Chapter 5 — October 24th, Payday

Been working at the construction site since around the end of last month. Thanks to muscle augmentation, I’ve got the strength to keep going... I guess. Still, I won’t get paid until next month, so this month’s paycheck’s just from the bar job.

Spent 160,000 yen—60,000 on just the Gacha. What came out? These six.

Light Magic (I) R

Summoning Magic (I) R

Magic Aptitude (I) R

Stealth (I) R

Career Board - Explorer R

Occupation Board – Blacksmith R

New ones popped up—“light magic,” “summoning magic,” and “magic aptitude.” Gonna try all three.

The effect of magic affinity seems tied to how easily you can handle different types of magic—fire, wind, stuff like that. If your affinity’s too low, you can’t even use magic at all, apparently. I’ve always had low affinity, so I really need this skill even more.

Light magic is fast—like a laser, shooting at light speed—but honestly, the damage isn’t that strong.

Summoning magic summons a hell hound that appears for a set time, then vanishes. Hell hound, sure—but it looks like a cute little dog. Maybe it gets bigger as my level rises...?...?

Still, they feel harder to handle than fire or wind magic. Maybe it’d be different if I had stronger affinity… maybe…

The "Stealth" skill seems to let you hide your presence—like, even when I'm stomping around, the noise gets quieter. Must feel faint to others, right? Being able to turn it on or off at will? Super handy.

The class board says "Explorer" or "Blacksmith"... always the same old hesitation.

The stats changed by the gacha item this time... look like this.

Unemployed Lv1

HP 44/44

MP 31/31

Strength: 16.8

Defense 11

Magic Defense 19.2

Agility 11

Skilled 13

Intelligence 19.8

Luck 21

[Unique Skill]

Spatial-Temporal Manipulation

[Skill] [Magic]

鉴定 (I) 风魔法 (I)

Spatial Perception (II) Earth Magic (I)

Strength Increase (II) Fire Magic (II)

Thousand-Mile Eye (II) — Light Magic (I)

Magic Enhancement (I) Summoning Magic (I)

Heat and Cold Resistance (I)

Physical Resistance (I)

Magic Resistance (II)

Magic Aptitude (II)

Growth Acceleration (I)

Stealth (I)

Next month, I’ll finally get paid at the construction site. I’ll be able to pull twice as many Gachas. Can’t wait.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

Yellowstone National Park, USA

"Hey… ain't the fish been getting scarce lately? Used to catch way more than this…"

"Isn't this your arm's fault? Hahaha! Look, mine's still holding on!"

Yellowstone—one of the best fishing spots in America. Famous for catching rainbow trout, aka rainbow trout.

The same kind of conversation starts popping up at fishing spots all over the world...

The change happened quietly... but surely.

Thank you for reading. This work is Part 1: "Gacha Summoning Arc"

and from part two onward, the tone shifts quite a bit, so I hope you keep reading

I'd be happy if you did.