117: Chapter 117: Gacha Pulls and Arash's Single-Purpose Push!

The bullet chat immediately switched to a mode of merciless ridicule:

"Nonsense, your defense line leaked monsters. How can you get saint quartz for pulls without a three-star rating!"

"My OCD can't stand those dull two stars. Lulu, hurry up and quit to replay it!"

"Failing to get three stars even on the first stage, you truly are the worst class of Master I've ever led!"

Under the barrage of frantic mockery and explanations from the bullet chat, how could the proud film critic Lin Lu endure such a grievance? With a flushed face and gritted teeth, she pressed the "Retry" button.

After another round of trial and error, finally grasping the great fundamental theory of tower defense—that "high-ground Servants must face the enemy to use skills"—Lin Lu managed to secure a perfect rating without further incident.

[Battle Victory! Settlement Rating: ★★★ (Three Stars)]

[Loot Obtained: saint quartz ×1]

Wiping the fine sweat from her forehead caused by the anxiety, Lin Lu looked at the settlement screen and argued breathlessly, "This... this is just because I haven't adapted to this brand-new interaction mode yet! A mistake, a pure mistake!"

"However..."

When the screen switched back to the [My Room] interface in Chaldea, Lin Lu's voice suddenly stopped.

She looked at the extremely exquisite holographic UI before her, and the 3D Mash model standing in the center of the room, whose realistic micro-expressions interacted as her gaze moved. A flash of undeniable amazement crossed her eyes.

"The texture of this model, the rendering of light and shadow, and the motion capture of these micro-expressions... My god, it's like they're burning money to make a Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster that people can personally walk into!"

As a film critic who had watched countless movies, Lin Lu finally set aside the trace of prejudice in her heart and sincerely marveled at the technical prowess of this game.

"Fine, I take back what I said earlier. At least in terms of audiovisual experience, this game has indeed reached the threshold of a work of art."

Lin Lu nodded with satisfaction. Then, following the novice guide, she walked out of her personal room and arrived at the [Heroic Spirit Summoning System · Control Room] deep within Chaldea.

In the center of the room, a massive holographic magic circle emitting a faint blue light was slowly rotating.

As a novice benefit, the system generously gifted thirty "saint quartz" that shimmered with a rainbow glow.

"Come on, let's see what kind of god-tier general this 'Luck Emperor' can pull for the early game!"

Lin Lu walked to the center of the magic circle and placed the saint quartz into the core.

Then, like a devout prayer, she extended her fair index finger and, on the virtual light screen in mid-air, drew an extremely dashing character for "Lu" as if painting a talisman!

"Vroom—!"

Accompanied by the violent roar and rotation of the magic circle, three massive rings of light soared into the sky, with gold and silver light intertwining fiercely at the ceiling of the summoning room.

Lin Lu rubbed her hands nervously, her eyes fixed on the pillar of light.

Although she was a gaming newbie, she had been influenced by her roommate Chen Jiajia's constant talk and understood a bit of the "underlying logic" of gacha games:

"Jiajia said that in these gacha games, pulling a five-star card shimmering with brilliant gold light is the only way! This is my first novice ten-pull; surely it has to give me an invincible five-star war god, right?"

Just then, a one-star (★) Archer Servant card popped out, lacking any gold light and only emitting a dim bronze glow.

It was a handsome young man with bronze skin, wearing a green cloak and holding a large bow.

He had a bright, cheerful smile on his face. Though he was quite handsome, he looked a bit pathetic against the backdrop of that solitary single star at the bottom of the card.

[Archer — Arash, responding to your summons!]

"Huh? One star?!"

Lin Lu's face, which had been full of anticipation, instantly collapsed, and she curled her lip in some disdain:

"What gives? These summoning effects looked world-shaking, and in the end, it just gives me the lowest-level one-star card? Isn't this just bottom-tier cannon fodder in a tower defense game? Jiajia says one-star cards are a waste of inventory space even as enhancement materials. Return! I want a refund!"

However, for the veteran players who had been laughing at Lin Lu's lack of skill, the moment they saw this Servant appear, the bullet chat suddenly froze for a weird second, and then exploded with a screen-fill ten times more terrifying than before!

"Holy crap! The Great Hero!"

"It's Arash! The One True God!"

"Refund?! You newbie, what do you know about power levels! Apologize to the Great Hero right now!"

"Lulu! Take a word of advice from an old-timer, hurry up and put away that look of disdain! This is the strongest F2P war god in all of FGO! Don't look at him being only one star; his Noble Phantasm is absolutely world-destroying!"

"Exactly! The Great Hero is eternal, while five-star supports come and go! No matter what five-star you pull, you have to level the Great Hero first for the early game! Once you see him release his Noble Phantasm, you'll understand what true art is!"

Looking at the screen full of frantic recommendations, Lin Lu blinked. Looking at the handsome Archer smiling brightly before her, she was still a bit skeptical, but her mood calmed down slightly.

"Fine, looking closely, this illustration is indeed quite handsome. And hearing you guys say it, is he actually a hidden war god?"

Lin Lu scrutinized Arash's holographic model, liking it more the more she looked.

She even reached out and tentatively poked Arash's shoulder.

And Arash responded with a bright smile full of a sense of security: "Master, do you have any orders?"

Instantly, Lin Lu's heart was completely captured by this handsome and sunny "Great Hero."

She cleared her throat and, facing the livestream camera, patted her chest and confidently declared a flag that could be considered world-shaking:

"Since everyone says he's so strong, then from today on, Arash will be my second-in-command, right after Dr. Roman!"

"I, Lin Lu, value bonds and feelings above all else!"

"I hereby swear that I will bring him to every battle in the future! And I will definitely place him on the safest high ground in the rear, never letting him get even a little bit hurt! I want him to live to see our final perfect ending!"

As soon as these words were spoken.

The veteran players in front of their screens, who knew the actual effect of Arash's Noble Phantasm [Stella], almost cracked their molars trying to hold back their laughter.

"Good, good, good! What a 'never let him get even a little bit hurt'!" Lin Feng laughed so hard he pounded the table in front of his computer.

"That's right, Lulu! Not just you, all of us veteran Masters are Arash superfans! He's a must-bring for every battle!"

"He's one of the top two men in Chaldea's overtime rankings! As for why we have to bring him to the field every day, you'd better not ask—if you do, the answer is that our bond is unfathomable!"

"Right, right, right. In fact, in the hands of most Masters, he is protected very well; he will definitely not be killed by the enemy!"

"Lulu, you must keep your word! Remember to let him use his Noble Phantasm more often; it's the most brilliant firework in the world. Stella!!"

"Arash: Master, you're a really good person, but my ultimate move is a bit..."

In this cyber space filled with black humor and trolls, the proud film critic Lin Lu thus embarked on the long journey to save humanity, carrying two super flags she had planted that could blow her to pieces at any moment.