POV : Astral Universe
In the shimmering expanse of the Astral Universe, seven ethereal voices gathered around a floating cosmic ledger, their conversation blending into a gentle hum of hope and skepticism. They were the 7 Kindly Virtues and they had taken over for the day.
One voice, warm and tender, spoke first: “Sister, you’ve done such a magnificent job guiding him. Despite his battered spirit, his heart shines with an unyielding purity.”
She replied, “Thank you, dear sister; I truly believe his journey is divinely guided. Even if his path is rugged, destiny unfolds exactly as it should.”
Then came a robust, steady voice full of determination: “He conquers every obstacle, turning each misstep into a battle fought with remarkable courage. It’s clear why we chose him as our champion!” This was Diligence chiming in. She loved hard workers and Maluck had been doing such a great job, ever since he received the System!
A measured, thoughtful interjection followed, “Yet, I cannot help but wonder—why did the Seven Sins allow him to be picked? Despite his virtues, his past is riddled with calamities that seem at odds with our ideals.”
Another Virtue chimed in, “Ah, but you know those Sins—they’re like dim bulbs in a vast cosmic chandelier, their choices driven more by the need to keep the narrative delightfully unpredictable than by any sense of merit.”
“We must remember, however, that even their chaotic influence ensures that the scales of fate never tip too far in one direction.” Temperance said.
“Oh, how my heart sings at the thought of his future! I trust he will persist in his crusade, and that tomorrow—when the Sins take their turn—his light will shine ever brighter.”
Their voices mingled like a celestial symphony, each note reflecting compassion, confidence, determination, fairness, caution, moderation, and hope. In that moment, amid the silent rhythms of the Astral Universe, they celebrated not only his past triumphs but the upcoming journey that would make him their acknowledged champion.
***
POV : Canada
Maluck was feeling buoyed by his recent streak of good fortune, so he decided to pay a visit to the Chinese shop he credited with his miraculous bracelet. ‘Surely,’ he thought, ‘the Action Log must have made an error—the shop hadn’t scammed him; the Bad Luck Bracelet was amazing.’
This decision to go thank them had nothing at all to do with the System Task that had just popped up.
[System Task] Go thank your benefactors. You really should always thank people. Grateful actions spark joy in the universe. Reward: Three luck points.
It was a pretty easy task, considering the shop was only a block away.
However, when he arrived, he was met with an empty storefront bearing a faded “For Rent” sign that practically whispered, “We’re gone.”
Undeterred, he wandered over to the neighboring shop and asked the store owner, “Do you know where these guys went?” He gestured toward the closed store.
The owner glanced at Maluck’s cheap-looking bracelet and said, “Looking for a refund, are you? I heard they moved to Calgary.”
“Why would I need a refund? This bracelet is awesome!” Maluck retorted.
“Uh, okay,” said the shop owner, who had been fielding angry customers from those two before; this was the first guy who’d been grateful. He thought to himself, ‘Whatever, it’s none of my business.’
“Calgary? That’s like three hours away,” Maluck remarked. For some people, a three-hour drive might seem daunting, but it was worth it to him. After all, the Bad Luck bracelet had changed his life, and the chance to thank the source of his newfound fortune was too enticing to ignore. And he really wanted those Luck points!
Plus, he was more than ready for a drive in his car—a drive he had never taken before because, in the past, it always ended with another breakdown courtesy of his usual brand of bad luck.
He could even imagine the scenario in his head.
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He would be driving along, the engine purring smoothly, when suddenly, his car would die without warning. His phone would mysteriously lose signal, leaving him stranded on a suspiciously empty highway. This scenario was tailor-made for a serial killer with a hook hand, lurking somewhere in the dark, ready to make the evening even worse.
In his past, “no Bad Luck bracelet” life, he wouldn’t even have considered this kind of long drive. But now, things were different. He had the System, and with it, Luck points. Fueled by excitement (and a touch of caffeine), he hit the road. The open highway stretched out before him, a ribbon of possibility promising a fresh start and, hopefully, fewer mishaps.
As he cruised along, a bright neon sign flashed ahead: “Casino Yellowjacket 50 km.” The bold letters practically shouted at him, daring him to test his upgraded luck powers.
“Hellllll Yeah!” he shouted, unable to resist the siren call of chance. It felt like the universe itself was tempting him, a flashing beacon of fortune just up the road.
