[John P.O.V.]
"Cecil, I thought our friendship was bigger than petty things such as alternate earths," I said, holding up a single index finger to shush the Director of the Global Defense Agency. "I'm on a lucky streak right now, and if you know what's good for you, never disturb a gambler's lucky streak."
Cecil's scarred jaw practically unhinged in baffled fury. His one good eye darted from my casually raised finger to the massive, burping Venus flytraps that were currently digesting the remains of an alien invasion and the scarred civilians lying about trying to get their bearings together.
"Kid, I don't know what kind of shrooms you're on, but you have exactly five seconds to comply before my men turn you into ash," Cecil growled, his hand hovering over a communicator.
I ignored the glowing plasma coils pointed at my chest. My finger swiped through the system screen, tearing into the Diamond tickets. The gacha wheel spun as the clicking sound echoed in my head like the sweetest symphony.
[Knighting]
|Epic Ability|
You can convert an ability of yours into an armament that you can bestow upon someone willing to receive. The abilities of the weapon or piece of equipment they receive are based on the ability you have bestowed. Once they accept your gift and are knighted, they are unable to refuse your orders as your vassal. If you take an armament back from a Knight, they lose their status and can never be knighted again. They must know the burden of the armament you are bestowing for this ability to work. A Knight can be teleported to your location every 24 hours.
'Okay, that's just broken, not to mention I can give Nakime and Neel so many of these powers!' I thought, raising an eyebrow as the knowledge of the ability settled into my mind. 'If I get more familiars, maybe I'll make my own Round Table.'
I scrolled to the next one, the high of the Gacha drowning out the shouting GDA director in front of me.
[Incursio]
|Epic Item|
Akame Ga Kill - In its dormant state the Incursio resembles a short sword that can be activated into a white armor that completely covers the user and grants them enhanced physical stats as well as the ability to turn invisible for a duration. But the true strength of the Incursio lies in its ability to adapt and become stronger, so the longer you use it the stronger it will become and acquire new forms.
A heavy, metallic weight suddenly materialized in my item storage space. I could feel the cold steel of the short sword waiting to be unleashed.
'Is Incursio made from the flesh of the adapting dragon 'Tyrant'?' I grinned, my mind immediately racing with the possibilities. 'The invisibility is nice, but the adaptation is the real prize. I mean, it's not Mahoraga when it comes to pure adaptability, but wait… what happens if I have Ship merge with a constantly evolving armor?'
Before I could continue to imagine the possibilities, the next roll stopped.
[The Casino]
|Elite Item|
Allows you to manifest a door that leads to the Casino, the Casino is a large structure inside of a 1 km x 1 km pocket dimension, including everything a Casino needs like slot machines, poker tables, a fully stocked bar, private rooms etc., that all are manned by Schrodinger workers that always do work but can never be observed or acknowledged. If the Casino is damaged, it will slowly be repaired. Anyone can leave at any time through the main doors.
A sudden spatial anchor clicked into place in the back of my skull. It felt like someone had handed me a key to a door that only existed in my mind. The architectural blueprint downloaded directly into my brain as I saw a sprawling paradise of neon lights, velvet tables, and endless alcohol.
'A pocket dimension literally tailored specifically for my degenerate gambling habits?' I let out a low whistle, shaking my head at the absurdity. 'RNGesus, you really know how to spoil a guy. But unfortunately, I've been quiet gambling, if it was me from 6 months ago, I would be drooling from my mouth by now.'
"Three seconds," Cecil warned, bracing his stance. The plasma coils on his men's rifles whined loudly.
"Yeah, yeah, almost done," I muttered, moving to the final Diamond pull.
[Expert Communication]
|Elite Skill|
You are an expert in communication. You can always convey what you mean to anyone, be it the stupidest human or the lowliest beast; you can even live your life through gestures and not be misunderstood. You can tell when people lie and understand their true intentions by cold reading them; they don't even have to talk, you can understand what they want and what they feel just by extreme cold reading.
