Chapter 10. White Elephant (1/2)
Ves kept up his sales routine for a week. He visited different cities each day in order to maximize his exposure. Lucky always accompanied him, and with the help of his charm he managed to draw enough attention to his products to sell a hundred mechs with less than two weeks to spare.
He also accumulated a hefty 263 Design Points, but hadn't spent them yet. He thought it would be better if he received his next mission first.
[Congratulations for completing Tutorial: Part 3.]
[You have received a 10-year combat mech production license lottery ticket. Please visit the Lottery page to redeem this ticket.]
[For completing the mission with time to spare, you have been awarded a bonus lottery ticket.]
The System sure loved lotteries, giving Ves a bad feeling. His luck with the lottery so far had been mixed.
”Hey System, shouldn't you have sent me another mission by now?”
[Please do not get addicted to missions. The Mech Designer System only offers missions in order to guide its users to the right path. Only babies require constant hand-holding. Are you a baby?]
Ves practically spat blood. ”Who's the baby?! You are a baby!”
In fact, Ves felt rather terrible after hearing those words. He had indeed grown accustomed to the System's guidance. Now that he lacked a clear mission to strive towards, Ves felt as if he was adrift.
”No, that's not right. I still have to prepare for the Young Tigers Exhibition that start in one-and-a-half months. I also have to make progress in collecting 5 million credits to pay off my interest in two months.”
In other words, he needed to advance his skills and earn a lot of money. Ves could work on that without the System generating another tutorial to tell him how to accomplish those goals.
”Too bad I can't earn any more completion rewards. That reminds me, I still need to use up last mission's rewards.”
Rubbing his palms, Ves turned to the Lottery page. He ignored the option to spend DP for a lottery draw and instead selected the option to use the tickets on hand.
First, he activated his bonus ticket. Same as his previous lottery draws, it only entitled him to win an award from the lowest pool of prizes. The low-quality ticket snapped in half, revealing a familiar spinning wheel. Ves vigorously yanked the wheel, causing it to make clacking sounds as the pointer spun over a rapid variety of rewards.
The wheel slowed down after half a minute. Time appeared to slow down as the wheel ticked forward in an exaggerated fashion. It allowed Ves to read the rewards hovering around the pointer.
[Endurance Candy]
[Alien Party Ears]
[100,000 bright credits]
[Lantern of Imperfection]
[1-day Haunt]
The pointer passed over the Endurance Candy, swept past the strange ears, and almost landed at the sum of credits. Ves never objected to having more money.
[You have received a Lantern of Imperfection.]
The System ended up defying Ves' wishes yet again. Instead of receiving something that he could desperately use, he instead received an old-fashioned burnished bronze device that had obviously lived better days.
[Lantern of Imperfection]
Light the lantern and shine it against a mech or component to reveal structural flaws. The revealed flaws are only visible to the holder of the lantern. The lamp contains enough oil to burn for five hours.
”This could be useful.” Ves remarked, actually a little impressed by the generosity of the lottery.
Machines that could analyze and reveal structural flaws existed, but only high-tech researchers and manufacturers were able to afford them. The assistance of such a device helped prevent defective material from being incorporated into a mech. For some parts, it was a lot more troublesome to replace once an assembler combined it with other parts and placed it in a mech.
Too bad the lantern only lasted five hours. Ves had no idea where he could buy additional lamp oil either. The System being its usual obstinate self remained silent to Ves' questions.
”Now it's time for the main show.” Ves smiled as he beheld the shiny golden ticket that had actually materialized in front of him. With a satisfying pull, he ripped the ticket in half.
Festive bells rang out as a transparent man-sized pagoda dropped down from the roof. The Pagoda consisted of nine stories, and each story spun in an alternating direction. The first story spun to the left, while the second to the right, and the third back to the left, and so on. It all gave off a sense of grandeur to Ves, as if Buddha himself had descended to give him a reward.
The spectacle raised Ves' hopes. If the introduction already looked so impressive, then he surely wouldn't receive something cheap.
[Approach the Pagoda to determine the tier of your reward.]
This was different. Puzzled, Ves took a step forward, and then another when nothing special happened. Somehow, he couldn't get any closer to the pagoda no matter how many steps it took.
A formless pressure arrived that pressed down on his body. Neither gravity nor air pressure changed. Everything else remained the same. Only the pagoda itself rose up in the air, dimming the workshop from Ves' sights.
Ves felt his vision dim from the pressure threatening to burst his head. Nevertheless, he clenched his teeth and kept putting one foot over another. When his consciousness was on the verge of passing out, the pressure disappeared.
He fell to the ground as his breath wheezed as if he had run a marathon. The strange event affected him severely. He didn't exactly know what the pressure represented, but he hoped he did okay.