Chapter 8

[Tower of Wishes, 2nd Floor – Evergreen Forest, Area 1]

[★☆☆: Defeat all enemies.]

[★★☆: Win without anyone falling.]

[★★★: Purify the area within 7 minutes and 0 seconds.]

Wait, was the time limit always 7 minutes?

I started feeling like something was gradually changing compared to what I remembered from the early parts of the game.

Even our tutorial Saint, Yo-Hena, used to be super kind and gentle.

Earlier.

Before entering the Tower.

“Arc, please make sure to keep yourself tidy. ……Since the Seer is absent, I hope you’ll take your role as the Seer seriously.”

For some reason, she suddenly went on a nagging spree.

“Ah, yes.”

Did I do something wrong?

I couldn’t think of anything.

I’ve always been serious, so it felt a bit unfair.

Must’ve been a small misunderstanding.

Men prove themselves through actions, after all.

If I treat her with sincerity and respect, the misunderstanding will clear up.

“Let’s go.”

Enough with the flashbacks.

It’s time to move forward.

I walked ahead……

Just kidding.

“Ari, let’s go.”

“Okay!”

Archers naturally have superior eyesight.

I sent our party’s main DPS and scout ahead.

……I should recruit a frontline tank or DPS soon.

Feeling a bit guilty now.

The 1st Floor, the Verdant Plains, was completely flat.

If it was a place with clear visibility.

The 2nd Floor, the Evergreen Forest, was densely packed with trees.

The dense trees blocked our vision.

Of course.

“Eh, no big deal~!”

The wild boars got hit by Ari’s arrows and went down.

One shot, one kill.

They fell cleanly.

It was a straightforward path where we just had to find the right way forward.

Ari took care of the boars.

I picked up the loot they dropped.

Yo-Hena?

She just did whatever she wanted.

Normally, she’d heal me or buff Ari whenever she got bored.

Or she’d pull out a book and explain things whenever we encountered a tutorial event.

……I already knew all that, though.

“Yo-Hena, you’re amazing! You know everything!”

“Hehe, it’s all written in the scriptures. It must be the goddess’s blessing.”

They say compliments can make even a dolphin dance.

So I kept praising her.

I was bored anyway.

And so, the hero party—

No, Ari’s solo-carry party—cleared up to the 3rd Area of the 2nd Floor.

……Of course.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing.

“Huh? Arc, watch out!”

“Huh?”

While I was bored and looking around, Ari’s scream reached me.

The moment I turned my head—

“Squeak!”

“Squeeeal!!!”

A wild boar slammed into my side.

A sharp pain surged through me.

It hurt, it really freaking hurt……!

“Ah, Arc! Are you okay?! Heal!”

Thanks to Yo-Hena’s heal, the pain subsided quickly.

“Ah, Arc……! I’m so sorry……!”

Ari, who shot the boar down belatedly, rushed over with a tearful face.

Despite such hardships.

Life is full of ups and downs.

A hopeful future was also approaching us.

That is.

We’ve gathered 180 divine stones again!

This time will be different, this time!

“Yo-Hena, the time has come.”

When I whispered with a solemn face, Yo-Hena also nodded with determination.

“Which revelation?”

“The Beginner’s Revelation.”

I don’t know how the prayer mechanics work, but.

Revelations—gacha—were divided into various types, just like in real life.

Beginner’s Revelation. The character pool is limited, but after 50 pulls, you’re guaranteed one 5-star SSR.

Standard Revelation. You can get contracts for all heroes, but the so-called pity is at 100.

There’s also the Pickup Revelation, which increases the rate for specific heroes.

And the Select Revelation, which lets you increase the rate for the hero you want…….

I decided to ignore why pickups or select banners, which are extremely “game-like,” exist.

The Tower.

The status window.

Me carrying a smartphone—all of it’s unrealistic anyway. So, whatever.

“I’m ready, Arc.”

As I poured in the divine stones, I checked the future possibilities.

There are 10 possible 5-star heroes in the Beginner’s Revelation.

……Honestly.

As long as it’s not Yo-Hena, I’m fine.

A tank would be best.

After that refreshing experience of having my ribs smashed by a boar.

I needed a melee DPS just in case.

If nothing else, I’ll recruit a 3-star tank this time.

Honestly.

If a top-tier player like me gets possessed by a game and dies on a low floor, not even past the 10th?

They could play it at my funeral as a dead montage.

I’d die twice then.

The second cause of death would be shame.

“Let’s pray.”

The three of us offered a solemn prayer.

And then.

“Beloved……”

Yo-Hena’s prayer began.

It’s chilling.

A dagger stabs my heart.

But I’m not worried.

My faith is at MAX right now……!

…….

But.

A golden flame burst forth.

It’s fine.

It’s trivial.

Just a small thing.

I forced myself to keep a straight face and watched the trail of white stars falling from the sky.

After all, even 3-star contracts can be used to upgrade Ari to 4-star, where she’ll finally perform at her best.

“Rainbow! Rainbow!”

Watching her chant the cheer we learned last time with such flair.

She truly is the goddess of beginners.

