Ch.32[Chapter 32] Gacha Land 3-1

Sir Dominic sighed as he looked at his clothes, which had been ruined by yesterday’s brawl.

Fortunately, he was able to pay for durability repairs with Credit.

Sir Dominic, now wearing his formal attire that looked as pristine as when he first bought it, gazed into the mirror.

Still looking good. Sir Dominic fell into a state of self-admiration.

“How long are you going to stand there admiring yourself?”

In the security office of System Industries.

Sir Dominic turned his head toward the familiar voice, but found a stranger there.

Though wearing a blue security uniform and security cap, it was a demon with six horns, a bizarre inverted triangular torso, arms covered in spikes, and large bat wings… devouring a donut in one bite.

Sir Dominic immediately drew his sword and raised his shield.

“It’s me, rookie. v.a.l.l.o.c.”

The familiar voice flowed from the demon.

“I had something to do today, so I came in my true form. I have somewhere to go right after I finish my work.”

This form burns a lot of calories, you know. v.a.l.l.o.c. said as he ate five donuts at once.

Sir Dominic could barely recognize the usual v.a.l.l.o.c. in this demonic form, but he was convinced it was him by the happy expression while eating donuts.

Having confirmed it was v.a.l.l.o.c., Sir Dominic had no reason to draw his sword anymore and relaxed his stance.

Then he immediately voiced a question that suddenly came to mind.

“Where are you going that requires such a frightening appearance?”

“Area 3. There’s a big match happening today.”

Area 3.

Sir Dominic suddenly remembered that he hadn’t cleared Area 3 yet.

He had originally intended to clear Story Mode for the battles held in the arena, but he had been so caught up in the interesting events happening in Gachaland that he completely forgot about it.

“What kind of gimmick does Area 3 have?”

Sir Dominic asked v.a.l.l.o.c., who was thoroughly checking his muscles.

“Area 3, huh. Come to think of it, you haven’t been to Area 3 yet, rookie?”

v.a.l.l.o.c. scratched his cheek with his large, pointed claws as he spoke.

“How should I put it? Area 3 is one. On the surface, it’s divided into stages 1 through 6, but it’s actually one continuous stage. So if you do well, you can clear Area 3 in one go.”

Though it’s not easy to do so. v.a.l.l.o.c. added quietly.

“Above all, Area 3 has its own unique flavor, so once you get a taste for it, you keep coming back. I’m like that too.”

Especially after experiencing a big match, anyone would want another big match to be held in Area 3.

Sir Dominic watched v.a.l.l.o.c. inspecting a whip covered in rusty blades and a greatsword decorated with skulls, and wondered.

What kind of place is Area 3 that makes v.a.l.l.o.c. so happy?

Sir Dominic’s intuition told him.

This must surely be a fun and happy place.

“Then I should take this opportunity to clear Area 3.”

“It won’t be easy, rookie.”

v.a.l.l.o.c. advised Sir Dominic with a sincere expression.

“Clearing even one stage of Area 3 is a big deal. And it’ll be even harder this time because it’s a big match. People who’ve been waiting just for this will all flock there.”

Even v.a.l.l.o.c., who had already cleared it, was moving because he wanted to participate again.

There would be quite a few people in Gachaland who, like v.a.l.l.o.c., had been waiting for this situation.

“By the way, you’ve been mentioning a ‘big match’ for a while now. What is a big match?”

Sir Dominic asked about the incomprehensible term that kept coming up.

“It’s exactly what it sounds like—a big fight.”

v.a.l.l.o.c. grinned.

Normally it would have been a friendly smile, but the smile of a six-horned demon covered in spikes was incredibly bizarre.

“Area 3 itself is always open, but it resets periodically. And the one who manages this area—”

v.a.l.l.o.c. suddenly stopped mid-sentence while talking to Sir Dominic.

Then, with a meaningful smile, he said slyly to Sir Dominic:

“It might be more fun to find out for yourself. Good luck, rookie!”

v.a.l.l.o.c. said teasingly and left with a laugh.

He disappeared so quickly that Sir Dominic couldn’t catch him.

“I guess I have no choice. I need to clear Area 3 anyway. I should think of it as gaining experience.”

Sir Dominic sighed deeply and got up.

Then he looked in the mirror again and adjusted his collar.

It was an outfit he liked no matter how many times he looked at it.

…

The Story Mode, which he hadn’t entered for a long time, was bustling with people.

“Wow, I’m glad I waited. I’ve been saving energy for this moment!”

“I can retry about three times, how about you?”

“I really worked hard. I think I can retry about seven times?”

