CHAPTER 204: CHAPTER 204: THE GIFT OF LUCK – DAWN’S FIRST TRAINING GROUNDS

The night outside was quiet, wrapped in the gentle silence that only came when every soul in the base was at rest.

Inside her room, Liora sat cross-legged on her bed, a slight gleam of excitement flickering in her eyes.

It was time to use the lottery tickets.

She had three in total—rewards from her base mission and recent upgrades. She hadn’t expected much from them, maybe some food packs or material crates... but now, something in her gut told her to try her luck.

"System," she called. "Use the first lottery ticket."

[Ding! Using 1x Special Lottery Ticket...]

A soft golden glow spread across her system interface.

[Congratulations! You have received: **"Fortified Training Ground – Model: Horizon-9" (Functional Building)]

Status: Ready for Deployment]

Liora blinked. "Training Ground...?"

She quickly opened the building’s full info panel, and her eyes widened.

This wasn’t just some practice area.

It was a state-of-the-art combat training complex. Fully self-sustaining. Divided into multiple zones.

A massive open area designed for group drills and squad training. Several private combat booths where individuals could practice their awakened abilities in specially simulated modes—gravity control, elemental resistance, endurance mode, power limit testing, even virtual opponent sparring.

Each booth could be activated after paying a crystal core, ensuring regulated use and maintenance.

There were armament lockers, dorms for live-in trainees, and even a spectator balcony for evaluations.

"It’s... huge," Liora whispered.

The building required two kilometers of flat space. It was as if the structure alone was meant to become the heart of a military city.

Without hesitation, she tapped the "Deploy" button.

She chose the land closest to the outer gate, near the forest’s edge—somewhere accessible, but far enough not to disturb the residential blocks.

[Deployment in Progress... Estimated Build Time: 1 Hour.]

Liora stood by the window again, watching as energy grids lit up the ground outside. A massive square zone was glowing faintly as the construction modules from the system took over.

Steel-like plates rose from the soil. Beams assembled midair. Invisible tech shaped corridors, scanning panels, simulation cores.

It looked like a miracle in progress.

Even before it was finished, Liora could already feel the building’s presence. Powerful. Efficient. Unshakable.

"System," she asked slowly, "how much would it cost to buy something like this from the system mall?"

[System Notice: This model is a restricted facility. Not available for direct purchase until Base Level 5. Estimated market cost: 96,000,000,000 high-grade crystal cores.]

Liora’s lips parted slightly.

If she had tried to purchase this herself... even if she sold her entire base’s supplies, she still wouldn’t be able to afford it.

So this... this was luck. True luck.

"For once," she muttered, smiling. "Something amazing happened."

She stayed by the window for a while longer, watching as the structure neared completion. Even the outer walls looked sleek, like a fortress built for the future.

She whispered under her breath, "This place is going to change everything..."

And with that, she looked down at the two remaining lottery tickets resting in her inventory.

"If the first was this good," she said with a spark in her eyes, "let’s see what the next two bring."

Liora still couldn’t take her eyes off the newly completed Horizon-9 Training Ground. Even from a distance, it looked like something from another era—clean lines, sturdy outer walls, a faint energy pulse running through its systems. Her people were going to be stunned when they saw it.

She smiled proudly.

Then she opened her inventory again.

"Alright, second one," she muttered. "Let’s keep the streak going."

[Using 1x Special Lottery Ticket...]

A familiar golden ripple spread through the system interface again.

Liora held her breath.

[Congratulations! You have received: Premium White Basmati Rice – 1,000,000 kg (Edible Resource)

Status: Delivered to Temporary Storage Units]

She froze.

"What?"

She blinked at the screen again.

The system wasn’t joking.

She had just won a million kilograms of premium basmati rice.

A blank look crossed her face for several seconds before she gave a stiff sigh and slumped back on her bed.

"...Really?" she muttered.

After the jaw-dropping high-tech building from the first ticket, she had expected something equally rare—an automated healing chamber, a sky drone surveillance system, maybe even a luxury dorm design...

But this?

"Rice? One... million kilos of rice?"

She dragged her palm across her face and let out a small groan.

Her hopes had clearly flown too close to the sun. Maybe she got a little greedy.

Still...

She opened her space and looked at the new addition.

[Premium White Basmati Rice – Quantity: 1,000,000 kg (stored in temporary space)]

[Storage Expansion is Suggested: (Y/N)]

[Temporary storage usage consumption: 1 low-grade crystal core/hour]

It was a ridiculous amount of food. Enough to drown in. But also... enough to sustain her entire base for months.

Liora tapped her chin and did a quick calculation in her mind.

"Let’s say one meal with rice needs 200 grams per person," she whispered to herself. "And if we have 1,000 people..."

That would be 200 kg of rice per meal.

So, 1,000,000 kg ÷ 200 kg/day = 5,000 days of meals.

That was over thirteen years’ worth of rice—if they only had rice once a day and used it just for 1,000 people.

Liora stared at the screen.

Then she burst into laughter.

"Okay, fine. Maybe this isn’t such a bad draw after all."

This much rice was enough to provide food security for years. If they stored it properly and added it into the base’s food cycle, it would free up so many other resources.

Plus... it was premium basmati. Long-grain. Fragrant. It wasn’t even cheap, low-grade grain. It was the kind used for special occasions.

She shook her head, smiling faintly. "Guess my luck is just strange today."

One legendary building. One mountain of rice.

And now... only one ticket left.

Liora felt her arm twitching from nervousness. She did not know what the next item would be... but she liked this lottery ticket very much. At first, she had not thought much of it, but now she wanted to upgrade her base quickly to get more of this lottery ticket.