-----
-----
At Sobu High, in the teachers' office.
It was lunchtime. Lucian sat alone at his desk, eating a simple bento.
As a homeroom teacher on his very first official day, he'd been running nonstop all morning. The system enhancements kept him from feeling tired, but he still needed a bit of quiet time to sort out his thoughts.
He had just swallowed a bite of fried egg when a crisp mechanical notification suddenly rang out in his mind.
[Ding! The Multiverse Mall has been successfully launched and is now stable. The Multiverse Chat Group has unlocked new features!]
[New Feature 1: Daily Check-In (Members can receive 1 fixed point per day)]
[New Feature 2: Mission System (Includes "System-Issued Missions" and "Member Commission Missions." Completing them grants generous points and special rewards)]
[New Feature 3: Multiverse Gacha Pool (Each draw costs 10 points. Item rarity tiers: White, Green, Blue, Purple, Gold)]
[Bonus: To celebrate the gacha system launch, all members have been granted one free "Beginner Five-Pull"!]
"A gacha system?"
Lucian's eyes lit up slightly. He set down his chopsticks and shifted his consciousness into the chat group.
The group had already exploded into chaos because of the sudden update and the "free five-pull."
Everyone had clearly rushed to use their draws.
[Elegant Gem Magician]: "This is rigged! Totally rigged! What kind of garbage gacha is this?! I'm a proud heir of the Tohsaka family, so why did my five-pull give me nothing but junk like 'worn-out broom' and 'empty mineral water bottle'? Refund me! …No, wait—give me back my draw!!"
No surprise there. No matter the world, Tohsaka Rin's famously terrible "E-rank luck" remained an unchanging law of the universe.
[Magic-Collecting Elf]: "Eh? Is it really that bad? I think this gacha is pretty fun."
[Magic-Collecting Elf]: "I just tapped it casually, and suddenly there was this super blinding golden flash. The system said I got a 'Gold-tier Legendary' item. It's called Grimoire of Instant Trap Detection in Ruins. This is amazing! Now I don't have to carefully dismantle traps when exploring ancient ruins anymore. Guess I got lucky."
Even Frieren, who was usually calm and detached, couldn't hide the excitement in her tone.
For a long-lived elf obsessed with collecting magic and wandering alone through forests, a reward like this struck straight to the heart. It was worth more than any treasure.
[Elegant Gem Magician]: "G-Gold?! Why do you, an elf who only messes around with household magic, get a gold pull?! I refuse to accept this!"
[Half-Elf of the Frozen Forest]: "Um… Miss Rin, please don't be upset. It's okay not to get gold—I didn't get one either."
[Half-Elf of the Frozen Forest]: "I got two bags of 'season-ignoring magic flower seeds' (green), and three 'dust-proof warm cloaks' (blue). They're pretty ordinary, but I really like them! The little spirits are curious about the seeds too."
Reading Emilia's gentle, angelic, easily content message, Rin—who had been raging moments ago—took critical emotional damage and could only bite her handkerchief in silence.
[Ice General]: "Tch. What a boring system."
[Ice General]: "My five-pull gave me four pieces of scrap metal not even fit for regular soldiers (white), and one 'Mid-Level Physique Enhancement Potion' (purple). Not very useful to me, but I suppose I can hand it to a subordinate."
As the strongest fighter in the group—at least on the surface—Esdeath had slightly better luck than Rin, but clearly found the results dull without something exciting for battle.
Watching everyone's wildly different results, Lucian rubbed his hands together, a bit of anticipation rising in his chest.
"System, use the free five-pull."
[Ding! Five-pull initiated…]
A virtual ancient roulette spun wildly in his mind, lights flashing one after another.
White. White. Green. Blue…
Just as Lucian thought he was about to follow Rin's tragic path, the final light suddenly burst into an intense, dazzling gold glow—so bright it was almost blinding.
[Congratulations to member "Part-Time Ghost-Hunting Genius Teacher" for obtaining: 2 White items, Beginner Hemostatic Patch (Green), Calming Jade Pendant (Blue)… and Daoist Talisman Compendium: True Interpretation (Gold Legendary)!]
"Gold?!"
Lucian froze for a second.
He quickly opened the description of the Daoist Talisman Compendium: True Interpretation, and his breathing sped up instantly.
This was a complete and authentic collection of Daoist talismans—from low to high level—covering exorcism, warding, lightning summoning, illusion breaking, and more!
To him, its value was no less than being handed several powerful plant girls outright.
It filled the gap in his lack of offensive abilities—and he could even draw talismans to sell for money.
Without hesitation, Lucian took a screenshot and sent it to the group.
[Part-Time Ghost-Hunting Genius Teacher]: "Seems like my luck isn't bad. Just tapped it casually and got a gold."
The previously noisy chat instantly fell silent for a full second after seeing the screenshot glowing with golden light.
[Elegant Gem Magician]: "???"
[Elegant Gem Magician]: "WHY?! Why can even the newbie get a Gold Legendary?! This group is targeting me, isn't it?! I'm done for! Waaah—!"
[Ice General]: "Oh? Daoist talismans? Sounds like some kind of paper-based spellcasting from the Far East. If it's rated gold, its power must be impressive. As expected of someone who exceeds the system's limits—luck is part of strength."
[Magic-Collecting Elf]: "Mm, it is impressive. But…"
[Magic-Collecting Elf]: "For someone like Mr. Lucian, who can even block out the laws of the world… this so-called 'Gold Legendary' from the system is probably just a toy to pass the time. Maybe even just worthless paper?"
[Half-Elf of the Frozen Forest]: "Eh? Really? But gold is already the highest rank…"
[Elegant Gem Magician]: "That's right! With your power—enough to break system logic on a whim—this kind of mortal talisman book must be useless to you! So… um… if you don't need it, could you kindly give it to poor, broke little me for magical research…?"
"....."