I walked toward the bed, making my way to the simple wooden desk where a ceramic jug of water and a matching glass sat waiting. The furniture was modest but well-crafted, typical of what one might expect in a servant's quarters. Settling onto the edge of the bed, I poured myself a glass of the crystal-clear liquid and took a cautious sip. My eyes widened in genuine surprise.
"So... clean. And it's actually sweet," I murmured in amazement. The taste was nothing like what I'd grown accustomed to in my previous world. Compared to the chlorinated, processed water I used to drink, this truly tasted like nectar from heaven itself. The more I thought about it, even the air in this world felt significantly purer and more refreshing than anything I'd experienced before.
I took a deep, deliberate breath, feeling every pore in my body naturally opening to intake not just the fresh air, but also the Soul Energy that seemed to permeate the very atmosphere around me.
There was absolutely no doubt about it. This wasn't just pure, it was incomparably superior to the industrial waste I'd been forced to consume throughout my past life. The difference was so stark it was almost jarring.
Taking another appreciative sip of the water that I was genuinely enjoying more with each taste, I placed the glass back on the desk and refocused my attention on the gacha interface hovering before me. After that first ten-pull which had cost me 30 points, I still had a healthy 70 points remaining in my account.
That meant I could afford to pull 23 more individual cards, or more strategically, execute two more ten-pulls with 10 points left over for future use.
With renewed anticipation coursing through me, I committed another 30 points to execute my second ten-pull sequence.
[Pulling...]
[3-Star - Weakness Removing Card]
"Not particularly useful at this moment in time. Maybe it'll prove valuable in the future," I mused aloud, already dismissing the card as I mentally commanded the next one to appear before my eyes.
[4-Star - Shrine (JJK)]
My eyes widened in shock and barely contained excitement.
"My first 4-star!" I exclaimed, unable to keep the enthusiasm from my voice. "Shrine... that's Sukuna's legendary cursed technique, consisting of three primary sub-techniques: Dismantle, Cleave, and the Divine Flame."
But even as the initial thrill of pulling such a high-tier ability coursed through my veins, the smile on my face began to recede rapidly as the harsh reality of my situation set in.
"But it's completely useless to me right now," I realized with growing frustration, my voice taking on a bitter edge. "Forget about techniques that require projecting energy outside the body—which demands reaching at least Silver-Rank cultivation first—I haven't even achieved Bronze-Rank yet!"
Such was the cruel irony of my predicament. Even though Shrine was undoubtedly an incredible technique with great potential, it required substantial energy reserves to activate and maintain. And energy was precisely what I lacked most desperately at this moment. The core problem wasn't necessarily that I possessed the Red Soul Realm—after all, even Nie Li had started with the same disadvantage and yet managed to reach heights that defied everyone's expectations. The real issue was that I didn't have access to the same resources and knowledge needed to achieve similar results. Most critically, I lacked any high-tier cultivation techniques.
In the world of Tales of Demons and Gods, the primary factor determining one's cultivation potential wasn't actually the color of their Soul Realm, but rather access to superior cultivation techniques and abundant resources. As long as someone possessed a high-tier cultivation method, reaching Legend Rank or even transcending that boundary wasn't merely a pipe dream—it was an achievable reality.
This scarcity of advanced techniques also explained why there was only a single Legend Rank expert within the entirety of Glory City, despite its size and long history. It was also the reason why Nie Li and his group of friends had been able to achieve such remarkable progress in the alternate timeline.
Nie Li possessed the accumulated knowledge of hundreds of years compressed within his mind—not just from the Tiny World, but from multiple higher realms as well. Because of this vast repository of information and experience, the traditional limitations imposed by a low-grade Soul Realm had never truly applied to him. That was precisely why he had been so bold and confident in the original story, displaying unwavering certainty that he would eventually reach Legend Rank.
As long as I could somehow acquire similarly advanced cultivation techniques, salvaging my current dire situation wouldn't be impossible. But then, a logical question arose: why hadn't I chosen to spend 60 points on ten-pulls specifically from the Tales of Demons and Gods universe? The answer was straightforward—I was betting on the possibility of obtaining something far superior to anything available in this particular world. After all, despite being a cultivation setting, its power system ranked on the lower tiers compared to other fictional universes I was familiar with.
If I could successfully pull something that transcended this world's power ceiling entirely, I would be set for life.
In essence, I was engaging in calculated gambling with potentially massive returns.
"Besides," I reasoned aloud, trying to maintain my optimism, "even if luck doesn't favor me during this month's pulls, I can always try again next month. I still have approximately two years before the imminent destruction of the Sacred Family."
With that somewhat reassuring thought, I decided to move on to the next pull.
[4-Star - Inventory (Satou Pendragon - Death March)]
"Another 4-star!" I couldn't contain my excitement, practically shouting in the small room. "Am I finally blessed by Lady Luck herself? In my previous ten-pull session, I didn't even manage to get a single 4-star, and I've already gotten two in this batch!"
I focused intently on the newly pulled card, and immediately all the relevant information began flowing into my consciousness like a digital download.
Having read Death March, I was already familiar with Satou Pendragon and understood exactly how his inventory system operated. And oh boy, this ability was absolutely worthy of its 4-star rating!
Unlimited storage space, instantaneous access, perfect organizational systems that categorized items automatically, complete immunity to time decay or environmental degradation... The only feature I hadn't inherited was the ability to store living beings within the space, but I supposed that made sense since that particular capability had stemmed from Satou's unique Authority rather than the inventory system itself.
