*Click**Click**Click*...
Alex could hear the sound of the wheel spinning at a very high speed, and Sophie, who was in his arms, with her eyes fixed on the wheel, just clutched Alex's shirt harder, anxiously waiting for the result.
She was the system and the wheel was made by her, but even so, she couldn't manipulate the rewards. She had restrictions as well.
All she could do was hope that Alex's look would be enough to get him something good even if it won't get him the best out of the options.
Her eyes turned to look at Alex, who, with his eyes closed, tried to keep a straight face even though he was far from calm, and she moved closer to him, pressing her body against him, trying to lower the tension in his body.
It worked well, making him relax, but he kept his eyes closed. He didn't open it even when the wheel slowed down.
*Click**Click**Click*...
The wheel started to slow down, its ping moving from one section to another, and with each tick, Alex's eyes, still closed, trembled as he could feel Sophie's grip on his arm.
*Click**Click*...
It slowed down even more, seemingly nearing the end, using the last of its momentum to spin forward, and Sophie, who kept staring at it couldn't help but tremble, her head shaking in denial as she wished for the wheel to move a bit more.
The pin was about to stop, and the next section was the worst reward of the wheel—a mana conduction thread that could be used to master one's control over mana by practice.
She gritted her teeth, lowering her head as she saw the pin stopping at that exact section, and Alex, who could feel her emotions, although disappointed, just sighed in resignation.
'Well, so much for trying my luck.'
He lamented, opening his eyes, patting Sophie's head, assuring her that he wasn't blaming her for something as he knew that she would start blaming herself for this, only to have his thoughts cut short...
*Click*
As if not wanting to see Alex and Sophie disappointed, the wheel, seemingly using the last of its efforts, pushed the pin by a single column, and the moment it did, both Alex and Sophie froze, their gaze quivering, snapping toward the wheel, only to have their eyes widen in shocked disbelief.
'Holy fuck!'
That was the only thought in Alex's head and without even thinking of anything else, his arms coiled around Sophie, making her turn to look into his eyes before he kissed her—he kissed her as hard as he could.
Sophie, broken out of her surprise by his kiss, reciprocated with equal intensity, enjoying it to her heart's content as this event really did call for a celebration.
Alex drew the best reward possible, after all!
...
...
.
After kissing for who knows how long and calming down, accepting the new thing he had drawn from the wheel, Alex now stood in front of the cave with the black sphere in his hand, staring deep into the cave.
The moment that everything was going to get decided was now.
"Alex, be aware that the monsters are supposed to be challenging for you, so even if you are stronger than a normal just-awakened person, the creatures would be the same."
Sophie, standing some steps behind, her lips a bit swollen from the long kiss some moments ago, warned Alex again.
She had already told him that, but with his new skill in his arsenal—the one he got from the golden wheel—Alex was sure of his victory.
She trusted him to be able to do it—no, she knew that he would be able to do it. But it was her job to warm him so she did it again, and Alex, hearing her words just nodded his head.
His focus was on the flashes of metal he could see inside the cave. It was dark, but Alex could somehow tell that the creatures there were preparing themselves. It was as if they knew that Alex was coming for them.
*Inhale**Exhale*
Alex, on the other hand, just took a deep breath, his gaze lingering on the sphere in his hand before he thought of a weapon—a weapon he could use right now. Listening to his wish, soon, the sphere in his hand started to melt, changing into a thin rope that fell to the ground.
But things didn't end there, in a flash, the rope suddenly multiplied, getting divided into multiple threads before they started to get interconnected.
It happened in just a second, but someone with sharp eyes could be able to perceive it happening in real-time.
The sphere turned into a net.
Yes, a net.
This was the ability of the weapon. It could change into anything Alex considered a weapon or a shield, and right now, Alex was imagining a net to be the best weapon, but it was not just a simple net.
If one looked at it closely, one would be able to see the sharpness of the threads, and Alex, while dragging the same net, stepped closer to the cave, but unlike before, no growls could be heard, causing his brows to frown.
'What are they up to?'
He wondered, stepping closer and closer until he was right in front of the cave, and when he reached there, he clenched his fist.
The net started to fold, turning into a ball as soon as Alex thought of it like that, and with that done, Alex threw the ball net into the cave.
The instant he did it, the sound of metal clashing was heard...
*Clank**Click**Clang*...
It was as if someone was trying to use their weapon to strike another weapon in a frenzy, but not a second later, something else was heard.
"Krrraaaa!"
"Kaaaaaa!"
"Giyaaahhhh!!"
Pained screeches, one followed by another made their way to Alex's ears.
Taking it as a signal, Alex stepped into the cave, squinting his eyes as it was hard to get used to the darkness after coming from the light outside, but in just a while, his vision turned normal, letting him perceive the surroundings.
'Oh, goblins...'
Alex didn't even need someone to tell him what the creatures in front of him were as the view of them was enough to make him understand what they were.
There were rarely any creatures shown as ugly as them in any world out there.
With green slimy skin and large bulging eyes, their face looked nightmarish; the big, long nose, filled with black spots along with their long hairy ears just made it look worse.
Right now, in front of Alex were 6 such creatures, all trapped under the net, struggling to break free of it, yelling in agony as their struggle just made their situation miserable, causing flesh wounds to appear on their bodies.
But just when Alex was observing the beasts, a pair of bright yellow eyes stared at him from a dark corner of the cave. Those eyes, unlike the frenzied and wild eyes of the goblins trapped under the net, seemed to have a certain level of intelligence.
Maybe it was because of that level of wisdom, that instead of directly lunging at Alex, the owner of those eyes was moving stealthily, creeping up on Alex without making any noise.
Alex, on the other hand, oblivious to the approaching danger, kept staring at the goblins—the first creation of his dream world that he had seen.