Invincible: Gudako! Gacha

The soldier drank the milkshake with an expression of immense satisfaction when Immortal stepped forward.

"Before you ask why backup took eleven minutes, the horde hit us the moment we pulled back, rushing in from every side tunnel at once. We held the main corridor like we planned and it looks like you killed their leader, but... They're still thralls, Wild Card. All of them."

Leon frowned. "What? How?"

Then he had been wasting time sitting here and doing nothing.

"Lily." He was already reaching through the connection. "Tell me you're in one piece."

(Define 'one piece',) came the reply. (I am uninjured. However, my damaged coat has been avenged several times over. Take your time. The cardio is excellent.)

"I should've checked in the second Dracula dropped. Sorry."

(Apologize by hurrying to finish the job,) Lily said. (My stamina is not infinite.)

Leon slid off the throne. "If they're still turned, then Dracula didn't sire the thralls himself. The masters that did are still breathing."

"Which brings us to you," Immortal said. "You found the throne room through a mile of rock. Can you find the masters?"

Leon closed his eyes.

The world rebuilt itself inside his head. At the chokepoint Lily held, the horde was a churning mass of hundreds of shapes hurling themselves at one that would not move. They were frantic, mindless, piling and re-piling like water against a dam.

And there, peeling away from the back of the mass, was something that moved nothing like the rest. Tens of vampires walked as one group. Going through the drainage tunnels, they headed straight for an exit Leon had plugged earlier.

"Found them. The thralls fights like rabid dogs, but these ones move like they've got somewhere to be." He stood. "A lot of them split off from the horde and are heading for an exit I sealed before we came down."

"Excellent. We'll assist Lily. I trust you can handle the vampires by yourself?"

Leon brought out the Portal Gun and shot the throne room wall. The portal snapped open onto cold night air.

"Easily."

He stepped through the portal and into the medical camp that sprawled across what used to be a park. Under multiple tents, rows of occupied gurneys floated alongside each other while multiple of Cecil's medics scrambled to treat them.

A Sunlight Spear condensed in Leon's grip mid-stride and a cloak of lightning enveloped him. He ran past three blocks, reaching the sewer exit within seconds. The wall of stone remained and packed behind it were thirty-two vampires wondering why the path was blocked.

Almost polite of them, really, lining up at a dead end he'd built himself.

Leon planted his feet and the wall of stone folded away like a curtain. Thirty-two faces lit up in relief. But the relief on them lasted exactly as long as it took to register his presence, propped on a spear of golden light.

"Evening," Leon said. "Congratulations on finding the exit. You're just in time for sunrise."

He reinforced the spear, pouring as much energy as he could.

The sun came out underground. Gold became searing white. Light flooded the chamber wall to wall with nowhere to hide. The vampires screamed, attempting to shield themselves with their hands in a futile attempt.

Within seconds, nothing else of the vampires was left but ash.

At the chokepoint Lily and the Guardians held, he saw the after-effects of killing them.

The churning mass stopped. Hundreds of frantic thralls dropped mid-lunge, mid-climb, and mid-swing, falling to the tunnel floor like every string in the city had been cut on the same instant.

(Leon. Did you do it?) Lily's voice came through the connection. (They've stopped. All of them. They're... people again. They're asking where they are.)

[Slain 32 Vampires! Reward: 800 GP]

[Feat Achieved! Freed hundreds of people from vampiric thralldom all at once. Reward: 1,150 GP]

[Total Gacha Points: 22,307]

Leon let out a long breath.

The rest of the night consisted of helping, healing, and feeding the civilians. The strike team, Leon, and the Guardians spent a lot it hauling dazed, filthy, blinking people up out of the dark.

The moon was still up when they were done.

The GDA had commandeered four city blocks by then. Medics moved between rows of people wrapped in blankets, hundreds of faces in various states of malnourishment and shock, and above it all, the fire escapes of the surrounding buildings were packed.

Nobody was sleeping in Midnight City tonight. Somewhere down the street, a woman was screaming a name, and a gaunt man in a blanket was screaming one back, and they hit each other so hard in the middle of the road that a medic winced.

Leon spotted the black shape he'd been looking for hopping between gurneys.

Nyx had been at it since before the operation began, exactly as he'd asked, and the flood of freed thralls had multiplied her workload in an hour. She looked it, too. Her feathers had lost their gloss, her hops had gotten short and heavy, and the glow around her rings sputtered like a dying bulb. But she was still working, pressing her head to the hand of an unconscious woman whose color was slowly coming back.

Leon walked over and held out his palm. "Hey. Clock out. That's an order."

"Two... more," Nyx managed.

"Nyx..."

"...One more."

She finished healing the woman, wobbled, and face-planted into his glove. Leon lifted her to his shoulder, where she melted against his neck.

