Rob looked at the time. It was 5:43. It took him well over an hour to use up all the last bits of ingredients they had left in the bakery and made his last batch of bread.
Sitting down on a chair with a tired sigh, Rob blinked his eyes and a large, golden bread covered in spinning stars hovered in the empty air in front of him. He stretched out his right hand, tapping the bread with the tip of his finger, and a mystical power soon enacted itself on his luck.
Swoosh!
A dazzling golden light burst out of the golden bread, not so blinding but bright enough to cause Rob to close his eyes by instinct.
The moment he opened them, he was greeted by the product of his modified luck, a bakery with a growing line of people from the counter out to the door.
It represented prosperity to the bakery, with endless wealth to come.
Of course, with his luck alone, it would only bring a small boost to their sales, perhaps increasing it by 50% or so for the next few hours until they close the store. But, would a cheat that has the potential to reach the level of a Supreme Existence be so simple?
He slowly stood up and opened the door with an audible click, greeting his father who was sitting behind the counter with a simple gesture and walking up to a nearby bookshelf.
The bookshelf had an assortment of books, most of which were already read by Rob. Grabbing one that he hasn’t started yet, he sat down at a random table and took a quick glance at his father.
His eyes gleamed with a golden radiance, and above his father’s head, he saw a family of three living inside a plain but pleasing home, while a building extended out to the side and showed their family bakery.
The luck on top of Herve’s head represented the general prosperity of their family and their business. Unless something really unexpected happens, and an external variable comes with malicious intent, then the Fortune family could be rest assured that they would live a comfortable life without worry for their stability and wealth. They could even expect that their luck would rise, slowly but surely, the more fortune the bakery accumulates, or the stronger their son becomes.
But, this luck is too slow for everyday business growth! While I have all the time in the world, I’d rather live more of it as a rich kid than someone just well-off. Rob had spent way too much time as a poor beggar in the streets, so he had a rather strange fondness for money no matter the society, civilization, world, and reality he lived in. And with a problem, comes a solution.
Fortune Stealer was his own personal supreme cheat, an ability with boundless potential that gives him an unfair headstart compared to everyone else around him, especially when it comes to the mysteries of luck. It isn’t just limited to stealing luck from others or altering his luck, no, it’s much more than that.
With a stretch of his hand, a mysterious force started to influence Herve’s luck, transforming it into the same bakery with a long line, the same appearance as Rob’s luck. Then, with another wave of his hand, the luck of the two parties interconnected and formed a larger and more solid bakery hovering in the air - in the middle of the bakery itself!
Luck Stacking! Rob silently shouted the name of his new technique with dramatic flair. With this ability, I can stack my luck with others and combine the potency of our luck. Of course, this would mean we’ll receive equal benefits, but if I can alter it later to make mine the Main Luck, I’ll receive the most benefit when stacking my luck with others!
Luck stacking, or more appropriately deemed as luck grouping, is Rob’s latest ability. If a group of people has a certain connection in place, then there’s a chance their luck would converge into one body of luck that they’ll share, forming a group luck.
This was merely the tip of the iceberg of what he could do later on. Just thinking about the future abilities he can acquire caused Rob’s blood to boil, but he remained calm and normal on the outside while waiting for customers to come in.
As he read through the book, a customer came in, appearing as a slightly affluent commoner wearing nice clothes and seemed to come here for evening entertainment, to perhaps read a book or enjoy a nice relaxing meal and desert, more likely a desert.
The customer then ordered something from his father, and Herve gave the customer garlic parmesan, as expected, and he sat down on a nearby table, but not before grabbing himself a book and flipping it to a certain page.
Hmm, he must be a usual customer here. Oh well, it’s time to contribute to the Fortune Bakery, you little leech!
Luck Stacking!
As his eyes gleamed with a subtle golden glow, the illusory bakery hovering in the air turned more real and dense, larger and brighter. With the addition of another source of luck, another C Rank Luck, Rob soon watched as three more customers came in in quick succession.