“I’m so excited. Which way will the odds lean this time?”

“Probably fifty-fifty, right?”

People lined up in front of Area 3 in Story Mode were each making excited comments.

Sir Dominic stood at the very end of the line. The line was so long that the button to enter Area 3 Stage 1 looked tiny from where he stood.

The line slowly shortened, but Sir Dominic wasn’t bored.

Time passed quickly as he listened to what people around him were saying.

“I never thought this match-up would happen.”

“I know. Is this the first time in 10 years? Who won last time?”

“Wasn’t it Red? Who was leading Red again…”

“Well, we’ll remember once we get in. It’s hard to memorize the nicknames of Stars.”

Small clues about the stage could be heard here and there.

“I wonder what the concept will be this time? The previous concept was horses, right?”

“Just thinking about that makes my butt hurt. How do people who ride horses all day have such bodies?”

“I hope it’s not a naval battle. Or underwater.”

“I really hated the sky island gimmick. What are pedestrians supposed to do?”

Clues about concepts and gimmicks.

“I’m going to enter as a mercenary this time. My clan leader went AWOL.”

“Oh no. Want to join our clan? We’re so big we have two vice clan leaders.”

“I’ll think about it. I want to stay with my clan for now because I’m deeply attached to it.”

He also noticed that mercenaries and clans were distinguished.

Some kind of war? Or survival? Since teams exist, do they do something by team?

Sir Dominic spent an enjoyable time gathering clues about the stage and making his own inferences about the stage’s gimmicks.

Finally, the moment came for Sir Dominic to enter the stage.

“You’re tier 2. You haven’t cleared Stage 3. This is the first time I’ve seen someone like you.”

A GM who had been dispatched to handle unexpected situations due to the large crowd looked at Sir Dominic with curiosity.

“Anyway, I hope you have a pleasant day.”

Sir Dominic nodded in response to the GM’s greeting and selected the stage.

Since Stage 3-1 was the only activated stage, there was no need to deliberate.

Sir Dominic always found it fascinating how the surroundings changed in these situations.

This time, the stage must be quite large, as loading began.

The loading bar moved up jerkily and precariously, finally crossing the finish line.

Sir Dominic watched as a new landscape unfolded before his eyes.

“Welcome to the waiting room, mercenaries!”

A fairy stood on a platform with [RED]1.2 : 1.4[BLUE] written behind her.

Sir Dominic had no idea what this meant, but the fairy’s explanation soon began.

“The match-up you’ve all been waiting for! The eat-or-be-eaten rivalry between Star [Giant of Hundread Hands] and Star [The Tentacle Explorer]! We’re about to begin!”

People cheered loudly.

Sir Dominic didn’t understand the situation, so he waited for the fairy to explain further.

“What you’re currently seeing are the odds placed on the Red team and the Blue team! These ratios were carefully determined by the Stars who opened point gambling, so please take note!”

“As you all know, you can participate as mercenaries and choose a team. Fortunately, if you think you’re going to lose, you can betray your team and join the other side. However, you’ll have to give up the rewards you’ve earned from that team until then!”

Stop stating the obvious! Someone jeered.

Sir Dominic was able to infer the general stage gimmick from the fairy’s explanation.

This place was a massive battlefield.

A massive battlefield where two Stars were fighting.

“Until last season, we provided you with a brief briefing on the battlefield situation…”

The fairy trailed off.

“This time, both the Blue team and the Red team have participants with information blocking and disruption abilities, so we can’t inform you about the battlefield situation.”

Ah, damn. This is going to be messy again. Isn’t this too tiresome? Someone jeered.

“Inevitably, you’ll have to look at the odds here and go where you want. To explain again, the Blue team is [Giant of Hundread Hands], and the Red team is [The Tentacle Explorer]. If you don’t make a choice within the time limit, we’ll consider you to have given up on the stage and block your entry for this season. Now, let’s begin!”

The mercenaries quickly approached each faction.

Those who touched the red and blue colors representing each faction disappeared from the waiting room.

The odds display showed 2 minutes and 17 seconds remaining, so there wasn’t much time to think.

Sir Dominic thought for a moment, then decided that a giant would be better than tentacles and pressed the blue panel.

The location changed once more, and a loading screen appeared.

When the loading screen ended and his vision returned.

Clang!

“Welcome, you greenhorn mercenaries. I’m Ivan Strelch, the commander of Blue team’s Stage 1. You lot of trash.”

A man wearing a bear skin hat and cape, with a stiff beard that looked like it had been waxed, greeted the mercenaries by throwing an empty vodka bottle.