Chapter 42: Gacha Store (1)
***
-The result is not as bad as I thought.
"R-Right?"
Karlstein cleared his throat and glanced at Aria. Fortunately, it didn't seem like he would be scolded for his recent actions.
-The Ether supply rate from the Otherworld definitely exceeds my expectations.
It was rare for anything to exceed Aria's expectations. She rarely makes such remarks unless something is truly exceptional.
Karlstein felt a sense of pride. This endeavor was something he had pushed forward with on his own initiative.
He pretty much used his own personal stash of funds, yet he didn't notice the strangeness of him being so wary of Aria's reactions. He had already become accustomed to Aria's way of living.
"Compared to the Ether we gather from the entire Galactic Empire, it is nothing, but the efficiency we gain over the actual time spent is unbelievably high."
Even when acquiring a single planet, the Ether that could be extracted from the Otherworld was overwhelmingly higher.-However, the Ether required for the investment is also significant, thus causing a significant drawback.
"That's... true."
Karlstein smacked his lips.
As part of an experiment for the advanced base plan, they sent a Prototype Final Evolution Stage 12 Hyperion to another dimension.
Just sending the Stage 12 Hyperion cost a staggering 12 billion Karma Points. And that was even after they received an additional 3 billion from Keisha.
A total of 15 billion Karma Points.
Considering the Points he earned from the Integrated Dimensional Community, minus various expenses, he had about 20 billion Points left, which meant he invested almost all his assets.
Of course, when taking into account the total sales from the Dimensional Store, it would amount to a much larger value. However, its various developments and expenditures was already a substantial amount of itself.
This was similar to a business. It was not just about accumulating earnings. One must expand the business, and invest in research and the future.
Overall, it was easier to think of it as expanding the business by increasing the flow and pie of Points.
The Dimensional Store was nothing more than a cash cow; meanwhile, he was envisioning a bigger picture.
Therefore, Karlstein considered this endeavor a necessary investment. Bold investments are needed for long-term gains, after all.
To him, Karma was just a resource and a means. It should be used where necessary, and if needed, borrowed for investment. The goal was to gain more than the investment.
From that perspective, the dimension he focused on this time was quite intriguing.
A Sci-Fi alien appeared in a world where Magitek was the mainstay? And different civilizations were coexisting?
Having never seen such a case in the community before, he decided to drop Hyperion there. Since the level of civilization of Debra seemed appropriately useful.
In fact, the Earth of the Apocalypse was too small a stage for Hyperion. Most of its civilization was destroyed, and it almost had to rebuild it from scratch.
Considering that, it was a good choice, but....
-It seems you'll have to work a bit more for a while.
"Ugh..."
That wasn't wrong. He spent too much at once. And his recent busy activities were partly to make up for it.
"Isn’t that punk intentionally getting bigger just to screw me over?”
4,200 km, a size similar to the moon.
It was indeed excessive.
4,200 km might be considered small compared to his largest warship....
But what was the point of just making it that big....
-That is why we rarely use it in the first place. Especially since it is a prototype, the power required increases exponentially with size.
It was like upgrading a low-level character with inefficient 'size' and 'weapons' to the maximum level.
The 8.5 km Imperial Warship he used to ride was also a type of coreship. Like a Matryoshka doll, it could combine with higher-level warships as needed, making it bigger or smaller according to the situation. But because of speed and power, he mainly used the Imperial Warship.
Even I use only the Imperial to save on my resources, though...!
The feeling was akin to a parent seeing their unemployed child recklessly spend on luxury items after being provided with money for necessities and education.
"Is that thing rampaging on its own because it's far away?"
His latest Hyperion model had a similar tendency. It grew in size and was obsessed with offensive upgrades.
Currently, it was kept at 300 km due to Aria's supervision, but....
-Shall we dispose of it?
Aria's cold voice interrupted Karlstein's thoughts.
"Huh?! No! Do you know how much Ether went into that?! What are you talking about!"
-It is merely a sunk cost. Besides, it was nice seeing you work hard for a change.
“!!”
Aria had a surprisingly impulsive and aggressive side.
"No! No. Anyway, it was necessary for establishing an advanced base after taking over planet Debra. It's not going to be sent out; it's meant to be the main base. So it didn't matter if it got bigger."
-Understood. Heh.
Aria's lips curled up briefly before returning to normal.
Despite her cold words, she would have been disappointed if it were actually disposed of, as she had personally trained the strong AI.
"...Anyway, are we ready?"
-Yes, Master.
But regardless of whatever happened, he never, ever neglected the cash cow.
