Gacha System

by Java Springs

  Jin Feng wouldn't mind if it really was the case. At least, some of his Summons would feel at home.

  "Huh?" Jin Feng creased his brows, wondering why the Summons suddenly halted in their tracks. It did not take long before Jin Feng's query was answered. In front of them were five bizarre figures that stood tall and mighty, baring their sharp, claw-like fangs and oddly-shaped weapons.

  The Moon Bicorn beside Jin Feng snorted— as if looking down towards some mere ants, it lightly tapped its horseshoe, creating a clicking sound that echoed within the silent forest, taunting the Arachnoid in front them.

  The Gnome Warrior and Hell Imp were also glaring coldly at the sudden appearance of the five. "Uhm? Hello..." Jin Feng was unsure as to how he would approach the situation. "Are you people residents of this place? We apologize if we accidentally crossed your territory, we're just passing by. If you want, we will leave as soon as..."

  Jin Feng couldn't even finish his sentence when the Arachnoids started rushing towards them.

  CHAPTER 9

  HUMAN BOY

  "It's just a human boy!" One of the young mercenaries chuckled. After seeing that the figures accompanying the Moon Bicorn were merely Tier 1 and 2 Gaiwus and a teenage human, their ego immediately peaked. The others felt the same as they inwardly laughed and mocked.

  Zhi Long, who wasn't the type to easily underestimate his opponents, couldn't help but feel the same way. He was pretty disappointed at the enemy in front of them. "... A human" Zhi Long sighed. What does it mean when one would encounter a human within the An Forest? It would signify that the spot they were in isn't in the least bit formidable.

  No Tier 3 Gaiwu would mingle with mere humans, the weakest amongst the races within Nhervyne. "Is this Bicorn some sort of tamed beast? Most probably, it was captured by those dumb humans during its infancy." Zhi Long came up with a scenario within his head as to why the two most contradicting figures in front of him were seemingly sharing a bond.

  With a single hand signal and a slight whisper, Zhi Long initiated the hunt.

  ...

  The intimidating aura of the five Arachnoids flooded the area as they unhesitatingly rushed towards Jin Feng's group. With their sharp arachnid fangs and specially forged weapons, the Arachnoids did not fear the Bicorn in front of them. "Just a monkey's pet dressed as a Tier 3 Gaiwu. Pathetic!"

  Zhi Long mockingly yelled as his spear-like weapon aimed for the Moon Bicorn's chest. The lustrous tip of the weapon emitted a faint glow that evidently showed its extreme sharpness, the handle was intricately carved to fit the Arachnoids use of four extra limbs, increasing the grip and thus improving the thrusting strength.

  The young mercenaries behind Zhi Long immediately followed suit as they brandished their equally amazing pieces of equipment. Each of the four held different weapons–

  The bulky Arachnoid heading the charge, just behind Zhi Long, wore a thick silver chest plate that covered his entire cephalothorax, "Let me do the "honor" of squishing that human boy! Mr. Zhi Long, I don't think your wife wants a bony meal!" The bulky Arachnoid mockingly laughed as his pace did not falter. His eyes were on the price of killing the naive boy.

  Skittering just a few steps behind of the bulky Arachnoid– The leader of the young mercenaries gallantly pranced forward, carrying his four heavy swords, one on each hand, as the weapons glimmered under the illumination of the four great moons,

  "Pft! Chasing down the weak? Well, let me kill those cannon fodders first, then I'll teach you how to utterly crush a pathetically tamed Gaiwu." The leader boasted as he swaggered sideways, aiming his weapons toward the general direction of the Gnome Warrior and the Hell Imp.

  The two remaining mercenaries, who were both carrying bows– one traditional and one long, aimed towards the Moon Bicorn. "What an arrogant little pet." The two inwardly thought as their arrows whistled through the air, gaining momentum towards the bicorn who was calmly standing still.

