Ch.55New Update (2)

At a glance, our faction was undeniably a “pirate” organization. No room for debate there.

I mean, the Pirate Empress herself was my subordinate(?), so what else could we be?

However, contrary to my assumption, there was one crucial difference in reality…

“You’re asking about your faction selection, Commander?”

“Yes. Since our base is essentially a pirate faction now… I figured faction selection wouldn’t be possible.”

“Hmm… no, that’s not the case.”

“Huh?”

Surprisingly, this base’s faction was still in a neutral state.

“Wait, aren’t we part of the pirate faction?”

“Not at all, Commander!”

Seeing my confusion, Jessica twitched her long, large rabbit ears.

With a somewhat smug expression, she began to explain.

“Ahem! To clarify our current situation, Marian surrendered to you as your ‘subordinate,’ right?”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“So technically, you can’t be considered ‘part of the pirate faction.’ Rather, the pirates should rightfully belong to your faction.”

“…!”

Now that I heard it, it made perfect sense.

No matter how massive a subordinate’s organization might be, it would be absurd for the boss to be considered part of the subordinate’s faction.

As Jessica said, it would be more logical for the pirates to be incorporated into my base.

“But the problem is, the system doesn’t allow for that kind of arrangement.”

“…Hmm.”

I wondered if this was where the developers’ bias would show up.

Jessica shook her head and continued.

“Logically speaking, the pirate faction is comparable in size to other factions… so for you to take over the entire pirate force through the Pirate Empress… that’s impossible within the system.”

“Balance issues, I suppose?”

“Exactly. Frankly speaking, if that were allowed, how would the other commanders besides Commander Icarus manage?”

It was disappointing.

For a brief moment, I had dreamed of becoming a pirate king, leading tens of thousands of pirate ships and burning users to ashes.

‘What a waste.’

Accepting that this dream could never come true, I buried the rising sadness in my heart.

On a more positive note, I recalled another fact.

“Jessica, does that mean… if we could join another faction?”

“You’re right, Commander. Unlike others… you could potentially avoid attacks from two factions.”

‘Sweet.’

Unlike the usual situation where one receives protection from one faction while enduring attacks from three others, I could receive protection from both the pirates and whichever faction I eventually chose.

It was an absolute win, which made me feel genuinely happy.

———-

Anyway, now that I had a general understanding of the faction situation.

While I was contemplating the upcoming update in a week and the faction selection that would come with it…

*Ding♬*

“Huh?”

Unexpectedly, a cheerful notification sound reached my ears.

When I flinched at the sound, I noticed Jessica, who had been deliberating with me about which faction to choose, giving me a suspicious look.

“What’s wrong, Commander?”

“Nothing, I just heard some kind of alert sound.”

“An alert?”

Upon hearing this, Jessica picked up her tablet and began operating it…

After a moment.

“Wow, Commander! The developers are giving special rewards to users who ranked in the top 10!”

“Rewards?”

“Yes! Messages should have been sent to all commanders in the top 10, including you, Commander Icarus!”

Just as Jessica finished explaining, a notification message about the “reward” appeared before my eyes…

—————————————-

<Event Ranking Reward Notice!>

<This message has been sent exclusively to commanders who ranked in the top 10.>

<As a token of appreciation for your hard work during the event, we’re sending you a small reward>

<Causality 10-Pull Ticket (Time Limit: 1 day) x1>

—————————————-

The moment I saw “10-Pull” written at the bottom of the message.

I jumped up from my seat, screaming and dancing wildly.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!”

“W-what, Commander?!”

The “Time Limit: 1 day” note did irritate me somewhat.

‘Time-limited gacha, how generous.’

Still, whether time-limited or not, a “gacha ticket” was arguably the best reward in any gacha game.

So, to express my gratitude to the invisible developers, I decided to use our gacha before worrying about faction selection.

———-

And so, in front of the multi-dimensional whatever… anyway, the gacha machine.

“One must approach with a reverent heart to receive a good pull.”

“Ah… is that so?”

After thoroughly cleansing myself, I placed a bowl of water as an offering and bowed deeply toward the gacha machine.

Of course, I hadn’t originally planned to go this far.

I had intended to casually pull and welcome whatever came out, but…

“Why is the Commander acting like that?”

“Because Ignis carelessly told him, ‘Since you wasted 150 pulls last time, maybe something decent will come out this time?'”

“Oh.”

“Ugh… I didn’t expect him to be this devastated!”

As the three superhumans behind me were saying.

Given that my previous 150 pulls had been a complete disaster.

I was concerned that I might get characters with the same concept as those three, or ones with lower stats and performance, reducing their usability.

In the worst case, I might get an SSS-rank character that’s actually worse than S or A-ranks, making them practically useless.

Realizing the possibility of such a “catastrophe,” I had prepared this thoroughly.

And after much labor, having completed all preparations.

With an extremely nervous heart, I decided to activate the gacha machine right away.

———-

And then, the now-familiar, extraordinarily brilliant and ethereal lights burst from within the machine.

Accompanied by a puff of pure white smoke, heightening my expectations even further.

But those expectations quickly turned to disappointment when I saw the results…

—————————————-

<Causality Confirmed Results>

<Common Resource Box>

<Common Resource Box>

<Common Resource Box>

<Common Resource Box>

<Common Resource Box>

<Rare Resource Box>

<Rare Equipment Box>

<Regular Cruiser x1>

<Rare Resource Box>

<Common Equipment Box>

<Have been obtained!>

—————————————-

‘…What is this nonsense?’

Well, at least no strange SSS-rank character popped out.

But I didn’t expect to get neither a superhuman nor a decent starship.

Nevertheless, wondering if perhaps “hibernation” had been released again, I scrutinized the result message multiple times and even checked the CCTV screen installed in front of the hibernation room…

‘Nothing…? Why…?’

The more I checked, the more evident it became that my gacha pull had been a complete failure.

I resolved never to rely on silly superstitions again, and instead to firmly believe only in the Imperial Truth as proclaimed by the golden uncle.