*FLAAASH!*
The 5th card exploded with golden light so brilliant he had to shield his eyes.
'No way…'
The border wasn't bronze or silver.
It was GOLD.
GOLD!
SSR-tier!
'Holy shi–'
And then the card flipped dramatically, revealing…
"Ah."
[...]
Not Luna like he'd hoped, but someone completely different.
Even Aria who's silently watching her master could only stay silent as Nero experiences his first 50/50 loss.
[... Master, are you okay?]
Aria asked with unsure worry.
'As expected huh…'
And Nero could only smile like a monk with unlimited patience as a reply.
Think positive… think positive…
Once he was completely calm, he then finally looked at the SSR-tier character that he pulled.
"..."
*Thump!*
And that pain of losing… actually kinda vanished as he felt his heart palpitate, his eyes widening in astonishment.
Detailed by the card is a matured woman with long wild crimson hair that looked like spilt blood.
Unlike the delicate body of Aurelia, and soft frame of Celis… this wild looking woman,
*Gulp.*
… Has a muscular sexy build and large scars that spoke of countless experiences in battle.
Wearing what could generously be called a worn out armor, though it exposed enough skin to make him wonder about the practicality.
Her draconic ember eyes burned with crazy intensity paired with a psychotic grin that showed a dangerous set of razor sharp teeth.
Casually resting on her shoulder, she wielded a massive warhammer, probably enough to flatten a mountain range with a single swing…
===
Summon Card: Velraeth – "The Blacksmith of Chaos"
Item Type: Dragonoid Summon
Tier: SSR
Class: Blacksmith
Race: True Dragon (Elder)
Origin: Mad Crimson, Crazy Dragon, the Insane Blacksmith… Known by many names, Velraeth is a warlord of destruction whose prowess could rival the five Ancient Dragons themselves. Untamable, unpredictable, and merciless in battle, she's regarded as a tyrant across all realms, that caused her to be exiled by her own kind due to conflict of interest and sheer brutally… Wondering across the lands, this same berserker perfected her own mastercrafts so devastating and unorthodox that they're considered blasphemous to the dwarven race, who built their civilization on forge-pride. Her motto: "If it doesn't explode at least once during creation, it's not worth making!"
Description: Velraeth combines master-level smithing with berserker combat techniques. She can forge "one-of-a-kind" weapons, with her masterpieces even having some properties of godslaying… The dragon also has the ability to enhance existing equipment with enchantments, and wield all kinds of weapons with devastating effectiveness. Her unpredictable nature makes her both incredibly powerful and moderately dangerous to allies standing too close.
===
'I think I'm hard.'
Nero even wondered if it was a good luck disguised as a bad luck.
Sure, she wasn't the versitile cute loli mage that he wanted, but he got the muscular battle maniac woman instead…!
… Another check off his bucket list in his harem members.
Heck, be could even imagine his face being squeezed by her thick, meaty and lean thighs.
"..."
Nero shook his head in order to get out of his thoughts,
'No! Let's focus! We still need a MAGE!'
Every fantasy enjoyers' wet dream is to be able to conjure magic.
And not to mention the convenience it would bring to both battle and daily life.
Going back to the topic, he miraculously pulled an SSR despite his cursed gacha luck and the unbelievable rate.
It's not Luna, but an SSR nonetheless.
'I lost the 50/50…'
[Correct, Master… But that guarantees the next SSR will be the featured character!]
Hope surged through him.
'So if I pull another SSR...'
But he only had 2 tickets left after this 10-pull finished.
The remaining five cards revealed themselves as bronze, silver, bronze, silver, bronze.
It has to be the most blessed 10 pulls that has ever happened in his life.
'The last two tickets…'
He was now hesitating if he should now stop and save, considering he would have to resort to single-pulls without any more chance increase for SR-tier waifus and above.
"..."
Nero's hands were literally shaking as he made his decision…
'Fuck it.'
He selected the 1x single pull.
'Please… Please…'
*Whoosh! Flash!*
The card that revealed was a…
"..."
Bronze, of course.
"Haaahh…"
Nero released a sigh as he thought,
'I guess I'm being greedy at this point, huh…'
And upon hearing her Master's sigh of disappointment Aria chimed and asked in,
[Will Master keep the last ticket then? Aria suggest you should–]
'Nah. I'll spend the last ticket.'
Despite knowing that it would be a bronze dud in the end… as a certified gambler he has to see this through no matter what.
"..."
Looking at his last ticket with the calmest and the most unhopeful expectation ever, Nero haphazardly pressed the single pull button and…
*FLAAAASH!*
"!!!"
ANOTHER GOLDEN LIGHT EXPLODED!
'T-There's no fucking… way…'
The golden card flipped with agonizing slowness.
A short pink hair came into view first.
Then those pink-blue heterochromic eyes that contained endless knowledge.
The scholar's robes.
The wooden ornate staff.
===
Summon Card: Luna Arcania – "Great Sage of the Aether" (SSR)
===
"FUCK YEAHHH!!!"
