Chapter 23 : TIcket Roll Galore! (Patreon)

Disclaimer - I don’t own Marvel/Disney IP. I am just a humble keyboard warrior. Also, the Chaos Gacha was made by Bronz here. I am just dipping my toe in the water, so to speak.

Antarctica

–Mike–

A full body shiver ran through him that had nothing to do with the cold around them, as his mind couldn’t help but try to contextualise the number of deaths he had seen in the ticket description. From what he could recall, about 150k people die daily all around the world, and he had just casually added to that number, increasing it by more than 5%.

Before he could begin to put faces on the faceless number, he reached into his Item Space and pulled out the item he was stupid enough to keep in the system space. The [Ring of Sustenance] seemed to be tailor-made for someone of Alcina’s constitution. 

Offering it to Alcina, who was looking very dubiously at the ring for some reason. He realised it a moment later, understanding just how the gesture might have looked like from the outside. Hastily clarifying, “This is not what it looks like. This is called the Ring of Sustenance. It will fulfill all of your needs without killing anyone.”

The look of sheer relief and wonder on her face reminded him of the actions he had taken to mold her mind into accepting the lowly humans as equals rather than food, something that made him queasy a bit now. It had seemed so simple at the time. He had an ability that would erase the more problematic parts of his most powerful ally, and not using it would be the epitome of foolishness.

As such, high off the Thunderbird evolution, he had commanded her very mind, using the ability only once to change her irrevocably. It had been easy at the time, but now? He preferred not to think of it. With that situation done with, he looked at the massive monster just casually lounging on the ice. Ice that was now melting all around him as Ghidorah was just an uber powerful alien space heater, even with most of its energy sealed inside its titanic body.

Sitting on the now warm water because of the melting ice, he ignored the feeling and looked all around, in anticipating of that golden fiery portal, or the Rainbow beam falling on the ground either in front of him, either to transport someone from Asgard to Earth or to break Earth in two, or for the Rainbow beam, to fall directly on him to whisk him and maybe Ghidorah, depending on the Bi-Frost’s capability, to Asgard, to be dealt with by the King of the Nine Realms.

Odin, Son of Bor.

Damn. How badass does someone have to be for even their thoughts to have an impact? He could practically feel the words being bold even in his mind.

Keeping that aside, he just kept on searching for a few more minutes. For something. For a sign that he was in the Mirror Dimension, for a sign that the Sorcerers were nearby and just wary of the titanic monster or that Odin was watching. 

No sign of the Crows he uses either. Or maybe that was not a thing for MCU Odin?

Either way, knowing that even if the heavy hitters like the Ancient One or Odin left him alone, this was probably going to be the last time he was going to get any time to himself in the near future, he turned his attention to the Chaos Gacha system, ready to roll the tickets.

He would be lying if he said that he was not atleast somewhat traumatized by what his last high tier ticket had rolled for him, but he could not just stop now. No, that would be foolish, which is why after mentally tallying the tickets, he decided to start from the bottom.

From the fiasco, he now had 2 Silver Tickets, 5 Gold Tickets, 4 Platinum Tickets, and 2 Diamond Tickets. The biggest ticket list in his life so far. Let’s see if they help him extend his life in this universe. Rolling both the silvers at once, he got..

[Tinker - Scraps]

|Rare Ability|

- This tinker allows you to build much more functional and useful technology out of scraps. You could probably build a working tank in a scrapyard, a phone out of a broken radio, a mech out of demolished cars, and can easily jury-rig existing technology out of subpar materials.

[Chidori]

|Rare Ability|

Naruto - Allows the user to cloak their hands in violent, sharp electricity that also enhances piercing and cutting ability, essentially turning their hands into lightning blades.

TING! You now have 4 ability slots! Use them wisely. 

This put his ability count to 16, increasing his usable ability slots. Chidori seemed fairly useless for someone like him, a Thunderbird. He could already manipulate lightning very freely. He could probably easily imitate Chidori and its curing effects with ease, without needing to waste an ability slot on it.