Still, this was an absolutely incredible pull! Without wasting a single moment, I integrated the inventory system directly with my being and immediately began transferring all the items from my spatial ring into this new dimensional storage space, leaving the physical ring to serve as nothing more than decorative misdirection.
In the future, instead of relying on the potentially vulnerable spatial ring for storage, it would be far more strategic to save everything within the completely secure Inventory and use the ring merely to fool observers. After all, while a physical ring could be stolen, damaged, or destroyed, the Inventory was permanently bound to my soul and completely impenetrable to outside interference. The peace of mind that came with knowing no one could steal my possessions without my explicit knowledge was absolutely invaluable.
Once I had finished carefully transferring all my belongings into the new inventory system, I moved on to examine the next pull.
[4-Star - Fragment of Fire Essence ¼]
I wasn't even surprised this time to see yet another 4-star card materializing before me. What could I say? I was rapidly getting accustomed to this incredible streak of fortune. But Fragment of Fire Essence? Was this somehow related to the CYOA Essences?
After carefully reviewing all the downloaded information, I realized this wasn't connected to those particular Essences at all. This was actually a Fragment of Fire Law comprehension—and the ¼ designation indicated that it would instantly boost my understanding of fundamental Fire Laws by exactly 25%.
This was an exceptional pull by any measure. I immediately integrated it with myself, and suddenly felt an enormous torrent of complex information regarding Fire Law principles flooding my mind. The knowledge was so vast and intricate that it took me several long minutes to fully digest and properly organize all the new concepts before I could safely return my attention to the gacha interface.
[4-Star - Six Eyes (JJK)]
Six Eyes... under normal circumstances, I would be absolutely thrilled about acquiring this ability. After all, this was the Six Eyes from Jujutsu Kaisen! Not only did they enhance one's perception to the atomic level, but they also provided perfect energy control and numerous other remarkable abilities that made their wielders nearly invincible.
However, those advantages sounded more impressive when considered within lower-tier anime verses. While Tales of Demons and Gods ranked as low-to-mid tier among cultivation universes, it was still a genuine cultivation world where high-level practitioners could naturally comprehend and manipulate the fundamental laws of reality itself.
Anyone who achieved decent cultivation levels would eventually develop perception and energy control abilities that were functionally equivalent to the Six Eyes, without actually needing to possess them.
That said, it didn't mean this ability was completely worthless given my current pathetic situation. For someone at my embarrassingly low level, it would still represent a significant advantage in the short term. Who knew? Perhaps I would eventually be able to evolve or upgrade it into something even more powerful as I progressed.
With that optimistic thought in mind, I also integrated the Six Eyes ability.
I felt a brief, sharp stinging sensation in both eyes that came and vanished almost instantly, like tiny needles of light.
Walking over to the mirror with curious anticipation, I examined my reflection carefully... my eyes hadn't changed in appearance at all. They remained the same striking silver-gray color as before. Despite the complete lack of visual transformation, I could already sense the enhanced capabilities flowing through my optical nerves and brain with Sage doing the heavy-lifting behind the scenes to accommodate all that information.
"So no orgasm-inducing mysterious sky-colored shimmering blue eyes?" I muttered with mock disappointment. "Not going to lie, I'm somewhat let down by that aesthetic oversight."
Shaking my head to dispel such trivial concerns, I refocused my attention on the gacha interface. Another card was materializing before me—predictably, another 4-star.
[4-Star - World Coordinates (Against the Gods)]
"World Coordinates? What am I supposed to do with it when I cannot even travel between worlds?" I suddenly grumbled, staring at the card. The information flowed into my mind—dimensional signatures and planar frequencies that might as well have been written in a dead language for all the good they did me right now.
"Well, maybe they'll come handy in the future?" I muttered, though my voice carried more skepticism than hope.
I was skeptical. What was I supposed to do with coordinates to another world when I couldn't even properly cultivate in this one? It was like being handed the address to a mansion when I couldn't afford bus fare to get there. Still, if I really found a way to use those coordinates someday, that would be huge considering Against the Gods was a higher-tier world than Tales of Demons and Gods with better resources and power system.
The techniques there, the bloodlines, even their basic cultivation methods—everything was on a different level. A random disciple from some third-rate sect in that world would probably be considered a genius here in Glory City.
"But, for now, it's useless to me..." I sighed and moved to the next pull, adding another powerful but inaccessible ability to my growing collection of things I couldn't use.
[3-Star - 3 drops of Golden Crow Bloodline (Against the Gods)]
"Guess my luck can only stretch so far," I sighed with mild disappointment, though I quickly refocused on analyzing the new pull. Golden Crow Bloodline from Against the Gods universe. This was actually still a great pull. I already possessed ¼ Fire Law Essence, and now with the Golden Crow Flames—also known as the most destructive flame among the Three Primordial Bloodlines—once I officially began cultivation, my offensive capabilities would be absolutely off the charts.
[2-Star - The Thread of Fate (Your Name)]
Completely useless for my immediate needs. Next.
[1-Star - Power Boost Card]
Standard fodder. Moving on.
[2-Star - Kon's Soul Pill]
And another relatively useless item for my current situation. I supposed all my accumulated luck had been completely consumed by those 4-star pulls earlier in the sequence.
Taking another refreshing sip from my glass to cool my slightly parched throat, I allowed myself a satisfied smile.
"That was genuinely a fantastic ten-pull session," I concluded aloud. "Five 4-star cards and two 3-star cards in a single batch. While none of them are immediately useful to me in my current powerless state, each one has tremendous potential for long-term growth and development. Once I finally start cultivating properly, I'm going to be absolutely unstoppable!"