Nyx waved her hand and a slot machine appeared in the void. It was eerily colorful and bright against the ancient darkness.
Percy looked down at the massive things moving beneath his feet, hoping the horrors beyond what eyes have ever seen weren't offended by the bright gacha machine.
"Why'd you choose a slot machine?"
Nyx shrugged.
"I'm reincarnating all ten people Aether killed, seems easier than letting everyone choose a blessing themselves. Pull the lever and it'll roll three blessings that I'll give you."
"I can't even escape my gambling addiction in death," Percy muttered, sliding up to the slot machine and placing his hand on the lever.
Hopefully he got something that massively increased his computation ability. In a world without computers, constant reiteration and calculations would take years.
If he had a way to speed up his calculations and input new variables for testing it would be goated.
Also the little things like a powerful talent for magic or a powerful body that can withstand diseases and old knees.
He took a deep breath, silently praying to the gambling gods for their mercy.
Nyx's impatient voice cut through his thoughts.
"They can't hear you here."
"The gambling gods are real?!"
"Spin it."
Percy looked back at the three slots. Each of them was blank. He released his held breath and pulled the lever.
The slots rolled fast and bright, the space-like bells and jingles of the machine filling the Hollows with their musical rhythm.
Percy tapped his foot and drummed his fingers against the machine to the beat of the bells.
"Good love, keep us together~"
"Are you serious right now?" Nyx asked. "You have a very strange way of dealing with your anxiety. Those aren't even the right lyrics."
"My older brother always used to say: if you're the only one uncomfortable in the room, then it's your duty to make everyone else uncomfortable."
Nyx rolled her eyes.
"You'll get something good, stop worrying. Each slot is coded to three powers, the second slot's reward will be better than the first, and the third reward will be better than the second."
The slots started slowing down. Percy held his breath, gripping the edge of the machine as the lights and sounds slowed down.
The first slot stopped and it projected his first gift.
[Dragon fighting spirit]: You are able to learn fighting techniques far faster than the average person and your physique is strong and enduring.
"Ooh, that sounds good!" Percy exclaimed, filling the dark Hollows with his voice. He calmed down a bit. "Is that good?"
"That's good," Nyx commented. "That's something only the dragon race is born with usually."
Percy let go of the slot machine and let out another loud whoop.
"Does it affect my magical capabilities too?" he asked.
"No. Your normal spirit and fighting spirit are two different things. You are born with a normal spirit inside you. Fighting spirit has to be cultivated through rigorous practice and suffering."
"That sounds insanely cool."
"I thought you wouldn't want to suffer?" Nyx hummed. "Aren't most humans looking for peaceful, quiet lives?"
"Tsk, tsk, your godly comprehension only skimmed through the basic urges of man. Most people want to be challenged. The problem is that they get no rewards for their challenge."
Nyx considered warning him about being rude again, but this time her lips curled up a bit. What a strange human.
"Well, with the Dragon Fighting Spirit you definitely get more rewards the harder you work. You get to learn skills faster but you need to work every day on those skills to level up."
Percy shrugged.
"Fine by me. It's no fun if you get everything immediately."
The second slot was slowing down and the blinking light went into a frenzy. Then it stopped, revealing his second gift.
[Dual spirit affinities]: You can absorb energy faster from two different spirit types, allowing you to contain more spirit energy and cast more spells.
Percy clapped loudly.
"Let's fucking go! Swords and magic!"
Nyx shrugged.
"I thought you would get three affinities, but it is what it is. Dual is already beyond rare in the human world."
"So I can only use two elements for my spells? Sad, I wanted to be a quadramental."
Nyx shook her head.
"Dual affinities just means it's easier for you to learn those two types, and you absorb more spirit energy when surrounded by them."
"So I can learn the other two elements if I want to?" he asked.
"Yeah, but most people just stick to their affinity, it's too hard to master spirits you don't have an affinity to. So—"
Nyx glimpsed the wry smile on Percy's face and realized this just made him more determined to learn the other two elements.
"Do as you like. It's your new life after all. But do be warned that learning other elements makes advancing slower and harder."
