Chapter 78: The Free Milestone Gacha Pull

Lyra returned from the kitchen carrying a small terracotta jar of wild mountain honey and a small wooden paddle.

She set it gently upon the cedar table beside Felix’s cup. Her long silver hair was tied in a neat ribbon, and her violet eyes shone with quiet respect.

"Fresh cliff-honey, Senior Brother," Lyra said softly. "Gathered by golden spirit bees in the southern valleys. It is rich in sweet Yang nectar."

"Nice," Felix said, leaning back into his reclining wicker deckchair. "Appreciate it."

He scooped a golden dollop of honey and dropped it straight into his warm jasmine tea. The thick amber syrup sank to the bottom of the porcelain cup, sitting in a stubborn blob.

Felix picked up his obsidian AetherDeck from the armrest.

"While that dissolves, let's see what the devs gave me for hitting the milestone," Felix muttered to himself.

He unlocked the screen, swiped past the idle accumulation meters, and tapped the glowing mailbox icon in the upper right corner.

A golden envelope fluttered open with a digital chime:

Felix tapped the claim button without hesitation.

The ticket dissolved into his bag, reappearing as a flashing golden voucher in his main summon tab.

Felix eyed the gacha banner with deep, battle-hardened cynicism.

He had played enough mobile games in his previous life to know how free tickets worked.

The banner showed a stunning 3D illustration of an ancient celestial blade wreathed in violet dragon-lightning, labeled SSR: Heaven-Sundering Dragon Glaive.

The advertised drop rate for that top-tier prize was zero point zero five percent.

Meanwhile, the drop rate for mundane junk sat at a hefty ninety-four percent.

"Free milestone tickets are usually bait," Felix muttered under his breath, shaking his head. "They give you one single pull, trigger your dopamine, and hope you swipe your card. Well, jokes on you, dev team. I don't even have a credit card on this world."

Lyra stood three paces away, watching him with rapt attention.

She saw the mysterious black slate in Felix’s hands pulse with divine golden runes.

She could feel the surrounding air grow heavy with spatial tension. The fabric of reality around Felix's wicker chair seemed to ripple, as if the dimensional boundaries between the mortal plane and heaven were thinning.

He is reaching into the Void, Lyra thought, her heart hammering against her ribs. Senior Brother is about to commune with the Ancient Heavenly Treasury! What divine treasure will he summon? A dragon-slaying halberd? An immortal resurrection pill?

Felix tapped the summon button with his right thumb.

"Just give me something useful," Felix grumbled. "At least a decent tea kettle or some warm socks."

The screen flashed bright, blinding rainbow light!

A golden celestial lotus spun across the glass display, accompanied by a magnificent 8-bit fanfare that echoed in Felix’s ears.

Five seconds later, the summoning animation exploded into sparkling starlight.

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A grand notification window popped up across the center of the screen:

Felix blinked. His sleepy eyes opened wide.

"Wait..." Felix whispered, rereading the system text three times. "A five-star leisure relic? A teacup that never gets cold?"

Plop.

With a gentle ripple in the air, a small object materialized and dropped straight into Felix’s lap.

It was a delicate, palm-sized teacup carved from flawless, translucent white mutton-fat jade.

Its surface felt silky and cool to the touch. Tiny, microscopic gold constellations were etched into the outer rim, glowing with a soft, soothing amber luminescence.

Felix picked up the jade teacup. It weighed almost nothing, fitting into the curve of his fingers like it had been custom-molded for his hand.

"No way," Felix breathed, turning the cup over in wonder. "An eternal tea warmer? With zero-spill surface tension?"

He looked at his cheap porcelain cup sitting on the table. The jasmine tea inside had already begun losing its steam in the mountain breeze, cooling toward that terrible, lukewarm stage.

"If this actually works," Felix said, "this is the greatest gacha pull in human history."

Without wasting another second, Felix poured the warm jasmine tea from the ceramic cup into the white jade teacup.

The amber liquid sloshed into the vessel.

The moment the tea touched the jade base, magic happened.

A faint, golden ring of light pulsed around the cup’s rim. The stubborn blob of cliff-honey dissolved instantly into the water, dispersing into a uniform, clear amber infusion with zero stirring required.

