The Keyword Draw and the 3000x Sensory Overload
I decided it was time to do the draw. Now that my Awakened registration was finished, I was about to head home. To personally test exactly how much my physical abilities had improved, I told Mom to take the car and go on ahead without me. After walking for a while, I reached a nearby park.
DING!
A status window suddenly popped up with a notification. “...?” It was nothing like the usual windows. This one was obnoxiously flashy.
♚♚Commemorating Awakened Registration Completion♚♚ Immediate Gift ※※ ♜Just by logging in now♜ Keyword Draw 10 Free Tickets ￥ Awarded!! §§Available for immediate use§§ ★Special Bonus Appears★ Guaranteed chance to obtain 1 SSR-Grade Keyword!!!★ Use immediately for $$Explosive Combat Power Increase☜☜ Super-Fast Growth Possible※ §§No need to hesitate§§ ♜The life of an Awakened begins now♜!!
“Where the hell did you learn to write like a scam ad…?”
I accessed the internet and applied promotional phrases that caught my eye.
“Don’t do weird stuff like that… More importantly, you can connect to the internet?”
Understood.
The moment the words appeared, the obnoxiously sparkling window in front of me cleaned itself up neatly.
【Keyword Draw 10-Ticket Bundle (Includes 1 Guaranteed SSR)】 has been awarded.
The chaotic spam from a moment ago vanished like it had never existed. “…So. What exactly is this?”
Explaining.
【Keyword Draw】: Randomly acquires expansion elements for Nightshade.
“What do you mean by expansion?”
Acquired keywords can alter the form, effect, and usage method of your ability, or grant access to entirely new abilities.
“So it really is just gacha.” I looked at the window again. Ten pulls. One SSR guaranteed. There was no reason to hesitate. My finger moved toward the ten-pull button.
The screen flashed violently. “?”
BOOOOOOM!
It felt like a flashbang had gone off right in front of my eyes. “Aaaagh! My eyes!” My vision went completely white. I couldn’t see a thing. “Ow, what the hell!” I reflexively squeezed my eyes shut and covered my face with both hands. “What is this, an actual flashbang?!”
This is normal visual direction.
“How is any of this normal…!!” Even with my eyes closed, light still poured in. It pierced straight through my eyelids. Slowly the brightness began to fade. I cracked my eyes open a little. “Whoa… wow…!!”
What I saw was ten glowing orbs floating in a pitch-black void.
In this space you may test the keywords you obtain.
Seven blue orbs, two purple ones, and one that shone with a brilliant golden light. Each burned like a tiny sun. “You really went all out on the presentation!” The lights began to pulse in unison. “The golden rule of gacha is to open the lowest rarity ones first, right?”
I picked a blue orb. It contracted, then shattered with the sound of breaking glass. The keyword that appeared was—
Big Breast
When equipped, slightly increases chest size.
“That feels… off somehow.” I selected a purple orb next.
Nakadashi
Releases inside.
Releases what, exactly? “Wait… are these seriously the tags from those kinds of adult comics?” I suddenly felt several times more anxious than before. “No! That can’t happen!”
I opened the remaining six blue orbs at once.
◈ Primarily appearance and outfit-related keywords.
“Ugh… I’m nervous about what might come out next…” It looked like blue orbs mostly gave external appearance or clothing traits. “What’s a Slot Enhancement Ticket?”
When used, it increases the number of keyword slots by a set amount.
“Oh, I see.” I used both tickets immediately.
《Slot Enhancement Ticket Used》
Slot 1: Empty
Slot 2: Empty
Slot 3: Empty
Slot 4: Empty
Slot 5: Empty
Two extra slots. Time to finish the rest. I picked the remaining purple orb. It shattered with the sound of breaking glass.
Tentacle
“Tentacle?” Is it the kind I’m thinking of? “Usually tentacles are for harassing and tormenting the protagonist, right? How am I supposed to use something like that?”
Please be at ease. Every keyword can be used however the user wishes.
“R-really…? You said I could test them here, right?” I equipped the tentacle right away.
《Tentacle》
《Empty》
《Empty》
It equipped without any visible external change. “What? Oh…!” The system had said I could use every keyword however I wanted. So if I just imagined something that fit the keyword… I closed my eyes and pictured it. Tentacle… tentacle… Usually tentacles belong to monsters, right? Tentacle monster… Come to think of it, there was that famous hero IP with the black tentacle monster race called Symbiote or something. Would that count? Since it said I could use it however I wanted, maybe nothing was impossible.
Shlorp—
A wet, sticky sound rang out. When I opened my eyes, my right arm had changed. “Whoa.” The skin below my right elbow had become extremely smooth. The wrinkles on my hand, fingers, and wrist had vanished. It looked soft and squishy, yet I could tell it would become harder than steel if I tensed it. It felt like liquid metal or liquid muscle. The color was a mix of pink and flesh tones. “I bet I can morph it too.” I imagined the tentacle turning into a sword.