Nero actually jumped up and did a fist punch causing the row of rock formation in front of him to collapse as his voice rattled the pebbles on the ground.
The man had completely abandoned any semblance of dignity at this point.
But can you blame him?
After all,
"I finally broke my gacha curse!"
Yep, that's right.
He'd done it.
2 SSR-tier waifus!
In just 42 pulls total no less!!!
And including the exact one he wanted!
'This has to be my luckiest day ever!'
[Congratulations, Master! Aria is so proud!]
The cute feminine voice practically vibrated with shared excitement.
[Final results: 35 R-tier waifus, 5 SR-tier waifus, and 2 SSR-tier waifus! This is incredible, Master!]
"Hahaha... haha..."
His laughter turned slightly nervous as reality set in.
'... Did I just use up all my luck for the rest of my life?'
The cards materialized in his inventory, each one now stored in a neat digital collection according to rarity.
He could see all 42 acquisitions laid out before him.
The R-tiers ranged from skilled warriors, archers, mages to even specific jobs such as cooks, craftswomen, doctors and even maids!
But even with nothing spectacular, their stats and traits surpasses the standards! They are quality waifus despite their rarities!
The SR-tiers included the cat-eared assassin, a dryad maid, an architect, an alchemist, and and even an angelic general.
They're all potentially powerful and master combatants with specialized abilities! … And to think that each of them is a actually a prominent figure that could probably be on par with Aurelia from when she's still an SR-tier…
'Isn't this kinda broken?'
He asked Aria, as she answered with a wry voice,
[Yes… that's why the gacha rate for even the SR-tiers are so low… for each of them is an expert of their own craft.]
'... And maybe that's why this specific unique ability is sealed.'
[...]
He logically added to which Aria could only keep her silence right on.
Moving on, his gaze finally landed at the creme of the crop.
The two SSRs.
Velraeth's card practically radiated chaotic crimson energy from the golden card even in its sealed form.
Luna's card held a noble elemental grace that spoke of refined and masterful prowess.
One is illogical and chaotic, stacked, and rowdy, while the other is the complete opposite… logical, noble, cute, and refined.
They're polar opposites.
If there's any similarity between them it's perhaps their prideful aura as the strongest elder dragon and the noblest high elf.
Just the radiation of their polar energies is enough light up his surroundings…
'Good thing I did this in an isolated area.'
Not to mention the shout that he made, the fancy summoning effects had included actual physical light shows.
Golden beams shooting into the sky, magical circles spinning in the air, reality warping around the manifestation process.
If anyone had seen that from the festival grounds, they'd have rushed over immediately to investigate.
'... Now what do I do with all these cards?'
The question made him pause.
He had 42 new summons, but he couldn't exactly deploy an army of waifus without raising serious questions.
'Aria, quick question about the system mechanics.'
[Yes, Master?]
'Do I get duplicate cards if I pull the same character multiple times?'
The thought had been bothering him.
What happened if you pulled Luna again after already having her?
[No, Master! The Waifu System prevents duplicates entirely!]
Relief washed over him.
'So I can't accidentally pull someone I already have?'
[Correct! Once a summon joins Master's roster, they're removed from the pool! This ensures every pull is a new acquisition!]
'That's actually really generous for a gacha system.'
Most games made you pull duplicates to power up characters.
The fact that this system didn't was surprisingly player-friendly.
And not to mention, there's no way you could have a duplicate of yourself… right?
That's beyond reason and logic… or is it?
"..."
Nero decided not to think about it, asking the next question that he has,
'What about R-tier cards in a case that I don't need to use them… Can I do something instead of just summoning them?'
[Ah, yes! Master it's part of the coin exchange system!]
Aria sounded pleased.
[Any summon card can be converted into Shop Coins! It's an alternative currency within the Waifu System for purchasing daily necessities and common items!]
'So instead of using premium tickets on basic supplies, I can scrap unwanted cards?'
[Exactly! R-tier cards provide 100 Shop Coins each, SR-tier provides 10,000, and SSR-tier provides 100,000!]
His mind immediately started calculating.
… 35 R-tier cards equals 3,500 Shop Coins.
Although he can basically exchange them for points but,
'... Let's see the shop first. Can I browse the shop?'
[Of course!]
A new interface appeared, showing rows upon rows of items categorized by type.
Food and water supplies.
Medical supplies and healing items.
Clothing and armor.
Weapons and tools.
Camping equipment.
Basically everything a living person might need, all purchasable with Shop Coins.
And not to mention,
'Wow, they're kinda cheap and they came in bulk too?'
The prices were reasonable, and the quantity for each is quite a lot.
A box worth of food that could probably last for a single week costs about 5 coins.
A dozen of healing potions were 15 coins.
Various weapons ranged from 20 to 10,000 coins depending on effects, type and rarity.
'This is actually super useful.'
Heck, it's more than useful.
It could pretty much be a cheat system completely separate from his Waifu System.
And the fact that he could supplement their group's supplies without burning precious premium tickets…
It's a very convenient feature.
But,
[Will Master scrap all R-tier cards then?]
