Into the Cosmos (Star Rail SI, Chaos Gacha) (Patreon)

Chapter 1: Step One: Don’t Die

In an attempt to get my mind off my literal impending death, within a year at best if I was lucky, I instead focused on the tickets still waiting to be rolled, doing my damn best to ignore my suddenly parched throat and the way my mind immediately jumped to alcohol.

‘Well, according to the description of my curse, the only way to get rid of it is finding someone with a Legendary healing ability—which, from my limited knowledge, doesn’t exactly match anyone in Star Rail—or the more obvious solution… the Gacha System itself,’ I thought, my eyes drifting toward the floating screen at the edge of my vision.

The only problem was actually getting my hands on such an ability, which would probably require me to do something extraordinary, and risk my life in the process, or something along those lines. Unfortunately, situations like that weren’t exactly rare in my new universe, if my memories were correct… and that didn’t make me feel any better.

‘I just need to roll the right perk. My Energy Heart trait should help stave off the curse for the most part with the natural regeneration it grants me, but it won’t be enough since it’s only Epic rank. I’ll need another ability of at least the same level to work alongside it… or pray the gacha gods are more merciful to me now than they were in my first life.’

Wanting to get away from my depressive thoughts before I spiraled any further, despite being in a universe I’d once only dreamed of visiting, I turned my attention to the other three curses.

The Orphan curse didn’t really affect me, as far as I was concerned. I didn’t even remember if my new host body had parents to begin with, and with my memories wiped, that didn’t help matters. For all I knew, I could’ve just been a clone or something.

But I digress.

Either way, it wasn’t really a curse in my book. Even if it referred to my original parents, they were already gone anyway, making it basically a non-issue.

The last two curses, however, were more problematic, though manageable with time and effort. Being illiterate wasn’t the end of the world since I was in a new universe anyway, and chances were they spoke a completely different language here to begin with. I was just lucky I could still speak whatever language everyone else was using most likely thanks to my host body.

Besides, with my new Sharingan, something I was admittedly a bit giddy to try out, it probably wouldn’t take too long to relearn how to read this world’s language or languages.

The real problem, the one I was trying my best to ignore, was the Alcoholism curse.

I’d rarely drunk alcohol before getting here, and a small part of me still hoped this whole situation was just some incredibly lucid dream. I’d never even tried drugs before… except for some weed back in high school.

But my body was already starting to experience mild withdrawal symptoms from not having alcohol in my system, at least based on what I remembered about it. My hands twitched slightly, and I could feel sweat forming on my skin.

‘I wonder if they have some kind of medicine for that in this universe? Their technology is supposed to be insanely advanced… especially here, where Herta is.’

Shaking my head, I focused back on the floating screen. After letting out a slow breath, I decided it was finally time to start rolling.

I was on a literal timer, after all.

‘Here goes nothing,’ I thought as I mentally chose to roll the two tickets I’d just obtained at once.

I held my breath as a small animation played…

…and then it finally stopped.

[Virgo]

|Rare Familiar|

Fairy Tail — Virgo is a Celestial Spirit representing the Virgo Constellation. She takes the form of a maid with considerable physical prowess and skill in Earth Magic. She is also a massive masochist, which aids her endurance. As a Celestial Spirit, she cannot be killed by normal means, and her power scales with her owner.

(Celestial Spirits exist in Familiar Space instead of the Celestial Realm by default, unless the User decides otherwise.)

[Returner’s Clock]

|Elite Item|

An ornate antique hand clock with three charges that cannot be refilled. You can use this watch to return to the morning of the current day by spending a charge. Once all three charges are used, the clock will turn to dust.

‘Not bad at all,’ I thought, a small grin forming on my face as I reread the description of Returner’s Clock. ‘A personal maid and a clock that lets me redo a day up to three times.’

I could mentally feel a new connection forming with my familiar and knew she would appear instantly the moment I called for her. The same applied to the new items I’d obtained, the Greedy Ring from my starting pulls and the Returner’s Clock.

Looking down at my hand, I willed the ring to appear. A second later, an ornate red-and-gold ring materialized on my right hand, fitting perfectly over my fingerless gloves.

Next, I mentally slotted in my Sharingan ability, since I could only have one ability active for now. Once I obtained five abilities, that number would increase to two. Basically, I gained an extra ability slot for every five abilities I owned.

I blinked as a faint itch spread through my eyes. With a thought, I activated the Sharingan and immediately felt the world sharpen and brighten as my visual prowess skyrocketed. There was a slight drain on my energy reserves, but thanks to my Energy Heart, it was negligible, so I decided to keep it active.

