After the battle was over and the immediate chaos had settled, Felix finally found himself with a rare moment to breathe.
The ruined chamber still smelled faintly of blood and burnt magic. Broken restraints lay scattered across the floor where Clayman had been experimenting earlier. The magical arrays etched into the stone walls flickered weakly, some of them already beginning to fade now that their master had fled.
Felix leaned against one of the stone pillars, exhaling slowly.
His heart was still beating faster than usual.
A few minutes ago he had kicked a Demon Lord in the throat.
That was… not something he had expected to do today.
The white fox resting nearby shifted slightly, drawing his attention.
Felix looked down at the small creature.
Her breathing was weak but steady now. The earlier wounds still marked her body, though the bleeding had slowed.
And that was when something finally clicked in his mind.
"…Wait."
Felix frowned.
Kumara — at least the one he remembered — had brown fur.
But the fox in front of him had snow-white fur, almost silver under the dim light.
He stared for a moment longer.
"…Were there more than one Nineheads?"
Felix straightened and looked toward Mjur.
"Mjur," he called, "can you tell me more about the fox? Where did she come from? How did Clayman get her?"
Mjurran paused where she had been checking the magical restraints left behind in the room. She turned toward Felix, considering the question.
"Hmm…" she said thoughtfully. "Do you know about the Five Fingers of Clayman?"
Felix shook his head.
"One of them," Mjur continued, "is a Nineheads. Much like the fox here."
Felix's eyes flicked back toward the small creature.
"After seeing how powerful the first one was," Mjur explained, "Clayman invested a great deal of money and influence to obtain another specimen."
"From the Eastern Empire."
Felix frowned slightly.
"But…" Mjur continued, her voice lowering slightly, "this one is different."
"The first Nineheads possessed strong spiritual power from the beginning."
She glanced down at the fox again.
"This one… does not."
Felix's expression darkened.
"Is that why he was experimenting on her?"
A faint edge of anger crept into his voice.
Mjurran didn't answer immediately.
"Yes," she said eventually.
"Clayman hoped that with enough forced evolution and magical manipulation… her potential might awaken."
She paused briefly.
"But honestly…"
Her eyes softened slightly as she looked at the fox.
"I do not believe she would have survived."
"Even now," Mjur added quietly, "her life force is extremely fragile."
Felix clenched his jaw.
He already knew a method that might save her.
Naming.
In this world, naming a monster could grant them power and stability.
But that required something Felix currently lacked.
Magicules.
And judging from the absurd scale of energy monsters usually possessed in this world…
He definitely didn't have enough.
Not yet.
"We should probably leave," Mjur said after a moment.
Felix looked up.
"Before Clayman returns with reinforcements."
That was… a very good point.
Felix rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Well," he said slowly.
"…let's loot the place first."
Mjurran blinked.
Felix shrugged.
"What?"
"It's not like he's going to use the money for anything good."
He gestured vaguely around the destroyed chamber.
"Honestly if Clayman didn't have money in the first place, the Ninehead probably wouldn't even be here."
Mjurran considered that.
"…That is a fair point."
Felix nodded once.
"Good."
He gestured toward the hallway.
"You know the mansion better than I do."
"Why don't you gather anything valuable you can carry?"
He paused.
"Meanwhile, I need to do something."
Mjurran gave a small nod.
"Understood."
Without further argument she left the room, already moving with quiet efficiency.
The moment Felix was alone—
He exhaled heavily.
"…Okay."
His shoulders sagged slightly.
Ever since meeting that ROB, things had been happening one after another without pause.
Teleportation.
Clayman.
Combat.
Running on pure adrenaline.
Well… technically he probably didn't have adrenaline anymore.
Considering he had died and all.
But honestly?
Details.
Felix glanced at the faint interface floating at the edge of his vision.
The Gacha system.
"…Alright."
If there was ever a moment to test things, it was now.
Felix had been thinking about something since earlier.
The Chosen Hero ability supposedly bent fate in his favor.
Which raised an interesting question.
"…Does it work on the Gacha?"
He didn't really expect it to.
But there was a small chance.
And honestly…
The temptation was strong.
Felix tapped the button.
---
[Rolling the Gacha: Congratulations You've gotten:
Full Recovery
It can completely undo and restore all of your injuries, illnesses, disabilities, brainwashing, ailments, etc. It charges once a day and is automatically activated when you suffer a fatal injury or condition. (Demon's Blessing CYOA)]
Felix blinked.
"…That's actually really good."
