Chapter 10 : Mastery and Memory
The soft glow of the holographic interface filled my room, casting shifting patterns across the walls.
Leech was running quietly in the background, a subtle pulse at the edge of my awareness. One-meter radius of nullification, stable, controllable. I'd have time to experiment later. For now, it was time to move on.
I focused on the next category: Abilities.
Two stood out first: Advanced Computer Skills and Photographic Memory.
[Assimilate Ability: Advanced Computer Skills?]
[Confirm?]
"Go."
Immediately, my mind opened. Streams of logic, lines of code, protocols, and systems cascaded through me.
It wasn't just understanding—it was mastery. Every programming language I had ever glimpsed, every piece of software I'd struggled with in my old life, now made sense. I could hack into most organizations from my old world with ease, access their networks, manipulate data… all from a thought.
I leaned back, absorbing the implications.
I could start building something like JARVIS.
A digital assistant, intuitive, omnipresent, capable of handling everything from surveillance to security breaches.
Of course… the resources I actually had were limited. Hardware, servers, power supply—all of it a far cry from the infrastructure Tony Stark had access to.
Still, the idea existed now in a way it hadn't before. A blueprint in my mind, waiting for the right moment.
Next, I turned to the more subtle, but no less important, Photographic Memory.
[Assimilate Ability: Photographic Memory?]
[Confirm?]
Instantly, the world sharpened.
Not physically—my eyes hadn't changed—but mentally, everything clicked.
I remembered.
Everything.
Not just this new life—the memories of this multiverse, the ten pulls, the moment I realized the Gacha was more than a game—but also every single memory of my old life. Every late night struggling over homework, every awkward social interaction, every time I had made a complete fool of myself.
I flinched, remembering all of it. Twice over now.
Two lives, two sets of embarrassments, all vivid and immediate.
But along with the cringe came clarity.
I could connect the dots between who I was and who I was becoming. The absurdity of Yuuki Rito's luck, the precise danger of Leech's field, the digital possibilities unlocked by my new abilities—they weren't just random. Everything was a puzzle piece, part of a strategy the Gacha was teaching me.
For the first time, I felt… grounded in this life.
Not safe, not normal, but… aware. Capable. Equipped.
I exhaled slowly, letting the torrent of memories settle into a framework I could work with.
Advanced hacking. Perfect recall. Strategic nullification. Influence, manipulation, survival.
The tools were here. The question now was: how to use them.
I ran my hands over the interface, idly testing my new capabilities. Lines of code rearranged themselves in my mind; every system I had ever seen flickered in memory like a holographic map of possibilities.
I smiled, faintly, at the scope of it all.
So this is the start.
Not just survival. Not just exploration. Now… preparation. Planning. Conquest.
And perhaps, just maybe, a little redemption for all those past moments that had made me wince.
I leaned back, letting the glow of the holographic interface wash over me. Ten pulls. Ten gifts. I had tackled the Templates, absorbed two of the Abilities, and started to feel the edge of this strange new life sharpening beneath my fingers.
But four Abilities remained.
Four more pieces of this puzzle, each potentially as terrifying—or as powerful—as the ones I had already taken in.
I took a deep breath.
Time to see what the rest of the Conquest Gacha had in store.
And this time… I'd be ready to fully absorb them.