At the bottom of the cabin, Caesar held a fresh stack of Jewels and watched the game interface flash repeatedly in front of him.
He waited silently.
Sure enough, since he had never topped up his account before, a pop-up window appeared on the game screen: a limited-time event was now active—players would receive bonus spirit stones if they topped up a certain amount.
After confirming the event, Caesar hesitated. He didn't recharge the full 180,000 J. Instead, he kept 10,000 J and recharged 170,000 J.
"You have received 1,700 Spirit Stones, plus a bonus of 170 Spirit Stones."
Watching the number jump from 290 to 2,160, Caesar couldn't hold back any longer.
Rubbing his hands with trembling excitement, he immediately drew his first ten-pull from the advanced card pool.
Golden lights burst out in all directions. Caesar muttered to himself, "Games usually guarantee a good pull in the first ten draws. Don't disappoint me... Come on, give me something good!"
As he spoke, the ten cards stopped spinning in the air.
He flipped them one by one—one red, two gold, one purple, and six blue.
"Jackpot!!!"
Caesar's excitement shot through the roof.
But when the lights faded and the cards fully revealed themselves, his smile froze.
"Acupressure Master Jiro Fragment (Red) ×10, Zoro Fragment (Gold) ×20, Alchemist Edward (Gold), Sonic the Hedgehog (Purple), Safety Pants (Blue), Experience Card (Blue) ×5."[1]
Two card fragments. That was it.
Gold cards needed 50 fragments to synthesize, red cards required 60. If it hadn't been for the full Alchemist Edward card, Caesar might've broken down.
Sonic the Hedgehog was a pleasant surprise, at least.
And the prop...
Safety Pants, an exclusive item for Misaka Mikoto. When equipped, it gave +30% Agility and +10% Strength.
Very strong.
But...
Caesar didn't even have the courage to wear them himself! The image of a grown man strapping on safety pants... he couldn't imagine it.
"I don't believe this! One more draw!"
He initiated a second ten-pull.
As the cards flipped, his heart sank.
"Ulquiorra (Gold) ×20, Senzu Beans (Purple), Experience Card (Purple), Experience Card (Blue) ×7."
Not a single complete card!
The beginner's luck had clearly expired. The true nature of this gacha hell was fully exposed. To get decent cards, you'd have to spend a fortune. Grinding only gave you minimal output—barely enough to stay afloat.
And Caesar didn't even have a reliable place to grind yet. His only option was to keep spending. Outrageous!
"No... there's still one option left—grind through quests."
A glint of determination returned to Caesar's eyes.
Join Fairy Tail, take on quests like mad, earn bounties, and then top-up to draw more cards.
For Caesar, that was the best plan.
"Joining Fairy Tail has to happen ASAP. Without more cards, my strength growth will be too slow."
He added Edward and Sonic to his card slots. After some consideration, he gave Iruka the Kunai, which boosted his Strength a bit. Then he reluctantly equipped Sonic with the Safety Pants.
Senzu Beans were too valuable for casual use—he kept those in storage. He used the Experience Card on Inuyasha, pushing him to level 23.
Name: Caesar
Level: 1
Physique: 1 + (64)
Strength: 1 + (68)
Agility: 1 + (72)
Magic: Take Over Magic
Equipment: Wado Ichimonji
Card Slots:
Satan
Inuyasha
Iruka (with Kunai)
Edward
Sonic (with Safety Pants)
Five out of six card slots were now filled—two gold, one purple, and two white.
In an ordinary world, he would be unstoppable.
But in Fiore, even someone like Macao, the fourth guild master, would be hard to beat at his current strength.
"One step at a time... If this doesn't work, I'll train like hell and boost my attributes the old-fashioned way."
Caesar comforted himself while dreaming of catching up with Natsu, Gray, and Erza.
Time flew by.
The cargo ship crossed the sea and finally docked at Magnolia Port.
The sailors began unloading cargo. Caesar said goodbye to Uncle Corey and stepped off the ship, arriving in this ancient magical metropolis with a population of over 60,000.
From the dock, he could clearly see two large buildings standing out across the city.
One was the grand Carthage Cathedral in the city center.
The other had a large flag waving above it—
The Fairy Tail Guild!
"Finally here!"
Caesar's heart swelled with excitement as he looked at the emblem waving in the wind.
It hadn't been long since he came to this world, but the experiences he'd had already outshone the previous twenty years of his life.
He followed the main road from the dock and walked directly toward the guild.
Standing before the large three-story building, Caesar couldn't believe it was real.
"Work... I need work. Otherwise, I'll be broke again."
Just as he was debating whether to knock or kick the door open, it suddenly opened.
A younger Wakaba and Macao walked out, arms slung around each other's shoulders, clearly drunk.
They paused when they saw Caesar.
"Hey kid, you looking for someone?" asked Wakaba.
"No," Caesar shook his head. "I want to join Fairy Tail."
Wakaba and Macao blinked in surprise, but before they could say anything more, Caesar brushed past them and entered the guild hall.
The scene was bustling—more like a tavern than a guild.
Wizards were drinking and laughing, servers rushed between tables, and a few people clustered around the task board, planning their next jobs.
But Caesar's eyes immediately landed on the corner.
There, a shirtless, black-haired kid sat alone, quietly eating, completely out of place with the wild crowd.
Gray.
"Yeah... Gray joined Fairy Tail pretty early. And there's—"
He glanced the other way and spotted Kana, silently reading a book.
They were among the earliest of their generation to join the guild.
Looks like he had made it just in time.
Train with Gray, Erza, and the others for a while, and maybe his attribute issues would get sorted out.
With that thought, Caesar turned his attention to the old man behind the counter, calmly sipping a drink.
Makarov Dreyar.
[1] Jiro is a powerful character from toriko.