Jay woke up feeling fuzzy, the details of his dream were blurry at best. But Jay felt it was significant. He looks around his room to see if something changes but everything seems to be in place. The only difference he felt was the amount of points he had.
[ 950 Mech points ]
That means he could pull 95 Gacha! His inner demon is smiling at the amount of gambling he could do.
[92/100 brain capacity]
Also, another thing to take note of is his brain capacity. The [Gambler specialization] makes it so that his brain is almost full. Jay couldn’t feel this before but after getting a specialization, his head felt heavy. Not like putting a brick on his head kind but a fatigue kind. He wondered if he would explode the moment he got over 100.
I hope that won't happen
He’s not gonna risk it. As much as he likes the thrill he won’t do something that stupid. The system has shown him how painful it would get when he injects information into his head.
He opened the shop menu to check if he had anything new but sadly there was nothing new. So Jay decided to spend his points on [Gacha]
He selects the 10x pull option and waits for the result.
[congratulation from the system x 8] [F]
[In Depth map of District D x1] [C]
[How to prepare rice x1] [C]
Jay looks at his reward in silence, this is the kind of thing you would expect from the system. Sure a map would be great but having a smartwatch covers that already. And he simply didn’t need more cooking guides.
[congratulation from the system x 7] [F]
[Cat video x 2] [C]
[Limited edition Minoza: Purly pink video x1 ] [B]
Oh my Stars
He now owned two cat videos and a limited idol group video. He isn’t even into idols and why does the system have this stuff? And the idol video is B rank? Jay almost lost all hope, Maybe he could sell this stuff online. He then presses another 10 pull.
They couldn’t be all bad, right?
[congratulation from the system x 6] [F]
[Dog video x 2] [D]
[How a make a doll x 1] [C]
[Irana late night comedy show x 1] [B]
Jay lost all hope, the system really didn’t pull any punch and give him trash for his precious points. He now only had 650 points left. He spent 300 points and all he got was nothing but a scrap that he would not use. Maybe one more before he stops?
Just one more then
[congratulation from the system x 8] [F]
[How to identify trash x 1] [C]
[Rapid protocal x 1] [S]
Jackpot!
He got something other than low-tier carp. Jay quickly opens its description to see how useful it is.
[Rapid protocol] [Active skill] [10 Brain capacity]
-When faced with danger, the user will get a heightened sense, slowing down the user's perception of time. Expanding time to 10 seconds from 1 second.
Cool down for 24 hours.
A useful escape skill that Jay is glad to have. If this works like advertised, he would be impressed. Jay has heard about this kind of thing before. A story about a trained soldier who could move super fast because this time perception is slowed down.
Jay wouldn’t pass up a cool skill like this. He imagined it would come in handy for facing the debt collection if he had to confront them at some point. which he hoped never came.
Next question
Do I pull more?
Still riding the high from his S rank skill. Maybe he could have more useful skills like that. Checking his point, he had 550 left. More than enough to get another S rank…
No
He wouldn’t be more greedy. The last time he pushed his luck, he ended up losing. He would save his points for buying more mech information or more specialization in the future. He looks at the pull option and gulps.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
No
He closed the system menu and sat down. He has more than enough to work with. His brain capacity was running low and he didn’t want his head to blow up. Jay looks out the window and sees that the orange sky has turned dark. His watch tells him that’s 13 NL already 13 hours into the night. He didn’t feel sleepy so he headed out to find something to do.
He hasn’t had 10k gibs in a while. Last time he put it all in a gambling match and this time he ought to put it into something more productive. This time he would be cooking. He already has the skill, might as well put it to use.
Jay travels to a supermarket on his 22nd floor. There are several on each level and they sell almost the same stuff. Cooking is kind of a luxury skill when you can buy a nutrient bar or order food at your convenience. Jay could also order the delivery but most of the time, the item displayed in the online shop is not the same as in person. And he would not be using the cooking skill.
There is a reason night is called Night light. The sky still feels as bright as day when shines with all these city lights. The 45-hour-a-day cycle makes that possible. The supermarket is easy to spot by the big sign saying their shop name.
Fresh mart
Not the most original name but it gets the point across pretty well. Jay walks in and the glass door slides open. The shop has all kinds of nice things. A smart cleaning robot, local produce, and toys for little kids. Jay walked over to the produce section and picked out 2-to 3 vegetables. And one Beef. It costs around 700 Gibs for all these.
He could have 7 ORJ nutrient bars but the bar could not compare to real food. The reason it was this expensive is that this planet could not normally have cultivated food. They have to import most of the stuff from other planets. Or cultivate them in a deeply controlled environment. Which up the cot greatly.
