It's never easy to wake up under the effects of mana depletion.
The body gets sluggish, thoughts blur, and every step feels heavy.
For a while, it's hard to concentrate.
I thought my mana had increased a little, even if barely, and that this lessened the aftereffects of mana depletion, but after a bad night's sleep, I did a 180 on that.
Of course, nothing had changed about my pillow or my bed, so the only suspect for why I felt like this today was last night's gacha results.
They were such a letdown that it even affected my sleep...
And then, after looking at the party group chat, I felt even worse.
There were new messages from Roy and Sam, but to keep a long story brief, Roy's neighbour, the one he was counting on to heal him, was not home, and would only be back today by nighttime.
As such, Roy couldn't go to the Dungeon today with us.
Sam was sympathetic to his situation and asked if we could pause the Dungeon Raids until he got better.
He also apologized for "dragging everyone down" and "stopping us", which was a little...
It's not like he was wrong, but c'mon... It could've happened to any of us, and the fact that it happened to him was only because he took the most dangerous one without complaining.
Sure, it didn't work out incredibly well, but had it worked, we would be singing a different tune, saying how reliable he is.
I think his only mistake is in evaluating himself and others, but his courage and eagerness are not bad... They are commendable, and having someone ready to do what's necessary, even if hard or dangerous, is good. Especially since it balances out with the way I work...
Also, I agreed with Sam's sentiment that it would be dumb to expect everyone to be free every day or prioritize only the Dungeon Raids when they don't even pay us enough to make a living yet.
I couldn't help but laugh reading the messages and seeing Roy grow desperate after trying the hospital and seeing the charges, only to then search for potions and be even more surprised about them.
Still, I just left a few messages telling him to get better and started thinking about what I should do today.
There was a message from Sam about how important it is to rest sometimes, and while I knew this to be true, when doing the Dungeon Raids I was excited for, it was easy to forget about this.
The Dungeon we go to is fairly populated. The risk of a Rampage happening was incredibly low.
The most dangerous thing that could realistically happen would be a Divine Event, but even then, the last time Earth participated in one, we placed so low and did so badly that even Catherine and the other God who chose to sponsor Earth seemed displeased.
Although that's according to the participants of that event and the nuns and priests who claim to hear her voice, since the rest of us don't usually get direct contact with her.
Still, the number of similar claims about her and the other God, Hwa, being annoyed was high enough to lend them some credence.
Even then... What are the chances of my being selected for a Divine Event?
The most immediate danger from them would be Catherine using her power to change the world in some way to punish us, but if she were going to do that, it would've happened after the results from our last performance.
So, either she can't do something like the First Contact anymore, she doesn't care enough about it, or she has another reason not to do it...
Even crime is on the low lately since a lot of people use Dungeons as stress relief from time to time, murdering monsters instead of harming humans...
I'm pretty safe in my home...
There's no need to rush things...
And yet...
If I got stronger, I could have more rolls, and I could take charge and avoid results like yesterday...
But going to the Dungeon alone... Even if I'm a little bit stronger now than when I first started...
I can't convince myself to do it. The risks are too high.
I could stay close to the settlements, where only weaker monsters can be found, but... What would be the point? It's not enough experience.
Forming another party could also be problematic... We are making decent progress, and even if slowly, I can feel our synergy increasing.
Sam and Roy are also good people, and that can be hard to find sometimes...
With all of us having at least one combat skill, we're also practically guaranteed to kill the floor boss.
Thus, after considering the pros and cons, I decided to accept reality, kick back, and take it easy for once
Without any chance of a level-up, I claimed the [Daily Tickets] and the [Kingdom Points] I could, which left me with a total of 2 [Gacha Tickets] and 7 [Kingdom Points].
The rolls from yesterday were, quite frankly, bad, so this time, instead of putting the two tickets in the [Skills Banner], I tried only one, and reserved the other for another banner in case I got another disappointing result.
Checking the [Current Skills] after the whole process was done made me want to laugh.
[Faster Tree Climbing
The holder of this skill can climb trees faster.
As a passive skill, it is always active, unless the user decides to deactivate it.]
This... This had to be a joke.
The results of this banner, the one I had put the most faith in, were declining so rapidly that now, I'd forever have a stain on my status.
I mean... Tree Climbing...
Not all floors are cave-like, so it's...
Still useless.
Yeah, I tried.
It might've been for a second, but it was the best I could muster.
Everything put together made me incredibly salty, and I decided to avoid the [Skills Banner] for the next ticket without giving a damn about the good things it had already given me.
This was the perfect chance to try something new.
There were a bunch of other banners I wanted to try.
And tomorrow, I'd have more tickets, so...
Looking at the banners that interested me, considering everything that happened yesterday, and today's circumstances, I felt oddly attracted to the [Companions Banner].
It was the only interesting one I had not yet tried, and if we were to cancel another Dungeon Raids in the future, if I had something like a dog, a spirit... Or like, a fairy or robot... It could help me go to the Dungeon while still feeling secure about someone or something having my back.
The [Weapons Banner] was also good, but... A new weapon wouldn't change enough, and I would prefer to get something I don't yet have than a substitute. I think it's just a better value.
The [Armor Banner] best result, as of yet, is as bad as the [Skills Banner] worst, so it was instantly a no.
I wasn't looking forward to wasting this ticket on another disappointing banner.
I wanted something new... Something to renew my hopes.
This might have been why I was so fixated on the [Companions Banner], besides the other, more rational reasons.
Thus, like always happens after a roll, my mind goes blank for a second.
My senses then return, I can finally open my eyes, but when I do...
What I saw made me wonder if I'd actually woken up today.
Surely, I was still dreaming... Right?