[06: 17: 42: 54]
...
[STANDARD BANNER | 10 WISH FRAGMENTS → 1 WISH | 60% CHANCE TO GET COMMON CARD, 30% CHANCE TO GET UNCOMMON CARD, 10% CHANCE TO GET RARE CARD, 1% CHANCE TO GET EPIC CARD]
[DESTRUCTION BANNER (1 STAR) (ONLY DESTRUCTION CARDS) | 20 WISH FRAGMENTS → 1 WISH | 60% CHANCE TO GET COMMON CARD, 30% CHANCE TO GET UNCOMMON CARD, 10% CHANCE TO GET RARE CARD, 1% CHANCE TO GET EPIC CARD]
[HIDDEN SCENARIO BANNER (1ST ASCENSION) | 50 WISH FRAGMENTS → 1 WISH | 60% CHANCE TO GET UNCOMMON CARD, 45% CHANCE TO GET RARE CARD, 15% CHANCE TO GET EPIC CARD, 0.1% CHANCE TO GET LEGENDARY CARD]
Cassian rolled onto his side, his fingers absently brushing his pendant as he stared at the dim ceiling above. His mind, however exhausted, remained sharp with indecision.
"Okay… so I’ve got 212 Wish Fragments and five Destruction Attunement cards to absorb," he muttered. "Now comes the real question—do I go for quantity, or try my luck with the Hidden Scenario banner?"
He bit his lip, deliberating in silence.
“Hmm… Screw it. Let’s gamble… balanced gamble”
Cassian nodded to himself and exhaled slowly. “All right, I’ll go with ten standard pulls first… then I’ll use the rest on the Hidden Scenario banner.”
Decision made, he closed his eyes and issued the command mentally.
System, redeem ten Standard Banner wishes. Skip the animations, please… I’m barely awake.
[DING! CONVERTING 100 WISH FRAGMENTS INTO ‘STANDARD WISHES’ EXCHANGE RATE FOR THE BANNER 10 WISH FRAGMENTS INTO 1 ‘STANDARD WISH’]
[DING! USING 10 ‘STANDARD WISHES’ ON THE ‘STANDARD TIMEBOUND BANNER’]
[DING! MAY THE GODS OF GACHA FAVOR YOU!]
The glow of the system interface pulsed softly in his vision, the only light in the quiet room. His heart beat just a little faster as the rolls began.
[DING! CONGRATULATIONS! YOU PULLED: 2x ATTUNEMENT CARD: CREATION]
[DING! CONGRATULATIONS! YOU PULLED: 1x ATTUNEMENT CARDS: VOID]
[DING! CONGRATULATIONS! YOU PULLED: 1x ATTUNEMENT CARD: KNOWLEDGE]
[DING! CONGRATULATIONS! YOU PULLED: 1x DECK CARD [SACRIFICE SORCERY]: LIFESTEAL]
[DING! CONGRATULATIONS! YOU PULLED: 1x RUN CARD [CREATION INCANTATION]: HOLY BLESSING]
[DING! CONGRATULATIONS! YOU PULLED: 1x DECK CARD [DESTRUCTION SORCERY]: TOXIC CONDUCTOR]
[DING! CONGRATULATIONS! YOU PULLED: 1x DECK CARD [KNOWLEDGE SPELL]: NIMBLE FINGERS]
[DING! CONGRATULATIONS! YOU PULLED: 1x INSTANT CARD: EXILE ]
[DING! CONGRATULATIONS! YOU PULLED: 1x INSTANT CARD: INSTANT HEAL ]
[DING! CONGRATULATIONS! YOU PULLED: 1x RUN CARD [CREATION INCANTATION]: SMITE]
[DING! CONGRATULATIONS! YOU PULLED: 1x RUN CARD [KNOWLEDGE SPELL]: BLINK]
“Nice,” Cassian muttered, a faint smile tugging at his lips. “More attunement cards are always welcome…” His gaze drifted across the new entries. “Still no mental defense type though… but Lifesteal, Smite, and Blink? Those look promising.”
He rolled to his other side, propping himself up slightly on the mattress, the soft creak of the fabric beneath him oddly comforting. The exhaustion pulling at his limbs was growing, but curiosity got the better of him.
“Okay... two more pulls,” he murmured to himself. “Let’s go big.”
System, redeem two Hidden Banner wishes and use them.
[DING! CONVERTING 100 WISH FRAGMENTS INTO ‘HIDDEN WISHES’ EXCHANGE RATE FOR THE BANNER 50 WISH FRAGMENTS INTO 1 ‘HIDDEN WISH’]
[DING! USING 2 ‘HIDDEN WISHES’ ON THE ‘HIDDEN SCENARIO BANNER (1ST ASCENSION)’]
[DING! MAY THE GODS OF GACHA FAVOR YOU!]
