Chapter 10
The day Adrian died.
To be precise, the day I confirmed his death.
I threw aside the game I had been playing, buried my face in a pillow, and cried. It took me three whole days before I could bring myself to log in again.
I never meant to get this emotionally invested, but that sinful man…
‘Yeah, maybe… maybe I could save Adrian too?’
Just like I saved the passengers on the airship yesterday.
Maybe I could save Adrian, who died in my place instead of my character.
His death was completely unexpected. When the enemy suddenly launched an ambush, he threw himself forward and took the attack that was meant for the protagonist.
But I knew when and where that ambush would happen. If I just avoided that place, that moment, wouldn’t it be enough?
Yes, let’s try.
I couldn’t watch this man throw away his life for me a second time.
“So, Adrian, I really hope you don’t overdo things. And please don’t sacrifice yourself either.”
At my serious words, Adrian’s softened face crumpled again.
It was an expression like he was forcing down some emotion.
D-did I say something wrong?
But only for a moment. He quickly smoothed over his expression as if nothing had happened.
“…I don’t know what you mean. I probably have the easiest job in this entire hero squad.”
“Come on, there’s no such thing as an easy job. Everything you do must be necessary too, Adrian.”
I didn’t know what was going on, but if he wanted to hide his feelings, it was probably better to pretend I didn’t notice.
So I just laughed awkwardly and played along.
“Thank you for saying that. I should get going—time to open the library. Belinda’s probably already at work too. Well then.”
Adrian dipped his head slightly in farewell and strode off toward the library.
As always, not a trace of disorder in his neat appearance.
“Hmmm.”
I watched Adrian’s retreating back.
Even that NPC crew member I rescued from the crashed airship—she’d just been a minor character in passing, but it turned out she had family aboard the same ship.
So maybe Adrian also had some hidden backstory?
At least, I had no way of knowing it now.
“Forget it. Let’s go see Belinda.”
I shrugged and headed for the office on the first floor of the hero squad headquarters.
“…Oh, Strongest Shooter Elaine. I was just about to call for you, but you came on your own.”
Belinda, waiting for me outside a closed office door, adjusted her glasses as she spoke.
Ah, right. Originally, I was supposed to come here after she summoned me. I was too impatient.
At a loss for what to say, I scratched my cheek awkwardly, and she chuckled, opening the office door.
“Well, saves me the trouble. Come in.”
“Ah, yes.”
I sat where Belinda pointed and waited blankly for her to begin.
“I meant to give you this yesterday, but you looked too tired. Here you go. A congratulatory gift for officially joining.”
What she handed me were ten wooden tokens called ‘Hagion Hero Squad Tokens.’
Another currency, alongside the continent’s main ones: Bine and Rainbow Stones.
You sometimes got one as a quest reward—they were extremely valuable. Mainly used for equipment draws or equipment upgrades.
A precious resource, no doubt… but right now I couldn’t appreciate it. What I really needed was the renaming fee.
Couldn’t she have given me Rainbow Stones instead…
As my shoulders sagged in disappointment—
“Now then, let me show you the hero squad’s special system. This way.”
Belinda clapped her hands and led me to one corner of the office. Something sat there, covered with a luxurious velvet cloth.
“…?”
What could possibly need such a dramatic reveal?
I waited sourly as Belinda whisked away the cloth with a flourish.
Beneath it was… a machine that looked like it would spit out little toy capsules if you fed it a bunch of coins.
Yes. A capsule toy machine.
I just stared blankly.
So this was… equipment gacha.
I’d never imagined it would look like this, and I let out a dry laugh.
I was used to systems where you just pressed a button and—bam!—random gear popped out. Who could have guessed it would be a physical, analog capsule machine here?
“Our squad’s special system—the Equipment Random Box! Draw a legendary weapon for just 100,000 Bine!”
‘Belinda, please don’t sound like some mass-produced mobile gacha game ad!’
She spread her arms wide in a dramatic pose while I screamed internally.
A hero squad fighting in the goddess’s name… and they’re promoting gambling mechanics like this?
“Ten draws get you one bonus!”
At that, a headache hit me and I clutched my head. Ugh.
Wait, but what about the guaranteed Unique?
