Chapter 23: The Gacha Giveth (and Taketh Away)
Now that Ethan understood the system's logic, it was time for the main event.
"One draw. Let me test my luck." He rubbed his palms together.
A spinning wheel appeared in his mind's eye — the pointer circling, slowing, drifting to a stop on—
「Congratulations, Host! You've drawn: Better Luck Next Time.」
Ethan's face fell.
「Continue drawing?」
"Hold on."
He got up, washed his hands, changed into a red shirt, pulled up an image of the God of Wealth on his phone, and bowed to it three times.
Then he squared his shoulders and declared: "Ten-pull. Let's go."
「Congratulations, Host! You've drawn: Natasha Romanoff's Worn Stockings.」
「Congratulations, Host! You've drawn: Better Luck Next Time.」
「Congratulations...」
Four consecutive duds and a pair of used hosiery. Ethan's face was turning green.
「Congratulations, Host! You've drawn: Senzu Beans!」
「Congratulations, Host! You've drawn: Eternal Spirit Blade!」
「Congratulations, Host! You've drawn: Character Growth Template — Admiral Fujitora (Issho)!」
The system finished rolling. Ethan leaned back and laughed out loud. A fifty percent hit rate was nothing to brag about, but the hits were quality.
He materialized the rewards and looked them over.
First: Black Widow's stockings. Ethan stared at them, deeply unimpressed. If I wanted these, I could just go take them. And if you're going to give me hosiery from a fictional character, at least make it Nico Robin's. Or Boa Hancock's.
He tossed them aside.
Deep breath. The appetizers had been questionable, but the main courses looked excellent.
He picked up the Senzu Bean jar. Five beans inside. The legendary recovery item from Dragon Ball — one bean could heal any wound as long as the person still had a pulse. Ethan didn't need them personally thanks to his Healing Factor, but they'd be invaluable for his people. Maybe he'd even test one on Wade to see if it could fix his face.
Next: the Eternal Spirit Blade, one of the Eight Divine Kitchen Tools from Cooking Master Boy. It looked like an ordinary cleaver — except for the dragon-shaped handle — but any ingredient it touched was restored to peak freshness, no matter how old. Ethan nodded approvingly. He couldn't exactly take a kitchen knife into battle, but for the Lucky Dragon's kitchen? Perfect.
And finally, the crown jewel: Admiral Fujitora's Growth Template. One of the most powerful fighters in the One Piece universe. A top-tier combatant with the Gravity-Gravity Fruit and Observation Haki. Ethan's pulse quickened.
"System — fuse the Fujitora template."
「DING! Host cannot fuse this template. Growth Template cards may only be granted to Family members.」
Ethan's excitement crashed into a wall. Are you kidding me? I do all the work making friends and my Family gets the upgrades?
「Host need not worry. When a Growth Template is granted to a Family member, Host automatically acquires the same abilities through the Family bond.」
Oh. Right. He'd forgotten — Family members shared everything. So it was still a net gain.
「Use Growth Template?」
"Use it."
「Scanning for optimal Family member match...」
「Match found: Family member Caine — 90% compatibility with Admiral Fujitora template. Proceed?」
"What does compatibility affect?"
「Higher compatibility increases the recipient's growth ceiling and accelerates power development. Low compatibility results in diminished effects or potential fusion failure.」
A blind swordsman with superhuman hearing, matched with a blind admiral who wielded gravity and Observation Haki. Ninety percent compatibility made perfect sense.
"Do it."
Ethan grinned. A real-world Fujitora was going to be very interesting. Because the battles ahead would only get harder, and without power-ups, people like John Wick and Marcus would eventually fall behind. Ethan didn't mind carrying his people — but they had their pride. No one wanted to be dead weight. The gap would push them away, and that was the last thing Ethan wanted.
「Fusion successful! Caine has acquired the Admiral Fujitora Growth Template. Host synchronization complete.」
Ethan closed his eyes and felt the new abilities settling in.
"Five times gravity. Not bad." He flexed his hands. "Observation Haki needs work, though. Gotta train that up."
"System — open my stat sheet."
[ Name: Ethan Cross ]
[ Race: Human ]
[ Title: Family Man Lv.2 — When a Family member is present in battle: Host combat power +15%, Family member combat power +10% ]
[ Skills: Gravity-Gravity Fruit · Healing Factor · Quick Movement · Chaos Magic · Observation Haki... ]
[ Talents: Cursed with Knowledge · Protagonist's Luck ]
[ Family: Pietro Maximoff · Caine · John Wick · Winston · Marcus ]
[ Friends (★★★★★): Wanda Maximoff · Wilson Fisk... ]
[ Friends (★★★★): Wade Wilson (Deadpool Dog)... ]
[ Friends (★★★): Wade Winston Wilson · Yinsen... ]
[ Friends (★★): Stephen Strange · Tony Stark... ]
[ Exclusive Skill: Locked ]
The new panel was cleaner. Daily-life skills had been stripped out, leaving only combat-relevant abilities. A Talents section now displayed his two special attributes. And the Friends panel gave him a real-time overview of every relationship.
Two lonely talents. Ethan swore he'd fill that section out.
The "Exclusive Skill: Locked" line itched at him.
「Exclusive Skill unlocks when Host acquires 10 Family members. Keep up the good work, Host.」
· · ·
Meanwhile — Sixth Floor
The moment Ethan activated the template, Caine was in his new apartment unpacking boxes with his daughter when a bolt of light shot toward him and sank into the space between his eyebrows.
He froze.
"Daddy? Daddy, what's wrong?" Little Ye grabbed his hand, shaking it, her voice climbing with worry.
A long moment passed.
Caine opened his eyes. He still couldn't see — but something else was there now. A sense. The shape of the room, the warmth of his daughter beside him, the floorboards settling two stories below, a pigeon landing on the windowsill outside. He could feel it all, mapped in his mind with startling clarity.
Observation Haki.
Even a man as composed as Caine couldn't hide his shock. But the system had told him where this came from, and he understood.
Ethan Cross had saved his daughter. And now he'd given Caine power beyond anything he'd thought possible.
In Caine's heart, Ethan had become as important as his daughter.
"Daddy's fine, sweetheart." He pulled her into a hug, her tears soaking into his shirt. "I'm sorry I scared you."