Floating Islands: SSS Gacha Lord-Chapter 44 - Bloomblade Hoe

With a confident motion, Atlas tossed the tickets into the air, eyes locked on them as they spun, caught the light, and began to shimmer.

The color started to shift.

Brown, brown, brown, brown...

Damn it, "Where’s the red?!"

Another brown... then finally, a purple.

Alright, now the red! Come on, red!

Brown, brown, brown... brown.

"Seriously?! Nine browns and one purple?"

Atlas sighed, shaking his head with a wry smile.

He noticed a hint of disappointment on everyone’s faces. But he smiled, hiding his own frustration.

Looked like he’d have to keep going until he hit that guaranteed Rank-S pull after all.

Atlas quickly flipped through the next nine tickets. Nothing worth getting excited over. With a sigh, he stored them all away in his inventory.

"Okay, now," he said with a grin, holding up the final ticket. "Let’s see what’s hiding behind this purple card."

The crowd leaned in, visibly buzzing with anticipation.

He touched the ticket, and immediately, vines burst from the ground, twisting and coiling upward until they formed the long, polished handle of a weapon at the center of the summoning circle.

"A weapon?"

The vines unfurled completely, revealing something long and slightly curved, still sheathed in greenery.

Atlas tilted his head. "Seriously? A hoe?"

Before he could react further, he felt a sudden wave of excitement coming from nearby. Turning his head, he caught sight of Mira, her eyes practically sparkling. Her hands clutched together like she’d just witnessed a miracle.

Atlas sighed and looked away, already resigned. Of course.

He grasped the wooden handle, lifting the hoe and holding it up.

"Mira’s going to have a very good evening," he said with a wry smile.

[Bloomblade Hoe]

[Grade: Epic]

[Agility +150

Strength +50]

[Skills:]

[Stretching Vines (Chain Extension Passive)

Effect: The hoe’s chain can extend up to 10 meters, transforming it into a flexible, mid-range weapon. The reach adjusts according to the user’s intent, allowing for controlled strikes at a distance or rapid pullbacks for quick repositioning.]

[Nimble Harvester (Passive)

Effect: Every time the user lands a hit on an enemy, there’s a small chance to regain a bit of stamina, helping the user stay energized in prolonged battles.]

"Mira," Atlas began, turning toward her... But it was already too late.

The bunny girl was sprinting straight at him, her entire face beaming with joy.

"My Lord, watch out!!" Karian shouted in alarm.

"Kurogasa!" Edrik warned.

In an instant, Kurogasa vanished from Edrik’s side.

But!

"My Lord!!! That’s my hoe!" Mira cried out, her voice bright with excitement. She launched herself at Atlas and wrapped him in a full-body hug.

Tightly. Very tightly!

"Mira?! Wait. Mira." Atlas gasped, struggling for breath as she clung to him.

"My Lord, you brought me my hoe!" she giggled, squeezing him even tighter. "Thank you, my Lord. I love you!"

Still hugging him, she bounced up and down in glee, unintentionally jostling him with every joyous leap.

"Mira... Mira... M-Mira..." Atlas stammered, nearly overwhelmed.

But it wasn’t the hug that was knocking the air out of him.

It was the CUTENESS OVERLOAD!

I can’t handle this... I’m about to pass out!

Atlas staggered backward, barely staying upright. Until Kurogasa emerged from the shadows, catching him just in time.

"That’s too cute... I can’t breathe!" cried one of the troops.

"Medic! Medic!" another voice screamed. "We have a man down!"

"It’s too cute... I can’t... handle... this..." another soldier whimpered, blood suddenly trickling from his nose as he slumped to his knees.

"Zara! Zara, what’s wrong?!" someone shouted in panic as Zara stumbled, her face flushed.

"Help! Zara’s collapsing!"

"Medic, medics over here too! She’s going down!"

"My Lord! Use your Mental Fortitude!" Kurogasa urged. Though he, too, turned away from Mira.

"Kuro... please... take Mira away..." Atlas managed to gasp, still clutching his chest.

And in a blink, vines erupted from the ground, wrapping around Mira from her legs to her torso, pulling her off of Atlas.

But!

"Nooo, don’t tie me up, Lyrassa... nooo!" Mira cried, wriggling in the vines. Her voice was so plaintive, so adorably distressed, it somehow made everything worse.

Her struggle, combined with that teary-eyed pout, was the final blow.

