Gacha Harem System

Lukas pulled up the system interface.

[Gacha Harem System]

[Gacha Points: 1100]

[Banners:]

[Wife (4000 Gacha Points)]

[Skills (1000 Gacha Points)]

[Items (1000 Gacha Points)]

[Mystery Box (2000 Gacha Points)]

He stared at the numbers for a moment.

This was one of the changes that had come with the system’s upgrade.

Every banner has doubled in price, and he was sure this was the system’s way of telling him he was now on his own.

Now that the Training Wheels had been deactivated, the system reflected that he was no longer a newbie, and should be treated accordingly.

Luckily, he had enough points for one draw.

"Draw skill."

The translucent blue slot machine appeared, its reels already spinning before the words had fully left his mouth. He watched them blur, the familiar anticipation settling in his chest.

The first reel slowed and stopped. It was a golden star.

The second reel followed a moment later. Another golden star.

He straightened slightly, eyes fixed on the third reel as it wound down.

It stopped.

Empty.

The fourth reel turned up empty. The fifth was also empty.

Ding!

[Congratulations! You have pulled a Two-Star (Uncommon) Skill!]

[Wing Fortress: You can manifest wings, wrapping them around your body like a shell, using them as a full body barrier that absorbs incoming attacks from all directions.]

He read it, then did what any reasonable person would do upon receiving a skill called [Wing Fortress].

He activated it.

The wings came from his back with a soft snap. There were four of them, with two on each side, unfurling with a sound like a sail catching wind.

He felt them immediately, the same way he felt his arms and legs, like they were a genuine extension of his body rather than something attached to it.

The feathers on it were colored a natural gold, darkening towards the tips of the wings, ending in black spots.

They were, objectively, beautiful. But could he fly now?

He flapped them experimentally, and the air moved. A small cloud of leaves and soot kicked up around his feet, but he did not move. Not even an inch

He tried again, putting more strength behind the flap of his wings, but his feet still remained on the ground.

He folded the wings, deactivating the skill. The drain on his mana was cut off, and the wings dissolved into golden light.

A frown appeared on his face. He could feel the strength in the wings, which meant it would work perfectly as a barrier, but it seems like flight would be another matter entirely.

However, he suspected that the capability would be open to him the moment he became an Adept.

That was something to look forward to.

He then left, following the tree line back to the clearing he and his wives had designated as their midday stop.

Melody and Akira were already there, sitting on opposite sides of a small fire, each holding a stick with pieces of Zipper Bear meat roasting over the flames.

The smell reached him before he even saw them, and when he walked into view, the first thing his eyes landed on was the meat.

The delicious meat, with oily fat around it, making his mouth water.

They looked up when he entered the clearing.

"There he is," Akira said, already pulling a spare stick of meat from beside her and holding it out. The meat on it was already cooked, slightly charred at the edges. "We saved you one."

"Thanks." He took it and sat, accepting the wineskin Melody held out without being asked.

He took a long drink, then bit into the meat.

It was tough, as Zipper Bear always was, but the flavor was better than most. Who knew such an ugly looking beast could produce such delicious meat?

"Are you done with your quest?" Melody asked.

"Yeah." He nodded. "I killed all the A-rank scorpions, and even killed one more than I needed."

"As long as it doesn’t send you into A-rank," Akira said approvingly. "So, you got your new skill?"

"Of course." He grinned, turning the stick in his hands. "An uncommon skill called [Wing Fortress]."

Akira paused her chewing for a moment. Then she nodded slowly, resuming.

"I’ve heard of that one." She looked up at him. "It’s one of the stronger defensive skills available, and when used well, can turn their wielder into a defensive powerhouse."

"It gives full body coverage and absorbs damage from every direction simultaneously." She took another bite. "Most barriers only cover the direction you’re facing, so you should know how valuable this skill is."

"It’ll be useful against multiple opponents that don’t play by the rules," Lukas said.

Melody glanced at him with a small smile. "I’m trying to picture the look on you, and I have to say, wings suit you."

"I thought so too," he said.

Silence filled the air, only the sounds of chewing to be heard.

Melody took a swig of wine, before turning to him with a question. "Have you finalized the class you’ll be registering as?"

Every Awakener registering for the tournament was required to register their classes. It was a compulsory requirement, and that meant he needed to submit his too.

He’d long since decided to register as a double awakened, but now, it was time to choose his new class.

While he could register as a [Hexblade] or [Necromancer], he didn’t want to bring attention to the fact that he had the same class as his wives. At least not yet.

Thankfully, different classes can share the same skill, so all he needed to do was select the two skills he wanted to fight with, and find the class that had both.

He’d previously been looking at pairing [Blood Armor] with [Death Bolt], but now he had a better option than [Blood Armor].

After all, this was a tournament. He would not be killing anyone, which meant there would be minimal blood to fuel the skill.

"I’m thinking of [Wing Fortress] and [Death Bolt]," he said.

He wasn’t worrying about killing anyone with [Death Bolt] as there would be healers close by to make sure no combatants die. This was a precaution for the more dangerous skills.

"Wait a minute," Akira spoke up, eyes brightening. "I know the perfect combination for you."