"I can't get triple affinities now that I already have doubles, right?" he asked. "On my third slot."
Nyx shook her head.
"The last reward of the slot machine is meant to be a system. Something unintrusive, of course. To help with languages and understanding your attributes."
"I'm not an idiot. I don't need a game screen to know what I can do."
"Well, the people coming after you aren't Nobel Prize winners and geniuses. So I decided to give them a system that they can gain extra rewards from. It can be anything. A fusion system or a sharing system. A unique skill that will make them stronger than the rest of the pack."
Percy snorted, waving his hands through the air.
"Pay to win sucks. The grind is the only way. I had enough money to buy some of these game companies but you never see me paying to be a winner."
"Like I said before," Nyx repeated. "Not everyone is you. Most people wouldn't survive being isekaied into their favorite worlds. That's why these stories need the pay-to-win button."
Nyx paused and facepalmed.
"Oh, I'm starting to sound like you."
The slot machine's noises ramped up. A gyrating rhythm of noise and colors filled the darkness as the third slot started to reach its end.
Percy stood on his tiptoes. He personally wanted a system that just helped him calculate stuff. Something powerful would make things too easy.
But seeing how good his rewards had been so far, Percy knew whatever came from the third slot had to be really good.
The machine slowed down and grew silent, all the blinking lights dimmed. The third slot rolled slower and slower till it clicked to a stop.
The lights and sounds of the machine exploded once more, displaying the system he had just gotten in bright letters.
"That sounds good?" Percy said, unsure. He turned to Nyx whose eyes had widened a little.
"That's the best system I put in there, I think," Nyx said, awestruck by his luck. "There are probably only two others that can compete."
[Customisable rewards system]: This system rewards you at milestones with the ability to request a reward. It also gives daily tasks for smaller rewards that you can have.
Percy stroked his chin, not quite sure what to make of this.
"Theoretically I can have anything I want?"
Nyx shook her head.
"The rewards are ranked. Rank one rewards are simpler items, then at Rank three, you can customize bigger and more complex items."
"Wait, I have to make the items myself?"
"Either that, or know how they work and remake them. Like if you learned how to bake bread then with a reward you can instantly make bread with ingredients or tools."
"And if I wanted to make a nuke?"
The goddess paused, staring right at him in lucid realization.
"You can, if the customizable material given by the rewards are enough. I think Rank five reward provides enough material… but you wouldn't do that, right?"
Percy gave the concerned goddess a thumbs up.
"Fear not my fair lady. I would never harm the world like that."
Nyx released a breath of relief.
"And besides if someone pisses me off, an ICBM is more than enough."
Nyx held her jaw up to just try and preserve some dignity.
"Just don't destroy everything, ok? I grew up on that planet."
Percy pointed, eyes widening.
"Aha! I knew you didn't talk like someone that was born as an endless realm of darkness and evil."
Nyx glared at him, grumbling.
"The Hollows aren't evil. Anyways, off you go, time to suffer being a baby for the next five years."
Percy paled, that sounded like hell. But he was ready to endure, at least until he was able to walk.
A shimmering portal opened behind him. It was a swirling storm of white colors, breaking the infinite dark.
Percy took one step towards the portal but then stopped.
Nyx grew tired of waiting.
"You're worried I'm going to use the system to control your actions, right?"
Percy turned back, offering the goddess a wry smile.
"I'm not in the habit of being suspicious of my benefactors. But… I would like to make my own decisions."
Nyx smirked, shaking her head.
"Go, Perseus. I'm not in charge of Fate, the ones who turn that thread don't listen to me much. But if you're worried about your choices then I'll let you know that you can change fate if you try hard enough. And I know you'll try."
Percy grinned and turned towards the portal. It was all starting again. He would be reborn and it was up to him to make a world that allowed people to live out their dreams.
Nyx repeated herself for the third time since they met. Something she didn't do for people often, but Percy didn't need to know that.
"Go, Perseus. Make sure to take care of my home."
Percy jumped into the portal and was swallowed by the wave of white light.