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#5
As I roared, Ruby, who had somehow approached me, began thumping its tail loudly on the floor and shouted.
…Is its pride a bit hurt because it’s also a magical beast?
Looking again, Ruby’s sharp teeth seemed slightly formidable too. And it’s even a rare Epic species…
Our cute Ruby is actually strong?
I kept covering my gaping mouth with both hands. I might have picked up something incredible…
“Kyuuuung!”
“Oh, sorry, Ruby. Our Ruby is super strong! The best!”
I placated Ruby, who looked sulky, by petting it vigorously. So what if it’s a magical beast? The fact that our Ruby is cute remains unchanged.
More importantly, that reward, the Lucky Gacha Ticket…
Please, I hope I get something I need right now.
“Shall we eat, our great magical beast Ruby?”
I filled both Ruby’s and my stomach with the leftover pumpkin from last night.
Since today was expected to drain even more stamina than yesterday, worry was already creeping up.
“Here, come Ruby.”
After rummaging through the wardrobe inside the cottage and changing into what seemed like the most comfortable outfit, I tied a cute handkerchief around Ruby’s neck.
“Phew, shall we go now?”
Just as I was about to leave, a quest window popped up.
[<System> Quest Generated! ‘Operation Cultivate My Own Garden!’]
– Reward: Acquire Farming Skill
– Failure Penalty: Muscle Loss
Damn it, anything but muscle loss!
Holding back tears, I flung the cottage door open and headed outside.
The destination…
was the vegetable patch, the second inheritance my parents left behind.
“Oh, so this is the s-small vegetable patch…”
I uttered an exclamation upon finding the garden plot in the backyard of the cottage.
“So, I have to farm here…”
I was dazed by the larger-than-expected scale of the plot.
The hellish labor is about to begin…
The game I played, Animal Park, was a special limited-edition game released by the company that scored a huge hit with its RPG game.
Actually, before this game was released…
I had seen a headline for an article about the game company’s CEO: “Amid the Flood of Stimulating Content, the Rise of Healing RPG Capturing a Niche Market with Peace and Healing.”
Yeah, the intention was good.
Because the previous game was such a massive hit, people’s expectations were maxed out.
However, the purchase reviews after the game’s actual release were utterly vicious.
[Pros: Animals are cute. Cons: That’s it. Deleting, goodbye.]
[Oh, I bought it because it was said to be a sequel to that earlier game, but what is this? So boring;]
[Cash shop push is intense; But even if you spend, there’s nothing to do lol]
But despite the vicious reviews…
I gave a full five-star rating to the review prompt that appeared mid-game.
I even spent money on it while tipsy.
Why? Because the animals here are cute.
Cute is everything. <- That exact point perfectly targeted my taste.
However, the reason I’m dazed looking at the vegetable patch now is because of this review:
[Not even worth one star. What kind of game makes you farm all day, every day; The devs here seem seriously into farming;]
Yeah, precisely because the farming is too realistic.
Why, in typical healing games, farming should just be: plant seeds, water, harvest. Done!
Shouldn’t it be simplified like that?
But not this game.
These damn game developers reflected reality 100% in the farming part.
So, I immediately abandoned the farming content.
Isn’t it better to see one more cute animal than to waste time farming?
But now the situation is different.
“Ugh, the area around the house is just fields overgrown with weeds…”
Looking at the barren wasteland, I let out a small sigh.
For me, still adapted to this world, going down to find the village that exists somewhere on the map is too risky. And even if I did go down, with no remaining assets, I’d essentially be a penniless beggar…
In the current situation, there’s no other option but to become self-sufficient through the garden plot.
Plus, there’s the system quest holding my precious muscles hostage.
“Heh heh heh heh! Kyuu!”
Looking at Ruby, happily prancing around the backyard for some reason, I strengthened my resolve again.
‘To feed our baby, let’s just do the manual labor…’
But contrary to that determination, no matter how thoroughly I searched every nook and cranny of the house and backyard, I couldn’t find any farming items or tools.
