Winning Streak Highway (5)

"I race across the sky!"

Sophia's jaw dropped. Shoulders flared wide like a martial god's, a back packed with violent muscle, and an ass rounder and plumper than the pillow she slept on — that was Yohan, and he was joyriding a robot.

"Khahahahaha!!"

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Mechanic flailed both arms like a drowning man, but Yohan refused to let go. He clung on the way a passenger rides a speeding bus without a handrail — or like a pro surfer, holding his balance and never falling from the arm.

Clack-clack.

Whoooooom—

The Mechanic's shoulders split open and two missiles launched. Yohan kicked off the elbow joint and vaulted into the air.

"I believe I can fly!"

Belting out that bizarre song, Yohan soared through empty space. He looked like a Celestial without wings. Sunlight broke through at just the right moment and lit him up.

The shadow fell across his face, so his expression was impossible to read. But she could guess. Anyone who bent their body like a boneless invertebrate to dodge missiles was definitely grinning.

KRA-KOOOM

The missiles that grazed past Yohan detonated right behind his back. For an ordinary human, it would have been enough to peel the skin off and cook the organs — but Sophia knew better.

A body amplified by Iron Man and skill stat boosts doesn't take a scratch from an explosion like that.

"Is that all you've got?! The staple of sci-fi! The counter to space monsters! Humanity's hope! And a Mechanic is only this much?!"

"Gyaaaaaaah!!!"

The robot's chassis glowed cherry-red. Yohan had latched onto its waist, then scrambled off in a hurry. Blisters swelled so large they were visible even from the coaching booth.

"Yohan!!!"

"Don't worry."

She'd shouted out of fear the burns would stop his offense, but the answer came right back — a voice so solid it wiped the anxiety clean away.

What do I do. My heart's racing.

Wondering if it was just her, she snuck a glance at Cheonsol and found the woman looking completely smitten. In that case, it wasn't strange. Honestly…

"I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠can hear the breath of iron. A first-rate swordsman can cut steel. A first-rate fist artist shatters it."

If he just wouldn't say things like that, he'd be so cool. Her racing heart went cold on the spot.

"How truly gallant…"

Cheonsol's a little weird too.

Having to question the mental health of her only two minions… Minions were supposed to take after their god, weren't they? Was Sophia the weird one, and that was why they turned out like this?

"Three Fist Style Secret Technique! Beat the Crap Out of Them!"

No. Only Yohan was weird. She was normal.

"Gyaaaaaah!!"

Yohan's fist crumpled the robot's leg. The robot, following its master's command, threw a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠punch of its own — and Yohan met it head-on without dodging.

CRAAACK

CRUNCH

Both minions' fists shattered together. The robot couldn't repair itself. Yohan had Self-Healing.

"Self-Healing."

A recovery skill known as top-tier in the Game of the Gods — and among recovery skills, a broken one that cost no resources at all.

Minions who couldn't fight well struggled to make use of it, but Yohan's skill usage was perfect. The Mechanic, both legs and arms wrecked, collapsed.

Amazing…

When she'd pulled a human with a gacha ticket, she never expected a result like this. The Game of the Gods was where formidable races competed for supremacy.

Even humans from fantasy or martial arts worlds often floundered — so what chance did a human raised in a world without supernatural powers have?

Honestly, early on she hadn't expected much. She'd planned to feed him experience slowly and grow him carefully. But Yohan had acquired excellent talents and skills, and possessed combat sense that left everyone else in the dust.

"Robot! I'm right between your legs!"

"Gkhah… hahk…"

"Victory in the left hand! Dragon in the right! Combine them — Sex Fist!!"

In exchange for talent, his personality and intelligence had been demolished — but so what? A full ten-win streak. The prerequisite for entering the rankings — proof of a gifted trainer with a shot at advancing from the outskirts into the center.

This was the minion who would lead her down the path of a ranker. Most newbie rankers failed to break through the lower leagues of the center and got sent back to the fringes — but not her.

I'm going to win the Champions League.

Dream big. Yohan climbed onto the half-wrecked hunk of metal and roared.

"SEEEEEEX!!!!"

"My lady. Could you cover Al-al-i's ears for me? This lady shall cover Lan-lan-i's."

Cheonsol was seriously weird too.

Where even are the ears?

