***Resigned Message***
Look, sweetie, I don't even know where to start unpicking all of that. What I can tell you is that a copy of the battle log has already been couriered upstairs and there's talk of a Tiger Team being assembled. No metaphor. No metaphor whatsoever. Basically, you've stopped being a kooky little anecdote about a funny thing that happened during a botched integration and moved into a full-scale anomaly. I mean, did you fucking become Luck for a moment there?
Lorelei ignored the question and scanned all the various damage and status effect notifications that had deluged into her inbox during the fight. "Guide, I'm not seeing any level-up or loot information here. Gimmie."
***Get The Fuck Message***
You cannot be fucking, serious? Important beings who do not get out of their cocoon for anything short of a Grade 7 Cataclysm are currently fluttering around the Board Room with the posh biscuits trying to decide which is worse PR: wiping your whole fucking planet or letting news leak that an Old One, completely unnoticed, has managed to get balls deep in a Day 2 integration. Trust me, if I so much as breathe in your general direction right now, it's going to be my core for the chopping block.
Lorelei idly continued to scan through her notifications. "That sounds very much like a 'you' problem. But, speaking for one of the people that just handed a Raid Boss its arse, I'm pretty sure we'd all like to be properly recompensed. I could be wrong, but it looks like we completed the Quest in time. So, as far as I'm concerned, I'm done with Save the Cheerleaders, save the world. Now, I acknowledge this was done without any cheerleaders actually making it to the end, but you didn't set that as a condition of success."
With a flick of her finger, Lorelei negotiated her Quest log and pulled up the appropriate screen. "Yeah, that's what it says right here. Let me read it to you. I'll even imagine a suitably snide voice for you. Rewards: I'll come up with some sort of snazzy title for you. You love your titles, don't you? Oh, and I'll also gear up whichever of this motley crew makes it through alive. What's that? Still not sold? Okay, well, depending on how you do, I'll give you access to some of the XP I took off from your most recent kills. How much is entirely at my discretion."
Lorelei thought back to when this Quest appeared a million years ago. Or was it just two days? It felt pretty hard to tell right now. "From memory, I'd just defeated those psycho dicks from the Red Zone, and you were being all pissy about letting me keep the XP because you'd had to undo someone doing naughty things to my luck. I'm sure you reported that unlawful attempt to kill me to the appropriate authorities, didn't you?"
No snarky message appeared on Lorelei's ticker tape, so she decided to press onwards.
"So, how about we get something straight," Lorelei began, her tone sharp, "According to the contractual agreement outlined in Section 3, Subsection 4B of the Players' Compensation and Reward Policy, all participants in a battle of significant difficulty are entitled to full compensation, including but not limited to XP, loot, and class progression bonuses. Such an entitlement is not subject to A.I oversight."
She paused, letting the system process her words.
***???****
How the fuck do you know about that! We won't be issuing those contracts for months yet.
"Just lucky, I guess. You know what? I imagine I'm about to make all sorts of preternaturally unlikely guesses about how this whole integration thing works. So strap yourself in, sweet cheeks, this is about to be a wild ride. Now, I appreciate under normal circumstances, the calculation of these rewards is based on a fair and equitable distribution model, which, as you well know, is predicated on a system of transparent, unimpeded performance metrics. However," she added, her voice dripping with pointed precision, "it has come to my attention that during quite a number of my recent battles, there has been significant external interference."
Lorelei's voice lowered to a conspiratorial tone. "This interference, which I suspect you have conveniently failed to report to your superiors, directly impacted the outcome of my luck rolls in any number of ways. Positive and negative. By the terms of the binding agreement between you and integrated worlds, any tampering or external influence that skews the probability outcomes in such a scenario must be reported immediately. Failure to do so constitutes a breach of contract under Clause 7, Subsection 2D—'Unreported Interference and Manipulation.' By my understanding of such things, it shouldn't have needed the logs to be couriered to your superiors; you should have reported the interference in real time yourself."