  "Eh? I guess they aren't the talkative type... Oh well, It's either them or me dying, so might as well stay alive. Besides, I just arrived. It would be too pathetic of me to immediately waste my second chance, hehe" Jin Feng inwardly thought.

  It was enough for him to start "negotiating" the moment they met. A peaceful talk is always better than a bloody bout, but as soon as they bared their fangs and attacked, it became an entirely different story. One might say that it was indifference, but the within the young boy's perspective, everything was quite simple– kill, or be killed.

  Why sympathize with things, creatures, or people that you have zero attachments to? They're just mere passersby, no more, no less. He wasn't the least bit different from Earth even, his every choice were simply because he wants it, things that come and go are all natural, just like games, you die because you weren't good enough. He was just fortunate enough to have been given a second chance to "play" the game known as life.

  "Pitiful of me to say when I died from a mere overcharged console, hehe." Jin Feng inwardly laughed. Redirecting his gaze towards the charging spider-human creatures, he muttered– "Go." With a single word, Jin Feng commanded the three to "defend" themselves.

  The Hell Imp immediately moved a few steps backward in order for him to charge his fireballs, the Gnome Warrior calmly drew his spear...pitchfork, while the Moon Bicorn stood nonchalantly as it glared towards the incoming arrows.

  Tink! Tink!

  The ringing sound of a sharp metallic object rubbing against another resounded. "Eh?" The two bow and arrow mercenaries exasperated. They clearly saw the arrows landing on the Moon Bicorn, but... none of the two arrowheads pierced?

  On the ground were two arrows. With a broken stalk and a dulled arrowhead, it was obvious that they were extremely ineffective against the kevlar-like skin of the Moon Bicorn. "So that was why it was standing so calmly, this Moon Bicorn is just too strong! And it is still Level 0 at that!" Jin Feng was caught in surprise after witnessing such an impressive thing unfold in front of him.

  His anticipation regarding summoning and leveling immediately peaked as he keenly awaited the battle to continue and finish, when suddenly– "Ding! Possible side-quest detected!"

  As if the arrows landing on the Moon Bicorn was its trigger, the mechanical voice of the Gacha System suddenly resounded within Jin Feng's head, "Side Quest? But, I haven't finished with the tutorial yet, right?" Jin Feng wondered. In his previous life, he never once encountered a game that would issue quests while in the middle of the tutorial besides those necessary tutorial-missions.

  "Ding, permanent side quest unlocked!"

  "Side Quest: Slay Creatures that are not residents of the An Forest! (A permanent follow-up to the 2nd part of the Tutorial: Idle Farming)– As the user of the heavenly and omnipotent Gacha System, user Jin Feng should not allow outsiders to taint the birthplace of the system. Slay anyone that dares trample upon this sacred land!"

  The ringing voice of the system was quite sudden, but the words contained within the notification screen that appeared was even more abrupt. "Birthplace? Sacred Land?" Words that did not make sense for Jin Feng filled the entirety of the screen. He barely understood any of it, but one thing was clear– kill those that the system wants to kill. "This system is too... sadistic."

  There is a big difference between being indifferent, and being sadistic. Jin Feng could easily categorize himself as the former, but the Gacha System is just too...

  Jin Feng sighed as he could clearly see the Arachnoid mercenaries rushing towards him and the other Summons. "If this is a quest, shouldn't there be a reward or something?" He inquired. The system went quiet for a few seconds before an additional sentence appeared on the quest screen.

  "Rewards: 1x Advance Summoning Scroll per 5 slain creatures (repeatable)"

  "There you go. Wait, what would have happened if I didn't ask for the reward?" Jin Feng questioned. Obviously, there was no reply. It has happened quite a few times in a mere span of one evening, barely even. "Is this system trying to scam me or what?"


  CHAPTER 10

  JUST RUN

  Clouds of dust blew off the ground as the five Arachnoids rushed towards Jin Feng's group.

