Gacha Kingdom Building

The self-proclaimed humble receptionist who just turned out to be the very Infinite Hotel herself had a few things to ask of me.

There were two main reasons that made her go through the trouble of calling me here, and the first one had to do with the Kingdom.

Hotel Girl: " ...Since I have you in here, I know about its existence, but I can't acquire it no matter what, and I hate having missing spots inside the Hotel... can you put a gate to the Infinite Hotel in your land? Just having the two connected will be enough for me. It will also allow you to visit whenever you want!"

I told her this wasn't possible as I didn't have a building that enabled that. But she assured me by promising a special building as an event reward.

It's interesting to me that she can interact with my Gift so much and yet still has to follow its rules. This very event just happened because she started spamming my Gift until it was all but guaranteed that the other events would have no chance of showing up.

While she did manage to get the result she wanted, she had to find a workaround to make it work.

Miwen: "Alright, I'll build that after we're done here. And the other?"

Hotel Girl: "Currently, you have two Rare Gacha Tickets, right? I want you to use them on the [Companios Banner]. I've decided on a new project, and I'd like you to summon someone..."

Miwen: "You know I can't guarantee the person you want, right?"

I felt necessary to remind her of that. Last time I had to use a bunch of tickets and use the [Mana Banners] a lot to get what the Merchant wanted, and even then, the chances were minuscule.

He probably only got what he wanted due to his own luck...

Hotel Girl: "...You're underestimating me quite a bit... In this place, I control everything. Your luck is no exception. For your Gift to work, you need randomness. But we can get pretty close to a guarantee... Also, I assure you that they will be useful, so no need to worry about it being wasteful!

And I'll also reward you accordingly for this..."

I didn't appreciate how vague she was being, but when I asked if she was going to give me back the Rare Gacha tickets as a reward, she promised something even better... the Merchant could learn a thing or two about the art of the deal with her.

She also told me that she would share my memories with the people I summon here to speed up their understanding of their situation. While I didn't need any security guarantees due to the girls being around, she promised it anyway.

I then used the Rare tickets and in front of me...

There were only grass fields. Had I mistakingly returned to the kingdom?

No... that couldn't be the case. The forest, the river, and the walls were nowhere to be seen. The place felt smaller, and the houses also weren't around. Instead, there was a single tent.

This was the kingdom... before I started making modifications to it.

I looked up and saw the bright blue sky... I recognize that now. Of course, it had to be this sky, idiot...

?????: "You shouldn't look directly to the sun, young man."

Miwen: "I thought getting blind would help me get out faster."

?????: "Why are you in such a hurry? We just met, don't you want to talk a little?"

Miwen: "... With you? What could I even say that you wouldn't already know?"

?????: "I never looked that far, you know? It would-"

Miwen: "Undermine what you did... I can understand that."

... time continued to pass inside this land as I waited to get back to the Infinite Hotel.

?????: "Getting worried, are we?"

Miwen: "Last time it felt like a second had passed, but in reality, a few minutes had gone by. We've been talking for a while, so... my girls must be apprehensive..."

?????: "The First Daughter is currently holding time almost still inside the Infinite Hotel, so your friends have not noticed. She's also desperately looking for you, but..."

Miwen: "She can't reach this place."

?????: "Yes... it shouldn't exist to begin with. If not for your Gift, this land would've been forgotten, even by the Endless."

Miwen: "Hahah... don't say it like that. It makes it sound like they knew about its existence. Also, don't blame me, it was your fault from the start."

?????: "I suppose... I'm sorry for the trouble."

Miwen: "...My time is almost up now... It's a shame that I will forget everything again, but my mind would break otherwise... Well, see you around. Or maybe not, who knows?"

?????: "I for one, do not."

Miwen: "Haah... I swear you all can be so selfish... can't you be honest with yourselves for a second? Just tell me... are you happy... with the results?"

?????: "Are you?"

Miwen: "I-"

...My heart felt extremely heavy, and before I could think about anything else, I was back at the Infinite Hotel... It felt like I was forgetting something important, but the moment I tried to think about it, my head suddenly started aching.

