Chapter 243: What If She Could Use It?
A dark cloud of gacha despair hung over Stelle, a evident gloom that seemed to cling to her very soul. She was slumped against a golden trash can, her eyes vacant. The vibrant world seemed to have bled into grayscale the moment that single golden hair had appeared.
What was a Stelle? What was the Trailblazer of the Year? Before the cruel fate of the unlucky, all titles were meaningless.
"Mimi? Mimi?"
A soft, worried chirping sounded by her ear. It was Mimi.
Seeing Stelle plunge from the heights of excitement into such a miserable slump, the little creature's face was etched with concern. It flew directly in front of Stelle, gently patting her head in an attempt to offer some small comfort.
"Mimi, mi~"
The coos were gentle and reassuring, a clear message: Don't be so sad. I'm still here with you.
Then, Mimi spread its short arms and gave Stelle a warm hug.
The pure, simple concern was a gentle breeze that managed to dispel some of the gloom suffocating Stelle's heart. She let out a long, heavy breath, then reached up with a single finger to gently stroke Mimi's head in return.
"Thanks, Mimi." Stelle's voice was still weak, but at least the crushing silence was broken.
She forced herself to rally. After all, even if it was just a hair, it was a hair that shimmered with a divine purple light. It represented one of the Chat Group's highest tiers of recognition; it couldn't possibly be an ordinary item.
Stelle refocused her mind, her gaze settling on the single golden strand that inspired both love and hate within her. She carefully read the detailed item description that materialized beneath it.
[The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal's Hair (One-time Purple Item)]: A strand of hair from a peerless expert known as "The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal," containing a trace of his innate divine power. When the holder faces an extremely critical moment judged to be a "death-level tribulation," this hair will automatically activate, summoning a clone of "The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal" to help you overcome the ordeal.
Note: This item contains immense divine power and is a miraculous life-saving treasure. However, it is a single-use consumable. Please use it wisely.
Stelle's eyes scanned the description again and again, her mood swinging wildly like a roller coaster.
The bad news: it was, fundamentally, still just a hair. It hadn't magically transformed into a divine weapon or some cool new ability she could show off. Worse, it was a one-time-use item.
'Who would be so extravagant as to burn a purple-grade item as a single-use consumable?!'she fumed internally.'The cost-effectiveness is absolutely abysmal!'
The good news: the effect was undeniably overpowered. "Overcome a death-level tribulation."
Although the description was vague, not specifying the upper limit of the clone's power, its purple-grade rating spoke volumes. A life-saving measure backed by the rules of a purple-tier item would be anything but weak.
"Alright, alright..." Stelle could only console herself, forcing her thoughts toward the positive. "At least it's an ultimate life-saving charm. It can save my life at a critical moment, which isn't bad... right?"
She rubbed her chin, a dangerous glint slowly returning to her eyes. 'And... with this as a backup, doesn't that mean I can be... a little more reckless in my future explorations? A little more brazen?'
A glorious vision of courting death but never quite dying began to unfold in her mind, temporarily making her forget the sorrow of pulling a "hair."
However, the name itself—"The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal"—gave Stelle pause.
A single strand of hair was rated purple-grade, possessing the terrifying power to avert a fatal crisis. Just what kind of astonishing realm had the true owner of this power reached?
Stelle had seen her share of powerful beings—Emanators, even Star Gods—but this title carried a unique, domineering aura. It spoke of shattering shackles and battling the heavens themselves, a concept that made her own trailblazing heart yearn.
"The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal... that sounds so cool."
Stelle murmured to herself, a daydream already taking shape. "Should I... give myself a similar title? 'The Great Sage Stelle'? 'The Great Sage of Trash Cans'? Hmm... something about that doesn't sound quite right."
Just as Stelle was about to put the golden hair away, it flashed with a brilliant light and vanished, reappearing subtly woven amongst the hair on the back of her head.
For a frantic second, she thought she had already lost her new treasure, but Mimi, ever-watchful, quickly explained what had happened. Reassured, Stelle turned her attention to the rest of her ten-pull rewards.
Her gaze swept over the pile. As expected, most of it was miscellaneous junk.
[All-Purpose Lubricant]: After spraying, it can greatly reduce the friction on an object's surface for a short time. Can be used for mechanical maintenance, opening rusty doors, or... helping you slide further on ice?
[Fisherman's Obsession]: A seemingly ordinary fishing rod, but its owner is 100% guaranteed to never "come home empty-handed."
Stelle's lips formed a pout. For a journey of cosmic exploration, these things weren't entirely useless, but they were only marginally better than nothing.
With a hopeful sigh, she directed her gaze to the last item, the one that shimmered with a soft blue light.
It was a rather peculiar hairpin. The design was simple, its pink-and-blue coloration looking a bit cheap, and it was made of some unknown material. It looked like a common accessory a girl might find in any corner market.
"A hairpin? A blue item?" Stelle picked it up, her brow furrowed in confusion as she examined the description.
[Failed Superpower Suppressor]: A device specially researched by a certain anonymous scientific bigwig to suppress one of his experimental subjects, a boy named "Saiki," who possesses overly powerful and troublesome superpowers. Unfortunately, this was a failed prototype and did not achieve the desired effect. When worn, it can suppress the wearer's special abilities to a certain extent.
Stelle stared at it. "..."
She held the pink-and-blue hairpin, her mouth twitching uncontrollably.
'Alright,'she tried to hypnotize herself,'at least... it can be used as a sealing device? During a battle, when the enemy isn't looking, bam, I just slap it on their head to weaken their abilities...'The thought had barely formed before she ruthlessly shot it down herself.'Who are you kidding?!'Stelle roared internally.'What enemy is going to stand there in the middle of a fight and let me put a girly hairpin on them?!''What good is this thing besides being cute and causing social death?! And it's a failed product! A failed product! How can a scam item like this even come from a blue-grade draw?!'
Her recently calmed mindset was once again teetering on the brink of collapse.
With a look of pure indignation, she raised her hand, ready to smash the "Failed Superpower Suppressor" into the ground and let it shatter into pieces, just like its namesake.
But a second before her arm swung down, a figure flashed through her mind: Castorice.
That girl from the Chrysos Heirs, unable to control the terrifying power of "death" that she symbolized. She couldn't touch any living thing; even getting too close to a creature could unintentionally bring about its demise.
She was a walking, isolated island, imprisoned by her own strength.
And this "Failed Superpower Suppressor"... although it was a failure, its essential purpose was to "suppress special abilities."
If—just if—it could slightly suppress Castorice's uncontrollable power over death... even if it only allowed her to briefly, safely, touch a flower, or get a little closer to her companions...
Thinking of this, Stelle's raised arm slowly lowered.
She looked down at the slightly comical hairpin in her hand, her expression turning complex.
"Alright..." she sighed, carefully putting the hairpin away as if it were the most fragile treasure in the universe. "At least... it can be put to good use. Thank goodness I didn't smash it."
Although the overall gacha results still felt like a massive loss, when she tallied it all up—a golden hair that could save her life, a failed suppressor that might help a friend, plus a few bizarre daily-use tools—perhaps, just perhaps, it wasn't a complete disaster after all.
[Inorin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me!
Want to read ahead on our official home, or unlock 50 advanced chapters (plus an Ad-Free experience) to feed your addiction? Help keep this shameless translator alive here:
(P.S. Replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
🌐 Official Website: elysianreads[.]com
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters & Ad-Free): patreon[.]com/InorinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/InorinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]