[Host stabilizing]
[. . .]
[Host's soul is no longer locked]
[. . .]
[Establishing contact with ADMIN]
[. . .]
[Connected. Good luck, man]
Even as the Gacha flashed various messages across my vision, I remained motionless as I tried to wrap my head around what had just happened. I still had the gaping wound in my chest from where she'd ripped out the spear, but I felt even more empty.
I still hurt, obviously, but it wasn't just the physical and soul-rending pain from the spear. In my first life, I'd never been really good with the girls, though I did have plenty of friends. I now understand why my best friend reacted the way he did.
It wasn't just the fact that she'd killed me, if I was even dead; it was the fact that she'd had the audacity to cry while doing it as if she'd been the only one keeping us together, as if she had been burdened by the fact that the world would go to shit in months, as if she'd been ripped from her home and forced to live with total strangers, in a different land on a world not your own.
"Hmm, I must say I am surprised you haven't sworn vengeance yet. Most would have by now." A familiar voice said as my body buckled under the otherworldly pressure of the ROB. I finally moved and looked up at it, still eerily human-like, like last time.
"It's not like it would change anything." I rasped, and the ROB nodded. "Indeed."
"Though you didn't make it to the Final War Arc, I made plenty selling tickets to your show. Tons of other bored ROBs were excitedly placing bets on who you would date, when you'd finally kill, etc. I, of course, received my cut."
I felt a brief spark of anger at ROB's words. Was he selling tickets to other ROBs to watch me suffer? Not to mention him making tons of whatever passed for money for these creatures. It quickly faded, however; I had someone else I was much angrier at.
"Smart choice." ROB chuckled. "It would be insane to be mad at me; I'm the one keeping you alive, after all. Amazingly, you didn't die right away when she used that thing on you. It must have been the dual Divinity keeping you alive. I do wonder where she got that, though."
What did she use on me? I know it wasn't something from MHA; there's not a chance. I don't think Cyberpunk has anything that would be spear-like either. So what was it?
The ROB must have picked up on that thought, as he revealed what killed me. "The Spear of Longinus X. A dreadful weapon that can injure even beings such as myself; it is a god-killer, after all, a weak one, though. Maybe that's why it didn't kill you?"
[It came very close. Most of his internal organs are destroyed; even with his Viltrumite physiology, he won't recover anytime soon]
ROB nodded, as if hearing the Gacha. "I did. I gave you the thing, remember? Anyways, time for the next season!"
Before I could ask what that meant, I was suddenly seated in an old, cushy armchair as the ROB sat in his own chair next to a giant wheel. "This is the Gacha; since you died, it's time to roll again!"
"What about everything I already have?" I asked, and the ROB glanced at the Gacha.
[This isn't a Gacha wheel; it's the world wheel to decide where you are going next. As for everything you've already gotten? You get to choose what you keep]
"I'm getting reset, aren't I?" I grumbled, and the ROB grinned; I guess that was my answer.
I then started going down the list, noting how I had 40 Abilities, 14 Traits, 13 Skills, 19 Familiars, and 25 Items. "Is there a set amount of each thing I can keep?" I asked, and the ROB nodded.
"I'll let you keep five Abilities, two Traits, two Skills, three Familiars, and five Items. You should be able to hang on with that. I am locking certain things, however. No Divinity: Water & Ice, Tinker-Fallout, Six Eyes, Door Crossing; those are the blocked Abilities."
"Blocked Traits are: Quest marker, Master of Arms, and that's it."
"Blocked Skills are: Begging bc I hate that one, and Intermediate Total Concentration Breathing."
"Blocked familiars are: Lil' Nurgle, but if you get him again, he'll be the same, Manticore, Observer, and Chicken. It's too busted, man."
"Blocked Items are: Arc Reactor, Ender Pearl, Any Vehicle Voucher, and Returner's Clock."
The ROB looked at a screen in front of itself for a long moment before nodding. "Yep, that's all. You can choose now."
With that out of the way, I started going down the list and reading each description carefully as I weighed each thing. Since I didn't know what I'd be ending up in, I needed to strike a balance that would give me the best chance of surviving no matter what. I could only pray I didn't end up somewhere like 40k.
I then started tweaking the Gacha as I started, all while the ROB and Gacha watched in silence. Once I was done, I showed them what I'd decided to keep. My Abilities are as follows.
[Bone Baron]
|Elite Ability|
You are able to create and control bones at will, being able to make them erupt from surfaces in your line of sight and summon skeleton soldiers that can act semi-autonomously under your control. The soldiers are dispelled when the ability gets cancelled or switched out. The more soldiers you have, the higher your energy drain.
[Level Up!]
|Elite Ability|
Whenever you kill something, you absorb 10% of its stats and permanently add them to your own; such a simple ability with promises of so much power.
[Explosion]
|Elite Ability|
Allows you to create and project explosions of flame at will; you can launch explosions as condensed projectiles that resemble large glowing bullets that explode on contact. Or, with enough mastery, you can send streams of explosive energy from your fingers and palms.
