After paying the toll of six copper for both rooms, which neighbored one another on the second floor of the cozy, wood-built inn, he helped get the drowsy warrior to his own room, dropping him into the bed before checking into his own.
"...Alright, first day in Fantasia: survived," he breathed out, sitting on the bed, "I still don't have a clue what this world is all about."
Edith was leaning against the wall, staying close to the door like a dutiful guard as she tucked her silver hair behind her ear, "I am not from this era, so I can't truthfully answer your questions. However, if we visit this town's guild tomorrow, you should find your answers there."
"Good thinking. The Guild it is, then," he decided with a nod.
Still, before he checked into bed for the night, there were some actions he wished to perform, taking his sack of coins from his pocket. Counting all of the copper up, Gunter had managed to win over seventy pieces for him in his drinking contests–a whopping amount for the man who had just transported into the fantastical world.
'Seriously, good job, Gunter!' He thought.
"Are you about to summon again, Master?" Edith asked.
He nodded, "Yeah. Is something up?"
There were already a few copper held in his hand as he bounced them in his palm, anxious to try out another usage of his unique system.
"If I may suggest…" Edith looked at him, "I would hold off on summoning more familiars for the time being."
"I don't mind doing that, but what's the issue with that?" He curiously asked.
Edith had her arms folded over her chest, though looked to not be uncomfortable in her standing position, "Having a large number of familiars will make you stick out. It might draw the wrong attention to you, Master. I assure you my aid will be sufficient for the time being as you establish yourself in this town. As much of an oaf as he can be, I believe Gunter is reliable as well."
"Good point. I suppose it would get crowded, anyway. With that in mind…I'd like to make myself useful," he said, putting his hand to his chin.
As his mind was leaning towards performing another summon, the vibrant screen of his system appeared with the banners he could use:
[Current Selectable Summon(s): "Rookie Weapon Summon" | "Rookie Creature Summon" | "Rookie Ability Summon: Magic" | "Rookie Ability Summon: Skills"]
Seeing the selection of banners reminded him of the skill he had acquired from his first level-up, bringing him to swipe his finger across the personal screen seen only by him before finding it:
["Temporary Summon: Perform a summon with double-rates, however, the summon result will only be available for a short time."]
'Ah…Well, that's not something that helps me right now. I need something reliable to help me get my feet on the ground. I don't want to be a burden that needs to be protected–hell no, I want in on the action!' He thought.
Standing up, he took his jacket off, leaving himself in his plain, black tee while holding his hand in front of him with exactly three copper in his palm.
"Alright. C'mon and give me a summon on the 'Rookie Ability Summon: Magic'!" He announced.
As expected, the solid copper vanished before his system responded immediately–
[Summon Initiated!]
Edith watched with a curious look in her amethyst eyes; it seemed she was able to at least see the digital screen that displayed the summoning animation itself that was brought into reality.
'C'mon…give me something useful, at least!' He hoped.
Even though he had become jaded by gacha over the years, the mystical one he possessed now made his heart race each time he used it; the sheer quantity of options, each of which could wildly change the course of his life, led him to anxiously await what would arrive.
What came to him was not a physical object, but a flow of knowledge that came as an aquatic light, moving like water straight into his mind.
'Huh…? I can feel it. Is this magic? Spellcasting…It's coming to me,' he thought.
[New Spell Obtained: (B) Water Pistol | Special Traits: Wet!]
[ATK: 1]
[Pity: +1 | 1/100]
Obtaining his very first spell, he was enthralled by the magic at his very fingertips, looking at his hand as he could now, for the first time since arriving in Fantasia, feel mana flowing in his body.
"Alright! Let's give this a shot!--Water Pistol!" He cast.
Holding his index finger in front of him almost as if wielding a gun, he pointed towards the wall: out from in front of his extended digit came a pressurized stream of water, shooting against the wooden wall with a tiny "thud".
"Ah…It's sort of weak, isn't it?" He mumbled.
Though the potency of the spell was disappointing, it was overshadowed by his joy in being able to wield magic.
'Actually, what it lacks in offense…it might make up for in utility. I mean, this one doesn't seem to cost much mana at all–if any. Infinite water?! Maybe this is a cheat ability,' he thought.
Still, he needed a spell to actually aid him when the time came for battle, so with that in mind, he grabbed another three copper while Edith watched quietly.
"--Alright, system! Let's give it another roll on that magic banner!" He announced with a smile, holding his hand up with the coins held.
[Summon Initiated!]
Reawakening the inner child in himself, he anxiously pumped his fist in the air as he awaited the next spell, all while the silver-haired spellblade tried her best not to stare too hard at the embarrassing motions.
–It hit him harshly this time, like an abrasive wind amidst a storm pushing right into him; the knowledge of the summoned spell flooded into him through his pores.
'Woah…! This one is…wild!' He thought.
[New Spell Obtained: (N) Wind Burst | Special Traits: Uncontrollable!]
[ATK: 0 | SPD: 20]
[Pity: +1 | 2/100]
While it was instinctive in his mind how to activate the spell, it wasn't clear to him what exactly it did, but the high [SPEED] stat intrigued him, bringing him to clench his fist as he stood at one end of the room.
'Alright…This must be some sort of superspeed buff! C'mon!' He excitedly thought.