She roughly scooped Al-al-i into her arms, and a message appeared.

"Kyaaaaaah! Ten-win streak!!!"

Unable to contain her excitement, Sophia threw both hands over her head and screamed. Al-al-i rolled sideways, and Cheonsol caught the child with a crooked little smile.

With the battle over, Sophia pulled the newly summoned Yohan into a hug.

"Yohan, I love you!"

Love? Is she serious? Our goddess is so worked up she has no idea what she's saying. Did men and women who locked eyes at outdoor Olympic or World Cup watch parties act like Sophia?

Anyway, works for me. I pulled Sophia into a tight hug — her bra made her a little less soft than usual — and whispered,

"I love you too."

"Eek!"

Sophia yanked herself free in a panic. Come on. A guy could get hurt.

I glared, but Sophia's energy didn't drop one bit.

"Sorry! But you did great! You won so well! I'm proud of you, Yohan!"

"Am I adorable?"

"You're adorable!"

Is she a parrot?

"Am I a good boy?"

"You're a good boy!"

"Wanna have sex?"

"Se… eughhh…"

Getting shy again. A minion who just fought his heart out is allowed to have sex, you know. I was about to tease her more when Shinpago killed the mood.

"Machines, shut up."

"Mmm~ no thanks. You suck at this game."

I can control a machine's emotions! Shinpago tried to say more, but time ran out and we returned home.

Cheonsol carefully set Al-al-i and Lan-lan-i down, then pulled me into a hug and patted my back.

"You have worked hard. This lady is truly proud of the Mad Demon."

"Fall for me?"

"Indeed. It would have been better had you not been naked, but having been struck by a Mechanical Jiangshi's qi, what choice was there? Hm? The Mad Demon's clothes have returned?"

"Ah."

No wonder I'd felt a little restricted. Going back to my original state had felt so liberating that my body moved better.

"Should I fight naked from now on?"

"Absolutely not!"

"Do you wish to become a public enemy of the martial world? This lady will never permit it."

No need to get that serious about it. Things were warm a second ago — why so cold all of a sudden? This won't do. Time for a mood shift.

"Sophia! Rewards! We have to check the ten-win streak rewards!"

"Ah! Right!"

She tapped the empty air, and a bronze chest materialized between us. Same trash-tier box as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠always, but this one had a bit more shine than the last.

"Pull up the info too."

"Okay. Cheonsol, is this your first bronze chest?"

"It is not. This lady has seen them several times."

"What? Really?"

I was as surprised as Sophia. For real?

"This lady saw the bronze chests Absolu purchased from the shop. As this lady recalls, the chance of a rare-grade item was one in ten."

"Ahh. So he bought the ripoff boxes they sell in the shop. Is Absolu an idiot? Divinity to burn? Buying that junk?"

"Are they expensive?"

"If a rare drops it's a win, but usually it's a dud. Only rich gods with divinity to spare buy those."

Right. He had money, so of course he'd throw away a good minion like Cheonsol without a second thought. Anyway, I can't stand that Absolu bastard. Our poor Sophia took splash damage she never asked for and was fuming.

"Sophia."

"Don't try anything funny."

I'd been about to wipe her tears and got shut down instantly. I awkwardly redirected my hand toward the chest.

"Let's just crack the box. This is a ninety percent common, ten percent rare, right?"

"Heh heh. Nope."

Looking triumphant, Sophia pulled up the bronze chest's information.

"It's enhanced?"

"That's right! The odds are a full fifty-fifty!"

Now this was a ten-win streak reward. Honestly, if the five-win and ten-win rewards were identical, it wouldn't make sense. You need better loot to stoke that hunger for more.

"Opening it? Opening it?"

"Open it already. I think I'm getting dizzy."

"Dizzy, are you? As expected — you overexerted yourself."

Cheonsol steadied me. It was just a bit… but it felt nice, so I wasn't going to correct her.

"Open!"

For reasons unknown, Sophia clenched her teeth and shouted.

"Go-go-go-roulette!"

Common and rare at fifty-fifty! The spinning wheel whirled fast — and stopped on rare.

"Too predictable."

With the set-item groundwork already laid, I'd expected something like this. I was waiting for Cheonsol's or Sophia's reaction when another message popped up.

Didn't see that one coming.