They ordered their food, and one did leave as soon as they received their order, but two of them stayed inside to eat their bread and read a book just like the first customer.
Luck Stacking!
Swooshed!
Two more sources of luck rushed into the hovering bakery in the air, allowing it to turn more solid than ever before, and causing the bakery’s collective luck to increase.
Yes, it wasn’t a human’s luck, but the bakery’s luck that has increased!
This is great! Truly great! The luck of a bakery, it just sounds so absurd! Rob almost chuckled at the bizarre sight unfolding in front of him. He hadn’t had the luxury in his previous incarnations to learn about the mysteries of luck, so some of the things he was learning right now were truly first-time experiences.
Later on, I’ll even steal the luck of mountains and oceans, of the heavens and earth! Of course, with Fortune Stealer’s current strength, I can only steal from living organisms for now. Even Luck Stack is quickly approaching its limits since I can only stack with five people at once, but I can overcome this by sacrificing the bakery’s luck foundation. This is a gamble, but that’s what makes this life fun and exciting!
Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.
Luck is much more mystical than just it being the luck of living beings. Even locations and places, forests and seas, mountains and rivers, have their luck. Luck was a part of their Fortune, allowing mines to be abundant with resources, or allowing prosperous forests to hold millions of lives within it.
The mysterious properties of luck have strange and weird relationships. Sometimes, the luck of different beings clash; sometimes, it melds together and helps one another; sometimes, it overtakes one another with one being dominant and the other submissive.
Luck exists in the smallest of lifeforms to the grandest of planets and stars!
How would a star exist if luck didn’t exist? How would a cell come to exist if not for luck? How would apocalypse descend upon paradise if not for luck?
Rob continued to read his book in peace, accumulating the luck of their bakery into grander and grander levels, and by the time it was 6:12 pm, a long line of people had formed inside to outside the bakery.
This caused a slight commotion outside, a natural Opportunity! Rob’s intuition screeched at the back of his mind, telling him that this was the chance to get the win from his little playful gamble.
Finally, my first Opportunity, and for this bakery no less!
What was an Opportunity? It’s a mysterious event, a mysterious chance that can give one great fortune, and at times, great misfortune if one failed to grasp the Opportunity.
It’s the thing that allows one to turn from a fish into a dragon, to go from pauper to millionaire! It’s usually a turning point for a story, no matter how big or small it was.
As he stared at the door with a heated gaze, a man finally walked in with grand luck oozing out of his body.
A Rank Luck!
The rank of someone who’s on the same level as Dukes and Marquess! Of Royal Mages and Knights! Luck that can allow one to prosper to great heights as long as they can have the time to grow!
He was seemingly wealthy, but not too wealthy.
With his great experience, Rob Fortune could tell that this man was someone who was at the start of his journey to grand wealth, a budding entrepreneur that would amass money that can last for generations to come!
Hahaha! So you’re the Opportunity? His Opportunity must also be this bakery! Perhaps he’ll invest in us, and would lead to our great prosperity as well!
But… so what? Do you think that’s your Opportunity? No! It would be my Opportunity!
A bright flash of golden light erupted out of Rob’s eyes as Fortune Stealer finally activated one of its grandest abilities, an ability he specially made to counter those lucky bastards bestowed with golden fingers and overpowered cheats!
Tsk, Fortune Stealer is too weak right now, and I’ll have to expend on my luck foundation to steal this, but who cares! By next week, I can connect my luck with this bakery, so the more prosperous it gets, the better it would be for me!
Come, come! I’ll steal your Opportunity!
By the time the young man arrived at the counter with a number of thoughts churning in his head, a strange force grabbed at his very being and pulled something out.
As he stared at the air, Rob watched as a paper with a written contract scribbled down on it was pulled out of the young man’s body, and with swift movements, Rob caught it with ease.
Then, as he stared at the ceiling, he lets out a sigh and was a bit saddened to see his luck go from C Rank down to D Rank, a heavy blow to all of the luck that he has accumulated.