In the original game, a 10-pull guaranteed at least one Unique item. Could that even be implemented with this capsule machine?
Well, whatever. Surely my status window powers would handle it somehow.
“Normally it costs money, but for new members we offer one free 10-pull. Only once.”
Oh yeah, I remembered getting that as a tutorial reward.
Well, if it’s free, there’s no reason to refuse. If I pull one amazing gun, I won’t need to worry about weapons for a long time.
Combat level in this game went up to 60. If I got even one Mythic—or at least Legendary—weapon at level 60, I’d be set for life.
Sure, I already had a level 40 Unique pistol at my waist, but…
Human greed knows no end.
‘Alright, let’s pull!’
I rolled up my sleeves and reached for the lever.
With all my hopes, I cranked it—
Clunk. A familiar capsule shape dropped into the chute.
Not plastic, but wood.
But… why was it white?
That didn’t feel promising.
Like most games, items here were color-coded by rarity:
White = Common, Green = Rare, Blue = Unique, Purple = Legendary, and fluorescent orange = Mythic.
The pistol I’d gotten from the sheriff yesterday was a Unique, shown in blue text in the status window.
Surely this white capsule wasn’t actually indicating rarity, right?
Nervously, I cracked it open.
Out popped a robe big enough for an adult, though it had somehow fit inside the tiny capsule.
‘What’s this? Looks super shabby.’
As if responding to my thought, a pop-up appeared.
[Worn Muslin Robe]
Defense +2, MP Recovery Speed +1%
Yep. The white text confirmed it was Common.
Didn’t look like anything good. “Worn” muslin cloth, at that. Even without “worn,” muslin was just a low-level crafting material in-game.
Well, you can’t expect to get full on the first bite. I still had nine more!
I spun the lever again.
And again, and again. White, white, green, white, green, white…
Ugh, seriously, reveal the drop rates already.
I glared coldly at the capsules littering the floor. If I could, I’d send a protest truck to Belinda right now. Seven chances wasted in an instant!
No, wait. I still had three left.
On the eighth…
“Hah—it’s blue!”
The same rarity as my pistol!
“…That’s quite a good item you pulled.”
Belinda spoke, sounding strangely regretful as she eyed the blue capsule.
Maybe from the perspective of the “gacha operator” it was a loss when I got something good… but did she have to be so obvious?
Anyway, my heart raced as I opened it. Inside was a dark green jumpsuit.
[Durable Premium Workwear for Gatherers]
Gathering Speed +100%
‘…What kind of name is that?’
Well… straightforward, at least. Doubling gathering speed was impressive. And the design wasn’t bad either—comfortable enough for everyday wear.
I decided to keep this one even if I sold the rest.
Then two more white capsules in a row.
Come on, Belinda, these rates are ridiculous!
Sure, I wasn’t paying, but still—100,000 Bine per draw? And white capsules this frequent?
Now, the final chance.
‘Guess I’ll end up with just one Unique workwear.’
Feeling unlucky, I shut my eyes tight.
And then—
“…Gasp.”
Beside me, Belinda inhaled sharply.
What was with that sound, like she couldn’t contain her excitement?
I cracked one eye open to check the capsule.
“…Mother of—”
I couldn’t help but call for my mom, who I’d left back on Earth.
A purple capsule. Legendary grade.
Not quite Mythic, but still. Legendary was huge.
Pulling one was enough to trigger a server-wide announcement in the original game: “So-and-so has obtained [Item Name]!”
“…This is my first time seeing a purple capsule in all my time here.”
Belinda admitted, astonished.
Well, yeah. The drop rates were pretty outrageous.
Of course, I’d seen plenty before—whenever I progressed the story, the chat would occasionally blow up with congratulations for someone pulling Legendary or Mythic gear.
But here, with only me as the “protagonist” and not many new recruits, hardly anyone was running the gacha. It made sense this could be her first.
“Would you please open it quickly? I really want to know what it is too.”
She, who had looked displeased when I pulled a Unique, couldn’t hide her excitement now. Her voice was slightly breathless as she leaned in close.
“O-okay. Here goes.”
My hands, slick with nervous sweat, carefully pried open the purple capsule.
Please let it be a shooter weapon. Give me a shooter weapon!