‘This should help me learn new fighting styles pretty quickly.’

My thoughts were interrupted by March’s voice from a short distance ahead.

“Whoa~ What happened to your eyes!? They’re all red now! Are you okay?”

Looking up, I realized we had entered a massive room filled with trinkets and strange gadgets displayed along the walls. March was now standing right in front of me, causing me to stop as she stared with a mix of curiosity and concern.

I blinked and stepped back slightly due to how close she was before smiling a little at her worry.

‘At least this March is exactly like she is in the game,’ I thought. ‘She’s completely open about everything, and I can practically read what she’s thinking from her expressions alone. A wear-your-heart-on-your-sleeve kind of girl.’

“I’m alright, March. Don’t worry,” I reassured her as a natural grin spread across my face and I gave her a thumbs up. “I just had this feeling something was different about my eyes and, voila. So my eyes are red now?” I asked, looking around for something reflective since I wanted to see my new Sharingan for myself.

All traces of worry vanished from her face, instantly replaced by excitement as she quickly pulled out a small mirror from somewhere and shoved it right in front of me.

“Oooh, maybe you unlocked a special ability? Does anything look different?” she asked with a grin, looking even more excited than I was, which I found both very cute and very her.

Looking at my reflection, I saw a pair of fully matured Sharingan staring back at me, and for a moment I almost geeked out before handing the mirror back and focusing on March again.

While having the Sharingan didn’t grant me access to chakra, which would have been awesome and a huge power-up considering everything one could do with it, I could now see in perfect detail. It felt like living your whole life seeing everything in 480p, only to suddenly be upgraded to 4K.

I could also sense the energy inside March. Even though she didn’t have chakra, the Sharingan still allowed me to see a person’s inner energy thanks to whatever modifications the system had applied, and hers glowed a beautiful icy blue.

“Yeah, I can see everything in perfect detail,” I muttered, tilting my head slightly as my gaze swept across the room. “Like seeing properly for the first time after being half-blind your whole life.”

My sight eventually stopped at the door leading out of the room, beyond which I could make out something I could only describe as chaotic energy.

“Hmm… and apparently I can also see the energy inside people or things. There’s something beyond that door,” I said, pointing toward it as I tightened my grip on my bat.

Normally, the Sharingan didn’t allow someone to see through walls, but the door was thin enough that whatever lay beyond it was still visible to me.

“Wooow~ That sounds amazing! You’ll have to tell me all about it later, but for now, it looks like we have the Antimatter Legion to deal with. Those eyes of yours are going to come in handy~” March said in amazement before her expression shifted slightly, growing serious as she once again pulled out her signature bow from seemingly nowhere, making me raise an eyebrow.

‘Does she have some kind of inventory? And more importantly… will I get access to one too?’

“Now follow me. Let me show you how a hero deals with a bunch of jerks,” she declared confidently as she led the way out of the room.

With March taking the lead, it was only moments before we ran into the Antimatter Legion, giving me my first real look at them.

There was no better way to describe them than alien… and inherently wrong.

Any hesitation I might have felt vanished instantly. Looking at them, I understood something on instinct alone.

These things existed only to destroy.

“I got your back, March,” I declared, stepping up beside her and resting my bat on my shoulder.

“Alright, but don’t force yourself. I’m not only a pretty girl, I’m a pretty girl that kicks butt,” March declared enthusiastically as she raised her bow and released an arrow made of ice, or as she called it, Six-Phased Ice.

The shot struck a Voidranger—Reaver, if I remembered correctly—and dropped it instantly.

As she moved, my Sharingan tracked both her and the enemy perfectly, engraving every motion into my memory.

“My turn,” I muttered, trying to hype myself up. ‘Alright, raccoon boy, let’s see what you’ve got,’ I told myself.

Almost instinctively, I channeled a strange, chaotic energy into my bat, causing it to glow blue. The Voidranger rushed toward me, but with my enhanced vision, it almost looked like it was moving in slow motion.

The moment it entered range, I swung.

My attack, which I could only guess was empowered by the Path of Destruction, obliterated the Voidranger in a single strike, making me pause as I stared at its fallen body.

I barely registered the remaining enemy, a Baryon, about to attack me before March took it out with another well-placed arrow.

“You’re stronger than you look, Caelus,” March chirped with a smile as she dismissed her bow, which disappeared somewhere now that the fight was over. “You seem to be quite the fighter. We shouldn’t have any trouble making it back to the master control zone with us working together.”

I was about to thank her when I suddenly brought a hand to my mouth and coughed, a wave of weakness washing over me for a brief moment before my regeneration kicked in and the feeling faded.

