He mentally pulled up the System Interface. When the numbers materialized in the air in front of him, his eyes nearly popped out of his skull.


"Ten… fifteen thousand!?"


He stared at the balance: 15,000 Credits.


Shock washed over him. That is way too much.


"Chill," he whispered to himself. "Stay cool."


He opened the log. It was flooded with Credits generated by names he didn't recognize. A few looked familiar—kids from school. The video of him beating down Zack must have gone viral. The entire student body was feeding him points just by being shocked.


It was awesome, but Lucas felt a twinge of regret. Zack was only a big deal to the seniors. The freshmen and sophomores didn't really know him. If Zack had been more popular, Lucas would be swimming in even more cash right now.


Still, the ticker was climbing. The question was, how to spend it?


He tabbed over to his skills.


  Foundation Footwork (Proficient) (+)


  Basic Hand Forms (Proficient) (+)


  Five-Step Fist (Proficient) (+)


He blinked. There were glowing plus signs next to the skills he'd already mastered.


Lucas stared at the screen, intrigued. Can I upgrade these things further?


He focused his mind on the plus sign next to Foundation Footwork.


SYSTEM PROMPT: Consume 10,000 Credits to promote to Perfect Mastery?


Lucas almost choked. Ten thousand?!


He swore under his breath. He only had fifteen thousand total! That was highway robbery.


"Forget it. No way." It was too painful to blow two-thirds of his fortune on one upgrade.


"Let's try the lottery instead."


Lucas tabbed over to the Gacha interface. He felt like gambling. This time, he selected the high-roller option: 5,000 Credits for a single spin.


He watched the Credits drain away as the familiar giant roulette wheel materialized in his vision. But it looked different. There were thirteen slots this time.


And one of them, glowing in bright gold letters, read: JACKPOT.


Lucas scoffed. "Jackpot? Yeah, right. Nice try, System. Like I'm falling for that."


Lucas scoffed. This System was such a piece of junk it could dispense actual trash, so why was it pretending to offer a Grand Prize? It was definitely trying to bait him.


"Whatever. I'll give it one spin just to test the waters..."


Lucas muttered to himself, and a split second later, the massive roulette wheel began to spin like crazy.


It hadn't been spinning long before Lucas shouted for it to stop. Every grid on the wheel had a prize anyway, so he didn't overthink the timing.


Following his command, the giant wheel began its leisurely deceleration. Lucas felt a spike of adrenaline as he watched the pointer click past each grid.


Five thousand Credits. What was he going to get?


"No way..."


The wheel was crawling to a halt now, and the pointer... the pointer looked like it was going to land right on the Grand Prize slot!


Ding!


[Congratulations Host! You have obtained the Grand Prize!]


[Reward: Accelerated Growth Kit x1]


The Grand Prize! He actually hit the jackpot!


Lucas was practically vibrating with excitement. This scam-artist of a System had given him garbage so many times he'd lost count. He never expected to actually win the big one.


He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. A new interface popped up on the System screen, displaying a large, ornate gift box. Lucas eyed it with curiosity. With a subconscious thought, he commanded it to open.


The lid slowly lifted.


[Accelerated Growth Kit opened!]


[Received: Origin Elixir x21, Spirit Enhancing Pill x3, Fortification Elixir x12!]


[Received: Combat Art Card!]


[Received: Weapon Selection!]


[Received: Combat Suit!]


As the notifications chimed one after another, Lucas saw the loot materialize before his eyes: vials of Origin Elixir, Spirit Enhancing Pills, and Fortification Elixirs.


Then, the screen shifted to the weapon selection menu.


"I can actually choose my own weapon?" Lucas's eyes widened in surprise.


The menu was packed with options.


"Swords look cool and elegant," Lucas mused, staring at the straight swords on the screen, "but in a real fight? I don't know..."


He hesitated. He'd seen the size of those Xenobeasts. If he wanted to take down monsters that massive, he needed something heavy—a weapon built for sweeping, destructive power. Sure, there were plenty of Blade Adepts out there dealing massive damage, but Lucas wasn't a fan of sabers, either.


He wanted something unique.


He scrolled through the list. Morning Stars? Reaper's Discs? Lucas stared blankly, feeling a bead of sweat roll down his temple. Yeah, no.


"A spear, though... that's not bad."


His eyes lit up when he landed on the spear class. In The Age of Legends, Sir Lancelot was famous for charging through enemy lines with a spear, an idol for any hot-blooded guy.


Lucas had almost made up his mind, but then he saw it. A weapon that made him pause.


[Sky Halberd]


"Seriously? They have this?"


Lucas felt a rush of pure hype. This was exactly the kind of heavy, sweeping weapon he loved. In The Age of Legends, didn't Warlord Lucius—the guy with the highest combat stats in history—use a weapon just like this?


"That's the one."


He confirmed his choice with a thought, and the System cycled to the next screen: [Combat Art Selection].


Below the header was a long list of skills, all seemingly exclusive to the Sky Halberd. There were so many options it made his eyes spin. Eventually, he spotted one called Paragon Strike. He didn't hesitate. Selected.


Finally, the Combat Suit.


In the world of Martial Warriors, these suits were essential. They offered high elasticity for movement and decent defense against attacks. Lucas picked out a sleek, black suit that gave off a mysterious, lethal vibe.


The moment he finished his selection, a heavy, long ebony box materialized out of thin air and slammed into the floor.


THOOM.


The entire room shook from the weight of it. The Combat Art Card and the suit piled up next to it.


"Lucas? What happened?"


Knocking sounded from the door. It was Luna.


"Nothing!" Lucas shouted back, panicking slightly. "Just... exercising! Tell Mom and Dad everything's fine!"