As for the next one, now that was useful, but now was not the time for that. Resisting the urge to add the tinker ability to the slot, just in case it immediately put him in the tinker fugue that was common to the Worm universe, he rolled the next set of tickets, i.e, the Five gold ones. Praying for something useful but not too useful like Ghidorah here, he saw the results…..

[Pendragon]

|Epic Trait|

You are the child of Pendragon, the destined, rightful King and Dragon. Sovereignty is in your blood; you are more resistant to negative mental conditions and are an incredible talent when it comes to anything related to ruling, such as litigation, management, military, economics, etc, as well as an increase to your natural charisma. In addition, as the child of the one recognized as a "Dragon", you have increased physical abilities as well as larger energy reserves and faster energy recovery. You also have incredible talent with blades due to carrying the blood of Excalibur's wielder, especially with magical swords.

His body lurched a bit, as he felt something new settle in his body, alongside the already incredible trait of a Thunderbird. This time, it was the raw might of a Dragon. Not a pure dragon but a dragon nonetheless. Clenching his fists, he felt the increase in raw physical might alone worthwhile as he felt like he could duke it out with Hulk now. He was already strong before, with the [Strong] trait making him stronger than regular humans, then stronger than regular Thunderbird hybrids, and now? Stronger than what he would have been as a Pendragon descendant.

In short, he was firmly in the top levels of power on the planet and most probably, in the universe as well, though he reminded himself that that kind of thinking could lead to some dangerous results, as the Marvel Universe was the epitome of the saying, “There’s always a bigger fish.”

That single trait change wiped away any exhaustion he might have felt at the moment, mental or otherwise. Then there were the other benefits. The ruling part seemed less likely to be used. He did not plan on becoming a ruler or warlord anytime soon. 

Maybe if he founded a small team to help him, then it could be useful? Even then, that was the stuff of the future. For now, he was fine with the little motley crew he had with him, all of whom were just his familiars who were hard coded to be loyal to him. 

And wasn’t that sad?

Before he could look at the next roll, he took one look at Alcina and narrowed his eyes at the change in her body language. She had scooted a bit farther away, out of the heating range of Ghidorah and was shooting him odd looks. If he was not wrong, she looked afraid? Could she sense that he was now a dragon and thus higher up on the totem pole compared to her? Anyway, it was not like she could be more loyal to him, so he decided to ask her about it later on, before focusing on the next Gold ticket roll.

[Light Step]

|Rare Ability|

You can step and walk on anything, water, air, space, you can even treat nothing as a solid surface to walk on.

Huh. Useful for when he did not have a constant stream of wind around him to manipulate. He would need to have the ability to survive without an atmosphere though, but he could see plenty of uses for it even underwater or maybe if he was trapped in one of those shadowy dimensions with nothing but darkness everywhere. Finding his footing in those situations could be very helpful.

Moving on to the next roll, he got….

[Grow Your Own Golem Kit]

|Rare Item|

A beginner-friendly kit for growing your very own golem that even a child can use. Contains a comically large pot the size of a person, a watering can, a pack of cores, and a notebook. Simply put the core in the comically large pot alongside the items you want the golem to be made out of, and then put in a piece of paper detailing the specifications of the golem you want to be made. Then bury it all with any kind of dirt and water 2 times morning and night for 7 days in a spot where it can receive sunlight, and then dig up your ready golem from the dirt! You can make the process faster by using energy-rich soil.

Huh. He read through the entire description and had a very wild idea in his mind. Looking at the description and then at one of the earlier items he had received in the form of a Vibranium patch gave him a pretty good idea as to what material was going to be used for the golem. 

Sure, it being beginner friendly meant that the golem was not going to be uber powerful or something, but waste not want not and if he was going to use it anyway, might as well make it out of the most versatile item on the planet.

Obviously, he was not going to use that Vibranium patch for this, since it was not actually Vibranium, just something that will turn a piece of clothing into Vibranium, plus it was not like he did not know where he could get some Vibranium. Hell, he was standing on the same land that contained the rarest form of Vibranium, something that could destroy any other metal it came into contact with.