It was hurting so much that I wanted to bash against the Hotel's desk...

Miwen: "Arghh... Fuck! Ugh... my head feels like it's going to explode..."

Hotel Girl: "...It's the effect of using a Rare Ticket... and two at that... You'll probably get used to it one day. It's just that your mind isn't strong enough right now."

Miwen: "Uh huh... But this didn't happen the first time."

Hotel Girl: "...?"

The girl who always takes whatever opportunity she gets to show off how much she knows about everything seemed completely lost for the first time.

Somehow, seeing her like that was healing me... or maybe it was an effect of the magical bandaids she made appear on my head.

Hotel Girl: "That shouldn't be possible... unless... what state was your mind in at the time!?"

Miwen: "I was pretty focused, I guess."

She was incredibly cute while acting like she was surprised.

Hotel Girl: "...I see... well, more importantly, here! Say hello to your new friends!"

In front of us, there was... one dragon... and one sword.

I was sure that I had hit the [Companions Banner], so it was extremely confusing for me why a monster and a weapon came out.

Miwen: "...Uh... Hi?"

I thought I was being friendly-ish, but as soon as I started speaking, the sword in front of us took off into the air and summoned five others around it. All of those aimed at their target and started flying... toward me.

Their speed was no concern, but it was also obviously a faint. Just one look from above and I could see a bunch of other swords standing above me, which ended up falling way faster.

They basically had me surrounded, but with the speed I had, dodging them was no big deal.

Hotel Girl: "Hey, hey! Don't mess up the carpet! Stop it!"

The girl responsible for the maintenance of the Infinite Hotel clearly had her favorites... Even though we burned holes through the floors, she got angrier at this sword for messing up her decorations.

Well... it's just her acting over the top again though. The holes we burned previously were gone the moment we all reached this place, and she changed the whole structure of this floor to have her desk behind me and give the dragon that had more than 15 meters in length some space.

This meant that she had complete control over this place, and the ability to fix anything instantaneously.

Hotel Girl: "Also, I get that you want to show off how imposing you are, but get back to your normal form."

The dragon hadn't made a move at all since the beginning, but the sword stopped as soon as the Hotel Girl commanded her to.

They also reverted back and I got to confirm that I had hit the right banner.

Starting with the sword... girl... Her hair was a dark shade of purple and quite short, like Ellie's, at around shoulder length. Her slim body gave her quite a delicate and pretty face, but her sharp eyes betrayed that as they seemed to track every movement that I made, locking onto me as if I were her prey.

What's more, I couldn't help but think this girl was quite strange... even though she was naked and surrounded by others, she kept a crooked smile and maintained eye contact with me, as if she was seeing something amusing.

Judging by appearance alone, she felt like a problem. As much if not even more than Beatrice and Elizabeth...

She was taller than Elizabeth, around the same height as Anna. Her three sizes also seemed to be somewhere between Elizabeth and Anna.

As for the dragon girl... the first thing to note is that she's not just that. Her wings were white and feathery, and they looked like a mixture of that of a dragon and an angel. Her hair was as short as the sword girl's, but it was slightly more messy and less smooth, as for the color, it was a pretty white.

She had horns and a tail, which made sense considering the appearance she just showed us, but now that she took a more humanoid form, a halo hung above her head. Which in addition to her wings, made me think that she was actually an angel.

Her eyes were also fixated on me, but unlike the other girl, they didn't feel intimidating. Instead, they seemed hopeful, as if she was expecting something from me.

While still somewhat strange, it was a way more understandable approach...

Body-wise, I believe her breasts might be bigger than Anna's, but just barely. As for hips... they seemed to be the same. Perhaps because I've seen Anna so many times, hers looks a bit bigger than the dragon girl, but it's at the level where I'd have to measure them side by side to be sure.

Hotel Girl: "I thought you'd behave more..."

Sword Girl: "It's only proper to show my might to one who's to be my lord. See, he's so impressed that he cannot take his eyes off me."

Hotel Girl: "That's not the reason! Stop! Stop moving!"

