Ping.
The sound cut through the silence like a ripple in still water.
Sam stirred.
Consciousness didn't return in a rush—it dragged itself up from some abyss, sluggish and resentful. Every part of him hurt. Not in the sharp, adrenaline-laced way of combat, but in the low, groaning ache of aftermath.
His eyes opened to the familiar ceiling of his apartment—plain, cheap, unremarkable. Pale sunlight filtered in through the blinds, casting horizontal shadows across the tatami mat floor and the cluttered corners.
For a moment, he didn't move. He just… breathed.
Pain blossomed with each inhale. His ribs throbbed like they'd been run over. His side pulsed dully where the blade had pierced him. Even his fingers ached—from tension, from gripping, from lightning.
But he was alive.
Still here.
He tried to shift his shoulders, then froze.
Bandages.
Wrapped across his chest, his arms, around his thigh and abdomen. Thick and clean, white against faintly bruised skin. He couldn't feel any clothes beneath them—just the rough scratch of the wraps and the slight tug of gauze.
A second passed. Then two.
"Oh god damn it," he muttered.
Completely naked.
Mostly bandaged. Mostly.
Still, his cheeks didn't even bother to heat. There was too much else going on inside him. Beneath the soreness, beneath the raw muscle fatigue, something… hummed. Like a motor quietly spinning in his core.
His traits were doing their work.
The Lifeblood he'd consumed was stitching tissue back together with a quiet relentlessness. His Enhanced Stamina—new, golden, and impossibly valuable—simmered somewhere just under his skin, spreading vitality like warm oil through cracked flesh.
But it was a slow burn.
He felt drained. Bone-deep and heavy. Like he'd been running on fumes, and even those had finally burned out.
Holy Hero Energy—his lifeline, his edge—was dry. Completely tapped. Every last drop had been squeezed out in that fight, and the strain had left behind a deep ache that rest alone couldn't touch.
His muscles were weak, sluggish. Even with regeneration and stamina recovery hard at work, his body screamed to be left alone.
The price of trading stamina for holy energy wasn't just physical. It hurt. Like someone had been hollowing him out from the inside.
He turned his head slowly, wincing as his neck cracked. There was a small basin of water on the floor beside him, a damp towel folded next to it. A pack of painkillers sat half-used on the table near his futon.
He didn't remember getting home. Which meant someone had carried him—and only one person moved like a ghost and knew where his towels were.
Tiche was gone now, but her silence lingered like the last echo of a blade sheathed in the dark.
He hadn't died.
Ping.
That second chime finally made him blink.
The System.
Right. That had been the first sound. He reached out mentally, instinctively, and felt the familiar mechanical pressure settle behind his eyes.
A notification awaited him.
> Emergency Quest Complete: Survive the Ambush.
Outcome: Success.
Bonus Objective (Eliminate All Opponents): Incomplete.
Reward Granted: 1x Silver Ability Ticket
Additional Notifications Pending…
Sam let out a breath.
One down.
He hadn't been sure he'd even make it past that fight. If not for Tiche… if not for his abilities, and the absolute arrogance of that smug bastard of a Fallen Angel…
He flexed his fingers slowly. Lightning didn't spark—he was too empty for that.
But the ghost of it was still there. Muscle memory. Potential.He closed his eyes again, just for a second.
...
..
.
"Still here," he whispered to himself.
Then "Okay. Let's see what else you're hiding from me, System."
Ping.
Another notification slid in, colder this time. He could almost feel the weight behind it.
> WARNING: Causal Deviation Detected.
Actions Taken Have Altered the Flow of Events.
Timeline Status: Irreversibly Diverged.
Significant Individuals' Fates Have Been Shifted.
Balance of Power Affected.
Reward Granted:
2x Gold Tickets (Random – Trait, Ability,Skill or Equipment)
Thank you for your participation.
Sam blinked.
Then blinked again.
He stared at the air in front of him like it had just slapped him across the face.
"What the fuck did I just do?"
He sat there, sore, bandaged, naked under wraps, half-dead and completely drained—and now apparently responsible for changing fate?