"You did so much good tonight," he murmured. "I mean it. Sleep."

She was out before he finished the sentence, and he went around healing everyone in her place. It was in situations like this that he was glad he got Rebake. Hundreds of people thanked him for the food and drinks, and he was only glad to provide.

Some of the people them looked like they hadn't eaten anything in weeks.

When he had finished doing his rounds of aid, he found Darkwing at the edge of the camp, a holographic list hovering over his gauntlet. Names, hundreds of them, were sorted into two columns, and as Leon watched, a name detached from the left column and slid to the right. A few seconds later, another followed.

"Years of case files," Darkwing said without looking up. "Every entry on this list is someone who vanished. I've closed more of them in the past two hours than in the past decade, and for once they're closing the right way." He was quiet for a moment. "Not all of them will. Some of these names stopped being possible years ago. But more people came home tonight than I ever let myself hope for."

"They wouldn't have been saved if you hadn't investigated," Leon said. "That comment I made about vampires was a shot in the dark, and you could have just ignored it."

"Hm." Darkwing killed the display. "Get out of my city, Wild Card. Go give your report and get debriefed." He turned around before pausing to look over his shoulder. "And thank you. For everything."

Leon's earpiece crackled as he watched Darkwing go. Space warped and a golden, door-shaped portal materialized in front of him.

"Portal's waiting, kid. We need to talk before the sun comes up."

OOO

The GDA briefing room smelled like burnt coffee and cold metal. Cecil stood at the head of the table with the Guardians ranged around it. On the wall screen behind him, a muted news channel was already running helicopter footage of Midnight City and the hundreds of people receiving aid.

"So here's the situation," Cecil said. "Within about three hours, every network on the planet woke up to the biggest story of the century. A twenty-year curse, broken overnight. A secret army of vampires led by Dracula and Midnight Magician, living in the sewers and using the population of Midnight City as food. More than half a thousand missing persons, some of them gone for years, walked out of the ground alive while their families lose their minds on camera."

"Putting it that way, a lot really happened in such a short time frame," Green Ghost said.

"Calling this breaking news is an understatement, and here's the part that concerns you." Cecil looked at Leon. "Nobody knows who broke the curse or what went down in those tunnels just yet. What they do have is a few hundred witnesses who watched a man in a white mask heal the dying and pull hot meals out of thin air. I can't scrub you out of this story. That option died the second you started doing rounds at the camp. What I can still control is the size of your part in it. So, I'm asking you now. Do you want to be a footnote, or do you want the credit?"

"Are the Guardians fine with me taking the credit?" Leon turned to his seniors, who all looked at each other before bursting into light laughter.

"You are far too humble, my friend," Martian Man said.

"Who else can take the majority of the credit but you?" War Woman asked. "We barely did anything."

"We would feel ashamed if we took credit for everything you did," Immortal added. "You broke Midnight City's curse. You killed Dracula and the Midnight Magician. Your portals and remarkable abilities are what allowed us to save the civilians with minimal risk and end the master vampires controlling the thralls. Young man, if it isn't clear to you yet, you are the star of the show, not us."

Hearing all this praise coming from the best superhero team in the world, Leon couldn't help but blush. He had to clear his throat to regain his composure.

"Thank you... But what does the footnote version look like?"

"An unnamed masked hero assisted with relief efforts. The Guardians carry everything else. The curse, the vampires, Dracula, all of it. You go back to being a rumor." Cecil spread his hands. "And it holds right up until it doesn't, because a few hundred people saw a miracle worker nobody can name, and a vacuum like that gets filled with whatever horseshit the internet invents by lunch."

Leon leaned back and turned it over. Wouldn't becoming a famous superhero with all these accomplishments under his belt be a massive feat? It should net him at least a few thousand gacha points...

"Put my name on it," he instantly said. "But I'm not going on camera. Not doing interviews, press conferences, or face time. This mask talks to nobody."

"Smart," War Woman said. "You have no idea how rabid the media can be in situations like this."

"Then we'll go in that direction," Cecil said. "Immortal?"

A heavy hand landed on Leon's shoulder.

"Leave the cameras to me," he said, smiling. "I've been managing the press since before television. Before radio, if we're being honest. I'll keep them fed and keep them off you."

"He enjoys it," War Woman stage-whispered.

"I'm good at it," Immortal corrected.

Cecil ran the room through the story, who confirmed what, which details stayed buried, and then dismissed everyone. Leon was halfway to the door when the director's voice caught him.

"Not you. One more thing."

The room emptied. Cecil waited until the door sealed, and some switch behind his eyes flipped to serious.