He rubbed his chin.
"Basically a safety net."
As long as he didn't die instantly, the ability would activate and reset his condition.
"That's… borderline broken."
Felix thought about several possible uses for it before shaking his head.
One roll hadn't produced a drawback.
So…
He pressed the button again.
---
[Rolling the Gacha: Congratulations You've gotten:
Tent
This tent is the size of a sports bag when packed away and once set up is the size of a small car— on the outside at least. inside it is the size of a small house, complete with running water, waste disposal, and a couple of power sockets. It also has a small picnic hamper that will always contain a random selection of sandwiches. The tent creates a weak mental compulsion that makes people want to ignore it, though the strong willed and those versed in the arcane can ignore this.(Dimensional Traveller CYOA)]
Felix tilted his head.
"…Okay that's actually convenient."
He imagined long travel days.
Cold nights.
Random monster territory.
"Yeah."
That tent would definitely be useful.
Especially if he ended up world-hopping later.
He rolled again.
---
[Rolling the Gacha: Congratulations You've gotten:
Facade
You won't have any difficulty pretending that you're normal or that you don't have memories from a previous life. (Isekai'd Into Another World: My Mass-Crossover Life is Strange, As Expected CYOA)]
Felix stared at the screen.
"…Well that's a bit of a dud."
Not useless.
Just redundant.
He could already fake things fairly well thanks to Acting.
Still.
A passive ability like that might help later.
Felix hesitated slightly.
Three rolls in.
All good results.
"…Okay," he muttered.
"One more."
He pressed the button again.
---
[Rolling the Gacha: Congratulations You've gotten:
Essence of Humanity Unchained
By consuming this Essence you remove all limits on the Human Will and what it can eventually achieve, giving you the following benefits:
Regardless of whatever happens, you will always remain as "human" - in whatever sense of the word that means to you - as you desire to be. As a physical baseline, you will receive a perfectly healthy human body re-sculpted to your desired aesthetics and idealized self-image.
You start out at peak human in all attributes, are cinematically resilient, and are immune to disease and illness. You also start with a minor healing factor allowing you action-hero level recovery from injuries.
Your intellectual baseline will likewise be increased so that you are a truly multi-faceted genius and at least as smart and talented as any human that has ever lived.
You will be a true Renaissance man, able to apply the full force of your intellect to any or all fields of endeavor that might strike your fancy with equal ease. You have impenetrable plot armor against soul-death, death of personality, psychological destruction, and other really bad things.
Your memory will be perfect and entirely adapted for a potentially eternal existence, although you may still choose to selectively let things fade. If you would already be even theoretically capable of learning how to do something without the benefit of this Essence, whether it be a normal property of the setting or a unique power or ability you already possessed, then your ability to learn and develop that thing is now expanded exponentially. You can explore new modes of thought and new techniques, or learn how to experience new sensations, much more easily than those around you.
You are a single-repetition learner for anything that others could teach you and when attempting to discover hidden depths of mastery within yourself or teach yourself then you will need at least two orders of magnitude less time than a 'normal' genius would.
Being Humanity Unchained means that you are zero risk of ever becoming overspecialized or trapped in an evolutionary dead end. No matter what you learn you can always choose to learn new things if you wish, even if people could not normally learn both. Likewise, you will always be capable of approaching new concepts without being unconsciously biased or constrained by what you already know and instead judging it fairly upon its merits.
As Humanity Unchained all limitations are lifted from your body, mind, and soul. No matter which quality of yours you are trying to improve, you will always find new ways to advance yourself a reasonable amount in a reasonable timeframe. Ultimately all it takes is you being willing to put in the effort, and you will always be able to muster sufficient willpower to be able to push yourself to improve or encourage others to do likewise.
As a special bonus, you receive full control over your fertility and other related buffs. Finally, your skills and abilities will never degrade regardless of disuse, lack of practice, etc. (Meta Essence CYOA - cliffc999)]
Felix stared at the screen.
"…Wait."
He read the title again.
Then the source.
"…Essence CYOA?"
Felix slowly sat down on the nearby stone step.
"Are you kidding me?"
Anyone even remotely familiar with CYOAs knew about the Essence series.
It was infamous.
Ridiculously powerful.
Completely absurd.
And somehow—
He had just rolled one.
Felix looked at the small vial that had appeared in his hand.
"…Okay."
For a moment he seriously considered rolling again.
If the system could give one essence…
Maybe it could give another.
Felix stared at the roll button.
