My Janky Otherworldly Gambling System

Much time passed as we sat around the fire, filling each other in on the various events that had taken place during our time apart. Twice did the smoking embers need to be relit as they tried to die out, and twice more still did we need to put wood on the fire to keep warm as the sun slowly began to set.

”So you mean to tell me that you found this-this seer, who was able to give you a magic scroll? A scroll that you then used to summon me here? ” I probed quizzically, not quite sure if I believed them or not.

”Oh come on, Kenny! Its not THAT hard to believe is it? ” My mom replied.

”Yes. Yes it is hard to believe. None of this should be possible! Magic, summoning, all of it! ” I countered, pushing myself up onto my feet in frustration. ”You
e supposed to be in a coma! ”

Rather than beg and plead for my forgiveness they both turned and looked away, embarrassed expressions coloring their cheeks.

”What? What is it? ” I asked as I snapped my gaze back and forth between them.

”Lord Kenneth. Its… ” Iros cleared his throat and pointed with his nose down to my feet. ”Your blanket… ”

Looking down I saw my johnson swaying in the cool evening breeze, out in the open for all to see. With cheeks as bright as the burning fire, I abruptly sat back down and covered my shame. ”Oh my gosh, Im so sorry! ” I shouted, filled with shame.

”Oh don worry, honey. Well speak nothing of it. Iros, dear. Would you give Ken some clothes to wear? ” My mom giggled playfully.

”Like mother, like son. ” Iros sighed as waved his hand before him.

”Hey! what is that supposed to mean! ” My mom barked back indignantly. Iros, having pulled up a strange opaque screen, reached in and pulled a set of plain clothes and tossed them at me, like nothing out of the ordinary.

”Lady Lucy has accidentally revealed herself to myself and our other companions countless times. ” He answered with a slight smirk that I failed to notice.

”DONT GO SAYING THINGS LIKE THAT! ” My mother threw a rock across the camp at him, which he summarily caught without issue. ”People are going to get the wrong idea! ” she added with a pouty lip.

And for the first time I saw Iros chuckle audibly. It was slight, but in the hours I had been here; he had been so distant, so quiet and so direct, that I thought him merely a bodyguard of my mothers, and not a friend. It was nice to see him lower his guard, if at least a little.

I shook the thought from my head.

”Wait a damn minute. What the hell was that? ” I asked incredulously, pointing to the screen Iros had already dismissed.

”What was what, Lord Kenneth? ” Iros asked, a look of complete confusion evident across his greying face.

”That! That… Thing you did. Where did these clothes come from?! ” I practically interrogated as I held up the beige tunic and pants for him to see.

”Ohhhh. Hahahaha ” My mother laughed heartily. ”It was quite startling when I first arrived here as well. ” She added as she scooted herself beside me and said ”status ”

No sooner had she finished saying the word, then another opaque screen appeared before her showing a myriad of information.

*****

Name: Lucy Allfield

Level: 341

Class: Fighter

Specialization: Champion

Title: Savior of Erobos

God Touched: Themir – Justice

STR: 384 (+96)

DEX: 284 (+74)

CON: 360 (+86)

WIS: 103 (+20)

INT: 165 (+61)

CHA: 232 (+39)

*****

”Woah! What the- ”

”Every person living on Erobos has access to this ability known as he world system. It is comprised of several windows. Status, which shows your level, class, ability scores and other key information. ” Iros interrupted, listing off the various information lazily as he laid himself out on his sleeping back.

”Its super cool, Ken! Look how strong mom is! ” She said as she pointed at her various stats, flexing her bicep with one arm and pointing at the rippling muscles with her other.

”Wow, no kidding. And your level is so high, how did you manage that? ” I inquired with genuine curiosity.

”Hey, your mom is one tough cookie, alright? ” She slapped my arm playfully.

Iros sighed loudly as he continued. ”Besides status there is also ”Inventory and skills. Inventory is a sort of extra dimensional storage space that scales of of your constitution and strength. Skills is a window for all your learned abilities and means of identifying new ones you are qualified to learn. ” Iros droned on with the sort of tone you would expect from someone who had given this speech a hundred times before.

”So that means, I have a status, inventory and skill window? ” I asked, feeling rather dumb once the words escaped into the aether. Iros however, simply nodded.

”Cmon, show us your status screen! ” My mom begged impatiently.

Saying the word status felt silly, like I was in some kind of video game… But I did it anyway.