Even if the Golem was like a kiddy version of Baymax, if its constituent material could melt every other metal around it, whilst being as tough as Vibranium could be, then it would be more than enough for his purposes. Another intimidation factor, just in case he couldn’t use his big intimidation factor, À la Ghidorah.

He had to find some clothing he actually would like to wear long term, to turn it into a Vibranium armour to serve as the first line of defense. Even if he was currently bulletproof, it would be nice to have some nearly indestructible armour.

With the three Gold rolls being so good, he was naturally suspicious of what could come next. He was not really afraid of a bad roll, that was natural. He was afraid of a roll that was too good. Bad rolls were part and parcel with the system as he had come to realise. This streak of good luck did not bode well for him. 

So, it was with bated breath that he watched the next roll….

[Tough as Nails]

|Rare Trait|

You are tough as nails, granting you significantly increased durability and endurance. Allowing you to resist stronger blows with less damage and recover from injuries faster(not healing), you are capable of powering through attacks more effectively.

As he felt his body tighten and toughen up, making him even more bulletproof, if that made sense, all he could think of was ‘oh no’. If the previous three good–great even, rolls were inching closer to the too good territory, the fourth one had proved, without a shadow of doubt, that he was now firmly in the too good territory. 

Thankfully, the trait was actually personally helpful this time, so hopefully, whatever crisis the next roll rumped on his lap, he could handle it with his current loadout. Looking at the results of the last Gold ticket….

[Trustable Face]

|Uncommon Trait|

You naturally seem like a dependable and trustworthy guy to people you encounter, making it easier to gain their trust and respect. Does not work on people with a negative opinion of you.

Reading through the trait, he all but collapsed on the snow, sighing in relief as the last roll gave him a totally useless ability. His face was most likely plastered all over the world, and it would not be wrong that he was the most hated person alive, especially if his deeds were as public as he thought they could be. SHIELD and Fury could control information flow to an extent, but he had made such a huge splash that it was impossible for any single entity to control information about him.

The only way to do so would be to essentially mind control the planet or cast a reality warping spell, both things that were unlikely to happen anytime soon.

His heart beat slowing down to a manageable level, though he knew that even that heightened rate could be sustained forever, he looked at the next tier of tickets and swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. 

4 Platinum tickets. Violently squashing the negative implications of what could happen if he got a disastrous roll, he bit the bullet and rolled the first one. He was not going to roll all four of them at once. It just didn’t feel right to do that for a higher tier ticket.

[Canis Companion]

|Uncommon Trait|

You have great affinity with dogs, canines, wolves, and creatures that are aligned with them. Making it easier to earn their affection and favor, and form relationships with them. Thanks to your affinity with the Canis, your sense-based abilities and traits are more potent, and it is easier to control your own senses.

Huh. He didn’t know where to feel relieved or disappointed. It was a dud roll, that was disappointing, especially for a high tier ticket, but also relieved because atleast he didn’t get something that would end up in a scenario where he was responsible for thousands of deaths. He did not want that kind of blood on his hand, even if it was done indirectly. No matter, he still had three more such tickets.

Rolling the next one, he got….

[Energy Drain]

|Elite Ability|

Allows you to drain energy from living targets via contact. The larger the power level difference between you and the target, the less energy you can drain from at a time.

Not really something he saw himself using any time soon, especially since its best use would be on people around the same power level, and they were not going to stay still for him to do this. Yet another dud. Still, an ability added was one step closer to gaining the fifth ability slot.

Moving onto the next roll….

[Clairvoyance]

|Elite Ability|

Allows you to extend your sight beyond your eyes, allowing you to control it as if it were some free cam or a spectator mode.

Huh. Yet another dud. At this rate, the rolls he got from the Gold tickets were infinitely better than the Platinum ones. It was as if the Gacha system had flipped the rolls for the tickets. Sure, it was good for scouting ahead, but that kind of tactical use was not one of immediate use for him. He needed something better to deal with the upcoming storm. 

