Two silver chests and one crystal grade chest shimmered before him in system screen, radiating power and bright colours. Max's heart almost skipped a beat. Wasn't this what he had been waiting for? The sight alone filled him with a strange rush excitement.
These chests... they could hold new spells or magic.
Max blinked. Wait, when did I even earn these?
He didn't remember when he recieved it.
unless… was it from that time he blacked out? That would explain it. Maybe the system had automatically granted them while he was unconscious. Still, this felt too good to be true.
Especially the crystal grade chest. That was the rarest tier he'd seen so far. The last time he encountered one, it opened automatically and dropped a talent "Nonsensical Mage SSS" a name that made no sense to hi, yet had overpowered effects as farr as now. Max didn't know what it did, but judging by the diamond chest's One Hug Punch spell a move so absurdly strong it revived that nesthaired weirdo and even gave him superpower it had to be something insane right?.
His fingers hovered eagerly over the silver chests.
Tap.
Tap.
Two clicks.
And then
ding!!
A new notification appeared, pausing him in his tracks:
[Every two chests of the same tier can be synthesized into one higher grade chest.]
[Does Host wish to synthesize, or continue and open the two Silver tier chests?]
Max paused. That… was interesting.
His brain buzzed with options. Synthesizing would give him a gold grade chest one tier higher, better odds, possibly better magic ofc. But what if… what if the silver ones already held exactly what he needed?
He needed attack magic right now. Something raw. Something that could help him survive the next fight he'd likely stumble into. If he combined the silver chests, he'd only get one shot at something good. If he opened them separately, at least he had two chances.
Probability be higher
"Damn," Max muttered. "This system really knows how to mess with people."
He glanced at the crystal chest again, sitting quietly like a sleeping beauty.
But right now, the decision was his.
Synthesize, or not?
The thrill, the gamble, the unknown. It was all part of the journey now.
"Fuck it," Max muttered, eyes gleaming with a wild gambler glint. "Let's gamble."
Lets put all on gold.
He cracked his knuckles. If greatness was the goal then why not take risk. And he wasn't about to play it safe when he had a whole damn academy to mentally break for more of those sweet, shiny emotion points.
"I'll just mess with everyone's heads, collect their emotional chaos, and get more chests. Easy."
Without another thought, he slapped the Yes button on the synthesis prompt.
DING!
[Congratulations, Host. You have received one Gold Tier Chest.]
[Do you want to open it? Yes / No]
Max almost tapped Yes immediately, but then his brain fired off a warning.
Wait... how do the chest rewards work again?
He paused. A memory flickered how each reward seemed to scale or align with his future growth, especially after his first and strongesg magic reward that SSS-tier Nonsensical Magic. If he opened the gold chest after the crystal one, wouldn't it base the reward off crystal chest rewards... which is supposed to be highest?
"Yeah… might even change the system's 'expectations' for me," he muttered. "Give me something that actually gives me busted potential."
A best be Fire Type magic..
He smirked.
"System open the crystal chest first."
DING!
[Congratulations, Host!]
[You have received a Unique Magic: Paper Magic.]
Magic Type: Unique / ??? / ???
Name: Paper Magic
Grade: Unique
Description: A unique mysterious magic that allows the manipulation of paper in extraordinary ways. The magic Unique only to you. Magic where the art is creation, and paper reigns supreme.
Max stared at the glowing system panel.
"Paper… Magic?" he said flatly.
His face twisted in disbelief. Of all the things he expected lightning, fire dragons, reality warping this was not it.
I FUCKING wanted an attack type magic this...this ahhh.
dammmn in ..it took his sometime to calm down all is well all is well he still have golden chance maybe he'll be lucky then.
He scrolled through the details again.
Paper Magic.
He remembered Professor Lysira's words about Unique Magic being deeply personal. Something only the user could wield. Her emotion magic seemed cool enough Even with name even tho he doesn't know the real meaning, but this?
"This has gotta be a joke," Max muttered. "Did I really just get fucking paper powers from the highest tier chest in the system?"
He put hand through his hairs ruffling it as if he had lost all his money in gamble.
"Am I supposed to throw paper balls at people's faces? Fold some paper cranes and hope they peck someone's eye out? What am I some street magician?"
His eyes widened with mock horror.
"Wait… can I actually make paper with my hands?"
Max stared blankly at the system prompt, but as usual, there was no response. Just silence.