”Status ”

*****

Name: Kenneth Allfield

Level: 1

Class: Gambler

Specialization: N/A

Title: N/A

God Touched: Pan – Luck – Misfortune

STR: 8

DEX: 6

CON: 5

WIS: 5

INT: 6

CHA: 10

LCK: 10

*****

I laughed aloud at my weak stats, feeling extraordinarily less than in comparison to my seriously overpowered mother.

”PAN!? ” My mother practically screamed aloud as she pressed her face into my status screen, inspecting its surface closely as if she did not believe what she was reading.

”Whats wrong, mom? Is there something wrong with being… ” I reread the window myself just to be sure I was certain of what I was about to say, as ridiculous as it was. ”God touched? ”

”No-no-no. God touched is fantastic, Its very rare, and means you will be very strong… Probably… Its WHO has touched you. That bastard Pan…. ” She answered, chewing the nail on her thumb as her gaze practically shot lasers into the status window before me.

”Wait a minute, what is that? ” She stopped and pointed markedly. ”Iros, come look. ”

With another heavy sigh, he pulled himself up and crossed the campsite diligently before squatting next to me.

*****

LCK: 10

*****

”I have never heard of this stat before… ” He whispered more to himself than to us. ”Lord Kenneth, if you do not mind, please double tap the stat please.

Assuming it would give some kind of description, I followed the instruction without complaint.

*****

Luck – An attribute that governs probability and chance. Increase your critical hit score, dodge chance, and increase probability of adverse events in your favor. Life will never be dull with Luck on your side! 🙂

*****

”Is that a smiley face?! ” My mother questioned with disbelief.

”Is that not normal? ” I asked in reply, looking back and forth between them.

”No, it is not. ” Iros answered simply. ”Can you open your skills window, please. You should have a unique skill from being touched by a god, perhaps there we will find an explanation. ”

”What do you guys mean ouched by a god? Ive never been ouched by any gods, okay? ” I countered, feeling somehow dirtied by the insinuation.

”Kenneth Allfield, you open your skills window! ” My mom barked in that motherly sort of tone that elicited an immediate compliance. Summoning the screen revealed another opaque window that was empty save for one skill.

*****

Lucky Slots – Learn skill?

*****

”I don like the looks of this, Iros…. ” My mother began chewing her thumbnail again as she looked worriedly upon the screen, the light of the fire reflecting in her pupils as she no doubt sifted through a thousand different thoughts.

Iros though, said nothing. And as no one said or did anything for several beats… I decided I might as well get us some more information. I raised my hand to double click the skill, hoping for a description, but instead my finger slipped and double tapped the Learn skill button instead…

Idiot. I chastised mentally

”Oh shit! My bad! ” I exclaimed, cringing at my mistake as the skill subsequently lit up and expanded into a new window.

*****

Lucky Slots

Skill – Unique – God Touched – Activated

Mana cost – 0

Stamina cost – 0

Description – A special slot machine granted by the goddess of Luck herself, Pan! Activate with an enthusiastic fist bump to the heavens and this skill will dispense a random weapon based on the results!

Why don you use the skill and find out for yourself, big boy Kenny! <3 ~~(^-^)~//~

******

I groaned audibly with disgust. ”This almost sounds like a note left by someone, rather than a description… ” I murmured.

”This is truly bizarre. ” Iros noted with wonder. ”I have never heard of a god or goddess inserting so much of themselves into a chosen god touched before. ” Rather than reply, my mother jerked herself up and onto her feet, stamping away from the fire, her blood clearly boiling with rage.

”THIS WASNT THE DEAL, PAN! YOU SAID YOU WOULD ONLY MAKE SURE HE GOT HERE SAFELY! ” She screamed into the pristine orange-yellow sunset, the sun slipping just under the last mountain top in the distance.

”Forgive me if this is rather inappropriate to ask, Lord Kenneth…. But has your mother always been so… Energetic? ” He asked quietly into my ear so she would not hear as she continue her ranting and raving at the invisible goddess.

Truth be told, I wasn entirely sure how to answer his question at first. I had not seen my mother since I was a boy, so my memories were foggy. However, as I put my brain to task in remembering something-anything, it quickly played a long since forgotten memory…

Id been bullied at the park by some bigger kids. They had pushed me over and off a play structure, hurting my arm and leaving a scratch on my forehead. I had been crying so loud, but while my father tended to my scratches, she was busy laying into those kids and their parents… Not unlike she was now…

I chuckled fondly with the memory as I answered. ”Yeah. She has. ” and once again Iros laughed quietly along with me….

Finally having exhausted herself, she whipped herself around back at me with a huff.

”Don think this isn over. But lets see this skill of yours. And it better be amazing! ” She said with a glower skyward. I chuckled again as I imagined a goddess sitting on a cloud flinching at her glare.