Chapter 61: Can the Gacha Guarantee Really Be a Bust?

The unexpected turn of events left Li En utterly stunned.

“Wait, you can refuse? The Heroic Soul Codex can be refused?!”

Li En’s shock received no response.

But this silence itself might well be an implicit acceptance.

The Heroic Soul Codex is a simulated personality formed from memories—it can certainly refuse, even ignore you completely.

This was a rather splendid hero card: the lion-man hero, with red hair and red beard, stood firm against the surging flames.

The dragon occupied a corner of the heroic soul card, its flames spreading across the entire surface.

Yet the hero roared skyward within the ring of fire, cleaving through the flames with a single strike—the sparks from his cut extended outward along the card’s edges, becoming its decorative border.

A remarkably cool hero card; even through the paper, one could feel his unyielding rage and defiance. Behind him, silhouettes of children and elders stood silent.

Even at the brink of annihilation, the hero’s eyes remained pure, his expression confident and resolute, showing not a trace of fear.

Perhaps this was exactly the passion and purity a fairy-tale hero should embody.

His sword, the dagger at his waist, even his crown—Li En knew them all well. If only his face weren’t so eerily similar to his own, Li En would have been even more satisfied.

【Do not awaken me. Forget me—Lex Thorne.】

But the response was blunt: it simply didn’t want to deal with him, and tossed out three conditions.

At a single glance, Li En felt his scalp go numb.

【Complete either of the next two tasks to fulfill the hero’s commission and final wish, meeting the standard for forced soul-linking.】

【1. Uncover the truth behind the destruction of the kingdom’s old capital.】

【2. Meet the kingdom’s ‘Princess’.】

【Note: Under current conditions, completing the commission will increase heroic soul satisfaction, but the accumulation only counts upon soul embodiment.】

Of these two tasks, the first was clearly a massive trap—wasn’t this an open admission that the so-called “Great Kingdom Catastrophe (Great Dragon Disaster)” had hidden machinations?

The second—finding the kingdom’s princess—was feasible. After all, Saliman seemed to be connected to the princess, who was likely still in this city.

Getting her to arrange an audience shouldn’t be hard, but…

“Is this princess really the current princess?”

This was the heroic soul’s final wish. The current princess was named Dainya, born six months after the disaster—a posthumous child. Logically, her father likely never even knew of her existence.

So was this princess referring to the reigning queen? That was quite possible—after all, they were married.

Yet Li En still sensed a trap. Why else would this soul refuse to link with him? Couldn’t he just look at his wife through him?

Maybe a few glances would skyrocket the satisfaction level.

There was a third condition—yes, there was. Li En glanced at it and immediately gave up.

【If you fail to complete the heroic soul’s commission and gain its consent, you may still forcibly link against its will—but your physical and spiritual strength must reach at least one-tenth of the soul’s peak state to avoid catastrophic instability. Current detection: Buhege . Keep striving.】

One-tenth? If the rumors about that sword slicing through city walls and that single kick crushing a dragon are true, even one percent wouldn’t be enough. Just give up.

“What exactly happened back then?” Li En guessed that if the princess wasn’t the current one, Dainya, then investigating the events of the past might be the more reliable path.

Moreover, Li En himself was now a little curious about those bygone days.

He hadn’t cared at all before—but now, it seemed he’d become a party to it?!

“The First Hero, Lex…” Since arriving in this kingdom and this city, Li En had been repeatedly haunted by this name and title.

Many locals, in casual conversation, would bring him up—not because they truly missed him, but because they missed the era he represented: the mighty quasi-empire, the safe and stable good old days.

His death marked the dividing line; since then, the kingdom had steadily declined.

Later, they bred the so-called Second Hero—but from all reports, he paled in comparison to the First Hero.

“His personal strength must have been among the continent’s peak, and with those two artifacts, he could have fought gods.”

The Sword of Courage dramatically boosted his power and fortune in dire straits; the Blade of Death marked the opponent’s fatal weakness, enabling a killing blow.

“The Blade of Death also imposed a death countdown on its wielder. If he swung at the final second, facing imminent death, who knew how much stronger he could have become?”

Just from these two artifacts, Li En could glimpse the sheer absurdity of that hero’s power.

His innate ability was at least top-tier on the continent—otherwise, how could he have earned the title “Hero of the Continent”? Add to that his limitless temporary power surge against overwhelming foes—who could withstand his final, death-defying strike? Yet such a man died mysteriously. Something was clearly wrong.

“His ascension to hero status also had issues.”

The records on this were public; even if Li En didn’t want to know, he couldn’t avoid it.

Street bards, tavern ballads, brothel tunes—anyone living in this city couldn’t escape this heroic epic.

For the kingdom’s people, they cherished these old songs and legends.

They praised the hero, yes—but they also mourned the lost glory and prosperity.

“On the Day the World Ended, the Hero picked up the Sword of Courage, rallied the allied armies, defeated the Demon King, and saved the world. Classic. Cliché. But the more you look, the more problems arise.”

The hero defeating the Demon King was fine—but where did the Demon King come from? Did this world even have demons? No one could answer.

The hero’s alliance was described in lavish detail: elite regiments from every nation, the Seven Heroes, the Three Kings, the brightest sun, the invincible continent hero Lex Thorne—but nowhere was the identity of the enemy clearly defined. Who exactly? What race?