Then he pressed it.
---
[Rolling the Gacha: Unfortunately You've gotten:
Hunted
You will end up pissing off a powerful organization, and they will decide to hunt you down. They will have a vast reach and resources. (Infernal Interdimensional ItemCYOA)]
Felix stared at the screen.
"…Yeah."
That tracked.
Another message appeared.
[Quest Triggered: Join one of the Top 5 most powerful organizations in the current Universe. You'll have to decide yourself which organisation is in the top 5. Time: 1 year.]
Felix sighed.
"There goes my luck."
He leaned back against the wall.
"…Alright."
No more gambling.
Not until at least one quest was finished.
Felix looked at the vial again.
Then shrugged.
"Well."
"No time like the present."
He uncorked it.
The scent that drifted out was… strange.
Hope.
Determination.
Something almost impossible to describe.
Felix drank it.
The liquid was thick.
Warm.
And the moment it entered his body—
Change began.
His muscles tightened.
His bones shifted slightly.
Not painfully.
Just… correcting themselves.
Every flaw in his body seemed to vanish.
His breathing deepened.
His senses sharpened.
His mind became clearer than it had ever been.
Thoughts moved faster.
Cleaner.
Stronger.
Felix slowly stood up.
"…Huh."
He flexed his hand slightly.
Everything felt… perfect.
Balanced.
Alive.
More than that—
He could feel something else.
A threshold.
A moment where he could push further.
Enlightenment.
But Felix stopped himself.
Not yet.
If the Essence removed all limits…
Then improving himself before breaking through would only make the final result stronger.
He exhaled slowly.
"Hero Felix, I have gathered everything that can be taken from the mansion without excessive burden."
Mjurran's voice echoed from the hallway.
Felix stepped out into the main hall.
The dark elves who had served in the mansion were gathered quietly in one corner, watching nervously.
On the other side of the hall was a growing pile of valuables.
Gold.
Scrolls.
Potions.
Jewelry.
Mjurran looked up.
Then blinked.
For a brief moment she simply stared.
Felix looked… different.
Stronger.
Sharper.
As if the man who had appeared earlier had been hiding something.
"Just call me Felix," he said casually.
"Hero Felix sounds embarrassing."
Mjurran nodded slowly.
Felix walked toward the pile of items.
Then his attention stopped on something else.
A sword.
It looked old.
Almost decorative.
But something about it felt… familiar.
Felix reached out and grabbed the handle.
The moment his hand wrapped around the grip—
A faint resonance vibrated through the metal.
Subtle.
But unmistakable.
Felix raised an eyebrow.
"…Hero's Haki?"
Some weapons carried traces of the heroes who once wielded them.
This sword clearly had.
Not powerful.
But real.
"Do you know the origin of this sword?" Felix asked.
Mjurran shook her head.
"No. I found it in the basement."
"It appeared to be a decorative relic."
Felix nodded slowly.
"…Guess it's mine now."
After sorting through the rest of the items, they selected only what could be carried easily.
Even then the haul was impressive.
Fifteen Stellar Gold Coins alone made the entire raid worthwhile.
According to Mjurran, that amount could easily purchase a ton of silver.
More than enough to satisfy the quest.
Felix carefully picked up the still-sleeping white fox.
Her breathing had become steadier.
As if she was slowly recovering.
Leaving her behind had never been an option.
Soon after, a carriage was prepared.
The loot was loaded.
Food supplies packed.
Mjurran took the driver's seat.
"I will drive," she said calmly.
Felix didn't argue.
The carriage rolled away from the mansion.
Night had begun to settle over the land.
After some time, Mjurran spoke.
"So which route should we take?"
She glanced back briefly.
"Normally I would avoid the Forest of Jura."
"However, traveling through the City of the Forgotten Dragon toward Fulbrosia means crossing territory controlled by multiple Demon Lords."
She paused.
"I have also heard rumors."
"Apparently a Majin has begun uniting monsters inside the forest."
Felix smiled slightly.
"Let's go to the City of the Forgotten Dragon first."
"Then we travel through the Forest of Jura."
Mjurran raised an eyebrow.
Felix leaned back in the carriage.
"Tell me more about this monster nation."
As the carriage continued down the road, the small white fox shifted weakly in Felix's arms.
Her ears twitched.
Just slightly.
As if she might wake up soon.
A/n: While you might feel there's a lot of AI in the chapter I'll be reducing it as I go along because for now I'm currently giving a try to multiple of my story ideas and don't have enough time.