While the two odd ones kept messing around with each other, the dragon... angel... girl kept patiently sitting on her knees, looking extremely composed as she waited for me to say something.

Miwen: "Alright... I suppose you at least know the situation you're in, right? While you may know a lot about me thanks to the First Daughter over there sharing my memories, I know nothing about you. So... Introductions, please?"

Sword Girl: "Haah... so complicated... Let's see... I was called Cassandra Novaes previously... But I'm fine with whatever name you decide. I'm the Accursed Black Sword, the Blade-Eating Demonic Armament.

I vow to become your sword in a more literal sense than the redhead's. Oh, but if this body pleases you, indulge in it to your heart's content, I don't mind servicing you the same way your other sword does."

There was no need to show them those memories! I swear... her piercing gaze already made me self-conscious, but now it's cranked up a notch.

Elizabeth: "Accursed Black Sword... Novaes... You... wouldn't happen to be Lazo's sword, would you?"

Cassandra: "Oh, even though I was such a small part of his myth, you remember me? I'm flattered... Hm? Why are you staring daggers at me? Ah... I see...

you want revenge, right? After all, I made a pool of blood from your race."

Elizabeth: "...Your Majesty... I ask thee permission to vanquish this one. I vow to make my worth tenfold hers. And if the warmth of her body lures thee, I shall offer mine as a replacement."

I'm not particularly polite or elegant, and whenever I'm angry, my words end up devolving quite a lot. For most of my life, I believed that to be common sense, but Elizabeth seemed to be the other way around as her words became way more classy while still showcasing a lot of hate behind them.

Even when I almost killed her or when the Merchant showed up, she didn't look like this... is this what happens when her people are insulted, or is she talking like this in an attempt to persuade me? Or maybe her anger stems from her inability to act without my permission?

Whatever the case...

Miwen: "Denied. For now. And I want an explanation."

Hotel Girl: "Well, that's easy, there's a lot of bad blood between them due to-"

Miwen: "From you, Elizabeth."

While I'm sure the Infinite Hotel knows about it and is capable of giving me the most details about everything that might've gone down, I want to hear the story from Elizabeth's mouth as I'm also interested in her feelings on the matter.

With the Hotel Girl and Cassandra here, she has no choice but to speak honestly, and it's a good opportunity for me to see how she acts when she has to be sincere.

It was also useful that I might be able to exploit their relationship to leash Elizabeth, though given Cassandra's amusement, I'm quite sure that it would be like trying to put out a fire by starting another one.

Also, seeing as Claire got quite pissed that this girl stole her whole "I'll be your sword" spiel, the start of a fire might soon stop being just an analogy.

As for the story... it's quite complicated, but to put it in easy terms, this girl is from a mythological race... according to the demoness.

Basically, they are very rare sentient weapons. Together with her sister, the Heavenly White Vestment, they helped a man named Lazo to rise to hero status... not only that, the guy eventually reached the point of ascending, which he did.

But as a condition to ascending, he was ordered to destroy the sword that acquired so much Demonic Power, as she, unlike her sister who acquired Divinity, couldn't ascend.

It's quite a tragic tale as they were bound to his will, and so, her sister couldn't do anything to protect her, nor could she fight back.

What's more, this hero Lazo was around during the era of Elizabeth's father, so this tale took place in her world before she became queen, around the time she was a kid... which explains her ingrained hatred towards Cassandra.

And while this sword could just put all the blame on this Lazo guy, she kept being extremely unapologetic toward Elizabeth, stating that it would be dumb for her to regret doing her job.

Leaving the past aside for a second, both as a citizen and as equipment, she seemed incredibly useful. Her status is added to the person who has her equipped, alongside all of her magic and skills. Her race has the innate ability to use the very rare, non-elemental sword magic.

Since she's a living being, she also has a Gift which makes her able to eat all types of bladed weapons, strengthening her status based on the power of the weapon and also allowing her to summon them in both "sword form" and humanoid form. To keep them around she needs to use her mana though, and by summoning them, her status also decreases proportionally.

