Olivia stared at Tchadd with a predatory intensity, probably on the lookout for the sort of lies and half-truths that one might expect in dealing with a god, her mastery likely the result of years of poker and other casino games. My gaze, in contrast, wandered aimlessly, without any real intent. Tchadd started, unimpressed with our mind games.

“I’ll be blunt: I want you two to kill the owner of the world you just came from. The bank contracted my company for this job, so although he was one of my clients, I’m going to have to request that you assassinate him.”

Olivia maintained fierce eye contact. “What’s the sauce, then? How big’s my stake in the prize?”

“Surprised, are you? The slip in your speech pattern gives that away. As for your answer, it depends on how well the two of you perform. Should the job be carried out clean, with reasonable brevity, then Olivia, you may receive upwards of 500 souls. Quite the fortune for someone your age.”

I started paying attention. “And… what about me?”

“Maybe 10, if your work is impressive.”

“What the fuck? Why does she get so much more? Olivia may have greater luck, but our abilities are still in the same ballpark, aren’t they!?”

“Sure, your abilities are similar in nature and scale, but the difference is that you’re already my employee, and as such, you’d burn in hell if you didn’t do what I said. I’m being much more lenient with you than I could be, you know. Maybe eventually you could even buy your own freedom.”

“What the hell do you mean ‘being much more lenient with you than I could be’? I haven’t even made a mistake yet!”

“I’m saying that I don’t have to be paying you at all for this, the contract is binding regardless. ”

“So how many souls do I need to earn my freedom, then?

“An eternity is quite a long time, you know. I guess I’d be willing to part with one of my low-level Winners for about 500 quadrillion, give or take.”

“Give or take how many?”

“A few billion, depending on my mood.”

I scoffed. By now, the mission had lost any appeal it might have had earlier, and if I were really worth that many souls, then I doubt he’d be willing to just throw me into the depths of hell over something like this.

“I know what you're thinking. To you, this mission has lost any appeal it might have had earlier, and you think that if you were really worth that many souls, then you doubt that I’d be willing to just throw you into the depths of hell over it. I’m trying to say that I don’t think you realize how long an eternity is, amiga. 500 quadrillion might sound like a lot in terms of how long it would take to earn it in human years, sure, but here, it’s really not all that much. If you don’t take these 10 soul offers when you get them, then you’ll never be able to work your way out, ever.”

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Olivia interjected. “Well, this is fun and all, but I’d rather not waste any more time on miniscule details like this. I’d like to get going now, so I’m assuming that you already made a portal to the office of whatever god this is?”

“Not so fast, Goldgetter. Killing a god is no easy task for someone on your level. The two of you may be powerful in the eyes of a mortal, but you have to understand that the person we’re talking about is far above what either of you have encountered thus far. As things currently stand, you wouldn’t even get to lift a finger before getting detected and eliminated. If you die here, you die for real. It’s not like those Isekai worlds you’ve been lounging around in.”

“So, what do you suggest we do instead then?” I didn’t really understand what Tchadd was getting at. It doesn't matter how powerful you are if you don’t have the luck to back it up. 

“I know what you two are thinking. You can defeat anyone, no matter how powerful they are, if they don’t have the luck to back it up. While this notion has merit, in my eyes, neither of you possess even the slightest bit of luck”

“Okay, genius, if I’m not lucky, then why did you employ me?” I was a bit offended at being called unlucky.

“To a mortal, you would be quite formidable. The same could be said of any deity. But when compared to a god, both of you fall exceedingly short.” He paused. “I understand that neither of you will comprehend if I simply state the fact. Instead, a demonstration is in order.”

Out of thin air appeared a set of two dice fashioned from a dark, heavy metal, and Tchadd slid them to Olivia.

“Roll.”

Olivia inspected the dice for possible trickery, then threw her roll. She landed two sixes, as one might expect. “I don’t see what you’re trying to prove here.”

“Slide them to Emma.”

Olivia passed the dice to me, and I threw them in a similar manner. Two sixes. “I don’t get the point either.”

“Hand them back.”

I handed the dice to Tchadd and he took them into his palms, releasing into the air with the grace of a swan a roll that would be any sweepstaker’s magnum opus. They followed a parabolic arc to the micrometer, and landed without bouncing. Tchadd had somehow managed to roll three sevens, with only two dice.

The dice then disappeared into the air and a long silence followed as Olivia and I tried to understand how such a thing was possible.

“I know you two are trying to understand how such a thing is possible, but in doing so, you miss the point. That roll was not possible, believe it or not. True luck transcends conventional notions of ‘possibility’. Time, space, and even causality itself bend to the will of the lucky.”

“Time, space, and even causality itself already bend to my luck. This is just cheating.” I’m pretty sure Tchadd just hacked those in. I mean, it’s his office, it wouldn’t surprise me if you just get creative mode in your own dimension or something.

“That’s correct, Emma. It is cheating. Luck is capable of that in sufficient concentrations. I could do this in any realm, at any time, regardless of my so-called ‘power’.”

“Well, that’s stupid. How are we supposed to kill this guy then?”