“How on earth am I supposed to farm! There are no tools, no seeds, nothing.”
…As expected, should I try using this?
With a grave expression, I entered the item window.
[Heart-pounding, Lucky Gacha!]
Normal Tickets: 5
Rare Tickets: 3
Special Ticket: 1
The gacha tickets I got as a reward for achieving the Beast Tamer title.
If I use these, maybe I’ll get some useful items, right?
Even though my gacha luck is notoriously terrible.
“I don’t know, let’s just pull!”
[<System> Would you like to use the heart-pounding Lucky Gacha?] [ YES ] [ NO ]
The system window popped up timely.
Anyway, as they say, speak of the devil.
Pressing YES, the surroundings instantly brightened, and small particles of light began gathering in the air, gradually growing and forming a sphere.
Poof!
Soon, as the dazzling light faded, a gacha machine shaped like an animal appeared with a poof!
“Gasp, it’s cute. Doesn’t it look like our Lulu?”
The gacha machine was panda-shaped, with a round body and circular spots drawn around its black eyes.
The panda’s fluffy front paws looked just like handles, making you want to press them immediately.
“Hmm, do I just press those front paws?”
<Panda: “Heart-pounding, try pulling the Lucky gacha!”>
As if giving an affirmative sign, a cute voice flowed from the panda-shaped gacha machine.
“Alright… First, the Normal Tickets.”
[<System> Would you like to use Normal Tickets?] [ YES ] [ NO ]
“YES! Normal Ticket consecutive 5-pull!”
Upon pressing the 5-pull option in response to the system window’s question, the Lottert tickets instantly turned into bamboo.
<Panda: “Please press my front paw with all your might. Ugh!”>
Following the panda’s words, I pressed the front paw firmly, and the Lottery tickets, now turned into bamboo, began being sucked one by one into the panda’s mouth.
<Panda: “Yum yum yum!”>
“Somehow, it also seems a bit… bizarre…”
I was captivated by the panda’s dual appearance, unsure whether to call it cute or bizarre. Soon, after all five bamboo sticks were sucked in, a flash of light sparkled in the panda’s eyes!
[<System> Results of the 5 Normal Ticket pulls.]
– Garden Cultivation Set (Mini shovel, hoe, fertilizer, shears)
– Small Potion Set (Stamina Recovery Potion 2, Magic Recovery Potion 2, Strength Enhancement Potion 2)
– Crop Seed Set
– Panda Apron: An apron with a panda face drawn on it. Feature: Very cute.
– Good Night’s Sleep Aroma Candle: Lighting the candle before sleep improves sleep quality.
“They’re here, the Garden Cultivation Set! Finally, I can do manual labor!”
Cheering, I quickly scanned down the pull list.
An apron with a panda face drawn on it. Feature: Very cute?
Ah, is that just cute and that’s it?
My energy deflated at the description of that trivial item.
I even had a rational suspicion, ‘Perhaps the developer is a panda enthusiast?’
Still, this is a pretty good start, right?
For someone with zero Gacha luck like me to pull exactly the items I thought I needed right now…
With an extremely encouraged expression, I proceeded to use the Rare Tickets next.
[<System> Results of the 3 consecutive Rare Ticket pulls.]
– Spirit Bedding Set: A blanket and pillow set crafted by the hands of spirits, embroidered with golden thread on pure white fabric. Sleeping on this bedding restores a certain amount of the player’s stamina and mental power.
– Healing Handkerchief: Wiping a wound with this handkerchief heals it quickly. However, it can only be reused after a certain cool down period.
– Cute and Adorable Bean-pod Sunglasses: Visual correction sunglasses that make even creepy and terrifying beings appear cute and lovable.
“My god, a Bedding Set! Freedom from the dirty bed at last!”
I shouted, immersed in joy upon seeing the Spirit Bedding Set among the Rare Ticket rewards.
It was a joyful voice, as if someone had just achieved an Olympic four-gold medal victory.