The supreme 3-star DPS.

Great Ari, Light Ari, Golden Ari.

And so kind too.

I tried to control my emotions.

“Huh, huh?!”

As I blankly stared at Ari’s profile, she suddenly jumped up.

What, did a boar respawn? I followed her gaze.

“Gasp! Something big is coming!”

The shooting star falling from the sky.

It changed from white—

To gold.

Fluctuation probability!

“Rainbow! Rainbow!”

“Rainbooooooow!!!!!!!”

Gathering all my soul and faith, I shouted at the top of my lungs.

“Rainbow…!”

Even the Saint timidly chimed in.

At that moment.

The shooting star, which had been shining in a brilliant golden light, flickered momentarily.

And then.

The shooting star began to emit a dazzling rainbow-colored light.

At the same time, the flames from the Holy Grail also sparkled in full rainbow colors!

“It’s heeeeeere!!!!!!!”

Unable to contain my excitement, I impulsively hugged Ari tightly.

The goddess of fortune was smiling at me.

A glorious achievement of saving up to 30 consecutive pulls!

The best situation for a free-to-play player!

…No.

Stay calm.

The enemy is still alive…!

I awkwardly released Ari from my embrace.

“Ahem, ahem.”

I returned to my usual calm and wise self.

Yo-Hena, who was glaring at me slyly, rummaged through her bag.

As if to torment me, she slowly pulled out a piece of paper.

“Please behave a bit more properly.”

“Ah, yes.”

After a brief scolding, she handed me a stack of papers.

I quickly flipped through the 3-star common contracts.

And then, the long-awaited 5-star.

Who is it?!

I hope it’s Saha!

My tank! My main tank! Saha!

“……”

And then, I fell into silence.

“What? Who is it?”

“Why are you like this, Arc?”

“Ahem.”

I felt like crying.

…It’s a bust……

“I’m just… so happy…”

But I can’t be honest about it…

It’s so demoralizing…

—

The next morning.

“So, you’re going to bring the new member, right? Ari and I will wait at the Guild House.”

“Take care, Arc!”

“Yeaah……”

My footsteps were heavy.

As I walked towards the plaza where Lumi was, I fell into a flashback.

[Last Felix Gallery]

[Author: Flame Bird Lover Saha Lover]

[Title: Beware of Bait) Did you hit the pickup ceiling? LOLOLOL]

[(Picture of Lumi obtained from the gacha ceiling)]

Seriously… I got her, so I’m posting…

Ugh… My baby…

I feel like crying…]

[37 Upvotes / 0 Downvotes]

– Lumi fan

– Gallery owner fan LOL

– Isn’t this bait? Not deleting?

– ㄴNewbie? Don’t you know the gallery owner? LOL

– This guy is a famous Lumi lover LOL

Even after being reincarnated into the game, the bonds of fate seem to remain intact.

“Phew……”

5-star. Earth attribute dealer. Lumi.

Nicknames: Doggo, Dang-Lu, Gallery Owner, etc.

It’s not easy to rise to the position of ‘Gallery Owner’ in a subculture mobile game gallery.

Whether it’s Den-Den with her overwhelmingly superior chest size,

or Ker-Rung with her overwhelmingly superior betrayal,

or Jang-Ri-Jang with her overwhelmingly superior beauty.

You need to excel in a specific field.

And if your in-game performance is good, that’s even better.

However.

Lumi.

She boasted overwhelmingly superior suicide skills.

A melee dealer.

But her range is shorter than a tank’s, so she always goes ahead alone and gets killed.

Her skill set also.

The enhancement skill ‘Lumi Will Protect You, Woof!’

temporarily taunts to draw aggro while boosting her own attack power.

The synergy between her range and skills is so perfect.

In high-difficulty areas, she falls flat in 3 seconds, collecting countless upvotes and Lumi fan comments.

…It was so absurd that I recorded and uploaded it myself.

“Ahaha! That tickles, woof!”

“Unnie, blow on it again, blow!”

As I arrived at the plaza, her unique presence immediately caught my eye.

Why does she have three heads?

She really stands out.

Swinging a red ribbon-wrapped bag of upvotes, she was playing happily with the kids in the plaza.

It warmed my heart.

She’s a good kid.

Just grow up healthy.

“Hey, Lumi?”

“Woof? Who is it, woof?”

As if emphasizing her dog-human character trait,

she added a ‘woof’ at the end of every sentence.

“Take this.”

No need for long words.

I handed the contract to Lumi.

Then.

Her already big eyes widened even more.

Like a real dog, she raised both hands and took the contract.

As soon as the bracelet signaling the contract’s completion disappeared,

“Master!”

“Oof.”

She suddenly jumped at me and hugged me.

“Finally met you, woof! It’s Master, woof!”

I couldn’t speak.

I was perfectly mounted, completely crushed under two massive peaks.

So soft…

“Gah, gah──”

A soft death was pressing down on my respiratory system, leading me to the underworld…

This is a good way to go…

“Lumi-woof is killing people~”

“Flattened and dying~”

The kids’ chattering voices were the last thing I heard.

My consciousness faded.