"Wind Burst!"
Just as he invoked the spell, flexing his entire body, a powerful wind roared from his position, sending the papers on the nightstand fluttering throughout the room and causing Edith's straight, silver hair to be blown back.
"Huh–?" Edith let out, not expecting such a spell.
"Woooooah–!"
In an instant, he hurled forward with such speed that he completely lost control of himself, unable to stop or shift his direction as he slammed straight into the wall like a cannonball.
SLAM
"...Oww…" He groaned.
Laying there for a moment, he rubbed his own head as Edith moved to his side, kneeling down to check on him.
"Are you alright, Master?...That did not look like a pleasant landing," Edith asked.
"I'm fine…Man, that smarts," he mumbled, standing himself back up.
Though he claimed to be alright, there was still a worried look given from the silver-haired spellblade to the black-haired man, though Jett brushed off his abrupt crash with a chuckle.
"Awesome!" He let out.
"Huh?" Edith tilted her head.
"It's perfect! I can already see its use," he said, half talking to himself, "--All I need is a good weapon, and a usable skill, and I think I'll be able to hang in there!"
The excitement he held at the peak of night was momentarily interrupted as one of the managers of the inn knocked on the door, checking what the loud "crash" was, which he assured the kind woman was just a "tumble" he had–doubtful as it sounded.
As soon as he was clear of the inn manager, he grabbed a few more pieces of copper, preparing for another summon.
"Be careful this time, please?" Edith requested with a worried look.
"I don't plan on launching myself into walls on purpose…but, sure," he responded with a chuckle.
While it was definitely a wise choice to scope out the intricacies of his personal system by testing the banners and the individual returns he can get from summoning, he would be lying if he said he wasn't doing it mainly out of his own addiction to the gacha itself.
"Let's go! One summon on the 'Rookie Skill' banner!" He held the three coppers up.
[Summon Initiated!]
He wasn't exactly certain of what to expect from the [Skill] summon, though from the sounds of it, it seemed to contain passive abilities of some sort. Though he didn't get his hopes up, especially with the nature of the [Rookie] banner and its less-than-fancy options.
"--Huh?!"
It was a similar sensation to having the knowledge of magecraft imprinted on his mind, however, this was distinctly different; he could feel foreign mysticism shifting the very fibers of his muscles, altering his physiology in ways unknown.
[New Skill Obtained: (B) Flip | Special Traits: Forward, Backward, Left, or Right!]
[Pity: +1 | 3/100]
"'Flip'?...Let's see…" He muttered, opting to test out the newly-acquired ability.
While standing in the center of the room where there was enough space for movement, he began the motion to do a front flip before–
"Careful!" Edith called out.
"Woah!"
The world spun for a split-second as gravity swirled around him, yet he found himself back on his feet in the next moment. It was a perfectly-executed front flip.
'...I've never done a flip in my life. What the hell? It was as natural as breathing for me–this is kind of scary,' he thought.
Edith was close to him, having quickly stepped over when he first flipped in an attempt to catch him, but there was no faulty misstep to make up for.
"I did it," he smiled.
"You did," Edith nodded, looking somewhat surprised, but mainly relieved he didn't snap his neck in a slip.
Though the abilities he gained from his test summons weren't exactly flashy nor seeming to be instantaneous win-conditions in a fight, he already felt they had use in battle and outside of it. All that was left for him now was one thing before settling in for the night: acquiring a usable weapon.
"I'd suggest getting some rest soon. We'll want to visit the Guild early before all of the quests are taken by others," Edith informed him, sitting on the second bed in the room.
"Sure–just one more thing before I check out," he assured her with a smirk.
–However, 'one more summon' was only applicable in his mind because he had become a bit too lost in his recent fortune.
"...Weapon Summon!"
[New Weapon Obtained: (B) Dull Dagger | Special Traits: Able to cut butter!]
[Pity: +1 | 4/100]
A terribly useless dagger without any sharpness to its edge; another dud weapon summoned once more.
"Another!"
[New Weapon Obtained: (B) Broken Long Sword | Special Traits: Half the weight!]
[Pity: +1 | 5/100]
A sword that was missing the entire upper half of the blade, the rest of which didn't look any special either, dirty and somewhat dull and cracked.
–It took six more summons, all of which were [Basic] rarity, primarily useless weapons until he acquired one that met his satisfaction:
[New Weapon Obtained: (R) Frostfang | Special Traits: Ice Cold!]
[ATK: 5]
[Pity: 0/100]
The sought-after ten-percent summon was hit, and with it, a golden flash embarked from the digital display of his Gacha system.
"Yes! Finally!" He triumphantly announced.
In his hand was a spectacular dagger with a black handle and a blade that was forged of an ice as tough as steel, giving off a frosty air through its mystical length.
Edith yawned, "...Good job, Master," she tiredly congratulated.
"Don't worry, I'm heading to bed now," he said with a satisfied smile, still enamored with the enchanted dagger he summoned.
All-in-all, he managed to leave himself with thirty-seven copper, reluctant to spend further as there were still essentials to consider, and perhaps better banners that would arrive with his own leveling.
'Tomorrow, I'll take whatever quests I can and level up…I'm going to take this life for what it's got,' he decided.