Chapter 29: Gambler's Luck

~~~

[Rank E++ Giant Boss Loot Chest Opened]

[Upgraded: Please select two items out of three.]

[Ice of the Sky’s Throat]

[Rank E+]

[The tallest mountain of the Fae World was called the Sky’s Throat. The ice upon its peaks is said to be of greatest purity, embodying the symbol of pristine virtue. The General of the Sky Titan often frequent those heights, braving harsh gales and sleet to obtain but a single shard of frozen heaven.]

[Activation Condition: Ingest it to gain a unique Trait, or take it to a capable Blacksmith to forge a powerful weapon.]

[Effects: Gain ‘Elemental Blood: Ice’ when ingested, providing +75% resistance to Ice Elemental damage, but also a +25% weakness to Fire Elemental damage. Alternatively, it can be used as a crafting material.]

[Drop of Royal Faeblood]

[Rank E+]

[A drop of the Fae Tyrant’s blood, used to grant vassalship to his most monstrous servants. This one belongs to the Enslaved Giant. It is imbued with a portion of the Tyrant’s strength.]

[Activation Condition: Ingest it to gain great power, or combine it with the other three Fae Tyrant’s Blood from the Zone Bosses to acquire an artefact of tremendous import.]

[Effects: +1 to all stats when ingested. Alternatively, combine it with the other three blood drops to acquire a special item.]

[The General’s Oliphant]

[Rank E+]

[A powerful warhorn crafted from a mighty beast. A great Iceborne Mammoth once roamed the freezing steppes of the Titanomancy, laying waste to entire populations via the blizzards it summoned. The General hunted the beast and defeated it in single combat. From the beast’s tusks, he crafted a mighty warhorn that could summon a brief winter’s fury.]

[Activation Condition: Use the item.]

[Effects: Summons a miniature blizzard for 1 minute. Affects enemy vision, but the user remains unaffected. In addition, the user gains +3 to all stats while under the blizzard’s cover. Has a 5-minute cooldown upon use.]

~~~

[Rank E+ Troll Boss Loot Chest Opened]

[Please select one item out of three.]

[Carafe of Unending Troll Brew]

[Rank E+]

[No explanations are needed; no origins shall be spoken. Such a treasure would only have its value marred by words. Behold, I present the greatest gift of all: An endless supply of mighty alcohol!]

[Activation Condition: Pour.]

[Effects: It provides an unlimited supply of extremely potent alcohol, restricted only by the size of the carafe’s lips. Useful for crafting. Or parties. Word of advice: keep it far from open flames.]

[Drop of Royal Faeblood]

[Rank E+]

[A drop of the Fae Tyrant’s blood, used to grant vassalship to his most monstrous servants. This one belongs to the Troll King. It is imbued with a portion of the Tyrant’s strength.]

[Activation Condition: Ingest it to gain great power, or combine it with the other three Fae Tyrant’s Blood from the Zone Bosses to acquire an artefact of tremendous import.]

[Effects: +1 to all stats when ingested. Alternatively, combine it with the other three blood drops to acquire a special item.]

[Troll King’s Liver]

[Rank E+]

[A fat lump of purplish meat. This is the liver of the mighty Troll King. No one knows the Troll King’s origin or how it came to possess such absurd regenerative abilities that bordered on the impossible. All one needed to know was that the King’s godlike healing made it near-undefeatable in combat. And now, a sliver of that power can be yours as well.]

[Activation Condition: Ingest it to gain a powerful trait.]

[Effects: Gives the trait “Troll Blooded”. The participant now has permanent healing of 0.5% HP/s. When under 50% HP, healing increases to 1.5%/s.]

An explosion of text appeared over Axel’s eyes. Before he could even begin to read it all, another notification popped up.

“What now?”

[Oh, this is somewhat interesting. I didn’t think you would get this so soon.]

[Congratulations! You have opened 60 Loot Chests!]

[Trait earned: ‘Let’s Go Gambling’!]

Axel frowned. “You even get traits from opening loot boxes?”

