Chapter 101: System Upgrade

[System Upgrade Complete]
[Host received Upgrade SSR Gift Pack *1]
[Fusion Function Activated]
[Description: Fuse five abilities or items of the same level (can be mixed) into a higher-level ability or item. Each fusion does not consume the Source of Ruin, but there is a 30% chance the fusion will fail and yield nothing.]
[Storage Function Activated]
[Description: Spend a certain number of points to store non-system items within system space; retrieval also requires spending points.]
[PS: Living creatures can be stored, but intelligent beings cannot.]
[Microtransaction Function Activated]
[Description: Exchange real-world currency or precious metals for the Source of Ruin. These points cannot be used for draws or system upgrades but can be spent on other additional system services.]
[Voice Announcer Selection Function Activated]
[Description: Tired of cold electronic voices? Spend points to choose your favorite announcer! From mature women, lolis, uncles, old men, aliens, to fairies—various voices are available! Bring home a cute announcer for just 998 points!]
[Next Level Requirement: Upgrade conditions not met; please continue your efforts, host.]

As usual, the system update added some annoying features, but those weren’t Jos’s main concern.

He wasn’t the kind to waste money on frivolous things. Even in his previous life, he always chose substance over appearances. How could he waste a ten-draw summon just to get a voice announcer?

So he casually picked a voice announcer with a tsundere tone and turned his attention back to studying the other features.

Hmm? Any problems? None, right?

Apart from that, the other three functions were quite practical.

With the increasing number of card draws, Jos already had at least hundreds of useless or duplicate abilities and a fair share of miscellaneous items.

The fusion function was perfectly timed; it allowed him to combine all those useless things into something valuable. Even an N-rank card could be forcibly upgraded to an UR.

Of course, this was just a fantasy in Jos’s mind. According to the rule of fusing five into one, to synthesize an SSR ability from N-level ones required a whopping 125 pieces, which translated to 120,000 points.

And that was not even accounting for the possibility of losing everything to failure. Clearly, this was only a supplementary feature; relying on it to advance ranks was rather unrealistic.

The storage function, however, was like a pillow to a sleep-deprived man for Jos.

Just like this trip—since he wasn’t traveling with the Shield agents, he had to take a commercial flight to New Mexico. Even with the Shield’s influence allowing him to sneak a dangerous weapon like Mercy onto the plane, it was still troublesome.

Being able to store real-world objects in system space would undoubtedly save him a lot of unnecessary hassle in the future.

Although both storing and retrieving required spending points, Jos certainly wasn’t the kind to be annoyed by such a minor system tactic.

Besides, the system thoughtfully offered microtransaction services… though the more he thought about it, the more painful that felt.

Regardless, it was an undeniably valuable function. Just a few days ago, Jos was agonizing over how to dispose of larvae—now he could just toss them into storage and be done with it.

Since those creatures hadn’t developed intelligence yet, there was no worry about whether they could be stored.

Moreover, if Jos ever got his hands on Infinity Stones, tossing them into system space would be a clever move. Would Thanos dare to snatch them back?

Even if he could wipe out half the universe, even if he was the final boss in the Avengers saga, could he break into the system?

Wait… with this system’s quirks… that’s not so certain…

Anyway, as long as Jos was alive, Thanos wouldn’t get anything stored in system space. Even if Jos lost or died—his death happening outside—he wouldn’t hand over the stones!

So tempting… cough, no, it’s not time yet. Yeah, he might not lose after all.

Putting aside idle thoughts, there was still much to explore about system space’s uses, but that would have to wait.

Perhaps because system abilities were somewhat subtle, Jos had developed the habit of maximizing any power he acquired.

Even if he got a mundane UM45, he’d at least try whether it could serve as a chopping board.

After reviewing the system upgrade details, it was time for his most anticipated moment—the unboxing.

He had to admit, each upgrade gift pack was quite generous. Despite the system’s usual quirks, the rewards were always practical, so Jos had high hopes for this pack.

As the gift pack opened, the system interface flashed with a burst of webgame effects, and an object appeared before Jos’s eyes.

“What the… is this thing??”

Displayed on the system panel was a roughly ninety-centimeter tall stone.

The stone was roughly cylindrical, wider at the bottom and narrower at the top, with nothing remarkable about its shape—except for a blue object resembling a sword hilt at the top, which looked quite peculiar.

[Name: The Sword in the Stone (Not Yet Drawn)]
[Rarity: SSR]
[Effect 1: Ex-Curry Stick (Sealed, unusable): Converts all the user’s released power into pure light.]
[Effect 2: Stone Block: The stone encasing the sword is the will of the planet itself and cannot be removed by any means.]
[Effect 3: Don’t Try to Pull It Out: Once placed on the ground, it cannot be drawn; retrieving it requires payment.]
[Remarks: The legendary King’s Sword, the strongest treasure held by the knight Artoria Pendragon, symbolizing the might and nobility of King Arthur. Since no one but Artoria can pull the sword out, it was excavated along with the stone. Though unusable as a sword, it’s still quite painful as a blunt weapon.]

Jos rubbed his eyes and looked at the system screen again. After confirming the text hadn’t changed, he could only sigh in exasperation.

Hah, it wasn’t like he was new to this system—would he really complain? No way.

“But this thing… if we look at the effects, isn’t it like a weakened version of Captain America’s shield?”

Although it lacked the ability to absorb all impact, combining effects two and three meant that throwing it on the ground instantly created a temporary invincible barrier—though paying each time to use it was a pain.

Besides serving as a shield, Jos could feel its heavy weight just by looking at it. If it were swung around and smashed down, its sheer force might even surpass Mercy’s greatsword.