Jay wasn’t comfortable with paying that price but he thought he would be happy eating a real meal after like… a year. He pays the A.I. assistant that was set up in a square box and they package the stuff for him.
“Thank you for purchasing and remember to stay fresh!”
The A.I. voice said with great enthusiasm, he knows it is fake but it still feels reassuring. He left Fresh Mart and made his way to his room.
When he got back, Jay discovered a big problem he had. His room is not suitable for food consumption. Normally the almost flavorless nutrient bar is edible with these conditions but he wasn’t gonna let this horrible smell ruin his 700 gibs meal.
Just thinking about it feels tiring, the trash in his room is so much that it could be considered a junkyard. Still, he got to work, putting the trash inside a big bag. It took more than 10 hours to put all the trash inside a bag. Then he carried all of them to a trash disposal hole. He throws it all down and brushes his hands together.
This will probably be in the junkyard.
Jay went back to his room thinking about where his trash would go. It’d mostly go to the junkyard but he wouldn’t know. Maybe someone is waiting for the trash and eating it. That would be a horrifying sight.
After he was done disposing of the trash, he went back to cleaning his room with a cleaning solution. It took another 2 hours to make the room look clean. By this point, his body already wants some food. The night lights have already faded and Day lights have replaced them. Jay prepares his Pan and oil and tosses the ingredients in. He messed up a bit since the knowledge didn’t come with muscle memory.
In the end, he still made a nice meal. It is easily one of the best in his life, making something to eat by himself makes you feel better. Worth every gib he spends. He looks at the clock and sees that it's a 4:21 DL. It’s time to go to sleep.
—---
Jay woke up nice and refreshed. No trash-filled room, no unbreathable air, and no one looking to kill him yet. He gets up and brushes his teeth, he also takes a quick shower and changes into one of his newer clothes. Usually, he would be directionless but this time, he had a plan.
He observed that the mech building system gave him a quest when it could detect something to do with the mech. So Jay would like to visit a gaming shop to see if this was true, if the system doesn’t work inside a game he would just play it for a bit.
It was a rather sunny half day, he bought an ORJ bar right as the clock hit 12:00 DL. The sunset shines through a window that leads Jay to the game shop. It’s not a fancy place but not that expensive either. He had been here twice before, He didn’t like playing games that much.
“ 50 an hour, 11 hours for 500,” The manager told him while sitting with his leg hanging high on the table. Jay didn’t mind the manner after seeing the lower floor and junkyard.
“11 hours,” Jay said
The manager tapped his smartwatch and the Pay Here sign on the table lit up. Jay gives it a Tap and it gives him a direction to his capsule. Jay followed it and found his room located not too far from the entrance. He peeked inside and saw a gaming capsule with a glass case. The machine was hooked up to a bunch of cables that ensure the best experience, for the price. Jay steps inside and activates the capsule. The glass cover slides open and Jay hops in.
[The capsule will launch in]
[3]
[2]
[1]
[Welcome to The hub]
Jay's sight changes from a ceiling to a slightly pink bar. He was sitting at one of the many tables looking more confused than ever, but it didn’t take much for Jay to guess.
The last guy didn’t log out when he left the capsule.
When you exit the capsule you have to make yourself log out of all your accounts, otherwise, it would be like Jay, Logging in to Somebody's accounts by accident.
“Hey, cutie wanna play with me?”
A girl sat down beside him, she wore revealing clothes and a pretty face. Since it was an avatar, it could be anyone, it could be some ugly dude next to his room for all he knew.
“I’m into mech”
“Oh my…” She covered her mouth with her hand like she was shocked “I didn’t know you swing THAT way. At least give me a chance you know. Don’t worry I’m a real girl, I could show you my ID if you want.”
“Not in the mood” Jay slips away from the girl as she pouts at him. Jay never looked back, he lied about not getting in the mood. But he held firm, if he played with her, he would not only waste time but also money.
“Hey, Danny! nice seeing you here”
A guy called out from the crowd and Jay could guess that it was the friend of this ID owner.
“I’m about to get off”
“Oi!” The guy shouted at them “Are you going to flake on our deal like that, not cool bro!”
“I’m not in the mood right now” Jay is not interested in any of this Danny bullshit, his hand opens the menu to log off but he got interrupted
“Oh man, Just give me the license before you go, At least you could do that, right?”
Jay's curiosity gets the better of him and he opens up Danny's inventory. There are some in-game items, some cash, and among them all a Mech pilot license. Jay looked up the details and knew that something was off.
The guy is selling an illegal pilot license?