He let out a long, frustrated sigh. "Great. Not only did I pull a garbage magic skill, but now every chest from this point on has a 50% chance of giving me paper-related nonsense?"
The urge to scream was real.
Max dragged a hand through his hair, resisting the overwhelming temptation to rip it all out. This wasn't just bad luck this was a cosmic slap in the face. An interdimensional joke at his expense.
He hadn't just lost in a gamble he'd lost hard.
"Fuck it…" he muttered under his breath. "It's just a chest. One chest. All I gotta do now is shock someone so hard they start popping open Crystal Chests from the trauma."
Yeah. That's it. Something big. Something stupidly massive. He needed to go full chaotic genius and launch a plan so ridiculous and unpredictable, it would short-circuit the mental stability of anyone watching.
But first things first.
"System," he said, voice calm but eyes blazing, "open the Gold-Tier Chest too."
He didn't even hesitate as the confirmation window popped up. He clicked 'Yes' instantly. There's no such thing as a bad gambler just the ones who walk away before hitting big.
Ding!
[System Notification: Congratulations, Host! You've received a new Skill – Paper Transformation (Paper Magic + Nonsensical Magic)]
Skill Name: Paper Transformation
Type: Active – Magic-Based Skill
Skill: No cooldown required
Classification: Hybrid Magic (Paper Magic + Nonsensical Magic)
Rarity: High – Custom Spell
Description:
The user can transform any sheet of paper into a material, substance, or texture of their choice. The transformation depends on available mana (MP), and the quality of the original paper directly influences what can be created. Once transformed, the object is permanent retaining all physical and magical traits of the new form. Be it reinforced steel, enchanted silk, flame-retardant obsidian, or even mythic-grade dragon hide… if you can imagine it, you can create it.
FUCKKKKKK this isn't attack spell again'... but still
"Damn…"
Max blinked, jaw slightly slack. He had no words. This wasn't bad at all. In fact… it was kind of interesting.
Sure, he'd braced himself for another dumpster fire of a reward. But looking at the details especially the fusion of two top-tier crystal magics he exhaled slowly, almost in relief.
"Not bad," he muttered, lips twitching into a reluctant smile. "Actually… not bad at all."
Because Nonsensical Magic was no joke. Even if the name sounded ridiculous, it packed real power. And combined with Paper Magic, this skill might just be the weird trump card he didn't know he needed.
He looked at his new skill. "Is this worth it?" he muttered.
The last one he got from a gold chest was… what was it again? Oh yeah Kick in the Nutts. That 10× buff was wild. Brutal, but effective in the right moment.
Was this new skill stronger? Hard to say.
It probably depended on how and when he used it.
If he used it on someone weaker, it might not show much difference. But on someone stronger? That could be a game changer.
He thought of the old headmaster for a second. No idea if the guy was powerful, but if he was the principal, he had to be hiding something, right?
"Forget it," he said, shaking the thought away. He didn't really know how strong any of his skills were yet. That would only come with testing them out for real.
Some had weird limitations like that kick nutts skill with only a 2% activation rate. Total gamble. But this new one? No cooldown. Usable anytime.
"Alright. That's cool."
Transformation Magic.
The name alone sounded full of possibilities.
Could he turn paper into any material? Any metal?
The thought got him excited.
"Iron paper… sticky paper… edible paper?" he laughed. Wait could he make it taste like fruit? Like grapes?
"Man, that'd be fun."
His mind raced. "How do I even make paper though? I wanna try this."
First he thought of swinging his hands in air and try to create it out of thin air but he doesn't know that for now and it'll be embarrassing hairnest is still sitting here... he cant Maybe when he is alone just sIghh.
Rather, He looked around the room, eyes scanning for his bag. Didn't he just buy some books yesterday?
He checked the bed. The table. Still nothing.
"Maybe in the cupboard," he said, already heading that way.
He was trying focused on the smallest chance to test his new ability.
Meanwhile, Jack was watching him from the other bed, hands on his cheeks, silently observing.
What was this idiot doing? Is this because of recent incident, he did hit his head on floor.
For the past few minutes, Jack had been watching him stare into thin air, tap at nothing, change expressions like he was living through a whole emotional rollercoaster by himself.
Like someone had sold his kidneys
It was weird.
Really weird.
What a weirdo
Jack frowned. "What are you even looking for?"
"I was just looking for some paperrrr—" Max was mid-sentence when, without warning, both their bodies vanished from the room entirely.
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