“The enemy’s specific details were deliberately obscured.”

Their own side could boast all they wanted; when it came to the enemy, it was always “Demon King” or “demonic creatures,” and the Demon King’s army was always “a sky-blackening horde of mammoths.”

“Deliberate obfuscation—could the enemy have been one of those ‘Beasts,’ a primordial beast freed from its chains?”

Li En had just experienced those things, and with his basic knowledge of the Beasts, the connection naturally formed.

A full-strength Beast truly had the power to destroy the world—and its existence could never be revealed.

The more Li En pondered, the more plausible it became. If so, the history of the former quasi-empire suddenly made sense.

“The Beast awoke. Nations were in peril. Hero Lex and the allied forces joined the war. He ultimately slew the Beast and earned the continent’s official title of Hero. The primordial Beast can’t truly die—so he must have sealed it.”

“Then his reputation in the kingdom soared. Leveraging that prestige, he married the princess and became the royal family’s legitimate heir. With the claim secured, he could attempt to annex neighboring nations.”

“At that point, declaring himself emperor and elevating the kingdom to an empire would have been entirely possible. But…”

The more Li En speculated, the more unsettling it felt.

From this angle, if Li En’s malicious conjectures were true, many people would have wanted Lex dead—and everyone had motive.

Thus, the events of that time were riddled with intrigue. Perhaps when the kingdom weakened, neighboring small states threw open their champagne bottles.

That explained why, after the old capital’s destruction and the hero’s death, other nations ignored their alliance and immediately pounced.

From their perspective, they might have truly wished the kingdom that once threatened to swallow them would vanish completely.

But when he laid this fairy tale and epic out in plain sight, Li En felt increasingly tragic.

“This hero… he looks like nothing but a disposable tool—thrown out whenever some strange monster reappears.”

At this moment, Li En felt even more determined to stay far away from the hero’s affairs—it was a super-sized pit.

If he truly obtained this power, he’d likely be sent to the frontlines as expendable ammunition the moment anything went wrong.

No wonder the kingdom was so desperate to find the Second Hero, Laina—the Demon King might return any day, and their “nuclear weapon” was missing.

“Sigh. Looks like Lex’s card can’t be rushed—I’ll treat it as a long-term quest. Luckily, Su’er’s brother came through and gave me a second card.”

Without the second card, would he have been forced to crack the mystery? Li En asked—and the Codex remained silent.

But now, he didn’t need to dwell on it. Trust himself.

“This time, it’ll be a mage. Definitely a friendly heroic soul.”

Li En murmured, preparing to draw a card—then stopped. When you’re on a losing streak, pushing harder is a mistake.

He went to the bathroom, sat quietly, washed his face, then washed his hands three times over.

Finally, he returned and began drawing.

【Heroic Soul activated. Random draw complete. Heroic Soul ‘The Most Humble Greatness,’ Kuku, descends! Soul module activating…】

This… sounded suspicious already.

【Ah! A paladin!! The most hated tin cans! Get lost!—Kuku】

No, no, please no!

At this moment, Li En finally understood how incredibly lucky he’d been to draw Su’er the first time.

Su’er, thank you so much! I used to complain you tortured me—but now I see, that pain meant nothing!

Yet this… might be exactly the magic-type heroic soul card Li En had wanted!

The messy room was piled high with strange magical artifacts. A short, hooded figure, face obscured, gripped a staff taller than himself with two pale red claws, stirring something in a giant cauldron.

Above his head floated a blue stone, a flame crystal, and an ice pillar.

This fit perfectly with Li En’s image of a mage.

The more he wanted it, the more anxious he became—afraid the soul might refuse the link again, or impose impossible conditions.

【Heroic Soul Kuku is displeased with your status as a paladin. Current satisfaction: -10%.】

Uh… this thing can go negative?!

But Li En still exhaled in relief—refusing to link was the real disaster.

Yet he rejoiced too soon…

【DRAGON! Dragons are even more hated!! Worst dragons!—Kuku】

Li En was on the verge of tears.

No, please—what do you hate? I’ll change!

Can’t change race? Uh… how about I pretend to be a lizard? Super convincing—even local cops couldn’t tell it’s fake.

Fortunately, perhaps Li En’s humble self-deprecation moved this elder—despite repeatedly stepping on landmines, the soul still didn’t refuse the link. Maybe the refusal threshold was just too high.

Thinking of it, the First Hero probably had serious issues.

【Heroic Soul Kuku is extremely displeased with your status as a dragon-blooded. Current satisfaction: -30%.】

At this moment, Li En was completely numb.

In any case, as long as it didn’t refuse the link, it was still a good thing.

He no longer expected anything from this mage who disliked him; the way the man spoke already felt off—better to move on to the next one quickly.

【Are you sure you want to activate? Note: Current satisfaction is -30%. Unknown possibilities may arise. It may not be friendly.】

But Li En, did he have a choice? These two masters today made him deeply miss the just-departed Su Er.

He truly doubted whether there was a newbie protection system, letting him draw such a friendly Spirit Brother first.

But now, it seemed he had no choice.

“Activate it. We’re all Li Ensu—how bad could it be?”

In the days that followed, he regretted this decision countless times.

(End of Chapter)