Chapter Fifteen: The Harvest
Standing before the bed, Luke longed to raise his arms and shout, “The days of surviving on free magic boxes are gone forever!”
For the past year, he had saved every free magic box the system granted each week. He had to endure frugally for two and a half months just to accumulate enough for a ten-fold draw.
Thinking back, it was heartbreaking—a single tear fell…
So, after a single second of careful consideration, Luke decided to spend fifteen thousand dollars for a small indulgence.
“Absolutely Heart’s Delight level 3!”
At fifty dollars per box, fifteen thousand dollars would buy him exactly three hundred magic boxes! In other words, thirty ten-fold draws!
It was exhilarating!
Luke could barely contain his excitement.
Suddenly, there was a rumble—three hundred magic boxes materialized out of thin air, instantly filling his room, then toppled over in a heap, burying Luke beneath them.
Covered in dust, Luke lay on the floor as hurried footsteps rushed upstairs from below.
Rotus emerged from the pile of boxes, crying, “Someone’s listening at the door! It’s that woman. Kill her! Kill her!!”
At the door, his adoptive mother Karen called anxiously, “What’s going on? Honey?”
“Nothing! I’m fine!”
Luke quickly scrambled to his feet, saying, “I’m alright, Karen. Just working out! Hey, ha!…”
How embarrassing…
Before him, the boxes were stacked more than two meters high, reaching the ceiling. It was quite a spectacle.
“Careful not to hurt yourself,” Karen warned from the doorway.
“I know,” Luke replied.
After Karen descended the stairs, Luke sat down, suppressing his excitement, and began his first ten-fold draw.
[Data Chip *1]
[Skill Book: Diving Punch *1]
[Colorless Crystal Shard *20]
[Revival Coin *1]
[Seria’s Handmade Cake *1]
[Magic Shard *1]
[Magic Shard *1]
[Colorless Crystal Shard *18]
[Skill Book: Back Throw *1]
[Data Chip *1]
“A double yellow! Two skill books? Not bad—not bad! An auspicious start!”
Getting two skill books at once was unprecedented for him.
Luke couldn’t help but beam with joy.
Diving Punch—the Blue Fist Saint’s skill from DNF. As you dive, you deliver a lightning-fast punch to the enemy's abdomen.
It could place the enemy in a prolonged stunned state, and sometimes even leave them dizzy.
Luke had discovered from previous battles that the Inch Punch had a flaw: it wasn’t suited for frontal assaults.
The Inch Punch emphasized speed, precision, force, and short distance—best for close-range attacks.
But this Diving Punch could fill the gap, granting him mid- to short-range strike capability.
He slapped his hand, absorbing the skill book.
A warm current flowed into Luke’s body. His proficiency instantly reached master level.
Like his other skills, the Diving Punch became instinctive.
“Back Throw—that’s the Hugger’s skill, right?” He picked up the second skill book.
The Hugger was a nickname for the Judo class. Judoists excelled at throws, hand-to-hand grappling, and close combat.
In reality, Judo was a unique Japanese martial art, derived from Jujutsu.
In the island language, it meant “the gentle way,” using “gentle methods” to bring down opponents.
“Uh, this skill…”
Use it on a woman and you’d risk being accused of harassment.
Use it on a man…
Luke shuddered at the thought!
Still, he slapped his hand and absorbed it.
Who knows, maybe he’d need it in some “special” situation?
He moved on to the second ten-fold draw.
[Seria’s Special Drink *1]
[Magic Shard *2]
[Revival Coin *1]
[Skill Book: Spinning Staff *1]
…
Luke decided to draw all the remaining boxes in one go.
System notifications flooded his vision, making him dizzy.
Seeing skill books popping up one after another, Luke could barely contain his drooling excitement…
In the end, he obtained a total of nineteen skill books!
Besides that, there was a pile of miscellaneous items dumped on his bed.
Among them were treasures like Bonina Burger Recipe, Seria’s Luck Potion—guaranteed good stuff.
But Luke cared most about the skills he drew, for they determined how he would grow stronger.
As he browsed his rewards, his eyes grew brighter and brighter.
Finally, unable to hold back, he leapt from the head of the bed to the foot, striking a triumphant pose with one hand raised toward the sky.
He lowered his voice and declared, “Yes! This is the choice of the Gate of Destiny… Oh~ hahahahaha! Oh~ hahahahaha…”
It was an absolute bounty!
These new skills were enough to raise his overall power to another level!
If previously his strength was comparable to street-level heroes like Daredevil or modern Iron Fist, after learning these nineteen skill books he’d leap past that tier—at least to the level of a third-tier Marvel hero.
Like Black Widow or Hawkeye.
Moreover, among the nineteen books, one was quite special—if he mastered it…
“In that case, I could reach second-tier! At least, I won't lose to Tony Stark in his Mark V suit!”
Luke’s heart burned with excitement!
Becoming stronger was right before his eyes!
He was already impatient to master that special skill.
“Don’t rush—take it slow…” Luke took a deep breath…
Of the nineteen skill books, nine were in the martial arts category.
They included the Diving Punch and Judo Back Throw he’d already learned. Then came Sanda’s Low Kick, Iron Body; Qi Master’s Clone; Battle Mage’s Dragon Tooth, Spinning Staff; and finally, Street Fighter’s Brick Assault.
Low Kick, as the name implies, was a kicking technique, common in Sanda fighting strategies.
He slapped his hand and, upon learning it, immediately became a master of Low Kick. Just this move alone put him above most black belts.
He kicked into the air, producing a sharp whistling wind!
“Not bad—though I still lack a bit of power, it nicely fills the gap in my lower body techniques. Inch Punch, plus Diving Punch, plus Low Kick—I’m practically becoming a martial artist.”
Another slap, and Luke absorbed the Iron Body skill.
Iron Body was a defensive technique. Commonly known as hard qigong or Iron Shirt in folk circles.
After learning it, Luke couldn’t wait to test it out.
He was slightly disappointed.
Contrary to his hopes of being bulletproof, Iron Body couldn’t withstand bullets, nor could it resist blades.
However, it allowed him not to feel pain when struck by fists and feet.
In fact, his opponent would feel as if they’d punched a steel plate.
“Looks like I’ll need to study Spider-Man, Hulk, and the others for this aspect. If I could copy their resilience, that’d be ideal. DNF doesn’t seem to have many defensive skills…”
Yet, defensive skills were exactly what Luke desired most.
Why?
Because he feared death, of course.
He feared it to the point of obsession!
At heart, Luke was still a homebody.
He’d killed, gained extraordinary powers, but that didn’t mean he stopped fearing death.
Another slap, and he absorbed the Qi Master’s Clone skill.
This skill surprised him.
In DNF, the Qi Master’s clone stands still after being cast.
But when Luke learned it, he discovered his clone could move—and looked exactly like him!
Apart from being mute and a little vacant, the clone was almost indistinguishable from the real thing.
That was amazing!
He couldn’t help but think of a bold new tactic…
No interruptions.
Luke loved these tactical skills!
Though they didn’t directly harm enemies, they were his lifeline. As the saying goes: survive when you can, and do what must be done to survive!
Survival is a tactic.
Survival is a philosophy.
Survival is the path to victory!
As the saying goes: Without survival, you can’t win.
If you don’t first learn to scrape by, how will you ever live to win?
Last night was proof.
With this clone, combined with the Qi Shield, Luke was confident he could reach new heights of survival in situations like last night!