Tiny wisps of fragrant, sweet steam rose from the surface, smelling of rich jasmine, clover, and roasted mountain herbs.

Felix raised the cup to his lips and took a small, careful sip.

Warmth exploded across his tongue.

It was not scalding hot. It did not burn his lips or sear his throat.

It was the exact, mathematically perfect sipping temperature—like taking a sip of fresh morning comfort on a rainy autumn day.

Every sip tasted freshly brewed. The delicate floral notes of the jasmine danced across his palate, sweetened by the rich nectar of the honey.

Felix let out a long, blissful groan, sinking two inches deeper into the cushions of his chair.

"Perfection," Felix sighed, closing his eyes in sheer ecstasy. "Absolute perfection. It’s like an enchanted travel thermos that never needs batteries."

To test the second feature, Felix casually tilted the teacup completely sideways.

He held it directly over his lap at a ninety-degree angle.

The liquid didn't pour out.

Instead, an invisible meniscus of golden force formed across the rim of the cup. The amber tea bulged outward like a soft jelly dome, resting securely against the lip without a single droplet falling onto Felix’s hemp robe.

"Zero-spill physics," Felix laughed aloud, thoroughly amused. "I can fall asleep with tea in my hand and not ruin my blanket. Five stars. Ten out of ten. The developers have finally redeemed themselves."

Beside the cedar table, Lyra Ashford was frozen in place.

Her knees trembled so violently that she had to brace herself against the porch railing.

Her ancestral silver rapier began to hum softly inside its scabbard, vibrating in terrifying harmony with the jade cup.

The Sovereign Chalice of Eternal Flame Stasis... Lyra thought, her mind reeling in total, breathless horror.

In the ancient archives of the Ashford Clan, there was a forbidden legend from the First Era.

The legend spoke of a sacred relic created before the birth of the mortal realms. It was a vessel capable of locking entropy itself into absolute stasis.

A vessel that could hold the primordial fires of creation without letting a single ember decay into darkness!

Senior Brother did not summon a mere weapon, Lyra realized, tears of overwhelming reverent awe welling in her violet eyes.

He summoned a divine tool that governs the fundamental laws of thermodynamics! A relic that defies the natural flow of time, preserving life and warmth for eternity!

She watched Felix casually tip the cup back and forth, mocking the laws of gravity as the divine nectar clung obediently to the jade lip.

He tilts the cup toward the abyss, yet not a single drop spills! Lyra screamed internally, her knuckles turning white against her sleeves. The fluid recognizes its Master! Even liquid molecules submit to his sovereign command!

Felix took another leisurely sip, savoring the eternal warmth spreading down into his chest.

Down in his belly, his Sol-Class core purred with matching contentment, radiating a gentle heat wave through his limbs.

"Hey, Lyra," Felix said, glancing up from the jade cup. "This tea is amazing. You want a cup? We could probably find another mug in the cupboard."

Lyra’s breath caught in her throat. Her heart thumped wildly against her ribs.

He... he offers to share the sacred nectar of eternal stasis with me?!

She dropped to one knee, bowing her head in profound, trembling gratitude.

"This disciple would not dare covet Senior Brother’s celestial nectar!" Lyra whispered, her voice choking with emotion. "To merely stand in the presence of the Sovereign Chalice of Stasis is the greatest blessing of my life!"

Felix stared at her with a half-amused, half-tired expression.

He held the teacup in his right hand, resting his wrist against the armrest.

"It’s just tea, Lyra," Felix muttered, shaking his head. "Just hot water and leaves. You really need to stop turning lunch into a religious service."

He leaned his head back against the wicker headrest, letting his eyes flutter shut.

Down in the overgrown clover yard, the Thunder Gryphon was snoring rhythmically, its golden wings twitching in the noon warmth.

Over on the railing, Barnaby the clockwork owl stood on silent guard, his hand-carved oak bottle cork gleaming beside his copper penny under the bright sky.

Under the kitchen table, Grandmaster Vivienne’s Sovereign Heart Seal—with the ancient jade seal carved on its underside—held the wood rock-steady.

And in Felix Vance’s hand, the Never-Cold Jade Teacup radiated its gentle, unwavering warmth, promising hours of uninterrupted, blissful laziness.