The system screen shimmered. Two stars descended, slower than the last batch, much brighter than the standard pulls.
[DING! CONGRATULATIONS! YOU PULLED: 1x DECK CARD [KNOWLEDGE SPELL]: HEART SWORDS]
[DING! CONGRATULATIONS! YOU PULLED: 1x DECK CARD [KNOWLEDGE SPELL]: THY RESEVOIR]
Cassian rubbed at his tired eyes, The need for sleep evaporated, replaced by the spark of anticipation. “Okay… sleep can wait.”
He sat up, spine cracking as he reached for the cards.
System, display the card descriptions and skip the attunement and instant cards.
***
_______________________________________________________________________
LIFESTEAL | [ 无 ] [ 无 ]
_______________________________________________________________________
DECK CARD [SACRIFICE SORCERY]
[RARE]
_______________________________________________________________________
? Deal damage to a target and restore HP equal to [10%] of the damage dealt.
? This is a passive card, upon equipping Max Essence well [-10].
? Why drain a cup when you can drain a soul?" – Veyth, Pale Arcanist
__________________________________________________________________
***
“Yo…” Cassian breathed, eyes widening slightly. “Damn. This would fit perfectly with my current build.”
With [A Knight’s Squire] guiding him, this card would help him truly fight prolonged battles.
“I would have to check how reliable the lifesteal is?” he muttered. “But still that’s busted.”
But as his gaze dropped further down the card, his expression darkened. His smile vanished, replaced by a frown.
“Wait… Passive card?” He blinked. “That’s new.”
And then came the catch.
“Reduces my Max Essence Well by ten?” He hissed through his teeth. “Damn.”
He tapped the card’s edge, still weighing its potential. Ten points was a big hit—especially with how heavily he relied on high-cost cards Piercing Light and Mana shield.
Still… with his increasingly aggressive fighting style, sustainability in battle was something he sorely lacked.
“Trade-off might be worth it,” he muttered. “Longer fights, better survivability… but it’ll cost me burst potential.”
“All right,” he said under his breath. “Let’s see what the next card looks like.”
***
_______________________________________________________________________
HOLY BLESSING | [ 日 ] [ 日 ]
_______________________________________________________________________
RUN CARD[CREATION INCANTATION]
[UNCOMMON] | [15/15]
_______________________________________________________________________
? Cast a radiant wave of divine light that buffs the caster and all nearby allies with: [Faithful Strength], [Unwavering Mind], [Strengthened Vigor] for [300] seconds.
? "Stand tall, for the light stands with you." – Radiant Sister Aurelia.
Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
__________________________________________________________________
***
“Oh, yes!” Cassian exclaimed, bumping his fists together in triumph as he read the card’s description. Strength and vigor were always useful, but it was the Unwavering Mind buff that truly caught his eye, finally, he got a card that offered mental defense.
“I thought you went to sleep, Cassian?” Dorian grumbled from across the room. “Whatever you’re doing, tone it down.”
The man gave him a long-suffering scowl before turning back to resume his heated conversation with Dr. Kaine.
Cassian barely registered it. His eyes were glued to the glowing screen.
“Yes… this one’s good,” he muttered to himself. “Mental resistance, physical buffs, this card not only provided that to him but to his allies as well.”
Pity, that it was a Run Card, which meant limited uses per recharge, but still what’s 300 seconds…five minutes, solid duration. He rubbed his chin, this card is going in his run cards slots for sure.
The rush of excitement finally faded, giving way to quiet satisfaction. Cassian’s eyes flicked to the next glowing card that hovered in view.
***
_______________________________________________________________________
TOXIC CONDUCTOR | [ 火 ]
_______________________________________________________________________
DECK CARD[DESTRUCTION SORCERY]
[UNCOMMON] |
_______________________________________________________________________
? Transform your body into a conductor of toxins. Gaining immunity to them.
? This is a passive card, upon equipping Max HP POOL [-50] and drains [1] point of HP every [6] seconds.
? "I do not fear the rot. I am the rot." – Varix, Plague-Bound Exile.
__________________________________________________________________
***
Cassian’s eyes narrowed as he read the details. “Immunity to toxins and poisons… that’s nice,” he muttered. “But another passive card? Seriously? What with the pulls this time”
His frown deepened as he read the card’s description. A flat deduction of 50 points from his Max HP was bad enough, but the additional constant drain of 1 HP every six seconds? That was excessive.
“Like hell, I’m slotting this right now,” he grumbled, already dragging the card toward his storage page.
But then a thought occurred to him.
