In a clear pool beneath a waterfall sat a girl.
She appeared no older than her mid-teens, her waist-length black hair cascading down like the waterfall itself.
Her delicate features, porcelain-white skin, and flawless complexion were utterly captivating.
As for what the girl was currently wearing—whether it was a "Normal Illustration," "Damaged Illustration," or…
Take a guess!
...
Kiriko submerged her face underwater, exhaling a stream of bubbles.
After leaving town, she'd spent some time hunting monsters on the nearby grasslands.
The grassland monsters weren't numerous, but they sure were weird.
There were balloon-shaped monsters resembling Halloween pumpkins that exploded when popped; egg-shaped monsters that spilled yolk-like liquid when stabbed; and creatures resembling rabbits and porcupines…
Motoyasu Kitamura, Itsuki Kawasumi, and Ren Amaki seemed to have planned beforehand, keeping their distance from each other and enthusiastically fighting their own battles.
Even Naofumi Iwatani, who'd left the city last after buying equipment, was joyfully wrestling with a few balloon monsters.
It seemed that among the Four Cardinal Heroes, Kiriko alone found all this completely boring.
Feeling dissatisfied, Kiriko left the grasslands and ventured deeper into the forest.
She didn't find stronger monsters, but instead stumbled across this hot spring.
Since she had nothing else to do anyway, why not…
By the time she snapped back to reality, she was already comfortably soaking in the spring, skillfully adopting a particularly lazy posture.
Though she hadn't done much fighting, her level had risen to Lv.233, with all her stats now firmly in the four-digit range.
What did it feel like to have four-digit values for both physical and magical defense?
When she first entered the forest, she'd encountered a black serpent capable of spraying corrosive mist.
Any tree or rock touched by that mist quickly corroded away.
Yet when Kiriko took the mist directly to her face, all she felt was that the dirt and grime from her journey had been conveniently cleaned off.
Seeing its mist ineffective, the serpent lunged forward, biting down hard on Kiriko's head.
It immediately shattered all its teeth.
Without even using her sword, Kiriko grabbed its jaws with her bare hands and violently tore the creature in half.
Besides improved attributes, she'd also acquired plenty of new skills—though most were combat-oriented sword techniques.
Speaking of skills, what Kiriko really wanted most was something she'd seen in an anime about a person reincarnated as a slime after dying.
That slime had a skill allowing it to devour anything.
When she'd first watched that show, Kiriko had thought: if only League of Legends let me pick a champion with this skill…
I'd dive straight into the enemy jungle and—
"Hm?"
Lost in her wild fantasies, she noticed her level jump again. Now she was Lv.235.
Every five levels she gained a new skill—what would it be this time?
Curiously, she tapped to check.
[Golden Rule A]: Grants extraordinary luck with wealth during the skill's duration.
Huh?
Extraordinary luck with wealth? What the hell is this?
Thinking she must have opened it wrong, she closed and reopened the status menu, but the new skill's description remained unchanged.
Are you kidding me? Golden Rule?
There's no way something like this could exist in reality!
She'd once played a wildly popular mobile strategy game, where players took the role of lords battling fiercely over territories, resources, and kingdoms. The strongest lord in a kingdom could even become its king.
In the server Kiriko had joined, there had been many countries, but three were the strongest: Wei, Shu, and Wu.
Wei had been the strongest by far. It quickly crushed Shu and began pressuring Kiriko's country—Wu.
The king of Wei was absurdly overpowered; probably some billionaire in real life.
His troops were the ultra-rare Tiger Cavalry, obtainable only by extreme luck, not just spending cash. Leading them were 5-star generals like Zhang Liao, Xu Chu, and Dian Wei.
Thus, Kiriko's Wu kingdom got pummeled helplessly, losing territory after territory.
Yet, in the end, Kiriko's side still won.
Apparently, Wei's king got invited for tea by the authorities after embezzling funds from his company.
So, yeah—there's no way such a luck-with-money skill could possibly—OW! Damn it, what's poking my foot?!
Holding one position for too long was uncomfortable, so Kiriko shifted slightly and felt something hard beneath her.
"What's this?"
Kiriko ducked underwater, emerging a moment later holding a golden-yellow stone.
Why is this rock as yellow as piss?
Wait!
This…this…this can't possibly be gold, right?
Kiriko had no idea how to verify real gold, but after just acquiring a skill called "Golden Rule," wouldn't anyone think along those lines?
While she stared dumbly at the rock, something else suddenly happened.
The water began trembling, ripples forming and spreading continuously. Pebbles beneath the water shook as well.
The distant rumbling was faint at first, but soon grew louder and louder until it was nearly deafening.
"Now what's going on?"
The vibrations in the water intensified further, the noise becoming so loud it felt as though the source was right next to her.
Instinctively, she raised her head and looked upward.
Above the waterfall was a blinding, golden reflection of sunlight.
"Oh, fuck!"
In the next instant, a torrent composed entirely of countless golden objects poured over the waterfall like a landslide, burying the panicking girl beneath it.
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T/N: THAT SHOULDVE BEEN MEEEEE I SHOULD HAVE GOLDEN RULE