[John POV]
Nakime passed the message to the Mauler Twins, ordering them to haul a professional camera rig and a half-dozen studio lights into the Infinity Castle to prepare a set for our family photo.
It was excessive. Ridiculously excessive even.
The two bulky blue geniuses were bickering in the corner about focal lengths and key lighting, constantly jabbing fingers at each other's chests as they argued over who was the original. They had been at it ever since the new clone had apparently marked himself with "I" as well.
But looking around the room, seeing Ship happily chasing his own metallic tail, Pepsiman striking heroic poses in the background, and Ms. Moo dozing comfortably against Sebas's legs, I couldn't bring myself to say a word to stop it.
While I waited for the Maulers to finish their chaotic setup, I pulled up my system interface.
I still had my best tickets sitting in the vault, might as well roll them now.
I decided to start light and selected the Gold ticket I had earned from finding the Holy Cow loophole and mentally ripped it.
[Clothes Beam]
|Uncommon Ability|
Dragon Ball - You are able to fire off a laser beam that can dress anyone in any mundane clothing of your choice.
A sudden, sharp tingle sparked at the tips of my fingers, glowing briefly with a bright yellow hue before fading into my skin.
I stared at the screen as a grin split my face.
'You know what? I'm not even mad.'
I wouldn't ever have to worry about walking around in blood-crusted rags after a fight again.
I could literally shoot a three-piece suit onto my body or… something risqué on Nakime?
Riding the good mood, I pulled up my three Platinum tickets and tore them all simultaneously.
The holographic wheels spun wildly before the first one clicked into place.
[Super Polymerization]
|Epic Ability|
Yugioh - Allows you to temporarily fuse two living beings together to get a new entity with both of their abilities. Unwilling targets can resist the effect depending on their level of power. The stronger targets you fuse together with yourself or between them, the higher the energy cost. Keeping two entities fused together drains energy over time.
The orange and purple tattoos on my wrists burned. The ink grew deeper, shifting into a vibrant colour as the scope of the ability evolved.
'Huh. Another massive upgrade right after the Full Coverage Insurance Plan?' I mused, flexing my hands. 'Lady Luck really is playing favourites today.'
The second roll came to a halt.
[Senzu Bean]
|Epic Item|
Dragon Ball - A small bean containing mystical power cultivated personally by the guardian of the earth. Consuming it instantly restores physical condition to its peak, restores energy completely, and keeps a person satiated for 10 days. Restock Timer: 720 Hours.
A green, centimetre-long bean suddenly dropped into my item storage. Even sitting in the void of my storage, I could physically feel the ungodly concentrated vitality radiating off it.
"Holy mother of…" I slapped a hand over my mouth, cutting off my own shout so I wouldn't disturb the merry atmosphere filling the hall.
'Man, what's with today? Is Lady Luck finally bored with all the shitty rolls I've been pulling?'
A full heal that restocks every thirty days was a literal get-out-of-death-free card.
As I was feeling what it's like to have good rolls, the final Platinum roll slowed down, revealing the prize.
[Servant Voucher]
|Epic Item|
A coupon that allows you to summon your own Heroic Spirit for free, the summoned heroic spirit depends on you as a person. The servant is bound to you in standard Grail War style, with them receiving mana through you via coitus and you possessing 3 command seals to give absolute commands to them. Cannot summon Divine Servants(Divinity above C or Explicitly a god) or Servants that qualify for a Grand position. Servant summoned cannot exceed the performance of an Elite Rank familiar.
A crisp, paper-thin voucher materialized in my storage. I could sense the golden filigree on its edges before tucking it safely away.
'I don't think right now is the best time to drop a brand-new historical figure into the mix,' I thought, glancing around the hall. My current familiars were finally bonded, relaxed, and excited for the photoshoot. Throwing a wild card into the room could ruin the nice vibe we had.
Satisfied with the excellent streak of rolls, I pulled up the heavy hitters.
The two Legendary Tickets.
I ripped them both at the same time and even doing that was making me nervous.
I had to die on a slab of concrete to get the first one and rip myself back to the land of the living to get the second. They were both paid for in blood.
My heart hammered against my ribs as the legendary wheel spun, the agonizingly slow clicks echoing in my ears before the first reward locked in.
[Blue Spider Lily]
|Legendary Item|
Demon Slayer - An incredibly fragile and rare flower contained in a special container. If refined into medicine properly, this flower can turn the one who ingests the medicine into a Progenitor Demon(Legendary Trait).
A single, breathtakingly beautiful flower appeared in my storage. Its petals glowed with a haunting, bioluminescent blue, pulsing with a deeply mystical energy.
I shot up from the sofa, my eyes wide as I read the description.
