"Ul, I feel like you've changed so much!"
Ul was thinking something over when Happy suddenly exclaimed that. His heart jolted, but his face remained impassive as he replied calmly,
"Is that so?"
"Yeah! You never used to talk this much. Whenever Natsu and I came to see you, it was always just the two of us talking!" Happy said around a mouthful of fish.
"What's so strange about that? We haven't seen each other in over a month, after all. Isn't it normal for people to change a little?"
"Men and cats are the same. Leave them alone for three days, and they'll grow so much you won't even recognize them!"
When it came to fooling people like Natsu and Happy, Ul could do it without a second thought. He could spin a tale that had them completely turned around without even needing to plan it out.
"Happy!"
Sure enough, Happy's eyes narrowed into crescents at Ul's words, and he perked up.
It was clear that he was very interested in Ul's talk of "growing up"!
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After eating a little in the dining hall, Ul finally started to feel somewhat better.
Ul wasn't an adult yet, and he hadn't become a Mage, so he didn't have to pay for his meals in the dining hall.
Natsu, however, had already become a Mage, so he had to pay. And since he'd just eaten "a little too much," he took Happy to the guild to pick up a job as soon as they finished eating!
If they didn't take a job soon, they'd have trouble affording their next meal.
After Natsu left, Ul hurried back to his lodgings as well...
After realizing that he was in the world of Fairy Tail, he'd suddenly remembered something important.
As soon as he got back to his lodgings,
Ul went straight to the only bed in the room. After searching around inside it, he soon pulled out a notebook and several sheets of paper that looked rather worn.
Ul glanced at the notebook in surprise. He hadn't noticed it before.
But after only a quick look, Ul shifted his attention to the worn sheets of paper. They were covered in drawings he couldn't make sense of. The only thing he recognized was the string "500J," which looked like a mix of numbers and letters.
That was right!
These sheets weren't anything else. They were the currency of this world.
Ul had dug them out once before, but at the time, he hadn't recognized what they were.
Now that he had money, Ul hurriedly called out to the realistic system.
"Sys—" This time, Ul had barely uttered a single syllable—not even finishing the word "system"—when a status panel suddenly appeared before him.
The images on the panel shifted slowly. First, a little monster resembling a penguin appeared, then several large characters gradually came into view!
[Penguin. Use money to create happiness!]
"..."
Ul was speechless when he saw those words.
They appeared and disappeared in a flash. Before long, the text on the status panel changed again.
"Would you like to recharge, Host?"
"..."
Ul swore he'd never seen a system this shameless in his life. It was an embarrassment to all systems. He, Ul, was truly ashamed to be associated with it.
"Recharge!"
Ul spat out a single word.
As soon as he spoke,
a chime rang out!
The banknotes in Ul's hand vanished in an instant. Then a message slowly appeared on the status panel.
"Host recharged 1,400J and successfully activated a Level 1 membership. Reward: one draw!"
"Would you like to begin the draw now?"
"Yes!" Ul hurriedly answered when he saw the words on the status panel.
As he watched the black hole on the system panel begin to spin, Ul felt a little anxious and a little excited.
Ever since he'd realized he was in the world of Fairy Tail, a sense of urgency had quietly risen within him. This world was one where strength reigned supreme, and without enough power, it was almost impossible to get by.
After all, he'd been reincarnated once.
There was no way Ul could really spend his whole life in an orphanage!
All kinds of scattered thoughts surfaced in his mind...
Just then!
A chime rang out.
The black hole on the system panel abruptly stopped spinning, and a beam of light slowly emerged from it before plunging straight into Ul's body.
Before long!
Ul noticed changes in his body. He felt a tingling sensation all over, especially in his stomach, which seemed to have turned into a furnace. Even though he'd just eaten, waves of intense hunger kept surging from his stomach.
At that moment, text finally appeared on the system panel.
[Congratulations, Host. You successfully drew the passive ability of "Hero: Cho'Gath."]
[Your body has been slightly strengthened...]
[Your stomach has received a major enhancement...]
[Cho'Gath's passive ability: By devouring the flesh and blood of living creatures, you can absorb their life essence and increase your health. The amount gained is proportional to the creature's level...]
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Ul froze as he read the lines on the system panel.
"System, is there something wrong with this passive ability? I remember Cho'Gath's passive skill wasn't like this!"
The moment Ul saw the words "Cho'Gath," he knew what the system meant by "Hero."
After all, he'd played that game for a while in his previous life. He hadn't been very good, but he still remembered some of the heroes' abilities...
If he remembered correctly,
Cho'Gath's passive skill restored health and mana when he killed minions. An ability that increased health by devouring living creatures sounded more like Cho'Gath's ultimate.
[Host, are you stupid? How could a skill from a game appear in reality? Do you understand science?]
After hearing Ul's question, a line of text slowly appeared on the system panel.
When Ul saw it, it felt as if a hundred thousand creatures had trampled over his heart...
MMP!
You're a system, and you're talking to me about science?
Did you forget what you are?
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Before you continue