The weight of it didn't fully hit him. Not yet. Not while his body still ached and his brain was barely rebooting. But it was there. The shift. Like a string had been plucked in the fabric of reality and he was still waiting to hear the echo.
Two gold tickets dropped into his view with a subtle glimmer.
He didn't use them yet.
He just exhaled, slowly. Tired. Stunned.
"…Thanks for watching, Chaos," he muttered, dragging a hand down his face. "Hope you're enjoying the show."
He sat there, staring at the glowing message still hovering in the air like an execution notice.
He tried to process it. Really tried.
He failed.
After a few seconds of dazed silence, his thoughts caught up to him—and he reeled.
"No. No no no—how the hell did I do this?!"
His voice was raw, half-whispered and sharp at the edges. Disbelief warred with a rising panic in his chest.
"I fought off one fallen angel. The others bailed. I didn't even win clean—I nearly died! So what—did I kick over some cosmic domino by surviving? Was that all it took? Just being here, staying alive, was enough to throw fate off the rails?"
He swiped the air in frustration, trying to dismiss the notification as if that would erase the truth written in it.
"And now the timeline is diverged? Permanently? Are you telling me I butterfly-effected a goddamn war?!"
The golden tickets glittered gently in his view, utterly unbothered.
Sam glared at them.
"…Of course," he muttered, deadpan. "The only reason I'm not accusing the Chaos Gacha System of outright trolling me is because those are gold tickets."
He slumped back onto the futon with a groan, letting the pain of his still-healing wounds remind him that, yes, this was real. All of it.
But then something clicked.
Wait.
That system message—"timeline divergence"—it must have triggered after he passed out.
He hadn't caused it directly. Not the whole thing. That meant… something happened. A ripple effect. A consequence of his survival. His kill.
Maybe the whoever showing up. Maybe Tiche being seen. Maybe the retreat of the other Fallen Angels when they saw what had happened to their ally. Maybe something else.
It didn't matter.
Even if he knew what show or manga or anime this was from—if it even was one—it wouldn't help anymore.
He'd veered too far off course.
His presence alone had tipped something.
The rules had changed.
And this wasn't just surviving the start of something—it was changing it.
"Alright," Sam exhaled, brushing a hand through his sweat-matted hair, careful not to disturb the bandages. "Let's just… go with it."
He sat up straighter—wincing at the stabbing pain in his side—and opened the system menu. The notifications hovered patiently in front of him, unread and glowing with opportunity.
> Emergency Quest: SURVIVE Objective: Survive a direct attack from a hostile supernatural entity.
Status: Complete
Reward: Silver Ability Ticket
A line of text followed the original reward.
> Bonus Activation: Rare Re-Roll Triggered!
You have rolled: Tremendous Luck (Temporary)
Silver Ability Ticket converted into 2x Silver Ability Tickets
Tremendous Luck and Rare Re-Roll are now removed.
Sam stared.
Then read it again.
Then read it a third time.
"...Holy. Shit."
He laughed, and it was half delirium, half genuine awe.
"I almost died. I got gutted. I got tossed around by a smug anime reject with wings—and now I've got two tickets? From one?"
He pressed his palms to his face and shook his head slowly, grinning like a lunatic.
"My luck just turned into anime protagonist-tier bullshit."
He paused.
"...Okay. More like gacha game protagonist, but still. I'll take it."
The system gave no response, but the faint shimmer of the Silver Ability Tickets in his view felt almost smug. Sam narrowed his eyes at them.
"Don't think I don't know what you're doing, System. You're baiting me. You want me to get addicted to this."
But despite the sarcasm, his hand was already hovering over the Gold Trait Tickets next. The two glittering cards floated beside the silver ones like little miracles. They weren't even part of the original Emergency Quest reward. They were the consequence of his actions.
The ripple.
He had no idea what the criteria were for this reward—only that it came after the system flagged the timeline as permanently changed.
And he was scared.
But also…
He was ready.
"I might not have finished that optional objective," he muttered, eyes locked on the golden cards, "but I'm still alive. Still breathing. And I'm still playing."
