Chapter 7

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 7

Chapter Title: SSR

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Once the dazzling light faded, eleven cards appeared on my status screen, all face down. Among them, I spotted one prism card and one gold card.

That meant I'd secured at least an SSR and an SR card.

"Whoa!!"

I dropped the status device and started jumping around the inn room in excitement. Sua watched me and shared in my joy.

"Come here!!"

I spread my arms wide, signaling for her to jump into my embrace, but disappointingly, Sua didn't.

"Ahem... Yeah, that makes sense."

Pushing aside my awkwardness, I picked up the status device again and tapped the gold-shimmering card first.

"Whoa! This one's out?"

To be precise, this Valkyrie wasn't a healer. She was a close-range dealer. But her trait was optimized for healing, restoring allies while dealing damage, which made her a popular pick for aggressive playstyles without a dedicated healer.

With my heart pounding, I tapped the prism-glowing SSR card next.

"Huuuh?! Demon witch?!?!"

I blurted out her nickname without thinking. Her name was Lije, the Valkyrie known as the Dark Saint of the demon realm.

You might think "saint" means healer, but she was a pure tank.

She had no attack power. She solely tanked. As long as she was around, allies never took damage.

She absorbed every bit of damage aimed at the team. And she was incredibly durable, earning her the title of top tank in Valkyrie.

When I first started playing, Lije's update made her an instant star as an overpowering tank.

Combined with Holla's single-target heals and Lussera's sustain, it created insane synergy. And amazingly, I'd pulled all four cards.

This confirmed it. None of the Valkyries I'd summoned were from the latest updates.

The lineup matched the era when I started playing.

I didn't know how updates worked in this world, but Valkyries like Ariel or Elysion were probably far in the future.

Looking at my summoned Valkyries, I could form the strongest possible team.

The issue now: With five slots filled including Sua, who to pick for the sixth?

Logically, drop Sua. I only had two SRs worth using, but I couldn't bench my favorite, so Sua stayed.

Standard 6-player battles used a 3x4 grid.

Frontline maxed at three, since frontliners blocked each other.

For frontline, Sua and Lussera worked perfectly.

Tank Lije could go anywhere—front or back. She didn't attack anyway and absorbed damage regardless of position.

Behind Sua and Lussera: Elastra and Holla.

The last spot could be any of Heiji, Jaira, or Garujan.

But with Lije, Jaira didn't fit—she favored aggressive setups, and this one wasn't.

My two SRs aside, she meshed poorly.

Heiji and Garujan were both solid dealers, but I chose Garujan.

Heiji buffed ally attack; Garujan debuffed enemy attack.

With Lije holding the line and Elastra finishing, lowering enemy attack was better.

"Time to summon them?"

I manipulated the status, slotting Valkyries into the five empty spots.

"Huh?? Why isn't it working?"

Only Sua slotted in. I'd tried Lije and Lussera first, then Elastra, but it blocked.

'No way...?'

A thought flashed: My rank was E.

Story mode allowed six Valkyries eventually, but not at start.

Tutorial: one Valkyrie. Post-tutorial: three.

More unlocked with progress, at D-rank minimum.

"Sua, can I summon six Valkyries right now?"

"Yes, Pilot. You're E-rank, so only three."

My hunch was right.

"But... why didn't you say so earlier? I wasted gems on a 6-pull..."

It cost way more—such a shame.

"I thought you wanted to sleep comfortably..."

Sua deflated again at my words.

"No, no, it's not your fault. I should've known..."

Five years playing, yet I forgot basics. My bad.

Excuse: ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Tutorial was ancient history.

'Sigh... So how do I summon now?'

A D-rank is required to summon six valkyries. In order to rank up, you need a total of five wins in either 1v1 or 3v3 duel placements.

I needed a 3-player comp. In addition, I needed to Level the Valkyries too.

Brain spinning.

'Sua's a must.'

There's no dropping her. My options have narrowed, but it's unavoidable.

'Lije essential.'

Mandatory for 6s. Without her tanking, wins were tough.

'Last spot...?'

Sua: melee DPS. Lije: tank, no damage. DPS on Sua alone? No.

'Only one choice.'

Lussera. Perfect for needing both heal and DPS.

I summoned as planned: silver-haired vampire Lussera.

And "demon witch" Lije.

Lije wore a tight white dress, her chest massive. Seeing her in person—not just on my phone—nearly made me drool at that bombshell figure.

"Greetings, Pilot."

They bowed to me in unison.

'Huh? Where's she looking?'

Lije bowed off to the side, not at me.

'Right... Lije's blind.'

Her face had a blindfold like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a veil—canonically sightless.

'That's why there's no attacks?'

Luckily, her senses compensated for daily life.

"Lije. Over here."

"Ah! Sorry!"

She turned toward my voice to bow again.

Bam!

"Ow..."

"That's... the wall..."

'Senses... right? That's the lore...'

Lije's airheaded side—thanks to that explosive body earning her "demon witch"—cracked me up.

"Sua, look after Lije."

Glancing around, only Sua could handle it.

Lussera's vibe said no babysitting. Silver lining: both demons, low clash risk.

Lussera looked indifferent; neutral Sua was best bet.

Sua stared in disbelief.

"What? You hate it?"

"N-no... Won't you... unsummon me...?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Huh? Why? You're my main."

"Gasp..."

She covered her mouth, eyes welling like she might cry.

I swear I heard her favorability ding up.

"Perfect timing—from your 200 dupes out of 1,010 pulls, time to awaken you to B-rank."

"Hah...!!"

She let out an even bigger gasp.

'She's getting cuter by the minute? Heh heh.'

That expression was dizzyingly adorable. My first love showing it? Heart-melting.

I worked the status: fused duplicates to C-rank, then awakened Sua to B.