CHAPTER 9

After using the two discounted 10-pulls on the newbie banner, Donnie still had 4 Acquaint Fates left.

Having tasted the sweetness of a rapid stat increase, Donnie unhesitatingly returned to the Wish interface and threw these 4 Acquaint Fates into the Standard Wish banner.

Unfortunately, single pulls didn't bring any miracles.

However, he did notice some small details on the Wish interface that he hadn't seen before.

On the Wish screen, there was a very small 'magnifying glass' icon.

Donnie clicked on it and discovered that he could preview the stats of the Wish characters and their unlockable Constellations right there.

"Damn it!"

"The Uncrowned Kings on the Standard Wish banner have insane stats!"

"They mostly have two Constellation levels, and their third-year middle school versions are totally overpowered!"

At this point, some viewers in the chat immediately caught on.

[DONNIE! Check the Limited-Time Wish!]

[Yeah, the banner that's only available for a limited time has gotta be even more busted!]

[Look at 'Taiga Kagami'!]

Donnie glanced at the chat and quickly obliged his audience.

He clicked on Kagami's character card.

Everyone was dumbfounded.

Even as a first-year middle schooler, his stats were already through the roof!

Second-year middle school.

Third-year middle school.

All the way to first-year high school.

His stats practically exploded with each passing year!

His last two Constellations, for his second and third years of high school, looked almost god-tier to the viewers.

The live stream chat was scrolling at lightning speed…

[That's freaking ridiculous!]

[As a first-year middle schooler, his stats are already stronger than the third-year Koganei with all Constellations unlocked…]

[His god-tier transformation starts from the third Constellation, his first year of high school…]

[His third Constellation, 'First-Year High School,' has a 'Layup/Dunk' stat of '330'? What even IS that?!]

[The protagonist Ethan Woods, with a Layup/Dunk of 120, could already touch the rim on a layup. Is 330 going to let him ascend to the heavens on the spot?]

It wasn't just the chat that was stunned; Donnie himself was losing it.

The viewers saw Donnie suddenly pause the game.

He went straight to the Shop interface.

"PULL!"

"I HAVE to pull for this, guys!"

"Holy CRAP!"

"First-time purchase of 6480 Crystals gets you another 6480 for free?!"

"This developer is way too generous! This is basically giving them away, isn't it?"

"Hold on, let me black out the screen for a sec, gotta activate my superpower…"

[The 'credit card' superpower, right?]

[Go for it, Donnie! Go for it! The base game is free anyway. Think of you spending on a 6480 Crystal pack as supporting the developer.]

[This Kagami character card is definitely worth whaling for.]

[The dev seems pretty generous. Maybe they'll give out more summoning items through missions or something later. You could probably wait on spending real money.]

[No time to wait! Taiga Kagami is a limited-time Wish! He's gone in 7 days! Who knows when he'll be available again?]

While the chat was discussing it over the blacked-out screen, the stream came back online.

Observant viewers quickly noticed that the number of Crystals in the top-right corner had changed to '12960.'

"Alright guys, superpower activated, and I'm back."

"Check it out, 12960 Crystals."

"160 Crystals can be exchanged for one Intertwined Fate. That's a total of 81 pulls!"

"Unlocking his second Constellation shouldn't be too much to ask, right?"

Zzzt~

The first 10-pull on the limited banner.

One 4-star.

4-Star Character Card: Kazunari Takao (Middle School - Second Year)

[This 4-star card starts as a second-year middle schooler, huh?]

[How come Koganei started as a first-year high schooler then?]

[Means Koganei's baseline is lower, I guess… His first-year high school level is on par with this guy's second-year middle school level, even though they're both 4-stars.]

Second 10-pull.

4-Star Character Card: Kōsuke Wakamatsu (Middle School - Second Year)

Third 10-pull.

4-Star Skill Card: Unstoppable Shot (Junpei Hyūga)

Fourth 10-pull.

4-Star Skill Card: Quick Shot (Ryō Sakurai)

By this point, both Donnie and his viewers realized something was wrong…

"What the hell!"

"Something's not right here, guys…"

"I've used up half my Crystals, how come I haven't pulled a single Kagami?"

Donnie investigated and finally found the answer in the 'Details' option tucked away in a corner.

[Limited-Time Wish Mechanics:]

[1. Base probability for a 5-star card (character or skill) is 0.6%. Including pity, the comprehensive probability is 1.6%. A 5-star card is guaranteed within a maximum of 90 pulls.]

[2. When a 5-star card is obtained, there is a 50% chance it will be the featured limited Wish character. If the first 5-star obtained via pity is not the featured limited Wish character, the second 5-star obtained via pity is guaranteed to be that character.]

[3. Base probability for a 4-star card is 5.1%. Including pity, the comprehensive probability is 13%. A 4-star card (character or skill) is guaranteed within a maximum of 10 pulls.]

Looking at this mechanics explanation, Donnie racked his brain for a long time. Finally, after discussing it with the chat, he understood.

"Holy moly…"

"So, if I'm really unlucky, I might need 180 pulls to get this Taiga Kagami?"

"This Kagami has a total of 5 Constellations. Plus the base card, I need 6 copies to max him out…"

"If I hit worst-case scenario for all of them, wouldn't that cost like, almost two thousand bucks?!"

[Congratulations, you got it right~]

[That's insane.]

[No need to whale that hard. I think getting one copy of a 5-star is enough for the early game. One 5-star Kagami is already stronger than the protagonist and a maxed-out Koganei.]

[Yeah, plus you can train the protagonist's stats later. He might even reach 5-star levels eventually.]

"We're not done pulling yet, guys…" Donnie declared.

"Watch me defy fate with these last 40 pulls!"

"I'm gonna get two 5-stars in one 10-pull!"

Zzzt~

The words had barely left his mouth…

Fifth 10-pull.

4-Star Character Card: Ryō Sakurai (Middle School - Second Year)

Sixth 10-pull.

4-Star Character Card: Ryō Sakurai (Middle School - Second Year)

Seventh 10-pull.

4-Star Character Card: Ryō Sakurai (Middle School - Second Year)

Donnie slammed his fist on the table, furious.

"RYŌ SAKURAI!"

"RYŌ SAKURAI!"

"IT'S ALL DAMN RYŌ SAKURAI!"

Muttering a stream of curses, Donnie clicked on his last 10-pull.

Amidst a sea of white streaks, a purple light emerged, then gradually transformed from purple, shining with a brilliant golden radiance!

[GOLDEN LIGHT! IT'S HERE!]

[IT'S A 5-STAR!]

[Donnie, get on your knees and prepare to welcome Kagami home!~]

Seeing the golden light, Donnie's face lit up with excitement.

Until…

[5-Star Skill Card]

[Lightning Dribble (Kotaro Hayama)]

[One of the Uncrowned Kings, the signature skill of the 'Thunder Beast' Kotaro Hayama. Concentrates all his body's strength into his fingers for an explosive 'Lightning Dribble' that is difficult to intercept, combining incredible speed with a deafening sound. Can perform the Lightning Dribble with a minimum of three fingers; each additional finger increases its level. With four fingers, he can dribble past opponents as if disappearing; with five, it's like a flash of lightning.]