His grin sharpened.
"So let's roll these damn things."
Sam tapped the first of the two glowing Silver Ability Tickets.
> Rolling Silver Ability Ticket #1…
Result: Rare Ability Acquired – Lightning Breath
> Lightning Breath (Rare):
Channel accumulated energy to unleash a concentrated breath of lightning. The longer the charge time and the more energy invested, the greater the range and destructive power. Charging consumes stamina and internal energy reserves. Overuse may cause short-term nerve strain and exhaustion.
Sam stared at the screen as the description faded in. His lips parted.
"A lightning breath attack? What am I, part dragon now?"
Despite his sarcasm, a grin crept up on his face. This wasn't some gimmicky flash; this was real firepower—broad reach, scalable power, and flexible use depending on how much juice he had left in the tank. It didn't rely on Holy Hero Energy, which was good. His holy pool was still too shallow to risk burning out mid-fight. This? This ran off his general stamina-energy hybrid pool.
He clenched his fingers slowly, imagining the crackle of static already building in his throat.
"God, that's cool."
He wasted no time moving to the second card.
> Rolling Silver Ability Ticket #2…
Result: Uncommon Ability Acquired – Reactive Activation
> Reactive Activation (Uncommon):
Grants the ability to bind one trigger condition per ability. When a logical, real-time condition is met—such as "activate Lightning Claws when an enemy enters melee range" or "trigger Lightning Breath upon taking a critical hit"—the bound ability activates automatically. Conditions must be situationally valid and grounded in physical or combat logic. Attempting to assign illogical or contradictory triggers will result in failure. Conditions can be changed or removed outside of combat.
Sam blinked. Then slowly leaned back into his futon with a long, ragged sigh.
"That's… broken. But in a good way."
It wasn't flashy. No lasers. No divine halos or golden roars. But the moment his mind started racing, the implications hit like a freight train. He could prime Lightning Claws to spark the instant someone crossed his guard. Set Lightning Breath to fire if he hit the ground unconscious. Hell—he could layer his entire fighting style with safety nets.
"One trigger per ability…" he murmured. "Not one total. That's huge."
He grinned through the lingering aches of his body.
A second ago, he was a mangled mess of exhaustion, cuts, and bandages.
Now?
Now he was a mangled mess of exhaustion who could booby trap his skill set.
"Let's go."
Sam sat up slightly, wincing as his ribs barked back at him. Every breath still felt like chewing gravel, and his muscles were one big throbbing bruise, but his heart was pounding in his chest—not from pain, but adrenaline.
"Alright…" he exhaled, letting his head roll back to stare at the ceiling. "Let's keep this energy going. I just survived a freaking Fallen Angel stabbing me. Got a reroll. Got two solid abilities. Let's go all in."
He grinned, teeth flashing in the dim morning light leaking through the window blinds. His voice dropped into a mock announcer tone:
"Two gold randoms. No whammies, baby."
The system obeyed with a cheerful ping. Two golden tickets shimmered into view in front of him, then cracked open like twin eggs of light.
> Gold Ticket Roll 1 – Rare Ability Acquired
Exoskeleton (Rare):
Allows the user to grow a durable exoskeleton over their body, forming a defensive armor that enhances endurance and physical protection. The armor's strength and resistance scale with your physical stats. Can be activated or deactivated at will.
Sam blinked. Then blinked again.
"…Oh. Oh hell yes."
He sat up a bit straighter, ignoring the protests from his battered body. "You mean like—natural armor? That grows with me? That scales with my stats?"
A slow, stupid grin crept across his face.
"Bruh. I'm gonna be a one-man juggernaut."
Images flashed through his mind: clawed exoskeletal gauntlets, plated armor sliding over his shoulders, maybe even a full carapace someday. Between this and Lightning Claws, he was officially entering "anime protagonist who doesn't need armor" territory.
"I swear," he muttered, "if I start looking like a Kamen Rider, I'm not even mad."
The second orb crackled with a deeper hum, golden light pulsing like a heartbeat. Sam eyed it warily.