"Nakim—" but I bit my tongue instantly, cutting the word off.
Nakime glanced over at me from across the room, tilting her head in question. I just waved her off with a strained smile.
'I can't tell her yet.' I forced myself to sit back down, my mind racing. 'If this flower can create a Progenitor Demon, it contains the key to her curse, too. I need to find the best minds in the world… no, I need to find the best minds in this universe, and have them reverse-engineer a cure for her blood demon transformation.'
But I couldn't get her hopes up until I knew for a fact it would work. I locked the flower deep in my item storage and forced my eyes toward the second legendary roll.
[Flora]
|Legendary Ability|
You are the master of plants. Being able to create, reinforce, communicate with and control all plant life in your sensory range. You can make a forest erupt from beneath your feet, create trees with wood stronger than metal, launch a handful of seeds and make them explode into vibrant plantlife, make the forest come to life, combine trees into a giant treant golem, as long as plants can do it, so can you, provided you have the energy required.
A warmth flowed throughout my soul as I felt my connection to nature itself grow.
I could actually feel the wood making up the Infinity Castle. Even the little decorative potted plants the Twins had set up in the corners felt awake, just sitting there, waiting for me to give the word. I knew for a fact that if I dumped enough energy into one of those tiny sprouts, I could rip a giant treant golem right out of the dirt.
'Not bad for a legendary ability. While I can't use it for outright offence against powerful beings like Viltrumites. The versatility alone more than makes up for the lack of offensive power. Not to mention if I use it alongside my Orchard ability…'
My plotting got cut short when Nakime gently took my hand.
"Everything is ready for the picture, Master. Shall we?" she asked. Her voice was soft, but there was a bubbling excitement underneath it that she couldn't quite hide.
I looked over at the impromptu studio the Mauler twins had slapped together. I had no idea how they managed to rig up a near-professional lighting setup and backdrop in only five minutes, but I wasn't complaining.
"Let's get this picture." I said, my mood was at its peak from all the good rolls and the great company.
I dropped onto the center of the main sofa and right on cue, the twins started bickering about the poses.
"It should be classy!" the twin wearing a beret argued, waving his hands around. "Like that old portrait in the Rothschild mansion we robbed clean!"
"Really?" countered the newer clone, adjusting his bowtie and pushing up his glasses. The freshly drawn 'I' on his forehead wrinkled as he scowled. "You want Mr. Kaisen and his friends to pose like a bunch of pedos and creepy cult worshippers?"
'This could take a while', I thought as my eyes finally fell on the single Mythical ticket with pink light and an almost ethereal and delicate pattern; this was the most beautiful ticket I've ever seen, and even I, an adrenaline junky, hesitated to tear it.
But seeing as the luck I had today was almost unreal, not to mention the auspicious occasion of the day where I got reunited with Sebas… and Holy cow, of course.
The occasion was already perfect... fuck it.
'You don't walk away from a hot table.'
I steeled myself and tore it in one go.
"My heart really can't handle this" I muttered as I saw the mythical gacha roll with a pink light. A first for me.
Nakime looked at me in a questioning manner, but I just shook my head. No need to pause the celebration.
After an agonisingly long time, the wheel finally came to a halt.
[Full Counter]
|Mythical Ability|
Nanatsu no Taizai - If used with precise timing the user can counter any attack thrown at them and throw it back with double the power.
It felt like someone had poured a bucket of liquid lightning straight down my spine and my entire nervous system violently rewired itself to handle it.
I could feel the kinetic energy humming in the air. The weight, trajectory and force of every potential movement around me were laid bare.
But there was a catch.
This wasn't some automatic shield I could just hide behind. The ability demanded perfection. To catch an attack and hurl it back twice as hard, the execution had to be flawless.
The margin for error was zero. A microsecond too early or an inch too late against a Viltrumite's punch, and I'd take the full brunt of their attack before my brain even registered the pain. It was going to take serious nerve to pull off in a real fight.
'Raw power, locked behind a razor-thin margin of error. Huh?'
By the time I read the ability's description, everyone had already crowded in behind the sofa.
Sebas stood tall with Ms. Moo resting her chin on his arm. Neel adjusted his tie with a sharp grin and Pepsiman threw up two shiny peace signs. Nakime sat next to my side, her head leaning on my shoulder, her single eye bright with happiness, while Ship chirped happily and parked itself directly on my lap.
The high of the Mythical ability merged perfectly with the joy of being with my found family.
I looked at the camera, and I couldn't stop the beaming smile breaking across my face.
"Jackpot," I said.
The rest of them caught on a second later.
"Jackpot!!!" Everyone echoed in unison, right as the Maulers finally snapped the picture.
[Compulsory Image Here]