I Became a 6★ Gacha Character

A tall tower stood in the city center, surrounded by buildings crammed tightly together. From towering Magic Tower branches that abandoned the traditional tower shape to luxurious merchant buildings and shabby craftsmen's workshops, there was zero uniformity in the architecture.

This made sense, since the original tower appeared in the middle of nowhere, and the city grew organically as people gathered around it.

The fortunate thing was that this 'tower' hadn't sprouted up awkwardly on the side of the northern mountain range like a cookie stick stuck in soft-serve ice cream. The fact it appeared in a temperate central region with pleasant weather, especially on flat ground, was probably one reason the city formed here.

"This is the street where all the alchemists' workshops are gathered, right?"

"Yeah. Seems you're more familiar with it than me now?"

"Of course, I've been here quite often."

The Magic Tower was built to study the tower, guilds formed as mercenaries and adventurers gathered, markets appeared as merchants came to sell supplies, and craftsmen showed up to buy tower byproducts.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Then there was this gloomy back alley where those who lost the competition between Magic Tower mages and street workshops huddled together, dreaming of future success.

Looking at it, you'd expect thieves and thugs to jump out with cliché lines like "Hey mister, nice stuff~" or "Hand over everything! Including the woman!" But unfortunately no such events occurred.

It was like how gangsters avoided the Majang-dong[1] meat market.

"Ugh, hehe... just need catalyst, just need catalyst..."

"OhGoddessGoddessGoddess why is this working it was definitely broken?!"

"Once I finish this I can build my workshop and get apprentices 50 hours no sleep impossible anymore please"

These eerie voices reached our ears as Han Se-ah and I walked together while she peeked at her minimap. Their condition seemed worse than last time - wonder what happened?

The alley that should've been cluttered with broken machinery and failed reagents was spotlessly clean. Though free of junk, the workshop walls were cracked and the alleys covered in soot.

With alchemists muttering like cultists and staring intensely at us through dusty broken windows with hollow eyes, it was hard to tell if this was a date or dungeon exploration.

In Heroes Chronicle terms, this place deserved a name like [Labyrinth - Grudge of Fallen Alchemists] rather than [Market Street Back Alley - Alchemy Lane].

"Ow, ow, hot hot..."

"Oo, oh... Hero?"

"Hero? Did you say hero? Mage Hanna?"

But when Han Se-ah confidently strode in, an alchemist sprawled in the alley like a drug addict stared at her with wild eyes.

Other alchemists shambled in like zombies at the sound of voices. The thin walls with broken windows seemed to offer zero soundproofing.

As I tensed up wondering what these gathered alchemists would do, they threw themselves prostrate in the alley. Watching them fling themselves onto the sooty ground like royalty had arrived gave me a headache.

"...Hanna, what's going on here?"

"Ah... this really isn't necessary."

The scene suggested some Alchemist Queen had appeared. They approached en masse in shabby robes polished with fabric softener, greasy hair slicked back - clearly trying to look presentable despite their poverty.

Though their appearance was ragged and dirty, they'd clearly struggled to show proper etiquette. Those who couldn't manage even that minimum courtesy hid in their workshops, peeking through windows. The bizarre sight prompted a flood of viewer comments.

-Why are they acting like this? Their first appearance at the Magic Tower was familiar but lol

-It's not like a saint appeared in the slums, why show Han Se-ah so much respect lololol

-Is she like a back alley alchemy idol or did she crush someone with hero authority?

-Han Se-ah you bitch did you do some back alley romance or massacre? This only makes sense if you beat up three or four people

-Is this any way to greet customers?

Though viewers weren't being entirely serious, theories about Han Se-ah being a back alley gangster naturally emerged. But those accusations were quickly dispelled.

A lone alchemist in decent robes pushed through the crowd and bowed deeply.

"Welcome, Hero! All the bombs you ordered last time are ready!"

※

Han Se-ah wasn't some back alley gangster or crime queen. She hadn't unified the underworld through secret content with her broadcast off, nor had she oppressed the slum alchemists - er, alchemists - through temple connections.

Then what made these alchemists who lived like addicts with lost sanity clear their minds and bow their proud heads despite their poverty?

"H-hehe. Hero, about that payment you mentioned last time..."

"Ah, here you go."

"Thank you, thank you!"

It was gold.

Grace only spent money sending funds home and buying consumables like arrows. Irene's only luxury was buying snacks for temple children. Katie, precious daughter of the Northern Duke, just collected her adventurer earnings like souvenirs.

But Han Se-ah was a player, so she had no reason to hoard gold earned climbing from floor 1 to 60 as living expenses or savings.

After all, in-game money in RPGs was perfect for inflation. If you carefully saved 1 gold on floor 1 and scraped together 10 gold by floor 20, by floor 50 you'd casually pick up 30 gold off the ground - that's just how RPGs worked.

"H-how was my creation?"

"Haven't used them much, but I did get one good use out of them. Really satisfying."

"Heh, hehehehehe, heehee, thank you!"

Han Se-ah needed places to spend gold, but as world #1 she'd cleared all quests without failure, succeeded in NPC time attacks, and received all her equipment.

The Magic Tower's gear wasn't common street merchandise but either cost-effective green items or reliable blue items, so there was no reason to blow her entire fortune searching for purple grade items.

Naturally Han Se-ah had to find non-equipment uses for gold, and if not equipment then consumables―――

"So anyway, can we increase the firepower?"

"W-was the firepower insufficient?"

"Not really, but just in case."

"I'll do my best!"

With Irene in the party meaning no risk of injury, her concept of consumables became purely offensive.

'This is a date?'

There was the minor issue of viewers and I questioning this, but anyway.

"Explosives are my specialty!"

"How about traps mixing various elements, not just simple explosions?"

"Please look at this multi-purpose projectile launcher I invented!"

The praised alchemist strutted away with shoulders high and nose in the air, disappearing into their workshop down the alley. Looking closer, unlike neighboring shops their workshop had thick walls, clean windows, and was a new building without cracks or wear.

Just as the Magic Tower slashed prices and the Adventurers' Guild set vague fees for the hero's requests, the alchemists also benefited from the hero's name.

Well, celebrity marketing was proven effective in modern society too, so this was natural.

"So Roland, what do you think of this?"

"What is it?"

While looking around thinking this, Han Se-ah asked my opinion like a woman trying on new makeup colors or clothes.

But what she held wasn't something pretty or cute.

"This is a sticky spread bomb. It's an evolved version of Grace's adhesive arrowheads. If you aim the maximum range right it spreads over about 5 meters, supposedly strong enough to completely immobilize centaurs."

"Ah, right..."

"And this is an ice grenade launcher. Maximum range around 50 meters, and depending on the ammo it can spread ice over roughly 10 meters. Wider range and longer reach than the sticky bomb but weaker effect apparently."

Han Se-ah's eyes sparkled as she insisted on supplementing CC after restocking firepower.

The viewers were starting to question if this was really a date, while Grace, Irene and Katie watching secretly from the back alley stared in disbelief.

If this was intentional she was truly a broadcasting genius, and if not...

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[1.raei: a well-known wholesale meat market in Seoul. Some tough butchers here I guess.]