"Then let's prepare to open."
Karlstein smiled with satisfaction.
"A preeeeemium store."
-Proceeding with the update.
***
[Do you wish to achieve your dreams?]
On the screen, a woman in a pink, fancy outfit was striking a lively pose. However, the comments were not so enthusiastic nor kind.
ㄴare u fr....
ㄴlol.
ㄴMa'am. Please consider your age.
ㄴshe’s pretty tho
ㄴour little lively kitty andromeda
ㄴMy eyes!! MY EYESSSSS!!!
ㄴA Bluadge posting a shitty meme? Now this is rare.
ㄴBarkeep! Madam! Bring me some food here! I need it to remedy the cringe!
ㄴDon't give up your humanity, Human.
ㄴthe fuck has the Bluadge fucking gone mad?
ㄴ(TheLichKingIsRich) It seems our friend has crossed the point of no return.
ㄴLMAOOOOOOO
ㄴIf you squint really hard, it kind of suits her.
ㄴYou have to practically half-close your eyes. Make your vision all fuzzy, ya feel? lololol
ㄴBlurry vision ON.
ㄴguys, that's not even the point LOL what is up with that mech?
In the video, Keisha was showing all sorts of cuteness with an otherworldly level of cheerfulness. Initially, there were many comments about the video’s protagonist, but soon the objects in the video began to catch people’s attention.
ㄴI have been training in seclusion for nigh 40 years now. However, training only seems meaningless upon this sight.
ㄴgramps. why do you train? U just need to be lucky in the lottery LMAOOO nothing else matters
ㄴthe fuck was I doing in my past life instead of saving the countryyyyyyyyy lololol
ㄴGramps, go out and do some activities LOL you need to earn Karma HAHAHAHAH
ㄴHmm. That looks tempting even to this female.
ㄴNo! That's an outfit made only for pretty girls! Why, how...!
ㄴHOW DARE!!!!!! This female’s, my, heart is still youthful.
ㄴno, what? This isn’t a matter of youth.
ㄴbut doesn't she look dead inside? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA it's a face that had no choice but to succumb to capitalism. I know that look very well from my past life.
ㄴHuh? LOLLLLLLL now that you mention it, it kinda seems like that yeah? HAHAHAH
ㄴlooks like someone threatened her with a knife to make her film this heh
ㄴDo Bluadges have to do that kind of stuff now? LOL
Although there were some sharp criticisms, the new video format posted on the community was a big topic of conversation.
ㄴwhat's up with the video?
ㄴcan we post videos now?
ㄴno, it seems only the Admin can do it for now, right? including the Bluadges.
ㄴCan you earn Points from the views?
ㄴhow tf am I supposed to know that
ㄴwhy does it seem like the Oradge live in a whole different world even though he’s in the same community?
ㄴif I knew, I'd be the Oradge instead LOL
ㄴIt seems like viral marketing for an upcoming update.
ㄴso is the video fake?
ㄴnah i don't think so
In the video, Keisha was navigating through space and facing off against space fleets. Fortunately, the scenes of her screaming and swearing were edited out.
Bang-
A flash burst out from the transformed mech suit's giant cannon, and the video ended.
[Do you wish to achieve your dreams?]
[Look forward to the next update. COMING SOON!]
*This video was uploaded with a rented product and a small advertising fee from the 'Cosmic Emperor'.
ㄴtf? isn’t this insane?
ㄴWow... I can spend my entire fortune if I can just buy that.
ㄴHow much do you have?
ㄴ37 Points....
ㄴLMAO are u fucking nuts HAHAHHA
ㄴhow much can it be bought for? is it available at the Dimensional Store?
ㄴNo, I'm VIP 6 and it wasn't there. Maybe it'll be available at the new store that’s going to come out?
ㄴwho planned that ad? I wanna slap the shit out of them fuck
ㄴfuck fr tho… my hands and feet are fucking itching…
ㄴHoho.
There were many negative opinions, but the enthusiasm was equally strong.
ㄴCan we enjoy an SF civilization too?!
ㄴKYAAAAAAAAAH!
ㄴrelease the TS pills first!!
ㄴplease don't make it just food for the next update! ah of course, it’s not like I would mind tho, hehe.
ㄴSsssseup. Speaking of which, Imma go grab some fried chicken.
ㄴWhen will it be released?
ㄴDunno?
ㄴAH! Boss, hurry up!!
ㄴno but fr if had just one of those, I could totally turn my life around no cap
Karlstein's cultural invasion was progressing /genesisforsaken