The Bara Gacha

...

It was dark, lonely, maybe a bit offputting, but nevertheless, it still was the same familiar bedroom given to you, albeit just lacking a reliable light source in the dead of night. The clock ticked steadily on the wall, mere minutes from reaching midnight. The door was just slightly ajar, enough to let a warm orange light slip through the crack.

The windows adjacent to the strewn bed brought forth that same familiar glance at the urban jungle outside. The seldom roar of a car's engine shook the status quo of the nightly silence, but otherwise, that tranquil moment of rest carried on.

DING

A new notification caused your phone to rumble in its place on the nightstand. It was a new app that was recently installed on it. Odd, that shouldn't be possible, especially downloading something with an internet connection as reliable as an American's health insurance.

The app itself somehow just invaded the device out of the blue, placing itself on the most recently used apps bar despite never having been used once. Its symbol was a simple stylized vector art of a wolf in black constrasted by glowing white eyes.

It suddenly opened itself unprompted.

DING.

The screen flickered, shifting from the familiar home screen to a void of black, interrupted only by a wall of cold, clinical text that scrolled on its own. The font was sleek, sterile. It was too perfect, as if crafted by something that did not understand human warmth.

USER AGREEMENT By continuing, you consent to the following:

• Summons are permanent. No exchanges, refunds, or terminations.
• Monetary deductions are unpredictable. Charges may occur at any time, without warning or reason.
• Summons are tailored to your subconscious. You may not appeal, deny, or alter results.
• Uninstallation is impossible.
• The System is absolute. Any resistance is futile.

At the bottom, a single button pulsed with dim white light.

[ACCEPT]

There was no option to decline.

The phone somehow refused to budge either. It wouldn't exit the app, the power button didn't function at all, and even trying to soft-reset was a futile endeavor. No other choices were possible, so the best thing was just to press ACCEPT and hope this odd virus-like app didn't brick the phone.

DING.

The moment the button was pressed, the screen shifted instantly once more; no transition, no loading time. Just a seamless cut to a new interface. The black void was replaced by a sleek, high-contrast menu, something polished but lacking a lot of humanity in it.

At the top of the screen, bold, glowing text read:

GACHA.BEAST_SYS.exe — Summoning Protocol Initialized

Below it, three distinct banners stretched across the screen, each displaying a different category of summonable beasts. The images were strikingly jarring, hyper-realistic, almost too real, as if the creatures weren’t just digital art but something much more tangible, waiting just beyond the screen.

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[STANDARD BANNER] – "Primal Instincts"

The default selection, boasting a wide variety of muscular anthropomorphic beasts in their purest, most natural forms. A lion with a golden mane stood at the center, arms crossed over his broad chest, flanked by a powerfully-built wolf and a hulking bear. Their eyes were intense, piercing, and none of these displayed characters had a single name attached to them other than their species, and a star raring indicating their rarity.

"Reliable. Traditional. Uncompromising. No tricks, no gimmicks—just the beasts you know and crave."

RATES: Common (70%), Rare (20%), Epic (9%), Legendary (1%) First Pull Bonus: None

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[LIMITED-TIME BANNER] – "Wilderness Unbound"

This one being a promotion featuring summons with a hirsute, rugged charm. The banner’s artwork depicted a huge rhino with thick tufts of coarse fur along his chest and arms, a buff warthog with a heavy beard, and a mammoth-like bull with an impressive coat of body hair all in the right places. Their raw, masculine presence was enhanced by earthy, autumnal tones, the backdrop depicting a dense forest under golden sunlight.

"For those who prefer their beasts wilder, hairier, and unapologetically untamed."

RATES: Increased chance for furrier, more rugged summons Time Left: 6 Days 14 Hours First Pull Discount: 50% Off

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[LIMITED-TIME BANNER] – "Myth & Muscle"

This last banner diverged from reality, featuring muscular beings straight out of fantasy; dragons, minotaurs, and even phoenix-like avians. The artwork showcased a colossal, emerald-scaled dragon with piercing golden eyes, his wings slightly unfurled, standing alongside a hulking minotaur gripping a massive axe. A crimson-feathered gryphon, muscular and regal, stood behind them with arms crossed, his golden talons gleaming in the light.

"Legends reborn, reforged in muscle and devotion."

RATES: Increased chance for mythical summons Time Left: 9 Days 22 Hours First Pull Discount: 30% Off

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At the bottom of the screen, a single option remained:

[SUMMON]

No tutorial. No explanation. Just the silent expectation that the button would be pressed.