The blinding light before his eyes made Fuli catch his breath, his heart skipping a beat.
Although he hadn't played many mobile games, he knew that when a game dropped loot, gold was the best, purple was second, and blue skies with white clouds usually meant you were shit out of luck.
The light quickly faded from his retinas, leaving behind some strange things—let's tentatively call them items—presented before Fuli.
They emitted a gorgeous, multicolored glow, vying for attention as if to entice the two onlookers to explore their secrets.
Fuli had a thought and didn't open the "boxes" immediately. Instead, he opened the Finality Coordinator System's personal panel.
Sure enough, the previously empty interface was now enriched with content.
...
True Name: Fuli
Passive: Human Immortal Dao (B), Grand Time-Robbing Gift (A)
Status: Partial Expansion Jutsu (D), Presence Concealment (D)
Active: N/A
Armament: Galactic Baseball Bat (C)
Items: Healing Bullets x7 (D), Four-Dimensional Skirt (D), Memory Eraser (D), Blazing Sun Apollo (C), Incomplete Ring of the Moon (C), Flying Raijin Kunai (B)
Overall Evaluation: C-Rank Valkyrie
Ten-Pull Cooldown: 719:59:59 / Single Pull Cooldown: 00:00:00
....
"The vast majority are items. This gacha is a little too realistic."
Accidentally voicing his inner thoughts, Fuli noticed something odd. "Wait, wasn't it a ten-pull? Why are there eleven items listed on the panel? Buy ten get one free?"
Prometheus had anticipated this. [Presence Concealment is a sub-skill attached to Human Immortal Dao. The total count is still ten.]
"Buy one get one free, huh? Not bad," Fuli praised. "And the ranks listed afterward are based on our world's standards?"
[Correct.]
Whether it was combat skills, mecha creations, ritual formations, or armor and consumables, as long as it involved supernatural power, someone would inevitably categorize it into tiers.
The Honkai world was no exception. The classification method was simple and crude: D, C, B, A, and the EX above them.
"Of course, this is just a rough estimate. There will definitely be discrepancies across different categories... It's also worth noting that even for powerhouses at S-rank and above, low-level skills and items still provide a certain degree of enhancement. It's not like an A-rank Valkyrie must use A-rank skills and weapons."
Fuli explained meticulously, "Both skills and items need to work in tandem to unleash greater power. Winning by spamming a single ultimate move only happens in games—and even then, only if the enemy is useless enough to eat the same attack over and over without figuring out how to counter it."
Prometheus listened with keen interest. [What kind of skills does the Host know?]
Combat techniques didn't disappear with rebirth; this was one of the advantages of a "New Game+" player.
"I don't know much. Just a few As, a few Bs, a few Cs, and a few Ds. They're all the low-energy-consumption type."
Fuli bragged nonchalantly, looking as calm as the wind. "I'll add them all to the character panel once the System updates. For now, let's see what I just pulled."
Just seeing the A-rank Grand Time-Robbing Gift convinced him that with his System, white light was definitely not just the consolation prize.
[Mm.]
Prometheus nodded her little head and leaned in to examine the skill's effects with her host.
[Name: Grand Time-Robbing Gift]
[Rank: A]
[Type: Passive]
[Effect: A supreme Feng Shui-type passive ability capable of rapidly advancing civilization. As long as the holder possesses vital signs, the surrounding streets will flourish, the land will yield bountiful harvests, and the economy—including industry and commerce—will develop vigorously.
Additionally, nearby residents will become happier, cultivators will see increased training speed, technological progress will accelerate, and public order will stabilize. It is the ultimate aura, akin to cheating in a strategy game.
The range of the Grand Time-Robbing Gift expands as the holder's strength increases.]
[Note: The Grand Time-Robbing Gift, flowers fall forgetting their roots beside.
A solitary man thinning the fragrant wax, sharing divinity with the stars.]
For now, Fuli's evaluation of this powerful A-rank skill, Grand Time-Robbing Gift, was: "Better than nothing."
To say it wasn't strong would be a lie. Whether accelerating technological development, boosting cultivation speed, or stabilizing public sentiment, the Grand Time-Robbing Gift was, as described, a BUG-level cheat aura for strategy games.
Solely based on this trait, no matter which major organization Fuli chose to join, he would be enshrined as a priceless treasure—more valuable than a diamond that lasts forever, a veritable golden goose.
Humanity's greatest scientist, Lieserl Albert Einstein, once said: Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.
But she also said that the one percent inspiration is often more important than the ninety-nine percent perspiration.
Throughout history, the solution to many scientific mysteries hinged on that critical flash of insight. From ancient times to the present, countless geniuses have died in frustration, unable to pierce that final veil of ignorance.
The Grand Time-Robbing Gift was the perfect puzzle piece to supply that final one percent of inspiration.
However, for Fuli, who currently needed raw power to seize a specific opportunity, this A-rank skill felt a bit like a chicken rib—tasteless to eat, but a pity to throw away.
This was a super-rare, powerful A-rank skill. If it could be exchanged for immediate combat power, combined with the abilities Fuli already mastered, he could easily slay three or five Titan mechs, even if he couldn't reach his peak state from before his rebirth.
But Fuli quickly corrected his mindset. You can't have your cake and eat it too, especially since this gacha pull was something he got for free from Prometheus.
It was like going to a restaurant: if you pay and the food is mediocre, you call the manager and leave a bad review.
But if the restaurant says, "This table of fine wine and food is on the house," and you still don't give a five-star review, you simply have no conscience.
Besides, the Grand Time-Robbing Gift wasn't a bad dish at all; it was just served at the wrong time.
His earlier disdain upon seeing the Finality Coordinator System's beta-test character panel was a different matter. The System's predecessor, the Key of Domination Unit 0017, was a treasure Fuli had risked his life to retrieve from a perilous ancient ruin.
Since he had paid the corresponding price, it was only natural to have expectations.
One thing is one thing; these were separate matters.