Shlorp—
The tentacle on my arm twisted and coiled, growing more complex, denser, and finally reshaping into the form of a blade. “Wow…” It really transformed exactly as I imagined. Wasn’t this kind of overpowered? If an SR like Tentacle could do this, just how strong would an SSR be?!
I selected the last golden orb. Right before it shattered with the sound of breaking glass, something unusual happened! The golden light suddenly swelled once more and shifted into a soft rose-gold hue. The rose-gold light exploded.
Variant SSR
Sensitivity 3000x (Sensitivity adjustable)
Variant? What’s a variant?
During a draw, there is a small chance for keywords to receive special effects.
Anyway, it’s a good thing, right? Right?? Also, was “Sensitivity 3000x” even a tag? Did it come with the usual clichés attached, not just the tag itself?
After finishing the draw, I returned to the original park. “Something this good should be equipped immediately!”
《Tentacle》
《Sensitivity 3000x (Adjustable)》
《Empty》
I’d always wondered what it would feel like to experience 3000x sensitivity at least once. This was completely insane, but I was doing it anyway. “Full power!”
The moment I activated it, it felt like my brain was being torn apart.
SCREEEEEEECH—!!!
“—!!!” My hearing had been amplified. Every single sound was amplified. It was as if my eardrums were exploding; every noise slammed into me with overwhelming force. The sound of my heartbeat, blood rushing through my veins, the tiny tremors of my muscles. Even the wind brushing past my ears sounded like explosions. Crickets chirping, car engines, honking horns, nearby conversations—every sound in the area poured into me at once.
Next was touch. The air touching my skin felt like blades. The sensation of fabric rubbing against me was no longer simple friction. It felt like I was being scraped and rubbed raw with a rough towel. When I breathed in, it was like knives carving up the inside of my lungs. The everyday vibrations coming through the ground hit me like a steamroller smashing into my entire body.
My vision wasn’t normal either. My field of view had expanded far beyond physical limits. It went past 360-degree vision and turned the world into one endless, unbroken panorama. On top of that, like a game with infinite render distance, every faraway object my eyes could reach appeared crystal clear. It felt like my eyeballs were being ripped apart. The amount of incoming light had also multiplied, and my vision gradually turned white.
Smell was a problem too. The city odors in the air stabbed my nose while the stench of garbage, sewers, nearby restaurant food, detergent on my clothes, dust, asphalt, metal, people, and countless other scents merged into one heavy, indescribable mass that was rammed straight into my sinuses.
Taste. My mouth felt like it had rotted. Even my own saliva tasted sickeningly thick. Synchronized with my sense of smell, I experienced flavors I would never taste again in my lifetime.
The nerves that sensed temperature seemed broken as well; I felt like I was simultaneously standing in fire and trapped naked in ice. My perception of time had stretched enormously too. All of this had happened in the single instant after I amplified my senses.
I couldn’t even scream. I simply collapsed onto the ground. Right before the impact could travel through my whole body—
User’s condition has exceeded safe parameters.
For the user’s safety, activation will be forcibly canceled.
If activation had continued for even one more second, brain damage from excessive information influx was likely.
“Haa……” A breath that felt like it might be my last escaped me. I lay flat on the ground. For a long time I couldn’t do anything. My heartbeat finally returned to normal speed and my breathing slowly stabilized. I was supposed to use this at 3000x? …No, wait. I can adjust it.
“Sensitivity adjustment.”
Adjustment confirmed. Sensory amplification rate can now be set.
“Let’s try a 0.5x increase.”
Sensitivity set to 1.5x.
My body instinctively tensed, afraid the same disaster would happen again, but— “Oh?” Sounds became a little clearer. The sensation of breathing grew slightly sharper. I could even feel the flow of air against my skin. My perception of time had lengthened somewhat. It felt like a well-trained boxer seeing an opponent’s punch in ultra slow-motion, or like someone in an accident whose body and brain dump adrenaline so that a single moment stretches into seconds or even minutes.
“This is actually pretty good.” It didn’t hurt like before. “Then…” “Double it. 2x.” The world became clearer once again. It felt like I had grown closer to it. So if 3000x was like becoming nature itself and feeling everything, that made sense. “2.5x.” The higher the number climbed, the sharper the world grew. “3x.”
When I reached 3x, I felt a slight sense of alienation. The sounds were too clear and my sense of touch had become subtly excessive. My perception of time had stretched so much that my body couldn’t keep up with my thoughts. This seemed to be my current limit. Still, it didn’t cause the same pain as before. “If I train with this, I should be able to raise it further.”