Wait... with the White Rose artifact, I might be able to offset the loss...
Curious, he quickly pulled up the description for the artifact in question.
***
____________________________________________________
WHITE ROSE [ ????? ]
___________________________________________________
? ? Artifact
___________________________________________________
? Tap the [White Rose] every [100] seconds to gain [10%] of
your Max HP pool.
? "Once, a single petal healed a dying knight.
Now, its bloom graces only those patient
enough to wait for its blessing."
____________________________________________________
***
He did the math. His current Max HP was 305, so 10% would be a recovery of about 30 HP every 100 seconds. Toxic Conductor would drain 10 HP in the same span and if he could find a way to shorten the artifact’s cooldown would that not make it OP.
“Hmm, interesting,” he murmured, intrigued. “This might be useful... if I’m careful with the timings.”
Still, it wasn’t worth the risk right now. Cassian dragged the card back to the archive tab and mentally placed it into storage.
“Next,” he muttered, already pulling up the next glowing card with a tired flick of his hand.
***
_______________________________________________________________________
NIMBLE FINGERS | [ 文 ]
_______________________________________________________________________
DECK CARD[KNOWLEDGE SPELL]
[COMMON]
_______________________________________________________________________
? Grants [25]% cooldown on all skills, cards, and artifacts.
? This is a passive card, upon equipping Max Essence well [-5]
? "The key isn't thinking faster. It's moving faster than you think." – Arin the Quickhand.
__________________________________________________________________
***
Cassian’s brows lifted slightly as the card’s information hovered before him.
Is this fate? Wasn’t I just thinking about a cooldown card?
“Still,” he said, frowning thoughtfully, “aside from the White Rose artifact, I don’t really have many things that would benefit from this just yet.”
Later, when his build expanded, when he had more cards in play—this would be a valuable core piece.
***
_______________________________________________________________________
SMITE | [ 日 ]
_______________________________________________________________________
RUN CARD[CREATION INCANTATION]
[COMMON] | [10/10]
_______________________________________________________________________
? Call down [Holy] lightning on a target. Bonus damage if the target is Destruction, Sacrifice, and Void attuned.
? "You called out in the darkness. The light has answered."–Last Sermon of Saint Vira.
__________________________________________________________________
***
“Now that’s more like it,” he murmured, a small grin tugged at the corner of his lips. “Finally, a direct damage card.”
The bonuses listed made it even better—enhanced effects against destruction, sacrifice, and void-attuned targets. That alone made it a valuable asset. Kalrachs were destruction-attuned, no question about it. Which meant this card would hit harder.
***
_______________________________________________________________________
BLINK | [ 文 ] [ 文 ]
_______________________________________________________________________
RUN CARD [KNOWLEDGE SPELL]
[UNCOMMON] | [15/15]
_______________________________________________________________________
? Instantly displace yourself up to [10] meters to a visible location.
? A whisper in space. A skip in time. Blink, and you’re already gone." – Tome of the Silver Steps.
__________________________________________________________________
***
Now this—this was the real highlight of the day, second only to Holy Blessing. With this, Cassian could finally start making riskier plays, diving deeper into enemy lines, pulling off maneuvers that would’ve been suicidal before.
But of course... it had to be a fucking run card. The gacha gods are definitely toying with me.
Damn it.
He really liked this card, but now he’d have to be careful about when to activate it. Still, just imagining the possibilities made his blood stir: blinking across the battlefield, carving through monsters, heads flying, untouchable, unstoppable.
“One day for sure…”
Cassian exhaled, a mix of hope and fatigue in his breath. That wrapped up the standard wishes. With [Lifesteal] it marked his 3rd rare card. He stretched slightly, then shifted his focus, eyes narrowing with curiosity.
“Now let’s see what those hidden banner pulls gave me…” he muttered, sitting up. “Their names sound cool, but let’s see if the cards are actually worth it.”
***
_______________________________________________________________________
HEART SWORDS | [ 文 ] [ 文 ]
_______________________________________________________________________
DECK CARD[KNOWLEDGE SPELL]
[EPIC]
_______________________________________________________________________
? Allows the user to manifest intangible heart swords, which are controlled by the user’s mental power.
? The number of swords depends on the user’s mental capacity and heart strength, the swords carry [TRUE] attack attribute.
? Once activated, the swords can be formed instantly, and depending on how much Essence is fed into the card, a sword will take form.
? “The hand may falter. The blade may rust. But the sword of the heart? It cuts across lifetimes. Only the pursuit of Dao is eternal.”
– Daoist Venerable Yun Xu, Whispering Golden Heavenly Swords Palace
__________________________________________________________________
***
Cassian’s eyes widened as the card details unfurled before him, his breath catching.
