Let’s pour every last gold coin into it, and before long, a list of results popped up.
Ding!
[1-star: Dried Mana Herb]
[1-star: Processed Recovery Herb]
[1-star: Dried Mana Herb]
[1-star: Dried Mana Herb]
[1-star: Dried Mana Herb]
[1-star: Processed Recovery Herb]
[1-star: Dried Mana Herb]
[2-star: Sturdy Steel Longsword]
[1-star: Low-grade Recovery Potion]
[1-star: Wooden Arrow]
[1-star: Dried Mana Herb]
…
[3-star: High-grade Recovery Potion]
…
[3-star: Luminous Mana Herb]
…
[2-star: Low-grade Aura Enhancement Potion]
…
[3-star: Skill – Yuren’s Swordsmanship]
…
[1-star: Ability – Alluring Wink]
As I scanned through the list, I found myself utterly confused and speechless. After a while, the words that slipped from my open mouth were a heartfelt lament.
“I mean, for real, how the hell does this make any sense?”
How did I pump in 150 gold coins and end up with absolutely no 4-star results???
Not that I got many 2-stars or 3-stars either.
I got one 2-star that I wouldn’t even use—a bow. Three 3-stars popped up, but one was a potion and one was an elixir.
The last one was the swordsmanship I had been hoping for, but…
“What is this?”
A 1-star ability, Alluring Wink. What even is this?
As the name suggests, I know it’s another ability from the Goddess of Love.
But seriously, with the gacha results like this, why slap a wink at the end?
“Get the manager out here!!!”
I shouted, trembling in frustration, but as expected, nothing happened.
Right now, isn’t the Goddess of Love too tired to even wake up?
“Okay. Let’s think positively. Since the Goddess of Love put a lot of effort into Ellie’s artificial arm, I’m just replenishing that. Yeah. Anyway, to get the current artificial arm, it’s something I couldn’t avoid. And addressing it now during this somewhat awkward pickup period might even be a good thing…”
Just as I was trying to rationalize with myself, the overload from absorbing the abilities and skills hit me.
Crack—
I felt the sensation of my body splitting from the inside. My bones and muscles were rapidly breaking and regenerating.
“Kyaaaa!!!”
I’ve pulled 4-star skills before, and while this was less intense than that…
All the previous skills were auxiliary like Muffled Steps or Power Explosion.
Even though it’s a 3-star, gaining a legitimate combat skill like Swordsmanship made it feel like my body was fundamentally changing.
It wasn’t unbearable enough to grind my teeth, but the strangely realistic and vivid pain made it even more distressing.
After a lengthy reconstruction of my body, the pain finally subsided.
“Ugh…”
I plopped down on the floor, catching my breath, and shoved a Mana Herb into my mouth.
While it was true I needed to eat to increase my mana, it was more for some weak pain relief.
Normally, unprocessed Mana Herbs don’t have much effect no matter how many you eat. That’s why Ellie uses them in processed forms mixed like cigarettes.
But I have a Gluttonous Stomach. It means I can fully absorb their effects and get slightly pain relief.
And above all…
“It’s sweet….”
Thanks to the bonus effect from strengthening my Gluttonous Stomach, everything I eat tastes great, soothing my frayed nerves.
Sweet treats are the best!
I pretended to sniffle and stuffed my mouth full of Mana Herbs.
I wouldn’t really eat a lot anyway; most would go into the Gluttonous Stomach to be digested slowly.
While I was engulfed in this, I realized there were so many Mana Herbs from this draw that storing them all might be tough, so I paused.
“Ugh.”
I should properly check what I got this time.
First, among what I acquired today, the somewhat useful 3-star skill—Yuren’s Swordsmanship.
Even though I still don’t know who Yuren is, a 3-star swordsmanship isn’t to be ignored.
Even if it’s not something like a Swordmaster, wasn’t Yuren at least a captain of knights?
With my heart racing, I focused my mind on the knowledge acquired from the skill.
Just as expected, it was a typical longsword technique. …And thankfully, there were plenty of applications for daggers and greatswords as well.
I had been relying on instinct alone, hastily striking at openings I saw, but this was my first encounter with systematic swordsmanship.
I did learn greatsword techniques from Lydia, but out of respect for my beginner status, I only learned the very basics.
Yuren’s Swordsmanship was drilled into me from the basics to advanced techniques.
