So, the two four-star miracle elixirs he got from the first ten rolls were what essentially saved their lives. One of them healed Oathria and the other closed the hole in his chest, allowing him the stability to build a heart replacement out of pure mana.
Well, not really the elixir, though. To be fair, the mana still came from his bond with Oathria and he was still the one who had to architect the whole thing and consciously control it… now. But it certainly helped that the potion made the blinding pain vanish and handled all the boring internal knitting.
When his heart was ripped out, it took a rather significant chunk of his aorta and vena cava with it. The miracle elixir had healed the damaged cells but politely declined the task of regenerating what was just… gone.
"If what you did was only healing my broken parts and not regenerating what was missing, then who controlled my mana all night to replace the function of my heart?" Sees asked the system.
[You underestimated yourself, Cecilius]
[As we said, you have been chosen as our System Player]
[We admire the essence of your soul!]
"You're saying I did it? Subconsciously, while I was completely knocked out?" Sees narrowed his eyes, skeptical.
DI-DI-DING!
[Correct!]
Sees hummed, sitting crosslegged by the riverbank. "I didn't know I was that impressive."
"Impressive."
A certain woman's amused voice echoed in his memory, and a flutter of butterflies started tickling his stomach, making him frown with a nauseated expression. He slapped his reddening face with his palm, taking a deep breath. Get a grip, man.
He concentrated once more and straightened his back, all business.
"I want more information. So, if a Four-Star Miracle Elixir can heal broken parts but not regenerate missing ones… would this 'Heavenly Elixir' from the five-star list be able to do it? Regenerate the parts?"
[Correct!]
[Heavenly Elixir can restore someone to perfect health, no matter the illness! It can regenerate missing body parts, even if the missing parts had been long missing! But, it cannot heal hereditary defects or hereditary disease!]
"Repeat that," Sees said, his eyes narrowing to slits.
[Uhh… ahem…]
[He…Heavenly Elixir can restore someone to perfect health, no matter the illness! It can regenerate missing body parts, even if the missing parts had been long missing! But, it cannot heal hereditary defects or hereditary disease!]
Sees fell silent.
In the course of his time as a Prophet, countless people had been beyond his help because of incurable diseases. Perhaps some were hereditary, but others… with this elixir…
He closed his eyes and sighed. He grasped the knees of his robe with both hands, and then slowly, forcefully, unclenched his fists.
If only he had been 'chosen' by this system just ten years sooner… No. A single year sooner. He could've saved…
Forget the Heavenly Elixirs. Even the common Miracle Elixirs could have saved countless lives. If he could just roll a couple of times and get them… he could've…
No. If he could get just one and have a trusted alchemist analyze its ingredients, they could potentially reverse-engineer it. They could mass-produce it.
He just needed to almost die once. He didn't even have to actually die. If he had known, he would've begged Arwen to rip his heart out sooner.
"Alright. Next," he said, his voice clipped, shoving the tidal wave of 'what-ifs' into a locked box in his mind. He truly had no time to dwell on it now. "If we have a list for the possible five-star items, we must have the same list for the four-star and three-star items, right?"
DING!
[Correct!]
[Below is the list of the four star items you can get!]
[1. Enchanting Perfume]
[2. Miracle Elixir]
[3. 4 Stars Weapon (Random)]
[4. 4 Stars Artifact (Random)]
[5. 4 Stars Spell (Random)]
[6. 4 Stars Potion Recipe (Random)]
[7. 4 Stars Magic Stone]
[8. 4 Stars Mana Potion]
[9. 4 Stars Blank Magic Scroll]
[10. Money Pouch (1000 G)]
"O-oohh!" Sees's eyes widened. What was this, a treasure trove? Just from the look of it, they were all incredibly useful!
[You are guaranteed one four star every 10 rolls!]
"But I can't actually choose what I get, can I?" he asked, his initial excitement tempered.
[Correct!]
[This is a gacha after all!]
"Hmm, what does 'gacha' mean again?" Sees narrowed his eyes, suspicious.
[...a… ahem. I-it's a revolutionary game mechanic created by the wisest minds in the whole multiverse!]
"So, a gambling game, huh," Sees sighed, the wind thoroughly taken out of his sails. "Something that depends on luck… for someone as cursed with misfortune as myself…"
He coldly scoffed. His life was proof his luck was in the negatives.
[O-okay, next!]
[Below is the list of the three star items you can get!]
[1. 3 Stars Weapon (Random)]
[2. 3 Stars Magic Stone]
[3. Money Pouch (100 G)]
"Huh?" Sees blinked. "Only three? That's… significantly less impressive."
[Correct!]
[But the amount of varied 3 stars weapons you can get is more than every other star! You can get up to 20 different weapons from the three star pool. But you can only get 5 different weapons from the four and five stars pool!]
Sees was annoyed now. "You think that's better? It means to get one specific three-star weapon, the chance is even lower than getting a specific higher-tier one. You're just diluting the pool with junk."
[Correct! But since the chance of any 3 stars appearing is higher than the others, the rolls are balanced!]
Sees looked at his roll history. He had gotten two three-star frost steel spears and one three-star frost steel staff. He had never used a weapon in his entire life and now he wondered if he could just sell these cluttering items in his 'inventory'.
It took a while navigating the system, and even getting himself used to its bizarre logic. He was initially shocked to discover he had a spatial inventory.
Let's repeat that.
InsIDE HIMSELF.
DING!
[Yes! You can convert any item into gold! All three stars items can be converted into 100 G and all four stars items can be converted into 1000 G!]
[If you ever want to convert any five stars items, you will receive 10000 G from it!]
"Hmm, is that so?" Sees hummed. "I wonder if this 'G' is the same currency we use in this world…"
[Correct!]
Sees's eyes widened. Wouldn't that mean the intrinsic value of these items, in gold, would be astronomical? He needed to verify that sometime.
100 G was more or less a royal minister's yearly salary, minus all their benefits and the money they skimmed from corruption.
His own yearly salary as a Prophet was 500 Gold. The unwritten rule, of course, was to donate 90% of it back to the temple to uphold his reputation and not be compared unfavorably to his predecessors. Not that he was entirely sure the temple used those funds to help the needy.
So now, squinting at the value of these seemingly "common" items in his inventory, he hummed. "Am I… rich…?"
He sighed and rubbed his temples, a headache brewing. Turned out he just needed to almost die once to get all this, no matter how scammy the system's gambling mechanics sounded.
"Ah, I remember something," he said, a new plan forming. "You said I got a reward for leveling up Oathria's love affinity, yes?"
[Correct!]
"And you said I have access to the system shop?"
[Correct!]
"Good. I want to do something."