Still… this Opportunity truly is great! If I transfer it to someone else now, it would make them invest in the bakery and have a high chance of succeeding! The best outcome would be if they were already super rich, meaning this bakery would receive exponential growth with their investment! Heh, and it seems like the A Rank Luck added to the Luck Stack is already taking effect!
There wasn’t just one Opportunity that occurred, there were two! If the investment was the young man’s and the bakery’s shared Opportunity, then the long line outside was this bakery’s Opportunity! The long line would cause the popularity of their bakery to skyrocket, turning it from an obscure store to a famous shop that would have its name spread throughout the entire Royal Capital in the months to come.
A few minutes left, and we’ll run out of bread. If I don’t find a suitable investor by that time, I’ll return this Opportunity to that guy, and ensure the growth of this bakery.
Tsk, if only he was richer, but unfortunately, he’s only at the start of his journey!
This long line, as long as a Noble who’s at least a part of an Earl household appears, they’ll immediately receive this Opportunity!
As his burning gaze stared at the door, and as he sat at the edge of his seat, time continued to pass by like a never-ending river.
More and more people came in like an endless stream of water, flooding the bakery with people and allowing the bakery’s luck to be as strong as ever, never reducing but not increasing either since people came in and came out of the bakery.
But, with it reaching A Rank Luck, it elevated the bakery’s Opportunity to a high enough level, and Rob’s eyes were almost blinded by the blinding light that engulfed the place.
As the light receded, Rob stared at the strange golden light in the form of golden cyclic circles, expanding in and out to form a strange ring, a ring that Rob could easily deduce originate from Buddhist origins.
He stared at the young man walking into the store. He had fluffy white hair and dark skin, with golden eyes and pupils in the shape of repeating golden circles. He wore a simple linen shirt and black pants, neither extravagant nor lavish.
Melvin Dolton, your A Rank Luck truly is blinding. But, it seems like it even used to be S Rank Luck. Just what is your origin, you little Buddhist? Rob secretly rubbed his chin with slight curiosity and enmity, but the benefits were simply too dazzling for him to think about any old grudges he had with the Enlightened One. Oh well, the benefits outweigh my grudge against Buddha. So, take this Opportunity, dear noble Earl!
The white piece of paper flew through the air at breakneck speeds, landing right into Melvin Dolton’s body, causing him to widen his eyes as a strange flash of inspiration emerged inside his mind.
This place… It’s simply too prosperous! My understanding of Samsara and Reincarnation is almost screaming at me that this place would grow to a large scale soon with this sudden boom in popularity.
With its special product, the Garlic Parmesan Bread, and its interesting idea that is almost similar to an internet cafe, but with books, would absolutely cause it to earn heaps of wealth.
If I invest in this place, I would get to earn so much money and give myself a lot more freedom in terms of wealth. After all, there’s no such thing as too much money in this world!
With this idea taking root inside his mind, almost like a virus that couldn’t be removed nor sensed, Melvin Dolton slowly arrived in front of the counter and stared at Herve Fortune with an amicable smile.
“Hello there, sir, are you perhaps interested in hearing about my business proposal?”
…
Rob slowly stood up from his seat, put the book back in one of the numerous bookshelves in the bakery, and heard Herve shout from the side.
“Rob! Go handle the counter for me! There’s… some important business going on right now!” Herve shouted, and Rob turned to look back at Herve and Melvin with an amicable smile.
“Okay…” Rob chuckled, and as he watched the two individuals enter the door situation behind the counter, Rob walked up to the counter with an increasingly wide grin.
“What can I get for you, dear customer?” He squinted his eyes, almost causing the woman who was about to order to shudder in fear and shout: Demon!
After all, at this very moment, a devilish grin was on Rob’s ugly face, a face that would even scare demons away if they were to see it.
Hehehe! Gambling is truly enjoyable! So what if my luck fell down to D Rank and that the bakery’s luck also took a hit by forcefully stacking with tens of customers? This Opportunity would offset all of that investment and bring in so much money!
Luck… I FUCKING LOVE BEING A LUCKY BASTARD!