[Gaster Blaster]
|Elite Ability|
Undertale - Allows you to conjure floating dragon skull-like projections capable of unleashing blasts of condensed energy in the form of lasers or using their jaws to bite down on enemies. You can also use them as transportation by riding the floating skull or as a defense by summoning one in front of you to take the blow.
[Inventory]
|Rare Ability|
You have access to an inventory subspace that you can store inanimate targets inside in a static state. By default, you can store 100 tons inside of it; the maximum weight of what your inventory can hold scales with your physical stats. To store something inside the inventory, you must will it inside while touching the target. Any stored target can be taken out of storage within a distance of at most 1 meter from your body.
These five Abilities were more than enough for wherever I ended up. Explosion, Bone Baron, and Gaster Blaster would be my main combat Abilities. Inventory is obvious, but Level Up would be really useful for what I have planned. My Traits are as follows.
[Viltrumite]
|Mythical Trait|
Race(Invincible) - You are a Viltrumite, one of the fiercest warrior races of the galaxy. As a Viltrumite, you possess an incredibly powerful body and the ability to freely fly. You are almost invulnerable to most things but are vulnerable to a specific sound frequency.
[Regenerator]
|Elite Trait|
Your body is unusually receptive to all forms of healing. Your natural regeneration when not affected by anything is increased by 5x, and all healing effects you receive are 2x more effective on you.
Need I say more? These two combined were insane, PLUS Level Up meant things were about to kick into high gear. My Skills are as follows.
[Intermediate Arms Mastery]
|Rare Skill|
You can handle all conventional weapons, ranging from knives to swords to axes to polearms to guns to bows to even chained weapons and clubs with notable proficiency, enough to match a general practitioner of the weapon and wield them effectively.
[Wilderness Survival]
|Uncommon Skill|
You are very skilled at surviving in the wilderness, whether that is making temporary shelter out of materials you can find, identifying safe sources of food, knowing how to track animals, how to secure your stuff, and generally everything needed to know to survive in the wilderness effectively.
These would keep me well-rounded. Despite having a crazy strong body, it wouldn't always be smart to show that around, so these would help me have a cover story of sorts. My Familiars are as follows.
[Ridley]
|Epic Familiar|
Metroid - One of the most fearsome pirates in the known universe, Ridley is equal parts cunning and powerful despite portraying himself otherwise. He has incredible physical might that allows him to tear apart metal with ease and a flame breath that can melt open spaceship hulls. Not only that, he is deceptively fast, being able to outpace most planes in an atmosphere and being able to go fast enough to achieve interstellar travel outside the atmosphere by his lonesome.
[IG-88]
|Rare Familiar|
Star Wars - IG-88 is an incredibly advanced combat droid with the skills of an expert marksman and advanced sensory capabilities. It also possesses superhuman stats due to its advanced droid constitution. This model also comes equipped with a veritable variety of deadly weapons.
[Lust]
|Rare Familiar|
Fullmetal Alchemist - A homunculus created by Father, branded with the sin of lust. As a homunculus, Lust has enhanced stats compared to a human. In addition, the philosopher's stone implanted in her as her core keeps her immortal by regenerating her whenever she dies by consuming one of the souls inside as fuel. She has the ability to turn her fingertips into long and almost monomolecular sharp flexible claws that she uses with expertise.
Ridley had already proved he could fight alongside me; I'm certain he will do well in a vacuum as well since he is a space pirate. IG-88 could be sold off for money or whatever, depends on where I land. Lust would be most useful somewhere like Star Wars or 40k; who knows. Finally, here are the Items I'm keeping.
[Rasaka's Fang]
|Rare Item|
Solo Levelling - A dagger carved from the venomous fang of Rasaka, this dagger is perpetually imbued with venom that afflicts whoever it cuts with paralysis and makes the wounds harder to heal.
[Lightsaber]
|Rare Item|
Star Wars - A classic textbook lightsaber made from a Kyber Crystal that projects a blade of energy. No, you do not need Force powers to use this one.
[Ring of the Bull]
|Rare Item|
This golden ruby ring grants its wearer increased strength and endurance when worn. These increased stats are half a flat boost and half a percentage boost.
[Stimpack]
|Uncommon Item|
Fallout - A potent medical tool from a post-apocalyptic world. A stimpack is a syringe pack filled with modified stem cells and healing agents that boost the human body's natural regenerative properties into overdrive. WARNING: Usage of the stimpack without enough nutrients or minerals in the body can cause more harm than good. Restock Timer: 24 hours
[Berserker Armor]
|Uncommon Item|
Berserk - A magical armor created by a Dwarven Blacksmith. This armor is exceptionally durable and shapes itself to fit the wearer perfectly. The berserker armor has the ability to enhance its users' performance by suppressing their pain aversion or mental limiters, allowing them to push their bodies to the utmost limit. The armor will also actively impale the wearer's body in the case that they suffer damage to pin their body back together. The armor will also magically repair itself over time. But it has the drawback of amplifying the user's negative emotions as well, requiring careful moderation of one's emotions to use effectively.