[Of course, though this one is less unique than the others, admittedly. It is not a ‘limited’ trait; every Participant will receive it once they have opened 60 loot chests. Of course, most normally don’t reach such a point so quickly like you have.]

“What does it even do?” the soldier asked, puzzled.

A display popped up.

~~~

[Let’s Go Gambling]

[Rank F]

[To have opened sixty loot boxes in the Great Game is quite an achievement. But aren’t you tired of opening so many and receiving only bad goods in return? Won’t it be nice if, say, there was a way to combine your useless chests into something better?]

[Unlock Requirement: Open 60 Loot Chests or more (Any variant)]

[Activation Condition: Open Inventory UI and combine any Loot Chests or Auction Coins together]

[Effects: Spawns 1 Loot chest. Quality is dependent on both chance (SER) and the number of Loot Chests/Auction Coins sacrificed.]

~~~

Axel read through it and blinked.

“Only one chest in return?” he complained.

[Yes, it only gives you one in return, regardless of how many chests you sacrificed. The results vary, but the odds of receiving only a low-rank Loot Chest in return for your sacrifice are not negligible.]

“So if I sacrifice, say, three E-rank Selector chests, I might only get one E-rank in Selector Chest in return?”

[It might end up giving you something worse, like an F-rank Random Chest instead. The chest type, as well as the rank, is random. Having more chest sacrificed increases the odds of getting something good, but it is never guaranteed. Generally speaking, however, the trait is… rigged.]

“Rigged?”

[The odds of getting something better are against you. The Trait is called ‘Gambling’ for a reason. However, it also represents an opportunity for Participants to receive something truly powerful: A high-ranking item you should not have at your stage of the Great Game.]

“So, the trait might end up giving me some Game-changing stuff, or it might swallow my loot boxes and give me back crap in exchange,” Axel nodded. “Right, I know what to do then.”

[Exactly. Avoiding it entirely is the smart choice—]

“Take everything I have and throw it into the grinder.”

[...]

Axel grinned at his Handler’s silence. “Well? I’m waiting.”

[... Can I at least ask why? The loot chests you have might be only Rank E, but that is still a wealth of vital supplies you are trading away for a chance at getting something better: Magic Staves, potions, weapons, armour, maybe even Skill Points or new Trait Acquisition. Why risk it?]

Axel breathed out, adjusting his body as he tried to make himself inconspicuous and comfortable within the rocky nook he chose to hide for the night.

“That fight with the Troll King taught me something,” he began. “If I had went into that battle with my usual cocky attitude and my usual arsenal of low-ranking traits and weapons… I would have died.”

He replayed the fight in his head multiple times, running them through differing scenarios and possible methods of approach.

Every simulation told him he would have just ended up dying. He would have gone out with a smile on his face, of course — and with an offering of slain trolls to accompany him to the Reaper’s embrace — but dead all the same.

He had no solution for the Troll King. If not for that Eldarin’s assistance, he likely would have never defeated the Boss. 

However, he had noted that he could still go toe-to-toe for moments at a time. And the primary reason for that was…

“My high-ranking bonuses are all that is keeping me alive. The B-rank ‘Heroic Isolation’ trait and the A-Rank ‘Pathless Wayfarer’ Class are the main reasons I still stand. The majority of my other low-ranking equipment, traits, or titles are useful, but they did not contribute to my survival as much as those two High-Rank bonuses did.”

“I am alone,” he continued. “The situation does not favour me. Small boosts in resources, weapons, or trinkets are not going to save me. What I need is a real, high-ranking game-changer of a boost to survive the Zone.”

[Sound logic. Unfortunately, it does not consider the higher odds of you losing what little you already have in exchange for worse gains.]

“I might be dead anyway if I keep going like this,” Axel pointed out. “I got lucky twice already with the two last Bosses. I would have died to the mob at the Bugbear camp if the Giant had not broken free and sided with me. And I definitely would have died if I went up against the Troll King without Lune’s support.”

[... I still think this is a bad idea.]

“Will you stop me?” he asked, curious.

