NOVEL NEXT Chapter 43
Two game UIs were aligned vertically on the screen.
Needless to say, both were the main screens of Destiny’s Showdown.
“Yuka, Yuka Akabane prefers playing as Yuki….”
The unique thing about Destiny’s Showdown was that the protagonist’s gender, decided at the start, could be changed freely.
And depending on that gender, the story had slight variations.
Of course, the differences weren’t significant enough to change the overall storyline, but finding those subtle differences was part of the fun for players.
[Well, technically, you change the gender depending on the situation. But usually, I play as Yuki. You seem to be the type to play as Yukiko.]
“W-Well, a cute girl is definitely better than a sweaty guy, right?”
The protagonist’s official name was Kanade Takasaki.
However, users were much more familiar with the nickname “Yukizu,” which had been used long before.
If set as male, it was Yukio; if female, Yukiko.
And of course, I played as Yukiko.
-That’s true, but when Mei-chan says it, it feels weird.
-Mei-chan’s yuri radar is still active today.
“That’s not true at all!”
Ever since the unintended yuri declaration, no one believed me even when I insisted it wasn’t true.
At this point, I even considered embracing the yuri path openly, but no matter how I thought about it, it didn’t seem to suit me.
So I guess I just have to keep living like this.
[Shall we start soon?]
“Y-Yeah.”
When I pressed the ‘Hero Summon’ tab, the gacha screen of Destiny’s Showdown appeared.
This time, the featured 5-star hero was Hercules from Greek mythology.
The 4-star hero was Orpheus, also from Greek mythology, but I obviously wanted the 5-star hero, Hercules.
The hero making their debut in this event had top-notch illustrations and decent performance, so I wanted to summon them as soon as I laid my eyes on them.
[Just to confirm before we begin: the one who summons Hercules faster wins. If they both come out simultaneously, we keep rolling the gacha until one of us gets an extra card.]
“Right. And the loser has to face a penalty!”
Thanks to Akabane’s consideration, we decided to exclude the penalty from the dawn.
The penalty decided was to buy dinner the next time we met.
Objectively, it was a light and reasonable penalty.
…Subjectively, it felt heavy and unreasonable.
[Shall we roll simultaneously then?]
“Y-Yeah. On the count of three…?”
[Got it. One. Two. Three!]
Hnnnng!
★
To cut to the chase, I lost.
[Didn’t I say from the start that your chances of winning converge to zero?]
“Unbelievable….”
Akabane pulled Hercules in just 30 summons. Two of them, no less.
Meanwhile, I had just spun my 33rd 10-summon, and…
“Why, why is it Orpheus again…?!”
I lost track of how many times I pulled Orpheus.
-I think I’ve gotten Orpheus about 20 times now.
-I’ve burned through all the free pulls and spent 30,000 yen already.
-Should I count this as good luck or bad luck?
-Well, the pickup rate for the 4-star is 1.5%, so it is technically good luck, haha.
To maximize the limit break, you need a total of 5 identical cards.
So, according to the chatroom, if I’ve gotten Orpheus 20 times, that means I’ve already gone over the limit by 15 times.
But Hercules didn’t show up even once in that time.
Does that even make sense?
[Since you’ve already lost, it wouldn’t hurt to stop, wouldn’t it? I said so, didn’t I?]
“I-I’m a man! Once I start, I have to see it through!”
-?
-Mei-chan is a guy…?
[You’re a girl.]
“Th-That doesn’t matter!”
I shouted that without hesitation and pressed the 10-summon button again.
With a scrrrrunch sound, 10 cards were laid out.
And there was, predictably, no lightning indication for a 5-star.
Instead, there were three gold cards indicating a 4-star or higher…
“I-It’s fine. It could definitely come out from one of those, right?”
-I think I’ve heard that line over ten times just now.
[Oh, I feel the same. Though it has never happened once.]
“Ugh…”
I wanted to argue, but I could hardly deny the truth.
But this time, it was definitely different!
If there were three gold cards, one of them could be 5-star, right?
I believe in myself… not in what you all doubt!
The first gold card spins.
The extra animation… doesn’t appear.
[My name is Orpheus! Poet of Argo’s ship….]
-Haha, I’m skipping that without hesitation.
-I wouldn’t want to hear that either, haha.
It’s fine. There are still two cards left.
This time for sure…
[My name is Orp….]
-Let’s at least hear the name to the end, Mei-chan…
[My n….]
“UAAAAAH?!”
This is outrageous!
Isn’t this a scam? No way, there’s a thing called probability!
Didn’t I hit 3.44% last time? What’s happening with the odds now?
-Haha, the chance of getting Orpheus three times in a 10-summon is 0.04%.
