Chapter 1: Gacha System Master

Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Gacha System Master

Sometimes life was simply too cruel to the wrong people.

Victor even found it amusing that while the powerful and corrupt filled their pockets and lived happily at everyone else’s expense, people like him sank deeper and deeper into despair.

Victor, thin and pale, with messy black hair, dull eyes, and dark circles beneath them, lay sprawled in an alley, slowly dying after being beaten simply for the crime of existing.

He was nothing more than a homeless man wearing old, dirty, torn sportswear who had, by some miracle, managed to survive until that day. After losing his job and being rejected by his siblings, he had nothing left to lose.

Now, he was so tired that all he wanted was the silence of a cold death.

’It’s true what they say. You really can see your life flash before your eyes.’

Everything was slowly fading into darkness.

’Damn... I think I want a nice, hot, bitter coffee.’

A weak, ironic smile formed on his face, and amid memories of a life he missed, he died.

Unfortunately for him, that wasn’t the end, because something whispered into his ear. It was a high-pitched little voice that could easily have sounded adorable if Victor hadn’t been staring at some kind of glowing bubble floating in front of him.

The bubble’s light flickered, and the voice echoed.

[Let’s make this quick. There are many other participants, and I don’t want to waste my time.]

"Participants? I’m pretty confused, if you ask me, but you don’t exactly seem interested in asking me anything," Victor said, because just as he was about to ask a question, the bubble interrupted him.

[Welcome, Participant. The gods have chosen you for their bloody game. Right now, you will choose your Path, provided by various sponsors, and you will be sent to one of the countless survival arenas that exist. You will have to survive against infinite variants from across the multiverse until death.]

"What? Aren’t I already dead?"

He was dead. Very dead. So how was he supposed to survive until death? The voice interrupted him again, completely disregarding whatever Victor was thinking.

[Choose your Path. After that, you will be sent to the arena immediately.]

Without giving him any time to respond, Victor was startled by a mysterious floating screen. It displayed:

[Promised Sword of Victory.]

[Immortal Magic Monkey.]

[Dark Lord’s Ring of Power.]

[Gacha System Master.]

This seemed like some kind of bizarre reality show. Well, he couldn’t deny that he felt dead, and having this strange screen floating in front of him made him nervous, but he looked at the bubble before turning his attention back to the screen.

’Don’t I have another choice? I feel like everything is happening so fast... And what exactly are these "Paths" the bubble mentioned? I think the Immortal Magic Monkey sounds familiar, just like the Promised Sword of Victory...’

He carefully analyzed the names. Although this was unnatural, it didn’t seem like there was anything else he could do. Since he was already dead, what else could he possibly lose?

’On the other hand, the Ring of Power... It’s not that Ring of Power, is it? And finally, the Gacha System Master. That one doesn’t sound familiar at all. If they say I’m going to survive, could this be a good option?’

He knew about classic gachapon machines, as well as claw machines. He was also familiar with gacha video games where you could obtain characters and all kinds of other items, but everything depended entirely on luck.

Of course, since he had lived a miserable life as a wage slave before eventually becoming homeless, he figured his luck would be just as terrible with a gacha. Then again, would the rewards from the gacha be just as bad?

He couldn’t make up his mind. It was a somewhat difficult decision because the other options looked just as tempting.

’I mean, I’ve never taken a risk in my life. I always did everything knowing that I had a good chance of succeeding, but where did that get me?’

Failure after failure. Maybe now that this strange opportunity had presented itself, he should take advantage of it, bet everything, and take a risk.

"I think I’ve made my decision," he said confidently. "I choose the Gacha System Master."

[You finally decided. You’re wasting my time. Take your stupid system and go to hell.]

"How rude," Victor replied, somewhat wary.

The next moment, everything turned pure white as the bubble gave him its final instructions.

[So you don’t cry about it later, the system will provide you with the information you need to get started. Activate it by thinking about it or simply saying "status." But keep in mind that you’re not the only one with that advantage. Survive long enough, and maybe good things will happen to you.]

The voice faded away along with the light that suddenly blinded him, forcing him to shut his eyes in pain.

When he opened them again, he was standing in the middle of a dense, dark forest. The trees were incredibly tall, and the night sky visible between their leaves was cracked like glass. Hundreds of strange eyes stared intently through the cracks.

Victor blinked several times. He seriously couldn’t believe it. He looked at his hands and said:

"Am I alive again? I thought this would be a scam. What did the bubble say about the status?"

As soon as he thought about it, just as the bubble had said, a window appeared with all the information.

***

Status

[Name: Victor Sapphire (Prime)]

[Classification: Unavailable]

[Path: Gacha System Master]

***

Gacha

[Currency: 0]

[Summons: 3]

[Luck Value: 2/100]

***

"I have three summons, but my luck value is really low. I can’t say I didn’t see that coming. Other than that, I don’t understand any of this."

He knew the rules, or at least he thought he did based on what the bubble had told him. This system was supposed to tell him what to do, but...

"Well, before I figure anything else out, should I use the gacha? I don’t think it’s safe to have nothing right now."

As if his thought were an order, the window showed him exactly what he wanted to see.

[3 Summons Available]

[Cost: Free]

[Perform Summon?]

[ Yes ] [ No ]

"Yes, do it."