“Urgh!” Michael woke up with a splitting headache.
“I’m not dead?” he muttered in confusion.
He had been sure his brother had driven the dagger through his heart.
“Huh?
Whose body is this?
This isn’t mine,” Michael muttered, even more confused.
He was Prince Michael Alexander, the son of King Alexander Udinov of the Maple Kingdom.
Michael had been a soft-hearted prince and the heir to the throne.
However, kindness was not a quality suited for a prince.
He had been backstabbed by his own siblings and killed.
Stabbed in the heart by his brother, Michael had closed his eyes as life left him.
The last thing he heard before death was a cold whisper from his brother:
“You were never fit to be king anyways.”
Now, Michael found himself alive again.
But the body felt unfamiliar.
“What the hell are you spacing out for, Seth?
You useless boy!
Protect my coins!” A yell snapped Michael back to his senses.
Michael looked around in surprise.
He was inside a moving carriage.
Around it, a fierce clash was underway between bandits and merchant guards.
“You useless son!
Take a sword and fight!” An angry roar reached his ears again.
“Him?
Fight?”
Michael was speechless.
As a prince, he had never even held a sword for sparring.
And why was it fine for the old man to hide while he had to risk his life?
Just as Michael was complaining in his mind, a mechanical voice sounded in his head.
[Congratulations!
You have been reborn!]
[You have awakened the Ultimate Gacha System!]
[Spend coins to get a chance at a gacha draw!]
[After each draw, the coins required for the next draw follow a geometric sequence with a common ratio of 2.]
“Heh.”
Michael blinked.
Had he gone mad?
No — it didn’t feel like madness.
After a while, he simply accepted it.
Being reborn after dying made a mysterious system seem less crazy.
“How many coins do I need for my first gacha draw?” Michael asked.
[100 copper / 1 bronze.]
“1 bronze?
That’s daylight robbery!” Michael yelled subconsciously.
His voice temporarily halted the battle.
“Cough.
You lot continue, don’t mind me,” Michael called out in embarrassment, waving awkwardly.
[Only coins that legitimately belong to you will be accepted.]
According to the system, if he took coins illegitimately, the original owner had to be dead.
“So if I steal a coin, I have to kill the owner?” Michael asked.
[Yes.]
“Tsk.”
Michael clicked his tongue, then remembered that his current father was a merchant.
He should have some spare coins.
“Father!
How many coins do I have?” Michael hurried to his father’s side.
As for the bandits, he ignored them completely.
“You…
We’re under attack and all you care about is how many coins you have?” the merchant asked, speechless.
“So?
How much?” Michael pressed, completely shameless.
“Tch.
Just 80 coppers.
I’m not giving you anything more!” his father said coldly, looking at him with regret.
He didn’t understand why the heavens had given him such a useless son as his firstborn.
“No way, Father.
That’s too little.
I want 100 coppers!” Michael refused.
His words once again brought the battle to a momentary halt.
The bandits looked confused, were they the bandits, or was the merchant’s son the real bandit here?
“You useless son!” His father coughed in pure anger.
But seeing the stubborn look in his son’s eyes, he eventually gave in and handed over the coins.
One of the bandits was surprised.
He thought he saw pleading in the father’s eyes — as if the man wanted the bandit to deal with his own son.
Michael, however, didn’t care.
He quickly slipped away to a hidden spot.
“This is acceptable, right?”
[Yes.
He is your father.]
“Gacha draw!” Michael said excitedly.
The 100 copper coins in his hand vanished.
His mind went blank for a moment.
[Congratulations!
You have received a Special EX-Rank Reward!]
[Sword Heart]
One with the heart of the sword becomes unified with it.
The sword becomes an extension of your limb — no longer just a tool, but a part of you.
Michael accepted the reward without hesitation.
Boom!
The sound of thousands of swords humming in unison echoed around him.
Michael felt a serene calmness and deep understanding flow through him.
He was one with the sword.
His heartbeat itself had changed, it now sounded like the clash of blades.
The next moment, the plot armor that had kept the bandits from noticing him vanished.
A bandit charged at him, sword raised to kill.
Michael instinctively ran like a headless chicken at first.
This body was noticeably heavier due to gluttony.
He reached the carriage and grabbed a free sword.
The moment his hand closed around the hilt, a sudden calmness washed over him.
He felt like an entirely different person, composed and dominant.
“Tired of running?
Good.
Just let me kill you once and for all,” the bandit mocked.
With a roar, the bandit swung his sword, aiming to cut Michael in two.
Michael’s father had already closed his eyes, expecting his son’s death.
But Michael simply sidestepped the attack.
Then, with cold precision, he thrust his sword straight through the bandit’s mouth, killing him instantly.
Absolute silence fell over the battlefield.
The merchant group was stunned.
Michael, the famously useless son who couldn’t even lift a stick, had just killed a bandit.
Two more bandits rushed him from both sides.
Michael remained calm.
They stabbed toward his abdomen.
He sidestepped both attacks fluidly, then twisted his body and severed the first bandit’s head.
The second bandit, still in shock, swung again.
After a brief exchange, Michael stabbed him in the abdomen, ending his life.
The tide of the battle shifted rapidly.
Michael became an absolute reaper on the battlefield.
His Sword Heart had awakened an SSS-grade talent within him.
Realizing they were being overwhelmed, the remaining bandits fled.
The merchant group erupted in cheers.
“Tch.
This body is really out of shape.
It slowed me down,” Michael muttered.
With the sword in his hand, he felt calmer, more composed, and sharper.
The Sword Heart helped him control his emotions.
“I knew it!
My son isn’t useless!
I’m so proud of you!” His father climbed down from the carriage and rushed over to praise him.
Michael simply stretched out his hand.
“Huh?” The merchant was confused.
“Pay up.
I helped drive off the bandits.
I deserve compensation for my service,” Michael stated flatly.
He had long mastered the art of being shameless.
“You useless boy!
I knew you could never change!!!” the merchant roared, staring at his son like a mortal enemy.
After much arguing, he paid Michael 212 copper coins in exchange for protection until they reached their destination.
Michael couldn’t care less about his father’s feelings.
He immediately spent 200 copper for another draw.
[Congratulations!
You have received an A-Rank Skill — Persuasion.]
“Tch.
What do I need persuasion for?” Michael grumbled, already thinking about who else he could milk for coins.