'... No. I think I'll hold on the 35 R-tier cards for now.'
He has a simple but better idea on what to do with them instead of mindlessly exchanging them for points.
"..."
[???]
A smirk appeared in Nero's face which caused Aria to be silently curious to what her Master be thinking about.
But nonetheless, that would be in the future once all things were set up and appreciate.
For now, there's one thing he was curious about.
'Aria, I have a question about the system itself.'
[Aria is always happy to answer Master's questions!]
'You mentioned before that the Earth Rebirth System was restraining my Waifu Summoner ability. But why? What was the point of limiting it in the first place?'
He went back to the topic on what could be the reason why the true potential of the Waifu System was sealed in the first place.
The question had been nagging at him since he'd learned about it.
Why would a system designed to help people survive actively limit someone's abilities?
[...]
The silence stretched longer than usual.
When Aria finally responded, her tone had shifted to something more a bit more unsure.
[That's... a complicated question, Master. One that touches on matters Aria isn't fully knowledgeable about…]
'But you know something.'
[Aria knows fragments and could only speculate…]
'Tell me what you think of. I'm all ears.'
Another pause.
[... Aria thinks that an outside force, something that has a control of the Earth Rebirth System is fully aware of Master's Waifu Summoner System's abilities and knowing it's capabilities it might've done something to seal it up along with Master's potential.]
'Outside forces? Wait, you mean to tell me that someone, probably an unknown entity is hostile against me and sealed all of this good stuff just because it's most likely better than the system that it controls?'
[That's what Aria thinks… there could be an entity… or entities that learned of the Waifu System and feared Master's potential.]
'And what made you think that?'
[Aria knows that since the Waifu System is a system completely different and cut off from the presence of another system, Aria thinks it's impossible for a system without a conscious will to specifically target Master…]
'... Unless, there's someone who's aware of what I have, right?'
[... Yes.]
'... I see.'
The rest didn't need to be said.
If what she speculated is somewhat true, there are outside entities that might've learned and was able to see through this Waifu System that he managed to chose on that fateful day during the start of the apocalypse.
And this… or these presumed entities would probably prefer to have his broken Waifu System sealed, controlled, and limited… or at this point, replaced by a completely different generic system to prevent him from disrupting whatever carefully orchestrated plans this assumed outside force or forces have in their minds.
"..."
A chill ran down his arms.
'Does that mean that the Earth's system is meant to specifically hold me back?'
[In Aria's opinion, it's not just Master's abilities… The entire Earth Rebirth System was designed with multiple layers of control and limitation for all the beings… Master just happened to possess something that warranted extra attention and restrictions placed heavily on Master… But it appears that Master managed to break all of these restrictions! Though, Aria doesn't know how… except the fact that Master is amazing to be able to break out of the Earth Rebirth System's restraints!]
'...'
Nero was silent as he organized on all the information that he got so far.
It seems that this Earth Rebirth System is actually a restriction and at the same time a sort of guidance for all the beings.
It was there to balance things out, and to avoid people from getting too overpowered.
And that restriction was placed on him heavily because of the Waifu System that he got… and that too by an entity that knew him.
But if the Earth Rebirth System along with that entity was trying to restrain him from unlocking or earning the Waifu Summoner System… then why did it give it as one of the unique rewards during his first kill in the first place?
Wouldn't it be better if it didn't give him anything or just completely gave him something else instead?
"Haaahh…"
All of this thinking is making his head ached as he rubbed his temple.
But if there's anything Nero was sure of,
It's the fact that,
'That black-haired obsessed stalker that took my first kiss…'
He's pretty sure it definitely have something to do with her why all of the Earth Rebirth System's restraints were broken, and his current OP system has been unleashed and was functioning as intended.
'Thank you, my lovely beautiful stalker.'
Somewhere in his heart, he appreciated her for all the help and promised to himself he would know and make sure to properly thank her once they get to meet again.
But for now,
'An outside forces huh…'
Nero's eyes narrowed.
Everything screams "deep lore" about this.
His otaku instincts are basically screaming that there's something fishy about here that requires more digging, and that somehow…
'All of these kinda of things are interconnected with one another.'
He practically called it.
But with all of that said,
'If the entity… or entities restricting the Waifu System is actually out there spying on us… assuming that all of it were true, then all that has happened so far are deeply involved with them.'
And that thought didn't sit well with Nero.
But he also wasn't stupid enough to openly challenge entities that could hack reality itself.
'I'll play along for now. But I'm going to find out the truth.'
One way or another, he would discover what made the Waifu Summoner System special enough to warrant such extreme measures.
And why forces powerful enough to orchestrate a dimensional merger feared it.
For now though...
He looked at the two SSR cards in his inventory.
Velraeth and Luna.
'Time to meet my new companions.'
The investigation into cosmic conspiracies could wait.
Right now, he had waifus to summon but before all of that,
"Nero-kun~ where are you?!"
He has a celebration to return to.
"... I'm here!"
Nero chuckled as he strolled back.
***
A/N: Again, I'll post the next chapter 3 hours from now on! Thank you for your patience!