It also depended on how far he could extend his sight. If it was like looking at Google Maps from above? Great. If it was like X-ray, allowing him to look through stuff, but needed him to maintain that line of vision? Not as great. He would have to add that ability to the fourth slot to see how it worked. Later on though. For now, he had to roll the last Platinum ticket and hope that it gave something good.

At first, he was more relieved that he didn’t get something as destructive as Ghidorah, but now he was just annoyed that the Gacha had wasted his three Platinum tickets. Grumbling internally, he rolled the last Platinum ticket.

[Sisyphean]

|Legendary Trait|

"A lifetime defined by futile struggle." Your mind is inhumanely durable, even if you get bored, even if you get tortured, even if you have to push a boulder up a mountain for hundreds of years, your mind may bend, but it will never break. You are rendered MASSIVELY resistant to any external mental interference.

“Yes!” It was a close thing. A very close thing. He had almost jumped to his feet and began sprinting out of joy, but as the trait instantly settled in, he felt his mind calm down. The trait did exactly as advertised. On top of the almost immunity from telepathy, the bootleg version of Invictus was exactly something he wanted right now, with the many many mental battles lying ahead.

The ability to endure massive mental pressure alone was worth it, as he felt the suppressed guilt and trauma of all that death and destruction that was undoubtedly going to be used by the likes of Fury to manipulate him, just straight up be processed. Yes, processed was the right word for it. They didn’t disappear, but his mind acknowledged the mistake, the impact, the damage, the loss, and moved on seamlessly. 

The lesson was there, his mind had learned, but without all the time taken to mope around to truly get over the mental trauma properly. He felt like he no longer needed to focus on the Gacha process to make sure that his mind did not try to quantify the number of people he had killed.

No, not killed directly but indirectly, his mind helpfully supplied.

Smiling at the last bit, he looked at the last two tickets. The highest tier ones. With a smile, and a confidence that was absent a scant few moments ago, he rolled both the tickets at once. He was secure in his current ability set, and he would be fine with whatever he got.

[Speak of the Devil]

|Epic Trait|

-And they shall appear. You become instantly aware of the location of someone whenever they say your name while intending you. You are able to sense their location for around 5 minutes when they speak your name like a GPS, and can use them for anchors for stuff like teleportation abilities or Curses.

As he read through the description of the trait, he only had a moment to think of the words ‘Oh no’ before an absolute tsunami of voices flooded his head as the millions of people who were talking about him right now were suddenly visible to him in terms of their rough location. 

They were everywhere. In the sky. Under the water. On all four sides. Hell, if he was not sensing this wrong, there were people in space who were talking about him. If it was not for the trait he just got, making his mind a steel trap, allowing him to let the voices just slide off his mind, he would have surely gone mad right now. Went to show just how dangerous the high tier tickets could be, both for him and the world around him. He resolved to get to some isolated place for any high tier ticket rolls from now on. It was totally useless, without the cosmic power backing of someone like the King of Hell or an All-Father tier God. He could hear his name being spoken, but he could not sort them out at all.

It should go down over time but he did not expect much use to come out of it anytime soon. Shaking his head, he imagined a volume knob for the voices in his head–a thought he never thought would appear in his mind— and imagined turning it all the way down to mute.

It took some time, but it worked, creating a silent mind once more.

Moving onto the next roll, he got…

[Telepathy]

|Elite Ability|

Allows you to exchange thoughts with people, the range is dependent on your energy levels. You can either read people's surface thoughts or communicate with them telepathically, either both ways or one way. This can be done with multiple people, but will strain your mind heavily.

Huh. At this rate, people will think he was some sort of power copier. Eventually, he will get all the abilities possible. Anyways, with his energy levels, he should have at the very least city level range. With his mind already an unbreakable prison, he should be good when it comes to telepathy. Nothing like Xavier, who had to bumble around all by himself when his abilities first manifested.

Looking at the now empty ticket counter of the Gacha system, he sighed. He had successfully gotten through the process without any Ghidorah-tier monster on his ass. That was an improvement, no matter what anyone thought.

With that in mind, he just lay on the dry area beneath him, waiting for someone to appear. 

He was as ready as he could be.

Word Count - 3615