  The ranged mercenaries who were now aware that their arrows were futile, decided to fight in a melee combat together with their leader and Zhi Long. If their guess was correct— their swords and spears would be a much more effective choice against the Moon Bicorn.

  Rushing behind their leader, they brandished their sharp daggers, preparing for the close ranged combat. In front of them, Zhi Long was already near the opposing side and is bracing for a one-on-one bout against the Moon Bicorn.

  Behind Zhi Long, the bulky mercenary Arachnoid drew closer as well. Unlike Zhi Long who was aiming for the Moon Bicorn, the bulky mercenary was eyeing down the human boy who was calmly standing behind the three Gaiwus.

  Tink!

  The sound of clashing metals echoed within the quiet An Forest. "What the?— Ah!" Shocking the bulky Arachnoid mercenary, his charge was easily blocked off by the toy-like stout shield of the Gnome Warrior. "Who do you think you are you little scum, I'll devour you whole!"

  Without hesitation, the bulky Arachnoid opened his mouth wide agape, with his abdomen leaning forward and his face rushing towards the dwarf figure below him, he aimed to swallow the Gnome Warrior whole.

  Shlink!... "Ack!"...Thud!

  A gruesome sound followed soon after. The other mercenaries could not help but immediately turn their attention towards the source of the commotion. There, a few meters away in front of where the human boy stood, they saw the headless figure of their comrade lying on the ground, lifeless.

  Within the split second of the bulky Arachnoid brandishing his mouth wide open, the Gnome Warrior immediately took the opportunity for him to grab his spear-like pitchfork and stab it through the soft and squishy insides of the Arachnoid's mouth.

  The tip of the pitchfork was sharp enough to even pierce through the exoskeleton from the inside and out. With a slight tug as to remove the pitchfork from implanting on the Arachnoid's skull, the Gnome warrior unintentionally decapitated the gigantic yet poor figure of the bulky Arachnoid.

  "Oof... Even a Tier 1 Summon could take care of these guys" Jin Feng bit his lips in surprise. A Tier 1 Summon completely blocked off a giant Arachnoid with what seems to be a tin can cover, and killed it with a single blow using a broken pitchfork, "Are they weak? Or are the Summons just too strong?"

  Thud!

  Another sound abruptly echoed. This time, it was coming from the direction as to where the Moon Bicorn and Zhi Long were facing off. The spider-like figure of Zhi Long flew a few meters away just from a mere kick from the Moon Bicorn!

  Tack! Tack! Tack!

  The sound of his exoskeleton rubbing against the ground repeatedly resounded. A mouthful of yellow goo dripped from the mouth of Zhi Long. It was the color of their race's blood. The yellow colored blood wasn't just dripping from his mouth, a few cracks in his exoskeleton is spilling blood as well. A single kick from the Moon Bicorn and Zhi Long, the strongest among the group, was now heavily injured and rendered completely helpless.

  The leader of the young mercenaries wasn't even given the "chance" to fight when he could clearly see that one of his comrades was already dead, and Zhi Long, who was someone he sees as a superior Arachnoid even against all four of them, was now crawling on the ground, trying to move far away from the bicorn.

  "I see... So it really is a Tier 3 Gaiwu... But how? How is it possible for a human boy to command these powerful creatures!" The leader fearfully glared towards the figure of Jin Feng, who was currently standing still, with his arms crossed and his head held low as if waiting for everything to just be over. "He is definitely not normal!"

  Zhi Long, who finally stood up, did not speak a single word and immediately ran towards the opposite direction. "What the hell is all this! It is definitely a Tier 3 Gaiwu!" He inwardly rebuked as his face was full of fear. He was afraid that being ganged up by an authentic Tier 3 Gaiwu and two other Gaiwus, he would definitely end up dead.

  At first, he was pretty confident about killing a Tier 3 Gaiwu. But after tasting the pain from a single kick alone that immediately paralyzed 3 of his limbs; he would not dare stay a single more second within that place, not even a chance!