"Medic! Medic! More are down!" came another round of panicked shouting as more troops dropped where they stood.

It was chaos.

Deadly, adorable chaos.

Then, with perfect timing, a thick sack made of heavy cloth dropped from above, landing directly over Mira’s head and swallowing her up in one swift motion, muffling her voice in an instant.

Morganna walked forward, efficiently tucking the squirming bunny girl fully into the sack before tightening the drawstring.

Without saying a word, she grabbed the bundled Mira and dragged her away, her muffled cries fading as she vanished from sight.

It took a full few minutes for the chaos to settle.

Atlas, still catching his breath, wiped his face and shook his head.

"The damage... is just too high."

He handed the hoe off to Edrik, who nodded solemnly and walked off to deliver it. Around them, the troops slowly began to recover, rubbing their eyes, catching their breath, muttering things like "That was dangerous..." and "I saw my life flash before my eyes..."

A few minutes later, in the distance, Mira accepted the hoe from Edrik with pure reverence, then hugged it tightly and immediately broke into a cheerful dance.

"That’s how happy she is to have her signature weapon," Atlas said.

Feeling composed at last, Atlas reached into his inventory and pulled out another ten standard tickets.

"Alright, let’s keep this going," he said with a grin. "You all still alive out there?"

"Let’s gooo!" came the eager response.

This time, the Rank-S was guaranteed. And Atlas knew, the excitement tonight wasn’t even close to over!

He took a deep breath, then tossed the tickets into the air.

Brown, brown... purple.

"Fire!"

The troops leaned forward, eyes wide, breaths held. The tension was electric.

Another brown... then a shimmer... Purple!

"Fire!!" Cheers erupted.

"Nice! Two Rank-As!"

Then came the next ticket. It shimmered, paused mid-air, trembling like it was holding back...

And then. FLASH!

Red.

The crowd exploded.

"YESSS!"

"RED!!"

"It’s happening! It’s really happening!!"

The final few revealed themselves: brown, brown... another purple.

"Six browns. Three purples. One glorious red!"

Atlas stood still for a moment, letting the excitement and chaos of the night slowly die down.

As always, he quickly opened the six Rank-B tickets. Nothing groundbreaking. He stored them all in his inventory without a second thought.

Then, he turned his attention to the first of the Rank-A tickets, taking a slower approach.

A scroll appeared in midair, glowing softly before unfurling.

"A blueprint?"

[You have received Rank-A Blueprint: Healing Spring Blueprint]

[A small pond that restores health and removes poison effects when players rest nearby.]

"What is it, My Lord?" the troops called out eagerly.

Atlas turned, raising the scroll. "It’s... something like a healing spring. But it’s only a blueprint. We’ll have to gather the materials to actually build it."

"Whoa, a spring? I love hot springs!" someone yelled.

"Yay! We could have a hot spring right here!" another cheered.

Atlas opened the materials list:

[Aqua Crystal (1) – Found in freshwater caves or crystal-rich zones.]

[Lifevine Essence (30 mL vial) – Gathered from magical forests or ruins, harvested from Lifevines.]

[Purified Stones (5) – Found in rivers or created from regular stones using Aqua Crystal infusion.]

"Aqua Crystal...?"

"Isn’t that the same thing I used to create the water source here? To start the river?"

Yeah. That was it.

And he’d already used it up.

"Jackpot," Atlas muttered. "Can I use the Aqua Crystal I previously installed as a material for this?"

[Host, yes. You could repurpose it, but its current function would be lost. Your land would once again lack a water source, and the river flow would be redirected to power this small pond.]

"Not ideal... let’s keep this blueprint on hold for now."

He turned to the next Rank-A ticket and touched it.

Immediately, a sharp spark of electricity jumped from the card to his fingers.

Then, BOOM!

Crackling arcs of lightning burst outward as a storm of energy surged from the ticket. The crowd gasped as bolts snapped and danced through the air, swirling around a single point of light.

At last, the wild energy condensed into a glowing crystal, pulsing with contained electricity.

"Woah, that’s incredible!" freeweɓnovel-cøm

Atlas stepped forward, hand steady as he reached for the crystal. This time, it didn’t sting. Instead, it pulsed gently at his touch, the arcs calming into soft flickers, like caged lightning.

"What is that?!"

"It’s Rank-A. It has to be something powerful."

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