***!!!!***
Fortuna's fucking feeding you all this bollocks, isn't she! Tell that bitch from me that she can . . .
But Lorelei was far from finished and dismissed the scrolling text even as it appeared. "You see, by neglecting to report the repeated interference in a low-level player such as myself, you have not only compromised the integrity of the whole reward system but have also opened yourself up to a substantial audit. An audit which, I might add, could reveal further discrepancies in how rewards are calculated and distributed—discrepancies that, once brought to the attention of the Council of Arcane Governance, could result in punitive measures. And we both know how unpleasant those can be for an A.I. like yourself."
Lorelei allowed a small, satisfied smile to cross her face as she watched the blinking dot on her ticker tape hesitate, her Guide's algorithms no doubt calculating the potential fallout. "Now, as an H.R. professional with extensive experience managing compliance and conflict resolution, I am willing to negotiate a settlement. Here’s my proposition: You immediately grant me the full XP rewards I have earned over the last few days—every last point, including any bonuses and retroactive Class progression perks that may have been affected by these . . . unfortunate incidents. And you will fulfil this Quest's terms for me and the rest of my party."
Lorelei crossed her arms, but her demeanour remained relaxed, as though the outcome was already decided. "In exchange, I won’t escalate this issue to your superiors. I won’t initiate a formal investigation, and I won’t bring up the possibility of future audits that could lead to significant downgrades in your system's operational efficiency and, dare I say, reputation. And, if you are very good, very good indeed, I won't mention that I think you are in cahoots with an Old One."
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
The Guide’s dot flickered more intensely in her notifications now, and Lorelei knew she had it cornered. "So, what’s it going to be? Will you do the right thing and correct this oversight, or shall we proceed with the whistleblowing? Trust me, I think you will agree that it is in both of our best interests to settle this matter quietly and efficiently."
For a moment, the system remained silent, processing her words. Then, with a final flicker, the screen displayed the message Lorelei had been waiting for:
***System Message***
Please bear with us. Your message is important to us. Recalculations are taking place.
Lorelei smirked, satisfied. "Good choice," she said, closing down the interface. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a team to debrief and rewards to enjoy. And next time," she added over her shoulder, "let's make sure we stick to the contract, shall we?"
Lorelei Norton: Fortuna's Herald
Level 13
Experience 0/2500
Health 510/510
Mana 442/442
Primary Stats
Strength 17
Agility 34 (+3 Gloves of the Seer, +10% Veil of Vindication)
Stamina 23 (+2 Cloak of the Wanderer)
Intellect 22 (+5 Whispering Gloves of the Seer)
Spirit 29 (+5% Vigilante, + 3 Earrings of the Lucky Gambler)
Secondary Stats
Critical Strike 12.5% (+2% Whispering Gloves of the Seer + 2% Earrings of the Lucky Gambler)
Haste 10.5% (+1 Earrings of the Lucky Gambler%)
Mastery 6.5% (+0.5%)
Versatility 4%
Skills
Lucky Strike (Passive) Sometimes, you just have to trust a certain Old One is on your side. With an improved knack for hitting the mark, Lorelei’s luck seems almost... deliberate. Just don’t get too cocky. Lvl 3 - Increases the chance of positive outcomes by 15% (up from 5%) and reduces the chance of negative outcomes by 10%. Lorelei’s attacks have a 10% chance to ignore enemy defences.