Rasaka's Fang had more than proved how useful it could be, as had the Stimpack and Ring of the Bull. The Lightsaber was more for me since I still hadn't used it, but the Berserker Armor would also be part of my cover story, since I really have no clue where I'm going to end up.
The ROB then clapped his hands and stood as I was dragged by something invisible towards the Gacha wheel. I then realized just how big the wheel was since both the wheel and ROB towered over me.
"Now that you've picked what abilities you're going to keep, let's find out where you're going!" The ROB said grandly as I spotted several places I'd rather NOT end up. Doom, 40k, Warhammer Fantasy, Halo, Cyberpunk, Fallout, MHA, Invincible, God of War, Marvel, DC, to name a few.
The ROB then spun the wheel so hard I thought I would get crushed when it fell over. It didn't fall, thankfully, and kept spinning for a while as we waited. We waited some more, and the wheel showed no sign of stopping anytime soon.
[If you don't want to be bored, several tickets were awarded for the fun time you just had.] The Gacha spoke up, saving us all from the awkward silence as the ROB and I nodded fast- anything but awkward silence.
[Gift from beyond the veil, 1x Random Bronze Ticket] (Ozev_10)
[For changing the fate of Star and Stripe, 1x Diamond Familiar]
[For surviving a direct blow from the Spear of Longinus X, 1x Divine Trait]
"Not bad, for a mortal," ROB said as he smiled at something I couldn't see. Shrugging, I spun the mini-wheel the Gacha summoned as I saw what I'd got.
[Spinning, spinning, spinning, done!]
[Snow Warning]
|Uncommon Ability|
Allows the user to summon a snowstorm at their location that slightly boosts ice-based abilities.
"Not bad, for Bronze." ROB snarked as I rolled the Familiar Ticket.
[Spinning, spinning, spinning, done!]
[Desert Elemental]
|Rare Familiar|
Calamity Mod - A pair of sister elementals born from the shifting sands of the desert. One sister can create and manipulate sand to attack and defend, while the other can cast healing magic.
"HA! Don't go hating them just because your girl fucked you over!" ROB cackled as I felt a spike of anger, using it to roll the Trait wheel twice as hard.
[Spinning, spinning, spinning, done!]
[Starman]
|Divine Trait|
"There is a Starman waiting in the sky." Your hope fuels you, literally. The more hope and determination you have, the faster your energy and vitality regenerate, and in addition, as long as you hold out hope, you cannot be killed. Whenever someone places their hopes into you, that hope is converted into energy and vitality to fuel you.
"Ironic." ROB giggled as the Gacha snorted. [Nice reference, my lord. If only the mortal understood the meaning behind it.]
I ignored their banter as I glared at the Trait. I didn't see much when the wheel spun, but I'm sure there was something in there that would have been more useful than this crap. Whatever, I'm sure something will work out.
[Big wheel's finally stopping!] The Gacha then yelled as the ROB, and I turned to look at it. It slowly stopped, taking nearly ten more agonizing minutes. The wheel finally stopped on a pretty bad universe, but not the worst place I could be sent.
"Halo, huh?" ROB murmured as the giant Gacha wheel shrunk down to 'normal size'.
[Not a bad place to be; it could always be worse.]
"True, but it seems he won't have it so easy, even with the things he's chosen to keep. Anyway, I'm going to round up the other ROBs, give him the Starter Pack." ROB then disappeared as the Gacha floated closer.
[Alright. Since you're being sent to another universe, you get three Random Golden Tickets. You know what to do]
I nodded as a trio of wheels appeared before me. I then spun them and waited for the results.
[Spinning, spinning, spinning, done!]
[Lesser Animate Undead]
|Rare Ability|
Allows you to imbue a corpse with Necrotic energy to reanimate it as a lesser undead under your command, such as skeletons, zombies, wights, etc., but you can only raise an undead at most as strong as an uncommon familiar. The quality and power of the undead you raise depend on the quality of the corpse, how powerful the corpse is, and how powerful you are. The stronger an undead, the more energy they cost to raise. The amount of undead you can control at once scales with your energy reserves.
[Zinogore]
|Rare Familiar|
Monster Hunter - Zinogore is a large bestial quadrupedal fanged wyvern of great size and considerable physical power and the instincts of a hunter. In addition, the Zinogore's fur is a breeding ground for Thunderbugs(included with the familiar), which it can use to imbue its attacks with lightning or direct them to attack.
[Enchanting]
|Elite Ability|
Allows you to enchant items according to your own abilities and traits. If you have pyrokinesis, you can grant fire-related enchantments to items, or you can imbue the power itself into the item to make it able to release the ability as a limited-use consumable. The strength of the enchantment depends on the item and your power level.
[All right. That is all the help you're going to get for now. I won't tell you what area of the galaxy you're gonna end up in, or what time, but you should be able to figure it out. Good Luck!]
As the last message flashed across my screen, I noticed the wound in my chest had healed as I took a deep breath. Just in case.