37 35. Tom's Half Friend, New Crew Members Debut!
[Retrieve the bandage Jerry used to save the duckling.]
[Acquire a bottle of Jerry's Invisibility Potion.]
[Obtain the bell given to Jerry by Spike.]
[Thank you for your patronage...]
[Retrieve one of Tom's flying wings.]
[Thank you for your patronage...]
[Thank you for your patronage...]
Al glanced at the message flashing in his mind, but there was no joy within him.
Under normal circumstances, with over 6,000 EP, he'd eagerly draw numerous items. However, he wasn't in the mood for that now.
The sole reason he engaged in the lottery was to exhaust his bad luck within the machine, a tactic known as padding. His intention was to transfer all the accumulated good luck to the crew summon card, in hopes of summoning those legendary characters.
Such as: Uchiha Sasuke, Ichigo, Vegeta,...etc!
"Damn system!" Al muttered, feeling a sense of frustration. He wished he could obliterate this malfunctioning system then and there!
He couldn't believe his luck would be so abysmal, unable to summon the crew he desired despite having amassed so many props.
Unless the system could attain self-awareness as depicted in other novels, where a mere request could grant desired props. But was that realistic?
"All current charges will detonate!"
Just as Al had resigned himself to the idea that he might never acquire the new crew, he noticed that the reminders in his mind had ceased.
However!
The new crew hadn't appeared!
This was incredibly encouraging news for Al!
As long as no new characters showed up, did that mean there was still hope?
Without hesitating, Al promptly opened the system page and navigated to the section for summoning crew.
With a blend of doubt, curiosity, and anticipation, Al clicked on the red exclamation mark at the center.
Immediately, the prompt that appeared filled him with hope!
[Searching for the crew, progress 60%]
"If you can pause this, can't you wait until next time to resume?" With this thought in mind, Al began searching for a button to halt the process.
It wasn't the only reason he searched; the main issue was that this faulty system was too unforgiving! Every time items were exchanged in the store, the EP consumption would increase! Now, the crew summoning card was priced at a whopping 500,000 emotion points in the system store!
"Damn it, how do I put an end to this nonsense!" Al pressed nearly every button available, but the search continued relentlessly, and he couldn't find a way to stop it!
When the progress reached 99%, Al's expression suddenly fell. Eighty percent of his fantasies were shattered!
Immediately afterward, the system seemed to confirm Al's suspicions. A white light flashed before his eyes, revealing a bulldog with gray hair and an extremely fierce appearance.
Al recognized the bulldog instantly by the red collar it wore—Tom's half-friend, Spike!
Tom, in the midst of violently beating Krieg, felt a chill run down his spine. He stiffened like a machine and slowly turned around. Disbelievingly, he rubbed his eyes upon seeing Spike.
Then, with one paw pointed at Spike and the other slapping his thigh, Tom emitted a very anthropomorphic fake laugh.
It seemed he couldn't believe that the silly dog would appear in such an unexpected place.
After laughing for a while, Tom broke into a profuse sweat all over his body. Then, like a bolt of lightning, he whooshed away and instinctively sought refuge in a high place, trembling with fear.
At this moment, Tom's gaze towards Al changed, as if he wanted to descend and scold him.
"Why did you summon this stupid dog!" he exclaimed. "Isn't this like inviting trouble!"
Al, feeling both depressed and flustered, bid farewell to the imaginary character in his mind and turned his attention to Spike in front of him.
"Can you speak human language like Tom?" Al inquired, posing his first question.
Spike nodded and then opened his mouth, producing a rough voice. "I don't like speaking human words; it hurts my throat."
Al nodded in understanding and proceeded to inquire about Spike's abilities.
However, Spike looked at Al suspiciously, not comprehending a word about abilities or disabilities. In Spike's understanding, it was just an ordinary bulldog, nothing more than a typical family pet.
Al felt a bit dumbfounded and thought, "Do you and Tom have different definitions of 'ordinary'?" But upon seeing Spike's innocent expression, Al decided not to press further with questions.
"Whatever abilities you possess, they'll reveal themselves during battle; there's no use fretting over it now," Al reasoned with himself.
"Captain Al, where did this dog come from? It looks so fierce!" Nami approached Al's side, a hint of fear flickering across her face as she beheld the intimidating canine before them.
"This is Spike, our new crew member. He's actually Tom's companion," Al explained.
Nami paused for a moment, then asked in confusion, "Tom's companion? What does that even mean?"
"Isn't that an existence beyond common sense?"
Al replied with a slight nod, though he didn't yet understand Spike's abilities.
However!
This was a being capable of driving Tom away; how could it be anything but extraordinary?
"By the way, where's Tom? I haven't seen him since just now," Nami inquired.
Al raised his hand, pointing to Tom, who stood on a high perch overlooking them. "There he is, just enjoying the sunshine up there," Al remarked casually.
"Sunbathing?" Nami questioned, her mind filled with confusion. Why would Tom choose such a lofty spot for sunbathing?
Al coughed lightly. Clearly, this "sunbathing" was not the typical kind. It was simply a jest to save Tom from embarrassment.
Al then gestured towards Spike and proceeded to give a brief overview of Spike's relationship with Tom.
Nami nodded, partially understanding, but then a sense of doubt crept in, prompting her to ask again.
"Captain Al, you said they are friends, if Tom and Spike are friends, then why is Tom so frightened?"
Al paused for a moment, then smiled knowingly. "That's precisely why I mentioned they're only half friends!"
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