> Gold Ticket Roll 2 – Elite Trait Acquired
Lethal Charm (Elite):
Evil is drawn to you. Those who walk dark paths or harbor malevolent intentions are more likely to feel intrigued, fascinated, or even captivated by you. The deeper their evil, the stronger the pull. This trait may earn you dangerous allies—or attract perilous obsessions. Whether it brings salvation or ruin depends on your choices.
Sam read the description.
Then stared at it.
Then closed his eyes and groaned. "Oh. Great. Amazing. Just what I needed. A metaphysical magnet for psychos."
He let his head fall back on the pillow and slapped a hand over his face.
"This... this is going to kill me. Not now. Not today. But someday, when I least expect it, I'm going to get stabbed in the back—or the front—because some maniac fell in love with my damn aura."
He peeked through his fingers. The trait was still glowing cheerfully.
"Why is it always the hot crazy ones? That's not just a trope, that's prophecy now."
Still, he had to admit it was useful… in a horrifying, self-destructive way. Evil liked him now. Evil wanted him. That could be leveraged. Or weaponized. Or…
"Or it'll just mean I wake up tied to a chair one day with a girl telling me I'm her 'light in the dark.' Jesus Christ."
He lay there in stunned silence for a few moments, breathing slowly as the tension eased.
Exoskeleton was a win. Lethal Charm was… a ticking time bomb dressed like a blessing.
He sighed. "Thanks, Chaos Gacha. Real subtle with the foreshadowing."
But even as the sarcasm left his mouth, he felt it deep in his gut—things were changing fast. Whether he liked it or not.
Another cheerful ping chimed through the room, followed by the usual flicker of system light dancing across Sam's vision.
> Objective Progress – "Gain the Trust of the Devils of Kuoh"
Significant progress detected.
Reward: 1x Bronze Trait Ticket.
Sam gave a tired laugh. "Alright, now this is getting spooky. I'm either the luckiest bastard alive or being buttered up for a cosmic slap in the face."
He reached up and mentally tapped the new ticket, already rolling it before even sitting all the way up.
Sam stared at the screen, still a little baffled by the absurdity of what he'd just rolled.
> Trait Acquired: Perfumer
You always smell pleasant—never overpowering, never bland. You carry no distinct odor of your own; instead, others perceive your scent as whatever they find most appealing or comforting.
He blinked. "So I'm… magically nose-compatible with literally anyone? What the hell even is this? What's next, Tastebud Seducer?"
But before he could joke further, the system chimed again with a low, more reverent tone.
> Synergy Detected – Trait Fusion:
Perfumer + Lethal Charm → Synergistic Effect Activated.
> Synergistic Effect – Scent of Vice:
Your presence now subconsciously draws in those with evil, corrupt, or unstable tendencies at an accelerated rate. Your aura now generates a tailored olfactory presence that subconsciously targets individuals with corrupt, violent, or unstable tendencies. Attraction responses scale with moral deviance and mental volatility. *
Reactions may include fixation, infatuation, or protective aggression.
Caution: Effect escalation is nonlinear.
Sam's jaw slackened.
"…You have got to be shitting me."
He scrolled back up. Read it again. Then a third time, slower.
"Okay. Let me get this straight. I already had the 'crazy people love me' trait—and now it's scented?! This isn't a synergy—it's a pheromone apocalypse."
His hands flew up in disbelief. "So what, do I walk by some emotionally damaged villain girl and she smells rain on concrete and burning roses and decides I'm her soulmate-slash-execution target?!"
He fell back onto the futon, arms splayed wide. "This system is trying to kill me. This is death by attraction and in a world where half the population seems to flirt like it's a superpower, that's a literal hazard."
But after a long sigh, he let out a low, wheezing laugh.
"I can't even be mad," he muttered. "It's kind of genius. Insane, chaotic, absolutely trolling me—but genius."
He rubbed his temples. "Note to self: never walk past a morally gray yandere with a keen nose."
After a moment of silence, he exhaled and murmured, "If this gets me seduced by a homicidal nun or something, I'm suing God."