[No. That is not my role. But I want it known that ‘I told you so’ when you receive a lousy F-Rank chest for all your sacrificed loot. Those auction coins alone are worth a thousand times their weight in gold…]

Axel shrugged. “Can’t use the Auction Coins if I die before I get to the ‘Auction’ anyway, whatever it is…”

[I figured. Well, here goes. Better start praying…]

“To whom? God? Or would you like me to bow before you?”

[Shut it. It’s spinning.]

~~~

[‘Let’s Go Gambling’ is activated!]

[10x Rank E Random Loot Chest Consumed]

[9x Rank E Selector Loot Chest Consumed]

[4x Rank E Raid Loot Chest Consumed]

[10x Auction Coin Consumed]

[Rerolling for a new Loot Chest…]

[Complete!]

~~~

Rather than the usual blue box, this time the User Interface started flickering. Axel thought it might be a System glitch, but the screen suddenly blazed bright gold. Strange trumpet noises rang loudly in celebratory blares. And then…

[Congratulations! New Chest Awarded: Rank B+ ‘Exotic’ Selector Loot Chest Acquired]

Silence. Axel blinked. 

Finally, he asked: “That’s good, right?”

[It’s good. Better than I expected, even. I have seen Participants sacrifice hundreds of loot chests at once to receive a reward not even half as good as this one. Rank B alone would be cause for celebration, but for it to be an Exotic chest as well? Almost unheard of.]

“See? Told you it would be worth it,” Axel cheered.

[It seems fortune chose to smile on you once more. However, you have yet to open it. The contents might not make it for all that you sacrificed. It was a considerable amount of valuable low-rank loot you exchanged for this, not to mention the auction coins.]

“Spoilsport,” he chuckled lightly. “Alright. Let’s see what we've got to work with.”

~~~

[Rank B+ ‘Exotic’ Selector Loot Chest Opened]

[Please select one item out of three.]

[Experimental 8-Gauge Rotary Auto-Shotgun]

[Rank B+ (Exotic)]

[A fair-flung, advanced civilisation was once invaded by a species of interdimensional alien monsters. Faced with their inhuman endurance that renders conventional calibres useless, their military armed their soldiers with weapons that strain biological capacity to handle. Such overwhelming firepower is not to be wielded lightly by mere flesh and blood. Ensure you handle it with proper care.]

[Activation Condition: Requires STR 60 to wield (Nullifed).]

[Effects: Firearm-type weapon. Requires specialised ammunition.]

[Spellbook: Simulacra]

[Rank B+ (Exotic)]

[A spellbook that automatically imbues the necessary knowledge to cast the Rank B spell ‘Simulacra’ without the need of meeting stat requirements or the time investment to safely learn it.]

[Activation Condition: Open the book. The information will be transferred instantly. The book will then self-destruct.]

[Effects: Learn the B-rank Spell ‘Simulacra’ instantly, which allows the user to create a full-copied clone of themselves at a percentage cost of Max HP. The clone does not expire until death, and there are no limits to how many you can create.]

[Illegal Re-Class Potion]

[Rank B+ (Exotic)]

[This is, in simple terms, a cheater’s item. A potion that will break one of the few precious limits imposed by the System: the single Class Boon. With this potion, you can have two Class Boons active at the same time.]

[Activation Condition: Drink the potion.]

[Effects: Allows the immediate changing of the user’s Class without the need to wait for the next Class Level Threshold, along with a new set of Class choices. Allows the user to keep their current Class Boon on top of the new one, for a total of two active Class Boons. If the user ever changes their Class again, they will have the option to swap out one of their two Class Boons for the new one.]

Axel stared at the screen for a good minute. Beyond the three choices of the Rank B+ Exotic loot chest, there were also the two Boss Chests in the other screens waiting for his pick.

[Well now. Aren’t you spoiled for choice?]

Axel laughed. “I feel sorry for that last Boss now. This isn’t even going to be a remotely fair fight.”

But that was fine. An execution suited him as well as any battle.

Time to make his choices.