"Is the maintenance finally finished?!"
At the sound of the system notification, Cipher instantly perked up.
[The method for obtaining Stellar Jade has been updated. Stellar Jade is still earned through Influence, but it can now only be obtained through your newest character. This is to prevent the Host from pulling characters and never using them.]
"Pulling and not using? Am I that kind of person?!" Cipher grumbled, crossing her arms in mock defiance at the system's prompt.
"Whatever. Is the compensation for the guaranteed Gold on the next pull ready?"
[One minute is required to calibrate the gacha pool rules.]
"Calibration, huh... Well, hurry up then!"
Cipher was slightly disappointed that the compensation wasn't ready immediately, but since it was only a one-minute wait, she decided to check her current Credit balance. She opened her Quantum Storage to take a look.
[Credits: 52,354,786]
"Over fifty million already? I guess it makes sense. The commission for clearing the Forest Forbidden Zone alone earned me twenty-five million. Adding in all the other miscellaneous earnings, breaking fifty million isn't that surprising."
After a brief moment of shock, Cipher quickly regained her composure. After all, the function to exchange Credits for Stellar Jade only had fifty-one pulls left. That only amounted to a future expenditure of 8.16 million Credits. She had over forty million left and honestly had no idea how to spend it.
"I'll wait and see if the system introduces new ways to spend Credits later. If not, this much money is enough for me to live a lazy life for a long time."
Cipher moved to close the panel.
"Wait, how did I almost forget about this!"
Before the panel vanished, she remembered an item she hadn't used yet. She looked at the "Silver Coin of Discord" in her System Inventory.
"I'm about to spend Credits on gacha pulls, so I might as well use the Silver Coin of Discord now. I doubt I'll be having any massive Credit inflows anytime soon anyway."
She focused her consciousness on the Silver Coin of Discord and clicked 'Use.'
There were no flashy special effects or elaborate animations. There was only a plain, unadorned:
[Credits +26,177,393]
With that, Cipher's Credits successfully surpassed 78.5 million. If she got another twenty million or so, she would literally have achieved the "small goal" of a hundred million.
Watching her balance take another step forward, Cipher excitedly rolled around on the bed clutching her Quantum Storage until exactly one minute had passed.
[Compensation has been issued. Host, please begin your pull.]
"Alright! Let this cat see which character I'll pull next!"
She called out to the system, "System, give me a ten-pull!"
[Apologies, only single pulls are currently available.]
"...Fine, a single pull it is. It's a guaranteed Gold anyway."
Cipher's excitement deflated slightly as she clicked the single pull button. Her dream of a double-Gold ten-pull was shattered.
As the single pull landed, golden light erupted from the system panel. The glow expanded until it filled her entire vision, forcing her to squint. Soon, the golden light faded. She opened her eyes curiously and found herself, as expected, in a strange alleyway.
"It worked!"
Seeing the unfamiliar scenery, she gave a little hop of joy. But the moment she heard her own voice, she froze.
"This voice..."
Hearing the familiar tone, a guess immediately formed in her mind. She reached up to touch her hair.
"Pink twin-tail curls! It really is Hyacine!"
As if confirming her thoughts, a system text prompt appeared before her eyes.
[Host has successfully pulled the second Gold. Character unlocked: Hyacine.]
[Host has obtained all the powers of this character.]
[Please continue to earn more Stellar Jade to unlock more characters!]
"Now that I've become Hyacine... where is my Little Ica?"
After reading the prompt, Hyacine looked around her but found no sign of Little Ica.
[Little Ica is currently inside Hyacine's body. The Host can summon it by manifesting mental power.]
"So that's how it works?"
She immediately understood. Concentrating her mind, she willed Little Ica to appear.
In the next instant, accompanied by a ripple in space and a "Doo-doo!" sound, a chubby white baby unicorn lunged out of thin air. After a few hops through the air, it landed right in front of Hyacine.
"Little Ica!"
"Doo-doo!" (｡＞∀＜｡)
The moment she saw Little Ica, Hyacine couldn't resist scooping the adorable little creature into her arms and nuzzling it. Feeling the fluffy texture against her cheek, all the frustration from previously only getting a hundred thousand Credits vanished.
After playing with Little Ica for a bit, she set it aside and returned to the gacha interface.
"I still have fifty pulls left. Let's see what I get."
She began dumping ten-pull after ten-pull into the pool.
Credits -8,000,000.
Nine Blues, one Purple.
Nine Blues, one Purple.
Nine Blues, one Purple.
Eight Blues, two Purples.
Nine Blues, one Purple.
"Why is my luck still so bad..."
Hyacine sighed in disappointment at the results of the five ten-pulls. "Forget it, let's just see what I got."
[Don't Die!] (Purple Ability)
"Originating from the most desperate cry in the heart of a certain loser. The effect is outstanding, but the price is touching. It can forcibly reverse the rules of death, though at the cost of burning one's life essence."
Friendly Hint 1: The user should keep fast-acting heart relief pills on hand.
Friendly Hint 2: Burning your life carries risks; use with caution. After all, not everyone has a 'backup power source' like a certain someone (Lu Mingze: ?).
Effect: By consuming the user's vitality (not life essence) as a price, shouting "Don't Die!" at a dying target can forcibly restart their biological activities, pulling them out of a state of immediate death.
"Huh? Is this that Yanling from the Dragon Raja novels?"
Seeing the description, Hyacine immediately thought of the novel she had read in her previous life. Scanning the effect, she muttered to herself, "It only consumes vitality? But Hyacine's ability is specifically to replenish vitality... If this doesn't cost too much, can't I just use it and then immediately use Hyacine's power to top myself back up?"
"I'll have to test it later. If that works, this is basically a god-tier skill. Even if it doesn't, it's still incredibly useful."
She was very satisfied with this ability—it was basically a death immunity. She moved on to the next Purple.
[Go Talk to My Little Ica!] (Purple Skill)
"We are all trying so hard to live."
"But why is my Little Ica trying so hard, yet you're still alive!"
"Go talk to my Little Ica!"
Effect: When Little Ica charges an enemy, its weight can be briefly adjusted between 100 to 999 tons based on the enemy's strength. During this charge, Little Ica enters an invincible state. Little Ica's own movements are not affected by the change in weight.
"...Huh? What on earth is this?"