LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 11 - Where Did That Come From? (3)
I Raise With In-app Purchases – 11
EP.11 Where Did That Come From? (3)
After drafting the contract with Shine and perfectly resolving the rental issue, I returned and headed back to the general store.
‘The urgent matter’s been taken care of.’
Since I’ve given Shine her unique equipment, she’s bound to grow well from now on. I no longer need to worry about her until the day she completely buys weapons from me.
All I have to do is watch how much Shine will grow with her unique equipment.
‘Feels refreshing.’
I used this ability to open the store.
The shop window, diligently selling pay-to-win items as usual today. The shop window randomly releases new products, so I needed to check for updates frequently.
‘When I used to play this as a game, updates were every Thursday.’
Perhaps because there’s no user except me, updates tend to be slower. Nevertheless, considering they update in my situation, I had no complaints.
Moreover, upon arriving at the academy, there’s finally a character draw event.
Collecting money to draw new characters became my new goal.
“This special isn’t that great, huh? Are they not trying to make a profit?”
Since the resurrection stones sale in the previous special, the package has changed twice, but the components that didn’t evoke a buying urge remained unchanged.
Thanks to that, without hesitation, I closed the special package window and opened the window to summon a character.
‘But I need to draw…’
It costs 1600 gems every 10 draws, equivalent to around 30,000 won in cash. And currently, I have…
“170 gems.”
It’s barely enough for one draw, let alone 10.
And it’s impossible for me to draw the SSR character I desire with this.
But…
‘For 14 years, I’ve endured for this day.’
During my 14 years as a mercenary, I’ve collected one particular item for cultivating patience.
Although I only have a meager 170 red crystals to draw characters…
[Available Mileage: 10,023,000]
‘Ka-ching!’
My accumulated mileage from spinning the gacha until now is displayed.
That’s right.
I still had the currency to purchase VIP mileage.
With in-game purchases, I could obtain 10% of the currency as mileage, and what I’ve saved up is precisely that mileage.
Looking at the accumulated mileage, I can ascertain that the past 14 years were not meaningless.
‘But where did all this money go?’
Considering I haven’t spent a cent on character draws, did I spend all that money on item draws or special packages?
‘Thanks to that, even if I run the general store, there won’t be a shortage of items. It wasn’t wasted.’
Furthermore, I had most of the character-specific equipment in stock.
It’s a chilling truth that despite spending so much money, I only received one resurrection stone from the draw.
‘If someone asks why resurrection stones are so rare, it’s not that they are. When you draw in the game, they don’t come out this infrequently.’
Maybe it didn’t get patched along with the reality update?
Bastards.
Reviving someone here and not patching the submarine?
It’s frustrating to curse someone unspecified when the situation isn’t favorable.
“We can’t curse the admin while spending mileage. It brings bad luck.”
Now is the time to quell the anger.
I need to maintain a cool head.
Even placing water in a clean vessel and praying to the director wouldn’t be enough. A small mistake could ruin everything.
‘I need to cleanse myself and get ready.’
I should first check what items are available with the mileage.
There’s hardly any change in the mileage items, but…
[Guaranteed SSR Character Draw] – 1,000,000 mileage
[Guaranteed SSR Unique Equipment Draw] – 1,000,000 mileage
[Red Bundle] – 10,000 mileage
[Blue Bundle] – 10,000 mileage
[Green Bundle] – 10,000 mileage
“Huh?”
[(Event) Moon Rabbit Fortune Bag (0/3 per account)] – 10,000 mileage
[(Event)] Moon Rabbit Random Bag (0/1 per account) – 25,000 mileage
Something completely new suddenly appears.
As if it’s been waiting for this moment.
“An event, huh?”
The Mileage Store, usually a test of my patience, often tempted me to spend my mileage. The red, blue, and green bundles, all comprised useful items for nurturing characters.
“Moon Rabbit Fortune Bag… An event item? Is it for the Chuseok update?”
It’s rare for event items to show up in the mileage store. Considering the price range, I checked the components.
‘I should get this.’
The Moon Rabbit Fortune Bag bundles the best items from the red, blue, and green bundles. Obtaining such components after spending 100,000 won on draws would be impossible. It seemed like quite a few people might spend money to acquire mileage.
‘This shop’s doing well. I thought they wouldn’t.’
