The floor was made of expensive-looking wood, and the entire room was filled with countless exquisite, luxurious decorations. Even the table and chairs were worth a fortune.
You could take even the smallest thing from this place and sell it for a good price.
"I'm staying here?"
Now that it had actually happened, Cao Ye felt a little dazed. Just that morning, he'd still been staying in a cheap inn, where rats even scurried through his room at night. And now, he was spending the night in a place this luxurious.
"This is a gift from Lady Freya. Just remember this favor well."
"I understand."
Ottar glanced at Cao Ye, then turned and left.
To him, it didn't matter who Cao Ye was, where he came from, or what abilities he had. All he knew was that the goddess was interested in him. That was enough.
After Ottar left, Cao Ye went into the bedroom and lay down on the luxurious, expensive bed, feeling a little dazed.
This world really was strange. He'd never dreamed things would unfold this way. Could he be the "protagonist" too?
Otherwise, wasn't this treatment a little too good?
"Hm? What's this..."
Almost without thinking, Cao Ye opened the [Gacha Interface]. Then he saw the [Diamonds] section, which should have been at 0, but had somehow become 300. He was completely baffled.
What was going on? He'd spent half a month working hard and only earned a little over a hundred. How had it suddenly become 300?
Chapter 8: Magic Attribute: Imaginary Number!
[Name: Cao Ye ]
[Current Banner: Fate]
[Diamonds: 300 ]
The interface was as simple as could be, and the number '500' shone brightly in the [Diamonds] section.
He'd already exchanged them for a 'ten-pull' once before and obtained [Projection Magecraft]. How had the number become 500 in the blink of an eye?
[Achievement · Favored by the Gods: Receive a 'Falna' from a deity and become one who is favored by the gods!]
[Reward: 200 diamonds!]
[Achievement · First Steps: Become a level 1 adventurer!]
[Reward: 100 diamonds!]
He'd completed two achievements and received a reward of 300 diamonds.
Cao Ye froze. The system could do that too?
It was his own cheat, yet he knew nothing about it. The system didn't have an artificial intelligence or an instruction manual, either. He'd have to figure everything out by himself.
"Getting a Falna unlocked an achievement. If I level up later, will that unlock another one?"
Cao Ye wondered. But there was no way to confirm his guess. To find out, he'd have to make it happen himself.
But that wasn't what mattered most right now. What mattered was pulling cards. With 300 diamonds, he could make thirty pulls.
At the thought, Cao Ye's mood instantly brightened. Today, he'd obtained [Projection Magecraft], caught Freya's eye, and enjoyed the most fragrant free meal in Orario.
His luck had been amazing today. And now he'd gotten another 300 diamonds. He had to press his advantage while it lasted.
"Three Pure Ones, Tathagata! Lady Houtu! Please!"
As usual, he offered his prayers to a few "great gods." This time, though, they were all deities from China. Then Cao Ye began his first "ten-pull."
'Smack—'
A card pack appeared in midair. An invisible force tore open its seal, and then one card after another flew out, face down.
Cao Ye had seen this scene once before. Now, his attention was fixed on the cards.
[Black Stockings · Pantyhose][Black Stockings · Over-the-Knee Socks][Black Stockings · Thigh-Highs][Black Stockings · Knee-High Socks]...
As he looked at the beautifully illustrated cards, each one showed a pretty girl wearing a different kind of stockings.
Kurisu Makise in black pantyhose, Yukino Yukinoshita in black thigh-highs, Kurumi Tokisaki in black hold-ups, Megumi Kato in black knee-highs, and so on.
And there were more of the same kind of cards in the [Storage] nearby.
They were all different kinds of stockings: black, white, skin-colored, and even fishnets. They were all cards he'd pulled before.
Cao Ye had to say, although he liked pretty legs and all kinds of sexy stockings, the system didn't have to give him nothing but these. He had his limits too! (Probably~ ( ﹁ ﹁ ) ~→)
One ten-pull had cost a full 100 diamonds, and all he got were ten different kinds of black stockings.
Still, looking at the exquisite cards and the lifelike beauties depicted on them, Cao Ye felt they were more valuable than the stockings themselves.
He put them straight into storage. Later, when it was quiet and everyone else was asleep, he could "critique" them closely.
"There go 100 diamonds down the drain~~"
It was a whole 100 diamonds. Even though they'd come out of nowhere, it still hurt to lose them all at once.
"Again! Witness my might—ten-pull, go!!!"
'Smack—'
The familiar scene and rhythm played out again. The card pack was torn open, and one card after another flew out.
But the next moment, the sight nearly stopped Cao Ye's heart.
[White Stockings · Over-the-Knee Socks][White Stockings · Pantyhose][White Stockings · Thigh-Highs]...
Black stockings would've been one thing, but now it was white stockings. Wasn't that going too far?
And the girls on the black-stocking cards had all been top-tier beauties—every one a goddess from the two-dimensional world. But weren't these white-stocking cards a bit much?
White pantyhose, and they'd used White Yaksha. Didn't the system know that she had a little girl's body and the heart of a pervert?
They said birds of a feather flock together. They were both perverts, so wasn't it a bit much to put her card in here?
There was something Cao Ye had always wanted to ask. Wasn't this supposed to be the Fate banner? Why were all the cards like this, and why were they all beautiful girls from different anime?