Still, much like Elizabeth, she's basically a one-woman army. Her Gift is incredibly compatible with her race abilities, and I know that having her to myself would be a giant boost. As expected of the Rare Gacha Tickets... she might have as much synergy with me as Claire.

Cassandra: "Such a problematic woman... Perhaps my lord will be better off without you..."

Elizabeth: "...Don't listen to her, had we met on the battlefield, all three of them would be dead before making a name for themselves. Whatever she thinks she's worth, I can guarantee you that I offer tenfold."

Cassandra: "I'm more suited to be by his side, demon. You can just go back to your friends of the Caravan."

Elizabeth: "Don't underestimate me, vulgar vixen. I fully plan on seeing him through to the end. And for that, getting rid of hindrances like you is a must."

While Licia and Ellie hold back Claire from joining, the other girls are enjoying the show from the sideline. The Hotel Girl included.

But yeah, I can't let this go on for too long. While these two don't like each other right now, it might be possible to amend their relationship in the future.

Not to mention, I'm quite interested in this girl who even at level 1 openly challenges Elizabeth.

She would obviously be defeated right now, but I wonder if the results would be the same if their levels were equal.

Miwen: "...More and more it feels like I'm running a kindergarten rather than a kingdom... You two will have to learn how to live with each other, I'm not choosing when I can have both. Do I make myself clear?"

Elizabeth: "... If that's your will... I shall oblige."

Cassandra: "Yessir."

...One of them seemed way more reluctant than the other, which probably means trouble ahead, but I'll deal with it when the time comes.

For now, having both by my side should obviously be the better option.

Miwen: "So... that leaves you..."

Dragon Girl: "Yes... please, excuse me..."

I must say... given everything that went down, I'm impressed that this one managed to stay so calm and patient through it all.

She stayed in the same place ever since the start, and while clearly listening, she didn't raise her voice and just held her head down to not give any looks to anyone.

I think personality-wise she's close to Ellie, so unless she somehow has beef with someone, I shouldn't expect too much trouble from her... which already gives her quite a few points over the recent additions...

Dragon Girl: "I'm...a holy dragon. My mother was an angel, and my father a dragon... You can call me Angelica since my father had poor taste... as for my Gift... whenever I kill something, there's a chance that it becomes an orb, like the ones monsters sometimes drop... this orb might grant a bit of someone's status or a weaker version of their Gift.

I also have a secondary Gift... it gives me both Light and Holy magic, strengthens their effects, and allows me to create divine water..."

The Hotel Girl wasn't lying when she said that both of them would be useful... this one not only can enhance the status of others, but also give them Gifts, even though a lesser version...

She said that there's another restriction with these orbs, as one can't have a lot of them unless they reach certain levels, but it's still incredibly useful.

That ability alone makes her top-tier, but she also has some potential as a healer... Not to mention that due to her wings and her ability to transform into a dragon, she has a lot of potential for info gathering.

Truly, the power of the Rare Gacha Tickets is incredible, but it makes me wonder...

Miwen: "What is the deciding factor for the ticket rarity? Because these two are incredible, but Claire was also amazing, and she came from a common ticket."

Hotel Girl: "In the case of your little arsonist, you were extremely lucky. The common tickets offer an abysmal chance of getting something good, but you can still summon anything using them. But with better tickets, you increase the chances of getting something high tier...

For the [Companion's Banner], what determines the odds of each girl coming out is their synergy and usefulness to you and the kingdom. Also, the odds aren't fixed, they vary constantly. If you wish for something specific, based on your luck, the chances of that coming out will increase a little bit. Which is how I cheated just now with infinite luck~"

Hm... it's hard to give parameters to it, but I guess it makes sense... in the end, it's as random as it could be.

If I had to say, I think I've been quite lucky with the [Companions Banner~. While Claire stands out, all the others have also been a great help or shown good synergy with my Gift.

Then again, [Gacha Kingdom Building] is quite broad, so I don't know how much merit can be attributed to them.

As soon as I accepted Cassandra and Angelica as my citizens, a new screen appeared stating that I had unlocked something.

[Your kingdom has reached 10 [Ctitizens], thus, the [Special Roles] function has been unlocked.