The instant the skill integrated into my brain, the world violently shifted.
It was as if I got a boost in social awareness as my brain was suddenly flooded with a torrent of microdata. I could hear the subtle shifts in breathing patterns around me, smell the acrid scent of adrenaline and sweat leaking through the tactical gear of the GDA agents.
I looked up from my screen at Cecil and his squad of goons, and I didn't even need them to speak. I could physically feel the spikes in their cortisol levels.
I looked at Cecil, currently projecting a tough-guy aura, but underneath it? It was like reading a children's picture book. I saw the micro-tremor in his right hand and noticed the way his pupils were slightly dilated. I saw the rigid tension in his left shoulder where he was subconsciously bracing for an attack that he knew he couldn't survive.
"You can drop the tough-guy act, Cecil," I interrupted, casually swiping the screen to queue up the Legendary tier.
Cecil paused, his eyes narrowing. "Excuse me?"
"I said, drop the act," I repeated, my voice dripping with casual condescension. I leaned forward slightly, pointing a finger at him. "You may be projecting authority just like the other you when we first met, but internally? You are terrified that my babies are going to suddenly turn around and eat your agents and heroes before they can blink you out of here."
Cecil actually flinched as the cold, calculating facade cracked for a fraction of a second, his mouth opening slightly in shock.
"It's okay to admit it," I smiled, thoroughly enjoying the psychological dissection. "You're completely out of your depth. You thought you were walking into a clean-up operation, and instead, you found a guy treating a world-ending alien invasion like a minor inconvenience. Your threat assessment protocols are currently screaming at you to shoot me, but your survival instincts are telling you that if your men pull those triggers, none of you are going home. Am I warm?"
The GDA soldiers exchanged nervous glances, their aim noticeably wavering. Their commander had just been effortlessly read to the tee.
"How did you—" Cecil started, his face flushing a deep, angry red. He shook his head, trying to manually reset his composure. "I said, time is up! Prepare to—"
"Yeah, yeah, hold your horses. I'm at the pity timer," I muttered bulldozing over his threat as I ripped the Legendary tickets.
[Mind Palace]
|Legendary Trait|
Your mind is a palace you have absolute control over, you are immune to all mind abilities below Mythical level, and you can freely control your own mind, possess enhanced thought speed and perfect memory. In addition you learn things much faster than the average person and can freely change your own mental scape.
My consciousness expanded violently, blowing past human limits. It physically felt like my brain matter was being torn apart and rebuilt with titanium-laced fibre optics. The mental workspace in my head went from a cluttered, messy studio apartment to a pristine, heavily fortified fortress, much like Nakime's Infinity Castle.
Every memory I had ever experienced from every conversation, every face, every manga I had read in my past life snapped into flawless, 4K resolution. I could pull up a memory of my fourth birthday and examine the dust motes floating in the air.
But the most jarring change was the thought speed. Paired with my Chronolog trait, the world around me ground to a halt. I could see the individual plasma particles swirling inside the barrels of the GDA rifles, watch a drop of sweat slowly, agonizingly crawl down Cecil's cheek. I was processing information so fast that waiting for the rest of my tickets to roll felt like an eternity.
[Master Performance]
|Epic Skill|
You have mastered the art of putting on a performance. You can play any instrument well enough to impress the world, your voice when singing is nothing short of captivating. You can sway entire crowds, put on performances that make crowds weep or cheer, you know how to capture and sway crowds instinctively. Without a doubt, you would be hailed as one of the greatest artists and idols of all time.
My vocal cords tightened, a resonant warmth filling my throat. Decades of musical theory, instrument mastery, and stage presence downloaded into my fortress of a brain.
'Great. I'm an idol now,' I chuckled internally, the thought firing off in a nanosecond. 'I'll surprise Nakime when I get home.'
[A/N]:
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