But no matter how much he wanted to complain, the system didn't respond.
Two ten-pulls, a full twenty draws, and he hadn't gotten a single useful card. Had he used up all his luck today? Cao Ye couldn't help wondering.
"No way. I don't believe it. Again!!!"
The ten-pull started again, and card after card flew out.
The result didn't disappoint. This time, it was skin-colored stockings. Pictures of beautiful girls wearing them appeared one after another, but Cao Ye wasn't interested.
Black stockings were his faith. White stockings were his conviction. Skin-colored stockings were a heresy.
What were stockings, anyway? They were a magical tool for displaying a woman's charm. Black stockings brought mature temptation, while white stockings stirred a pure, heart-fluttering feeling. Both left a lasting impression. But what the heck were skin-colored stockings?
[Magic Attribute: Imaginary Number]
He'd gotten something! The appearance of the Imaginary Number Attribute made Cao Ye's spirits lift.
In Fate, within magecraft, it was defined as "something that might exist, but does not exist in the material world." It was also known as "imaginary number."
Mages with the Imaginary Number Attribute could slip their hands into the gaps between dimensions.
The Imaginary Space, which didn't exist but was considered to exist, was something like a dimensional pocket. Anything that fell inside would no longer be affected by time or space.
In the Fifth Holy Grail War, Sakura Matou possessed the Imaginary Number Attribute.
In her battles against Medea's puppet and Gilgamesh, Sakura's Shadow absorbed their attacks into the Imaginary Space, rendering them ineffective. This was an example of "Imaginary Magic."
Among the characters who had appeared in the Fate series so far, the Imaginary Number Attribute was extremely rare.
Only three people were confirmed to have it: Sakura Matou, Lev Lainur Flauros (Professor Lev from FGO), and Trisha Fellows (the attendant and private tutor of the director, Olga Marie).
Put simply, the "Imaginary Space"—something that didn't exist but was considered to exist—was like a dimensional pocket. Anything dropped inside would become something unbound by space or time.
Mages who awakened the "Imaginary Attribute" could make use of these properties as a kind of time capsule.
You could say the Imaginary Attribute had a little bit of a "spatial" quality, but it wasn't quite the same thing.
Still, there was no denying that it was an exceptionally powerful magical attribute with enormous potential.
Chapter 9: The Fallout!
'Thump—'
Cao Ye flopped face-first onto the bed. He'd made thirty pulls in all and gotten only one useful card.
He really had the worst luck. At least he hadn't come away empty-handed, thanks to [Magic Attribute: Imaginary Number].
The "Imaginary Attribute" was pretty good, but even so, 300 diamonds was the equivalent of doing daily quests nonstop for thirty days.
He'd needed a whole month to save up those diamonds, and now he'd traded them for an "Imaginary Number Attribute." Somehow, it felt like a bad deal.
After fusing with [Magic Attribute: Imaginary Number], Cao Ye could sense something strange around him.
But he couldn't sense the "Imaginary Space." That reminded him: this wasn't the Fate world. This world didn't have an "Imaginary Space."
(P.S. Who knows if it exists or not? Let's just say it doesn't. Every world has its own rules.)
Now Cao Ye wondered if his "Imaginary Number Attribute" was useless. Without an "Imaginary Space," what was the point? The world was different, the power systems were different, and the rules were different too.
"Ah! My diamonds!!!"
A heartrending wail rang out through the luxurious room.
In the next room, Freya sat elegantly on her "throne." A huge floor-to-ceiling window stood before her, offering a view of all Orario.
As the top floor of Babel Tower, this place was made with the finest building materials, and its soundproofing was no exception.
Even though Cao Ye was wailing on the other side, not a single sound carried in here.
'Knock, knock, knock~'
"Come in~"
Freya took a sip of wine and spoke like a queen.
The door opened, and Ottar walked in.
"Is it arranged?"
"It is."
The brief exchange revealed the relationship between the two.
Ottar had given everything to the goddess Freya: his loyalty, his faith, his convictions, even his feelings. In return, Freya trusted Ottar absolutely.
"How do you feel about him?"
Freya smiled seductively as she asked Ottar.
"I can't see through him. He's still very weak, but there's a force about him that makes even me feel a chill. It only burst out for an instant earlier, but I still felt threatened."
"Even you felt threatened? How impressive."
Freya glanced at Ottar and smiled.
All the World's Evil. Whatever else one could say, that name alone was enough to make her remember him.
As a god, she understood better than anyone what "evil" was.
The idea that a frail human could bear such "evil" was already hard to believe. What was more, Cao Ye didn't seem to have been affected by it at all.
"Lady Freya, what do you intend to do about him?"
"Nothing. Ottar, there's no need to give him special treatment. A 'hero' can't grow up in a 'greenhouse.' I'll witness his 'great deeds' with my own 'eyes.'"
"Yes, I understand."
To Ottar, Freya's words were everything.
If Freya had said so, he would carry out her orders without fail, whatever they might be.
The members of the Freya Familia had all been "raised" in an unimaginably cruel environment. With Cao Ye, Freya had chosen to let him grow "wild."
She would let him go, neither restricting him nor helping him. Freya wanted to see whether Cao Ye could grow into a "hero."
Bearing "evil," he could never be an ordinary person among the masses.
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