  "Eh? Is he running? But the side-quest..." Jin Feng saw the figure of Zhi Long going farther and farther away. His attention towards the fight was then jogged back when he saw the Moon Bicorn do his move, but was quite disappointed after seeing that the enemy was rendered useless just from a single kick.

  Seeing that there is barely enough creatures present to do the side-quest once, Jin Feng could not let a single one of them slip past. Now that they started the entire fight, it was somehow justified for Jin Feng to finish it.

  Without sparing another thought, the other three mercenaries, including the leader, followed Zhi Long. It was apparent that they have no chance of winning the moment that the strongest one among them started cowardly running to save his own life. "Damn you cowardly old man!" The young mercenaries yelled.

  "Pft! I am not willing to die here! Not yet! Not until I could spawn my own offsprings!" Zhi Long retorted, brandishing his odd priorities amidst the crisis.

  "You perverted old man! If we die here and you survive, we will curse your offsprings!"

  Even though Zhi Long was injured, he has enough working limbs to scamper away. They weren't hindered by the darkness at the least bit, so the problem now relies on whether or not they were fast enough to escape the An Forest.

  Taka tak! Taka tak! Taka tak!

  Echoing behind them were the footsteps they so wished not to hear. The sound of the Moon Bicorn's horseshoe against the rocky dry ground grew louder, signifying that they were getting closer towards the escaping group of mercenaries.

  "I'm still too young to die!" The leader screamed helplessly as his hind limbs increased its pace, almost outrunning Zhi Long who had a headstart.

  Truly... Fear was the greatest motivation.

  CHAPTER 11

  RECALL FEATURE

  "Congratulations, user Jin Feng, for successfully completing the Permanent Side Quest: Slay the Creatures (x1 Repeated). Please receive your reward!"

  [Rewards: x1 Advance Summoning Scroll]

  The voice of the Gacha System resounded within Jin Feng's consciousness. It was then followed by the appearance of a screen that notified him of the reward. "That makes 4 Advance Summoning Scrolls which I could use... I should hurriedly do the last part of the tutorial." Jin Feng thought as his attention went towards the fist-sized seed in his palms.

  "I wonder why they aren't disappearing..." Jin Feng quietly muttered. In front of him were the corpses of the escaping group of Arachnoids.

  Some of them had their limbs either crushed on torn off their bodies, some have multiple holes throughout their exoskeletons, and a few were killed with their bodies burnt down. It was evident that they were easily trampled down by the Summons.

  The strength difference between the Tiers of the Summons couldn't be seen in this fight. It was more apparent during the time when the Gnome Warriors and the Hell Imp was battling the wild Moon Bicorn.

  As for them, the Summons, battling against what seemed to be professional mercenaries of the Arachnoid race, one could not tell the difference between how they were brutally killed by either the Tier 3 Moon Bicorn, or the Tier 1 Gnome Warrior.

  "Ah... surely insect carcasses rot faster than flesh. Besides, I don't plan on staying here." Jin Feng indifferently spoke. "Quite a shame that there were only five of them, I could've done more of the repeatable quest and would have received more scrolls. The fun of binge summoning should have been a great experience."

  Jin Feng felt that his first encounter, excluding the Idle Farming tutorial, was quite... fortunate. It would've been an entirely different story if he ran into humans and was then issued with the same quest. "If I am not wrong, the human race within this world is barely surviving? I could've sworn t
hat one of those spider-human creatures was looking down on me the whole time as if I am a prey..."

  It doesn't take a genius to arrive at the conclusion that the humans are being pushed to the brink of extinction within this world. It was apparent that the creatures and races that roam free were more formidable than any ordinary humans. Actually having some sort of strength, no matter the source, is essential for Jin Feng, a mere human.

  Glancing away from the corpses of the Arachnoids, Jin Feng and the group made their way to where they were initially heading. It was a place Jin Feng himself doesn't know of. But if his guess wasn't wrong, it should be somewhere important for the Gnome Warrior.