When he finally received his receipt from the registry—proof that his paperwork had been accepted—he discovered he’d gotten more than a simple paper slip. He had received a System response.
[System Task Accomplished] 3 lucky draws approved. Great job!
He couldn’t wait to leave the sterile confines of the registry; it would have been far too weird to sit around after finishing his business. Instead, he strolled back to the Greasy Spoon (best name for a diner ever), and slid into his favorite booth with a steaming cup of coffee. He had deliberately avoided returning to his apartment, convinced that doing so would be like hitting the pause button on his life—a button he was absolutely not ready to press. The hangover was now nothing more than a distant, unpleasant memory, cured by the legendary Chumbabumba breakfast and the thrill of nailing his first System task.
As he scanned his digital inventory and saw the three lucky draws, he couldn’t help but frown in contemplation. “System, are these lucky draws influenced by my actual luck?” he inquired, remembering that he’d never won anything in a lucky draw before. In fact, his poor track record with freebies was precisely why he had ditched Koala Kola in favor of Grepsi Cola. Every time he bought a Koala Kola, the tab would reveal a disheartening “sorry, try again” message. Who would want a soda that made you feel like a loser every single time? Definitely not him.
[System Response] No, Host. The Wheel of Fortune is completely neutral, please believe me when I say that no amount of good luck or bad luck can sway it. It’s designed to be fair, and I can imagine how stressful that must be. But know that this is just one part of your journey, and you’re not alone in this. Whatever the outcome, you’ll have the strength to keep moving forward.
“Okay…..,” he said, his excitement building. This was the first time in his life that he might actually enter a random draw with the possibility of winning something! He mentally declared, “Spin Wheel of Fortune!”
Immediately, a spinning wheel appeared in his mind, resplendent with a dazzling array of prizes. The number 3—representing his 3 chances—glowed proudly at the center of the wheel. As it spun, he imagined all the cool prizes he might win: an all-expenses-paid getaway, a cutting-edge gadget, maybe even a mysterious glittering artifact that promised untold power.
Maluck leaned forward eagerly, his eyes sparkling with anticipation. Today was his chance to finally break free from his cycle of misfortune—one spin at a time.
***
He hit “spin” on the wheel, and it spun wildly, whirring around as if it were caught in a tornado of fate. Eventually, it slowed and stopped—only to land on the phrase he had seen more times in his life than he cared to admit, a phrase he absolutely hated: “Sorry, try again.”
“What the hell?!” he yelled, throwing his hands up in frustration. ‘Wasn’t this supposed to be a neutral luck area?’ He had expected his first draw—given all its epic promises—to actually win something. But he had forgotten that neutrality didn’t guarantee a win. “Fuck,” he muttered under his breath, and without wasting a second, he hit “spin” again.
This time, fortune favored him. The wheel came to rest on a prize: The Fortune Tuner—a strange, mechanical device designed to adjust luck, transforming bad luck into good luck. “Oooh, this is awesome!” he exclaimed, his eyes lighting up as he imagined finally turning his string of misfortunes around.
“All right, one more spin to go,” he thought, mentally steeling himself for the next round. He scanned the prize wheel, which was filled with an eclectic mix of items. Some slots had “Sorry try Again”, while others—like a tantalizing array of gadget names—had no explanation at all, yet they all looked downright awesome. Names like The Whispering Coin, The Clover Compass and Probability Charm all enticed him like a siren for sailors.
Even the less glamorous filler slots promised rewards like “10 Luck Points,” which, though modest, still managed to put a smile onto his face.
Maluck chuckled at the awesomeness of it all. The idea that a digital spinning wheel could potentially reverse his life’s notorious luck was, in its own badass way, a miracle. As he sat there, sipping his coffee and gazing at the glowing wheel, he felt like a kid in a candy store—if that candy store were run by a mischievous universe determined to give him one hell of a second chance.
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***
His third spin slowly began to decelerate. The wheel wavered tantalizingly between awarding an item and granting four luck points. “Come on, item. Come on, item,” he muttered, practically holding his breath. He had been desperately hoping for another piece of luck gear in his inventory—and it was so close. With a series of rhythmic clicks, CLICK, CLICK, CLICK, the wheel finally ground to a halt. His heart leaped as the pointer landed squarely on an item.