From simple footwork to the intricate and challenging advanced footwork. Plus, a surekill that guarantees a clean cut if executed correctly.
If I manage to wield this adequately, I could easily pass off as a knight’s offspring.
But that’s not my goal. While Yuren’s swordsmanship is the highest level among the combat techniques I’ve learned so far… it doesn’t match my style.
After pulling various skills and trying out abilities, a realization struck me.
While the performance of a skill or ability is important, what’s even more crucial is how to apply it.
Of course, things might change if it’s a 5-star, but at least up to 4-stars, that holds true.
If I were to ditch my current weapon and unleash Yuren’s swordsmanship with a newly acquired longsword, how strong would I become?
Hmm. With my body and knowledge forcibly infused to execute those latter techniques, I should be far from weak.
But if I were to ask whether I would be stronger than I am now… probably not.
In the end, I guess I’ll have to prioritize combining the skills as I have with the others.
“When I think about it this way, all this gacha luck wasn’t so bad.”
No ceiling, no pickups, yet all the skills that fit my current combat style emerged naturally, didn’t they?
I think this is the Goddess of Love exerting her usual efforts.
“All right. For now, I’ll test this out next time I go into the labyrinth. First, let’s eat the elixir.”
I dug through the pile of Mana Herbs, which had shrunk significantly, and found a rainbow-glimmering Mana Herb standing alone.
It was much larger than a usual Mana Herb. It looked fresh, like it had just been picked.
“Sniff, sniff.”
As soon as I brought it to my nose, a refreshing clarity jolted my head.
It felt like an entire batch of Mana Herbs had been concentrated into this single one. If I just ate it, it’d probably taste that bitter…
“Good thing I have a Gluttonous Stomach.”
No matter how bitter the medicine, once it goes in, it should taste sweet.
Since it was too big to swallow whole, I cut it in half, and as I popped it in my mouth, it released a refreshing aroma. The sweetness was rising through…
“Mint chocolate?”
I clearly remembered the ability said that everything I ate would taste good when boosted.
So, mint chocolate means it’s delicious, according to the God of Gluttony…!
I nodded in satisfaction and resumed rifling through the pile of Mana Herbs.
But since I actually bit into it instead of storing it in my stomach, the effects of the Luminous Mana Herb began to kick in.
My mana reserves, which had noticeably expanded after receiving 3-star magic, visibly grew, and besides, I felt like the purity of my mana had slightly increased.
The effects of a 3-star elixir were indeed apparent.
At least now, if I use an exploding flame, I wouldn’t fall into mana exhaustion right away; I’d have plenty of leeway left.
“Next must be this.”
What I found this time was a small vial filled with milky liquid. It must be the Aura Enhancement Potion.
Even though it was low-grade, having a 2-star rank indicates it was quite a rare elixir.
Though I missed the lingering taste of mint chocolate, I gulped it all down to taste the coconut water flavor that emerged.
“Not bad.”
Perfect for a little palate cleanser.
As I nodded in satisfaction, I immediately felt the effect kick in since I swallowed it directly.
What felt like a sort of dantian began to heat up and swell.
Though it’s only a 2-star, and being a low-grade enhancement potion, the boost wasn’t that impressive.
Since the original amount of aura was quite low to begin with, I was thankful for even this much.
The next thing left was the High-grade Recovery Potion. But since I didn’t have any injuries, I should just stock it as a standby.
…It feels like I’m hoarding too many potions this way, but isn’t it a rule of thumb to save potions for emergencies, only to never use them at all?
Still, there will be times I truly need a potion. Maybe not now, but definitely when I hit the 6th or 7th floor.
I stuffed it into my backpack and focused on the information of the 1-star ability, Alluring Wink.
With Alluring Wink, I can attempt to mesmerize anyone, regardless of race.
Surprisingly, that’s all there is to it.
“Seriously! What the hell am I supposed to use this for?!”
At least I could find some utility in the other abilities, but this beauty ability has such limited usage.
It’s not even that I can charm; I can only try to charm.
Can’t I just try that even without an ability???
Still, it slightly increased my Divine Power and felt a bit more refined. Plus, the active use of eye contact while acting is nice too…
“No matter how I think about it, this is sketchy.”
Am I really being customized based on the preferences of the Goddess of Love??
In that moment, my long-standing suspicion transformed into certainty.