‘Shit… I thought I had more time before symptoms started showing,’ I thought, pulling my hand away and feeling brief relief when I saw no blood. ‘Looks like strenuous activity strains my body already… but I can’t afford not to fight. At least I’m not coughing blood yet, that would’ve been hard to explain.’

“Are you alright?” March asked, suddenly beside me and offering a tissue she’d once again pulled from seemingly nowhere.

Taking it, I nodded in thanks and wiped my mouth before offering her a small smile. “I’m fine. Something probably irritated my throat. Dust or something.”

March studied me carefully, but when my expression didn’t change, she let it go, for now.

“Okay, but let me know if we need to stop for a break, alright?” she said, hands on her hips as she looked at me imploringly.

“Will do,” I replied with a nod.

Satisfied, March took the lead again, with me walking beside her.

I idly noticed the monsters hadn’t dropped anything, but since this wasn’t a game anymore, it made sense they wouldn’t just spill credits and materials everywhere.

Still…

‘I really need to find out where March keeps storing her bow. I look like an idiot hauling this bat around while she skips along carefree beside me,’ I thought, giving the pinkette a small deadpan look when she wasn’t paying attention.

A familiar ping suddenly caught my attention, making me glance at the blue screen that appeared with a new message.

Feat Achieved! Killed and defeated first enemy.

+1 Silver Ability Gacha Ticket.

Figuring there was no reason to wait, I rolled it immediately.

And what I got was…

[Cool]

|Trash Ability|

Allows you to decrease the temperature of objects through touch. It doesn’t lower it particularly fast, and it’s certainly not enough to freeze anything, but it will keep your drink or ice cream cool.

‘That tier description is correct. That ability is trash, and I’ll probably never use it. At least I only need two more abilities to unlock another active slot,’ I thought blankly, quickly dismissing the screen and refocusing on where we were headed.

It wasn’t long before we reached the central platform, where an elevator stood in the middle.

What caught my attention, though, was the out-of-place crystal-like formation spreading across part of the platform.

‘Fragmentum… right?’ I thought, eyeing the strange structure.

“So we’ll take that elevator on the central platform down to the master control zone,” March suddenly called out, pointing toward it before turning back to me.

“You wouldn’t happen to know your way around this place, would you?” she asked hopefully.

“Sorry, March,” I replied, shaking my head. Even with my memories of the game, this was the real thing now, and the station was much bigger than I remembered. “Still don’t have a clue how I even got here.”

March’s expression turned sad but understanding. “…Memory loss, huh? You must’ve been injured… Never mind. I won’t push you if you don’t want to talk about it.” She shook her head before quickly returning to her usual peppy self.

“Let’s go! I’ll take you to the safe zone~” she declared confidently.

Watching her walk ahead, I thought for a moment before making up my mind and following after her.

“Hey, March?” I called out softly.

She turned around curiously. “What is it?”

“After all this mess with the Legion is over… I wouldn’t mind talking about it with you, if you still want to listen,” I muttered while keeping my gaze forward.

There was a brief pause before her voice came back, brighter and more natural this time.

“You’ve got yourself a deal~”

Smiling slightly, I nodded. “Don’t expect too much, though. Like I said, there’s still a lot about my past I don’t remember.”

Truthfully, I’d only just realized that even I wasn’t sure how I’d ended up in this universe.

Was I the original me, taken from my home and shoved into Caelus’s body? Was I just a copy of someone else’s memories? Had I died somehow and been reborn here without realizing it because my memories were erased?

I honestly didn’t know what had happened to me, and when dealing with an R.O.B., any of those possibilities could be true.

‘And then there’s the whole mess with Elio and his ability to foresee future possibilities. Would my presence here change that? And if it does, what happens when I eventually meet the Stellaron Hunters again?’

There were simply too many unknowns right now, and I hated it.

Almost unconsciously, I placed a hand over my chest, where I’d been trying for a while now to sense the Stellaron inside me.

And yeah… I could feel it.

A bitter smile crept onto my face as the thought hit me.

‘So not only do I have maybe a year left to live if I don’t find a cure, but I’m also carrying a literal nuke inside my body.’

‘Yeah… this is officially the worst day of my life, bar none.’

“Caelus! More monsters up ahead!”

March’s voice pulled me out of my brief spiral, and shaking those thoughts away, I tightened my grip on my bat and stepped forward.

There was no going back now.

My life literally depended on it.

“Well,” I muttered quietly to myself, a small grin tugging at my lips as I prepared to charge in.

“As the saying goes… rules are made to be broken!”