(Hah!)
(So I get rewarded for getting struck by lightning? Nice.)
(Not sure how useful these points will actually be, though. I'll check the system shop later to see if there's anything remotely worth buying…)
But before I could even begin investigating my shiny new achievement, there was literally a gaping hole in my roof now.
Rain poured through it in thick, relentless ropes, hammering straight into my upper floor. The water cascaded down in heavy streams, splashing noisily across the bare stone and quickly forming shallow puddles that spread outward in every direction.
Luckily, there was no furniture inside to ruin.
But still… it felt deeply invasive. Like the storm had casually violated my personal space, or like some goddess of rain was peeing directly into my mouth. My nice, dry, empty interior was getting a free shower whether I liked it or not.
(Oh wait!)
Something clicked in my mind.
(Don't I have a skill for this?)
"System, open!"
The familiar blue screen bloomed instantly in my mind's eye. I scanned the menu frantically until I found the relevant entry.
[Self-Repair (Level 1)]
Now, how exactly do I activate it?
"Self-Repair!" I shouted mentally.
Nothing happened.
"Huh."
Maybe yelling the skill name like a noob protagonist in a beginner tutorial wasn't the right move. Maybe I had to will it into existence.
Thus, I focused hard on the jagged hole in the roof, visualizing the broken stone and shattered slate knitting themselves back together piece by piece…
[Not enough material! Could not initiate self-repair process!]
[Material required: 1x Stone, 1x Wood]
"WHAT???"
I stared at the cold, unhelpful message in pure disbelief, the rain still drumming loudly overhead.
(Did I just get scammed by my own damn System?)
(Material? How the bloody hell do I get material now?)
Sure, there was a literal endless forest surrounding me on all sides, packed with trees, fallen branches, and exposed rocks. But how could I possibly gather any of it when I couldn't move a single inch from this clearing?
Then it hit me.
(Wait… I do have materials!)
The lightning strike had blasted chunks of my own roof clean off. Slate shards, broken stone bricks, and splintered wood from the underlying structure had to be lying somewhere out in the courtyard, right? Maybe I could just… reabsorb them?
Realizing this, I immediately switched to external view, scanning the rain-lashed yard.
But to my growing surprise, I couldn't find a single piece of debris.
(Eh? Where the hell is the debris?!)
Frantic now, I flipped my vision to the exact spot where I had broken that window hinge during my short-lived percussion career days.
(It has to be right under the window, right? It couldn't have gone far.)
And to my horror…
Gone.
IT WAS GONE!
The pieces had simply vanished into thin air. Not a single shard, not a splinter, not even a tiny chip of wood or fragment of glass remained anywhere in sight.
A cold, sinking realization settled deep into my foundations.
(So… let's get this straight…)
(If something breaks off me… it just disappears? Erased? Deleted from existence like it never belonged to me in the first place?)
(Damn.)
(Then how the hell am I supposed to repair anything?)
(Sure, I can survive this one storm without collapsing. But what about the next one? And the one after that? And the hundred more that will inevitably come over the years?)
(Do I really have to accept my fate and just let nature slowly blast my body apart, bit by bit, until nothing is left but crumbling ruins?)
The thought sent another sharp wave of terror rippling through my stone frame. But right at that moment, the system flared to life once more.
[If insufficient materials are available, you may use Points instead!]
RIGHT.
POINTS!
I still had those precious 10 points earned from the "Wrath of the Gods" achievement.
(What a lifesaver!)
"Yes, please!" I replied at once.
(Now then, how many points will it cost?)
A new prompt appeared.
[Repairing 2-meter diameter hole. Cost: 10 Points.]
(10 POINTS?!)
(WHAT?! IT'S THAT EXPENSIVE?!)
(That's literally all the points I have!)
I couldn't believe my eyes. That was the price just to patch up one measly hole the size of a dinner table?
For this reason, I suddenly became extremely reluctant to pull the trigger. My deeply ingrained gamer instincts screamed at me in warning: don't you dare fall for this obvious evil scam!
After all, this "Castle Points" currency felt exactly like the kind of premium resource you were supposed to hoard carefully in gacha games. You never spent everything on the first shiny thing that appeared, because the next limited-time banner might drop a super-rare SSR waifu with broken skills or a game-changing item that could completely shift your progression. If I blew all my points now, I'd be completely screwed when something truly important or dangerous came up later.
Yeah, my six years of experience playing Miyoyo gacha games finally came in clutch.
(You CAN'T scam me, System!)
(And besides, do I really need to repair that hole right now?)
The answer was obvious.
No.
I was already thoroughly soaked anyway. Mold would probably start growing soon enough, maybe even some weird fantasy mushrooms or glowing lichen would also sprout in the damp corners, turning my barren halls into a miniature ecosystem overnight.
But, honestly? I wouldn't even hate it.
A little indoor ecosystem might actually be… interesting. Something alive and growing inside me for once. Anything would be better than the endless stretch of cold gray stone and oppressive silence I'd endured for the past nine days.
So I made the call: hoard the points for now.
(Let's not fix the roof just yet. Let's check out the other things first and see what my options really are.)
"System, open shop!" I commanded.
[Do you wish to unlock Shop Level 1? Unlock cost: 10 Points.]
That notification shocked me all over again.
"Oi? System? What the fuck?"
Unlocking the shop would drain me down to absolute zero points?
I was about to launch into a full mental tirade, cursing whoever the sadistic bastard designed this greedy system, when —
[Ding! Achievement Obtained: 10 Days in Azef!]
[Congratulations! Points +10!]
(Ooooh, talk about perfect timing!)
The universe had finally thrown this broke-ass castle a much-needed bone at the exact right second.
"Fine!" I growled, half-relieved and half-annoyed. "Take the 10 points! Open the damn shop!"
[Ding! System Shop Level 1 Unlocked]
[Points -10]
[Points Remaining: 10]
A fresh window unfolded in my vision, glowing softly against the storm-dark backdrop.