“With that probability, Hercules should be coming out!”
How does 0.7% lose to 0.04%?
-Finally at the ceiling…
“It’s weird…”
No matter how I think about it, it’s strange.
To be honest, I’ve been relatively lucky when doing the Destiny’s Showdown gacha until now.
I had almost all the top units for free.
So, my confidence was the reason I made the bet.
But why has it been like this since last time and today?
[Well, I guess this is what we call ‘destiny.’ Akakatsu!]
The one who only got a single pull in 30 tries says that.
The world must be upside down.
In any case, I finally reached the ceiling.
The button for 10-summons was bright red as proof.
“Ha…”
Sighing, I pressed the button, and the card summoning animation became tiresome to watch and hear.
“…Huh?”
[Huh?]
-???
One, two, three… lightning appeared.
“F-Five…?”
I was entranced, skimming through all the 3-star card animations.
The cards that confirmed a 5-star were among the last five.
And from the first gold card wrapped in lightning, a beautiful woman appeared.
[Haah. I am the illustrious hero of Greece! The proud daughter of divine Zeus, Hercules! Nice to meet you, friend!]
With shimmering silver hair and tantalizing crimson eyes.
Her outfit was quite revealing, yet she seemed completely unembarrassed, smiling confidently.
She was the target of this pickup, Hercules.
And then the next lightning gold card.
[Haah. I am the illustrious hero of Greece! The proud daughter of divine Zeus, Hercules! Nice to meet you, friend!]
-Huh?
-Really?
Another Hercules came out.
[Haah. I am the illustrious hero of Greece! The proud daughter of divine Zeus, Hercules! Nice to meet you, friend!]
And every remaining card—three in total—also revealed Hercules.
“U-Um, Akabane-san? Is this a dream?”
[What’s with you, Izumi? Cheer up. This is undeniable reality.]
“U-Uwaaaaa!”
The gods existed!
Destiny’s Showdown, I’ll never quit!
If there’s anyone trying to slander this ultimate universe game, I, Kainoh Izumi, will not forgive them….
-I lost the bet, but it doesn’t matter!
“Ha, ha, ha…”
I was so excited that my head felt a bit dizzy.
Who am I? The god of gacha, Kainoh Izumi──.
-But I’ve been curious since earlier, why is Hercules a girl?
[Huh?]
“Huh?”
What kind of strange question is that?
Most famous heroes are actually cute girls when you look closer.
That’s common ‘knowledge,’ right?
Like King Arthur, for instance…?
★
[Hmm. Today was fun. I’d like to collaborate again when the opportunity arises.]
“Y-Yeah, I had fun too. It’s the first time I’ve had so many discussions about Destiny’s Showdown…”
The gameplay of Destiny’s Showdown isn’t that deep.
Saying ‘I’m not playing a game; I’m reading a novel’ sounds joking but also has a subtle form of sarcasm.
In other words, Destiny’s Showdown isn’t that popular with players wanting to play, meaning there are fewer people to talk deeply about it.
Of course, you could gather in user communities, but that’s just not my style.
-But Mei-chan, even outside of Destiny’s Showdown, she doesn’t have many people to talk to…
…That’s noisy.
[Well then, farewell everyone!]
“E-Everyone, goodbye…! Let’s meet again soon…!”
-Bye, Izumi!
-The world is heading for fate…
★
“Hmm. They’re not coming…”
Yukari was gazing at Miskode’s DM.
[Akabane Yukari: I enjoyed the collaboration today. I hope we can do it again.]
[Kainoh Izumi: I had fun too. Thank you.]
This DM was sent an hour ago.
And, naturally, that ended the conversation.
“Hmm.”
‘Wasn’t it so cute when Izumi asked to be friends via DM after our first collab?’
Thinking of Suzuha’s words, Yukari naturally assumed she would receive the same DM from Izumi, but that was a complete misunderstanding.
“…I wanted to tease her.”
If Yukari received such a DM, she planned to tease Suzuha, saying she wasn’t special at all.
Of course, that wasn’t the only reason Yukari went along with the collaboration.
“Somehow, I feel like I might get a little competitive…”
Just as Izumi had no one to talk to about Destiny’s Showdown, Yukari had no one to share that with either.
And for Yukari, today’s collaboration was very satisfying.
So satisfying that she wanted to share her Destiny’s Showdown experience regularly.
It was certainly the same for Izumi.
“…Since I agreed to buy dinner, I should set up a meeting as soon as possible.”
If I could set up the next collaboration, that would be even better.
Thinking that, Yukari sent another DM to Izumi.
[Akabane Yukari: You can decide on a time for the penalty that works best for you.]
I promised myself that I would definitely receive a hint to become friends next time.