"Your quarters are ready. Badge is at the desk. Donald will give you a tour of your quarters, but before you start living here, there's something you need to know." He held up a finger. "The leak that sold out Titan and got into Rampage's head? They're still walking around. Until I find it and burn it, you assume the walls have ears everywhere except the rooms I tell you are clean." He pointed at the floor. "This one's clean. Your quarters are clean, too. I swept it myself. Everywhere else, you need to watch what you say. Clear?"

Rampage's words surfaced to the front of Leon's mind.

"They told me about you," Rampage had said. "Told me to expect you."

Leon nodded. "Clear."

"Good."

Cecil's shoulders dropped half an inch, and the fatigue underneath showed through for a second. He fished something out of his pocket and turned it over in his fingers. It was the plain silver keychain Leon gifted before the debriefing started.

"Also, you said this helps with sleep? I'll be testing it out soon, so look forward to my product review. Now go to your quarters and get some rest. You deserve it after all the good work you did."

OOO

The quarters were four grey walls, a bed, a desk, and a bathroom. Donald delivered the tour in under ninety seconds because there was genuinely nothing to tour, finished with the badge handover, and was turning to leave when Leon pulled out the Suite key and fit it into the bathroom door.

The door transformed into shimmering liquid gold.

Donald stared at it.

"I'll let Cecil know about the... modifications you made to the room," he said. "Will that be permanent?"

Leon shook his head. Sighing in relief, Donald nodded and left.

Inside the suite, Leon set Nyx down in the nest of blankets she'd claimed at the corner of the couch, where she burrowed in without waking. Lily, back in his small form and freshly groomed, accepted a kiwi smoothie and draped himself over the armrest. His knuckles, Leon noted, were pristine. Lily had faced hundreds vampires and the only casualty was his coat of fur.

Leon dropped into the middle of the couch, cracked his knuckles, and debated on what to spend his new mountain of points on.

[Total Gacha Points: 22,307]

He couldn't get enough of looking at it. 22K. His previous records were meager compared to it.

The Legendary Ticket sat above the Diamond Ticket at thirty thousand, and he gave it a real moment of consideration before shaking his head. He was close. But one ticket was one roll of the dice, and what he needed wasn't a single jackpot. He needed an Epic Ability for fusion later.

Around five days from now, The World came off cooldown. He planned on fusing Voltaic Reinforcement and Flow Method, and whatever came out would want a partner of equal rank. More tickets meant more chances at exactly that, and his luck with Diamond Tickets had been carrying him like a bridal princess since day one.

This time, he wanted to go for quality.

Gacha, I want to purchase four Diamond Tickets, four Platinum Tickets, and three Gold Tickets.

[Requested 4 Diamond Tickets, 4 Platinum Tickets, and 3 Gold Tickets. Cost: 22,300 GP. Confirm purchase?]

Confirm.

[Purchase confirmed. You have received 4 Diamond Tickets, 4 Platinum Tickets, and 3 Gold Tickets.]

[Remaining Gacha Points: 7]

Seven points left in the account. He'd broken a city's curse, slain Dracula and freed half a thousand people in one night, and he was already broke. There was probably a lesson in there somewhere, and he intended to learn nothing from it.

He burned through the Golds first, saving dessert for last.

[Blessing of the Omnisiah]

|Elite Trait|

You are blessed by the Omnisiah. They praise you, not the other way around. Any machine you handle or encounter is eager to please you, blatantly favoring you. Their charges will deplete slower, cars will go faster than they normally can and handle better, and slot machines will give better odds. Simply speaking, there is a machine spirit inside the machines and they naturally like you unless you lose that favor.

-x-

[Regalia]

|Uncommon Item|

Final Fantasy - Do you want a badass supercar? Do you want it to fly? Well, you got the right vehicle then. This fully upgraded Regalia is a very powerful, durable and most importantly, incredibly stylish car that can also drive itself, and even turn into a flying vehicle. The fuel tank gets refilled automatically every 8 hours.

-x-

[Energy Veins]

|Elite Trait|

Energy flows freely through your veins, increasing energy reserves, accelerating energy regeneration, and improving ability and spell activation speed.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

Another blessing was added to his list, and it fit quite well with Regalia. A supercar was nice, but a flying supercar? That was even better than the car of his dreams. And since he had the Expert Driving skill, using it would be no issue.

Energy Veins was just an excellent trait overall, a bunch of benefits packed in one reward.

The Platinum Tickets were next. He looked forward to getting at least one Epic.

[Hoarder]

|Rare Trait|

You are the type to not use your limited items even against the final boss, aren't you? The restock timer and cooldown of all items are halved.

-x-

[Clairvoyance]

|Elite Ability|

Allows you to extend your sight beyond your eyes, allowing you to control it as if it were some free cam or a spectator mode.