You have been automatically awarded the role of [King]. This role is unique and cannot be shared with anyone else. It gives the user the highest position in the hierarchy and the ability to use any of the unlocked features of [Gacha Kingdom Building].

With the current amount of Citizens in your employment, you can create up to one Special Role, and assign a maximum of one citizen to it.

The user can customize a Special Role with a name of his own choosing and a plethora of different options, these may limit or grant rights for the [Citizens] occupying these positions.

A [Special Role] may be granted or removed whenever the king desires, and it's also possible to establish a hierarchy with them, which would allow other [Citizens] to grant lesser positions if their role allows.

However, a citizen can not grant a [Special Role] with rights that they themselves do not possess.

[Events] may forcefully create [Special Roles] during their duration. They might also select people for these positions without input from the user.

Please note that, the more rights a role has, the more resistant they are to the power of [Orders].

The number of possible [Special Roles] will rise whenever the kingdom's population increases, and certain events may also grant more [Special Roles] slots.]

That was a lot... but this system is quite useful.

I can give basically all rights I have to someone of my choosing, be it sharing skills, using orders, or even a telepathic communication system...

Not only that, I can also create a role as punishment... disabling their ability to leave and go as they please, or cutting them from the experience sharing...

Right now, I'm the only one with a [Special Role], and all the girls are simple [Citizens], but I could create a new role and have it above or below the normal [Citizens].

One interesting thing is that I can edit the [Citizens] role too, but I can't grant or limit as many rights. The only thing I can change from this role is the experience sharing and the ability to leave the kingdom.

I was eager to test this new function, so I decided it was time to say goodbye to the Infinite Hotel and end this event.

I thought that whatever questions I still had, I could ask later as I would have unlimited access to this place soon enough.

Miwen: "Though I would like you to give me back my bird. He's very important."

Apollo left me as soon as he saw her. Which was predictable since she's as close to the origin of creation as possible.

But he didn't show interest in coming back until she forced him to.

Hotel Girl: "Oh yeah, I almost forgot! You have a bunch of missed calls, when you leave this place, you better check them out, alright?"

Miwen: "...? Sure..."

It was very strange advice, but she seemed serious about it, so I decided that the first thing I'd do after leaving this place was return to Earth to see what this was all about.

Still, the strangest, but most peaceful event we ever had finally came to an end, and it provided me with the following rewards:

[Invitation! The Infinite Hotel Eagerly Awaits #KFLAD983629310FV/+@

There's an incredibly pretty girl for you to meet, I know you like that. I'll give you her number if you play along.

I'll make you cookies if you come...

I'll give you good rewards, please...

I know the secrets to everything in existence, I'll share a few with you...

Just come play with me for a while.

Ending Achieved: Visit me anytime, or call me! (INF) HTL-GIRL.

The rewards for achieving this ending are:

All of your kingdom points are drained.

The number of options available for the next Events has been reduced by two.

The number of days until the next event happens has been set to two.

You have unlocked a [Special Building]: [Door to The Infinite Hotel]. The price for the first installation has been set to 0.

You have unlocked all the buildings from the planet Earth.

10 Gacha tickets have been awarded.

1 Ultra Rare Gacha Ticket has been awarded.

You have been awarded the following skills:

[Increased Fertility]

For when you're feeling unlucky. This skill increases the chance of fertilizing your partner or being fertilized yourself. This is a passive skill that can be turned on and off according to the user's will.

[Reduced Fertility]

For when you're feeling too lucky. This skill decreases the chance of fertilizing your partner or being fertilized yourself. This is a passive skill that can be turned on and off according to the user's will.

Hotel Girl: "No need to thank me! Bye bye!"

Miwen: "Wait, you fucking-"

And just like that, I was back in the Kingdom.

I immediately tried to place the Door to the Infinite Hotel, but I couldn't enter and a pop-up told me it was closed for maintenance due to a problem with their elevator.

I couldn't believe that this girl had scammed me way more than the Merchant ever did. Fuck these higher lifeforms...

I thought I could at least check my phone, and after doing so back on Earth I had to rush out of my home.