"Holy shit—that’s an epic card!" he muttered, barely able to contain his excitement. “Yes. Yes. Yes!”
Finally… finally he had something truly game-changing. His fingers trembled slightly as he read through the description again, slower this time, absorbing every line.
As the initial wave of elation ebbed, Cassian’s brows furrowed with focused curiosity. “Wait a second…” he murmured, squinting at the line about mental capacity and heart strength. “This is the floating sword spell, isn’t it? The kind in Chinese xianxia novels?”
“I'm definitely trying this on out... Man, an epic it should have ridiculous power scaling. Although I can't see in the cards I'm sure they scale off my stats.”
***
_______________________________________________________________________
THE WELL BEYOND WELLS | [ 文 ] [ 文 ]
_______________________________________________________________________
DECK CARD[KNOWLEDGE SPELL]
[EPIC]
_______________________________________________________________________
? Allows the user to form a ‘Reservoir’ of either their core pools: HP or Essence with double the current Max capacity.
? Activating this card and forming a reservoir would drain [101]% of the said pool. This Reservoir lasts until fully drained. The number of Reservoirs depends upon the user’s mental and physical stats.
? “Only a fool stores water in a cracked jar. The wise one becomes the jar—and breaks it to build another.”
– Immortal He Zhuyin, Grand Archivist of The Infinite Flask Sutra.
__________________________________________________________________
***
“What the fuck…” Cassian breathed, staring wide-eyed at the card’s glowing description. “Am I really this lucky?”
Another epic card. Two in a row. He ran a hand down his face, stunned. The rush of adrenaline hadn’t even faded from the last pull, and now this?
“Holy shit.”
But as he began reading deeper into the card’s effects, the look of excitement quickly shifted into something more doubt and confusion.
“It lets me create a reservoir with double my current HP or Essence pool,” he muttered, eyes scanning the details. “That’s bonkers, absolutely amazing... but it drains 101% of that pool? What the hell?”
He blinked, reading the line again just to be sure he hadn’t misread it.
“Drain 101%? If I use it on my HP, wouldn’t I just… die? Like, straight-up instant death?”
Unless…
His mind raced, flipping through the instant cards. “Unless I use something like [Angel’s Embrace] card. Something that triggers the moment I hit zero.”
That could work. Risky, but doable.
“Or… The most efficient way would be to use it on my Essence”
Set up the reservoir beforehand, drain it in a safe zone, then just rest and wait out the debuffs.
A grin tugged at the edge of his lips. “Actually… yeah. That would be smart. Plan around it, play it safe, and then when I need to go all out—boom. Two essence pools. That’s absurd.”
Cassian leaned back slightly against the mattress, fingers drumming lazily along his thigh as he mentally reviewed his progress. “That wraps up all the new cards I got,” he muttered, eyes half-lidded with sleep creeping at the edges. “Now I’ve eight Destruction, five Creation, two Knowledge, one Sacrifice, and four Void attunement cards in total.”
He nodded to himself. “Alright. I’ll absorb five Destruction cards—keep the remaining three in reserve. And also three Creation attunements while we’re at it.”
Cassian reached into his inventory and pulled out the crimson-marked Destruction cards, their edges glowing faintly with raw, destructive power. One by one, he crushed them in his hand. Each card shattered into shards of crimson light, which flowed into his chest like molten energy, pulsing violently with every heartbeat as the power surged through his veins, overwhelming at first, then fading into a warm, familiar hum in his core.
After the last card dissolved into him, he let out a steady breath, sweat glistening along his temple.
[DING! 5x DESTRUCTION ATTUNEMENT CARD ABSORBED, STATS UPDATED]
“Hmmm… Would’ve been nice if you actually showed what changed, System,” Cassian grumbled. “Just a little courtesy, y’know?” He rolled his eyes and reached again, pulling out the cool-white Creation attunement cards.
One by one, he crushed them too, the energy this time more subtle—gentle waves of creation magic threading through his limbs, filling him with clarity and balance. He exhaled slowly as the last card faded, a noticeable lightness settling in his chest.
[DING! 3x CREATION ATTUNEMENT CARD ABSORBED, STATS UPDATED]
"Status"
Nice, HP increased by almost 100 points and new stats and modifiers looking good. Wait did I got 5 points per destruction attunement absorbed while only 1 point for creation? weird.
Cassian flopped back onto the mattress, arms spread wide, and let out a long breath of relief. “Fuuu~ alright… that should cover the major stuff for now. I’ll handle the deckbuilding after I get some actual sleep.”
He paused, his eyes suddenly going wide.
“Wait—damn it!” he slapped his forehead. “I completely forgot about Sindivinity!”
...
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