With the thrill of the unknown spurring him on, Maluck continued his journey toward Calgary, ready to embrace whatever twists fate had in store. Every mile brought him closer to the mysterious shop—and perhaps to a win at the casino—proving that even in a world that had previously poured bad luck on him, a little luck (and a System) could open up a universe of possibilities.
***
After about an hour, he pulled his car into the parking lot of Casino Yellowjacket. The sounds of slot machines beckoned him like a siren’s call, while the entire casino reeked vaguely of cheap deodorizer. The carpets were noticeably worn, and since it was early evening on a weekday, the place was almost eerily empty. Dead-eyed gamblers drifted around, some slumped at blackjack tables, while many tables sat unoccupied. This was no glitzy Las Vegas hotel.
Maluck glanced down at his Probability Charm. “Alright, I get a 10% chance of things going my way,” he mused, “so I could try my luck at blackjack.” But then he paused, remembering enough bad movies to know that if he played blackjack, someone would eventually suspect he was counting cards and promptly boot him out. “That’s definitely not what I need,” he muttered. “Hmm, how about roulette? That seems easy enough.”
He reached into his wallet and grimaced; he didn’t have much cash on him. I mean, really—who did? Most people just used credit cards. Scanning the casino floor for an ATM—every good casino had them, right?—he spotted one in the corner. It was, of course, one of those overpriced machines that charged an extra $5 just to make a withdrawal.
Desperate gamblers might cough up that extra cash without a second thought, but for Maluck—a self-proclaimed cheap-ass son of a bitch—that was an absolute no-go. The idea of paying extra to access his own money felt like a betrayal. With a resigned shake of his head, he turned on his heel and walked back out the door. His mission was clear: find an ATM from his actual bank, one that didn’t treat him like an easy target.
Pulling up his phone, he quickly located one just five minutes away. When he finally reached the ATM and inserted his card, a moment of mild unease washed over him. In his past, every time he tried to use a bank card, it was a coin toss whether the ATM would work at all—often ending up out of cash, or, on one memorable occasion, hijacked by a shady skimmer that read his card and then stole it.
Glancing at his character sheet, he noted with relief that he had no Bad Luck Points, though his Good Luck Points had dipped by one, leaving him at:
Luck Points: 118
Wait! It had dropped! He paused, staring in disbelief as the notification blinked on his screen. It appeared that his Luck Points had been used to block the usual hourly increase in bad luck—something he’d been dreading. The thought made him grin, a surge of relief washing over him.
His daily ATM withdrawal limit was $2,000, which meant he had to make four separate transactions of $500 each. He completed them quickly, leaving his bank account at a pitiful $7,842. The military hadn’t exactly been a cash cow, and he’d been splurging on his ex-girlfriend’s acting lessons while also covering rent and bills. So, he fervently hoped that this casino venture would work its magic, or else he’d be stuck as Maluck, the perpetual job hunter, rather than Maluck, the universe-conquering luck god.
As he looked at his tiny balance, he couldn’t help but chuckle at the absurdity of his situation. Here he was, risking a big chunk of his bank account on a gamble to test his luck, while the cosmos dangled the promise of divine fortune before his eyes. If the casino failed him, he’d be back to dodging rent collectors and counting coins—a fate he was determined to avoid at all costs.
POV : Astral Universe
The Seven Deadly Sins were watching him as he drove back and forth from the casino, shaking their collective heads in amusement. “Man, this guy is so incompetent,” they mused—though, admittedly, exactly this was the kind of situation they relished. If the choice had been left to the Seven Virtues, they would have picked some goody-two-shoes who spent their days serving soup kitchens or working for non-profits. But no, the Sins had made the right bet with Maluck—whose very first instinct was to hit a casino.
“Why did he have to change his name?” Pride asked, his voice dripping with arrogance. “Was the original one not enough to carry all that greatness? Or was the luck too much for even you to handle?”
“Brah, those pussy Seven Virtues wanted him to get powers for free,” replied Wrath with a smirk. “If you don’t put in some effort, how are you gonna get the gainz?”
Envy piped in, “That’s right. Why should he get free stuff? Every time we use our powers, it costs us. He should have to do something!”
“And by only changing one letter, it didn’t require us to expend much energy to activate—plus, it saved us a bundle,” Gluttony added, grinning at the simplicity of it all.
Meanwhile, Sloth said nothing at all, happily lounging in the corner as usual.
Their banter, laced with mischief and irreverence, underscored the twisted satisfaction they derived from watching Maluck fumble his way through life—a far cry from the pristine order the Virtues might have preferred.