"No—wait a minute," Guinevere muttered, rereading the skill list. His gaze settled on the line he had previously missed: "Choose one of the three to keep."
After two seconds of silence, he scrolled back up and examined the descriptions for Endless Martial Training, Iron Will, and Clear Mirror, Calm Water.
Endless Martial Training: "No matter what state your mind is in, you can perfectly execute all your martial techniques."
Clear Mirror, Calm Water: "Your mental resistance is greatly enhanced, and you can concentrate far more easily."
Iron Will: "You can completely block out pain; effects like fear, confusion, and illusion become invalid against you."
"Uh…"
Indeed, they were somewhat redundant when paired: one skill guaranteed "even under mind control you can still fight," another "greatly reduces the chance of being controlled," and the third "grants partial immunity to control effects."
It felt like a mobile MOBA game item build: "Buy Tenacity Boots plus Warmog's Armor plus Purge, then turn on invulnerability frames and have 100% crowd-control immunity." Very abstract, but one had to complain where it was due.
"Why? I earned these rewards through my own effort. System, why give me only one?"
Guinevere pounded the table, searching for a "Complaint" button in the display. He had to protest—today they'd dared to swallow his skills; tomorrow, would they swallow his rewards too? Unacceptable!
[Because each player can only hold a limited number of high-tier skills, once you reach that limit, you cannot obtain any further high-tier skills.]
[If you insist, you may acquire all skill rewards, but once your skill slots are full, you cease receiving new skills.]
[Existing skills cannot be deleted.]
"Uh…well, fine. I admit I overreacted earlier. Sorry, System Bro."
Guinevere raised the white flag of surrender.
"But—weren't these skills each specialized? Why not merge them into one powerful skill and save me a slot?"
[Your suggestion has been forwarded to the system developers. As this is only a test version, there are still many areas requiring improvement. Please patiently await the implementation of new features.]
[Your support is the greatest driving force behind Life Simulator's progress.]
"Damn."
With "test version" used so freely as a catch-all excuse, what could Guinevere say? He shuddered to think how many players would be involved when the full version launched.
Since that was settled, he had to choose now.
Iron Will could block all pain and grant immunity to several negative status effects—though not all—and also increased his melee damage. Its signature wielders were the Count and Charlotte: iron-willed, unbreakable in adversity.
Endless Martial Training offered no CC immunity, but even under mind-control effects, Guinevere would still fight at full capacity without losing a step. It likely boosted martial prowess as well; its champions were Lancelot and Raikou—berserk warriors whose skill never waned.
Clear Mirror, Calm Water—Guinevere couldn't recall any Heroic Spirit boasting this skill, but its description promised massive resistance to all mental afflictions, even more comprehensive than Iron Will, albeit weaker. Additionally, it enhanced focus and ensured the calmest, most rational decisions in battle.
All three skills had unique merits, making his choice agonizing—especially since he also suffered from indecision.
After much internal debate, Guinevere sighed and quietly selected Clear Mirror, Calm Water. Not because he was intimidated by Lancelot's berserker rampage, or because Iron Will's combat boost felt insufficient, nor because Clear Mirror's defense seemed most versatile… but simply because, when faced with two long descriptions and one short description, he picked the short one. Also, it had an extra "+" in the name.
Returning to the simulation:
[After defeating Lancelot, you earn the auction rights for the Sword of Destiny, Sirime.]
[You and your companions are invited by Gloster's lord, Myrion, to her manor.]
The scene changed rapidly on the display, revealing a petite, purple-haired faerie in a green gown. Her emerald wings trembled with excitement as she greeted Guinevere and his group:
"Greetings, Chosen of Prophecy Artoria, and Chief Knight Guinevere!"
"Your duel was absolutely stunning. Even though it took place in Gloster, who would have imagined that Britannia's strongest faerie, Lady Lancelot, could ever be bested? It's unbelievable."
"May I ask—Guinevere, how did you achieve such exquisite swordsmanship just now?"
"Uh…" Guinevere froze for two seconds, uncertain, then mumbled, "Repetition…?"
"Brilliant! That solves next year's Gloster theme: 'Tools that seamlessly flow and loop back on themselves!' Full of fun and ingenuity—definitely worth making!"
Myrion's enthusiasm left both Guinevere and Artoria utterly speechless for a long moment.
"Ah—was there an awkward silence?"
Myrion sighed, her mood shifting. She spoke in a somewhat listless tone:
"Hmm. A rejected orphans-of-no-influence faerie and a mediocre third-rate swordsman hyped by a local idol producer—no wonder you were nervous. I tried to welcome you warmly to boost your favorability, but I shouldn't have ventured outside my expertise… Well, I suppose introductions are unnecessary now?"