A burst of excitement surged through him as the prize was revealed:
The Probability Charm – While wearing it, any event you want to happen gets a 10% boost in probability. Stacks with other Luck items.
The charm itself, attached to the Bad Luck bracelet, in the form of a little silver balance.
He couldn’t help but laugh at the awesomeness of it all. A 10% boost might not sound like much, but in a life governed by unpredictable misfortune, every little percentage point was like a secret weapon. Now, with the Probability Charm in his possession, he imagined himself as a sort of universal casino pit boss —only instead of controlling slot machines, he was tweaking the odds of fate itself. In his world, where banana peels and spilled coffee were daily occurrences, this charm was nothing short of miraculous.
***
“Okay, calm down,” he whispered to himself. “This Probability Charm is awesome, but what about the Fortune Tuner? Can it really turn all my bad luck into good luck?” He glanced at his current Bad Luck Points (BP): 238. The number stared back at him like an unrelenting reminder of every mishap and misadventure. Imagining that 238 BP turning into 238 points of good luck—something he’d never known before, his smile was huge. That would be absolutely epic. He’d never have bad luck again!
He studied the Fortune Tuner’s description more closely, only to realize that it was a one-time use item. “Fuck,” he muttered under his breath. Should he use it now to convert his 238 points of bad luck? After all, he was generating one point of bad luck per hour—roughly ten days’ worth of calamity! The temptation was irresistible though. “Fuck it,” he thought, “I’ve never had a day without misfortune. If I’ve got one chance to turn this around, I’m taking it right now!”
He had read so many novels where the protagonist saved up all of his points for some mysterious emergency. In his mind, that was downright nuts. ‘Why wouldn’t you use your points right away—to get stronger, smarter, or to unlock that new, awesome “Tao of Butt-Kicking”?’ In his opinion, hoarding points was just the author’s clever way of keeping a deus ex machina in reserve, ready to bail out the story when it inevitably got stuck in a plot hole.
He imagined a hero sitting there, stuck in a completely unfixable problem, who had meticulously saved every single point like a squirrel hoarding acorns for winter, only to pull out a secret power-up at the last minute. For the win.
“Ahhhhhh ha! You might have me on the ropes, but I will now spend my points for 357 strength gains! And also, buy the knowledge of the Red Dragon Palm Strike!” “Really?” he thought, shaking his head. “Wouldn’t it be more fun—and a heck of a lot more useful—to use those points to level up immediately, blast through challenges, and show off your new abilities as you go?”
He decided in his own journey, Maluck (Even though everyone he knew still knew him as Malick) would use every point as a chance to kick life’s misfortunes right in the teeth. He scoffed at the idea of playing it safe by saving up points when he could be out there, becoming the hero of his own adventure. After all, if the author needed a last-minute save, it was usually because the plot was taking a nosedive—something Maluck was determined never to let happen in his life.
With his heart pounding, he addressed the System. “System, use the Fortune Tuner!”
[System Response] Great choice! This is the perfect moment to make a big move, and I believe in your ability to handle whatever comes next. You’ve earned this chance, and glad you’re making the most of it. Good job taking that leap—you’ve got this!
In an instant, the digital interface sprang to life. The System worked its magic, and with a series of cheerful beeps and twinkling blinks, it converted his 238 Bad Luck Points by halving them into Luck Points. Maluck hadn’t even realized that this wasn’t a straight 1:1 conversion—the Fortune Tuner actually operated on a 2:1 ratio. For every two Bad Luck points, he gained one point of pure, unadulterated luck.
The effect was immediate, as if a tidal wave of fortune had crashed over him, washing away years of mishap and leaving behind a refreshing surge of optimism. In that electrifying moment, Maluck felt almost invincible—giddy with the realization that even his worst luck could be twisted into something beneficial. It was as if the universe had finally decided to cut him a break.
Maluck grinned from ear to ear. That once-dreadful number, 238 BP, had just become 119 LP. A symbol that perhaps, after all his years of shit luck, his life was finally turning around. As he sat there, a mix of disbelief and laughter bubbling within him, he mused, “Maybe, just maybe, my life is really about to change.”