-x-

[Artemis' Might]

|Legendary Ability|

You are able to conjure a bow made of energy that channels the blessing of Artemis herself and unleashes powerful arrows that can pierce the toughest enemies. While aiming with the bow, you are blessed by Artemis, increasing your shooting mastery, sharpening your senses, and guiding your arrows to your target. The arrows you unleash grow stronger and more destructive the more energy you imbue into them. You can also choose to alter the shape and size of your arrow.

-x-

[Greater Healing Light]

|Elite Ability|

Allows you to bathe a target in healing light, capable of healing even grievous wounds and lethal damage. Effect scales with your power level. Stronger targets need more energy to heal.

Leon whistled in appreciation as the rewards settled in him. What an amazing haul. He even got a Legendary!

Because of Hoarder, he didn't have to wait much longer for the fusion card's cooldown to finish. Clairvoyance had plenty of potential uses, too. But it was the last two abilities that got his attention the most.

He'd been missing some proper long-range firepower, a gap in his arsenal Artemis' Might just filled. It sounded super powerful as well. Could it pierce a Viltrumite's skin? He wasn't eager to find out, but he had a feeling he would know within the next month or two.

Then there was Greater Healing Light, the straight upgrade of its lesser version, plain old Healing Light.

Now that he had both, he wondered if he could fuse Healing Light with something, with the goal of eventually fusing it with its better version. The only candidate he had at the moment was Curse Breaker, which wouldn't be too bad of a combo now that he thought about it. Maybe the result could be a healing ability that would break curses and also reverse or restore the damage they caused.

It was something to remember for the future.

Now, it was time for the creme de la creme. The Diamonds. Though unlike before, he was not pulling them all at once, but one by one instead. Putting his hands in a prayer position, he wished for lady luck and RNGesus to bless him once more as his heart rate picked up.

[Titanic]

|Epic Ability|

Allows you to increase your size, and by proxy your mass, by up to 100x. Stamina and energy consumed proportionally rises with how big you become. With training, you can get even larger than the base limit.

Things were off to a good start so far. Titanic was great for pure destruction and power, but he would have to be extremely mindful of his surroundings. Using this in a populated area would be catastrophic in terms of collateral damage and civilian casualties.

[Windless Wrap]

|Elite Item|

Blacksouls - A blue cloak that makes the user not disturb even the wind. While wearing this cloak, you gain enhanced agility and reflexes. In addition, all sounds you make are muffled and you don't disturb the air around you as you move.

Oh...? Hold on a minute. Windless Wrap was only Elite, but its effects were interesting. And he wasn't talking about the enhanced agility and reflexes, though those were also nice.

An item that lets me move without disturbing the air... Wouldn't this mean I can run or fly at full speed and not make a single sonic boom or catch on fire?

Every time he had activated his self-buffing abilities, he'd held back on how fast he ran. He didn't even know what his top speed was. Sonic booms were impossible to avoid and it was difficult to maneuver his body the faster he went.

To put it in simple terms, physics was a bitch.

But this item just fixed half of his speed issues. He could now focus on training his high-speed movement, and he couldn't wait to try it out later.

Two more!

[Reinforcement]

|Epic Ability|

Solo Leveling - You can dramatically boost your attack and defense capabilities, covering yourself from head to toe in golden armor with black horns and giving your hair a glowing flame-like quality. Scales with physical stats.

Leon blinked, staring at the text as he took a moment to comprehend what he just got. When it finally clicked, he jumped to his feet with his arms raised high. He whooped and cheered, barely making a whisper in consideration of his resting familiars, but it was a challenge to hold it all in.

The surge of dopamine he was experiencing was so strong, it was like liquid fire had been injected directly into his veins.

Fuck yes! That's what I'm talking about, baby!

Leon asketh and the gacha giveth. Praise the gacha!

Now it was only a matter of time until he could finally rip the Heavenly Tribulation Ticket. After the tribulation tempered his body, he would be confident in taking on Invincible. If they still had a gap in physical stats, he could just make up for it with his experience.

The final ticket awaited.

[Master Teaching]

|Epic Skill|

You are a master among masters. Does that make sense? You can masterfully impart your knowledge and skills onto a pupil, and while you aren't quite on the level of a Kingmaker like Merlin, you are capable of raising capable heroes. If this were the old times, people from across the continent would journey to gain your teachings.

Teaching? Leon eyes narrowed in uncertainty. It was a great skill, just not for him. He couldn't think of any way he'd be using it anytime soon. But maybe he was judging it too quickly.

Even Intermediate Fine Arts had gotten some use, helping him carve out the precise details of the miniature sewer system model he showed to the Guardians.

Regardless of Master Teaching's potential uses, Leon was satisfied. He'd gotten what he wanted. He still needed more time to prepare and more points to spend, but facing a Viltrumite didn't seem so daunting anymore.

Leon only hoped the universe would give him more time.