"
"Ah...! S-sorry!"
"Sigh... I already know you're a loner, so never mind. I'm Oh Yoo-ju, first-year."
Ah... shit, that's right.
Now that she'd said it, Seong-il realized she really was his classmate. Yoo-ju continued her explanation.
"Anyway, I'm a space-time support ability user. I can make time in a specific area flow slightly slower or faster. If it's a very short period, I can even rewind time by about five minutes to heal wounds..."
"Oh...!"
Seong-il let out an impressed sound at the clearly powerful ability. Seung-jin spoke up with a teasing tone.
"Just so you know, Yoo-ju is my girlfriend, so don't even think about it."
With that, he gestured for her to sit beside him. Watching them, Seong-il gave a bitter smile and thought, Well... she's not ugly, but she's not exactly a great beauty either, so she's not my type. No need to worry.
After encountering countless stunning women while traveling through Game Master worlds, Seong-il's standards had risen sky-high. These days, someone with Yoo-ju's level of appearance didn't even register for him.
"Don't worry. I'm the type who doesn't even glance at couples... Haha..."
"Ooh~ You've got good senses~"
Seung-jin, now seated beside Yoo-ju, wrapped an arm around her waist and started acting lovey-dovey.
Throwing that in a solo player's face... really now...
While Seong-il quietly sipped his coffee and endured their antics, the person they'd been waiting for finally appeared—Lee Ah-hyun.
"Sorry I'm late. I called everyone here but ended up being the last one."
Seung-jin waved his hands with a good-natured smile. "No worries~ Ah-hyun. You've been doing all the heavy lifting—recruiting the party and handling every little detail for us. Waiting a bit is nothing. By the way, where's the last team member...?"
Ah-hyun answered with a bitter expression. "Sigh... I originally planned to recruit one more person for a sub-dealer plus supporter role, but that classmate suddenly withdrew this morning, saying they couldn't join after all."
"...What?"
Yoo-ju let out an understandably irritated voice. Seong-il nodded in agreement.
"Isn't that crazy? No-showing at the last minute? We have a mission in three days. Who was it? Seriously...?"
Ah-hyun smiled bitterly. "Sigh... I'm sorry. That friend apologized too. They said they really wanted to join our team, but another classmate kept insisting the spot was theirs and caused a huge fuss. It seems they got scared and backed out in tears."
From the way she's describing it, it sounds like Choi Hyun-woo... No matter how much he likes a girl, isn't that crossing the line?
Seong-il could roughly guess the situation. He sighed and asked her, "Haa... I think I get the picture. So what are you planning to do about the last spot...?"
Ah-hyun looked at the other three and continued. "Since it's come to this, how about we just form the party with the four of us?"
"What...? Is that even possible?!"
At Seong-il's surprised tone, Ah-hyun nodded and explained further. "Parties of five are only allowed up to 8th-grade dungeons anyway. From 7th-grade and above—which third-years enter—the limit is four people max, so there won't be any issues. Taking in some half-hearted classmate just to fill the spot would only make things harder if they become a permanent member for the whole semester. This seems better."
"...Will that really be okay?"
"Of course. To be honest, just the three of us—me, Yoo-ju, and Seung-jin sunbae—could clear 9th-grade dungeons. Plus, since I'm a revenge awakener, I can pull 1.5 people's worth of weight."
"Hmm..."
"And after you've experienced dungeon exploration three or four times, Seong-il, I believe you'll be able to carry your own weight. So I'm not too worried."
"Is that so...?"
Yoo-ju jumped into the conversation between the two. "So you're planning to keep running a four-person party like this? Without recruiting anyone else??"