Coin Toss Conundrum (Active)- Why leave things to chance? With an enhanced coin toss, even your enemies might start rooting for tails. Either way, it’s a win-win... mostly. Lvl 3 - The devastating attack on heads now deals an additional 75% damage, and the heal on tails has a 75% chance to heal Lorelei instead of the enemy. Additionally, there is now a 10% chance for both effects to occur simultaneously. Mana Cost: 50 Cooldown: 2 minutes
Random Resilience (Active)- You might shrug off a dragon's breath or trip over a pebble. Life's a lottery! But now, the odds are more in your favour. Lvl 2 - When taking damage, there’s a 50% chance to negate it entirely. If not negated, the damage is reduced by 40%. The cooldown is reduced to 18 hours. Mana Cost: 100% of available pool. Cooldown: 18 hours
Charmed Life (Active): Life's full of ups and downs, but with a charmed life, the downs aren’t quite so bad. Maybe you’ll even get a boost from the chaos! Lvl 4 - The random status effect lasts for 30 seconds (down from 2 minutes) and has a 75% chance to grant a positive buff instead of a negative one. Healing amounts are increased by 25%. Mana Cost: 30 MP Cooldown: No cooldown
The Old Swapperoonie (Active): Wah! Why is all my luck bad? Wah! For someone with a luck-based Class, you don’t half moan a lot about random outcomes... But now, you can make someone else take the fall. Lvl 2 - Once per day, you can offload all the negative consequences of your abilities onto someone else. The cooldown resets if your target dies within 5 minutes of the swap. Additionally, the transferred effects are now 25% more severe on the target. Mana Cost: 200 MP Cooldown: 24 hours
Rogue is the Best of the X-Men (Active) Sometimes, borrowing is better than owning. And when you can take someone else's powers for a spin, why not? Just watch out for that backfire… Lvl 3 - You channel your inner Rogue to temporarily steal the abilities of someone within range. The stolen ability lasts for 20 minutes and has a 20% chance to backfire. The cooldown is reduced to 45 minutes. Mana Cost: 100 MP Cooldown: 45 minutes
Inventory
Cloak of the Wanderer (+ 2 Stamina)
Whispering Gloves of the Seer (+5 Intellect, +3, +2% Critical Strike)
Veil of Vindication (+10% Agility, conceals identity)
Earrings of the Lucky Gambler: +3 Spirit, Increases Critical Strike chance by 2%, and Haste by 1%
Skinning Knife
2x[20 Leather Offcut]
8 [Charred Steak]
7 [Charred Steak - poisoned]. Poisoned status is hidden.
25 Gold. 87 Silver. 8 Bronze
Professions
Jack of All Trades
* Skinning - Lvl 23
* Cooking (Life in Your Own Hands) – Lvl 9
* Leatherworking – Lvl 10 (upgrade available)
* Campfire - Novice
Talents
Spoilsport: Increases the chance of a positive
Fortuna's Favor: Allies within a 10-meter radius gain a 5% increase to their Critical Strike chance
If you can Dodge a Wrench: Lorelei's Critical Strike and Haste are increased by an additional 5% when her health drops below 50%. Additionally, whenever Lorelei successfully evades an attack, there’s a 20% chance that her next attack will be an automatic critical hit.
Titles
Kobolds’ Worst Nightmare: 35% damage against Kobolds
One Cold Bitch: Frost Resistance: +10%
Vigilante – Spirit 5%
Chance’s Gambit - In desperate moments, when the odds are stacked impossibly high, Lorelei can become the very embodiment of luck. However, the universe demands balance. The more she bends fate to her will, the more fate will bend back in the hours to come. Can invoke once per day. While in this state, all luck-based abilities are maximized:
* Lucky Strike: Every attack is a critical hit.
* Coin Toss Conundrum: The coin always lands heads-up for devastating attacks.
* Random Resilience: Lorelei is immune to all damage for the duration.
* Charmed Life: All healing effects are maximized, and only positive status effects occur.
* Rogue is the Best of the X-Men: The stolen ability is amplified, and the backfire chance is reduced to 5%.
* The Old Swapperoonie: Negative consequences are transferred without failure, and the effects on the target are doubled.
Duration: 1 minute.
Cost: As well as having a permanent impact on all future luck. after the effect ends, Lorelei's luck is severely diminished for the next 48 hours:
* Critical Strike Chance: Reduced by 50%.
* Haste: Reduced by 30%.
* Random Resilience: Chance to negate damage drops to 10%.
* Charmed Life: Status effects are always negative.
* Coin Toss Conundrum: The coin will always land tails-up.
* Rogue is the Best of the X-Men: The backfire chance increases to 50%, and the stolen ability is weakened.