If this had happened while I resisted using my mileage, it would have been quite agonizing to contemplate.
But now that I’m opening the store to spend my mileage, it’s not so agonizing.
‘First, I should buy the Guaranteed SSR Character Draw.’
If I draw an SSR character, I can sell the unique equipment I possess, right? Considering the mileage I have, I could purchase a total of 10 Guaranteed SSR Character Draw tickets. However, I need to remember that duplicates might come up.
‘I can’t use all of them for summoning.’
I’ll purchase all three Moon Rabbit Fortune Bags available per account for now. There’s still plenty left.
Since I wasn’t planning to spend all the mileage on draws, I bought three Guaranteed SSR Character Draw tickets. Additionally, I bought one random bag per account.
This item randomly selects one of the listed items. In other words, it’s a gacha.
“It’s either a big hit or a miss. I wonder what’ll come out.”
The chance of getting mythic items through regular draws is so slim that it’s not even worth considering.
It’d be a jackpot if I get that, but…
‘Of course, it’s not likely.’
Everyone wishes for a jackpot, but miracles are rare. Expecting something like that wasn’t wise.
What I should be expecting isn’t the event items but the Guaranteed SSR Character Draw.
The best draw for me would be a character who possesses the unique equipment I have. I’ve spent quite a bit on in-game purchases, so I’m rather confident in my well-stocked equipment. However, if luck is bad, I might end up drawing characters whose equipment I don’t possess.
‘Well, that’s gacha for you! Good luck needs a good place… This place isn’t really it, though. It doesn’t feel right.’
Personally, in games, I often used a specific location for draws. I don’t know if it would have any effect in reality, but at least I believed that the results would be better than drawing from anywhere else.
I closed the shop, put a sign indicating it’s closed, and moved.
There probably wouldn’t be any customers at the general store anyway, but I think it’s proper to hang a sign if you’re running a business.
I headed towards the square in the city center.
There, I intended to claim the ‘Draw Sacred Place’ that I’d reserved.
– Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle! –
A little angel played the trumpet. And below, a sparkling, dazzling stream of water flowed.
It’s a sound that would be okay to record for ASMR. It was a sound unheard within the game, so it was a bit perplexing, but I thought it was a decent background sound for a draw sacred place.
There were benches near the fountain, but I passed them. I wasn’t going to stay on a bench.
As I arrived near the fountain, a pungent smell wafted.
‘It’s sewage.’
I placed my feet on the slightly slippery marble fountain and stood there.
Facing the baby statue, I clapped with both hands.
“????”
“????”
People passing by started to pay close attention, wondering what I was doing.
Their curiosity wasn’t all that bad. If they wished me luck, it’d be even better, but there weren’t enough people gathered here to do such a thing.
I’d bought the Guaranteed SSR Character Draw tickets from the Mileage Store window.
Without hesitation, I used it.
‘I’ll use it.’
– Flash!!!!! –
Above my head, clouds swiftly gathered.
– Roar… Roar…! –
Amidst the thick clouds, a shimmering golden cluster descended towards the ground.
– Flash! –
As if thunder had struck.
– Flash! –
As the light crashed to the ground and finally embedded itself, emitting a thunderous roar, I had to gaze up at the sky.
“Wow, that’s impressive. Damn, it’s so cool.”
Swearing involuntarily, it was a spectacle that took my breath away. Though I’d already seen this effect when I summoned Shine once, witnessing it again was exhilarating.
The surroundings flashed, thunder resounded right before my eyes. How many could stand unaffected? Although instinctively one might recoil, I welcomed the sound and flashing effects willingly.
‘It’s an SSR effect, they’ve got to do it this way. It’d be frustrating if it was dull.’
If the SSR production is lacklustre, it takes away the excitement of pulling it off. Even within the game, if the effect is dull, it’s disappointing, right?
Not letting down my expectations, the draw effect seen with my own eyes in reality was beyond imagination, creating an overwhelming sense of awe.
It was regrettable that only I could see it.
Moreover, since it was a Guaranteed SSR, there wasn’t a rush of tears and emotions upon its acquisition. However, I was curious and worried about which SSR character would descend with such a flashy lightning bolt.
Since I’m pulling, I hope it’s a proper character.
‘So… who’s coming out this time?’