Chapter Fourteen: A Gacha System Without Guarantees Is Trash—Wouldn't You Agree, Fate/Grand Order?

Due to Hippocampus’s persistent requests, Shuangliu reluctantly began to share the stories behind the cards and the emotions he had invested in them, attempting to persuade Hippocampus using the theory of the "heart."

At some point, Hayato had drifted to the back and started to zone out. Instead of listening carefully to Grandpa Shuangliu’s words, he focused on the panel that appeared before his eyes.

As soon as the display screen for the “SaiQ Duelist System” appeared, Hayato saw a few words appear prominently at the center of the screen:

【Congratulations, duelist, you have achieved your first victory…
Lost? Tsk…
Congratulations on completing your first duel.
This duel’s score: 1100 dp (base match score 1000 + 100 for using three Magic Cards)
Would you like to use the beginner’s bonus to double your score? (Remaining uses: 10)】

Having just completed a match against the game, Hayato heard the “ding” notification sound. After a moment of thought, his finger pressed “NO.”

At the instant Hayato touched the number 1100, it began to move, sliding up to the top-left corner of the screen where a frame appeared containing a close-up of his face. Below it was a blank box.

The number “1100” embedded itself into the blank box and stayed there. Meanwhile, the text in the center of the screen quickly dimmed, and instead, four cards floated into view.

The cards resembled the monster cards used in Duel Monsters, but instead of illustrations in the center, there were words. From left to right, they were labeled: 【Achievements】, 【Quests】, 【Shop】, and 【Warehouse】.

Thanks to his experience playing games in his previous life, Hayato instinctively understood the functions of these modules without needing a system guide. First, he clicked on the brightly lit “Achievements” section.

Upon entering the 【Achievements】 section, he was greeted by countless Yu-Gi-Oh! cards filling the entire screen, each showing the swirling pattern of the card back in muted colors.

Only three cards stood out. Their edges shimmered with a faint golden glow, and even the swirl pattern on their backs was more vivid than the others. Without inspecting them one by one, Hayato flipped all three cards at once.

【Achievement completed: Attack Power of Blue-Eyes White Dragon!】
【Condition: A monster’s attack power reaches 3000 points】

【Achievement completed: Duel King Yugi Muto】
【Condition: Duel once against Yugi Muto】

【Achievement completed: Your Life Is Like a Flickering Candle in the Wind】
【Condition: Lose a duel when your opponent’s life is below 1000 points and your life is higher than your opponent’s】

Rewards: 500 dp × 3,
1 R-tier card pack (Dragon type),
1 SR-tier card pack,
1 R-tier selectable card coupon

Faced with this dense text, Hayato studied it carefully and deduced the basic setup of the 【Achievements】 module.

Firstly, all “achievements” are hidden until completed, when their conditions then become visible—meaning achievements exist only as optional bonuses to be fulfilled by chance. However, since there is an achievement for dueling the game, it is likely there are achievements for dueling other legendary duelists as well.

Secondly, completing each achievement grants a fixed reward of 500 dp, which is half the amount awarded for losing a duel. Hayato was still unclear on the use of dp, so he did not pay this much mind. The main interest lay in the third point.

Thirdly, different achievements grant different special rewards upon completion—such as the Blue-Eyes achievement giving an R-tier Dragon card pack, and the Yugi achievement granting an SR-tier card pack.

After confirming no other rewards were available, Hayato exited the 【Achievements】 section and skipped the middle two modules, moving directly into the 【Warehouse】.

The 【Warehouse】, as the name suggests, was for storage. Hayato tried placing his deck inside and succeeded. However, when he attempted to store his shoulder bag, he was unable to do so.

It seemed the 【Warehouse】 could only store items related to the SaiQ Duelist System.

Hayato’s gaze lingered on the three other items inside the 【Warehouse】 besides his deck, but he only glanced to confirm their presence, with no intention to open card packs or select cards just yet.

After all, he had just spent money buying several real card packs to test his luck, only to find that despite crossing worlds and rewriting fate, his fortune was no better than before—neither lucky nor unlucky. Opening packs was a matter for later, perhaps after a bath at home tonight.

Exiting the 【Warehouse】, Hayato entered the 【Shop】 module. Immediately upon entry, he saw a large stack of card boxes placed before him.

The boxes bore no illustrations, only the words “Basic Card Pack” in Chinese, neatly arranged with about 30 packs inside. The front pack displayed a price tag of 100 dp per pack.

So it was just like those pay-to-win gacha mobile games. Hayato felt a pang of exasperation. The 【Shop】 was clearly the classic core system of a gacha game—the card-drawing system, Duel Monsters edition. The only difference was that in mobile games, one could spend real money, while here Hayato would have to grind to earn more dp.

Next to the card boxes was a text explanation, which Hayato read carefully. It explained that each pack sold in the 【Shop】 contained five cards of varying rarity from N (Normal) to UR (Ultra Rare), with at least one card per pack being R-tier or higher. Each box of packs contained at least one SR card.

Additionally, the 【Shop】 had a recycling system for surplus cards of R-tier or above. Based on the quantity and quality of cards recycled, dp would be returned accordingly.

Moreover, the 【Shop】 occasionally offered special limited-edition card boxes. Unlike basic packs, which automatically restocked after purchase, these limited boxes were finite. They contained cards unique to that period, guaranteeing at least one UR card and three SR cards per box, with a total of 100 packs in each limited box.

To accommodate less fortunate players, the 【Shop】 also allowed direct purchase of individual cards using dp. However, Hayato only glanced at this option before exiting. The card selection was exhaustive, ranging from “Turtle Bad Beast” to “Red-Eyes Dragon Knight,” encompassing all cards allowed in the current era, including three copies of the much-desired “Blue-Eyes White Dragon” that Hippocampus was eager to acquire, even offering various alternate art versions.

And the cost?

One word: expensive.

Hayato looked and was stunned. The cheapest R-tier card in the shop cost 100 dp. He thought that if he were to buy cards outright, he might as well just open card packs, because even bad luck there would likely yield better cards—and packs came with four additional N cards.

Leaving the most functional and comprehensive 【Shop】, Hayato moved on to the last section: 【Quests】.