"Oh, thank goodness—normalcy has returned. Just now, I thought you two might be some sort of impostors. What was that? Some Moresian trick?"
"Myrion, you don't have to speak for the sake of it," replied Myrion, rolling her eyes at Oberon.
"Since my plan to boost your favor failed, I'll stick to my original style… Oberon, those were fake credits at the auction, right? You're supposed to be Britannia's richest heir, yet you produced so much money to bid on a rusty sword—did you think I was an idiot?"
Guinevere's blood ran cold.
"Haha, Myrion, you're so funny," Oberon laughed. "Can't I just have borrowed money on hand and blow it all on buying a sword?"
"Stop joking, Oberon," Myrion snapped. "You spent all your wealth supporting the Round Table Army, didn't you?"
Oberon's smile froze.
"Huh? The Round Table Army? Oberon has ties to the Round Table Army?" Artoria, sitting beside Guinevere, leaned in with curiosity.
"Well, it's just some preemptive support for the Chosen of Prophecy's cause… I'll explain in detail later." Oberon turned to Myrion. "So, what do you propose?"
"Just a little exchange of favors," Myrion said, smiling and raising a finger.
"In short, the Sword of Destiny is crucial to you, but you lack funds. You couldn't afford the auction price, correct?"
"I can forge the deed to give you that sword, and beyond that, I could fund the Chosen's and the Round Table Army's activities!"
"Oh? That is a very generous offer," Oberon said, beaming. "But to offer such generosity, you must have some ulterior motive, yes?"
As he spoke, Oberon cast glances at Guinevere and Artoria while his feet began to move toward the exit.
"I have a feeling I'm about to be dragged into something troublesome, so—"
But no sooner had he taken two steps than Artoria pressed a hand on his chest to hold him back.
"Please, tell us, Lord Myrion," she said, shifting over to Guinevere's side, "What exactly is the price?"
"Well, your magic might be mediocre, but you do have the boldness of a Chosen," Myrion nodded slowly.
"My condition is simple: one faerie must die—a faerie who will inevitably stand in your path. I want you to refuse any reconciliation with him, no matter what."
"Who?" Guinevere asked.
"Commander of the Tooth Clan, Woodworth."
At that name, Artoria hesitated, then instinctively glanced at Guinevere. Memories surged in her mind. The final image was of a knight lying helpless on the ground, reaching for—something.
"Fine. I accept your terms."
[You agree to Lord Myrion's terms.]
[You acquire the Sword of Destiny, Sirime.]
[In addition, Lord Myrion provides you with 100 million Mob pounds as investment capital.]
[Having completed the opportunity "Lost Otherworldly Armament," mission rewards are now granted.]
[You have earned one special Fantasy Skill draw; the rarity is guaranteed B-grade.]
[Would you like to draw now?]
"Draw," Guinevere replied without hesitation.
Let's see if fate is kind!
On the starry-sky-themed draw screen, a blue summoning circle—all too familiar—quickly formed around his shield silhouette.
A glow appeared in the center, specks of light radiating outward to form a ring.
With the wallet-throbbing sound effect of a gacha game, that ring burst into brilliant color, splitting into three separate rings that expanded outward.
"Holy shit! It's pulling!" Guinevere leapt from his bed in ecstatic joy.
When the three rings collapsed back into a single circle, a golden card face materialized before him, displaying… the Elden Ring symbol?
Seeing the four overlapping circles he recognized so well, Guinevere typed a question mark.
The card flipped. A blonde-haired Traveler in robes appeared before him in a blaze of light—only to be swallowed by fire in the blink of an eye.
[Congratulations! You have obtained the skill: Runeshift of the Tarnished EX (Hidden Skill).]
[(No one but you can know the details of this skill; to others, it will manifest as a plausible disguise.)]
[By consuming mana-infused currency, you directly draw its power, converting money into your own strength, rapidly boosting your attributes—without any hidden drawbacks.]
"This…"
Reading the description of this overwhelmingly powerful new skill, Guinevere froze.
"So basically, they're handing me a pay-to-win conduit?"
Well, paying to win isn't inherently bad—some people can't afford it! And given how limited his time was, any boost was welcome. He decided to check the prices for this pay-to-win option.
He tapped on his new skill's details, and his expression went blank.
[Mob pounds or QP both count as mana-infused currency.]
[To raise a stat from E to D costs 5 million QP.]
[To raise a stat from D to C costs 50 million QP.]
[To raise a stat from C to B costs 500 million QP.]
[To raise a stat from B to A costs 5 billion QP.]
"Are you kidding me? That's extortionate! Who would waste their money on this?!"
Guinevere roared.
[Ding! Player Artoria has used simulation currency to boost your stats.]
[Your Strength is now C; your Agility is now D+; your Endurance and Magic are now D.]
"What?!"