Chapter 42: Spinning The Wheel If there was one thing Azel hated to the deepest pit of his heart — something that transcended frustration and veered straight into a kind of primal rage... it was a Gacha wheel. Years of gaming had taught him this one universal truth: nothing good ever came from trusting your luck. He’d been through this dance before. Hours of grinding for currency, the anticipation of finally earning that one big pull... only to get trash items over and over until his willpower cracked. He still remembered the time he’d nearly smashed his old console into the floor out of sheer fury. No matter what he did — different console, different account, it didn’t matter. It was always the same outcome: despair. Azel scowled at the glowing wheel in front of him, the faint hum of its magic reminding him all too much of those cursed games. He could handle literally anything the game world could throw at him, anything except for Gachas. "Why do I even bother?" he muttered. He shoveled the last few bites of Lorraine’s food into his mouth, chewing mechanically. As an aura user, he didn’t even need to eat all that often — his body could run off aura for weeks, even months if necessary. But there were two reasons he didn’t: first, food tasted good, and second, why deny himself the one simple pleasure he had left? He set the empty plate aside and pulled up the Fate Wheel interface again. [40 Fate Tickets] [Would you like to see the rules for spinning the Fate Wheel?] "Rules? For spinning a damn wheel?" Azel raised a brow but sighed. "Sure. Why not?" The interface shifted. [Welcome to The Fate Wheel, where every spin is bound by luck and fate.] Azel nearly scoffed aloud. Luck? Yeah, that was a joke. If his luck were a person, he would have strangled it to death years ago. And he wasn’t even joking, perhaps his luck in Gachas was coming to the real world, maybe this was why he was having a lot of unfortunate encounters today. [The Fate Wheel operates on two types of tickets: Fate Tickets: Initiate the regular spin, with rewards ranging from FFF Rank to SSS Rank. Golden Tickets: Unlock the Hidden Fate Wheel, guaranteeing rewards of A Rank or higher.] Azel’s brows shot up. "Now that’s more like it..." He would rather get golden tickets than risk 40 spins on the fate spin, with his luck, he would be getting trash items everytime. [You may convert 20 Fate Tickets into 1 Golden Ticket.] He stared at his 40 tickets and felt no hesitation whatsoever. "Convert them. Two golden tickets — let’s go." The wheel morphed instantly. Gold replaced its previous bronze sheen, glowing with runes he couldn’t even decipher. Strangely, the sections were sealed off, blank spaces hiding their prizes. No teasing glimpses of possible rewards, no flashy icons. Just mystery. [Would you like to spin the Hidden Fate Wheel?] "Yes," Azel said, already bracing himself. The wheel spun. At first, it turned slowly, but then its speed climbed until it blurred into a streak of light. The soft hum deepened into a resonant buzz, vibrating faintly in the room as the arrow whirred around in dizzying circles. Finally, after a few long seconds, it slowed... and stopped. [Congratulations! You have obtained: Box of Children’s Clothes (A Rank).] Azel blinked. Once. Twice. Then... "FUCKING SCAM!" The roar ripped out of him before he could stop himself, loud enough to shake the rafters. From the bed, Lillia jolted awake with a squeak, rubbing her sleepy eyes. "Papa?" she mumbled, voice small and muzzy. "Did we... get attacked?" 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂 Azel slapped a hand over his face and groaned. "No, sweetheart. False alarm." With a flick of his wrist, he pulled the prize from his inventory. A box materialized midair, gently lowering itself onto the floor with a faint shimmer. [Item: Box of Children’s Clothes] [Rank: A] [Description: A carefully woven collection of thirty enchanted outfits for young girls. Resistant to flame, immune to water, untouched by blade or claw — they are garments forged to endure both play and peril, wrapping their wearer in comfort and unyielding protection.] Lillia’s eyes widened as the box opened on its own, revealing neatly folded dresses and tunics in a spectrum of colors: soft blues, gentle pinks, warm yellows. Her small hands clutched the edge of the box, fingers trembling with wonder. "Papa... these are... for me?" Azel crouched beside her, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah. You could use some new clothes, right?" He didn’t get to say more before she launched herself into his arms, tiny arms looping around his neck. "Thank you, Papa! I love you!" Her giggle rang out like a bell, and Azel couldn’t stop the chuckle that bubbled up in his chest. He hugged her tight, resting his chin on her soft pink hair. [Ding!] [Bond: 30 → 70] ’...She’s so damn cute.’ For a fleeting moment, all thoughts of his "terrible pull" vanished. He could live with this. Lillia squirmed free only long enough to pull out a pale lavender dress from the box, hugging it to her chest like a treasure. Within minutes, she was yawning again, curling against him as he tucked her beneath the blankets. Azel smoothed her hair down, his fingers brushing against the warmth of her small hand. "Sleep well, princess." "’Kay..." she mumbled, already half gone, her tiny fingers clutching his sleeve even as she drifted off. He sat there for a while, just watching her breathe. Peaceful. Untouched by the world’s filth. And he would keep it like that... she deserved it. Then he exhaled and pulled the interface back up. "Alright. One more spin. Let’s see what else you’ve got for me." The wheel shimmered again, golden and inscrutable. He pressed his hand to it, initiating the second spin. Once more, it whirred faster and faster until it blurred out of sight. His heartbeat picked up — not because of hope, but because of that masochistic thrill he knew too well from every gacha he’d ever hated. Slower... slower... and stop. He looked at the item he received, he blinked once, blinked twice then dismissed the screen. He couldn’t even be angry. He turned off the runic lights and tucked himself into bed. Before long Azel was fast asleep.