“Thank you for such a lively response. Now then, you over there… um, may I call you by your real name as well?”

“Yes! I'm Fuka Kusazuri!”

Her full name, huh. A while back, putting your personal information online came with a host of problems, but recently, with better legal frameworks in place, those who would abuse it have decreased.

Because of that, more people are now playing under their real names.

“Well then, Kusazuri-sama, this way please.”

“I’m quite confident in my luck, you know.”

She gives a sly smile in my direction. It’s the kind of sticky, leering grin that makes you think you can hear a slimy “nyeh-heh” sound effect.

On her way to the stage, Kusazuri holds the back of her head and bows repeatedly to those around her.

Apparently, she's not used to being the center of attention and seems quite embarrassed.

“Please turn that handle.”

Grabbing the enormous handle with both hands, she twisted it with a grunt, “Hnngh!”

Then, from the dispensing chute, a translucent capsule about the size of a bowling ball tumbled out.

So it’s the same here too. This really is just a giant gacha machine.

“Now, please open it!”

“Waah, I’m so nervous~”

Kusazuri placed her hands on the seam of the capsule and tore it open all at once.

A blinding light burst out from within and exploded, causing the capsule to vanish.

She stared at her now empty hand in bewilderment, then turned a troubled look toward Helm, the MC.

“Ah, sorry. I got the order wrong. Um, everyone, please turn your palms upward.”

I wasn’t sure what was going on, but followed instructions and turned my right palm up.

Suddenly, I felt a weight and a texture in my hand. With no flashy effect, a sphere about the size of a baseball appeared.

No, more precisely, it was a rugged polyhedron—a dodecahedron with pentagonal faces.

“That’s your Treasure Orb. It has voice recognition, so it can also be activated by speech. Now then, everyone, please say ‘Open’.”

No reason to resist, so I said, “Open.”

The orb in my hand emitted a beam of light from its top, and translucent text appeared in the air.

Guardian: Kaname Katakami
Height: 178 cm
Age: 34

So, that’s my personal info, huh?

More text and numbers appeared below that.

Level: 1
TDP: 10
TDS: None

So there are levels—meaning they can go up. That must be the character growth element mentioned earlier.

I already know that TDS stands for Tower Defense Skill. The problem is, what’s TDP?

As I was wondering that, Helm spoke up at just the right time.

“Everyone, have you had a chance to skim through it? What’s displayed is your personal information. I don’t need to explain name, height, and age, right? As for the level, it increases when you defeat enemies and gain experience points. This is one of the growth mechanics.”

Leveling up by defeating enemies. That’s standard RPG stuff, but in a tower defense game, it’s rare. There are some tower defense games with leveling, but most only grant experience after clearing a stage.

“I'll skip over TDS, as it's already been covered. The other term, TDP, stands for Tower Defense Points. You consume these points to activate TDS—that is, traps and installations. As your level increases, you’ll get more points, so growth is important!”

Spending points to deploy traps—that’s a common mechanic and easy to understand.

As Helm paused to take a breath, someone tugged on her sleeve from beside her.

It was Kusazuri, staring up like a lost child with a helpless expression.

“U-um, so what did I get from the gacha?”

Right, she’d been ignored ever since that flash of light.

“Oh no, I completely forgot!”

Helm tapped her own head and stuck out her tongue, trying to play off the mistake with a cutesy gesture.

Kusazuri just stared at her with half-lidded eyes.

“My apologies. Kusazuri-sama, please activate your orb. Your acquired ability should be listed in the TDS section.”

“O-okay. Open.”

Kusazuri hurriedly operated the orb.

Light radiated from it, but I couldn’t see any of the text. Not because of distance—it was simply glowing too brightly.

“The data emitted by the orb can only be seen by its owner, so there’s no need to worry about others peeking.”

That’s good to know. If there’s a battle royale element, keeping information secret is crucial.

Knowing an opponent’s TDS would make countermeasures much easier.

“Ah, found it! It's strong… a bow? It says ballista!”

“Ah.”“Ah.”

Helm and I spoke in unison from the stage.

Why would you blurt out your ability like that!

“Um, Kusazuri-sama. There’s no need to reveal your TDS publicly.”

“Oh, really? So, what’s a ballista?”

She clearly doesn’t grasp the significance of what she just did.

“I was originally going to demonstrate how to activate a TDS, but perhaps Kusazuri-sama can assist instead.”

“Eh? What, what?”

“Hold your hands out in front of you and say ‘Activate TDS.’”

“Uh… Activate TDS.”

She doesn’t seem to understand the situation, but does as she’s told.

Suddenly, a massive bow with a pedestal appeared in front of her outstretched hands.

Unlike an ordinary bow, a ballista is huge. More like a crossbow, or perhaps best described as a gun with a bow on top.

A ballista is basically a supersized version of that.

It’s so large that it takes leverage or multiple people to pull the string.

Commonly used in sieges or defense, its convenience is poor, but the power is enormous.

This one seems especially large. To match its size, the arrows must be as long as Kusazuri is tall.

“Please use your TDS like this.”

“Um, how do you operate this thing?”

Kusazuri had been struggling to make the ballista move, but the string wouldn't budge.

“You can either say ‘Fire’ out loud or focus on the command mentally. Try aiming it over there with your mind.”

“Aim over there—move!”

Even though she only needed to think it, she chanted like it was a spell.

Surprisingly, the ballista swiftly rotated, aiming its barrel toward the sky.

“Very good. Now, say ‘Fire’.”

“Fire!”

The string snapped, and the massive arrow launched into the air.

With a loud whoosh, the arrow vanished into the sky at incredible speed. If that hit someone directly, not only would they die—they’d be blown apart.

“Woooow, that’s amazing! Isn’t it incredible!?”

“Yes, that was splendid.”

Helm applauded with a smile.

Nice—ballista is definitely a jackpot. If this were a typical game, it’d be a rare or even higher-tier item.

With that, defeating enemies becomes much easier.

Its range and power are top class.

Being able to snipe from a safe location, even against tough opponents, is a huge advantage.

…Though it’d be a real problem if I had to fight against it. Still, a skill’s effectiveness depends on its user.

Voices started rising from the crowd that had been silently stunned.

The other players seemed to snap out of their awe at the display.

“That looks fun!”
“I want a TDS too, ASAP!”
“Let me go next!”

Fired up by Kusazuri’s demonstration, players rushed toward the stage one after another.

“Everyone, please line up! Draw in order! If you cut in line or break the rules, you’ll be sent to the back!”

The chaos was somewhat brought under control, and the players began lining up.

While watching them from the side, I’d already slipped into line myself. Looks like I’m seventh.

One by one, players—no, Guardians, as they’re called in this game—started drawing gacha capsules and acquiring their TDS.

None of them revealed their TDS, but their expressions gave away whether they hit the jackpot or got a dud.

Now it’s my turn.

Ideally, I’d like an offensive ability like the ballista.

Pitfalls, slowing fields, and status-effect traps are important in tower defense, but in an open-world game with leveling, you need a way to defeat enemies.

“Katakami-sama, please step forward.”

Oops, lost in thought—looks like it’s my turn now.

Alright, let’s see what I get. This is the moment of tension and excitement!

I placed my hands on the handle and gave it a firm twist!

The capsule rolled out, and I grabbed it, opening it with a prayer for something good.

Immediately, I activated the orb to check what TDS I received.

◆ (Arrow Trap)
Power: 1m
Deployment Cost: 2
Activation Time: 0s
Cooldown: 1s
Range: 1m
Deployment Area: Ground

“…Huh? Huuuuhhh!?”