READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Gacha Ticket
"And that's… 13…" Alchemy hummed, placing the last of the [Spiked Barricades].
Several hours had passed since she and her Heroes had returned.
"All that's left is to upgrade them…"
Opening up the upgrade tab, Alchemy selected one of the wooden barricades.
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"Why ask twice?" Alchemy shook her head as she picked her options.
Simultaneously, all of the makeshift walls she had placed upgraded from wooden pikes to something more akin to a small wall of crude spears. She placed them close together so that enemies attacking would need to scatter around them, allowing her Thorns to pick them off more easily.
"We'll need more stones before I can do this to the other sides. Oh well~"
The only group she was worried about right now was the Gale Wolves, so one side wholly covered was enough for now.
Interacting with the [Verminae Brood], Alchemy took the [Tier 2 Unit Gacha Ticket] out of her inventory.
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"What do I even want from this? Emberbugs, maybe? They'd be relatively useful even with only a single squadron…>| Alchemy hummed as she confirmed.
The system panel changed to show a slot wheel that she could stop manually. The slots were slow enough to be able to get a specific unit if you were skilled enough, but Alchemy didn't care enough to try. She needed at least 3 squadrons of any of these units for them to be extensively usable anyway.
The Gacha tickets existed to get stronger units earlier, but Verminae was a faction that didn't particularly care about the tier of their units. It'd be a different story if it were a faction with fewer but harder-hitting units.
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As the notice disappeared, a 3-minute timer appeared above the brood.
{Ah, Mother! Are more siblings going to be born?} A Granitect asked as it passed her.
"Mhm. I'm just doing all the odd jobs right now." She responded.
"Oh! Could you call Nera over for me?"
{Certainly.}
'What else… What else… Oh, right, there's that.' She mused, grabbing another item from her inventory before returning to her hut.
"[Low Grade Mana Fragment], huh?"
It was a large, murky gemstone with a light greenish-blue glow and engraving. Excluding the size, It wasn't terribly different in design from the system's Skill Shards.
"Do you know what it might be used for, Sapphire?"
The young deer who rested by Alchemy's feet lifted her head up.
"That thing was from that scary bird? I imagine it's the thing that differentiates Animals and Monsters. I think Mom explained something about it to me… Whenever a large amount of Mana enters the body of a living creature, it crystallizes and grants them the gift of nature… Or something like that!" Sapphire answered, an amount of uncertainty lacing her voice.
"So it acts as a Core? Similar to what the Undead have, perhaps?"
"Maybe!" Sapphire nodded.
'How reliable…' Alchemy thought, giving her dense little deer a pitiful look.
Holding it between her fingers, Alchemy examined the item.
'Right… The System said I could use magical artifacts after naming Sapphire. Maybe I could make one from this? Little 17 specialized in magi-tech, right? I still vaguely remember him charging into alliance wars with hundreds of massive battleships and mechs.'
Clasping the shard, she stored it back in the inventory for now. Remember her Alliance members, Alchemy's face revealed a complicated expression.
"I hope those idiots are doing well." She mumbled to herself.
"Mother Goddess~! You called?" Nera announced her presence with a newly acquired dress that looked nearly identical to her last.
"Ah, that was fast. Were you busy at all?"
"Nope! I was watching the Sylvan Carvers dismantle stuff! It's so interesting how it neatly turns into materials. Where do you think the parts that don't get harvested, like the organs, go? Or why do you think all the meat that comes out is more or less the same despite being from different animals? This place is so interesting!"
Nera twirled with excitement, causing Alchemy to chuckle lightly. These small questions were ones that Alchemy had as well, but when she asked the Sylvan Carvers, they didn't seem to understand them either. If she or Nera could figure out how these things worked, it would lead them closer to understanding how this world worked.
"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself, but please don't impede their work too much. You already destroyed one of their dresses."
"I would never! I even apologized and lent them a hand when they asked for it! So, whatcha want?"
"Right, I'm starting to make potential plans to leave the territory once I have some Divine Energy saved up. I want you and Sapphire to go out and clear out any possible dangers. I'd also like you two to use this time to level up and learn to work together."
"EH?!" Sapphire let out a confused yelp.
"Why didn't you talk to me about this before? You want me to leave alone with… With her?" She continued, looking at Nera with fear.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Nera's eyes lit up with excitement at the thought of going out with Sapphire.
"Aww! What's that supposed to mean, Sapphi?! It'll be so much fun! And I'll get to dissec… I mean, learn how your crystal works!"
'Nera… You were just about to say you wanted to dissect my [Hero]… Hang in there, Sapphire.' Alchemy cursed the [Inquisitive Personality Trait].
"Master Alchemy… Are you sure about this? If Miss Nera makes a move on me, I won't be able to defend myself like I would with the others."
Hearing Sapphire blurt her distrust for Nera right in front of her caused Alchemy to laugh.
Standing from her throne, she placed her hand on Nera's shoulder.
"Nera… I'm already not particularly happy with you somehow keeping the first dress in one piece when you transformed, only to allow it to get destroyed. If Sapphire gets hurt because of you, you're not avoiding punishment. You understand, dear?"
For a moment, fear flashed through Nera's eyes. Even if just a little bit, she might understand how Sapphire feels.
"U-understood, Mother Goddess!"
"Good!" Alchemy clapped.
"You two have fun then. You can bring some Thorns to collect the corpses. I'll be awaiting the good news~!"